May 12th, 2018

It took the entire day to hobble the remainder of the Serpents to the high school, reinforce the doors, and triage the injured.

Luckily, the fire had been set near the single Serpents, and the family tents hadn't taken much fire, meaning that most of the wives and children were safe.

Of course, this meant that many people Jughead would consider as good as family had perished; either dead on the ground or MIA. On one of the whiteboards, they'd started a morbid list of the dead they knew.

Jughead's fingers had shaken as he'd written Jedi and Buzz's names. He'd barely gotten through writing the 'J' when Vade had collapsed into screams.

Their last words had been a fight; Jughead couldn't imagine the guilt the teen would carry around with him for the rest of time.

Toni hadn't even been able to write Sweet Pea's name, blubbering so much that Jughead had taken the chalk and scribbled it, a stomach gut-punch feeling growing inside him.

Sure, their numbers were better than the original morning would have indicated, but there were far too many who hadn't survived it.

Jughead did as he was told ; he hoped if he did what his father asked of him, if he stepped up to the plate, he could run to the Cooper's in the morning and collect Betty. He hadn't asked, so far, not when there was so much that was needed right now.

Eventually, his father had ordered him to sleep, and like the night previous, he'd been so exhausted that he slipped into slumber, despite the current state of things.

May 13th, 2018

When he woke, it was to the smell of pancakes and bacon.

Jughead stumbled into the cafeteria to find Darkon and Dipper had managed to break the locks on the storage, and were serving up as good of a breakfast as they could muster.

Exhausted, Jughead's tray clattered next to Toni, Cheryl, and Fangs'.

"Mornin'," Fangs said, chipper. Too chipper.

"What's your problem?" He groused.

"I'm alive, man!" Fangs gave a laugh of disbelief, "I'm freaking alive! Doesn't that make you giddy too?"

Jughead gnawed on his bacon, wishing he had an ounce of the positivity his friend had.

"Juggie."

Jughead turned to see his father with a clipboard, waiting.

"Hi, Dad." Jughead dragged his hand down his face. "What's the plan?"

"Load everything up into the busses; I think we can take four and we'll have enough. I want you to grab some other Serpents around your age and start collecting whatever might be helpful. Fangs; you'll be in charge of playing Tetris to fit in in busses. Toni-,"

"Wait," Jughead choked, "We're…leaving? Aren't we just waiting for the National Guard or something to fix this?"

"Jug, we gotta go find Mom and Jelly," FP said, eyebrows furrowing, "And time is of the essence if we have to drive-,"

"Wait, wait," Jugead got up, so abruptly that he knocked his cup over, coffee dripping onto the linoleum floor. "You're hauling everyone out to the middle of the desert?"

"We can't stay here, Riverdale is overrun. And I'm their leader. But Jellybean is-," FP's voice broke, "She's so young, Jughead. I can't imagine how scared she is right now. And maybe the West isn't as bad."

"We…we can't leave!" Jughead exploded, "What about Betty? And Archie?"

"Jug," FP patted his shoulder, sighing, "I know that you and Betty are close-,"

"Close?" Jughead echoed, eyes wide, "I love her dad!"

"Alright, yes, sure," FP agreed, but it was tinged with pity, "But your mother and sister need us."

"Then go find them," Jughead hissed, "And I'll stay here."

"Look, I may not have been the father of the year before," FP stood straight, "But you're only seventeen, and no way in hell am I letting you out of my sight; do you hear me, young man?" He demanded furiously.

"Fuck you, Dad!" Jughead stalked away, "I'm going to find Betty!"

"You will not!" FP's thundering voice quieted the cafeteria, "You are needed here, and then we're leaving! If anyone lets Jughead out of here; you'll answer to me!" FP added, addressing everyone.

Jughead wanted to scream, "She might be dead! Do you really want me to just …just walk away? Are you insane?"

"Jughead," FP quieted his voice, "I know she seems like the end of everything, but when you're my age-,"

"Save it," Jughead hissed, "I don't need your 'sage advice'. I'm not leaving Riverdale without Betty."

FP just gave a quiet sigh. "Toni? Can you come with me," He asked, turning away and ignoring his son, like Jughead was a toddler throwing a tantrum over a cookie.

