Chapter Twelve : Warning Shot

Veronica glanced back at the road behind her. The yellow lines on the road blurred into one straight line as she raced forward. She was out of the main town now, and she knew she needed to get to Betty.

Looking back at the road in front of her, she leaned into the seat she was in.

She had been stupid, no- she'd been a damn fool.

Betty was suffering, and Veronica knew she had something to do with it. She pressed her foot on the pedal harder, and the truck raced forward with a soothing growl.

She hadn't planned on stopping, but when something caught her eye she slowed the car down and parked it on the side of the road. Clipped to the passenger seat, was a folded white note. Veronica picked it up, the low beeping of the car making her skin crawl. She didn't know much about cars, but that didn't sound right.

Unfolding the note, she looked at the words with narrowed eyes. She really had to get going.

Somebody will end up dead in the river. Tell Betty and Jughead my deal stands, they can make a choice and only one of them dies, or I'll kill one in front of the other, to let them suffer as I did.

They have three hours after the bomb goes off before I'll take matters in my own hands. Tell them to send the person they have chosen to where Betty sent me to die.

-Chic

Veronica put the note down, hands shaking. The color in her face drained and her heart sank. The note made hardly any sense to her, but the meaning was thickly obvious.

Jughead or Betty were going to have to die.

Then alarm flashed through her as she thought of the note again. Three hours afters after the bomb goes off? What bomb?

Hands going back to the steering wheel, Veronica started the car and raced off, ignoring the speed limit altogether. This was a matter between life and death. A matter more important than anything she had ever faced- which was saying a lot. Veronica had to warn Betty of the bomb.

The car rumbled, the low beeping quickening ever so slightly. Veronica felt her nose flare with annoyance, Archie had to fix his car. How could he drive with that beeping? She pressed down on the petal more, letting the car charge at full speed forward.

In less than ten minutes, Veronica slowed down so she could drive through the trailer park without making too much sound. She parked in front of Jughead's trailer and turned the car off.

Annoyance flashed through her when the beeping didn't stop. Checking to make sure the car was off, she looked under the dashboard. Her heart lurched at what she saw. Strapped under the dashboard was a bomb, and Veronica could count how much seconds she had left on one hand.

Jughead rubbed Betty's shoulders slightly. She was wrapped in a blanket and leaning against him as she numbly stared at the wall. For once, he could see her agony. The overtaking trauma that she had suffered through over the past few weeks.

And it scared him.

Betty had been through so much, over the past two years but he had never seen her like this. Her father had almost murdered her and her mother, she almost had to bury her best friend, she lived with somebody who she thought was her brother but was really a murderer. All of this and she had finally broken down.

He didn't blame her.

"Jug?" Betty's voice was frail, still shaking slightly from what had happened and then having to talk about it.

"Yeah?" Jughead whispered and draped his arms around her in a warm hug. He knew it was going to be his job to help her put the pieces back together.

Betty was silent for a moment, but Jughead didn't push her. She could have as much time as she needed. "Is Archie coming over?" confusion was wrapped around her words.

"No," he answered, surprised.

"There is a truck outside," She spoke without much emotion, but he could her eyes flickering with doubt and confusion. He glanced out the window and he heart leaped with hope. It was Veronica in Fred's truck.

When Veronica ducked down before leaping up with sheer horror, Jughead felt time slow down.

"Bomb!" Veronica screamed.

Jughead leaped off of the couch and picked Betty up, her eyes widened at Veronica's scream and he felt her take a sharp breath. "Veronica! Jughead save her!" She wailed but Jughead placed Betty on the ground and covered her ears.

"Get down!"

The explosion was deafening. The trailer shook at the blast then he heard somebody scream. He wasn't sure who, though. It could have been Betty, Veronica, a neighbor, or even him.

Then everything was silent, besides the low hum in Jughead's ears. After a second of silence, the hum changed into more of ringing and he grabbed Betty's face in his, getting her to look at him. Her eyes were numb with shock and tears trailed down her face. Jughead pulled her close to him, and she rested her head on his chest as she sobbed.

Once the ringing stopped, Jughead saw Betty quickly pull away from him. Her wide green eyes glistened with horror. "Veronica…" she whispered and leaped up. Jughead stood up as well, grabbing onto her arm. She couldn't go out there- not if Veronica was… hurt.

Instead of staying with Jughead, Betty wrenched her arm away from him and looked at with anger and panic. "Jughead, I'm going out there," Her voice caught on the last words and she brushed away tears. "Veronica could be dead!"

With that, she swung the trailer door open and raced outside. Jughead ran after her, grabbing his knife that lay on the counter. In case Chic was out there.

