Work Text:
Archie groaned as someone shook him awake.
"Mhm?" He murmured, trying to roll around but something shook again.
"Archie, there's someone at the door" Veronica whispered and he groaned softly, finally opening his eyes to blink at her.
"Mhm?"
"There's someone at the door. Can you get it? I need to get up for work in like- two hours"
"Ronni" Archie whined before just groaning when she gently nudged him towards the corner of the bed until he rolled off and landed on the ground.
"Ronni" Archie whined once more, rubbing his eyes as he slowly pushed himself up. He groaned, blindly grasping for his shirt from the prior day before walking out of the bedroom in order to reach the front door. On his way over, someone continued to ring the doorbell and hammer on the door until Archie snapped it open.
"What??"
"Archie" Jughead called, eyes widening softly upon seeing the other. His chest was heaving from the pants, his clothes drenched from the rain and his eyes looked red too.
"Jug? What in God's name are you doing here?"
"You- I don't- Shit, Archie. You- You gotta take them"
"What? Take who? Jug, slow down and breathe for a moment. What's going on?"
"I- There's no time. I need to-" He turned to glance back at his car before facing Archie again "You need to take them, the kids. Promise- Promise you'll keep them safe"
"Okay but first you tell me what's going on"
"I can't. No time. Just- You have to trust me. Please. Betty's- I need to-" Jughead stammered, driving a hand through his drenched hair before shaking his head.
"What's going on?"
"Betty's in danger. You need to take the kids. Promise to keep them safe. If something happens, I need to- I need to know that..."
"Just tell me what the fuck has been going on" Archie snapped, reaching out to grasp his jacket but Jughead pulled back.
"Can't. I can't. Promise to take care of them. Promise. You need to promise, Archie"
"I- I- Yeah, okay. Okay, I promise. But for God's sake tell me what's going on!" Archie pleaded, heading after Jughead when the other headed for his car. He opened the door to the backseat, unbuckling his four year old before picking it up.
"Daddy" The girl murmured, still half asleep as she got jostled around.
"Shh, just laying you down on the couch. Stay asleep" Jughead whispered before going to the other side of the car to take out the car seat with his second child, a one year old boy.
"Bags are in the trunk" He told Archie while carrying both children back to the house, ignoring Archie's stammering protests. Jughead carried his children over to the couch, putting down the carseat first before gently lowering his girl on the couch. He kissed her forehead and pulled a blanket over her body before standing up again.
Archie arrived a few seconds later, still looking puzzled at him.
"What's going on?" Archie repeated, setting down the two bags "Why are you here, in the middle of the night, handing over your children?"
"I-" Jughead paused once more, eyes looking around the room before landing on his girl once more, then to Archie before starting to head out of the door.
"Jughead" Archie called, trying his best to not wake up the children but that was very hard with such a stubborn friend like Jughead, who never explained anything.
"Jughead, wait!" He called, finally grasping a piece of his jacket sleeve to pull him back around "What's going on??"
"I can't. There's no time. I-" He shook his head, eyes glancing back to the car before returning to Archie "They've got- Someone's got Betty. She was on that case and then- Something happened and I don't- I need to find her Archie. I need to"
"Okay. Okay. I get it. Where are we going?"
"Not we. I am going"
"Jughead-"
"You're not in the FBI, Archie"
"And you shouldn't do this on your own!"
"I have to. I need to get her back, Archie"
"So take help, Jughead. You can't just do this on your own. If Betty's already gone-"
"I know where she is. I know what to do. I can't take anyone else with me"
"You have to inform-"
"I need to save her. Just- promise to take care of the kids until we're back"
"Will you be back??"
"I-" There was another glance back to the car before Jughead huffed, eyes turning back to meet Archie's.
"Can you promise to come back when I let you go on your own now, Jughead? Promise on your sister and your children"
"I..." His eyes wavered once more, hand trying to slip out of the sleeve but Archie just grabbed his wrist tighter.
"Jughead" He growled and the other huffed.
"You know damn well that I can't promise on them. But that's every day that I go to work, and you know that. Let me go. I need to get her, Archie"
"I'm not letting you go on your own when you can't promise that, Jughead. Take someone with you. Anyone"
"Archie, I don't have time for this. I don't have time for backup and I don't have time for you to hold me here. I don't have the time- Let me go or I'll force you"
"Jughead, I'm not letting you-" Archie started before freezing when Jughead managed to pull his arm out of the jacket sleeve, not wasting a second before dashing for the car.