"Of course, sir." Toni's eyes were as big as saucers.

"You're Red Cross certified, aren't you?"

"Yes," Toni stuttered, "But like…not…" She swallowed, "There have to be more people here with medical expertise."

"Well, the thing about medics is that they try to save who they can," FP replied with a sad smile, "And none that I know made it out. So."

"Oh…" Toni whispered, "Right, okay."

"Jug?" FP turned, exhausted, "With me."

His tone was sharp enough to cut glass. Though all Jughead wanted to do was go and break the window and crawl out, the only thing stopping him was the idea of Jellybean.

He couldn't just leave her out there, never knowing what happened to her.

I'm so, so, so sorry, Betty…

He would never have enough apologies for her when he saw Betty again.

Defeated, he grabbed his remaining pancake and followed his father, Toni, and Cheryl to the makeshift infirmary.

"What can you do?" FP asked, "For any of them?"

Toni looked at the board, filled with red to indicate the worst of the triage , "I don't know if there's much, sir," She whispered , " I think… I think they need a real doctor."

"We're fresh out, so…do what's possible." FP patted her shoulder comfortingly , "Anything you do, we'd be so grateful. And Jughead, I guess you're my shadow today."

Jughead bit the inside of his cheeks, "Whatever," He muttered.

But he was genuinely frightened his father would put him on a leash or lock him in in a closet to keep him from running off, so he stuck close to FP. Even though every bone in his body was telling him to run away, he just whispered Jelly's name over and over and over.

One day, he told himself, the thought of Betty far away from him wouldn't ache at all .

XXX

The entire group of Serpents was put to action to find helpful items and move them into the gleaming, obnoxiously yellow school buses at the back lot.

Time slipped by quickly.

By the time Toni came, carrying a kid in her arms, the parents worriedly trailing, Jughead knew from her expression it was bad news.

"She needs to go to a real hospital or else she will die," Toni said seriously, "As well as half the people in there, FP."

"I know, Toni," FP replied, sighing, "I do."

"Let us go, sir," Cheryl said , " I have my truck; it can mow down any of those infernal demons. We'll go the hospital and see if we can bring someone back."

"No," Jughead whispered, horrified at the suggestion, "We all need to stick together! You can't…you can't go!"

"She will die if we do nothing," Toni said firmly.

"She might day anyway if you go! You don't know what's out there!"

"We gotta try," Toni said, shooting a worried shrug to Jughead , " Please, FP, I can't watch her die."

FP's jaw was set into a thin, angry line , "Fine," He relented , "Be quick. Come back as soon as you can."

"But-," Jughead choked, "Dad!"

"It's a kid, Juggie," His dad said gently, "Speaking of which, we need to go get the kids settled in a place on the buses. I want us gone by sun-down. You have until then to come find us."

"Right, sir," Toni agreed, saluting. She turned, almost walking away. At the last second, she pressed the child into the parent's arms and engulfed Jughead in the warmest, best hug she'd ever given.

"I could never leave Cheryl," She whispered , " So, well, do with that what you will."

"Aren't you supposed to be telling me not to do something dumb?" Jughead laughed.

"Naw, I'm a Serpent. I think that's against my moral code," She said with a grin, "Betty wouldn't leave without you either. She's somewhere; I just feel it."

He watched them hurry away.

"They'll be back," FP said, sure of it, "They're smart and they know where we're going."

Jughead was thinking of Toni's words.

"Dad?" He tilted his head, "If you just please, please let me go to Betty's house, just to check, I promise that I'll never bring it up again. But you have to let me check. You can't let me not." He whispered.

FP brought his son into a hug, "I know, Jug."

"So…is that a…yes?"

"I'm going with you," He said , " I'd also never forgive myself if we didn't try. But we have to go quick; I meant it when I said we needed to leave by sundown."

Elation and relief filled Jughead's bones; he was going to get his girl!

A serpent had managed to snag a motorcycle. FP found some old radios in the AV room.

"We'll be back soon," He insisted, "But radio me at the sign of any trouble. Any at all."

So, they went off.

The streets looked like the next iteration of the Saw movies; like someone was shooting the goriest cinema piece to date.

Except, horrifyingly, it was all real.

