05x17 - Chapter Ninety-Three: Dance of Death

[bunniefuu]

[bells chiming]

[Betty] Ten nights
working the Lonely Highway,

and not even a nibble.

Truckers are not stopping for us.

Though I'm sure we'd have better luck

at catching our K*llers
if we were flying solo.

Ten quiet nights with no new murders

is a win in my book.

When serial K*llers go quiet,

that is when you should be afraid.

That is when their desire to hunt

and k*ll is building up inside of them.

[cell phone ringing]

Dr. Curdle Jr., it's early for you.

I'm calling about our tongueless friend.

You asked me not to report
him to the proper authorities,

but I'm getting nervous

keeping his corpse in cold storage.

I'd like your permission

to incinerate the
body in my crematorium.

No. He's evidence for
the Lonely Highway case.

It's risky for me, Miss Cooper.

And refrigeration is expensive.

Why don't I come by
in a bit with a payment

to help cover your extra expenses?

That would greatly ease my anxiety.

- Okay. I will see you in a couple of hours.
- [line disconnects]

And here I thought leaving Chicago

for Riverdale would
mean no nightlife. Huh.

- See you at dusk?
- See you at dusk.

[Cheryl] I had just about
given up hope, Archie.

We haven't found the mother lode
of palladium yet, but I have faith.

Look, Cheryl, about that.

Me and the guys, we're down
there breaking rocks for you,

pulling -hour shifts,

when there's so much we
could be doing topside.

Ah, yes, your crusade to save Riverdale,

which consists of what, at this point?

Filling in potholes?

Maintaining the town's infrastructure

until we can get reincorporated.

Which I'm happy to do on my days off,

- but it costs money.
- I know where this is going.

If I'm putting my crew's
focus on the mines,

then I need your assurance

that if we find that palladium...

You and your men will
be fairly compensated.

[exhales sharply] In
fact, I will deposit

a modest finder's fee via Chime

- in exchange for the nugget.
- [phone chimes]

[Archie's phone chimes]

[Cheryl] In the future,
a portion of whatever

you unearth will be set aside

to subsidize your
revitalization efforts.

Then we will work our asses off for you.

Let's move on to the
house in Sag Harbor.

That's mine. And I won't sign

the divorce papers unless I get it.

I bought that house, Chad,

with money I made on Wall Street.

- I want alimony, too.
- Fine, you worm.

And this apartment.

Fine.

Fine. Take the Pembrooke.

And you know what?

- Take this ring and rot in hell.
- [ring clatters]

I don't care, Chad. Take it all.

All I want, all I need is Archie.

Poor, dim, impressionable Kevin.

I'm worried for you.

When I started this ministry,

it was with nothing but
the purest of intentions.

And now Cheryl has twisted
it into something profane.

Dare I say, cult-like.

When Cheryl made those bees dance

to her infernal tune,

I got distinct Wicker Man-like vibes.

If this religion's a cult,
then you're in it, too.

Mm. Please. My will is a steel rod.

Can you say the same?

[telephone ringing]

Pop's, this is Tabitha.

Oh, Mrs. Fields, of
course. How's Squeaky doing?

Riverdale is done with me.

And I am done with Riverdale.

No. No, I... I haven't heard
from her since she left.

I admit, when Mr. Weatherbee told me

that two students had
gotten into a fight,

you're the last person
I thought would've been

involved with that, Britta.

[exhales] I punched Tim Higgins once.

And only because he
wouldn't stop calling me...

h*m* names.

Well, that's completely unacceptable.

I'll talk to Tim.

But v*olence isn't the answer.

I know.

The thing is, Ms. Topaz, I think I am.

Gay.

I mean, I haven't told
my family yet or anything.

Coming out can be a process.

And sometimes a difficult one.

It was for me when I came out.

But the good news is...

only you get to decide when
is the right time for you.

And I'll be here if you
need anybody to talk to.

If I wanted to talk to my parents,

would you be there with me?

Absolutely.

I'd be honored.

So, my daughter continues to be

as much a thorn in your
side as she is mine, huh?

