Sweetwater Revenge

Chapter 1: Lodge Infestation

Riverdale was the town with pep! At least that's what the faded sign on the town border said. In reality, the town was far more ominous than advertised. Darkness clung to everything in sight. The people, the places and, of course, all the ill formed alliances, were all shrouded in mystery. That mystery being several hundred years in the making.

Over the years the town became divided as more people failed to see eye to eye. It was understandable, given the circumstances. While most towns grappled only with politics and poverty, Riverdale was forced to deal with something far more sinister, death.

The sprawling Thornhill Mansion on the highest hill served as a constant reminder of the terrible truth. Etched on the rusting gates was the phrase Radices Currere Abyssi. It was an old Latin phrase for Roots Run Deep. Those roots were deeper than anyone but the Blossom's knew. As the founders of the town, the Blossom family owned much of the town, including Thornhill.

Most people considered Thornhill to be a home of horrors, haunted not by ghosts, but by the living. Though, some would disagree with the word living. It didn't really apply, at least not to the Blossoms.

The town, and more specifically the residents of Thornhill had a secret. Vampires were not only real, but they owned most of the town. They weren't vampires in the sense that they glittered in the sun and were tentative friends with werewolves. Rather, they were the sort that had a blood cellar instead of a wine cellar, and were remarkably old. No one had an exact number, but they founded Riverdale nearly 250 years prior. They also had been rumored to be around several centuries before then.

This was a difficult concept for newcomers to grasp. As such, most of the town consisted of the original families that settled there just after Riverdale's founding.

The main families were the Blossoms, Coopers, Andrews and Lodges. The Lodge family was the sole family to actually leave Riverdale, but like most others they returned.

Riverdale was a magnet forged by demons themselves. It didn't matter that most town's didn't have vampires or mysterious deaths. It was a town comparable to no other, a piece of it living inside each resident. No one stayed gone, not for long.

* * *

It was an exciting day for the people of Riverdale. The high school specifically was abuzz with rumors of the new arrivals. The Lodge family, though one of the original families of Riverdale, had been in New York for nearly twenty years. It marked the longest departure of the original families.

Hermione and Hiram Lodge had a daughter, Veronica, while in New York. After some legal trouble, the disgraced family decided to return to their humble roots. That's what was exciting people the most. The older folks in town knew Hermione and Hiram, but no one knew what to expect from Veronica.

Betty, of the Cooper family, was first to break the news in the school paper. It didn't take long before all of Riverdale followed the peppy blonde's lead, trading rumors like it was a new form of currency.

It was no secret that the Blossom family both owned and ran the small town, located on the scenic edge of Sweetwater River. However, the Lodges had made a name for themselves in New York, and a showdown was inevitable.

People already knew a lot about the Lodges. For instance, Hiram and his wife started Lodge Industries together. Carefully and over time, they wove a tangled web of various businesses, some legitimate, some not.

It was some of their earlier businesses that finally caught up with them, landing Hiram behind bars. Though, just like with everything else, money was key. After only six months in jail, he was released. Following the advice of their many lawyers, they decided to start over in Riverdale.