"My mom told the whole story last night," Betty said. "Did you get anything out of FP?"
"Yeah, he told me his version, start to finish," I replied. "I'd say we should meet up and compare stories, but you'd either have to come here, and I'm not sure the boys want anyone knowing where we are, or we'll have to wait for tonight and meet up at the Serpent camp."
"No, no, no. This can't wait. We need to talk to Jughead," Betty said. "I'm on my way to meet him at the bunker. Do you think you can get there?"
I glanced over at Dakota and Hunter who were hunched over the phone. "What bunker?"
Betty sighed. "Dilton Doiley had this bunker in Fox Forest. It's where he used to play G&G with Ben and Ethel. Only a few people know about it. Can you get there?"
I ran a hand through my hair, knowing it was a risk. "Okay. How do I find it?" After getting directions from Betty, I walked over to the pair still on the phone. "Anything good?"
"Bates has information for us, but nothing good," Dakota said.
"What's going on?"
"That game is popping up in other places, Abi," Bates said. "I've got reports of it being played as far away as Athens."
I sighed. "Have you heard anything about people having seizures like they were over here?"
"Nothing like that," Bates said. "It's mostly kids playing, sitting wherever they can with those dice and papers in front of them. But, uh, there's something else." I glanced at Hunter and Dakota who shrugged, waiting for Bates to continue. "Jingle jangle isn't being used like it was, but there's a new drug that follows G&G. And it's being pushed by a new gang, calling themselves the Gargoyles."
"Okay, what can you tell us about them?" Hunter asked. "The drug or these Gargoyles."
"That's about all I know about the gang, but they're easy to spot, they wear gargoyle masks," Bates said. "And they're pushing something called Fizzle Rocks. It looks like the old-school candy, but it's laced with something else, I'm not sure what."
I tuned out the rest of the conversation, lost in thought. Could these Gargoyles be working with the Ghoulies? Were the Ghoulies manufacturing these new Fizzle Rocks and letting the Gargoyles distribute them? Or were the Gargoyles buying Jingle Jangle and adding it to the Fizzle Rocks themselves? No matter what, I needed to talk to Betty and Jughead about the game.
As expected, Hunter and Dakota weren't happy about my plan to venture into Riverdale during the day, but a short time later I met up with Betty in the forest, letting her lead me to the entrance to the bunker.
"Jughead's been playing the game," Betty sighed, gesturing to the table littered with papers and cards in front of Jughead.
"You didn't know that?" I asked, looking between them. "I thought you two were joined at the hip."
Betty turned to me, shocked and slightly angry. "Um, no, I didn't know."
"Okay, so can we get to the point of why we're here right now?" I asked, taking one of the empty seats around the table.
Betty sat as well, launching into the tale that Alice had told her last night. It was pretty similar to what I'd gotten from FP, a few minor differences and information the other wouldn't have known about.
"So my dad played G&G in high school, huh?" Jughead asked when Betty was done. "Of course, it makes so much sense."
"Not just your dad and Alice, but also Mr Andrews, the Lodges, Cheryl and Josie's mothers, and Kevin, Dilton, and Reggie's fathers," I said. "They swore each other to secrecy."
"Jug, while they were playing, one of them killed their principal back then, Felix Featherhead, either accidentally or on purpose, but he had blue lips," Betty added. Just like Ben and Dilton, which is why all of this has to stop–"
"Betty, the fact that our parents played G&G just corroborates what I've come to believe, that we've been playing this game for a lot longer than we know. And off-board," Jughead cut in.
I half listened as he went on, picking up some of the cards off the table at random. Reading the character cards and flipping through the manual, I could see how Jughead had gotten so into becoming Game Master. It was like having his stories acted out in front of him, just with a pair of dice and some paper instead of a stage in front of an audience.
"The whole game is an analog for Riverdale," Jughead continued. "The game only exists in Riverdale. That's why we couldn't find it on the web."
"Okay, well, that is a weird coincidence," Betty said.
"That's not true though," I said, dropping the manual back on the table. "FP said he'd heard about the game being played in Seaside back then. And it's been popping up in other towns recently too." I tell them about the Fizzle Rocks or the Gargoyles, seeing as neither had shown up around here yet. I hoped they wouldn't at all.
"Yes! It's not a coincidence, it's all connected," Jughead said, shuffling the papers in front of him, stopping at some hand drawn maps. "It's all one big narrative that's still being written and played."
I pushed out of my chair, walking around the small room. Betty was still trying to get through to Jughead, but I could tell already that it was a lost cause.
"Are you coming with me," Abigail?" Betty asked, getting my attention.
Turning away from the pictures of what I assumed were supposed to be the Gargoyle King, I saw Betty standing impatiently at the bottom of the ladder. I glanced down at Jughead but he was lost in the game already, quickly scribbling notes to himself. Uh, yeah," I replied. I followed her out of the bunker, scanning the trees for any unwanted visitors. "So, where are we going?"
"School," Betty replied, launching into detective mode. "We have nine suspects, and we've already talked to two of them. Dilton's dead, and I don't think Cheryl will be up to asking her mother about anything. Veronica has enough going on with managing Pop's, La Bonne Nuit, and trying to get Archie out of juvie. What we can do right now is talk to Josie, Kevin and Reggie and try to get them to talk to their parents about the game."
"You do realize I'm not going with you, right?" I asked. "If Minetta gets word that I'm at the school, he's not going to give me any chance to get away."