I keep hoping we might reconcile.

You won't.

Not as long as Archie is in the picture.

See, it's one of the things
I've learned over the years.

My daughter's greatest
vulnerability is her love for Archie.

So if you want a sh*t in hell

at saving your marriage,

you're going to have to get rid of him.

It's a ghost g*n.

No serial numbers. Untraceable.

Hey.

I just finished
practice with the Vixens.

Do you want to ride back
to Thornhill together?

Actually, Cheryl, can
I ask you something?

When we pray,

who are we praying to?

- Jason?
- Um...

Jason is more of a conduit.

A messenger to the higher power.

Which is what, exactly?

I'm not sure.

- Let me fast on it.
- What?

Well, it's like doing a
cleanse. No solid food.

Only hot water with lemon, maple syrup

and a hint of cayenne pepper.

It flushes you out completely,

and then once I'm empty,

I can be refilled with wisdom

and answers for you, Kev-Kev.

[Tabitha] I'm worried
about a friend of mine.

A waitress who used
to work here, Squeaky.

Her mom called and said
that she never made it

to her friends in California.

Oh, God. Tabitha, I'm sorry.

Me, too. Is there
anything I can do to help?

There is, Jughead.

The Lonely Highway killings
are a mystery, right?

And everyone tells me
that there wasn't a mystery

you two couldn't solve back in the day.

So... I'm canceling all of your shifts.

You'll still get your weekly paycheck,

but it won't be to bus tables.

It will be to help Betty.

Betty, are you down with this plan?

Yeah. Yes.

- Jughead?
- Sure.

Great. What's the first step?

Well, I'm assuming that you
have thorough case files.

- Yeah.
- I'll start by reading those.

- [siren wailing in distance]
- [object clattering]

Chad?

- [grunts]
- [groans]

[dog barking in distance]

[footsteps approaching]

So you captured a guy who
more or less confessed.

And then they swallowed their own tongue

because they thought you
were going to dismember them?

Yeah. That's sort of the
last big thing that happened.

And you still think this is
several serial K*llers working

- in tandem over the years?
- Yeah. Yes.

A family of truckers who have
been kidnapping and murdering

hitchhikers and sex workers.

And Lerman Marshall Logan.

My ex-student that disappeared
on the Lonely Highway

and was... somewhere for,
like, a week, remember?

Yeah, yeah, no. I've
been thinking about him

and he doesn't fit any
of the victim profiles,

which might be a clue in and of itself.

He might be one of the only people

who actually encountered
this family of yours

and survived. Now, at the time,

Weatherbee didn't let me talk to him

because I was a teacher
and he was a student.

But now Lerman has transferred
and I've been fired, so...

So we need to talk to Lerman.

Yeah, I'll find him on social.

[cell phone ringing]

Hi, Dr. Curdle. I'm so sorry.

I have your money in small bills.

Another body's been brought in
from Swedlow Swamp, Ms. Cooper.

I think you'll find
it very interesting.

The victim is unlike any we've found.

The body has been
completely dismembered.

Why would they change their MO?

Maybe to make the bodies harder to find.

Have you identified the victim yet?

Unfortunately not.

The body was mutilated
beyond all recognition.

But, based on the
level of decomposition,

it could be your sister.

I'll need to perform a
DNA test on the remains,

and then compare it to...

Mine. Yeah, do it.

There's also a waitress from Pop's.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fields.

She vanished around
the same time as Polly.

I'm going to reach out to her family

and ask for a sample as well.

[Veronica] It's so funny, Chad.

Your pathetic attempt to k*ll my lover

has made me rethink what
I want out of this divorce.

I'm getting everything.

And you're getting nothing.

And if you don't agree to those terms,

I'll seek to press m*rder
charges against you.

- How?
- You dropped the g*n, idiot.

Check and mate, you little bitch.

Mm, these croissants
are positively divine.

You should try one, dear child.

I already told you, Mother.

I'm fasting for enlightenment.

As a matter of fact,
I'm feeling rather...

