(AN) Hello and welcome to the next chapter of Straw Dogs: Reimagined; hope you all enjoy.
This chapter introduces us to several more key characters and properly sets up the main conflict.
Disclaimer: I don't own Straw Dogs; all characters and locations are owned by their respective owners.
Chapter One
After they finished moving everything into Trencher's Farm, the Sumners headed into the main village area and soon entered a local café known as the Bistro. Behind the counter was a middle-aged man with short grey hair. The man looked up and his eyes widened in surprise as the trio approached the counter. "Amy Magruder!" he cried in shock before rushing out from behind the counter. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"Hello, Harry," said Amy as she and the man named Harry shared a hug. The blonde then turned to face her husband and daughter. "Harry, this is my husband David and my daughter Karen. David and Karen, meet Harry Ware."
"Pleased to meet you." said Harry as he and David shook hands.
At this point, a few other people had come over to say hello. One of them was a middle-aged man with short, scruffy grey hair and was called Tom Hedden. The second man, who was called John Scott, was also middle-aged and was wearing the uniform of a police sergeant. The third person was a teenage girl with long blonde hair that she had tied back into a ponytail.
"Oh, Janice, I can't believe how big you've gotten." said Amy to the teenager before sharing a hug.
"So, what brings you back to Wakely?" asked Tom.
"Oh, well we're just here for the Christmas holidays," explained Amy. "I thought it would be nice to show my daughter and husband where I grew up."
"And what do you do, David?" asked Tom politely.
"I'm a maths teacher back in Philadelphia." explained David.
"Well, it's nice to see that Amy settled down." said John, smiling.
After ordering some food and drinks, David, Amy and Karen sat down at a table and were soon enjoying some lunch.
"So, you're pretty popular around here," said David teasingly. "Are there any ex boyfriends I should be worried about?"
"You're not going to get jealous, are you?" replied Amy teasingly.
"No." smirked the maths teacher.
The two then laughed and shared a kiss, while Karen made a gagging noise in the background.
"Hello, Amy." said a voice from nearby.
David and Amy looked up and saw a man standing near the table. He was middle-aged, had short blackhair with patches of grey in it and had big ears that stuck out.
"Charlie!" said a surprised Amy. "I didn't know you still lived here.
"Yeah, I'm still living here." retorted Charlie.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" asked a confused David.
"Charlie Venner," answered Charlie. "Amy's ex boyfriend. And who are you?"
"David Se-Sumner; her husband." retorted David, trying not to sound jealous.
"And I'm Karen; their daughter," put in Karen. "Why did you two break up?"
"Karen; it's rude to ask that sort of question!" hissed Amy sternly before giving Charlie an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."
"That's fine," replied the middle-aged man, chuckling slightly. "So, I here you're staying up at Trencher's Farm?"
"How did you know that?" said a surprised Amy.
"Scutt told me," replied Charlie. "You know, if you need an extra set of hands to help with the roof, me and my nephew Bobby would be more than happy to help out."
"Oh," said the surprised blonde. "Well, I'm sure they'd appreciate the help. What do you think, David?"
David had been slightly taken aback by the offer as well. "Um, yeah; actually, that'd be great," he said. "When can you and Bobby start?"
"We can start tomorrow." answered Charlie.
David and Charlie shook hands. The maths teacher noticed that Charlie had a firm grip.
"He's jealous." remarked Karen.
"Karen, I'm sure he's not." replied Amy. "He's probably just surprised."
The next day, Charlie arrived at Trencher's Farm with his nephew Bobby. Bobby was a burly man in his early twenties with olive-coloured skin and short black hair. The four men were currently sitting on the roof and talking.
"So, you and Mrs Sumner used to be a thing?" commented a surprised Scutt to Charlie.
"Yeah," muttered Charlie darkly. "She left me because I was apparently too clingy. I think she wants me back; that's why she's really come back."
"Don't go doin' anything stupid," warned Bobby. "She's got a husband and a daughter and they seem quite happy."
"Maybe," replied Charlie. "But you never know."
"I don't care, so long as the brat of hers keeps her cat away from my rats." commented Cawsey. "I'd hate for it to get hurt."
Chris then laughed before suddenly falling backwards through the hole in the roof. "I'm okay!" he called out.
Some time later, David and Amy were cuddled up in bed together and playing a game of chess.
"I'm so glad we came here." said Amy gently before caressing her husband's cheek.
"Me too," agreed David before noticing that Amy had taken his king. "Hey you sneaky minx."
"Told you I'd gotten better." chuckled the blonde.
The couple then embraced and kissed before lying on the bed.
Karen had taken up a bedroom that her mum had often used whenever she had stayed at Trencher's Farm. Unfortunately for her, the walls were quite thin and she could hear her parents doing whatever it was parents did at night. Kitty was currently lying on the end of the bed and sleeping soundly.
"Kitty, why are adults so gross sometimes?" asked Karen innocently.
Kitty simply purred in her sleep.
"You said it, Kitty." replied Karen.
Over at the Bistro, Tom was sitting at a table; observing two people sitting at a nearby table. One of them was a fifteen year old boy with short, messy dark hair. The other person was a slightly older man with short, light-brown hair. They were Henry and John Niles and Tom did not trust Henry one little bit.
Tom stood up and marched towards the table, causing both brothers to look in his direction. "Hey Niles!" he said to John in a dangerous manner.
"Yes?" said John curiously.
"Your brother's been hanging around with my Janice again!" snarled Tom in a threatening manner.
"He's allowed to, Tom!" retorted John firmly as he stood up. "What's your problem with him!"
"You know what my problem is!" spat the older man.
"Everyone knows those allegations were false!" snapped John. "It seems like you can't back down off your high horse!"
"I'm warning you, Niles, if your brother does anything to my Janice, then I'll make him wish that he'd never been born!" warned Tom.
"Everything okay over there?" asked Harry in concern.
"Yes, I was just leaving!" grumbled Tom darkly before marching out of the Bistro.
A slightly shaken John sat back down and placed a comforting arm around his brother's shoulder. Henry had his hands to his temple and was rocking back and forth.
"Don't worry, buddy, I won't let him hurt you." promised John.
(AN) And that's it for this chapter; hope you all enjoyed.
So, as you can see, the Niles brothers are a bit different in this version compared to the original or the remake. As said, while the story has the same plot beats, I wanted to do them in a different and modern way.
The next chapter will be longer and will build up more tension before ending with a nasty surprise for Karen, though those familiar with the film can probably guess where this is going.
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.
