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June 18th would be a day that all of Seymours Bay would remember forever, as what began as a typical Summer day turned to tragedy as the pier and Wonder Wharf burned, the eighty-year-old landmark destroyed beyond repair.
Investigators came to the conclusion that the fire was caused by the Fischoeder brothers who were seemingly trying to flee the country in a makeshift submarine they kept under the wharf, the old steel tracks that guided the sub sparked and caused a chain reaction that burned the whole pier, Calvin and Felix Fischoeder were both found dead in the ocean after the sub had inevitably failed to function as they had hoped.
To twist the knife even further, the Belcher family, owners of a local restaurant right near the wharf, had gone missing on the very same day. Their disappearance had been reported by Teddy, a family friend and frequent customer of the restaurant who claimed that he saw them at the wharf but never saw them leave. Authorities feared the worst after this revelation but after searching all around the ruins of the pier the remains of the family were not found. The search for the Belcher family went on for months with worried family members and friends assisting in the hunt, but there was no sign of the family of five anywhere, and the case went cold.
Grover Fischoeder, closest living relative of the late Fischoeder brothers was shocked and saddened by the death of his cousins, but he vowed to keep their memory alive by using his inheritance to rebuild the wharf bigger and better than ever, news which provided little comfort to those still affected by the Belcher’s disappearance.
Eventually, as Summer turned to Fall, the world moved on. Calvin and Felix’s deaths were marked as a freak accident caused by poor planning while the Belchers were added to the vast list of missing people who would seemingly never be found. But Grover Fischoeder had a secret, he knew the truth, all of it.
Grover’s plan had worked better than he could’ve possibly hoped. The pier was gone, Calvin and Felix weren’t there to interfere with his business dreams, he was swimming in the wealth that his cousins had hoarded from him for years, and there were no witnesses to tell the cops that he had planned it all.
But as much as Grover tried to play it off, his actions haunted him deep inside. He hated his cousins, sure, but he had no quarrel with the Belchers, they were just another random family that lived near the wharf. But that damn bunny girl just had to snoop around and find out his plans, he had no choice but to silence them, he could not afford the cops finding out what he had done. Yet his stomach still churned as he watched the sinkhole by their restaurant be filled in, all too aware of what was buried underneath.
For the last few months, Grover knew only sleepless nights. Any time he closed his eyes the image of the innocent family he had killed flashed in his head. He thought he would get over it eventually, but it just got worse and worse with each passing day.
“Hey boss, we’ve the shipment of prizes, we need you to check and make sure everything is there.” One of the carnies said.
Grover sighed. These ex-cons that his cousin had hired were indeed as cheap as Calvin had boasted, but they were by no means efficient. So many simple tasks had to be taken on by him for some reason. No matter, the carnies would be replaced by actual workers once his mega park was up and running.
Grover walked into the storage shed and looked over his prizes. Every seemed to be in order, there were stuffed bears, cheap toys, stuffed creatures of indeterminate species and-
“What the?” Grover said to himself. Amongst the other toys and trinkets he spied a peculiar addition, as buried under some other stuffed creatures he saw a pair of bright pink bunny ears.
Grover cautiously walked over to the pile and started to move some of the stuffed animals away to better see the strange item.
“I never ordered a-“ He began to say to himself, but just as he moved his hands towards the ears, he heard an ear splitting shriek as the figure of a young girl jumped out at him.
Grover jumped out his skin, falling to the ground as he desperately crawled away from his assailant, eyes squeezed shut as he screamed, but when he opened them, nothing was there.
“You ok boss?” One of the carnie’s cried out running into the room.
Grover was still recovering from the shock, breathing heavily and rapidly.
“Yes…” He answered quietly, “I just… saw a spider.”
The vision stuck with Grover all day, he knew he wasn’t crazy, he saw exactly who he thought he saw, and that person he saw should be dead. He figured the best way to get his mind off things was to try and sleep it off, so he dozed off into what he hoped would be a peaceful sleep.
When Grover awoke, he sat up only to smack his dead on something, as he looked around he found himself inside a clam car, not unlike the one the Belchers were in when they tried to escape him. He then noticed where he was, the very same sinkhole he had buried the Belchers in, and he gaped in horror when he noticed dirt beginning to pile on top of the vehicle.
Grover freaked out, desperately smashing against the glass of the clam in an attempt to escape, but the thick glass would not budge.