"Goddammit" Archie cursed under his breath, quickly letting go of the jacket in order to run after him but by the time that he had caught up to him, Jughead was already in the car, doors locked.
"I'm sorry" He mouthed before starting the motor and Archie couldn't do anything but watch him drive away. He stood in the rain until he couldn't see the lights of Jughead's car anymore before heading back inside. Slightly out of air himself, he went to check on the children — finding both of them asleep where Jughead left them. Taking a deep breath, he put a blanket on both of them before going to grab his phone and calling the only one he thought could help.
"Archie?" A very tired sounding Charles asked, trying to stifle a yawn and Archie almost felt bad for possibly waking him up.
"Are you aware that Betty's missing?"
"Yes? We lost contact to her two days ago. How do you know that?"
"I think, Jughead's about to get into shit again"
"Don't tell me..." The man cursed softly.
"Jughead's going solo again, yes. I don't know where he's going but he seems to know his destination. And he just gave me their children. Shit's about to get down and I need you to find out where he's going right now"
"Okay- Okay, got it. I will, I promise. Can you tell me something about where he's going? Anything he has said?"
"No. He didn't say anything about the where. Don't you have clues too? Or can't you just- Can't you just locate his stupid phone or something? I mean, it's his work car. You- gotta track such stuff, don't you?"
"Well... not in that way, Archie"
"I don't care. Do something. I need him to come back"
"I'll try, but you know how he is"
"That's why I'm calling you. Do something, Charles. Anything"
"I will, but that will take some time"
And time was never really Jughead's strong suit.
"Whatever. Just get him home, please" Archie added after a moment, voice softer now.
"I will try my best, I promise. I want him home just like you" Charles replied before ending the call.
"What's going on? What are they doing here and with whom were you on the phone?" Veronica whispered, only in underwear as she came downstairs to approach him, a hand reaching up to rest against his chest.
"Jug's..." Archie trailed off, glancing back at the sleeping children "Betty's off the grid and... and Jughead's probably doing something reckless to get her back currently"
"So, he drove off?"
"Yup. Didn't even really say what's going on exactly. I'm worried, V. This is like- one of the worst ones so far. He looked- like, really distressed"
"It's Jughead. He does this shit twice a week"
"Not like this, Ronni. You- didn't see how he was"
"He will figure it out. It's Jughead. I'm sure he's not doing this without a backup plan"
"What if he is? What if he's not thinking at all right now?"
"Then- Then we just need to do what he asked of us for now, take care of the little ones until he's back"
"What if he doesn't come back?"
"He will" Veronica assured, taking a deep breath to ground herself as well "He will, Archie. It's Jughead. He won't just- give up like that"
Jughead didn't look back once he had started the motor. Normally, he would have probably listened to Archie. If it was any other case, he would have probably listened and stayed with Archie or at least waited until backup came. Were it any other case, he would have probably called Charles himself.
But this wasn't any other case.
This was Betty, who had gone off the grid two days ago already. Who had been in a stupid case on her own and then disappeared without trace, who didn't even tell him where she was off too and who didn't tell him what was going on — and she always did.
Except this time she didn't tell him anything.
This time, she said she had to leave for work early and never came back. Jughead knew that he was out of line. It was not his place to go searching for her, and that not only because she was his wife. He had other things to take care of but those could wait — everything could wait until Betty was safe.
And every coming hour that she wasn't, his stomach just pulled tighter and tighter and he hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday because he just couldn't bring himself to.
And then that stupid burner phone rang. Betty's burner phone she was currently using, except that it laid in their kitchen, open for anyone to find. Except Jughead found it and it was some stupid coordinates that he had memorized within a few seconds before it could get deleted again. There was no other message, no name, no time, no anything. Just stupid coordinates that lead to the middle of some forest with no record of anything being there expect for dense wilderness.
Jughead was driving blind now. He didn't bring that damned phone to check the coordinates once more. It wouldn't have mattered. GPS went off ten minutes ago and he had just been driving along that same path in hopes of just finding anything, driving deeper into that Godforsaken forest that seemed to grow darker with every passing second. He was sure that it was just before sunrise but it didn't seem like it, it seemed like it was in the middle of the night still.
The rain was still beating down on his window and he could barely see, despite the windscreen wiper working overtime. By now, the path had ended and he was sure that he would need to step out of the car soon in order to walk.
