May 12, 2018
It was as though someone went and hit 'mute', for it was so silent afterward that Veronica could have sworn she was dreaming. It was only when Joaquin started backing away from the entrance door, shaking and almost crying, and whispered, "They're here," that Veronica heard a noise.
Someone grunted and dragged themselves around outside. It sounded like someone was eating something. It was a terrible sound; sloppy, gnashing, squishy. The sort of sound of a group of high school students chowing down on sloppy joe's in the lunchroom, but there was something eerie about this, something that told Veronica something's not right.
"What's here?" Hal demanded, his voice now echoing off the empty space that surrounded them.
"Shhh!" Joaquin spun and shushed him so violently that it shut everyone up, "I don't…know…" He admitted, rubbing his arms, "Things. Evil. Demons. I don't know what they are."
Veronica held in a snort. Riverdale was always at the center of some weirdness, and she was sure this was no different. Usually, it was far less scary than it was made out to be.
"I'm going to check," She announced, rolling her eyes, despite her gut feeling.
As she said; it was always something incredibly stupid. Her gut feeling had been wrong hundreds of times.
"You are not!" Archie hissed, reaching out for her to try to stop her. Veronica shot him a loving glance.
"I'll be fine," She said with a soft smile.
"If she wants to check…" Joaquin motioned with a wave, "Then she'll see I'm not crazy. Or on drugs." He said with a flare of his nostrils. While Veronica didn't think he was on drugs, 'crazy' was just about relative. She did think she'd find something, but she thought it was unlikely she'd corroborate Joaquin's tall tales.
She carefully tip-toed to the front of the police station, the strange noises growing louder with each step forward. She covered her mouth and nose with her own hand to keep the sounds to a minimum - a gut reaction from having so many instances of needing to stay quiet- and peered curiously.
Veronica nearly threw herself behind the wall in terror.
She sunk down to sit, biting the flesh of her hand to keep from screaming. Her legs would not move, no matter how much she tried to urge them to crawl, crawl, crawl back to safety. An eek of a scream slipped out, like air escaping a balloon, and she screwed her eyes shut, feeling a terror unlike anything else she'd ever felt.
It had only been a mere glimpse, but that image would haunt her for all time. She would close her eyes and remember the first moment where she truly understood the danger they were all in, where yes, her world did change, even if she could not make heads or tails of what she saw.
Here's what Veronica saw; Tom Keller was eviscerated on the floor, his guts spilled out and his blood leaking out around him. There were people that seemed to be tearing, eating, his flesh away, wholly interested in this meal. The utter gore of it was straight out of a slasher film, but a great one with a high special effect budget that made you walk out of the theater feeling squeamish.
But this wasn't a movie.
This was real life and Sheriff Keller's blood puddled and spread to the point that her hands could almost touch it.
Tom Keller was dead, or god, she hoped he was. If he was alive, she couldn't imagine the pain he was in.
She crawled back to the jail cells slowly, dragging her legs more or less behind her, every audible inhale or whimper she produced sending a jolt of fear through her that whatever those things were would hear her and she'd be next.
She pulled herself to walk through the doors where the trio waited to hear back from her, but as soon as she was safe, she turned and shut the door behind them and locked it with every lock that she could.
"What did you find?" Joaquin asked, but hell, he already knew, didn't he? Is this what he'd seen? How was he still talking, not balled in his bedroom and crying? Had it been someone he knew? Someone he loved?
"They were…eating him…." Veronica managed to stutter out, knowing she was seconds away from breaking down completely.
"What?" Archie shook his head, "What do you mean by 'eat'? Cannibals in Riverdale?"
"It was more than that!" Veronica insisted, "Joaquin's right! It was…unholy. Deranged. They weren't right!" She felt bile rise up her throat as she recalled the sounds they'd made as they snacked on Tom's innards.
Joaquin found her a bucket and she barfed up the espresso she'd had this morning, hiccuping quietly to keep herself from full-out crying. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go to bed.
