(AN) Hello and welcome to the next chapter of Straw Dogs: Reimagined; hope you all enjoy.
In the last chapter, Charlie and Scutt get away with their assault on Amy. This chapter will be the build up to the start of the third act and will see Amy and Karen struggling with PTSD.
Disclaimer: I don't own Straw Dogs; all characters and locations are owned by their respective owners.
Chapter Five
After leaving the police station, Tom, Charlie, Cawsey, Scutt, Bobby and Phil walked back to Tom's house.
Tom turned to face Charlie and Scutt. "Okay you two: tell me the truth; did you or did you not rape Amy?"
"U-Uncle Tom, I swear, we never did anything to her," lied Charlie. "S-she wanted it!"
"I don't know what to believe!" barked Tom. "I know Amy can be a free spirited young woman, but I can't believe she'd make something like that up! And secondly: she's married; I'd hoped you'd gotten any funny ideas outa your heads!"
"That's a bit rich comin' from you," snickered Scutt. "You're always bein' violent when you don't get your way."
And without warning, Tom slapped Scutt across the face. "I HAVE MORALS YOU BASTARD!" he shouted furiously before pointing a firm finger at him and Charlie. "Now get out of my sight!"
And with that, the drunk grabbed Bobby and steered him into the house before slamming the door shut.
A bit later on, Tom was in bed next to his wife. Mrs Hedden was horrified to learn about what Charlie and Scutt had done.
"I just can't believe it," she said in horror. "I never imagined that Charlie would even be capable of such a thing."
"Nor me," agreed Tom. "The worst part is that they're both denying it."
"Well, I hope you told those two that they are no longer welcome in this house!" said Mrs Hedden sharply.
"I hope you finally came to your senses and banned Niles!" retorted Tom.
"Oh not this again," sighed Mrs Hedden. "Henry is harmless. You need to let go of this obsession before disaster strikes."
"He's dangerous!" growled the middle-aged man. "I don't care what you say: I'll do anything to protect my family from that monster."
The next day, Charlie, Scutt and Bobby were walking across the farmyard, but they suddenly stopped as the front door flew open and David marched out, doing his best to look intimidating; though it didn't work as everybody except Bobby laughed.
"Charlie, Scutt; You're fired!" barked David as he came to a halt in front of the workmen.
"What did we do?" asked Scutt in shock.
"It's what you two haven't done," informed David nervously as the two workmen glared at him. The maths professor then glared at Charlie and Scutt. "You've barely done any work and have just left Bobby to do it all!"
"How's Amy?" asked Charlie.
"How do you think?" spat David angrily. "She and Karen are traumatised by what you and Scutt did! Why won't you admit to it!"
"Ohhh, she wanted it!" sneered Scutt, cutting Charlie off as he started to open his mouth. "I regret nothing!"
"I thought she wanted it." said Charlie.
"Cowards!" barked David.
"Are we gonna get paid!" cried a frustrated Scutt
"I'll pay you for all the work you have done," promised David, "Now go!"
And with that, David walked away from the group, while they exited the farmyard; Charlie and Scutt moaning loudly about being fired.
David walked over to a small patch of grass and sat down. The young man looked out at the moors. He was beginning to regret ever suggesting to Amy that they come here: so far the move had caused nothing but trouble and he wondered if it could get any worse.
David turned his head as he heard approaching footsteps. Amy was walking towards him. The blonde was wearing her jacket, but she hadn't put her arms in the sleeves, making it appear as if she were wearing a cloak. Karen and Bobby also joined them.
"We should never have come here," commented Karen. "This is a nightmare!"
"We're not going to let those horrible men ruin the rest of this trip," stated Amy firmly. "We have as much right to be here and we won't let anybody scare us away."
"Oh, Amy, I don't deserve you." moaned David.
"Don't say that," said Amy. "There was no way you could've known. I think you should've confronted those men earlier, but there was no way you could've figured out that Charlie and Scutt would do that; nobody could."
"I know," muttered David sadly, "I wish I'd never agreed to go on that stupid hunting trip. I was just so desperate to prove to those guys that I was tough and manly."
"You shouldn't have to do that," said the blonde as she walked over and gave her husband a hug, "You're perfect the way you are: you don't need to prove that you're tough or manly."
David hugged his wife back; tears streaming down the young man's face.
Later that night, Amy was clearing up in the kitchen when suddenly, there was a light knock at the front door. The young woman slowly walked over to the door and opened it. As soon as she did, Charlie grabbed Amy, who yelped in alarm, he then spun her around, clamped his hand over her mouth and pushed the struggling blonde through to the dining room before shoving her to the floor.