Some part of Jughead was aware that this was nothing else but a way to trap him, alone, in a forest without a way to run or someone to help him out but it didn't matter.
It didn't matter if it meant that he could save Betty.
Jughead drove another three minutes before he killed the engine. It was no use anymore. He wasn't sure if the car could take much more either, so he stopped, killed the engine and took out the keys. Now, the rainfall seemed even heavier and Jughead had to grip the steering wheel in order to take a deep breath, his lungs straining at the attempt. He should have gotten a rainproof jacket but that hadn't mattered two hours ago.
Perhaps he should have told Archie the coordinates too.
Just to be safe.
But he hadn't thought of that back then.
He hadn't thought about a lot, to be honest.
Before hurling out of the car, Jughead reached in the glove compartment to get out another burner phone. He doubted that any kind of message would send but he attempted to send one anyways, to Charles this time.
Putting the phone back, he exchanged it for the Glock he kept in there — also for the ‘just in case’. He checked the magazine before tucking it into the back of his jeans. Grabbing the small flashlight that was kept clipped to the visor, he finally stepped out of the car.
His boots sank into the mud, causing him to grimace softly. The sudden wind made him cough softly, the breeze sharp and cold. He shut the door before turning on the flashlight, trying to gauge the path — anything, really — with the narrow beam. Pulling his arms tight around his body for warmth, Jughead started to trudge in one direction, hoping it was the right one.
He wasn't sure how long he walked. He had no phone with him and his smart watch had stopped functioning that morning after he didn’t charge it over the night. Maybe it was hours but it could have also just been a few minutes with how much the mud stuck to his boots. Branches scratched against his face and hands no matter how much he could have looked out for them, not that he really did. Every time a twig snapped or he heard something rustle, he would turn around his own axis, only to realize that it was the storm once more.
The forest was so thick at this point, Jughead almost missed it — the tiniest of reflection. He turned off the flashlight, waiting for a few moments until his eyes had relatively adjusted to the darkness in order to carefully advance towards where the reflection had been.
A few meters further, the forest suddenly cleared, not completely but far enough to see more than your own hand — or a rundown cabin in Jughead's case. Or perhaps more a shag, used to store garage tools inside except that it had been abandoned a while ago. Although, he wasn't sure if it was still a shack or merely four rotting walls holding each other up. There was some sort of sheet metal as a roof, which was probably what had reflected the flashlight. Jughead crouched down in order to lower himself under the shrubs. He could just about make out a faint light through the cracks of the wooden walls.
Looking around the area, he slowly reached for his glock, just in case. However, when his fingers were about to grasp it, there was another sound behind him.
"Don't even think about it, Jones" Jughead stiffened, swallowing softly as he kept staring straight ahead at the cabin. Something pressed against the back of his head, cold and unyielding.
"Hands where I can see them, and don't move" That same voice said and Jughead slowly took his hands from his back pocket in order to lift them into the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he could get a glimpse of the person standing behind him, a man, face covered with a ski mask.
"Where's Betty?" Jughead asked, barely keeping his growl under control.
"She's here. She's alive. Where's the USB stick?" The man asked, yanking the gun from him before tossing it into the underbrushes like it was a stupid toy.
"What USB stick?" Jughead asked, trying to turn around before pausing when the gun was pushed towards his head once more "Okay- No turning around. But what USB stick?"
"You know. The USB stick"
"I don't" Jughead protested, closing his eyes for a moment when the gun pressed harder against his head "I swear, I don't know what USB stick you're talking about"
"The USB stick. We know you have one. From the FBI. The stick with all of the secret identities"
Oh.
That USB stick.
Well…
"I don't have such an USB stick" Jughead protested.
"We know you have one. Blondie talked after a while. We just had to hit her hard enough" The man said and Jughead had to clench his jaw in order to not swing right away — because that wouldn't be wise.
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing that won't heal. Now, where's that USB stick"
"I don't have it with me. Even if, I wouldn't give it to you"
"Too bad, but it's not like I expected something else from you. Well, at least we don't have to keep you alive anymore" The man said, though before he could move, Jughead had driven his elbow in his ribs. The gun went off but Jughead had already ducked, trying to twist away and grab the weapon. However, the man got a grasp of his legs, pulling both of them down.
The two rolled in the mud, both grasping for the gun while simultaneously trying to overpower the other. Something landed against his jaw and Jughead had to suppress a cough as everything went white for a moment. He tasted blood, though he wasn't sure if it was simply because he bit his lips or if it was something in his mouth.