“Oh god oh god oh god!” Grover repeated as he began to hyperventilate, “help me! SOMEONE HELP ME!”
He frantically punched the glass of the clam, his knuckles beginning to bleed as he screamed at the top of his lungs for someone, anyone to save him. But he was helpless as the dirt pile got bigger and bigger until he was completely entombed.
Grover awoke in a cold sweat, letting out an ear splitting screech. His heart beat at a frantic rate, he tried to control his breathing as he looked around his room.
“You’re fine Grover, it was just another nightmare…” He said to himself, “And now I’m talking to myself… I’m losing my mind.”
Grover walked to his bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, ever since that day he had been experiencing nightmares each night, each one feeling more real than the last.
He went about his day the same as usual, overseeing the construction of his mega park. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, he swore he could see the same figure from the day before staring him down from the distance. He shook himself out of his stupor, maybe he should seek therapy or something, and tell them that he’d been having nightmares about his cousins deaths.
As the day came to a close, Grover practically dragged himself back to his home, he fell limp on the couch, too exhausted to stand from the combination of sleep deprivation and overworking himself. But he knew he couldn’t sleep, if he did he would just have another nightmare.
The clock in his house struck midnight, it was now officially Halloween. Grover decided he had better sleep, he had a Halloween party that he intended to go to after all, but as he struggled to stand up, he swore he heard a laugh in the house.
“Who was that?!?” Grover yelled in a panic, he quickly moved himself over to where he knew Calvin kept his guns, “I’m armed! Now get out of Cal- my house!”
Grover didn’t get a response. Cautiously he investigated the different rooms around the house, keeping his gun by his side in case there truly was an intruder.
Grover walked into his kitchen and began to carefully sweep the room, when suddenly the door slammed behind him. Grover screamed as he turned to face the door. He tried to open it again but it would not budge.
“THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” Grover yelled at the top of his lungs, “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I-I’LL SUE YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORTH!”
Suddenly the laughter he had heard previously began to ring out again, only this time they didn’t stop. They continued getting louder and louder, Grover now able to better identify the voice, it was young and feminine, it almost reminded him of…
“Damn it Grover! You’ve gone mad!” He scolded himself, “First the nightmares, then the hallucinations, now I’m hearing things?”
“Oh I assure you, I’m real…” A new voice called out.
Grover once again jumped, quickly scanning his surroundings.
“W-where are you? Show yourself!” He shouted, fumbling with his gun, “Leave me alone!”
At last, the disembodied voice showed itself, it was a young girl wearing a green dress and a pair of rabbit ears… wait…
“Th-The bunny girl?” Grover sputtered in disbelief, “But how? I- I.”
“You what?” Louise said with venom lacing her words, “Buried me and my family alive? Left us all to die in a ditch?!”
Grover dropped to the floor, his heart racing, “I-I’m sorry!” He pleaded, “I didn’t know what else to do! You knew too much and-“
“And that gave you permission to kill us all?” Louise spat, interrupting him.
“Listen, I’ll give you whatever you want!” Grover begged, “Just please! Leave me alone!”
“Anything I want?” Louise replied, “Well what I most want is for me and my family to live, but I guess it’s too late for that. So I’ll settle for revenge…”
As Louise spoke those words, the lights in Grovers home all went out, the room was filled with loud crashes as plates and other kitchen appliances were hurled towards him, Grover narrowly managed to avoid them.
“Please! No!” Grover begged as he desperately tried to open the door to his kitchen.
“Did you know that I was the last to go?” Louise said, a hint of sadness in her voice “Can you imagine what that’s like for a nine-year-old kid? Watching as one by one your family passes out? Never to wake up again?”
Louise slowly walked closer and closer to Grover, the man frantically bashing his shoulder against the door trying to escape, but to no avail.
“I made a vow before I died.” Louise explained, “That I wouldn’t let my soul rest as long as you got to live as a free man.”
Grover saw a faint glint of a knife in Louise’s hand, his eyes widening as he realised what she was intending to do.
“P-PLEASE! I’M SORRY!” Grover pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears as Louise got closer, lifting the knife above her head, “NO! PLEASE! NOO!”
Grover suddenly shot up from his couch, letting out a blood curdling scream that could be heard all around the house. Tears filled his eyes as he dropped to the ground hyperventilating.
“I- I can’t take this anymore!” He sobbed.