She wanted Archie and her mother and even her father.
"Bath salts?" Hal offered, his expression one she knew well. She saw it on Betty often, whenever she was taking on a problem that needed solving. It was nearly uncanny.
"No, maybe, I don't know," Veronica threw her hands up, wiping the back of her lips. Why did she suddenly have answers? She had none. "They wouldn't listen to reason, whatever the case. I don't want to try it, you know. And Tom is for sure…" She forced the words out, "Dead. He can't help us."
"Well, Jug will be here soon. Probably with FP or Alice or Betty. Someone will know what to do," Archie said, looking around, hoping for someone to agree with him.
"Get us out," Hal said, "I'm not going to wait here to die by some junkie who thinks I'm a prime rib!"
"His keys…" Veronica stuttered, "I'm not going out there. I can't, I won't!" She pushed herself away from the locked door. She hated how cowardly she was being right now.
"Do you have a bobby pin?" Joaquin asked, looking cautiously at Hal.
"Don't let him out! He's a serial killer, haven't you seen the news!" Archie spat in his direction.
"Then you want me on your side! I have no qualms with killing a few idiots if they come knocking," Hal reasoned, "I'm much more useful to you out there than in here."
"Are you going to kill us?" Veronica asked, wiping away her tears. She had to be strong right now.
He tilted his head, then paused, "No. If that kid unlocks me, I'm in his debt. And you two…Betty would never forgive me," He said simply.
"Like you care about Betty at all," Archie snarled.
"I do, whether or not you choose to believe it. I always have." Hal looked almost amused by his protectiveness.
Veronica stared him down, then her expression twitched, "Get Archie out first. Then him."
"What, babe, you can't be serious!" Archie's face was red with anger, "He shot my father! He deserves what's coming to him!"
"And we're three teenagers with nothing!" Veronica lowered her voice, very aware and afraid that they would hear noise back here and be summoned, whatever they were, "I don't want to die today, Archie Andrews and I suspect that neither do you."
Joaquin looked between them. Not waiting for Archie's choice, but not quite deferring his command to Veronica either. He just looked scared. Like a scared little boy too far in over his head. To think he'd been complicit in many ways in Jason's murder, and she'd thought he was so different than everyone else. But here he was, looking like he was two seconds from shitting his pants or wailing for his parents.
"Fine," Archie spat out, interrupting Veronica's assessment of Joaquin, "But only because I have a moral compass," He said as a slight toward Hal, "And I'd feel shitty if we left him in here to die. Like you said; Betty would never forgive me. Even if she's mad at you."
"Joaquin, well you-,"
The things began banging on the door, cutting Veronica off. She inhaled sharply, taking four automatic steps back. Archie's eyes grew wide and Joaquin dropped the hairpin.
"Shh…shh…" Veronica said, making a lowering motion with her hands, "Whisper; be quieter," She said, her words scarcely audible.
Hal just laughed, "You'd better work quickly. Seems as though time is not on our side anymore."
Veronica shot him a furious glare. She knew it was embarrassing to defer to a teenager, but seriously?
"You can open 'em quick, right?" Archie said in a quiet, now frantic tone, as though realizing that death could be seconds away for all of them. Even if they got Archie and Hal out, Veronica wasn't sure what was next, but it was better to have four against however many there were instead of two against.
"I can pick locks," Joaquin said, his bright blue eyes flickered up to Archie's face, and that seemed to calm Archie.
Not Veronica.
"You didn't answer the question, though."
Joaquin pursed his lips, "Wouldn't you rather want me working on getting them out than answering asinine questions?" He asked in a sharp tone, and his cleverness surprised Veronica, though it should not have. He was a Serpent after all, and frankly, most of the ones she had met were not dumb. Maybe not the most book-smart, but none were stupid.
