Chapter 17- The Man In Black
Natalie
I awoke the next morning and Archie was already gone. I groaned as I sat up, running my hand through my hair and looking around the barn. I could hear Archie outside so I put my shoes on and slowly headed outside. I spotted Archie as he was already doing the hay job that Laurie had mentioned about.
"Hey" Archie said as he smiled at me. "You missed eggs and bacon for breakfast"
"Meanwhile, you are literally moving bales of hay" I sighed as I looked around in surprise.
"Yep. Feel free to help out, too" Archie said with a grin.
"Actually I was going to check out the town" I sighed.
"You going to be okay here?" I asked him.
"I think I'll be fine, Nat" Archie smiled at me.
I sighed as I walked away, finding myself walking down the completely empty road of the town. It was quiet and looked completely trashed. Buildings were boarded up. Cars were rusty. If the place wasn't already creepy enough there were more G&G related symbols. I pulled out my book, using one of my pencils to quickly sketch the different ones down.
I caught sight of the first person other then Laurie and Gracie I had seen in the town. An old lady, sitting in her chair at a now old and abandoned gas station.
"Uh...excuse me" I spoke as I approached the lady. "Hi... I'm Uh... a little lost"
The lady gave no reply. She just sat still, like I wasn't even there.
"I saw some strange symbols on the side of the buildings. Didn't look as faded as the rest. You know what they mean?" I questioned the woman.
"Town wasn't always like this" Spoke the woman. "First it was the jingle-jangle. Now we're back to fizzle rocks"
"Fizzle rocks. Like the candy?" I questioned. "I used to eat that when I was a kid"
"That's Normal Fizzle Rocks. What we got nowadays is laced with drugs. As for them symbols, they started showing up in town about the same time Fizzle Rocks trickled in" Spoke the woman.
I nodded, opening my book and writing Fizzle Rocks down. Another drug.
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"You've done so much for me. You don't have to do this too" Archie spoke as Laurie shaved his face.
"I used to do this for my father. And you did move all that hay" Laurie sighed.
"My dads a construction worker, so... I'm used to physical labour" Archie said.
"Well, there's a lot of that around here. If you and your friend wanna stick around for a few days" Laurie mumbled as she carried on shaving Archies beard.
"I'm not sure about El, but... I would be, I think. There's something about this place that just makes me feel at home. I don't know why" Archie sighed.
Laurie looked down at Archie, their eyes staring into each other and Laurie slowly lowered herself onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and lowering her lips onto his. They passionately kissed until Archie slightly pulled back.
"I'm sorry, Laurie. I just- I can't do this right now" Archie mumbled. Laurie quickly got off his lap, now embarrassed and awkwardly backing away. "There's a girl back home"
"There always is" Laurie sighed.
"Even though we're not together, I still love her" Archie mumbled.
"If you love her, Cal, why are you here?" Laurie questioned.
Archie paused before speaking again. "Because of her father and my past with him"
"Sometimes when you try to survive, it's easy to lose sight of who you are" Laurie muttered.
Archie nodded. "Laurie, my names not Cal. It's Archie Andrews. I'm from a small town called Riverdale, which I can't go back to"
"Because of your girls father?" Laurie questioned.
Archie nodded again. "Hiram Lodge. Yes"
Archie sighed, shaking his head before speaking again. "I'm sorry I lied to you"
"It's okay. Archie Andrews. Around here, everybody's running from something. Let me see about getting you some lunch" Laurie said. She left the barn, leaving Archie alone to his thoughts.
________
I was still wondering around the town. I had snapped a few photos on my phone and had sketched out a few more in my book. There was a rather large Gargoyle King on the side of a building that caught my attention. I took a photo of it, staring at it for a moment until the sounds of girls giggling caught my attention. I walked around to see three girls on the back of a truck playing G&G. There was a red packet which was opened and labelled fizzle rocks on the board as well. One girl stared at me, looking me up and down.
"Are you a Queen?" She questioned.
"Of a gang...yes...of this game...I'm just a character" I huffed. "Or, I think anyway"
"What level?" Asked another girl as I jumped onto the truck.
"I'm on level three. On my way to four" I answered. "Where'd you guys learn to play?"
"Our older brothers used to play, before they left town" The third girl replied.
"Yeah, I noticed that there are no men here" I sighed as I looked around. I looked back at the board. "My twin brother plays as well"
"All gone to work building a prison" the first girl said as she referred to where the men had gone.
"Prison?" I questioned.
"My brother told me it's not just for prisoners. It's for making fizzle rocks too" Said the brown haired girl.
"So the prison doubles as a drug lab" I sighed.
"So where you shacking up, Princess?" Questioned the blonde.
"Uh...Lake Farm" I replied.
One girl scoffed. "Gracies house? We used to be friends with her. Always acting like she's too good for everyone even though her daddy works for the Man In Black like ours do"
"Who's the Man In Black?" I asked. I obviously knew but asked anyways.
"He's always in a Black Suit. Gets driven around in a Black car. This towns his now" The blonde spoke again.
"Hiram" I whispered. A sudden realisation hit me and I knew I had to go.
