Chapter 8: Demons

                                    

                                          
Jughead's PoV: 
After they buried Midge, I didn't hear from Hope for a while. I got a text maybe once or twice a week if I was lucky, but she hasn't shown up at school for the past 3 weeks. 
                          
I know that I'm not going to get an answer, but I need to tell her before I...go. 
                          
I press the call button for her contact, listening to the rings that I've been hearing for the last few weeks, before getting her voicemail. 
                          
At least I get to hear it one last time. 
                          
"Hey, this is Hope. Sorry, I can't come to the phone right now but leave your name and number and I'll get back to you ASAP. Bye!" 
                          
"Hope, it's Jughead. I don't know where you are, or what you're doing, but I need to tell you this before I go. I am completely and utterly in love with you. Yeah, that's right. I love you. And I'll never stop loving you. More than anything. I'd take a million bullets for you! You're the Scooby to my Shaggy, the Hermione to my Harry. We're inseparable. Well, until now, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Anyway, some things are gonna happen, and there's a 99% chance that I won't make it out alive. So I needed to tell you that I love you one last time...hear your voice one last time before...you know. And even though death is inevitable, I hoped that I would be able to spend more time with you than we had before I met mine. I'm sorry, Hope, but this is goodbye. I love you." I spoke into the phone. 
                          
I wiped away the stray tears that rolled down my cheeks as I shoved my phone into my pocket before entering the clearing. 
                          
The clearing where I would inevitably reveal myself, causing me to have to leave my home...the only home I've ever known. 
                          
—2 Hours Earlier...—
                          
"Hiya, Jones." Penny spoke in her annoying voice. 
                          
"Toni. Are you ok?" I asked the pink haired girl that has become one of my best friends. 
                          
"Jughead, she's not alone." Toni said quickly as the sound of metal clanging echoed around me. 
                          
I pulled out my pocket knife, using it as protection against whatever might be coming at me. 
                          
"Surprise!" Malachi, the leader of the Ghoulies, sang, a twisted essence of insanity laced in his tone. 
                          
"You said it was just gonna be the two of us!" I spat at Penny, glaring at her accusingly. 
                          
"I never go anywhere without backup anymore. Not after what you did to me," She spat back at me, "Besides, we need to talk. All of us." 
                          
More Ghoulies has begun to surround Malachi, forming a circle around me. 
                          
"There's nothing to talk about," I told her, "I'm taking Toni and we're leaving." 
                          
"Not so fast," Malachi sneered, "I've been waiting to see you again for a long time." 
                          
He pulled out a taser, the blue, glowing electricity contrasting the red and orange flames of the fire in the centre of the clearing. 
                          
"Get back, you Hobgoblin." Cheryl said, stepping out of the shadows. She had her arrow aimed at Malachi, and I know for a fact that the redhead, as much of a bitch as she is, never misses her targets. 
                          
"I brought backup too. Like I said, we're taking Toni and we're leaving." I said once more. 
                          
"Untie her, you serpent hag." Cheryl added, her bow still aimed at Malachi. 
                          
Penny scoffed, shaking her head, before saying, "Take her then. But remember when all your friends are dead that I tried giving you a chance." 
                          
Toni was untied, quickly running to behind me and then onto hide behind Cheryl. 
                          
Smart choice. 
                          
"What do you want?" I asked Penny, "Why do you keep coming back?" 
                          
"The Southside," She said almost tauntingly, "There's money to be made here in the town with Pep. If you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty." 
                          
"So you partnered with the Ghoulies to sell drugs on the Southside?" I asked nobody but myself, wondering why it took me so long to realise that she was the one orchestrating the whole plot. 
                          
"Bingo! So here's the coffer I want you to take back to your Dad and your tribe: the Serpents ship out tonight or it's a showdown at Pickins Park with the Ghoulies at dawn," Penny told me. The Ghoulies sent sick and twisted grins at me, whilst I sent Penny a cold glare, "I'm fine either way." 
                          
—Now (Play the song for extra dramaticness)—
"The sacrificial lamb arrives!" Penny taunted.
                          
"I'll remind you of the deal that I made with your boss, Hiram Lodge," I spat at Penny, making my way towards her, "I hand myself over to you tonight and there's no bloodshed tomorrow." 
                          
"Apparently getting you out of the picture is more important to him than an all-out Serpent annihilation." Penny laughed. 
                          
"Thirty-to-one? Are you that afraid of me?" I asked her, trying to seem scared. 
                          
Truthfully, I am scared. Scare of what I'll become. 
                          
"The only scary thing is what we're gonna do to your girlfriend when we find her." Malachi smirked, the Ghoulies beginning to crowd around me. 
                          
That was the final straw. 
                          
I pushed my fist as hard as it would go, making sure that it aligned with his jaw. And that was it. The Ghoulies poured onto me, punching and kicking me at every angle. 
                          
"You're a true hero, Jughead," Penny comented as I laid on the floor, letting them think they had the upper hand before I would strike, "Let your dying thought be that your sacrifice was for nothing. And that come morning, Riverdale as you know it will cease to exist." 
                          
I thrashed around, waiting for the right moment before I could make the kill. 
                          
"Don't finish him off yet, Guys!" Penny shouted, her tone laced with excitement, "I want my pound of flesh first." 
                          
Boom. 
                          
Quicker than lightning, I grabbed one of the Ghoulie's necks, snapping it with my bare hands. I threw myself up, killing, maiming and decapitating every last one fo them. Penny and Malachi must have left, because they were nowhere to be seen. 
                          
Cowards. 
                          
My breathing heavy, I threw the head of the last Ghoulie to my feet, looking up to see a face. A face with an expression that could only be read as fear. 
                          
Hope.
                          
————
Well, it's been a while, eh? I'm sorry for the lack of updating, guys. But writer's block is a bitch. FYI I wrote like half of this at six in the morning and I had no sleep so it's probably shit but hopefully still suspenseful. 
                          
Any guesses as to where Hope was? I'm writing the next chapter now (I already wrote like half of it because I didn't know what to do with this 😂) so it won't be too long! 
                          
And any guesses as to why Hope has a fearful expression? Spoiler alert: it's got something to do with the title! 
                          
Comment and let me know what you think! And if for some reason you like this crap, please vote for it. It makes me happy! Thanks a bunch xx
                          
Well, peace out bitches (if you get that reference I love you) and I'm on season 11 of Supernatural and considering that I started season 10 last Monday and finished it the Sunday after (that's 23 40-minute long episodes) I'm very proud of myself 😂 
                          
Baiiii!!!!!!