Brave Grave

Chapter one

2010
Cedarmills is a small town in Connecticut with a population of 3,657 people. As the town grew older, the number of people grew smaller. There used to be over 6,000 residents who roamed the streets, but half of them moved away and never looked back.

The town is mostly known for their famous barbecue sauce that was made by a man who had no relation to the towns name, Frank Cedar in the early forties. Everyone loved it because the sauce was like no other in the state. Many people from all over the country drove hundreds of miles just to meet the man who invented the extraordinary sauce, it was in fact that good. People tried so hard to make the sauce, but it was always missing an ingredient that no one could figure out. Only Frank knew what it was and he swore that he would never tell a soul.

When Frank Cedar passed away in 1993, he passed the recipe and all of his success down to his wife, Bethany Cedar, who is now in her mid eighties. She has kept her promise to her husband about keeping the recipe safe from the hands of the general public.

Cedarmills isn't just known for their tasty barbecue sauce, it is also known for their Halloween decoration contest that is held every year for the past twenty years. The townspeople must live in Cedarmills to participate and get in line early before all of the slots fill up because only one hundred people can participate. The first place winner wins a cash prize of one thousand dollars, second place winner receives free candy for next year's celebration of Halloween, and the third place winner wins a free Halloween decoration of their choice.

A lot of the residents of Cedarmills stopped participating in the contest because most people leave town and celebrate elsewhere. It usually turns into a riot over who wins the cash prize. The fun was sucked out of it by the greed. It used to be all about the decorations, but things sure have changed over the years. Now, the people lack the joyous gleam in their eyes they had years ago which was replaced by wearisome.

The town used to have many attractions open for the residents, but when they stopped getting business they had to close them down.

There used to be a movie theater that sold out every weekend, a bowling alley right across that would be jam packed during the night.

The only place that gets business now is the Rimply Halloween store when they are open for the holiday and Ted's diner across the railroad tracks. If anyone wants to go shopping or have a more expensive bite to eat, they travel outside of Cedarmills to more populated and wealthier towns like Trenton which was thirty minutes to an hour away depending on the traffic.

Trenton compared to Cedarmills is like a pond compared to the ocean. Bigger with more fish in the sea. Trenton is also where the Micheal family lives. They are the richest people in the state of Connecticut. They used to live in Cedarmills before they hit the lottery. Now, they live high and mighty with their noses to the sky and head up their behinds. They used to be the people everyone adored, but now they are the people they dislike out of jealousy and betrayal. Once they cut ties with the people of Cedarmills, they never looked back and left everything they used to own behind and started fresh. New house, new vehicle, new life.

If only it were that easy.