Fanon:Invitation to the Grave

Invitation to the Grave
''Eight people gather at there old summer camp for a reunion. But something is very, very wrong...''

Chapter One: A Week on the Lake
One beautiful Moonlight Falls afternoon, Justin Lakes was zipping down the road to the beach on his Kenspa, in response to the invitation he had just received in the mail.

My old friend Justin,


 * I would enjoy seeing you at a reunion for our old summer camp. If you can, please arrange for the week and weekend off. I know there's a lot of good memories to celebrate involved with old Camp La Shove, and more to celebrate now. Hope to see you there! ~Sam Riceman

Justin had stared at the message in annoyance. "More to celebrate now"! He was struggling at the bottom of the Military ladder to keep the apartment he had just rented, he had no new friends, and the love of his life had strode out of his grasp to Plumbob-knows-where. Yay, let's celebrate. Yet he found himself drawn to Camp La Shove. There were good times there, at least. Raiding the kitchen at night, swimming in the lake, and the first fire of tween love. And besides, he had a natural curiosity. So he found himself parking the scooter by a tree and walking towards the beach. A bunch of other people had already gathered there with familiar faces. Agatha Graive sat writing her dark poetry, looking as Goth as ever. June Green was being her usual plump, clumsy self. Aaron Richards, the ladies man, was hitting on the one person of the group Justin had never seen before, a tiny, dark-haired little creature who just stared at the ground while Aaron flirted. Then a taxi pulled up, and out stepped a figure that brought back so many memories. Swimming together, rummaging in the kitchen for cake, a beautiful first kiss, the biggest question of his life, and waiting for the bride whose hurt had kept her away. Pretty, fiery young Katie Johnson, the one that got away. He thought she had left town. She looked at him in surprise, then looked away as if ashamed. Something was up. She had never looked away. She had been fearless, shameless. At least on the outside. Yet she ran on the wedding day. All of his thoughts were then wrenched to the enormous white limousine that pulled up, scattering sand. Out stepped Sam Riceman, who then helped his wife Mary from the car. "Hello!" he said with a wave and his award-winning smile. "So glad you all could make it. We have a lot to celebrate this week! Mary and I's ten-month anniversary," All but Agatha clapped. "My new role as the lead male in the new movie, Skyscrapers, and," here he paused dramatically, "Mary's new kid!" Mary smiled."It's too early to show, though," she informed them, patting her belly. "And, I have an introduction to make," Sam continued. "This is my sister, Sarah," he gestured to the small newcomer, who shrank under everyones' gaze. "She'll be getting my old cabin, since Mary and I will take the camp superintendent's cabin."

It became standard quickly. June, who said she got fat by being addicted to her own cooking, made the meals for the group, when she got up early enough for breakfast. Mary liked to help her. They enjoyed everything on their plates, and June said she was glad that Sam had bought a lot of food. Sausages, pancakes, smoothies, eggs. Sandwiches, Fruit plates, stir fry, pork. Chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, hamburgers. Breakfast was a great time. She had promised to get up earlier the second day, saying there was going to be a breakfast surprise. Everyone sat hungrily around the table at eight thirty, thinking that June couldn't get up any earlier than a half hour early. But she wasn't there at nine twenty-one. "Oh, moodlet!" said Katie, jumping up. "I'm starving! Where is she?" She led the group into Cabin 3, the one that she shared with June. "Phew!" said Aaron, waving a hand in front of his nose. "Something smells." June was nowhere in her bedroom. Finding the bathroom door unlocked, Katie stepped inside and screamed. the rest of the group scrambled in to the sight of, in bathwater blue from sitting out all night, the dead body of June Green.

 Chapter Two: A lot to think About The camp didn't panic too much. They were busy grieving over the loss of a childhood friend. One night, over the campfire, Katie broke the silence. "I'm staying. June would have wanted us to enjoy the trip." "Yeah," agreed Mary. "She wouldn't want us to just freeze." The others nodded and began to get up and head back to their own cabins. Katie sat there, tuning her beloved guitar halfheartedly. Justin stood in front of his chair, rocking on his heels. Around D string Katie looked up. "Yeah?" "Um, I kind of wanted to talk to you..." "Sit," she replied, gesturing to the chair next to her. "You know," he began uncertainly, "Someone so vigorous and happy as June, just going right out of the blue...It gives you a lot to think about." "Yeah. It kind of scares me." "It seems like we just think we're invincible, so we don't think it matters. But we might not get tomorrow. We have to seize the day, 'cause the next might not come." Katie nodded, biting her lip. "Katie," Justin continued, taking her hands. "If I die tomorrow, I don't want to die without love." He stood up, taking a small case out of his pocket. "Katie, do you still love me? I mean, would you try to, even though..." She got out of her chair, wrapping her arms around him. "I never stopped," she whispered. "Why would I?" "Well, I was insecure, and I made a big deal over what people said, and I--" "Don't give me that testing cheat. You are a great guy, and I love you." Her words were punctuated by a kiss that meant everything it could. A toast to love, life, and a fresh start on both.

The wedding itself was fairly quiet, only the people who were already there attended. There was, though, a huge celebration afterwards and everybody just had fun except for Agatha, who went to her cabin right after the ceremony, and Sarah, who felt sick. Sometime during the festivities Justin and Katie snuck off to be alone. Katie paused by Sam and Mary's cabin. "Shh." "What?" Justin was startled for a second by a raised voice, but it quickly settled back into the threatening tone that Katie had heard. "--should have known better than to use you. Everything, everything, was in place, and you mess it up! It's almost as if you were trying. I thought I could be sure of your loyalty..." There was a small murmur in response. "Good. Tomorrow you fix it, or else! Go over the plan in Agatha's cabin if you have to. Are we clear?" Another whisper, then silence. Katie pulled Justin away from the cabin. "We have to get in Agatha's cabin," she whispered. "There could be something that could tell us what's going on!" "Later. Something tells me whoever's in there wouldn't appreciate us knowing about that. At breakfast, when everybody's in the kitchen."