- Lightheaded?
- Inspired.

I am going to go paint and let
the invisible hand guide my brush.

- Oh, my God. Cheryl.
- I'm fine.

Just leave me be, you doubting Thomases.

I had Archie in my sights
but the g*n misfired.

[sighs]

Veronica stole my palladium.

Archie stole your wife.

I thought one b*llet would
right these two wrongs, but...

As a wise man once said,

never send in a boy to do a man's job.

Get out of my sight, Chad.

You disgust me.

Better yet, get out of Riverdale.

'Cause you lost my daughter forever.

Hi, handsome.

Hey, Ronnie.

What's going on?

Guess what's in here.

My divorce papers.

It's official. I'm a free woman.

[upbeat music playing]

Hey, you're going out?

Yeah, I'm heading down to the station.

I don't mind the
distraction since Tom called

and said that there
was another body found.

Yeah. I went to the morgue.

I don't know... if it's Polly.

The body is...

- What, Betty?
- It's...

dismembered.

- Oh, my God.
- I know.

I know, but Jughead and I have a lead.

Okay.

Keep me posted.

[door closes]

[Cheryl] Look at what came out of me.

This. This is your answer, Kevin.

The higher power you've been praying to,

drawing strength from.

I don't understand.

Earth, water, fire and wind.

They're the fabric of the natural world.

I'm still not following.

The higher power is nature itself.

That's what we should
be worshiping, Kevin.

The elements. It all
makes perfect sense.

How do you figure that?

Well, for more than a century,

we Blossoms have made our
livelihood from maple trees,

but our roots go so much deeper

than I've ever considered.

[Kevin] So, when we pray, we...

- pray to...
- Gaia. Mother Earth.

Okay. Got it.

You know, Cheryl...

I'm really happy that
you found some clarity.

But I think I'm out.

This religion has gotten
a little too fringe-y,

even for me.

I hope that's okay.

Of course, it's okay, Kev.

You've always been free to go.

But you will always have a place here.

What if Lerman doesn't even show up?

He will. I promised him

my first edition copy of
w*r of the Worlds,

which is actually a fifth edition.

[Tabitha] Hey, guys.

[Alice] ... whoever is
terrorizing our town,

committing these inhumane murders,

you have to stop.

Every time the phone rings,

I pray it's about my daughter.

I pray for closure.

Just today, another victim was found.

Their dismembered body is
down at the Riverdale morgue.

What does it say about me

that I want it to be my daughter...

so that this nightmare will end?

[voice breaking] So that I can wake up.

[crying] Please.

- [door opens]
- Help me wake up.

[Lerman] Mr. Jones?

Sorry, my bus was late.

[Fogarty sighs] Rough day, huh?

I'm worried about one of my students.

Britta Beach.

She's gay, and she asked
me to be there with her

when she came out to her parents.

So, I was. And...

Let me guess.

They didn't immediately say,

"We love you no matter what."

Nope. They said, "Are you sure?"

- Ah.
- "Do you have to be?"

I'm sorry, Toni. That sucks.

Big time.

It's such a lottery, you know?

Who your parents are,

what kind of family you grow up in.

I mean, it wasn't easy for
me when I came out to my nana.

Yeah, my dad was pretty harsh

when I told him I was bi.

He was like, "Great. You can choose,

so choose being with a woman."

[Toni chuckles sadly]

I was like, "That's not
how that works, Dad."

[softly] Yeah.

So, is Britta going to be okay?

I talked her parents
off the ledge, I think.

[inhales]

But she's a tough kid.

So, I hope so.

And, for the record,

no matter what baby Anthony is,

I'll be ecstatic.

Same.

[alarm beeping]

- [expl*si*n]
- [rumbling]

What the heck was that?

[slow rattling]

[expl*si*n]

We need to get out of here right now.

Archie, Archie, Eric's working
further down the tunnel.

Get everyone topside, I'll find Eric.

- Archie!
- Guys, get out. Come on.

Everybody out! Let's go, move. Move!

Everybody move. Move!