As Betty ran towards the car, she felt dizziness flood her at the sight. The car was beyond repair, and parts lay scattered around. Her gaze searched for Veronica and when she saw blood her heart sank further.

Ears still ringing she glanced over her shoulder at Jughead, who stood on the porch of the trailer. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, clearing her teary vision before turning back to the rubble.

"Veronica!" she yelled, numbly walking to the broken car.

She couldn't see Veronica, but a trail of blood led Betty behind a trailer. There, Veronica was covering her ears as she shook. Betty rushed over, heart pounding.

"Ronnie," Betty whispered and dropped to her knees beside her friend.

Veronica looked up slightly at Betty, and a small smile flickered to her face. Her lip was bleeding and there was a shard of metal stuck in her side. The young woman was cradling the wound, the blood covering her hands and dripping down her sides and legs.

Betty rushed over to her friend, voice hitching at the sight. "Jughead!" Betty screamed and heard her footsteps race over. Turning back to Veronica, she brushed hair from Veronica's eyes. "V, you're okay…" she whispered.

When a hand tapped Betty's shoulder she bit her tongue to suppress a scream of surprise. "Sorry," Jughead whispered and Betty heard him dial a number. Betty felt her stomach twist when Veronica's hand rested on Betty's arm.

"I'm so sorry…" Veronica croaked, and Betty offered a weak smile and shook her head.

"No- don't be. I forgive you… please just live…"

"An ambulance is on their way," Jughead murmured and Betty nodded numbly. "Veronica, keep your eyes open."

Betty felt her stomach twist and her throat closed up. Tears welled in her eyes as she glanced down at the gash in her friend's side.

"Elizabeth, can you open your eyes for me?" A doctor murmured and Betty let out a weak moan. She kept her eyes shut though, it was too much of a struggle to do anything. Even breathing felt hard to do.

"She goes by Betty," Betty felt admiration flicker inside her at her mother's voice.

"Alright, Betty… can you open your eyes?"

Betty felt her heart race, pain tightening around her heart like a vine. Her head began to burn, feeling as if it was being crushed under the weight of everything. From then on, the pain started making its way down her veins. It burned her heart, then her ribs and lungs.

Betty let herself fall away, into the darkness. That's when the pain started to fade, and she invited it.

"You okay?" Jughead whispered to Betty and she nodded. She felt relieved that her memory hadn't caused a scene.

"I think so, will the ambulance be here soon?" she asked and felt a calming emotion flow through her. If anything, the flashback had made things almost… better. Betty felt- if anything- stronger now. What had happened had been horrible, but if she couldn't move on, then what was the point in having survived at all?

Veronica blinked slowly and looked up as ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. "Oh, Betty…" she started and looked down to her hand. Betty followed her gaze. In Veronica's tightly gripped hand was a scrap of paper. A note. She took it from Veronica's hand and opened it, reading the note.

Her heart stopped slightly at the words and Jughead took it from her hands, reading it before swallowing hard and swearing under his breath.

"I'm going to end him," and Betty wasn't sure who had said it, herself or Jughead. All she knew was that it was true and it was what was going to happen. Betty had to give herself up without Jughead knowing. It was her or him.

And she was going to save Jughead this time.

Archie sat down on the hospital bed beside Veronica. Her side was bandaged up greatly and she was looking at the wall with a conflicted expression.

"Arch?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over at her. Veronica narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Archie. "Do you know what was on that note?"

"No, why?"

"I almost died today," She started bluntly and Archie sucked in a breath. "The note said that Betty or Jughead will die. How long has it been since the explosion?"

"About two hours, the doctors said you healed well. Why?" The young man was barely able to keep himself from shooting Chic himself. First Betty and now Veronica? He was asking for a death threat.

Archie looked over at Veronica, whose face had gone pale. "Oh my god," she whispered weakly. "You need to go. Get to them before… oh my god…" panic flooded her gaze. "They're going to sacrifice themselves. Go save them."

The young man nodded quickly and kissed Veronica quickly. "I'll do it. Stay safe,"

Veronica offered a weak smile, too tense and stressed out to find his humor amusing.

Archie pushed open the door and shut the door before getting his phone out. One text message, from Betty.

Betty: At least I can say goodbye officially now. Don't let anyone stop living their lives just because I'm gone.

The young man felt his stomach twist and he raced out to his car. Archie had to save Betty and Jughead from being so damn selfless.

A/N: That was a long wait ^^

There should be one more chapter left in this book. There will be a book two, a Bughead mystery. While both books will not be directly connected, there will be pieces that only make sense if you have read this book. It'd be greatly appreciated if you would check that book out once it comes out. Thank you for reading and all the reviews!

I will post the next chapter of this book after six reviews.