I quickly left the three girls, desperately trying to get back to Archie quickly. He was in trouble. I knew that well enough. If I didn't get back to him before Hiram reached him, he'd be be in serious danger.
________
"I made you more eggs. I hope you don't mind" Laurie spoke as she walked back into the barn just as Archie was putting his white top back on.
"No, that is more than okay. Thank you" Archie said grateful as he pulled a crate over with him and he sat down on it.
"You don't have to thank me. You helped me with the hay, and you helped me pass the time a little bit quicker. So in my books, we're even" Laurie said as she served the scrambled egg onto a plate for Archie. She watched as Archie ate the eggs quickly.
"These are delicious" Archie said with a smile as he looked up at her.
Laurie nodded, walking slowly around Archie. Once she was behind him she lifted the frying pan up and hit him around the back of the head with it, knocking him out completely. He fell to the floor, blacked out.
Just as I reached the farm, Hiram's black car pulled up. Gracie and Laurie appeared and I ducked behind a hay bale. I watched as Hiram got out of the car, walking over to the two girls, another man in a suite stood behind him.
I panicked as I pulled open the barn door, spotting Archie tied up, a cloth over his mouth.
"Shit..." I gasped as walked over. "Are you alright?" I pulled down the cloth covering his mouth and I pulled my switchblade out, cutting the rope that tied Archie up. "Come on, let's get you out of here"
Archie sighed in pain. "Laurie knocked me out. Where the hell is she?"
"Shes inside. With Hiram Lodge" I answered him.
"What!?" Archie slightly yelled. Archie looked completely betrayed as he tried to get his head around what I had just said.
"I don't understand. How do the girls even know him?" Archie questioned.
"I think her dad and brother work for him. There are drugs inside the prison which the kids take, then they play G&G. All of this is connected, Archie. Hiram owns this whole town" I told him as I cut the rope tying his legs together. "And probably many others like it. Let's go"
I grabbed my bag, but Archie stopped and I looked at him shocked.
"Or we could stay and fight" Archie suggested.
"No, Archie" I shook my head.
"This is our one chance... to take it all back. Hiram is going to walk in thinking I'm tied up. Let's surprise him and take him out" Archie suggested.
"That's a bad idea, trust me" I sighed.
"There's gotta be something in here. A pitchfork" Archie started rambling on and I walked across to him, grabbing his arm and I forced him to look at me.
"Hey. Look at me" I muttered. "You're not thinking clearly. It's two against four. They have guns. I get how bad you want this, but we are underprepared. They're going to kill us, Archie. Archie, look at me!" I grabbed Archies shoulder, trying to stop him from leaving.
"Natalie!" He snapped as he pushed me back. "I can kill him. I can"
"I know" I nodded as I stared back at the red haired boy. "But right now we've gotta go, while we still have time"
"There's nowhere he won't follow me" Archie sighed. "I can't run from him"
I looked at Archie, worry flooding my face as I was struggling to persuade the boy not to make this mistake. Not now when they had guns and they had nothing.
"Just let me end this nightmare once and for all" Archie pleaded.
Voices could be heard and I looked out of the small opening in the door, Laurie was leading Hiram right towards us.
"He's coming" I whispered. Archie walked over to me, looking out and seeing them. "Archie, I know he's ruined your life. He's ruined a lot of lives. One day, he's going to get everything he deserves. I swear. But it's not today. It's not right now. We have to go"
"Natalie..." Archie mumbled.
"All right, if you do this, if you kill him... will Veronica ever forgive you?" I asked him, looking at him seriously.
Archie paused, dropping the wire cutters from his hands and he nodded as he walked over and grabbed his bag. I picked my bag up, swinging it on and we both snuck out the back door. We checked the coast was clear before we done a runner across the field.
However soon enough the two of us were back on a road, far away from the farm and alone.
"You know for a second there, I didn't think you'd listen to me" I sighed as I walked along beside Archie.
"Neither did I, Nat. Neither did I" Archie said back.
"You were right about one thing, though" I said, looking at Archie. "Hiram's gonna follow you, or us, wherever we go. We'll always be outnumbered or outgunned"
"So, what's the plan?" Archie questioned.
I paused before speaking. "We'll go see my mom"
"You sure we should do that?" Archie asked.
"You got a better idea?" I asked him back. He shook his head and then looked back at me.
"I just thought...she left you and Jughead..." Archie mumbled.
I sighed. "She did, yes. But as my mother I suppose I best give her the benefit of the doubt and give her a second chance. Plus I get to see my little sister"
"There's a bus stop ahead" Archie pointed out.
"Okay" Natalie sighed as she smiled at him.
We reached the bus stop quickly, sighing with relief as we crashed on the bench. Archie pulled out a granola bar, eating that while I scrolled on my phone, bringing up Sweet Peas contact.
"You think he'll answer if he knows it's you?" Archie questioned as he glanced over my shoulder.
"I hope" I sighed as the phone started to ring. It rang for only a few seconds before it connected and Sweet Peas voice spoke loudly.
"Natalie!?" He burst.
"Hey Pea..." I sighed as a smile grew on my face.
"The hell are you!? FP and your brother showed me the note you left and they've been upset ever since" Sweet Pea said.
