FREAKS - jughead jones imagines

033. survive the night

"What have I told you? No masks at the dinner table." She ordered. The black hood removed his mask, and sure enough, it was Hal cooper, whom we though was dead. Next up was the gargoyle king, but before he could reveal his identity, Penelope intervened,

"Hellcaster, wanna take a stab at guessing the face behind the mask?"

"Whoever is under that mask must have had a connection to Hal and to you, Penelope, and it's not Jason because he's dead. But the only corpse that hasn't been accounted for is... Chic." Right on time, Chic revealed himself to be the gargoyle king. Feeling slightly reviled but scared, I got lost in thought, something that happens often for me, always at the wrong times.

~Skipping the rest of the conversation~

"You'll be playing one last round" Penelope said sinisterly, referring to G&G and whatever she had planned for us.

"What happens if we win? We escape?" Archie asked. She laughed, assuring us that we wouldn't win, which made me fear the answer to the question that came out of Veronica's mouth,

"And what happens if we lose?"

"Well then your parents will feel what I felt when Jason died. The loss of a child is one like no other." I squeezed Jug's hand, looking at him as if for the last time, which for all we knew, it could be.

"Tonight, the task is simple. Make it through the forest, survive the night. With each task, you'll be tested, refuse my tests or try to escape, and you'll be killed. May the final test begin. I'd start running if I were you." Right on cue, we got up from our seats at the table and dashed out the door, towards the forest, hoping for the best, or at least, to not be killed.

~Later in the night~

After Archie's fight with a beast, and Betty and Veronica getting poisoned, I couldn't even imagine what the rest of the night had in store for us. We trudged through the forest, searching for the next quest card and hoping it wasn't too brutal. Walking across the trail, a quest card is visible. Getting closer, the card reads, Hellcaster, meaning it was Jug's turn. I picked up the card and read it aloud:

"The battle of Kings. Only one shall leave the kingdom of Eldervair." I glanced to each one of my four friends, none of us understanding what that meant.

A rustling sound could be heard, and from a few yards away, Chic appears from behind a bush. His red dyed hair was sticking to his forehead, and his shirt gargoyle king costume was long discarded. There he stood, shirtless and fuming, looking to Jughead then to the axe that lay untouched in the middle of the pit.

Before I could stop him, or even say goodbye, Jug sprinted into the pit, trying to retrieve the axe before Chic could. But ultimately, Chic was faster, grabbing the axe and swinging it carelessly. Jug ducked, leading the axe to get stuck in the tree behind him.

There was a moment of hesitation before Jughead tackled him, punching him repeatedly, the sound of his fist meeting Chic's face making me feel sick. The roles switch as Chic slithers his way out from underneath Jug, wrapping his hands around Jug's throat. Jughead struggles underneath his grasp, his face turning a dark shade of red as he struggles to breathe.

"Jug!" I scream out, trying to run to him, to save him. But Archie grabs my waist, his huge arms securing me in place, knowing very well what I was going to do. I look away, not wanting to see it as Jug takes his last breath. But there was a loud bang, making me turn to see Jug standing there in triumph.

Picking up the ends of my obnoxiously large dress, I run into the pit, sighing in relief as I wrap my arms around Jug's torso. We stay like that for a moment, before Archie breaks the silence.

"We have to keep moving, I have a feeling you're next Y/n."

We keep walking, each step getting us closer and making me more anxious. My breathing became louder, though I only noticed when Jug grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to him. We stopped at the next tree, a quest card and scroll pinned to the side.

"Sorceress, you're up. That's you Y/n." Veronica said, handing me my quest.

"In this bag lies a weapon. Mutilate the one you love most, in order to exit the kingdom alive." I read aloud, my confused audible.

"Here's the bag, Y/n." Betty handed me the cloth bag, inside was a wooden box, that held a dagger with an immense blade, sharp enough to kill any living thing.

"What does this mean?" I knew what it meant. I knew what I had to do.

"It means... You have to stab me." Jug said stepping forward. The other three stood wide-eyed in the background, unprepared for whatever was about to happen.

"Wait- what? No-" I said through tears, the blade in my hand shaking. He moved closer to me, rubbing the sides of my arms in an effort to comfort me.

"Y/n, look at me. It's okay. I love you baby." He whispered, kissing my forehead, trying not to show his fear and sadness, trying to be strong for me, like always. He put his hands behind his head and counted to three, trying to make this easier for me.

"1...2...3" He counted. I turned the blade and thrust it into my side. My entire life flashed in front of me, every day I spent with Jughead, watching movies and cuddling on his couch, playing football with Archie and his friends, although they always let me win, hanging out with Betty and Veronica, talking about boys and doing each other's nails, all of the family dinners with my dad. I snapped back into reality, pain shooting through my stomach. I fell to the ground at the sudden impact.

"Y/n! No!" Jug rushed over to me, pulling the knife out of my side, his hand covering my blood covered side.

"Why would you do that?"

"I couldn't hurt you." I said weakly, and out of breath. The cut was deep, and I was losing blood fast. He took off his jacket, pressing it to the wound in attempt to stop the bleeding.

"I got you. It's gonna be ok, you're going to be ok." He whispered, picking me up and putting me on my feet. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, steadying me.

"We have to keep going, finish this and get Y/n to a hospital." He announced, dragging me through the forest, searching for the next quest card. It was a long walk, each step getting harder and harder to take, me feeling more tired with each step.

"Juggie, I don't feel good." I breathed, my voice barley a whisper.

"No, you're ok. Don't close your eyes, please don't close your eyes!" He yelled as my eyes got heavier until I couldn't keep them open. The world went black, but I could still hear him sobbing and whispering,

"No, Y/n. Please, Y/n. No."

Trash