It didn't matter anyways.
He couldn't care about some little blood. That guy had admitted to hurting Betty in some way.
"You-" Jughead grunted, finally grabbing the man's wrist and slamming it against the next tree stamp. Straddling his body, he finally regained some control despite their size difference, straining the man's wrist until the gun fell to the ground.
Not a moment too soon before he got slammed around, slipping off the guy from the heavy rain. While trying to hold him off with one arm, Jughead reached for the dropped gun with his other hand, barely grasping it.
The man was lunging at him once more when Jughead finally got a grip on the gun, slamming it against the man's temple. Leaving him shortly disoriented, Jughead scrambled to his feet, his rain and mud drenched clothes on top of the injuries causing him to stagger as he grabbed the gun properly.
He watched as the man regained his footing as well, though when he staggered towards him, he pulled the trigger at him. He didn't check where he hit exactly. He just needed to slow him down enough in order to not be a threat anymore. If he was dying now, Jughead couldn’t feel sorry for him.
The man remained in the mud, holding his side but Jughead didn't waste any more time before turning on his heels to walk — or more stagger — over to the shack. He wasn't sure why his hands were shaking so badly but he had to re-grab the gun multiple time.
It was mostly the rain and mud.
Or he told himself that, at least.
He circled the shack first before kicking down the door, or what was left of it, only to freeze at the sight. It wasn't much, perhaps three by three meters. The floorboard was partly fallen in already and there was a stench of gasoline. The only light came from a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, though it seemed to be constantly flickering. Betty was bound to a chair in the middle of the room, wrists and ankles already red from scraping. There was a duct-tape over her mouth, though the edges were already loose. Her mascara had left stains on her cheeks and her hair was in a frenzy.
But... she didn't seem to be injured (aside from a few bruises on her face, as far as he could see).
"Betts" He whispered, almost falling to his knees in front of her to work on the rope around her wrists. Betty shook her head, trying to say something but he had focused on freeing her hand that he only noticed a second man behind him when the gun was already touching his scalp again.
"So touching. You really do forget your training around her. Amazing. Now, are you going to hand over that USB stick?" Jughead drove his tongue over his teeth while cursing himself as his eyes flickered up to Betty.
"Get out" He mouthed her before slowly turning around to face the man. With his back turned to Betty, his hands remained on her hands, slowly slipping in the knife.
"So, more than one guy" Jughead muttered dryly, waiting for Betty to close her hands before he slowly straightened up, watching the weapon that was pressed against his forehead now.
"Drop the gun" The man spoke, thrusting the gun harder against his forehead. Clenching his jaw, Jughead slightly tilted his head back in order to relieve the pressure a bit.
"Or what? You gonna kill me?" He spat, not moving. His fingers tightened around the weapon he still held, the rain and mud making it difficult to keep ahold.
"Drop it, Jones" The man repeated, voice colder as he pressed the muzzle harder into his forehead. Jughead still clenched his jaw, his mind racing. If he did drop the gun, chances of them dying was high. If he didn't though, it was probably even higher.
"Now" The man growled after another moment, backing him up further. Jughead's back bumped against Betty's knees and there wasn't much room to go anymore.
When Jughead still wouldn't move, he watched as the man slowly rested his finger against the trigger. Glancing back at Betty, he found her still bound to the chair, trying to subtly move the blade of the knife along the rope without catching too much attention from the masked man. She wouldn't be able to move much, which made any plan he could come up with harder.
Jughead didn't have time to make any plan though. In fact, he barely moved out of the way before the bullet hit him, knocking over Betty's chair to get her out of the line as well. The chair slammed onto the ground next to him, the floorboard creaking under the sudden shift of weight.
Betty yelped softly as her shoulder hit the wood, barely grabbing the knife before it clattered over the floor, though it also resulted in a shallow cut on her hand palm. The chair legs splintered slightly, two legs breaking apart enough that she could wiggle her legs out but her waist was still tied to the wood and her wrists together. Once she was over the sudden movement, she quickly adjusted her grip on the knife to continue sawing at her wrists, not caring if she kept on nicking her own skin, she just needed to get out of here in order to help Jughead.
Jughead didn't have time to check up on her for more than a short glance as the man went to shoot again. The first bullet luckily hit the floor, causing it to splinter but not harm anybody else. That didn't mean that they would get so lucky the second time — especially for Betty who was completely stuck now.
