Archie and his dad Fred decided to go to Pop's to let the day end. It was a long one. Archie told his dad everything what had happened. At night he, Betty, Jughead and Veronika saved Cheryl from killing herself. Archie had punched the ice on the river so hard he had broken his right hand. They were at the hospital for the rest of the morning. Cheryl was released home after almost drowning and freezing to death in the river. She was surprisingly fine. Archie got an X-ray which confirmed the broken bone in his hand. The doctors put a cast on it and let him go. The afternoon was over fast. Archie was tired, having to take painkillers, he was hungry, ate and slept a bit.

They were alone with Pop. He was in the kitchen cleaning. Fred and Archie were sitting in a booth sipping on their milkshakes. For a while they just sat there.

The door opened. Archie turned around to see a tall man coming in. He was wearing a black leather jacket, dark jeans, boots and more importantly he was wearing a mask! He pulled a gun out his right pocket and pointed it to Pop.

"Take all the money you want. Please don't hurt us!" Pop said.

Archie and Fred stood up. Fred tried to get in front of his son but Archie pushed him aside and stood up front. The man supposedly didn't want any money. He turned towards Archie and Fred. Archie, still on drugs, trying to be heroic, telling that guy to leave. He almost shouted at him. "Archie, shh!", Fred whispered.

Then there it was. A loud bang. Everything was in slow motion. Fred trying to shove Archie out of the way, Pops starting to scream, Archie just standing still, staring into the eyes of the shooter. He had bright green eyes. They were actually beautiful in the dim light of the sunset and the diner. In the next moment there was a warm sensation in his stomach. It didn't feel good. Suddenly everything started spinning. The world slowly turning black as he felt the ground move towards him.

For Fred on the other hand the time moved so quickly. He didn't notice anything until Archie collapsed to the ground and the shooter run out the door.

"Archie!" Fred screamed while sitting down next to his son. Pop was already on the phone calling 911. Fred looked into his sons eyes. They were dark brown, glittering in the sunset and the diner light. He started to press his hands on the clutching wound in his stomach. Archies eyes squeezed shut in pain. "I'm so sorry, son! Stay with me! Help is coming!"

Pops came running with towels. Archies blood already leaked onto the floor. There was a small puddle there. The shot went right through his stomach - a little on his left side. The wound on his back, where the bullet left his body, was huge. The entry was rather small. Archie was still the whole time, didn't even wince once. Now that Pop started pressing the towels onto the wound Archie screamed for the first time. Fred was relieved in one way. He wasn't dead, yet.

After that Archie lost consciousness. The pain was unbearable. He only heard a siren far away. He knew he couldn't die now. Help was almost there but the pain was stronger. He couldn't stay awake.

Fred noticed his sons eyes were closing. He was scared, tried to keep him awake but Pop stopped him from shaking his son - that would just make it worse.

Only a few minutes later, the ambulance pulled up on the parking lot before the door.

Emergency doctors came running, pushing Fred and Pop away from the boy.

One quickly put a breathing mask over his face and hooked him up to the heart monitor while the other guy was trying to stop the bleeding - at least a bit.

The heart monitor was beeping quickly - his heart was pumping so much blood… he went into cardiac arrest.

The doctors reacted quickly and reanimated him. They worked fast to get him stabilized, one started an IV on Archie's left arm. The cast on the right hand was blood red. The put him on a stretcher and drove him into the ambulance and to the hospital.

"I'm gonna call FP to take you to the hospital. You're in no position to drive yourself." Pop said and walked to the telephone. Fred collapsed back onto a chair, staring into the big puddle of blood on the floor. "FP is coming. Fred come, we go outside." Pop took his arm and shoved him outside. Fred followed but you could see, his mind was blank - he was clearly in shock. Sure, he just saw his son get shot.

FP came as fast as he could. Pop didn't tell him exactly what had happened, just that Fred needed a ride to the hospital.
"You alright?" he asked, stepping out of his car. Fred was pale.
"Archie was shot. He's already taken to the hospital." Pop said. "Fred's in shock. He can't drive. Take him to the hospital. I'm calling the police and I need to clean up all the..."
FP didn't need to hear more. He knew what pop wanted to say. He just nodded and took Fred to the car and drove.
"It's gonna be alright.", FP just said.
The ride was quiet and quick. FP pulled up at the hospital parking lot. Before he could exit, Fred said: "He went into cardiac arrest. They had to revive him.."
FP was shocked. He didn't know what exactly happened or how bad it was but that sounded horrible. "Come on. We'll see how he is."
FP took Fred and walked into the hospital with him.
"Hi. This is Fred Andrews. He's in shock. His son just came in. Shooting wound. Archie Andrews." FP told a nurse at the reception.
"He is in emergency surgery right now. I can't tell you more. I'm sorry. I also don't have more information. But Mr. Andrews can come with my colleague here. She will take care of him."
Fred was taking into a room and FP stood there. He didn't really know what to do. It was overwhelming for him too. What had happened? Are they gonna be alright? Is Archie alive? Will he live? All those questions.
He went into the waiting room and called Jughead. Archie's friends need to know what happened.

They, Veronica, Betty and Jughead, came as soon as they were informed. It's been half an hour since FP was informed and it probably will be a long night because Archie was still in surgery and will still be for a while. But for now, everyone was in the waiting room. FP had told them what he knew. He also told them that it didn't look good for Archie.

About two hours later a nurse came into the waiting room. "Fred Andrews sent me to tell you guys to visit him. He's in room 302 for observation. You can all go to him." she told.
"Do you know more about Archie?"
"Only that he is still in surgery. The damage on his organs were severe. They already removed his appendix and right now they are trying to save his liver."
Betty and Ronnie hugged Jughead and started crying. Jug just stood there with a blank expression. A shot through the stomach can do a lot of damage. That Archie was still alive was a miracle, actually. He had read so much about all this. He needed it for a story he is writing on right now. He never thought some of that would ever get real. FP was next to them, also with a blank expression. He tried to be strong for the kids but he also was worried about Archie.