Sorry for being gone so long I just stopped having any inspo for this story but I'm trying to work on it! I'll do better! xoxo

The next three weeks go by without incident. Well, without Riverdale levels of incidents. There are plenty of fights. For two blissful weeks, the Serpents even had full control of the TV room and Ghoulies weren't allowed in. The only noteworthy thing that happened was my mom visiting me for the first time since Christmas but now she's in Malibu or Mumbai or something so who really cares? She taught me a valuable lesson when I was eleven; everyone will leave you eventually so you'd better get used to it. She's a great mom. I love my life.

The end of our drama free weeks was marked by a Serpent girl named Jade barging into mine and Missy's room while we were playing cards on her bed.

"Crash! You'll never believe this. Kelly heard from Holly that Candy, the Ghoulie, heard from her boyfriend Bats that Archie Andrews escaped juvie from a hole in the bottom of the pool." She said excitedly. I share a confused look with Missy before turning back to Jade.

"There is no pool at L&L." I told her. She rolled her eyes.

"Duh! It's in the abandoned rec center that the warden uses for his secret fight clubs." She explains. I give Missy another look and turn back to Jade.

"Duh me again and I'll cut your fucking tongue out." I warn. Jade's smile drops and she nods. She hesitates by the door for a few more seconds. "Get out." She leaves.

"Think she knows what she's talking about?" Missy asks, as soon as Jade is out of earshot. I shrug and we resume our game of cards.

It's not until the alarm starts blaring and we go on lock-down that I actually consider what Jade said. Honestly, I should know by now not to question anything that happens in Riverdale. Weird shit happens all the time.

We stay on lock-down for a full 24 hours. None of the guards will tell anyone what's going on or why we're being punished. Missy and I decide to let our best gossips spread the word that Archie Andrews, a Serpent, escaped L&L. We're let off lock-down the next day, allowed to mingle and resume our regular routines. Minus, of course, our radio and TV privileges. Word spreads the next day that Warden Norton killed himself and within 5 hours of that, the guards come to find me. I'm dragged into a private room and set at a table across from Sheriff Minetta.

"Carrie Collins." He greets. He doesn't wait for me to say anything before continuing. "I'm sure by now word has spread that Archibald Andrews has escaped Leopold & Lobe."

"And you're here to what? Rub it in my face that I'm stuck here?" I ask. Sheriff Minetta smirks.

"I'm here to find out what you know about your partner in crime going AWOL." He says.

"I don't know anything. I had to find out through some Ghoulie grapevine that Archie was gone." I tell him.

"And I'm just supposed to believe you?" He asks. "Like I'm supposed to believe that you two didn't kill Cassidy Bullick at Shadow Lake."

"Yup." I say with a shrug.

"That's too bad." He says. He stands up and leaves, leaving me alone in the room for a few minutes. Eventually, the guards come back but instead of taking me back to my usual cell, they take me to solitary.

I'm in solitary for a full week before anyone comes back for me. When the guard comes and tells me I have a visitor, I half expect it to be Penny Peabody. Like time went backwards when I was locked in that room and someone gave me the chance to do everything over. But they didn't. I can't take any of it back.

Instead, Mary Andrews is waiting for me when they let me out of solitary. She tells me that they found evidence that the Shadow Lake boys were coerced and they made the whole thing up for Sheriff Minetta. She tells me that I'm being released. I don't tell her that I spent the last three days hallucinating Jason Blossom's dead body in my cell. Mrs. Andrews waits for me the entire time I'm being out-processed. She even stays to drive me home afterwards. I have to tell her that I don't have a home. She drives me to the edge of the Serpent's tent city, gives me a sorry look and a slip of paper with her phone number, and pulls away.

I don't really know what to do. The week in solitary really scrambled my brain and I'm having a hard time thinking of anyone who's not locked up that doesn't hate me. Eventually, I wander through tent city, trying to find the trailers that we still owned. Clearly, getting our homes back stopped being a priority for FP and Jughead after they got their trailer from the Ghoulies. Tent city had barely changed. Definitely not the new home FP had talked about before leaving. Eventually, I stumble across the only place I knew I would always be welcomed, or at the very least let into. I knock on the door and after two agonizing minutes, it swings open.

"Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in?" Thomas Topaz laughs. The sound makes tears spring to my eyes but I wipe them away roughly before he sees. He moves out of the door way and goes back to his chair, letting me inside without saying as much. "When'd you get out, troublemaker?"

"About thirty minutes ago." I say, dropping onto his couch. I lean forward and hold my head between my knees, trying to center myself so I stop feeling like the world is spinning. It doesn't help much. Old Man Topaz leaves me be for a few minutes, kicking up his recliner and watching me silently.

"You good?" He asks after a while. I don't lift my head from my knees.

"Not really." I admit lightly. After a pregnant pause, Thomas talks again.