[phone vibrating]

[sighing impatiently]

What is it, you philistine?

I'm working on my Commandments.

Oh, my God, Kev. How many
are still underground?

[telephone ringing]

Hello?

Cheryl, what's up?

Oh, my God. I'm on my way.

[Jughead] Thank you again for
coming to meet us, Lerman.

Not a problem, Mr. Jones.

I felt bad ghosting you like I did.

That's okay. You're here now.

And are you still willing
to talk about that week

that you went missing?

Yeah. Yeah. I'm ready to.

Any details whatsoever
could help prevent this

from happening to anyone else, so...

Most of it's fuzzy,

but the best I can piece together is

I was sleepwalking like I sometimes do

along the Lonely Highway.

Then, the next time I woke up,

I was in this metal shed.

It was small. There weren't any windows.

It looked like the
inside of a spaceship.

That's how Polly described
where she was to my mom.

What else do you remember?

I could hear voices outside sometimes.

Voices? Plural?

Yeah, maybe even a family?

Were you alone in the shed?

Yeah.

'Til the Mothman came in

- and helped me escape.
- The Mothman?

That's what he called himself.

He had red eyes.

One bigger than the other.

Or weird red markings on his face.

He said I was a mistake,

that I shouldn't have been caught,

and that he was throwing me back,

the way you sometimes throw
a small fish back into a lake.

Wait. So he let you go,

he freed you from the
shed, and then he took you

to the Lonely Highway
where you were found?

He said I better not tell
anyone what had happened,

or more Mothmen would come
back for me some night.

Lerman, this is very important.

Do you know where the shed is?

No, but it was close
to the Lonely Highway.

- I know that much.
- How do you know that?

Because I could hear
the trucks rumbling by.

[cell phone chimes]

Dr. Curdle has the DNA results.

He wants to tell us in person.

Kevin, Cheryl, what's the update?

Been trying Archie's phone, and Eric's.

They're not getting
any signal down there.

How long will it take to dig them out?

We need more hands on deck,
we need heavy duty equipment.

And even then, it'll
take hours, if not days.

Okay.

Whatever you need, no
matter the cost, just do it.

First, you said there was an
expl*si*n. What kind of expl*si*n?

Yeah, the kind that was
triggered deliberately.

But who in their right mind would

blow up a mine on purpose?

I can guess.

[Archie coughing] Jackson.

[coughing]

- You with me, buddy?
- [grunts]

I'm here, Sarge.

Okay. Just hold on.

You need to take shallow breaths. Okay?

We need to conserve as
much oxygen as possible.

The others...

Did they make it out?

Yeah.

Yeah. It's just us in here.

But don't worry. I'm
gonna dig us out, okay?

[dull rumbling]

We ran your DNA against the
most recent victim, Ms. Cooper.

And it wasn't a match.

So, it's not Polly, again.

No, but the body parts were
a match to Lynette Fields.

Oh, my God. Squeaky.

There is more, I'm afraid.

Your DNA did come back as
a match to another body.

Your tongueless John Doe.

The trucker? How can that be?

It seems he's your very distant cousin.

What? No. That's impossible.

All of the Coopers are
either... dead or accounted for.

What about your more distant relatives?

The Blossoms?

There's one last thing.
When I was at my lab,

the morgue was broken into.

The body of the John Doe

and the severed limbs of
Lynette Fields were stolen.

They're covering their tracks.

They heard my mom on the news

and they came here
to steal the evidence.

It's just like when our
Mothman body was taken.

Yes. Yes, it is.

Nana Rose gave us that
Mothman that was stolen,

and now your prime suspect
tests positive for Blossom DNA.

Lerman was held c*ptive by a Mothman

near the Lonely Highway.

These two things are connected,
and their connection...

Is the Blossoms.

You two go.

I'm gonna get in touch
with Squeaky's family.

But, guys,

when the time comes to
take these monsters down,

I want in.

[woman on radio] Two miners,
Archie Andrews and Eric Jackson,

both Army veterans,

remain unaccounted for
after the mine collapse

in Riverdale earlier today.