As they turned onto Betty's street, Jughead's heart dropped at the sheer devastation of it all; kids' bikes were left in the middle of the road, the wind still spinning the spokes. Toys were dropped, along with suitcase contents, like people had taken whatever they could and just run. A few bodies were dropped like dead flies, some startlingly human and some - even worse - not at all, seemingly.

They passed a car that had once been on fire , but now was just a smoldering pile of metal.

Inside was a whole family, frozen in ash ; two parents in the front , kids in the back.

Burned to a crisp.

"Jesus," FP swore. Jughead had to imagine that his father, as a gang member, had seen all types of nasty before, but from the pale tint to his face, this one seemed to take the cake.

"It was Betty's next-door neighbors," Jughead mumbled, "The kids were under twelve years old." He remembered seeing them outdoors all the time, running around with their dog. Did they do this to themselves, or did someone run through, and set their car aflame?

Revulsion furrowed deep in his stomach as they carefully toed around the car, towards Betty's house.

The white picket fence in the front was smashed to bits, and the ground was upturned. But the front door was still locked, which gave Jughead hope.

"Betty?" He rang the doorbell, pounding the button, "Betty?" He hit the door with his palm.

"Alice?" FP called, sulking around the building, pressing his face to the windows, "I don't see anyone in here, Jug."

"Betty!" Jughead slammed his fists on the door, "I'm…I'm comin' in!"

He wound up and took a running slam into the door, pressing with all his might.

It broke beneath his weight.

"Betty?" His voice was a scarce whisper now, afraid of what he may find now that he was inside.

The house was turned upside down.

"Someone left in a hurry," FP whistles, stepping over a shattered vase on the ground. Drawers were opened and left hanging, pieces of furniture were thrown to the side, and the space where the suitcases lived underneath the stairs was empty.

The only thing that greeted them was silence.

"They took the knives," FP said, nodding in relief, as they turned to find a kitchen devoid of pointy objects, "She must have left with her Mom, kid."

"But…" Jughead swallowed hard, "She…she wouldn't…" The idea that Betty wouldn't even try to find him…no, he simply didn't believe it! They loved each other, and had been through far worse than the end of the world!

"Alice is firm when she needs to be," FP said, sucking in air through his teeth, "And she has young nieces and nephews she may have wanted to protect."

Jughead felt guilty for never even considering Juniper or Dagwood.

"Maybe," He shoved his hands in his pockets, standing in the destroyed Cooper residence.

They shuffled around a bit. FP opened the fridge and started pawing around.

" Really, Dad?" Jughead scrunched his nose.

"Power's out. Won't be long 'till it's bad. I'll pay Alice back when I see her next," He said, taking out some deli meat and cheeses, "Search for bread, Jug. We might as well eat."

Jughead shuffled through the kitchen, kicking away broken glass to open their bread drawer.

"Sourdough or rye?"

They ate in silence on the couch, staring out the window at the world burning around them.

"I really thought I'd find her here…" Jughead gave a long, disappointed sigh, "But I suppose I can't be angry she's with her family."

Just sadness.

As they started their return, something caught FP's eye. Jughead turned just in time to see him snatching something from the back of the door.

"What's that?" Jughead asked.

"Nothin'."

"Dad-," Jughead lunged for the paper and grasped an end of it. It sounded as loud as a gunshot as the paper tore between their hands.

He saw the end of it ' Grandma Smith '.

"Dad, give me it!"

"Jughead…" FP gave a long sigh , "You gotta promise not to freak out."

He showed Jughead the other half of the message. Jughead immediately recognized Alice Cooper's spindly handwriting.

Betty, love, come find me. I'm going to-

He looked back at the paper in his fingers.

Betty, love, come find me. I'm going to Grandma Smith's.

Something snapped within him.

Betty wasn't with her mom ; Alice didn't know where her daughter was. Which meant that Betty could be lost somewhere, hurt, or dead.

He felt the pieces of the paper flutter out of his fingers, falling on the ground. Wordlessly, Jughead went and found something heavy on the Cooper's mantlepiece and with all his might, screamed and threw it at the window.

"No, no, no!"

He found another item; a collectible ceramic of sorts that was ugly as could be anyway and threw it at the next window.