Veronica raised her hands and backed off, and for six agonizing minutes, while the pounding, groaning, and moaning grew progressively louder outside, there was silence in the jail cell as Joaquin worked. Veronica watched a thin film of sweat covering his forehead and chin, and she was about to step in and snap something out of fear, but then there was the tell-tale click of a lock releasing.
"Thank god," Archie sighed, and as soon as he could, he came bounding out, "We need to find weapons." He said, grasping Veronica's wrist and leading her further back into the cells as Joaquin began work on Hal's.
"What?" Veronica stuttered, "This is meant to be entirely non-weaponized! It's literally the worst place to get stuck."
Archie grabbed a guard's chair and awkwardly placed it in Veronica's hands, giving a stressed sigh, looking around for something that he could use.
"Gotta fight with our bodies. And besides, anything can be a weapon if you try hard enough," Hal said. It was jarring. Veronica hadn't known him much before this, but Archie looked ashen-white. He sounded like a father, giving sound advice. He sounded normal, even if the words were not.
Hal had not been ostracized before this. He must have been well-liked. For years, no one even had a clue he had such vile thoughts brewing under the surface, and more than that, the town had seemed shocked when all was revealed. It was easy for Veronica to think of him as such a bad person, but even when Archie's father had been shot by him, Hal had been his neighbor for years and it was clearly like whiplash to the teenage ginger.
"You might have to give us a crash course," Veronica said, starting to see dents in the metal door. What were these things? Were they actually demons, as Joaquin claimed? She knew the jokes from Greendale well enough; magic, witches, voodoo. Had something actually happened? Was this an honest-to-god spell gone wrong?
Hal's lock clicked open and he moved in front of the kids protectively.
"Got any weapons on you, kid?" He asked Joaquin. Joaquin offered a shaky knife from his back pocket. Hal beamed in pride, "Good one!" He sounded like a proud father and Joaquin sort of beamed from the praise.
"It was the best I could do before I ran," Joaquin whispered, "Though not much good."
"Oh, it can be very good," Hal said with a wide smile. He laid out his palm and Joaquin, with far less hesitation than Veronica would have, handed it. Hal weighed the weapon before turning to Archie, "Take that stool, Andrews. Time to put your football muscle to good use."
The doors burst open and some ungodly creatures blew in. They limped, not as fast as Veronica would have thought, but fast enough to be terrifying nonetheless. There were only two, and here's what struck Veronica as the most horrible thing; they looked human. Not humans high on something, but human-like. It was tickling her danger signs and the Uncanny Valley warning sirens in her brain. They looked human, but they obviously weren't.
Though ludicrous, her mind was putting more stock in her Greendale theory.
They also were familiar. She was just trying to figure it out when she heard Hal take a sharp, stuttered breath.
"Bernard Klump?" He whispered. Veronica knew now who he looked like; Midge. Was this her father?
"And, isn't that Ginger Lopez's older sister?" Archie whispered frantically, "Scarlett! It's Archie!"
"I don't think they're those people anymore," Joaquin was the first to say what Veronica knew was on all of their minds. It was true. Their eyes were glassy. Nothing going on behind them. Not just dumb, but non-present.
Bernard lunged, or maybe fell, towards Archie on the outskirts and Archie swung the chair hard. It maybe wasn't meant to do much harm, but it sent Bernard's head flying.
Everyone stood in horror, except the Scarlett-not-Scarlett, as the body just slumped over and stopped moving forward. It was still twitching.
"Oh my god, I didn't…mean to…" Archie dropped the chair, "I'm never going to graduate high school. I killed Midge's dad!"
"It's not human," Joaquin whispered in anger, perhaps frustration, "Look!" He pointed towards the detached head.
It was still moving.
First off, normal humans weren't decapitated by a mere chair. Second, their jaws for sure didn't chomp after such activities and their eyes weren't still rolling around.
"In that case-," Hal kicked Scarlett back with a foot just as her grimy, blood-stained hands were reaching for him. As she started to flail, Hal pushed the knife deep into her skull. Veronica had never killed anyone, but it seemed to sink in far easier than it should have.
