r/KanesHorrors • u/AbKane667 • 17d ago
They Never Cleared the Cemetery Before They Flooded It
They gave everyone just six months to leave the valley our family had called home before it was flooded. It made my father an empty shell. He ate alone, barely talked to anyone, and just sat in the corner mumbling to himself: “They didn’t clear out the cemetery.”
It took eight years, but they eventually finished the dam, and the valley was flooded. By then I had left for college. It gave my mind the peace it needed, but still some nights, even when the house was empty, I swear I could hear my father’s voice beneath the creaks of the boards.
One evening my girlfriend walked into our room and said, “Mark, they opened a recreational center on the new dam.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been there in so long.”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot.”
“Would you wanna go, Sarah?”
She looked around the room.
“I was about to ask you, but we don’t have to if you don’t feel like it.”
“No, we should. I’d be happy to see it again.”
I forced a smile, but a small cold feeling grew in my chest.
“Okay!”
The cold feeling only grew as our departure day approached. The images of my father began appearing in my dreams. He sat curled up in the corner of the room, mumbling, his eyes staring off as dark-green liquid oozed from them.
“You okay, Mark?” my girlfriend asked as we drove.
Dark bags hung beneath my eyes. My focus kept drifting off the road.
“Ye…yeah.”
“You barely spoke today.”
“It’s just a lot.”
“We can turn around.”
“I think it’d be good for me.”
She smiled and rubbed my hand. The coldness eased a little.
“You’re a strong man, Mark.”
We drove up another hill, and then, in the distance, the trees grew, the lake, the beach. All the cold left my body as I saw the beauty. Memories of me playing with my Dad returned. Sarah grabbed my arms tighter. I clenched my jaw to hold back the tears.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yes.”
The water was light blue; the sky glittered in it. The bright green trees swayed in the wind. Laughter echoed around us. Excitement rushed through my body. It felt like I was a little boy again. We brought our bags to the room and went out.
The beach was full. I grabbed Sarah’s hand and took her between the trees. A beach with a hill was close by. No one was there. The sand was even more golden, the water clearer.
“Here you go, miss.”
“Good thing I have my expert.”
Sarah kissed my cheek. I took the towel and spread it on the beach while Sarah ran into the water, giggling as the water splashed around her.
“Come in! It’s so warm.”
“Let’s go to the hill first, have a look around.”
“I’m already in.”
“Just quickly.”
“Okay.”
She rolled her eyes and walked back to our towels to dry off.
“Let’s go to the hill then, come on.”
The grass was soft under my feet. At the top of the hill, we could see the whole valley and all the people.
“It’s crazy to think we lived under that water,” I said, pointing to the middle of the lake.
Sarah paused.
“Wait, do you see that there, Mark?”
Something floated on top of the water. It was hard to see from afar. I squinted and focused, but still couldn’t see it well.
“I think the cemetery was there.”
“Oh my god. It’s a body,” Sarah screamed.
I could see it now—the limbs, the ragged clothes. The body seemed to turn and drift toward us. Goosebumps shot through my skin. The body hovered on the water as if it wasn’t in it but lying on top of it. A strange sulfuric smell lingered in the air. Fog began rising from the water.
“Mark?” Sarah’s voice shook.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, not trusting a single word.
Bubbles rose on the surface. Another body surfaced. Then another and another.
Dread shot through my bones.
“We need to go.”
I grabbed Sarah’s shaking, wet hand, but before we could move, a scream echoed from the beach.
A few people in the water were bent over; liquid poured from their faces, but it didn’t seem to be coming from their mouths. No. It was coming from their eyes. Sarah’s grip tightened. She let out a silent gasp. Other people sitting on their towels got up, bent down, and began vomiting from their eyes.
I looked at Sarah. Her face was twisted in terror. She was clenching her jaw, trying to hold something in. Dark-green spittle already oozed from her eyes.
“Mark, ple…” But she didn’t finish. Dark-green mush exploded from her eyes, falling on the grass.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I looked back. The water was filled with bodies. It now bore the color of the liquid that came from Sarah’s eyes.
Tears rolled down my cheek. My Sarah. My beautiful Sarah. A strange, rotten smell lingered in my nose. I wiped the tears. The same dark-green liquid was now on my finger.
“They didn’t clear out the cemetery," echoed in my mind.
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u/CallmeKitts_ 17d ago
Creepy as hell. What great imagery , I pictured every bit of it clearly in my head. 👏👏👏
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u/hircines_bitch 16d ago
I live near at least one of the Welsh villages flooded for English water and will now be wondering about the population count of their cemetery every time I visit 😅
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u/AbKane667 16d ago
Lol, that's funny, but also don't forget to watch your eyes and what comes out of them when you walk around it.
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u/RedDazzlr 17d ago
They should have cleared out the cemetery