And the next, and next, and next.

"Jughead, you gotta calm down."

"Calm! Down?" Jughead demanded, "You read the note, Dad! I gotta-,"

"Come home with me, we agreed," FP said firmly.

"But-,"

Just as he had begun to argue, there was an unholy groan from just outside the door. FP and Jughead both froze, eyes wide, as one of those…demons stumbled into the house.

As soon as it saw the people, its eyes went wild and it slumbered toward them.

"Fuck; kill it!" Jughead yelled, jumping up on their couches. He pulled out his pocket knife, dreadfully small for the task, waving it around in panic.

"Oh, screw you!" FP groaned, as though frustrated at these things, and snatched a piece of a broken vase from the ground, kicking the demon to the ground and driving it deep into its skull, "Ew." FP shuddered, wiping his hands over the nice white sofa in the living room, "Kid, that's our cue to go."

Jughead was shaking; he didn't know how his dad could be so cavalier about all of this. He let his dad lead him out by the elbow. Just as they were getting back on the motorcycle, his dad paused.

"Shh, hear that?" FP asked.

Jughead strained and, in the background, in the silence, was a faint scream for help.

"Archie?" Jughead asked, taking off and running toward the house next to Betty's.

The front door was unlocked.

"Arch!" Jughead yelled, stumbling into the living room, cupping his hands and screaming.

"In here!"

FP and Jughead thundered into the garage. The back of the garage was blown out, the structure collapsed on top of a vehicle. One of the demons lay unmoving on the back of the car, head split open.

"Help, help, I'm stuck!"

Jughead felt disappointment curl in his stomach, replaced by some sense of relief when he realized it was Mr. Andrews and not Archie. But at least the man who had always acted like a secondary father figure to him had made it out.

Somewhat.

"Fred, oh, man," FP wiped his eyes, jerking open the door of the car, " I'm so glad to see you."

"FP, oh, thank God," Fred relaxed into the seat, his voice strained and hoarse, "I've been yelling for hours!"

"What's the problem?" FP asked, standing back and scowling, "What happened?"

"I don't know what's going on, FP," Fred inhaled hard, "But I was trying to get to Archie. But one of those…things just came out of nowhere! I thought I was in reverse but I wasn't and I slammed into the back of the garage; the structure collapsed and I've been trapped. I managed to kill it with a tire iron, but…" He swallowed, "What's happening?"

"I wish we knew, Fred," FP gave a long sigh .

"Molly always was badgering me to build a new garage. Said she could hear this one swaying with the win d," He gave a dark laugh , " I guess she can tell me 'I told you so' when I see her again."

"Did you see Betty at all?" Jughead pressed, "We can't find her."

"I'm sorry, I didn't even see Alice," Fred said, "I heard their car leave, but…" He trailed off, "She didn't hear me. Do you know if Archie is alright?" He asked, grasping FP's hand.

"We've had enough to deal with here," FP groaned, "But you know what? Archie is locked up; it's probably the safest place for him in all of Riverdale right now."

Fred didn't seem entirely convinced, "Sure, of course."

FP got on his knees, sucking in hard, "It doesn't look good, old friend," He said, "It's crushing your legs. I can't be sure if I don't take this off you don't just…bleed out."

"I can't stay here. I gotta try to find Archie."

FP stood, "Okay," He agreed with a firm nod, "Jughead, c'mon, help me move this. It's probably going to hurt a whole ton, Fred."

"I'm already in pain, F P," Fred gave a weak laugh , "Can't be worse."

"Ready, kid? Lift!" FP yelled. Jughead used his shoulders to levy himself and shoved against the collapsed beam as hard as he could . As it budged, Fred let out a scream , unlike anything Jughead had ever heard.

"Now what?" Jughead asked, realizing that this got them no closer. They needed a fourth person.

"I got it, just for a few seconds," FP growled, sweat beading, "Grab him when I say, and be quick about it! It's gonna hurt like a mother fucker, but do not stop until he's out of the car." He looked at his oldest friend, "You ready, Fred?"

Fred looked ready to pass out but managed a weak thumbs up.

"Okay…one…two…go, grab him!"