"There are a lot of things I wanted to pass on to your generation, Carrie. You and my granddaughter. Our Uktena legacy, our story, our pride. But I thought, maybe naively… maybe not, I thought it would get better. I thought things would be easier for you. I'm sorry to say that's not the case. But you can't give up. And as much as I hate to say it, if the Serpents aren't protecting you anymore, you need to find a way to protect yourself. The Serpents, maybe they aren't the Uktena legacy. But it's in your veins. It's in your heart." He says.

"You're a cheesy old man." I manage to joke. I can't keep the tears from pouring out of my eyes the second I speak. I keep my head between my knees so he can't see even though I'm sure he can hear my breathing.

"I may be a cheesy old man, who cares? I'm telling the truth. I'm spitting some wisdom, as the kids say." He says and I laugh a little but don't stop crying. "Your ancestors have your back, kid. Your dad, your grandparents, even your Uncle even if he's not Uktena. They're watching you and guiding you."

"Well, can they tell me what to do next? Cause I'm pretty fricken lost." I say, my voice significantly higher than usual. Thomas laughs.

"Maybe they can't. But I can." He says. I look up to see him digging in his pocket and pulling out a twenty dollar bill. "Next, you go to Pop's and buy us both dinner."

I take a few seconds to calm my breathing and wipe all evidence of tears out of my eyes before taking the money and holding it tightly in my fist. Thomas watches me with a tinge of pity in his eyes but I try not to take it personally. After a few seconds, the corner of his mouth turns up in a smile.

"Now, enough of the pity party. I want a burger, kid." He says. I let out a breathy laugh and stand, rubbing my hands on my jeans. I'm wearing the same outfit I was arrested in. I don't know what they did with Veronica's clothes she let me borrow for court and I don't think I'll ever find out. I also have no idea where any of my stuff is. Fuck it. I'm getting a milkshake and dealing with this later.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back soon." I mutter. I leave Mr. Topaz's trailer. My head still feels like it's not fully connected to my body and it's hard to focus on everything around me. Maybe I died in solitary. Or I ate a piece of moldy bread and I'm still in Shankshaw tripping balls. That would make more sense than me being free 18 years too early. I wasn't prepared for this.

Thankfully, I don't run into anyone on my walk to Pop's. I'm not entirely sure I could handle seeing any of my friends. If they are my friends. I'm not really sure of anything right now. Except that I need food that didn't come in a gallon sized can.

The bell above Pop's door chimes when I walk in and it's like a layer of shit is being scraped off my shoulders. Like, maybe if I just stand here opening and closing the door all day I'd finally feel normal. I won't though, I don't want to annoy Pop Tate.

"Just a minute!" Someone shouts from the back. I take a seat at the counter, laying the 20 dollar bill on the bar and straightening it out in front of me.

Veronica Lodge is the last person I'm expecting to come out of the kitchen in a yellow polyester waitress uniform. She freezes when she sees me, then comes rushing around the counter to hug me. It takes me a few seconds to realize what's happening and tentatively hug her back. She pulls away a few seconds later looking embarrassed and glassy eyed.

"Sorry… I just…" She tries to talk but can't get a full sentence out.

"It's fine… I uh-" My breath catches in my throat before I can finish my sentence and we look at each other awkwardly before laughing, tears still clear in our eyes.

"I called Archie's mom. When I found the video of Sheriff Minetta coercing the Shadow Lake boys." She explains.

"That was you?" I ask. She nods. "Thanks."

"Of course. It was the least I could do after my father had you arrested…" She trails off, not quite emotionally ready to finish that thought. "When were you released?"

"About an hour ago." I say after looking at the clock above the menu. Veronica nods.

"Come with me." She says. She grabs my hand and drags me into a phone booth.

"Uh, Veronica, I-" I start. Veronica shushes me and dials a number on the phone, the wall pops open and reveals a staircase leading into the basement and Veronica grins at me.

"Welcome to La Bonne Nuit." She says. She keeps a hold of my hand and leads me down into the mostly empty basement. The only other person is the guy behind the bar, who I eventually recognize as Reggie Mantle. "Reginald, pour our friend Carrie a drink."

"Actually, I'm good." I say, backing towards the staircase. Veronica gives me a confused look.

"You were just released from prison, Carrie. You could use a drink." She says.

"Nah, it's cool. I'll get a drink from someone who didn't almost shoot my best friend." I say with a shrug. Veronica and Reggie share a look that looks a lot like they both forgot. I didn't forget. The tears start burning my eyes again and despite the fact that the last thing I want to do is cry in front of Veronica Lodge and Reggie fucking Mantle, I don't wipe them away. "You know, I still see his blood on my hands sometimes when I close my eyes. Fangs' blood, Jason's blood, Mustang's blood, even Midge Klump and I knew her for like a week. Doesn't matter. All their blood swirls together. It's all red."