The next morning during breakfast, Justin and Katie didn't join the group. Instead they quietly opened the door to the cabin Agatha shared with Sarah. They stepped in, looking around carefully. Under an end table they found a small notebook. On the first page it read, "Kill the father first so he doesn't get away." Katie clapped a hand over her mouth. "Justin," she whispered, "someone wants to kill Sam!" "What the Netherworld are you two doing here?" Justin looked over his shoulder, quickly tossing the hit list back under the end table. Agatha's frighteningly dark face glared down at them. "Get out!" she yelled. "Stop reading my poetry! OUT!" They got out. "Do you realize what this means?" asked Katie after they were outside. "Agatha is going to kil Sam!" "Maybe," he replied, "But whoever is planning the murder is a man. Remember the voice? There are two people in this. And it might not even be Agatha. The guy said, 'go over the plans in Agatha's cabin if you have to,' not, 'go over the plans in your cabin.' " "You know," said Katie thoughtfully, "It might just be some dark play or something Agatha is writing. She said to stop reading her poetry." "But a character can't 'get away', and along with what we heard, I don't think that's it." "You're right. But something is very wrong here, and I can't feel safe."

Later in the day, they got a chance to talk to Sam alone. "So, what can I do for you?" He asked. "Um, well--" began Justin. "We think you're gonna get killed." burst out Katie. "What? Maybe you should lay off the Energy drinks." "She's not hyped up. We heard someone talking about messing up, and fixing it or else, and we found a notebook in Agatha's cabin that said "Kill the father before he gets away" and you have to be the father. You're the only one here who is expecting a kid." Sam paled for a moment, but tried to smile. "Sure, but why some big conspiracy thing? Agatha could easily have been going over notes for something with Aaron, or some guy we don't know. She's obviously into all that dark stuff." "But we didn't hear her talking, and someone mentioned her cabin. Her poetry is fiction." "Alright, I'll be careful, I guess, if you're so worried. It's getting late, maybe you guys should head bck to bed. I've gotta check on Aaron. He was feeling sick at breakfast, and Mary coooks well." Katie looked out the window and shivered. It was getting dark, and with all that was going on, she felt scared. "Justin?" she asked, as they walked back to the cabins, "Can you spend the night in my cabin? I don't want to sleep alone tonight." "Alright." Someone should have stayed with Aaron.

The next morning, Aaron was found dead. He had gotten up to vomit in the middle of the night, and was found sprawled on the bathroom floor. The paramedic who made sure he was dead said that she'd never heard of a sickness in which you die overnight.

Chapter Three: It has to End
The next morning, Justin was debating between getting out before he was next and taking Katie with him, or staying to unravel what was going on so as few people as possible would die and the culprit would be punished. He almost left the next morning, when Agatha brought in Wednesday's paper. Mary took the paper first, glancing over the pages. She stopped and read an article, then dropped the paper and let out a small cry. Hiding her face in her hands, she let the others read:

''June Green's body, which was found the twentieth, was believed to have been drowned, as she was found dead in her bathtub at a summer camp she attended as a child. Further examination has shown traces of poison in her bloodstream, suggesting that her death was not accidental, and that she the poison took effect while she was bathing. Police will not disclose further information.''

Later that day, Sam had a private talk with Katie and Justin. He drew a deep, shaky breath and began, "Guys, I don't want you to say this to anyone, I really don't want it to be true but here goes. Mary might have killed June. I don't know why she would, but it's the only thing that makes sense. She was the one who made the drinks the day June died, and she completely took over the kitchen the day when Aaron got sick and died. And-and I'm sorry I didn't believe you before. I think I could be next, with the papers you found. I-I just don't know what to do! I can't turn her in without evidence, and I don't even want to! Can you guys help me?" Justin decided to stay right there. "Of course," he said. "This has to be stopped, before anyone else gets killed. But you're right we need evidence, and we need to be sure. And Agatha might be working with her, if the plans are in Agatha's cabin and she made such a big deal. And you don't have to work with the drinks to poison them. We just can't eat here until we've figured it out." "Okay." "Don't be alone with anyone. Neither of you. We need to stick together. Don't trust anyone, particularly any guy from outside the camp." "Okay." Walking back to Katie's cabin, Katie said, "Justin, do you realize we're married and in a death scenario?" He nodded grimly. "Justin. If we're married tonight, act it, especially with the impending possibility of doom. Okay?" "Okay, but you can't always be in charge." She laughed. "Okay. I won't tonight." "Good." He pressed her lips against hers, making the most of life while they had it.

Justin found relaxing impossible, and he was glad that even Agatha, Sarah and Mary were on edge. When asked why she stayed, Agatha laughed and replied, "My work has boomed since June died. This stuff is great for my poetry, and it's a purely artistic choice to stay." but she was still jumpy. Sarah and Agatha slowly grew closer. Justin had Katie, Sam had Mary, though he was a very careful, but since Sarah didn't hang with Sam much, they started to confide in each other. Sarah began to talk. Agatha began to listen. Soon that friendship turned up an incredibly interesting fact.