Before the man could pull the trigger a second time, Jughead had gotten to his feet again and attempted to grab it, or at least aim it towards the ceiling. Splinters and dust fell onto them a second later and Jughead felt like he couldn't hear for a second before he regained focus.
Pushing himself in the man's front, he raised his elbow to aim at the man's jaw and caused him to stumble back.
As soon as he released the grip on the gun, Jughead managed to grab it before trying to pull back to create some space but he never got the chance as the man grabbed him instead, driving both of them into the wall. His side, that had already been hit before, collided with the wall and he couldn't help but groan as pain exploded in that area as well.
The two landed in the mud, Jughead beneath the masked man and causing his head to spin, even more so after the man hit the first punch against his cheekbone. His head snapped to the side and his vision blurred, no matter how hard he blinked, trying to get the stars away.
Still partly blinded, he got his knee up between them, trying to get the man off long enough until the static calmed down again but the guy landed another punch in his face. He tried to lift his arms once more, grab the man's flannel or at least try to shove him off but his body wouldn't listen anymore. His arms felt like lead and he wasn't sure if he even moved them at all.
Stars exploded across his vision as the next punch hit his face before his vision darkened. He tried to pry the man off once more but before he made contact with his skin, everything went black.
"Mhm!" Betty screamed, still frantically rubbing the knife against the rope on her wrists in hopes of getting free as she watched her husband fall limp into the mud, completely helpless to the man on top of him as he punched him again.
After making sure that he was passed out, the man stood up from his lap before turning back around to face Betty.
"So, blondie, what now, huh?" He asked, grabbing the gun once more since Jughead's hand was limp now, fingers stretched out over the ground. He coughed softly, supporting his side as he stepped up the small step to enter the shack again.
"Man. You two are some annoying brats. Should have definitely asked for more money" The man mumbled, shaking out his right hand before focusing on Betty once more. She had already hidden the knife between her hands again, in hopes of not being found out. Still grinning, the man approached her, kicking her in the ribs and chuckling as her yelp before crouching down in front of her and grabbing her chin to make her face him.
"You gonna tell me where that USB stick is, now? Or do you want me to mess him up a bit more first?" He asked, ripping off the duct tape.
“I won’t tell you shit”
“Very well, then you watch” The man got up before making his way back to the door. He crouched down in front of Jughead before grabbing him by the collar to punch him in the face. Jughead’s head lolled back, body still limp and Betty couldn’t suppress the short cry, hands working on the rope once more. Once she had cut her wrists, she could surely pull out of the rest of the chair.
Jughead groaned softly as he regained consciousness. He still found himself in the mud, with his head pounding and his body still feeling like lead. His side throbbed but when he tried to move, it only caused him to groan again.
With his head still spinning, he finally opened his eyes and found himself looking at the floor underneath the shack.
And that's when he spotted it.
The gasoline tank.
It was already torn open from one gunshot, and the floorboards had reeked of it before too.
The door was closed, the lightbulb still flickering. There were voices inside. Jughead grunted once more, slowly pulling himself into a sitting position, holding onto his throbbing side. Looking down, he found a piece of the rotten wood sticking out and just quickly decided to look up again, ignoring that little thing for now.
Taking a few deep breaths, Jughead attempted to ground himself before pushing himself into a standing position, having to hold onto the wall while hoping to not make any more noises to gain attention. Ever so slowly, he walked along the wall in order to reach the other end.
With a heave, he lowered himself to the ground once more, almost slipping on the mud. Wheezing softly, he rolled up the leg of his pants, taking out his pocket knife. Unclipping it, he started to slice the fuel line open, gasoline gushing out onto the floor. Jughead quickly grabbed the attached end, aiming it to the floor of the shack in hopes of drenching it more.
"Hey, what's going on down there?" A man asked and Jughead froze when he heard footsteps from above.
Dammit.
He wasn't sure how Betty was.
Was she still tied up, or had she managed to free herself? He didn't have time to check but he couldn't possibly...
If she was still tied up to that chair, then-
"Hey, that little shit's awake" The man barked and Jughead scooted further to the tank, mainly because he couldn't move very well under the small space between the muddy forest floor and the shack's floor.
"Ugh, I'm gonna-" The man growled and scrambled under the floor as well. He didn't seem to have the gun with him though. Jughead kicked after him, trying to keep some space between the two of them.
