(AN) Hello and welcome to the first full chapter of Aftermath of Violence; hope you all enjoy.
In this chapter, David and Amy are questioned by Evans and Gallighar about what happened. This questioning will lead to Amy finally opening up about what Charlie and Norman did to her.
Disclaimer: I don't own Straw Dogs; all characters and locations are owned by their respective owners.
Chapter One
David and Amy were currently sitting on a hospital bed; stitches and plasters on their faces. Thankfully, neither of them had suffered any serious injuries; just some minor cuts and bruises.
"Jesus fucking christ, this is bad," commented David before sighing. "You were right, Ames, we should've left when we had the chance."
"Don't blame yourself, David," replied Amy. "It was my idea to come back in the first place. We should've just dealt with the repairs and selling the house over the phone."
The two detectives entered the room, causing the young couple to look up.
"How are the others?" asked David in concern.
"Tom and Norman are still in surgery," informed Tim gravely. "Chris is dead. Jeremy has a concussion, but he'll be alright; Daniel's been informed and is on his way."
"Kristin Scutt has also been informed." informed Kate.
Amy felt sick to her stomach. Kristin was a kindhearted woman and she couldn't bare to imagine how she'd react.
"So, now that you're more settled, would you mind telling us what happened?" asked Tim.
"No, I don't mind." muttered David quietly.
"Me neither," agreed the blonde. "It's kind of a long story."
"Right," replied a slightly confused Tim. "Janice Heddon was last seen heading away from the local football game with Jeremy Niles: were you aware of this when you first made contact with him?"
"No, we weren't," answered Amy. "Me and David left the game because I was having a panic attack."
"Do you regularly have panic attacks?" questioned Gallighar curiously.
"Not until recently." answered the now trembling blonde.
"I hired her ex boyfriend Charlie Venner and his friends, Norman, Chris and Bic to repair the barn roof at Trencher's Farm," explained the screenwriter gravely. "All they did was play very loud music, harass and bully me and Charlie and Norman were hitting on Amy, but I didn't do anything since they never escalated things. That was until somebody strangled our cat and hung him up in mine and Amy's bedroom closet."
"Jesus!" cried Kate in horror. "Did you confront them about this?"
"I asked them about it when they took me out on a hunting trip, but they denied it," answered David. "I eventually fired them after one of them tried to shoot me and then I was abandoned. I then learned that it was illegal to hunt."
"What!" cried Amy in shock, giving David a sympathetic look. "So that's why you were in a bad mood. Why didn't you just tell me?"
"I was too embarrassed." muttered the brunet.
"So, what happened after you left the game?" questioned Kate.
"We were driving back to Trencher's Farm," began David quietly. "Amy said that she wanted to go back to LA and I got distracted for a few seconds. Jeremy just came out of nowhere and I knocked him over. Me and Amy went to check on him, but he wasn't making any sense: he kept going on about how it was his fault, and at first, I thought he was talking about me knocking him over, but now I'm starting to think that something happened to Janice. Anyway, we decided to take Jeremy back to the farmhouse so that I could call for help."
"Tom and the others must've heard about the call over a scanner, because not long after, they showed up at the farmhouse," said Amy shakily. "Charlie came to the door and demanded that I send Jeremy out, but I took him upstairs and David spoke to Charlie."
"Charlie made it clear that he and the others wanted to kill Niles because they were convinced that he'd done something to Janice," informed the screenwriter. "I refused to hand over Niles, but they wouldn't leave a-and started firing bullets through the windows. John Burke showed up and tried to calm the situation … but like an idiot, I didn't trust him and refused to bring Niles out unless he brought more backup … Tom shot Burke in the back and they all decided to try and break in and kill us all. I've never killed anybody before, but I was scared and had no other choice."
"Tom blew our car up to stop us from escaping." informed Amy.
"Chris tried to climb through a window, b-but I nailed his hands to the windowframe with a nail gun." explained the screenwriter.
David choked back a sob. At the time, he'd felt fine doing that, but now he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of it.g
"Are you alright to continue?" asked Evans gently.
David simply nodded. "Tom tried to get in through a window, but I stopped him by throwing boiling hot oil in his face," he continued. "But this didn't seem to deter him and the others, so I put on some music in order to lure them into the house."
Flashback
David was currently standing in the living room as the song Release Me began playing on an old record player.
Upstairs, Amy watched through the bedroom window as Charlie, Tom and Bic headed towards the pickup truck, while Norman headed in the direction of the barn. A horrified Amy realised what Tom, Charlie and Bic were about to try and do. "David!" she cried in alarm. "They're going to ram the house. Can you hear me?"
The blonde heard no response from her husband; just that awful song. Amy watched as Charlie plowed the truck straight into the wall of the house, causing the whole room to shake. Thinking quickly, the young woman grabbed the gun she had hidden under the floorboard, ran over to the window and began firing at the tires, trying to stop the truck in its tracks.
"Amy!" came David's concerned voice.
Amy listened as she heard her husband running up the stairs. After a few moments, David entered the bedroom.