Jughead darted from where he was, grabbed Fred underneath his armpits, and tugged. He kept pulling, even when Fred swore with more colorful language than Jughead had ever heard, even when blood dripped down the seat of his car, and even when he begged for a quick end.

"Oh, man…" Jughead swallowed, "Mr. Andrews…it doesn't look great."

Both his legs were broken, undeniably. One was turned entirely the wrong way and one had the bone sticking out of it.

"Ah, it's just a flesh wound," FP joked, coming to sit next to Fred, "We've had worse, eh?"

"Archie…" Mr. Andrews groaned, trying to claw, toward the closed garage door, "I need to get to the prison."

"Woah, not like that. Let's tie off your legs," FP said, easily stopping him by pushing down on his shoulders.

"FP, you have to take me there," Fred begged, grasping his shirt, "I need to go to Archie."

"Of course," FP said quietly, using his teeth to rip a nearby rag into thin strips, "Of course, we'll go look."

"Oh, but not for Betty?" Jughead gave a furious hiss under his breath, one that his dad responded to with a furious scowl. One that seemed to say, 'Hey, Fred might die. You really think I'm gonna say no?'

They couldn't take Fred on the motorcycle, once FP tied a tourniquet around his legs. It was impossible to tell what other injuries he had, if any, but no one wanted to ask that question.

And Fred's car was not in great shape, after being crushed, the hood caved in by a pillar.

"The neighbors…five doors down…" Fred gave a weak wave, "They have a truck too…see?"

It was sitting abandoned in the driveway. FP patted his shoulder, giving him a wink.

"And you told me learning how to hotwire a car wouldn't ever come in handy," He teased, "Jug, help me get him into the car."

FP was able to get it moving in record time. Jughead sat in the trunk bed with the motorcycle, holding it steady.

And then, they drove into town.

It already felt…empty. Other than a few demons shuffling around, there wasn't any indication that anyone else alive was here.

Jughead had to look at the face of every person, just in case it was Betty. The idea made him sick to his stomach, but it would be worse to drive past her and never know, his eyes closed to the terrors.

"I think you ought to stay in the car," FP sighed, turning to his friend.

"What'll I do if any one of those things comes at me?" Fred shook his head, "Naw, it's my son. Help me in there."

Helplessly shrugging, FP scooped Fred up, helping him loop an arm around him.

"What?" FP asked when Fred chuckled, "You can't walk. Besides, are we best friends if I can't bridal carry you to find your criminal kid?"

Fred quirked a smile.

"Jug, go first. Keep your knife out."

Slowly, they pushed open the door of the police station. The lights flickered ominously.

Jughead heard…voices.

He ran into the main lobby, knife raised, ready to kill a few demons but came face to face with - "Oh, man, it's me! I'm still…alive, or whatever!"

"Moose?" Jughead asked, confused, tilting his head.

"Jughead?" Moose's eyes were wide, "Hey there!" He took Jughead into a huge hug, something that made him uneasy.

"Off, of f -, " Jughead tried to struggle away , " I didn't know you were a…hugger."

"I wasn't…well, I mean…things change you," Moose laughed, wiping his eyes.

"Who's here?"

"Ginger?" Jughead asked, "What is this, a Riverdale reunion?"

FP and Fred crashed in moments after .

"Archie?" Fred called weakly, "Is Archie here? Is he with you?" He demanded.

Moose gave a long sigh, "Sorry, Mr. Andrews. Archie isn't here."

Fred just seemed to collapse in on himself, staring at him, "What?"

"Yeah…we got here and all the cells were opened," Ginger said, coming beside Moose.

"Maybe he escaped," FP offered gently, "He's a strong kid."

"I need to see it," Fred demanded, "I need to see it myself."

"It's sort of gory back here…" Moose winced, "We had hoped to find some weapons, but most of it was cleaned out…."

They turned the corner and Jughead almost tripped over Kevin. The boy was sitting on the floor, behind the counter, a body pulled into his lap. Jughead knelt and saw Keller's badge still gleaming on the body without a head. The sheriff's inside was torn open, and it was more of a husk than anything else, but…

"Awe, man…" Jughead whispered, feeling terrible for Kevin, "You okay?"

Kevin looked up at Jughead, eyes wet with tears, but didn't say a word .

