Faithfully

84

"Betty? Braxton?" Jughead called as he burst into the Cooper's house "I got it!" He shouted and walked into the kitchen where he saw them sitting at the island with Rich, FP, and Alice. The two girls avoided eye contact. "Dad, what the hell are you doing here?" He asked.

FP walked over to Jughead and ripped the scripture from his hand. "Where the hell did you get this?" He snapped? "Have you been playing the game?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me, boy! I can still see the blue on your lips." FP grabbed his sons face to look at the evidence.

"You told?" Jughead asked as he looked at Betty and Braxton.

"No." Rich replied as he walked over to FP and took the scripture form him, "It's like you forgot I work at the hospital. You don't think the second you walked into that place with a girl who tried to kill herself that I wasn't notified? Where did you get this book? Who gave it to you?"

"Jug, don't say anything." Braxton told him.

"Not until they tell us what they know about the game. It's clear they know something." Betty added.

"We don't have to tell you anything, Elizabeth. This game is- it's pure evil." Alice snapped at her daughter.

"And no one's ever gonna play it again." FP told them as he took the scripture back from Rich and walked over to the fireplace. "Hey! No, stop." Jughead said to him. "Dad, I'm begging you."

"No one's going to play Gryphons and Gargoyles, we promise." Braxton pleaded.

"But that book may be our best shot of figuring out what happened to Dilton and Ben."

"How many copies are there?" FP asked.

"As far as we know, that's the only one. Which is why you can't destroy it."

"FP, do it." Rich instructed. Within seconds of FP letting go, the scripture was engulfed with flames.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jughead shouted and headed for the door. Braxton and Betty followed after him.

"Jug, stop." Braxton called to him. "We'll figure it out. I promise."

"How? You really think that scriptures are just going to magically appear out of thin air? That was our only shot, Braxton."

"She's right, Jug. There has to be another somewhere. What if we search the bunker?" Betty asked.

"Ethel gave me the only copy she knew about. There wouldn't be another in there."

"Like I said, we'll figure it out." Braxton sighed.

And that following night when Betty, Braxton and Jughead met their fellow Serpents at the Twilight Drive-In for a movie, they were astounded at what they saw. As they walked amongst the cars, Betty noticed the teens looking at the same booklet. She tapped Braxton on the arm and motioned towards them and she said, "Oh my god, is that?" "The scripture." Jughead finished.

When they walked up to the Serpents, Jughead took the booklet that was in Cheryl's hands. "Uhm excuse you?" She snapped as she looked at him. "Where did you guys get these?" He asked.

"They were stacked on the speaker when we got here." Toni replied taking the scripture back.

"See." Braxton smiled, "thin air."

Jughead turned to Braxton and Betty and said, "The Gargoyle King is targeting the youth." They each gave him a confused look. "How do you know?" Betty asked.

"Adults never come here, it's a teen hangout. He doesn't want our parents playing, he wants us to."

"That's unsettling." Braxton told him. "Well, I'm going to go get some popcorn. Be right back."