Redemption [Sweet Pea x OC]

Chapter 50

We stood in the lobby of the Sheriff's station, the crowd loud enough to hear through the closed doors. Northsiders and Southsiders were out there, both chanting. Half were calling out "Justice for Midge!" while others shouted "Free Fangs!"

"I don't wanna die," Fangs said, glancing out the window.

"Fangs, you're not going to," Sweet Pea said, trying not to show how worried he was. None of us were.

In my pocket, my phone buzzed with an incoming call. I pulled away from Sweet Pea, answering quietly. "I can't talk right now. What do you need?"

"I heard your boy's getting out tonight," Malachai said. "With that mob outside the Sheriff's station, there's going to be chaos. Perfect for us. Meet us down at the old Serpent hangout, down by the docks."

He hung up before I could say anything. "Jughead," I called, pushing past Serpents to reach him. I grabbed his shoulder, turning him around roughly. "Jug, we've got a problem.

"We'll deal with it," Jughead replied shrugging me off. "Sheriff Minetta, you can't send Fangs out the front. We have to take the side entrance," Jughead demanded, looking over my shoulder. I turned around slowly, seeing the one person I'd been trying so hard to avoid.

"Crowd's out there, too," Minetta said. "Pick your poison, Serpent. Or maybe you can ask the Ghoulie to call in her friends for backup. I'm sure she knows exactly where they are right now."

The others fell silent around us. "Abigail, what is he talking about?" Jughead asked, pulling me away from Minetta.

"Get Fangs out here," I said, ignoring his question. I could feel everyone watching me, but I didn't look away from Minetta as I pulled free of Jughead's grip. "You wanna play with fire? Then let's play." I spun on my heel, running down the hall opposite him. The station was empty, all the officers were outside keeping an eye on the rioters, so there was no one to stop me.

"Hey! Get back here!" Minetta shouted, running after me. I heard Jughead call after me but I didn't look back. All I could do was hope that I could get away from Minetta and the others got Fangs to safety, wherever that may be.

My thoughts raced as I ran. The Ghoulies were planning to attack tonight. Somehow Minetta knew I was working with them, and seemed to think I really was one of them. And now the Serpents knew. Turning the corner, I spotted two things on a nearby officer's desk. This was probably going to top the list of Stupid Things I've Done When Pissed, but I was going for it anyway.

Grabbing the bottle and lighter, I walked further down the rows of desks, waiting for Minetta to catch up. I glanced down at the label while I waited. Lodge Rum. How fitting. He slowed as he came into the large room, watching me warily. I smashed the bottle on top of the desk next to me before holding the lighter to it. Faster than expected, the desk burst into flames, the sudden heat forcing me to step back. I saw Minetta through the flames looking for a fire extinguisher, which luckily, was behind me.

"Fucking bitch!" Minetta yelled as I grabbed stacks of flaming papers and tossed them onto the nearby desks, setting them aflame too.

I ran down another hall through another door, setting fires as I went. Fortunately the station was empty, so there was no one to stop me. The smoke alarm began ringing as I burst out the back door, into the waiting crowd. "Get back!" I shouted, "the place is on fire!" I allowed myself to become lost in the fleeing crowd, letting the crush of people carry me away. Once the Sheriff's station was out of sight, I made my way to the docks, joining the Ghoulies waiting there.

"Is this really the best night to be doing this?" I asked, walking beside Malachai. "Minetta and his deputies are crawling all over Riverdale and getting any of the boys picked up isn't going to help our numbers if we really want to take down the Serpents."