- Relief efforts are currently underway.
- [grunts]

But the condition of the
miners are not yet known.

[Veronica] Oh, good. You're awake.

[Hiram groans softly]

- Mija?
- Let's start with the obvious.

I know you're behind the mine expl*si*n.

Don't bother denying it.

Untie me immediately!

It's ironic, I keep hearing

the words my guidance
counselor said to me

way back in high school.

That our sick dance of death

could only end with one of us dying.

And now, here we are,

headed straight for an Oedipal tragedy

set in motion when I was...

a -year-old girl.

Veronica, stop being so dramatic.

Oh, but this story is dramatic, Daddy.

The day of my quinceanera.

[scoffs]

It was supposed to be...

the most important,

celebratory day of my young life.

When I overheard you in your study,

talking with some of your friends,

telling them I was a disappointment.

That you wished Mom had given you a son

to follow in your footsteps.

Oh. How nice.

You remember.

Do you know...

what it does to a
-year-old girl...

to hear that kind of
dismissal from her own father?

I have spent an entire lifetime

chasing your approval
and love. And for what?

Sociopaths aren't capable of love.

[sobbing]

[sniffles]

[exhales]

Which is why

I want to be very clear
with you right now.

If Archie dies,

you die.

[chuckles softly]

Can you feel it, Daddy?

Our dance of death is
finally coming to an end.

[Jughead] Hey, Nana.

We need to talk to you
about the Mothmen, remember?

I've told you what I know.

[Betty] Look at me. Look right at me.

Right now, young women,
including my sister,

who was a member of your family,

are being abducted,

tortured, and m*rder*d.

So, focus

and answer our questions.

Right. You gave my friend and I
a corpse inside a maple barrel.

Who was it?

The truth, Nana.

I'm ashamed to admit it.
It was Cousin Timothy.

I came across his corpse in the woods

after he passed, and
I put him in a barrel.

Poor Timothy. He was born
with so many defects...

Okay. Cousin Timothy?

This... this is a
blood relative of yours?

My late husband

was a compulsive philanderer.

He made the beast with every
woman who worked on our estate.

The maids, the cooks, the nannies.

And then when they swelled with child,

he forced me to pawn them
off to avoid a scandal.

But I knew a barren couple

who lived in a cabin in the woods.

The Starkweathers.

I gave the children to them.

How many children in total?

Oh, over the years, half a dozen.

The trucker that I caught,
the one who bit off his tongue,

he must have been one
of them. A Starkweather.

A Blossom, dear. In part.

[Jughead] Nana.

You're... you're saying
there is a secret,

illegitimate clan of Blossoms

that have lived in the
woods for two generations?

Why did you call the corpse a Mothman?

The family kept to themselves.

Didn't like eyes prying
into their business.

So, they created a fiction.

The Mothmen.

One which we Blossoms were
all too eager to embrace.

Do they still live in the woods?

Oh, my, no. They migrated
from the there to the mines.

And then, when that closed down,

they moved closer to the highway.

Who else has been propagating
the Mothmen idea for decades,

right in plain sight,
right off the highway?

Old Man Dreyfuss.

Yes! Dreyfuss Starkweather, yes.

Is he still alive?

Oh, my God, Jug.

You and I have both been there.

Polly could've been there
right under our noses.

[cell phone chimes]

It's Toni. She said
there's an emergency.

[indistinct chatter]

[Archie coughing]

[coughs]

[straining]

[panting]

[coughing]

- Are you still with me, Jackson?
- [Jackson coughing]

How we doing, Sarge?

Not great. We're losing a lot of oxygen.

And a lot of blood.

[coughing]

I'm gonna be honest
with you, I have no idea

how we're gonna get out of there.

[Bingo] You don't really
believe that, do you, Sergeant?

Bingo.

I thought we were square.

Apparently not.

Apparently you need a kick in the ass.

You remember back at basic,
during our first PT test,

you did double the number of
push-ups or pull-ups as any other guy?

You don't have an ounce of quit in you!

