Chapter Seventeen

Betty

"Betty!" Jug shouts. I adjust my shirt and fix my hair as I walk over to him. Jughead is in a panic. I can her his breathing from feet away where I stand. He is leaned over, trying to pull something into the door. I realize then that it's a person. I lean down to the person, hunched over them to help him pull him in.

His face is dirty and bruised. There is blood on the side of his mouth and under his nose. His chest is gleaming with the red, shiny liquid. His body looks weak and horrified. There are tear tracks in the dirt on his face. His voice is so familiar I could fall asleep to it. He leans his head back into Jug's arms when he sees me.

"Betty," he mutters.

Archie. Oh god, Arch.

"Right here," I assure.

"What happened?" Juggie asks as we pull him into the trailer. Jughead gets under his back and grunts as he pulls him past the door. I stumble with Archie's legs as we set him on the couch. I close and lock the door behind him. Wherever he came from, I don't trust what is going on out there.

"How did this happen?" I demand, kneeling beside his face. His hand falls over the edge of the couch. I grab it, pulling it toward me and squeezing his hand. He grunts when I do this and then I realize, we have no idea how injured he really is.

"Jug, get the first aid kit, some water and some washcloths, please," I tell him. He nods and rushes to the other side of the trailer. I hold Archie in place as I look over his body.

"Where does it hurt?" I ask.

"My face," he says. I put my hand on his face and along his cheek bone and nose. Nothing is broken but the bruises have already started.

"My wrist." I see a large bruise on his wrist and feel it. I can move it all around so it's not broken but he shouts when I flex it so it might be sprained.

"My stomach," he says. I lift his shirt to reveal bruising there too but they're light and scattered, as if someone kicked him.

"And uh…my balls don't feel great," he admits.

I look in his eyes with a question. I can only check that if he lets me look at them. And to be honest, I really really don't want to see him naked. I would like to avoid that if at all possible. But if he is really hurt, someone needs to look at him.

"I think they're okay," he says in a voice so tired I am not sure how he is mustering up the energy to even speak. "But I'm not sure cause they kicked me."

"Who kicked you, Arch?" Jug asks as he turns the corner. He sets the stuff I asked for on the table beside me. I open the first aid kit and grab the washcloth. I douse it in water before trying to wipe his face off. when the dirt and blood are cleared, I can see the bruising around his eye and around his mouth.

"I don't know. There were these kids when I was walking around my neighborhood after the trial. They said they recognized me and that I shouldn't have killed that guy. They beat me up. I got in a couple of punches but there were five of them. They were older, I think. Twenties or something like that," he says.

"Any better description?" I ask.

"Yeah. One of them had black hair and was wearing a Halloween tee shirt. It had orange and black pumpkins on it. He was wearing Jeans. He had a butterfly tattoo on his upper arm," he says.

I have an idea. I look to Jug and raise my eyebrows. He doesn't get it. I know that. But that's okay. The Serpents will listen to me just the same.

"What about the others?" I ask.

"One of them was wearing a really long black vest and had curly hair. He had a nose ring," Archie says. "The others wore dark clothes but they didn't look any different."

He rests his head back on the pillow and breathes deeply. I put my hand against his hair. I grab a wrap from the first aid kit and his hand. I begin the wrap as I make the plan in my head. I am going to tell the others and they are going to take him down. Archie is already in pain. He doesn't need this.

Once his wrist is wrapped, I set it on his chest.

"Can you get some ice?" I ask Jug. He nods and runs off again. He comes back with ice so I put it on Archie's arm and prop it against the back of the sofa. He looks so tired.

"Thanks, Betty," he says.

"You're gonna be fine," I remind him.

He nods and bites his lower lip. Jug sits by his knees, watching our friend try to fight off the pain.

"They kicked me pretty bad, Jug," he admits.

"Want me to…?"

He shakes his head.

"Ice?" I ask.

Archie nods.

Jug grabs some more ice and gives it over to Archie. I sit on the floor, pushing his sweaty hair from his face and watching his eyes flicker and fade. He has felt too much for too long. He needs to relax.

"I'll call Veronica," Jug says, pulling out his phone.

"No! Please don't," Archie begs.

"What? Why?" I ask.

"Veronica is going to want to know, Arch," Jug says.

"I don't want to worry her anymore than I already have. The trial and everything…it's too much. She needs to relax. I'll be fine. Can I just stay here for the night? I mean, would you mind, Jug?" he asks.

Jughead looks to me. I shrug. Of course he can stay here.

"Dad's out with the others anyway," Jug says. "Sure. It's fine."

"I still think we should tell her," I admit.

Archie shakes his head, tears filling his eyes. I look to Jug with a scared expression. He looks frightened too. He sits back down beside Archie, putting his hand on his leg when I put my hand to the side of his face.

"You're okay now," I assure.

"Yeah, man. You fought off a bunch of jerks and made your way all the way here," Jug says. "You're dealing with a lot right now, man. Just get some sleep. You'll feel better."

Archie closes his eyes, letting his tears fall down his face. I grab my Serpent jacket from the hook and throw it on my shoulders as I walk past Jug.

"Uh…where the hell are you going?" he asks.

I put my black boots on, even with the dress that I wore to the trial. I look back to Jug, pulling my hair up into a ponytail where it belongs.

"To tell the rest of the serpents what they're doing tonight."

I don't catch the expression on Jug's face before I close the door behind me and leave. I run down the steps out into the tents and make shift homes that they have all created for themselves.

"Hey!" I shout.

No one responds or moves. Two serpents are out by the fire but the rest of them must be in their tents. I know they can hear me.

"Hey! Get the hell out here!" I shout.

Nothing.

I run to the red tent, knowing whose it is and open it. I see Deadeye and Toni wrapped up together. Their clothes are in a pile beside them as they kiss.

"Get the hell out here," I say.

I go to the next tent and the next before I have more than twenty serpents out of their tents and all looking to me.

"The next time Jughead or I call you out here, I need you to listen!" I shout. I let the anger I feel toward those bastards that beat up Archie fuel my next few words and the passion that comes behind them.

"We're out here now. What do you want?" Deadeye asks.

"I have a request for all of you. Who's up for some fighting?"

I get a few smiles out of that response.

"I want at least fifteen of you to find five men. They were around the end of Archie's neighborhood." I continue with the descriptions that Archie gave me. After I am finished, I look around at the angry Serpents that I have created. They are seething with rage, just as I am. Red headed Deadeye smirks to me.

"Can I shoot them?" she asks.

"Shoot to injure. Don't kill anyone," I request. "But beat them up and make sure they spread the word. Anyone that hurts Archie, has to go through us first. Got it?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Will you go with us, queen?" Sweet Pea asks with a smirk. I look back to the trailer and then to the rest of them. I can't just order them to beat these people the hell up and then not go with them when it happens.

"We have to be quick. An hour tops. We take the bikes. We find them. We beat them up and we come back here like nothing happened. Got it?" I demand.

"If you lead the charge," Toni says.

I nod in agreement, hoping Jughead isn't watching.

"Let's do this."