"Come on, Amy, I know that you want me!" sneered Charlie seductively as he crawled on top of Amy; ignoring her terrified begging and pleading.
"No, no, no, get off of me!" cried a terrified Amy as Charlie began tearing at her clothes.
Amy shut her eyes and sobbed as Charlie had his way with her again.
"NO!" shouted Amy as she bolted up in bed while clutching her chest. After getting her breathing under control, Amy saw that she was safe in her and David's bedroom.
"Hey, you okay?" asked David gently as he sat up and put his glasses on.
"Yeah, just a nightmare." muttered Amy quietly.
"About Charlie?" asked her husband.
The middle-aged woman simply nodded.
David wrapped his arms around his wife in a hug before gently rubbing her back and making hushing noises.
"Hey, you're okay now," assured the maths teacher. "Charlie and Scutt won't come back here."
"I don't want any of them to come back here." muttered Karen, who suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" asked Amy gently as she got out of bed and scooped her precious daughter up into her arms.
"I had a bad dream." answered the young girl.
"You're not the only one," commented Amy as she sat down on the bed and put Karen down. "But you know that me and your dad would never let anything bad happen to you."
"And I promise you that Charlie, Scutt and Cawsey won't come back here." assured David before patting the top of Karen's head.
David, Amy and Karen continued to stay at Trencher's Farm for the next month, and before anybody knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived. As it turned out, Reverend Barney Hood and his wife Louise hosted a Christmas party at the village hall every Christmas Eve, so the Sumners decided to attend. Karen had signed up to do a bit of singing.
After getting changed into something smart, David, Amy and Karen headed off to the village hall.
David and Amy arrived at the village hall, which was packed with adults and children. As the couple entered, Barney and Louise Hood approached them. Barney was an elderly, obese man with thinning grey hair. Louise was also elderly and had long, blonde hair.
"Amy, Mr Sumner; glad you could make it," said Barney with an Irish accent as he shook David and Amy's hands.
"Nice to see you too, Reverend." replied the maths teacher.
"You're just in time for my magic act," smirked the reverend before looking at Amy. "Listen, me and Louise heard about what happened: are you okay?"
"I'm fine," assured Amy before noticing Charlie and Scutt sitting at a table. "I see Venner and Scutt are here."
"I can ask them to leave," suggested Louise, who had a posh English accent, "We weren't sure if you were coming or not."
"No, it's fine." insisted Amy before walking across the room.
"You sure about this?" asked David as he caught up with his wife.
"I won't allow them to intimidate me." stated a determined Amy as she and David sat down.
But just as Amy was starting to feel comfortable, Charlie and Scutt appeared in front of her and David. "What do you two want?" she asked nervously.
"We just want to talk to you and your daughter," insisted Chris. "Amy, why are you saying Charlie raped you? First you lot think I murdered your stupid cat, now this. I think you're trying to cause trouble."
"I said no to both Charlie and Scutt!" seethed Amy through gritted teeth before pointing a firm finger at the two men. "You two are cowards! But you Charlie, are even worse! You just let Scutt rape me!"
"You wanted it!" sneered Scutt.
"I said no!" barked Amy as she suddenly stood up. "The only good thing is that at least you didn't hurt my daughter."
"I would never hurt a child or any kid."
The two men simply walked away. Amy, now shaking, took a few deep, calming breaths before sitting back down. David wrapped a comforting arm around his wife's shoulder.
Amy decided to try and relax as the audience quietened down. Barney soon started trying to do a magic act with a newspaper, but Amy wasn't paying much attention; still furious with Charlie and Scutt. When the middle-aged man began tearing the paper, Amy kept thinking of Charlie tearing her clothes off.
After the magic act was done, Barney gave a little bow and chuckled. "And now one of our newest residents, Karen Sumner, would like to perform a rendition of O Holy Night." he said.
There was a round of applause from everybody except Cawsey. Karen went on stage and began singing.
Janice walked over to Henry, who was sitting on his own.
"Henry?" said Janice.
"Hi." said Henry bluntly.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" asked the brunette innocently.
The young man nodded before standing up.
"Give me your arm." said the teen.
Henry gently took the young girl's arm and allowed her to lead him out of the village hall. Everyone was too focused on the show to notice them leaving.