"He hasn't said anything since we found his dad," Moose gave a long, tired sigh , " It's been rough out here."

"I'll say," Tina muttered, spinning on a wheely chair, a knife between her fingers, blood splattered on her cheeks, "I ruined so many of my nails due to those things !"

Of all the people to survive, Tina and Ginger were not two of Jughead's frontrunners. If they got out of this alive, but Betty hadn't…well, Jughead would be sure God hated him.

There was another boy with them, someone Jughead only faintly recognized.

"You…you worked at the drive-in, didn't you?" He asked, "You're from Greendale."

"Ben," He responded despondent, "Hi, Jughead."

"We had Reggie with us too, but…" Moose's expression was tight, "Well."

"Ah…" Jughead nodded. He didn't need to spell it out.

Jughead found his dad and FP in the jail cells, where they were all open.

"It's good, man," FP was insisting , "He ran."

Jughead paced into the cell that had been Archie's; he knew because there was ginger hair on the pillow and a part of a shoe-lace on the floor.

Something glimmering caught his eye.

"It's one of Veronica's earrings," Jughead announced, "Probably worth like a thousand dollars." He chuckled.

"He's probably with Veronica, see!" FP patted Fred's shoulder, "I know he and Hiram don't get along, but I can't imagine in the apocalypse Hiram would be that cruel…" He met Jughead's expression, "And he's probably with Betty too; maybe Betty went to see Veronica that night."

That was believable, "Yeah. Maybe."

"You know…I saw Hiram driving a van like a man-man yesterday, out of town," Ben said, "When I was coming in. It for sure had enough room for a few people."

"There you go," FP said, "We have to believe they're safe, Fred."

"No…" Fred shook his head, "I have to find him-,"

"With what legs, man?" FP asked gently, "And you know Hiram has a thousand houses, they could be anywhere! I know that Archie is your son, and I get it, but you understand I gotta find Jellybean and Gladys."

"Then leave me!" Fred snapped.

"And let you die? I can't do that," FP sighed , " Look, we find Jellybean and then we go and find Archie. I promise. It won't take long to get to Arizona anyway, maybe just two days of driving non-stop . And by then, it'll probably all blow over…"

"I don't want Archie to think I would just leave him," Fred shook his head .

"He would never," Jughead jumped in, "He would know you wouldn't unless you had no choice. And, I'm not sure you do…" Fred could scarcely crawl, let alone drive or make his way himself.

FP leaned against the door frame, surveying the teens, "You all coming too?"

"Uhm, yes!" Tina jumped up , "What?" She asked when Ginger made a choking sound , "They're gang members. They're like …pre-cooked to be good at this apocalypse thing or whatever."

FP let out a snort. But, Jughead didn't think she was wrong.

"Yeah, whatever," Moose shrugged, "I'm really tired of making all the decisions."

Ben nodded and finally Ginger relented.

FP crouched down next to Kevin.

"Hey, kid, you can't stay here," He said gently.

"He's dead, FP," Kevin whispered, staring up, "He's…he's dead."

"I know, I know…" FP whispered comfortingly, "But you can't stay here with him. You don't want to die either, do you?"

Kevin swallowed hard, wiping his eyes, "How do I say goodbye?" He asked.

"I don't know. If I figure it out, I'll let you know. Or maybe you'll let me know?" FP said, offering a hand. Kevin stared down at his dad, shaking his head.

"Please, Kevin?" Jughead whispered, "C'mon, I mean, you can't…stay."

Kevin very slowly stood up. FP reached down and unhooked the sheriff's badge. "Here," He said, pressing it into Kevin's fingers, "To remember him."

Then, all the kids and whatever weapons were left were loaded into the car.

Just as they got on the road, the static crackled on FP's radio.

"We had to head out, boss. A whole hoard of those things came after us!"

"Roger that; everyone make it out alright?" FP asked. Jughead craned in his head near the window at the hood to listen.

"A few lost, but mostly unscathed."

"Meet near the old trailer park; we'll take count there tonight."

"Got it. See you soon, FP."

And they drove back, and all Jughead could wonder was who else he'd have to say goodbye to.

The worst thing about it…he was starting to get good at it.