Scarlett jerked like she'd been electrified before slumping to the ground.
"Easy, eh?" Hal said, taking the knife out. It was covered in a black, goopy substance, "Yuck."
He wiped it off, and gave a half-hearted look at Bernard, "Take care of that, someone, hmm?"
Veronica was about to ask 'in what way', but Joaquin took two big steps away from the group and then slammed his foot down on the still jiggling head. It splattered everywhere.
Veronica hadn't eaten anything, but anything that was still in her stomach still came back up, whatever was left from the first time she vomited. It just stung like bitter bile.
She watched Joaquin examine the splatter on his jeans. He looked a bit green himself. He muttered something in Spanish under his breath, before doing the sign of the cross over his chest.
"Well, with that, it seems I've been granted a stay of execution," Hal said, saluting the trio of teens.
"What, you can't just…leave!" Archie sputtered, "You killed so many people!"
"You think there's a world anymore to punish me? And kid, I'm sure the police have much better things to worry about right now," He motioned to the bodies on the ground, "Hey, Joaquin, you ever picked a lock to an armory?"
"I won't let you leave!" Archie said, crossing his arms and sliding between Hal and the door to the front.
"Andrews, you're a good one. I don't think you killed Cassidy, I really don't. Let's not add an actual murder to your docket." Hal said simply, patting his shoulder, "Even if you could." He added with a snort.
"Archie…" Veronica whispered.
Hal had years on any of them of fighting and killing. Archie, for all his bravado and foolhardy arrogance, would lose to him.
Archie seemed to be realizing this too. He looked at Joaquin as if asking for backup, but the Serpent shook his head.
Archie began to walk away until Hal gave a little laugh of triumph. Before anyone could blink, Archie had turned and punched Hal hard. Hal startled, grabbing his nose. Veronica ran up and pulled Archie back, fearing a full-on bloodbath was about to begin, but Archie wrenched himself away.
"I'm done, I'm done now," He hissed, "For my dad, you snake," He spat.
"Hey," Joaquin said, "Watch the insults, pal!"
Hal just patted his nose and shrugged, He just looked past Archie to Joaquin.
"Kid, weapons," Hal reminded, pointing to a well-guarded door. Joaquin nodded twice, taking to the locks. Hal moved to Keller's body, laying out all bloody and destroyed, and began to search. There wasn't much left of it, not even enough for Kevin to I.D the body. God, Kevin? How did Veronica tell him that she'd watched his dad die and did nothing?
"I deserved that, I suppose," Hal said to Archie after a moment. Maybe Archie hadn't hit as hard as he imagined, "Do you know where Betty is?" He asked Veronica, "You're best friends, aren't you?"
Veronica opened her mouth, but in the split-second it took to reply, her brain screamed not to say. To lie. Veronica just smiled sweetly, apologetically, "No, I don't. We were supposed to meet here this morning to see Archie, but she never showed."
Hal's face clouded, "Oh no," He said, pausing his frisking, "She's strong, though," He whispered, and it seemed more like a promise or assurance to himself rather than writing her off. He found a key-set, "Let's see if any of these bad boys work."
"I only got through one," Joaquin sighed, disappointed in himself.
"Hey, if those things had eaten those keys or Keller left them elsewhere, you'd be invaluable. Because I don't think any of us would want to go bobbing for keys in their stomachs."
Veronica watched as Hal opened the armory with ease. As he was trying the keys, Archie looked at Veronica, fear written all over his expression.
"Do you think Betty-,"
"Shh!" Veronica shushed him. She sent him a look that said 'later' and hoped he understood.
"Ah, yeah. You'd all be smart to stock up too," Hal said, pointing outside to where people, or non-people, waddled around. They hadn't realized there were more people in the police station.
Veronica was no stranger to weapons. She knew her parents had many stored in the house. She watched as Hal loaded up first, strapping and hiding as many items on his body as he possibly could. When he was done, he stepped back. He seemed to be waiting to see if anyone would say anything, but when no one did, he nodded and laughed a bit.
"Well, I'd say it's been great, but…my family needs me." Maybe he meant Betty. Perhaps he meant Polly. Maybe he meant his wife. Or maybe it was just what one said to try to absolve himself of guilt.
The teenagers watched as he looked both ways and then slunk out of the police station.
"I'm surprised you stayed," Veronica turned to Joaquin.
"You have a better chance of knowing where Kevin is." He said, moving to start to arm himself, "The end of the world makes you realize how you feel about certain people." He motioned to them, "The Black Hood wasn't wrong. Start stuffing." He commanded.
As they were pushing items into hoods, pockets, and a bag Archie found near Keller's body, a white van pulled up in front of the station.
"Shit. It's my parents," Veronica said, groaning, seeing Smithers driving in front.
"Veronica!"
Hermione burst out of the back, her breath catching as she spied Keller's body. She whimpered, covering her lips. Hiram, however, strolled and stepped over Keller like it was just another day. Violence and gore were no stranger to her father.
"Mija, step away from that boy."
"Joaquin? He basically saved us!" Veronica knew her father didn't like the Serpents, but come on.
"That's not who I'm talking about."
It took a second, as though she forgot momentarily the entire rundown of yesterday, but when she did, she felt white-hot rage bursting out of her.
"Oh, screw you, dad!" She gave a dry laugh, "We both know that whatever you tried was just…just…" She threw her hands up, "Take this as a sign that the universe has other plans for Archie…plans where he's not in jail."
"He's a murderer, dear," Her father said evenly, "I'm just trying to protect you."
"Protect me? Are you kidding?" Veronica slammed a set of knives onto the station receptionist's desk, "Dad, honestly, we have bigger issues right now."
"He should be in jail, where he belongs."
"You are such a broken record. And we're just going to leave him to die then? I didn't know you to be cruel, dad." Veronica said, which was a lie, but her father's jaw clenched. He had done an admirable job of hiding his darker side, and it still bothered him that she seemed to know it had been him, pulling the strings of this. Or it bothered him that she was not naive anymore.
"This will blow over in a day…or a week," Hiram pushed back his hair, trying to regain control, "Someone else will surely deal with him soon enough."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? One of those things to deal with him?" Veronica gave a dry laugh.
"Hiram!" Hermione hissed, frantically, showing that she did not think this was as casual an issue as her father did, "Veronica, we're waiting it out at the Lodge. Get in the car."
Veronica looked at Joaquin and Archie.
"On three conditions." She said firmly, motioning for Joaquin to continue to clean out the armory.
"This is no time to be bartering, Veronica," Hiram began, starting to move towards her. Veronica grabbed a gun, shaking her head at her father. Would she shoot him? She wasn't sure and he seemed to know this too, because he stopped moving toward her.
"One; Joaquin comes with us, and we see if we can find Kevin." She said, smiling at the Serpent. He seemed okay enough, and he had chosen them over Mr. Cooper. Plus, he did have skills that were coming quite in handy. Even her father had to admit that, once he got to know the kid.
"Two; Archie comes."
Her father should have known this, but it still seemed to bother him.
"Three, we try to save as many as we can. The Lodge Lodge has plenty of room. Besides, this will blow over shortly, you said so yourself. Not everyone is so lucky as we are."
Lucky, or, in other words…rich, vicious, blood-thirsty, prepared…take your pick.
"Which means others can find another shelter," Her father growled.
"No. Those are my terms. Or else I can also find other shelters." She shrugged, "Your choice."
Hiram studied her, looking outside, and then at the two boys.
"I am your father. I command you to get in the van." He said with a hard edge to his voice, "You will obey."
"Try me," Veronica said. Was she sure how to win this stand-off, other than being incredibly stubborn? No, she wasn't sure. However, she was willing to try, especially when it came to Archie.