October 31st would be a day that all of Seymours Bay would remember forever, as it was the day the people finally learned the truth.
At around 2 in the morning, Grover Fischoeder stumbled into the police station crying. He confessed to everything, the murder of Cotton Candy Dan, orchestrating both the deaths of his cousins and the fire that burned the wharf, and most surprisingly, he confessed to the murder of the Belcher family.
The police were originally skeptical, Grover had seemed pretty jumpy lately, and confessing to mass murder because of a guilty conscience had authorities questioning his mental state. But after supplying an absurd amount of incriminating evidence against himself and leading the cops to where he had hid the bodies of the Belchers, he was arrested and charged with both murder and arson.
The news hit Seymours Bay like a truck, reporters were swarming the place attempting to get any scoops on Grover Fischoeder or comments from those who knew the deceased. Friends and family of the Belchers were distraught at the news, with Big Bob, the father of Bob Belcher, coming down to attend Grover’s trial. That bastard had robbed him of his entire family, he had to be there to watch him go down.
Grover’s trial was incredibly short, as to be expected. Grover provided all the evidence against himself and pleaded guilty to all charges, he also proved to the court that he was not coerced or manipulated into turning himself in, responding with a simple “I couldn’t live with the guilt anymore.” When questioned about his actions.
Big Bob’s knuckles went white as he clenched his fists in anger at the sight of the man who had taken away his son, his daughter-in-law and his three beautiful grandchildren just for his own selfish gain. He wanted nothing more than to watch him suffer, he wanted to beat that fucker to death with his own two hands, but he restrained himself. He knew death was too merciful for him, he deserved to rot in prison for the rest of his pathetic life.
Teddy, however, wasn't so good at holding back his anger, all who attended the trial looked on in sympathy as the man had to be escorted out of the courtroom by police after he tried to lunge at Grover, his cries and shouts being engraved in their minds.
By the end of the trial, Grover was unsurprisingly sentenced to life in prison, a fitting punishment for a monster like him, but it did little to ease the pain felt by all those who knew and loved the Belchers.
At Wagstaff, a memorial was built in honor of the Belcher kids, three students who despite their antics would be missed by all. Friends of the Belchers such as Zeke, Alex, Courtney, Rudy and Jimmy Jr. all contributed to its construction to make sure it was perfect. Principal Spoors even made a statement about the Belcher kids and how badly they would be missed.
A memorial was also built by what used to be their restaurant, with all local businesses paying their respects, even Bob’s long term rival Jimmy Pesto came by to mourn. Tributes such as flowers were left by hundreds of people, from close friends and family to complete strangers who were heartbroken by the story.
At last, the funeral for the Belchers arrived. It was a somber occasion, but it was decided that it would be best to lay the Belchers to rest together as a family. There were many people in attendance at the funeral, Linda’s parents had come down from Florida to bid their farewells, with Gayle by their side. Big Bob didn’t say a word the entire time, he never thought he would experience anything worse than his wife’s funeral all those years ago.
Many friends of the Belchers also attended, the service itself was done by Mort, neighbor and good friend of the family, even if it hurt him deeply to do so. Teddy watched the funeral while loudly bawling his eyes out as Kathleen tried her best to comfort him, he loved the Belchers with all his heart, and now they were gone forever. Ginger and Gretchen were sitting together, both mourning the loss of their best friend.
Finally, there were the friends of Tina, Gene and Louise. All of Tina’s friends were there for the funeral, Jimmy Jr, Zeke, even Tammy and Jocelyn. Zeke took the loss especially hard, wishing he could’ve spent more time with Tina.
Alex and Courtney were both heartbroken over the death of their best friend Gene, with them both vowing to become the greatest musical duo in the world in his honor.
Rudy was inconsolable, he had never dealt with the death of someone he loved before, and nobody would’ve suspected that the first funeral he attended would be Louise’s. Millie was in an even worse state than Rudy, having a full blown meltdown over the death of her self-proclaimed best friend. Jessica and the Pesto twins also watched on with tears in their eyes.
As the Belcher family was finally laid to rest, a figure stood unnoticed in the background, a bittersweet smile adorned on her face. It pained her to see her loved ones like this, but at the very least Grover had finally paid for his crimes, he couldn’t hurt anyone else, and the Belchers could truly rest in peace with their killer brought to justice. Louise took one last look at her friends before her spirit faded, her soul finally at peace.