The two of them stare at me dumbly and uncomfortably and I don't know what to do or what I'm saying so I start panicking. I take a step back and bump into a table. Veronica steps towards me and I panic even more.

"Don't fucking touch me." I try to say it normally but I sort of shout at her and she and Reggie both flinch. My stomach clenches and my chest heaves uncomfortably and I manage to walk backwards into the staircase. "I'm gonna… go to Dr. Cerebus'."

"Do you want me to call someone?" Veronica asks. I shake my head no and crawl up the staircase like a crazed animal. I run all the way out of Pop's and halfway across the bridge to Greendale before I have to stop and puke over the side, directly into Sweetwater River. I turn back towards the road and press my back into the cold cement of the bridge but I can't calm down. It feels like my lungs are vibrating against my ribs and it hurts. Everything hurts.

When I wake up, I'm still on the bridge but there's a warm body pressed against my shoulder. I don't know who it is and honestly, at this point I don't really care. I'd really take any human contact at this point. I change my mind when I open my eyes and four guys I don't recognize are staring at me. Instantly, my stomach clenches and lean forward, barfing onto the concrete between my legs. They all shout in disgust.

"Jesus Christ!"

"What the fuck, dude?"

"Shit, Crash. Are you okay?" I recognize the third voice but it doesn't make me feel any better. I lean back against the bridge again, trying to angle my legs so they aren't touching the puke on the ground but I can't control myself enough to stand up yet. "Hey."

The body next to me stands up, leaving my shoulder twice as cold as it was before. He puts his legs on either side of me and pulls me up like a rag doll, shuffling me a few feet over so we're out of the splash zone.

"You gonna puke again?" He asks.

"No." I open my eyes, focusing on the green eyed boy staring at me and trying to convince myself that I'm not dreaming. I poke him in the cheek. He gives me a gentle smile and that's enough for me to throw myself into his arms.

"Yeah, yeah. I missed you too." Joaquin teases. He pushes me away lightly, making sure I can stand on my own before letting me go completely.

"Are you real?" I ask. He laughs.

"Yeah. Are you high?" He asks. When I don't answer, he grabs my chin and looks at my pupils. "No. Well, not anymore at least."

"I wasn't high." I mumble. I grip onto his bicep with one hand and his chin with the other. "Are you sure you're real? Shouldn't you be in prison?"

"Shouldn't you be in prison?" Joaquin asks, laughing lightly.

"Yeah, yeah, we should all be in prison. Can we get out of the fuckin' road?" One of the guys asks. They're all wearing leather jackets but none of them are Serpents. I guess the Ghoulies could have updated their wardrobes but it doesn't seem likely.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask politely.

"Who the hell are you?" The guy who I'm assuming is the leader asks back sarcastically.

"You know, we're never gonna get off this bridge if none of you answer any questions." His smaller friend says. Joaquin makes sure I can stand on my own before letting go of me. He claps his hand on my shoulder and leads me towards the group.

"Let's go." He says. The leader raises an eyebrow at him.

"'Scuse me?" He asks. Joaquin rolls his eyes.

"She's cool. Let's go." Joaquin says, shoving me along in front of him. We get back to the edge of Riverdale when Joaquin and his friends finally stop walking. He gives his friends a look and they walk a few feet away to give us 'privacy' even though they're all clearly listening. Joaquin grabs both my shoulders so I have to look him in the eyes. He's giving me a really intense look and I honestly feel like I'm starting to lose my grip on reality. Also, I'm starving.

"Crash, this is really important, okay? Are you listening?" He asks. I nod. "You didn't see me."

"Wait, what?" I ask dumbly. Joaquin sighs and glances at his friends before looking back at me.

"Things are really complicated. Riverdale is changing and when you get home, everything is going to be different than how you remember." Joaquin says. My breath starts picking up again and he pretends he doesn't notice. "It's all going to be okay. And it's going to make sense eventually. But here's the thing. I had to leave the Serpents and to do that, I had to die. Not really die, but make everyone think I was dead."

"That's really fucked up." I say.

"Everything is really fucked up. You'll understand soon. You only got out last night, right?" I nod. "Have you seen anyone?"

"Mr. Topaz, Veronica Lodge. Why?" I ask. Joaquin sighs.

"You'll understand when you see everyone again. You'll get why I had to leave the Serpents. But it's very important that they don't know where I am." He says. I nod again and he smiles slightly. "Good. Okay. There's an abandoned warehouse on Collier Road. That's where I live now, but don't come unless it's important. It's not safe. Okay? I promise, you'll understand soon. I'll find you, okay?"

"Okay." I say even though everything is definitely not okay. I'm really concerned that I'm hallucinating all of this. I have no idea what the fuck is happening. My stomach is eating itself. Joaquin kisses my cheek before he and his friends walk into the woods and I can't see them anymore.