"Hiram, are you serious?" Hermione hissed, "It shouldn't be a question in your mind! This should be easy! And her terms are very reasonable."
"She is our daughter. We do not negotiate, we expect compliance," Hiram returned evenly, "If you think you're so adult-,"
"No!" Hermione strode in front of Hiram, placing her warm, sweaty hands on Veronica's cheeks, "Boys, in the van. With the weapons." She instructed. Hiram made a sound in the back of his throat, causing Archie to pause and waver. Joaquin did no such thing, as he began to bag the armory and bring them outside in quick trips.
"No, Hiram, this is not up for discussion. Otherwise, I will tell Smithers to leave you. I have other safe-houses you've never known about," She threatened, "And you will never find them."
"You're bluffing," Hiram said dismissively, as though amused to no end by the thought of Hermione standing up to him or being so bold, but at her face, his expression slipped for just the quickest of moments.
She watched as her father's fingers twitched, and then he clenched them quickly, "I suppose that he seems capable," He said, nodding to Jaoquin, "And as for Andrews…it would be better to keep such a dangerous man close, to be safe." She knew her father was trying to regain his power as much as he could. She saw Archie smile behind a crooked elbow, as though he was coughing, but he hid a smile. Yeah, the idea that her father was so afraid of a seventeen-year-old didn't cease to amuse, she supposed.
Veronica took her victory in small, powerful steps. She pulled herself into the van, totally expecting to see Betty waiting for her with a smile, but the back was empty.
By this time, Joaquin had loaded the weapons and everyone else was getting into the multi-seater. Veronica wasn't sure why her father had this car, but he owned a lot of strange cars.
"Where's Betty?" She demanded as soon as her father entered. He laughed.
"Now, why would I know the whereabouts of your little friend?"
"Because she was in the apartment?" Veronica said, and then as she saw genuine confusion on her parents' faces, she felt like screaming or throwing herself from the van right this instant, "She slept over last night. I left her sleeping there this morning. Are you fucking serious? Did you leave her there? She made sandwiches last night! And neither of you noticed?" Well, her parents were not going to be winning 'parent of the year' after this one.
"Last night I had many business calls to take, and your mother had a headache. We didn't leave our rooms at all after you returned from school," Her father said, his words edged and dangerous, but she could tell Hiram didn't want to admit that he had no idea someone besides Veronica had been present.
"Oh my god," Veronica felt faint, "We have to go back! We have to get Betty!"
"Ma'am," It was Smithers who spoke nervously, "The roads back to the apartment are filled with…" He paused, unsure how to describe them, "We cannot go back."
"But, Betty!" Archie was just as horrified.
"For all we know, she slipped away this morning, to find you," Hiram said, "She might not even be back there. It would be foolish to waste our time-,"
"Waste our time?" Veronica was livid, "This is my best friend and his best friend! I will never, ever forgive you if we leave her!" She cried, taking screaming over sobbing right now. She threatened her father with hate often, but this one felt the most real of all of them.
"Then I will have to live with that," Hiram said, "I agreed to your terms, but you can't go changing the contract later, as it suits you. Grow up, Veronica," He said with a shake of his head, "And listen to Smithers. Back there is done for, at least for the time being. We will not return."
Veronica started, as though she was going to open the door and jump, making a run for it, but it was Archie who pulled her back.
"She's strong," Archie repeated Hal's whisper to Veronica, "And smart. Wicked smart. We'll all have a good laugh about this in a few days, alright? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she had the same idea as your parents and will beat us to the Lodge."
She turned to see Hiram frowning at Archie, unwilling to thank him or admit he may have been wrong, but all the same perhaps starting to see Archie as an asset to him. As much as Veronica did not want to listen to either of them right now, she made a choice. One she hoped Betty could forgive her for one day.
She chose Archie.
If her father thought Archie could control her, perhaps he'd be more inclined to not murder him in his sleep.