He wouldn't be able to outrun him in this state.
"Betty, you're gonna need to get out of here!" He called, hoping that she had somehow made it through the rope already. He wasn't sure how long he had been out. Perhaps she had succeeded in cutting herself free already?
At least a little bit...
Enough to get out of there.
Still trying to kick the approaching man away, Jughead reached in his pockets, trying to reach that godforsaken lighter but his jeans were drenched and it felt like the pockets had shrunken and-
"Betty!" Jughead called, once his fingers finally grasped the lighter, pulling it out while he still scooted backwards on his elbows in an attempt to get some more space (and hopefully move away from the tank).
"What are- You're not going to-"
"Out-!" Betty called and Jughead didn't waste another second before moving the lighter to the spilled gasoline. Fire roared to life immediately and he barely rolled out of the way before the floorboards followed and caused the shack to fall in on itself in the matter of seconds.
Jughead groaned as he came to again. He found himself under the debris, fire roaring all around him and the smoke clouding his vision.
He wasn't sure where he was crawling to, his head was throbbing and eyes were ringing and he couldn't stop shaking but he needed to get out of here.
"Jughead!" Betty called as soon as she spotted him under the debris.
"Geez, are you out of your mind??" She asked as she finally caught up to him, quickly helping him out from under the flames. Coughing, Jughead kicked the floorboards from his lower body, vision still swimming as he tried to gauge whether the masked man was still under the fire.
There weren't screams though.
"Betty?" He rasped out, clawing at her shirt to pull himself into a sitting position and she hummed, collapsing behind him as she stared up at the shack — or rather the flames swallowing it now.
"You're so stupid" She continued to scold, panting softly.
"You okay?" Jughead asked instead, trying to get the swirls out of his vision as he continued to cough softly.
"Am I okay? Am I okay?? You just lit a fucking gas tank on fire, while you're under the damn thing!" She scolded, hitting him against the arm before frowning when he winced "You're so stupid! Can you even stand up?"
"Mhm" Jughead mumbled under another cough, supporting himself a bit more as he turned to look around the area "Have you seen the two men? Are they alive?"
"Don't know. Let's just get out of here" She muttered, shaking out her aching wrists before getting on her knees to help him up. However, when they tried to do so, Jughead winced, reaching for his side as he sat up.
"Shit. Jug. What's that?" Betty asked upon seeing his bloodied hand.
"Oh. That. Yeah. I think, when I crashed in the wall?" He mumbled, wincing once more when he slightly lifted his hand again. The wind turned towards them, causing both of them to cough once more.
"Geez. You're so stupid. Why didn't you bring back up?" Betty continued to scold, helping him stand up. Jughead's vision swam further and his knees bucked though and the two landed on the mud once more.
"Okay, no standing" Jughead assessed, panting softly as he grasped his side once more. He groaned softly, head tipping back to rest against her chest.
"Yeah, no standing for you" Betty agreed, adjusting her grip on him. She wrapped her arms under his armpits to pull him up and drag him back to the under shrub.
"Sorry. Didn't think- about the explosion- or smoke" Jughead replied, coughing again while attempting to help Betty get both of them away from the fire by pushing his legs but the mud was slippery and it was still raining, although it had ebbed down, and they constantly slipped down.
He hadn't thought about anything, really.
Nothing but Betty.
"Betty?" Jughead asked, once the two had collapsed on some muddied leaves and twigs. She hummed, shifting, despite the pants herself, in order to check on his side. It was still throbbing, the wood holding off most of the bleeding but there was still a thin layer of blood on his side, aside from the shirt melted to his skin.
"Jughead. You're so stupid"
"You keep on saying that" He mumbled, voice starting to slur and Betty paused, cupping his face.
"Hey. Jug, stay awake, okay?"
"No, I thin' 'm gonna pass out, actually" He said, blinking dazed and Betty shook her head.
"The hell you do. Stay awake, Jughead. You need to stay awake, or I'm going to kill you, okay?" She pleaded, though Jughead's eyes were already starting to glaze over.
"Jughead??" She called, squeezing his face but his eyelids started to close and he didn't respond anymore. Panicked, she quickly checked for his heartbeat and whether he was still breathing — he did both.
"Betty?? Jughead??" Someone called, somewhere near the clearing, and Betty needed a few moments before recognizing Charles' voice.
"Charles?? We're here! Behind the cabin! Jug's out!"