"Get away from the window," said David before running over and pulling a surprised Amy away from the window. "If they come through that door, you're going to need those bullets."
The screenwriter walked towards the bedroom door before turning to face his wife. "Everything's going to be alright." he assured her.
David exited the bedroom. A frightened Amy sat down in front of Jeremy.
"She loves me," muttered Jeremy. "She loves me."
David entered the living room just in time to see the truck smash through the living room wall; knocking Charlie out cold. David pressed himself against a nearby wall and watched as Tom hopped out of the truck.
"Charlie, wake up." said Bic as he shook Charlie's shoulder.
Tom cocked his shotgun and began walking towards David's hiding spot. As he drew closer, David whacked the barrel of his shotgun with the poker, causing the barrel to bend downwards. This startled the drunk, causing him to pull the trigger and shoot himself in the foot. Tom screamed in agony as he dropped the gun. David shoved the middle-aged man to the floor and grabbed the gun.
Bic made to exit the truck, but David whirled around and aimed the gun at his face. "Stay in the truck!" he warned.
A nervous Bic slowly sat back down.
Tom drew a small pistol and attempted to sit up, but David whirled round and fired a round into his chest, flooring the man and causing him to fire off two bullets.
David's ears pricked up as he heard the sound of somebody exiting the truck. The brunet whirled round and aimed Tom's gun at Bic, who was smirking wickedly. "You shouldn't have done that." he remarked.
David pulled the trigger a few times, but nothing came out, causing Bic to snicker. Thinking quickly, the young man dropped the gun, ran through to the living room and grabbed the fireplace poker. David struck Bic across the face, he then struck the large man a second time, knocking him to the floor and then again as he tried to stand. David lost himself to adrenaline as he struck Bic with the poker four more times before kicking him. The screenwriter suddenly snapped out of his trance and dropped the poker as he looked down at Bic's dead body in shock.
The record stopped playing. David was about to head for the stairs when suddenly, he heard the sound of a gun being cocked. Turning around, the young man saw Charlie aiming Tom's shotgun at him. David took his glasses off. "Your gun's empty." he said nervously.
"You sure?" asked Charlie, not believing a word that David said.
End Flashback
The two detectives looked at the young couple with a mixture of shock and sympathy.
"So, what happened afterwards?" asked Tim.
"N-Norman must've gone to the barn to gett a ladder and must've been the one who set it on fire," explained Amy quietly. "Norman came climbing through the bedroom window: h-he attacked Jeremy a-and tried to rape me. I called out for David and Charlie and they came running up the stairs. David pulled Norman off of me, Charlie and Norman drew on each other; the latter made it clear that h-he wanted to rape and murder me. Norman then aimed his gun at David, so I grabbed my gun and I shot him twice. C-Charlie disarmed and attacked me, but David pulled him away."
"Me and Charlie got into a fight that led back downstairs," explained David. "Charlie beat me and almost shot me, but Amy came down with Tom's gun and tried to get him to drop it. Charlie had turned away from me, so I-I grabbed a bear trap that me and Amy had set up earlier and slammed it on to his head."
"Good God!" cried Evans in horror.
"We'll leave you alone now," said Gallighar gently, "If we get the chance, we'll get Norman and Tom's side of the story, and then we can hopefully learn from Jeremy where Janice is. But if there is anything else, please let us know."
The two detectives got up to leave when-
"Wait," called out Amy nervously. "T-there's something else."
"What is it?" asked Kate.
David looked at his wife in concern. She was shaking from head to foot and was whimpering. "Amy, what is it?" he asked in concern.
"Promise you won't hate me?" begged Amy in a terrified whisper.
"Hey, I could never hate you," assured David in a comforting manner. "Ames, you're starting to scare me."
"While you were out in the w-woods, C-Charlie and Norman c-came to the house a-and … they raped me."
David felt as if he'd just been struck. A sense of horror filled the young man as he realised that the hunting trip wasn't just a way to humiliate him, it had been a way to lure him out of the house.
A horrified Tim and Kate sat back down.
"Do you think you can tell us what happened?" asked Kate gently.
Amy simply nodded. David kept his arm around her shoulder.
"I-I'd gone out for a run," began Amy quietly. "When I got back, I took a shower and had just gotten into my bathrobe when there was a knock at the door."
Flashback
Amy walked over to the front door and peered through the peephole. Upon seeing that it was Charlie leaning on the doorframe, she unlocked the door and opened it.
"Hello, Amy-Cakes." greeted Charlie.
Not wanting Charlie inside the house, Amy tried to slam the door in his face, but the young man put his foot under the door, preventing it from closing completley.
"What?" asked Charlie.
"Somebody killed Fluffey." expllained the blonde, giving her ex a suspicious look.
"Yeah, I heard about that." replied her ex coldly.
"Why would you do that?" questioned Amy, hoping that Charlie would confess.
"I wouldn't and I didn't!" retorted Charlie defensively. "I wanna come in."
"You can't!" retorted the young blonde.
Amy once again tried to shut the door, but Charlie simply pushed his foot against it. "Amy, I'm comin' in." he said.
