(AN) Hello and welcome to the first proper chapter of Revenge; hope you all enjoy.
This chapter will set up the main plot and introduce a few new characters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Straw Dogs; all characters and locations are owned by their respective owners.
Chapter One
Blackwater was a nice, mostly quiet town located in rural Mississippi: everybody knew each other and looked out for each other. David and Amy Sumner had moved to the town many years ago with their daughter Karen. Karen mostly resembled her mother, but she'd taken on her dad's American accent. Karen eventually married a man named Brian Cooper, and eventually, they had their own daughter: Rose.
Rose was young and had short, dark brown hair. The young woman was currently entering a restaurant to meet with her boyfriend: Scott Cunningham. Scott was young, had short, spiky, black hair, was British and much like Rose's grandmother, hailed from the village of Wakely. He and Rose had been dating for a few years by this point. Rose saw Scott sitting at a nearby table and walked over.
"Hey there, Rose," greeted Scott in a Yorkshire accent, "Glad you could make it."
"So, what's the occasion?" asked Rose curiously as she sat opposite her boyfriend, "We normally agree on what we're doing for date nights, so I was a bit surprised when you asked me to come here."
"I felt like this couldn't wait." said Scott mysteriously.
"Ohhh, you're being mysterious," giggled Rose, "I like it."
Scott gently took Rose's hands in his own. "Rose, you are amazing," he began, smiling like an idiot, "These past few years have been the greatest years of my life."
"Oh my god, are you breaking up with me?" asked Rose in shock.
"What? No, no," assured her boyfriend, chuckling lightly, "Though I do have a very important question."
And with that, Scott got up from his seat, gently pulled his girlfriend to her feet, went down on one knee and pulled out a box with a diamond ring in it. "Rose Cooper, will you marry me?"
Rose was stunned for a few moments. "Yes, yes, I will." she answered in delight.
A grinning Scott got to his feet and gently slipped the ring on to Rose's finger. The now engaged couple shared a hug and a kiss, while other people in the restaurant clapped and cheered.
A bit later on, Rose and Scott were cuddled up in bed together.
"So, I wanted to ask: where do you want to have the wedding?" asked Scott curiously.
"Well, I'd really like it if we could have it in your home village," replied Rose, "I've met your parents, but I'd love to meet the rest of your family, and I've always wanted to visit the UK and see where my grandma grew up."
"I'd love that," chuckled her fiancé lightly, "Thankfully, Wakely's nice and quiet, though that does mean it's got a rather dull history … except for this one incident that apparently happened years ago."
"Incident? What kind of incident?" asked the black haired girl curiously.
"I'm not entirely sure," replied Scott, "All I've heard is that it happened at this now condemned farmhouse and there were some deaths."
"Whoa!" exclaimed Rose in shock, "I don't think I've ever heard about this. Anyway, tomorrow, we need to tell my mom and dad the good news."
"Good idea." replied Scott.
The two then chuckled while hugging and kissing.
The next day, Karen and Brian were sitting in their living room; just having a nice, relaxing day. Brian was a middle-aged, burly man with brown, curly hair and round glasses. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Karen got up and headed towards the door.
Upon opening the door, the blonde saw Rose and Scott standing in the doorway. "Rose, Scott, you didn't say you were coming down!" she exclaimed in delight as she stepped out and hugged them both, "Please, come in."
After exchanging greetings, Scott and Rose stepped into the house.
Brian looked up as the trio entered the living room. "Hey you two," he greeted Rose and Scott before hugging them, "So, what brings you down here?"
"Well, we have some news to share," began Rose excitedly as she and Scott sat down, "It's about me and Scott: we're getting married!"
Rose then showed off her engagement ring. Karen squealed in delight, while Brian chuckled, the married couple then hugged the engaged couple.
"Congratulations." replied Karen.
"So, this'll make you my son in-law." chuckled Brian as he shook Scott's hand.
"So, when do you plan on having the wedding?" asked Karen curiously.
"In a couple of months," answered Scott, "Actually, we wanted to talk to you about somethhing."
"Me and Scott talked and we've decided to have the wedding in Scott's childhood hometown: Wakely." informed Rose.
Karen almost choked on her coffee, causing Brian to hit her on the back. "Wakely?" she said in surprise.
"Yeah," replied the black haired woman, slightly confused at her mom's reaction, "I've always wanted to visit the UK and I've always wanted to visit the place where Grandma grew up, and this is just the perfect opportunity."
"Well, yeah, that's nice and all, but I … don't think that's such a good idea." said the blonde.
"Why not?" asked her bewildered daughter.
"Yeah, I don't see what the problem is?" questioned a confused Brian.
Karen simply sighed. "Okay, well, your grandparents haven't told me what happened, but they briefly lived in the village not long after they got married and there was an incident that traumatised them."
"What sort of incident?" asked Scott curiously.
"Like I said, I don't know," replied Karen, "Your grandparents are the only people who can tell that story, and they need to know where you're having the wedding."
"Your mom's right," replied Brian, "Your grandparents shouldn't be made to feel uncomfortable and it'd be unfair to leave them out of the wedding."
"Yeah, you're right." replied Karen.