Bingo, I'm only one man.

All due respect, Sarge,

no, you're not.

Come on, guys, double-time.

Let's help the Sergeant get him
and Corporal Jackson out of here.

[footsteps marching]

Britta ran away last night.

[sighing] Her mom called
to see if she was here.

They got in a fight, and when her mom

went to check on her, she was gone.

She left a note saying, "Now
you don't have to deal with me."

Did Britta give any indication
as to where she might've gone?

We called all her friends,
no one knows anything.

Well, if there's any chance that
she's trying to get out of Riverdale

using the Lonely Highway,

then we need to go
to that junkyard ASAP.

Wait, you know where
the Highway k*ller is?

K*llers. Yeah, we think.

But we need a team to go in with us.

I wanna come. Fangs, you stay here

with Baby Anthony in
case Britta comes back.

- Is that okay?
- Um, not really.

No, Toni. You're a mother now.

You just can't go out
on crazy raids anymore...

I have to, Fangs, Britta
came to me for help,

and I saw myself in her.

And as for Baby Anthony,

I don't want him to grow up and
think that his mom was a coward,

and that I didn't do everything
I could to help somebody in need.

And besides, there's nobody better
to take care of him than you.

Than my mom, you mean,

'cause if you're going on this
raid, then I'm going with you.

I'm gonna be watching your back,

and that's not up for discussion.

Well, how about we
watch each other's backs?

[crackling]

Deal.

Cheryl, any luck finding
a first aid kit in here?

I'm looking, sit down.

Veronica, you're
stressed, you're injured.

You need to take a break.
Or at least go home,

- get cleaned up.
- I can't go home.

Archie's trapped in a mine.

I know, but you will want
to be your gorgeous self

when Orpheus emerges
from the underworld,

and probably not with an infected hand.

Trust me, go get refreshed,

and I'll hold down the fort here.

And not to worry. I've
got some serious backup.

I call upon fire.

Which consumed my brother's body

and mighty Thornhill once upon a time.

I call upon wind,

as I have once before.

[wind blowing]

Blow a cool gust across Archie's brow.

I call upon water,

where I saw my departed brother

in the icy depths of Sweetwater River,

and where I, myself, was reborn.

And lastly...

I call upon the Earth.

[straining]

Dear Gaia, please return
Archie and Eric to us.

Open a path for them

so that they may return
to the land of the living.

[water running]

[door creaks]

[heavy creaking]

Pippi, turns off all the
lights in the apartment.

[gasps softly]

Pippi, play Wagner.

Full volume.

["Ride of the Valkyries" playing]

[door creaks]

[g*n fires]

[both grunting]

Miss Veronica?

- [g*nshots]
- [gasps]

Oh, my goodness. Pippi,
lights on. Music off.

[music stops]

Miss Veronica.

What happened?

[sighs] Chad broke in...

and att*cked me.

[cell phone ringing]

Oh.

Cheryl, any news?

- [door closes]
- Came to finish the job?

I can't tell you how
tempting that proposition is.

Then again,

I've already seen blood spilt today.

Besides...

unlike you, I stick to my word.

I told you you'd die if Archie did.

Well...

he didn't, Daddy.

Archie is alive,

above ground, and waiting for me.

You failed yet again. [chuckles]

You literally dropped
a mountain on Archie

and still couldn't k*ll him.

You know...

I used to admire you...

grudgingly...

but I did.

But now you're just this...

silly cartoon.

[Kn*fe slashes]

I'm not afraid of you anymore.

'Cause you're no longer a thr*at to me.

But if you ever come
after me or Archie again,

you'll end up getting sh*t.

Just like Chad did today.

- What?
- Call Dr. Curdle for the details.

Bye, you little bitch.

As we discussed, Jughead,
you're gonna distract Dreyfuss

while the rest of us
search the junkyard.

If Britta is being
kept in the same place

that my sister and Lerman were held,

we're looking for some
kind of windowless shed.

You know how to use a stun g*n?

I'm from Chicago.

- Yes.
- [Toni] Jughead? You good?

