unheavenly creatures

Last Dance

ALICE

A gust of wind blows through the trees above me. It must be getting later in the day, the temperature has dropped significantly. I realize that I haven't checked time in a while since leaving Pop's with JB. I'm guessing it's somewhere close to 4, maybe even 5 in the evening. Has Sabrina finished up at school yet? Would she be heading back to the trailer park now? Wow, maybe I really don't know her schedule. I've been so caught up in my own course of action that....

"Good thing you never met her." Tom Keller bails me out from my thoughts. I almost jump at the sound of his voice, I didn't even realize he was next to me. He turns his head to get one last look at the entrance to the graveyard. He brings his gaze back to me, "Or the whole family for that matter. You thought McCarthy was a nut-job? The Blossoms made him look like a national hero." It finally clicks that he's talking about Penelope and the other Blossoms again. Yet, I can't quite wrap my head around Tom's comment. What do the Blossoms have to do with.... "You know, like McCarthyism? The "witch-hunts" he had?" he clarifies.

Oh. Oh no. I could stop walking right there, but I think he might be leading onto something. Joseph McCarthy may have led the Red Scare, but the Blossoms weren't dealing with politics, they were literally trying to hunt and kill witches.

But I need Tom to confirm that. I ask him, "Why, did the Red Scare leak into Riverdale?"

He shakes his head, slowing down his pace. He glances up at what's left of the looming walls of Thornhill. "You know what people call this town?" I've heard quite a few names over the years, actually. Some of the kids at Sabrina's school call it "Riverfail", amongst some other insulting nicknames. Still, I have to keep playing pretend here, so I shrug my shoulders. Tom looks down at me, "They call it "the murder capital of the world". Every once in a while, strange things always happen, and they happen so quickly and so....oddly that no one has really pieced together why they occur."

I take my hands out of my pockets and begin to wrap my arms around myself, hoping for better warmth. I glance around the Blossom property, spotting Hiram and JB down the gravel path. They both keep turning their heads up to me and Tom, like they're trying to eavesdrop in on the conversation. While staring at them, I keep up the conversation. "How do the Blossoms tie in then?"

I hear him say, "They believed it was witchcraft, or something along that line. They rallied up a lot of people who gave into the hysteria, and....." I turn back to Tom as he takes a moment to remove his hat and ruffle through his grey hair. I can't help but notice the wrinkles on his face showing. This job really must be stressing him out, on top of having to raise a kid. And I thought looking after Sabrina, waiting tables, and hunting demons was hard. Tom readjusts his hat back onto his head and continues, "A lot of people were thrown in jail. Some left town. And....anyone they clarified guilty was....killed. Have FP and Gladys, or even Hiram, told you anything about the Riverdale Reaper?"

So he does have some insight on this topic. Of course I'm aware of the Reaper, I've been looking it up for days now. But I have to keep in mind....in Tom's eyes, I'm the new waitress in town, not the Serpent girl he may or may not remember from high school. I have to keep Teen Alice quiet for a little longer, I need to let Wendy Beauchamp ask the questions. I tell Tom, "I don't think so. I mean....some of the guests at Pop's bring it up when they discuss the recent attacks. But it's all too taboo."

My eyes dart down to Hiram again. From the distance, I see him lift his brow at me. What on earth are you getting into, his expression reads. Luckily, Tom is looking back up at Thornhill again, which buys me some time to get a message across. I roll my eyes at Hiram, then I point at him and JB with two fingers. I motion for them to keep walking, scurrying one pair of fingers over a flat palm. Then, I bring my hand up to my ear, signaling for them to keep their ears open. I finally end my frantic silent gesturing by motioning to the space between me and Tom, before ending with my fingers curled like claws, slicing through the air.