David and Amy had managed to live a good life after their ordeal in Wakely. Amy became a therapist, though David, along with his and Amy's parents, were the only family member who knew about Charlie and Scutt raping her. David had continued to work at the university until he retired a few years ago. Due to age, Amy now had top false teeth, which gave her a slight lisp, her bottom teeth were now mostly missing, broken or discoloured.
The couple were currently engaging in some light teasing on the living room sofa.
"S-stop, David, it tickles." chuckled a squirming Amy as her husband tickled her.
"Wanna have some real fun?" joked David, smiling seductively.
"Mr Sumner, are you trying to seduce me?" teased the blonde.
"Maybe." replied the elderly man.
The couple suddenly stopped as they heard a light knock at the front door. David got up and headed to the front door.
Upon opening it, he saw Karen, Brian, Scott and Rose standing outside. "Hey there; what brings you here?"
"Hey, Dad." greeted Karen as she and David hugged, "We're here to talk to you and Mom about something."
After getting settled into the living room, Amy made coffee for everyone before sitting down. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to us about?" she asked curiously.
"Well, me and Scott got engaged," announced Rose, earning her congratulations from her grandparents, "We also decided to have the wedding in Wakely in a couple of months because I've always wanted to visit it."
"Wakely!" cried David in shock before a haunted look crossed his face.
Amy also had a haunted look on her face.
"Okay, you two need to tell me what it is about that place that causes that look to cross your faces." said Karen.
"What look?" asked David, feigning ignorance.
"Dad, you're a terrible liar," remarked an unimpressed Karen, "Any time that place gets brought up, you and Mom get that haunted look on your face. What happened in that village?"
"We don't want you to miss out on the wedding," explained Scott gently, "I think it best that we know what happened. We wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable."
"David, he's right; they deserve to know." pointed out Amy before gently squeezing her husband's hand.
The elderly man simply sighed. "Oh alright," he said in a serious manner, "So, nearly 52 years ago, me and your grandmother moved to her home town of Wakely because I wanted to write a maths related book, but it was also because the people at the university I worked at were taking sides in the Civil Rights Movement and I felt pressured."
"We moved into a farmhouse owned by my dad known as Trencher's Farm." informed Amy.
"Trencher's Farm!" cried Scott in shock, "Hang on, there was apparently some incident that took place there years ago: you weren't involved in that, were you?"
"Yes, we were indeed," answered David darkly, "That incident was very much real."
"There was a man living in the village at the time known as Henry Niles," explained Amy, "Niles had autism and some villagers believed him to be a predator due to an accusation made against him, and I'm ashamed to admit that I was one of the people that believed those stories; different times. Anyway, Janice Hedden, a young girl, was friends with Henry, but her dad, Tom, wasn't too happy about the friendship."
"So, what exactly happened?" asked Brian curiously.
"One night at a social event, Janice led Henry out to a wood shed and tried to have sex with him, but Henry was startled when he heard voices and so he accidentally smothered Janice to death," continued David gravely, "Henry ran away and got run over by me. I took him back to Trencher's Farm and tried to call for help, but I couldn't get through to anybody, so I called the local pub. Unfortunately, Harry, the landlord at the time, informed Janice's dad, who decided to go up to Trencher's Farm with his nephew and three other men. They wanted to lynch Henry, but I wouldn't let them, and eventually, they decided to break in and try to kill us all because me and your grandmother witnessed Tom accidentally killing the local magistrate."
The others looked completely shocked.
"Your granddad went into self-defence mode," informed Amy, "As a result, one of the men got his head stuck in a window, was tied to a window frame, but was later freed, Tom and another man had boiling hot oil thrown in their faces, Tom literately shot himself in the foot, your granddad beat one of the men to death with a fireplace poker, one of the men shot one of his friends because they wanted to rape me, then your granddad killed the man with a bear trap and the last man tried to kill your granddad, but I shot him dead with a gun that one of the men had dropped."
"Oh my god!" cried Karen in shock, "That sounds insane."
"Sounds like Home Alone for adults." snarked Brian.
"I guess it does in a way." remarked David.
"So, what happened after all that?" asked Karen.
"Your dad too Henry back to the village and explained to the police what had happened," explained Karen's mom, "By that time, Janice's body had been found and your dad found out about what really happened to her. Me and your dad got off on self-defence, but we got a criminal record … sadly, Tom's whole family was torn apart by the incident."
"We don't want to make you guys feel uncomfortable," explained Rose, "So, if you don't want us to have the wedding in Wakely, we'll understand."
David and Amy looked at each other.
"What do you think, dear?" asked the former maths professor to his wife.
"I think we should let them," replied the blonde, "What happened back then was traumatic, but I've found that it helps to face up to your fears and I think it would be wrong of us to force Rose to change her plans."
"Oh, alright then." said David, smiling.
"Thanks you guys." said Rose before hugging her grandparents.
(AN) And that's it for the first full chapter of Revenge; hope you all enjoyed.
Karen's name comes from the novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm, which Straw Dogs is based on. In the novel, George and Louise (David and Amy's book counterparts,) have an 8 year old daughter named Karen.
Karen's character design is modelled after Kate Bosworth, while Brian is modelled after James Marsden. Blackwater is of course taken from the 2011 remake.
Rose's character design is modelled after Willa Holland.
In the next chapter, the family arrives in Wakely, where the plot really kicks off: we get appearances from new faces; old faces and we get our group of villains.
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.