- I'm good.
- We're ready then?

Jug, you're up. The rest of us,

let's split up so we can
cover more ground, okay?

[knocking at door]

You again.

Hey, Mr. Dreyfuss.

I'm so sorry to drop by unannounced.

I, uh... I actually
just got back into town.

I was hoping that you and I could

continue our conversation
about the Mothmen.

Let me grab some moonshine.

Actually, it's a little cold.
Do you mind if we talk inside?

Don't mind the mess.

- Live here alone?
- Yep. Just me.

No family, huh?

I thought we were gonna
discuss the Mothmen.

But they are your family.

Aren't they, Mr. Starkweather?

You know, I wondered if we were
gonna have trouble with you.

How much have you figured out?

[Jughead] Not all of it.

Do you mind if I take a s*ab at it?

Be my guest.

[Jughead] The Mothman corpse

we had at Pop's,

that was, uh, Timothy,
your half-brother.

You were the one that took it.

You must have overheard
Tabitha and I talking about it

when you came to pick up your regular

Thursday night order of pork chops.

And you did. We have receipts.

You were also the person
that stole the bodies

from the morgue.

There was another brother.

Swallowed his own tongue
just to keep your secret.

Which is what, to your thinking?

[Jughead] That you and
your inbred brothers

drive up and down the Lonely Highway
searching for women to m*rder.

Lerman, he was an outlier,

because it's women that you're after.

- [rustling]
- [gasps softly]

[Jughead] Why?

[Dreyfuss] To survive.

So we started going after

the people that no one would miss.

Runaways

and sex workers, drug addicts.

[Jughead] To what, steal from them?

Those people couldn't
have had much money.

You're right, of course.

But we don't need much to survive.

Anyway, after a while,
it wasn't about that.

It was about...

The hunt.

The sport of it all?

Yep.

[Jughead] So the Mothmen story,
that was just a cover up?

[gasping]

[Jughead] Just a spooky little tale

to keep people away from all the
disappearances on the highway.

And if someone goes missing, then...

maybe they were taken up
in an alien spaceship.

People believe what
they want to believe.

Nobody cared about those girls.

Oh.

You are so wrong about that.

[door rattling]

- [Toni] Britta?
- [Britta] Ms. Topaz?

Okay, I'm gonna get you out, hold on.

[screams]

- [trap clangs]
- [Fogarty groans]

[Fogarty grunts]

Betty? [screams]

[Tabitha screams]

Wanna test that armor against
a point-blank shotgun blast?

[panting]

Didn't think so.

- [crackling]
- [grunts]

[gasping]

- [groans]
- [Toni grunts]

[Betty gasps]

Betty, are you okay?

[gasping] I heard you
scream. What happened?

I found Britta. She's fine.

Scared, but fine.

Remember what you told us about Lerman,

how a Mothman helped him escape?

Well, apparently not all
Starkweathers are evil incarnate.

[Betty breathlessly] Hi, Britta.

[loud crash in distance]

Oh, my God, Jughead.

[Dreyfuss grunting]

[Betty] Are you okay?

Yeah. No, I'm fine. He
tried to chew his tongue off

and choke on it. But not
before he answers our questions.

Your hunting days are over, you sick...

How does it feel?

My foot? Like it's on fire.

The rest of me? Like a complete ass.

Well, who would've known we were
walking into The Hills Have Eyes?

Toni...

we can do this.

Right?

Like, all of this.

Oh, yeah. We got this.

You and me just...

watching each other's backs.

[Veronica sighs in relief]

Not even the Earth swallowing you whole

could keep us from
this moment, Archiekins.

Another brush with death to
add to your ever-growing list.

Your guardian angel deserves a raise.

More than one, Ronnie.

[Betty] Mr. Starkweather,

I've spoken to my colleagues at the FBI,

and they'll be here soon to take you

and your brothers away.

But before that happens...

I would very much appreciate it

if you would tell me where my sister is.

[softly] Please tell me.

She's in the junkyard.

I can draw you a map.

[somber music playing]