"Yeah," Veronica said, and she truly, truly hoped he was right, "She's probably hot-wiring a car right now, with Jughead, and they'll find us."
"Where to next?" Smithers asked from the driver's seat.
"Kevin might be at Pop's," Veronica realized, "Melody posted that there was supposed to be a brunch on her Instagram to plan for…" She trailed off, looking at Hiram and Archie. For Archie's arrest. Veronica had seen the invite, she recalled now, but thought her use would be better for Archie in person, not behind the scenes just yet.
"You have service?" Joaquin frowned.
"No, but I did remember. It's been a busy morning," She added defensively. Her phone hadn't had any for hours now. She thought it was a weird glitch or update, but now…now she wondered.
"I have it too. See? Just enough for that. Ooh… It's kaput now," Archie showed his phone, which he'd taken with the bag of his intake items from behind the station desk, and there was a flash of the invite before it powered down.
"Well, most people are probably looting grocery stores right now. It may be a clever move to hit a restaurant for supplies," Hermione pointed out to Hiram, "And Pop Tate certainly would know how to cook, if we have that need."
"Alright," Hiram relented, "But merely because it is the safe and logical option. Then, Lodge Lodge."
Pop's was on the way out of town anyway. When they pulled up, Veronica felt her stomach sink.
It seemed highly unlikely Kevin was here. There were a few of those demonic not-humans walking around, all people Veronica knew vaguely. None were Kevin, thank god.
"In, out, on the road," Hiram commanded, grabbing a gun.
"Headshots seem to be important," Joaquin supplied and Hiram gave him a nod of acknowledgment. Archie, not wanting to be left, grabbed a weapon too. When Veronica went to grasp one, her mother held her back.
"But-,"
Hermione merely shook her head.
There were only three milling about. It was easy work. Three on three, when your opponents were not quite all there, was simple. Too simple, enough to worry Veronica that they were being lulled into a sense of security about beating these things. She had remembered the awful smell and the way those things had clawed and snapped while she was in close contact with them.
"Okay, let's go," Hiram motioned to everyone's left when the things lay motionless on the ground.
Veronica hopped out, pushing open the door to Tate's. It immediately felt wrong. The smell was off, the lights were flickering ominously, and the whole place put a weird feeling in her stomach.
"Start grabbing. Where's Pop?" Hiram asked, looking around.
"Awe, fuck," Archie said, rounding the counter, "Found him."
Veronica leaned over to see Pop dead, just like Keller. In slightly more pieces, she realized, since there has been little of Tom Keller left after all was said and done. Pop Tate was undeniably gone, however, lying with an expression of torment on his face.
"Hmm, well," Hiram seemed unbothered, "This food shouldn't go to waste."
Veronica was two steps behind him as he opened the door to the freezer and two figures ran out, screaming a battle cry.
"Woah!"
Archie caught one by the arm, "Josie? Dilton?"
"Oh my god!" Josie was holding a rolling pin, and Dilton was faring slightly better with a butcher's knife, "You're…human?"
"Uhm…"
"Not those things, if that's what you're asking," Veronica said, understanding their inquiry.
Josie's shoulders collapsed and she cried out, "I thought we were dead!" She whispered, "I thought…this, this is the end."
"Well, why don't you go in the car? We're going up north for a few days to ride this out," Veronica offered kindly, gently taking the rolling pin from her hands. Her father made a noise, but she just held up three fingers, referring to her third agreement. If they couldn't save Betty, she was going to fight for everyone else.
"Kevin?" Joaquin asked all too hopefully.
"He had plans to come here last night with us, but…we're the only ones who showed up. We ordered and waited and then not even ten minutes later…" She swallowed hard, "I can't."
"It's okay, it's fine," Joaquin said, but from his face, he was hoping for more. Dilton was speechless, something Veronica had never seen.
"Be useful," Hiram said, "Start grabbing." It was unclear who he was talking to, but it reminded Veronica that time was of the essence.