As Janice led Henry away from the town hall, she failed to notice Bobby walking outside and spotting them. The young man quickly dashed back inside.
Back inside, Amy began clutching the armrests of her chair as she continued to have flashbacks to the rape.
"Do you want to go?" asked David gently.
"Yes." replied Amy quietly.
The young couple got to their feet. Amy gestured to Karen, who ran off the stage to join her parents. The trio quietly walked out of the village hall, passing Bobby as he ran back inside.
"Dad," said Bobby as he ran over to where Tom was sitting. "It's Janice: she's gone off with Henry Niles."
"WHAT!" snapped Tom as he got to his feet and glowered at Bobby.
"Calm down, Dad," replied the young man nervously. "I'm sure he wouldn't hurt her."
John had had noticed that Henry was missing and was beginning to look for him when Tom spotted him. "John Niles." he said as he and Bobby approached the man.
"What's the matter, Tom?" asked John curiously.
"Come with me." said Tom dangerously.
John reluctantly allowed the middle-aged man and his son to lead him out of the church. Charlie, Scutt and Cawsey quickly followed. Phil Nazir, a local taxi driver, also followed. Phil was a tall, thin man with tan skin and a bald head.
As they exited the village hall, Tom spun the young man around and lifted him up by the shirt collar. "You were meant to keep an eye on that brother of yours!" he barked furiously.
"What's he done now?" asked John nervously.
"He went off with Janice," said Bobby nervously. "B-but I'm sure there's a perfectly good explenation."
Before John could even respond to that, Tom punched him in the face and threw the man to the ground, he then kicked John a couple of times.
"I'll find him!" promised Tom through gritted teeth. "And when I do, I'll kill him with my bare hands!"
"Let me and the boys try and find Janice first, Tom," suggested Phil in a calming manner. "Then you can kill the bastard!"
"What's going on out here!" cried Scott as he, Tim and Kate came running out of the church.
"My Janice has gone walkabout with Henry Niles!" snarled Tom in an aggressive manner.
"My brother wouldn't hurt a fly," groaned John as he staggered to his feet. "I'm sure he and Janice are safe."
"Janice had better be!" snarled Tom.
Janice and Henry walked towards some steps near the village square.
"See, this is nice, isn't it?" said Janice as she smiled at Henry.
"Yes it is," agreed Henry. "You're the only person apart from John who actually cares about me."
Janice was about to reply when her ears pricked up at the sound of multiple voices calling her and Henry's names. The young woman recognised the voices as John, Bobby, Bertie, Charlie, Scutt, Cawsey and Phil.
"Oh no," cried Janice in alarm before seeing the terrified look on her friend's face. "Henry, it's okay."
Unfortunately, Henry was too agitated to listen. The young man began rocking back and forth while clutching his temples. Janice reached out her hand and tried to rest it on Henry's shoulder, but the dark haired man, not knowing his own strength pushed Janice away, causing the young woman to stumble and fall down the steps. Henry's eyes widened in fear as he looked at Janice's unmoving body before running off.
As David drove back to Trencher's Farm, a thick fog began to roll in.
"I'm sorry," apologised Amy quietly. "I tried t-to make everything normal, but I just couldn't."
"Hey, it's okay," assured David gently. "I think it was pretty awesome how you stood up to Charlie and Scutt and the fact you tried to stay is the main thing. You're far braver than me."
"Thank you, David," muttered the blonde, wiping a few tears away. "I think we should cut our holiday short and return to the States as soon as possible."
"But what about getting justice for Kitty!" protested Karen.
David turned his head and gave his daughter a sympathetic smile. "Karen, I know you want justice for Kitty, but I don't think we can-
"DAVID, LOOK OUT!" shouted Amy in warning.
David suddenly hit the breaks, bringing the car to a screeching halt, but it was too late as the vehicle hit a tall figure and sent them flying over the car and on to the ground with a thud.
David stopped the car before hopping out with Amy.
"Shit!" cursed David as he and Amy ran towards the figure. "I didn't even see them; just came out of nowhere!"
As the couple came to stand over the body, the young woman instantly recognised who it was. "Oh my god, David, it's Henry." she said in shock.
"What?" replied David in surprise. "What's he doing out here."
"Are we going to jail for this?" asked Karen. "Because if we are, it wasn't me who killed him."
(AN) And that's a wrap on this chapter of Reimagined; hope you all enjoyed and remember to Read and Review.
The next chapter continues the third act with David, Amy and Karen taking Henry back to Trencher's Farm and well … you know.
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.