A reluctant Amy opened the door a bit more, allowing Charlie to force his way inside; giving her toe a small cut as he did so. The young woman silently prayed that he would leave quickly and that David would come back soon.
"Did you just take a shower?" asked Charlie curiously as he walked through the living room, while Amy closed the door.
"Well, you smell nice," commented the young man as he tried doing pull-ups on one of the rafter, "I do recognise the scent."
This comment made Amy feel incredibly uncomfartable. The blonde turned to face her ex while breathing deeply. "David will be home soon." she said, desperately trying to get Charlie to leave.
"He's busy learnin' to become a man out in the woods." replied Charlie, now sounding a bit annoyed.
"My husband doesn't need a lesson on becoming a man." argued Amy nervously.
Charlie simply chuckled. "I'm sorry, of course he doesn't." he said as he let go of the rafter, walked over to one of the sofas and sat down, laughing mockingly. Charlie then patted the other side of the sofa and grabbed a cushion. "Wow: this old couch; you remember?"
"No," replied Amy bluntly. "Just like you don't remember killing my cat."
"I didn't kill your cat!" replied Charlie, now sounding agitated.
"No?" said his ex, not believing anything that came out of his mouth.
"Amy, I didn't kill your fucking cat!" snapped Charlie hotly.
"I think you should go." suggested Amy in a firm tone of voice.
Charlie put the cushion down and looked at the young woman with an annoyed look on his face.
"What do you want, Charlie?" asked Amy in a frightened manner.
The annoyed look on Charlie's face turned to one that was a mixture of fury and lust. The young man slowly got to his feet and advanced on Amy. "Want?" he spat venomously.
Charlie walked right up to Amy, he then leaned in to try and kiss her, but a horrified Amy quickly pushed him away. "Stop it!" she said in a terrified manner.
Charlie came at his ex and tried again, but the terrified blonde kept pushing him back.
"What do you want, Charlie; what do you fucking want!" cried a terrified Amy as she desperately tried to keep her ex at bay.
Charlie quickly grabbed Amy's wrists, preventing her from hitting him.
"Shhh, it's alright," whispered Charlie seductively before violently kissing his ex; ignoring her terrified begging and pleading.
Without warning, Charlie began undoing the bow on Amy's bathrobe.
"No, no, no, Charlie don't!" begged a terrified Amy as she desperately tried to pull away, but to no avail.
The young man ripped the terrified blonde's bathrobe off before dragging her over to the sofa, throwing her on to it and crawling on top of her; all the while ignoring Amy's terrified pleas. Charlie violently kissed Amy before beginning to tear her shirt open. The young blonde tried to push her ex off, but it was no use. Charlie got off the sofa and removed his shirt, then his pants, he then climbed back on top of Amy, who cried in agony as he began to rape her; still ignoring the blonde's begging and pleading.
At first, Amy struggled as Charlie had his way with her while kissing her and saying that he wouldn't hurt her, but then she decided to pretend that she was enjoying it: Charlie seemed to seriously believe that she wanted him back, so she decided to just let him think that.
Suddenly, the record player started up and the song Release Me began to play. Charlie finished, turned his head and seemed to be looking at somebody just behind him, he then got off of his ex and moved away to reveal Norman; leering at the young blonde with a lustful look in his eyes.
"NO, NO, NO!" yelled a horrified Amy as the dark haired man ran over, rolled her on to her stomach and climbed on top of her.
The room was filled with the sounds of the song and Amy begging and pleading with Norman and begging Charlie to save her.
End Flashback
"After they left, I t-took another shower and threw my bathrobe and shirt out. I honestly thought there might be some good left in Charlie; that's why I yelled out for him too when Norman was trying to rape me for the second time." explained a distraught sounding Amy.
A horrified and guilt-ridden David quickly gathered his wife into a hug and rubbed her back while making hushing noises. "Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry." he said gently.
"You did great, Amy," assured Kate. "We'll leave you two alone now."
The two detectives exited the room.
David and Amy continued to hug each other; both hoping that Norman would pull through so that he could face justice for his actions."
Outside in the corridor, Kate took out her mobile as it buzzed and answered. "Gallighar," she said. "Okay. Yes, I understand."
After finishing the conversation, Kate put the mobile away and looked at Tim. "Tom and Norman are out of surgery," she informed him. "It was touch and go, but it seems that they're going to be okay."
Over at the local football stadium, Coach Milkens was walking through the gymnasium when he suddenly noticed that the door to the nearby storage room was open. "Hello?" he called out. "Is somebody in there?"
Milkens walked over to the open door and peered inside. The middle-aged man jumped in fright as he saw an unmoving body lying on the floor. The coach ran in and knelt next to the body; his eyes quickly widening in horror as he realised that it was Janice.
(AN) And that does it for this chapter of Aftermath of Violence; hope you all enjoyed.
This chapter does mostly serve as a recap, but it will set up events for the rest of the story.
Next chapter: As news of the night's events spreads, we see the reactions of various townsfolk.
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.