"I'm sorry... I just had to go" I mumbled.
"But we promised. We promised we'd never leave each other again" Sweet Pea muttered.
"I know-" I sighed.
"And you left me anyway" Sweet Pea whispered. And with that, the line ended.
"Pea?" I whispered. There was a break in my voice as I knew I had hurt him.
"Hey. He'll come round. He loves you too much to stay mad at you" Archie sighed as he put his arm around me.
I smiled slightly and nodded. Archie looked up, his face filling with worry as the sound of an upcoming vehicle filled our ears. I watched as a small truck came driving towards us. One single man was in the drivers seat and he came to a halt beside the two of us.
"You kids alright?" Asked the man as he rolled his window down.
"We're fine" Archie quickly said.
"You need a ride or something? Where you heading?" Asked the man.
"Jones Yard...have you heard of it?" I questioned as I looked at the man.
"I have indeed. Deliver there sometimes. Hop in" Said the man with a smile as he opened the door for us.
"Thanks" I said as I tugged Archies arm to pull him up. He didn't look so trustworthy of the man, now he knew how I felt with Laurie. We both got into the truck and the man started driving again.
Surprisingly we drove in silence and it was indeed much faster by truck then it would have been to walk. Once arriving at The Jones Yard Archie and I sighed before making our way across to the gate.
"Well this is definitely the place" I said with a positive nod.
"You guys lost?" Asked a guy on the other side of the tall fence. "Or you looking to pick up some merch?"
"We're looking for Gladys Jones" I said as I revealed my Serpent tattoo. "I'm family. We need a place to stay"
"Natalie?" Spoke a voice, I recognised so well.
"Jellybean!?" I gasped as I recognised the girl who appeared.
"Thought I smelled something rotten" Jellybean said with a smirk. I scoffed and smiled at my little sister.
"You heard her. Open the damn gate" Jellybean ordered the guy.
The guy done that, allowing me and Archie to come in. Jellybean chuckled as she stood up, running into my arms. I stumbled back, with a weak balance but she kept Jellybean in her arms as both girls laughed.
"Where's mom?" I questioned as JellyBean pulled away.
"I'll take you to her, come on" JellyBean said with a smile as she tugged my arm. "Carrot head. Help the lady" JellyBean yelled at Archie.
"Yeah Archie. Help the lady" I laughed as Archie sighed and walked over, linking his arm with mine and the we followed JellyBean to where my Mom was.
"Natalie?" Mom questioned as we appeared.
"Hey, mom" I sighed as I stood in-front of her. Mom sighed as she walked over, embracing her arms around me.
"Oh, Nat" she sighed. "Oh... you feel like a bag of tire irons. Are you eating?" I smiled.
"Ugh. You're not a vegetarian now, are you?" Mom asked with a look of disgust in her eyes.
"You wound me, mother" I said. Mom laughed before she glanced at Archie.
"Oh" she said with a laugh. "I recognise that rooster top. Archie Andrews?" We all laughed as Mom hugged him as well. "Oh... Gosh, you sure grew up"
"Oh...so... you two finally got together, huh?" Mom questioned with a smirk. "I always knew there was something going on between you"
"Mom!" I gasped as I looked at Archie. "We're not together. Just on the road together"
"Besides, your daughters got a boyfriend, Mrs Jones" Archie added.
"Oh a boyfriend...bet your father didn't take that well" Mom scoffed.
"He didn't" I sighed.
"Classic FP Jones" Mom sighed. "Well you didn't come to Toledo for the weather. What's going on? Why didn't you call me, tell me you were coming!?"
"Last time I called, you said I couldn't come" I muttered. Moms face filled with regret and Jellybean looked a little surprised so clearly she was unaware of the attempts me and Jughead made to come see her.
"Well, that was a different time" Mom sighed. "Hey. I got my GED now. Hmm? I started this whole place up. I am a legit businesswoman now"
"Hey, Gladys" spoke the same guy from earlier. Tail Pipe just came in with these. Where do you want them?"
"Yeah, yeah, not right now, Lugnut" Mom muttered as she pushed the guy away. "Oh, hey hold up. Get the crew together, huh? Tell them my daughters come home. Her best pal, too. Tonight we are going to feast"
"Whoa! Yeah!" Lugnut cheered as he walked away and Mom chuckled.
"Come on, let me give you a tour" Mom said as she took my arm.
"Has Jughead stay out of trouble?" Mom asked as we walked.
"Well apart from the few times he got his ass kicked from the Ghoulies, he hasn't had anything severe" I answered.
"Yeah" Mom nodded. "Unlike you who went and sacrificed herself for the Serpents"
"Yeah" I sighed. "I died for them. Literally"
"Speaking of Jughead, did he not come with you?" Mom questioned.
"I'm sure he would of if he knew we were going to come here. To be honest I left with just leaving a note" I sighed. "Left everybody"
"Even that boyfriend of yours?" Mom questioned as she pointed to the ring on my finger.
"Yeah. Proper bitch of a girlfriend I am" I scoffed.
"If he truly loved you, he'd understand" Mom said with a smile. "Right let's get ready. We have a feast to get to"