Everyone besides Smithers, who was keeping watch, and Josie and Dilton who were understandably traumatized and not just shivering because they'd barricaded themselves in a cooler for god knows how long, frantically started transferring food into the van.
They were nearly done, the place looted to comical ends of nothing left when there were three frantic honks from Smithers. Veronica ran from around the pantry area to see something impossible.
"Dad, behind you!"
Hiram turned, dropping a crate of baked beans as Pop Tate loomed over him, gnashing his jaws and groaning.
"Isn't he supposed to be dead?" Archie asked.
"I think he is!" Joaquin yelled over the chaos and terror, "That's not Pop anymore!"
He slid a knife across the floor to Hiram, who started stabbing anywhere he could, but also tried to flee. It was hard to get the man's head; not just when you knew someone, but also because Pop had snuck upon him.
"Dad!" Veronica grabbed a cheese grater, unsure what she was going to do with that, as her father was back in the front of the store. Pop's body hit the doorstop and closed everyone off from him.
And then there was just silence. Cruel, taunting silence.
"It's just like…" Joaquin began, then paused, perhaps for Veronica's sake.
Veronica threw the door open to see her father on the ground, looking like he'd seen Jesus in the flesh, and Pop on the ground. A figure stood over him, a long…what was that? A sword? Yes, it seemed a sword has stuck through his head.
"Malachai," Joaquin greeted in an icy tone.
"That was close," The leader of the Ghoulies, painted in blood said with an ill-timed laugh.
"You saved me," Hiram said, a bit out of it.
"Where are the rest of you?" Joaquin asked, skittish, unsure.
"Dead! Dead, dead. Dead as a doorknob." Malachai sang, "Wait, why are doorknobs dead?" He frowned in confusion.
"We should go. Now." Hermione helped Hiram up, who was staring at Pop Tate in shock, confusion, and general fear. Whatever bravado he had about this scenario was shaken out of him now.
"Malachai, we're going to a safe-house." Hiram said, "I think I owe you a life debt."
Malachai pulled the sword from the body, "Chill, man." He shrugged and put on one of those little paper-serving hats that Pop wore. He caught his reflection and giggled uncontrollably.
"Dad, you can't be serious."
Hiram gave Veronica a self-satisfied smirk, "Stipulation Three." He parroted back to her, thrilled to be maliciously complying with her demands.
"You coming, Joaquin?" Archie asked.
Joaquin gripped his knife and then sighed, "I'm not leaving you guys alone with that joker," He spat at Malachai, "And…" He sighed, face full of despair, "I don't know where Kevin is. I have to hope he wasn't stupid and we'll meet back up when this blows over. I don't know…" He trailed off, looking at the van, but Veronica understood. He didn't know if he'd get a chance like this, at safety, again.
Everyone loaded up, shoulder to shoulder to make way for the food.
Malachi was the only one without a grim expression on his face, taking it all in. Now, Veronica was sure he was on something. He had to be.
No one was this cheery in this sort of crisis; not her father or Hal, who were the two most fucked up men in Riverdale currently.
Yeah, he was probably high as a kite, seeing kittens and rainbows and unicorns instead of blood and guts.
Or he was just a sadist.
"A mix of the two," Dilton muttered from right beside her, and she realized she'd been muttering under her breath. If Malachai heard, he didn't acknowledge it, and it seemed everyone else was too far pulled into their own safe spots in their minds to really hear her.
There was silence for about half an hour. Just shell-shocked silence and confusion.
"He…came back to life?" Hiram finally whispered, showing he'd been turning it over and over in his mind.
No one had an answer. No one had anything else to say either. What would they have talked about? The most recent episode of the The Voice ? The New York Mets game? The last day of school?
The only one who said anything was Malachai. As he peered out of the window, at the trees racing past, he gave a little laugh to himself and said entirely to no one in particular, "Man, I hate this part of Texas."