Betty sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Sheriff Minetta's still upset about that fire, but some good did come of it."
"Yeah, I know," I said. "Fangs already told me how it helped clear the crowd so FP and Jughead could get him to the hospital."
"It did more than that," Betty replied. "Andrews Construction got hired on to rebuild the sheriff's station. That's a huge job for them. I think it really helped distract Mr Andrews during Archie's trial. And he hired some of the Serpents to work for him." FP hadn't told me that last part, but I was still glad to hear it.
"Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction," I said quietly. I couldn't remember who said that, but the quote fit.
The day passed slowly, and eventually I found myself in the Jones's trailer. Jughead was working on creating new G&G quests while I examined the photos Veronica had finally handed over.
"How much paper are you going to waste?" I asked as Jughead pulled another page from his typewriter. There was already a decent collection of paper balls on the floor around him.
Before he could reply, Toni and Cheryl let themselves in. "Jones, we have a problem," Toni said. "Your boys went off the deep-end and got into the arsenal."
Cheryl held up an arrow before turning to me. "What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped.
"Taking in the magnificent scenery," I said, sliding the pictures back into their envelope.
"I see you haven't changed," Cheryl replied coldly.
Jughead led the way out of the trailer, Toni giving me an apologetic look as she pulled Cheryl after her.
"Next time I'll get it," I heard Fangs say, he and Sweet Pea laughing.
"What's going on out here, fellas?" Jughead asked. I stopped at the bottom of the steps, watching everyone.
"Toni and I were in her tent having a rendezvous..." Cheryl began.
"When this arrow shot right through it," Toni finished. "Three feet to the left and I'd be missing an eye right now."
Fangs shrugged, holding up the bow in his hand. "Yeah, well, we were practicing our aim for the next quest."
"We wanna go off-board, take G&G to the real world," Sweet Pea said.
"We heard other groups are doing it," Fangs added.
I hadn't expected Fangs to get into the game, much less Sweet Pea. But considering the misfit group FP played the game with, I shouldn't be surprised.
Jughead glared at them. "Tough. I'm the Game Master so I decide when we go off-board."
"You're the Serpent King, Jones. Isn't that enough?" Sweet Pea questioned. "We're your foot soldiers in life, we gotta be the same in the game? Down in the mud, taking all the risks?"
"Sweet Pea, we're not starting this again," Jughead replied.
I raised an eyebrow, looking between the two. Sweet Pea did have a point, why should Jughead hold all the power? After all, he was the one who said the game was an escape from reality. If he wasn't careful, a Serpent losing an eye would be the least of his problems.
Cheryl, grab your bow, notch an arrow," Jughead demanded, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Jones, wait, what are you doing?" Toni asked.
We all watched as Jughead balanced an empty beer can on his head, back against a tree. "Come on, fire!" he ordered.
"He's not serious, is he?" Fangs asked, looking around at all of us.
"Fire, Deadeye!" Jughead shouted, prompting Cheryl to shoot her arrow through the can and into the tree.
Jughead pulled the arrow free, walking away from the tree. "Sweet Pea, if you have something to prove, get against the tree."
"What? Hell no. You're crazy," he protested, looking to Fangs and I desperately.
"No," Jughead said coldly. "I'm Game Master, which means it's my game and my rules. You wanna go on a quest? You want to prove you're bad-asses? You're gonna get a chance. But not until I say so. Don't defy me again."
"Come on, babe," Toni said, pulling Cheryl away. "Let's get out of here." I watched them walk away, Cheryl's bow still in her hand.
"Did you find something?" Jughead asked, gesturing to the envelope in my hand.
I nodded. "Maybe. But I need to look at the pictures again tomorrow, some of it's hard to see."
"Pictures of what?" Fangs asked, as he and Sweet Pea walked over.
"The jingle jangle lab you found at the Wyrm," I replied, looking at Sweet Pea. "You didn't mess with anything in there, did you?"
"No, I didn't get close. Why?" he asked.
I sighed, choosing my words carefully. "The jingle jangle recipe is extremely precise. The few times it's been altered over the years have resulted in some bad batches. If you were lucky, you only experienced side-effects like the seizures people have been having. But this time, it may have been something else they're creating in there. Something tied to Gryphons and Gargoyles."
"You're saying the game has ties to the Ghoulies and their drug business?" Jughead asked.
"It's possible. But that's why I need to look at these again," I replied. "I need to make a call too." I needed to talk to Bates again, see if he'd learned anything else about Fizzle Rocks and this new Gargoyles gang before I said anything to Jughead. "Be careful with the game," I added, looking the three in the eye.
Jughead said goodnight, heading back into his trailer, and I took Fangs and Sweet Pea up on their offer to walk me out of the camp again. "I can give you a ride, if you want," Sweet Pea offered when we reached the edge.
I gave him a small smile, half tempted to say yes. "Thanks, but we can't risk anyone wondering why I'm walking into the woods alone in the middle of the night. And your bike would be sure to draw attention."
"You could stay here with us," Fangs said. "Then you'd be surrounded by Serpents who had your back."
"I'm already pushing my luck by being here at all," I replied.
The two nodded in understanding. "Will you be back tomorrow?" Sweet Pea asked hopefully.
"Most likely," I said, laughing at the grins that spread across both their faces.
Author's Note: Please continue to vote and/or comment on the story. Not going to lie, it does motivate me to keep writing.
Also, Pablo Picasso is the one who said "Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction."