The Curse Of Llanwddyn
by Snapplelinz
*****'*****
"…and then after he checked under the bed, the little boy sat upright and suddenly…the clown doll was behind him, its tiny hands resting on his shoulder poised to…STRANGLE HIM!" Zack exclaimed in a high-pitched scream, his silhouette eerie beneath the glare of the flash light.
London shrieked loudly along with Marcus and Woody, who ended up jumping into Marcus' arms.
"Man, get off of me! You're getting whipped cream all over my jacket, dog!" Marcus scolded, tossing Woody back onto the ground, causing the rest of the group to laugh loudly.
"Sorry, Marcus." Woody apologised sheepishly, disentangling himself from Marcus' arms and retrieving his can of whipped cream that he'd been gorging himself on seconds before.
"That was so scary, Zack! Gasp!" London declared vehemently.
"Thank you very much," Zack replied smugly with a theatrical bow.
"Come on, it wasn't that scary, guys." Bailey chided soothingly.
"Bailey's right. And it definitely doesn't count as a scary story, Zack." Cody added sceptically.
"Does too!" Zack retorted heatedly.
"Does not! You got that from 'Poltergeist', which isn't your own original story. It's a horror movie!" Cody countered impatiently.
"Which was scary! You wet the bed after we watched that!" Zack chortled mirthfully.
"Well…at least I didn't ransack the Tipton after watching 'Zombie Mom' that one time."
"You're right, Cody. What I did was way worse in comparison."
"Well, you looked like a moron barricading the doors to the main entrance."
"You're just mad because of that Halloween prank I pulled on you earlier today with the octopus in Tutweiller's class." Zack retorted triumphantly.
London and Woody laughed loudly at this while Bailey and Marcus threw Cody sympathetic looks. Zack grinned mischievously at Cody, causing him to roll his eyes. Cody had arrived late for Biology that morning, having pulled an all-nighter on a paper that was due that day for English. The minute that Ms. Tutweiller had stepped outside to have a quick word with Mr. Moseby, Bailey had drawn Cody's attention to the fact that the octopus (the one which had caused them much grief on their first day at Seven Seas Academy) wasn't moving in its tank.
Cody, who had just fed the octopus, ran over to the tank and gazed in horror at the creature, lying on its side. Zack had suggested that Cody poke it and when he obliged, the octopus had suddenly reared up and sprayed Cody in the face with ink. Zack had known full well that the octopus was prone to falling asleep right after feeding, a cheap trick in itself, Zack knowing full well that Cody had been half asleep and therefore not paying proper attention to feeding the octopus. Needless to say, Cody had been less than impressed that his twin brother had tricked him into thinking that he'd killed the class pet.
"Guys, quit arguing. Zack's story was pretty scary, and you didn't say we couldn't use material from horror movies, Cody." Bailey rejoined sensibly, bringing the twins' bickering to an end.
Zack, Cody, Bailey, Woody, London and Marcus were seated on the ground around a roaring bon fire that they'd made 30 minutes ago. The S.S. Tipton had docked in a port in the South of Wales for the Halloween weekend and most of the passengers had disembarked to go sight-seeing at various intervals. Under the strict supervision of Ms. Tutweiller and Mr. Moseby, the Seven Seas students were staying in a resort in the little town of Vyrnwy located near the famous aqueduct built there many years before. A small Halloween party had been arranged at the resort, but the six friends had stepped outside during the course of the evening and ended up building a fire and telling ghost stories to pass the time. It was fast approaching midnight and the night air had grown chilly all around them.
"Okay, it just seems like cheating though." Cody pointed out.
"Oh? You think you can tell a scarier story, then… without cheating?" Zack taunted laughingly.
Cody thought it over before responding.
"As a matter of fact, I think I can." He declared, an evil grin etched on his face.
"Ok, give it your best shot, Cody." Zack challenged, matching his brother's tone.
"Ok, here goes…"
"Once upon a time, there was a little village called Llanwddyn, located a few paces away from where we're sitting right now. It was a lovely little village: filled with quaint little houses, a church, a school for the children, and even a pub where the male townsfolk would gather every evening after a hard day's work. Children would play hopscotch and soccer along its cobbled streets after their lessons every day. Housewives would stand outside their back doors and hang up their laundry on wiry lines, chatting gaily to each other. Then one day in 1888, the Liverpool Council (the local municipality) decided that they wanted to build a new dam where the village was located."
"Naturally, the villagers were outraged because they didn't want their home and livelihood to be destroyed. So they took to protesting in front of the old municipal building and lighting torches across the Vyrnwy Reservoir, signalling their disdain all through the chilly nights which followed. But the Liverpool Council refused to listen and continued on with their plan to construct a new aqueduct along with the damn."
"Then on the appointed day, the villagers stood in front of their village and refused to leave, thinking that the Council would send in men to demolish their village with human tools. But what they didn't realise was that the Council had another way of destroying their home: big firecrackers not unlike sticks of dynamite rigged to parts of the valley, which would trigger torrents of water from the lake to engulf the entire village in one fell swoop. The villagers weren't prepared and neither was the Council, who had expected the villagers to give up their futile protest. So when the water came…" Cody trailed off dramatically.
Bailey's eyes widened in horror.
"No way!" Marcus exclaimed in awe.
"Yes, way." Cody answered gravely.
"You mean, they all drowned?" London asked in a small voice.
"Yes, London. Every single villager died the day the valley was bombed." Cody explained soberly.
"Gasp! Dying in all their old jewellery and hideous clothes! That's so tragical!" London exclaimed in a scandalised tone, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Not as tragical as you totally missing the point of the story, London." Bailey quipped sarcastically.
"No way did that happen! Come on, he's totally yanking our chains. No way could the Council get away with something like that, destroying the village and killing all those people." Zack countered sceptically.
"That's exactly what happened, Zack. Only the public never found out the truth, the Liverpool Council covered it up to avoid liability. They carried on with building the dam as if nothing bad happened." Cody
"So…you mean…the dead bodies are still down there?" Marcus squeaked fearfully.
"The Council recovered most of the drowned victims. But legend has it that the ones they didn't bring back up are still down there, the whites of their eyes ever clear in the dark waters. That's why none of the townsfolk go swimming or fishing around these parts. Anyone who's tried to swim in these waters has never come out alive. Those who've stood on the shorelines and watched their friends and loved ones drown say that the lost souls of Llanwddyn and their ghostly white hands dragged them down into the depths to join them in their fate. And they won't rest until their lost village is restored to its rightful place: above the water and back on dry land." Cody returned ominously.
"God, that's creepy." Bailey admitted with an involuntary shudder while staring out at the black lake.
"Dude, that is messed up." Marcus agreed with revulsion.
"I have one question: if the public never found out what the Liverpool Council did, then how come you know about all about it, Cody?" Zack questioned suspiciously while stoking the fire.
"I have my sources." Cody replied with a mysterious grin on his face.
"O-kay." Zack remarked with a dismissive eye-roll.
"Hey, where's Woody?" London asked unexpectedly.
The five of them looked up from the camp fire to stare at their surroundings. No matter which way they turned, there wasn't any sign of Woody in close proximity.
"Marcus, he was sitting next to you." Cody pointed out hurriedly.
"I didn't see him get up." Marcus answered truthfully.
"Maybe he went back to the party." Zack remarked casually.
"But he couldn't have slipped away without any of us seeing him leave." Bailey declared assuredly.
"Exactly. He's not hard to miss, if ya know what I mean." London added snidely.
"Seriously, guys. Where is he? You don't think…?" Bailey trailed off with sudden anxiety in her eyes.
"What?" Cody asked curiously.
"The lake. He could've wandered into it while we were talking." Bailey elaborated uneasily.
"What for? It's night-time and the water's freezing. Why would he go into the water, Bailey?" Zack asked wonderingly.
"I don't know. I just got a funny feeling after hearing Cody's story." Bailey admitted in a shaky whisper.
"Hey, what's that?" Marcus asked abruptly.
The group followed his gaze and saw him pointing towards a strange object in the lake. A hulking figure was edging through the shallow and murky waters, a low and rattling moan pervading through the silence like an incessant humming.
"Somebody's coming out of the water!" London shrieked in alarm, ducking behind Marcus to protect herself.
"It's Woody!" Bailey declared in horror, the first to run forward.
The rest of the group followed closely behind her, sprinting towards the hulking figure, which crawled on all fours out of the black water over the black sand, thick curly hair framing his pale face.
"Woody! Dude, what were you doing in the water? Are you crazy?" Zack scolded heatedly.
But something was very wrong with Woody. He was shaking all over and his lips were a ghostly pallid tinge. He could barely speak, a stream of words coming out of his mouth like the rattling of a chain against a gravel road.
"Water s-s-s-o cold…they p-p-pulled me down…h-haunted village." Woody croaked through parched lips that barely stretched to accommodate the sounds being emitted from his throat.
Then without warning, he fell onto his back and became completely still, his eyes opened wide in horror. London shrieked and backed away in terror, stumbling slightly in the sand.
"Oh my God!" Cody exclaimed hoarsely, his mouth completely dry.
"Woody! No, please, Woody." Bailey sobbed profusely, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Look at his eyes." Marcus implored with sudden urgency, a shaky finger pointed at Woody.
The group stared in alarm at Woody's eyes. They were completely devoid of their usual brown lustre, but a mesh of icy blue and green, white encircling the corneas like a bright burning light.
"It's just like what Cody said about the villagers and the whites of their eyes. Woody's eyes are exactly like that!" Marcus explained with a shocked hiss.
"You guys, Marcus is right. Didn't you hear what Woody just said? They pulled him into the water! The dead village people did it!" London declared vehemently, pointing an accusing finger at the black lake.
"London, that's crazy! Dead people can't drag someone down into the water!" Cody exclaimed hysterically.
"But that's just what he said! The dying don't lie, Cody." Marcus joined in severely.
After making up his mind, Zack pushed Marcus out of the way and knelt over Woody's body. Then he placed his hands on Woody's chest and began pumping it vigorously.
"Zack, what are you doing?" Cody asked, alarmed by his brother's actions.
"I'm trying to get Woody to breathe again." Zack declared firmly, not stopping his movements.
"Zack, it's too late. Woody's dead." Bailey countered in a trembling voice.
"Not on my watch he isn't." Zack stated sternly.
"Come on, Woody! Wake up! Wake up, Woody!" Zack repeated over and over again.
No matter what Zack tried, Woody's eyes remained motionless and unblinking. Then Zack stopped pumping Woody's chest and leant over his friend, his head bowed and his eyes closed while he willed himself not to break down in front of his brother and other friends. Just as he leant forward to close his friend's eyelids, Woody's body suddenly jerked upwards, his mouth cruelly contorted and foaming at the mouth while he emitted a raspy drone. Zack fell onto his back, howling in fright while Bailey, London and Marcus began screaming at the top of their lungs. Then Woody stopped bellowing and began cackling loudly, his hand clutching his belly.
"What the?" London asked in confusion.
He, Zack, London and Bailey turned to their left and saw Cody doubled over on his knees in the sand, looking on the verge of tears from laughing so hard.
"What the hell's going on here?" Zack demanded angrily, looking between Woody and Zack.
"I'll tell you what's going on. We just got played!" Marcus complained indignantly.
"You mean, you just played a prank on us?" Bailey demanded furiously, her hands on her hips while staring hard at Cody.
"Correction. I played a prank on Zack, and a pretty good one too." Cody amended smugly.
"Why, you little punk! You scared the crap out of us!" Zack spat in an enraged tone.
"Guys, it's Halloween. It's kind of the point of the holiday." Woody pointed out evenly.
"But when did you – how did you get into the water?" London asked wonderingly of Woody.
"Simple. I pretended to get more whipped cream from my backpack and snuck past Zack while he was arguing with Cody." Woody explained triumphantly.
"Let me guess: you put whipped cream around your mouth too?" Marcus asked wearily.
"Uh-huh. The only thing foamier than me is a dog with rabies." Woody declared facetiously.
"But what about your eyes? All we could see were the whites!" Bailey stated accusingly, rounding on Woody.
"I put contact lenses in." Woody replied simply.
"Dude, not cool. You just gave me palpitations over your sorry ass." Marcus snapped, shooting daggers at Woody, who squirmed uncomfortably.
"So that whole schtick about the village drowning was just a bogus story?" Zack demanded haphazardly.
"Not entirely. The village is actually buried beneath this reservoir. But I may have embellished on the rest." Cody asserted with a roguish grin.
"'May have embellished'? Cody, what you just did was really sick. Both you and Woody." Bailey spat contemptuously.
"I agree! Lying about people drowning in their hideous jewellery and poor people clothes is just plain wrong. Not to mention what Bailey said about 'belly-fishing'." London added in a scandalised tone with a scowl on her face.
Cody looked instantly taken aback and abashed when everyone (save for Woody) looked at him with obvious disgust and anger.
"Whoa, guys, take it easy. It was just a joke, I swear. Look, I'm sorry; I didn't think you'd be so mad about it. I just did it to get back at Zack for tricking me into thinking I killed the class octopus. I'm really sorry." Cody apologised with evident remorse.
Zack, who looked like he'd been about to punch Cody, relaxed considerably after this. Even Bailey, Marcus and London looked slightly more mollified.
"You know, you could've just told the rest of us what you were up to." Bailey pointed out begrudgingly.
"No way, I couldn't risk Zack finding out about me pranking him. So I just told Woody about it because I needed his help." Cody offered delicately.
"When did you two even cook this up anyway?" Zack demanded impatiently.
"This afternoon, before we disembarked from the ship." Woody explained.
"Huh. Well, I guess that just leaves one more thing to do." Zack noted softly.
"What's that?" Woody asked innocently.
"Chase these two chuckle-heads around the sand until we catch them. Who's with me?" Zack asked evilly of the group.
"Oh, I'm in." Marcus replied cockily.
"I'm game." Bailey agreed readily while rolling up her sleeves.
"I like the way you think, Zack. No one makes a fool out of London Tipton without being thrown in a dungeon!" London exclaimed with a maniacal chuckle.
"Hey, hold on a second. Guys, let's talk about this." Cody begged in a winning tone.
"Yeah, I'm pretty tired from waving my arms around in the water." Woody added helplessly.
"Every man and Woody for HIMSELF!" Cody shrieked when Zack, Bailey, London and Marcus began chasing after him and Woody.
While Woody and Cody continued evading the rest of the group by running around in circles, the general temperament of the black water behind them had begun to change subtly. Where it had once been disturbed (no thanks to Woody's oafish antics), it was now almost completely tranquil save for one important disparity. The tiniest of bubbles had begun drifting up towards the surface, almost as if someone were still hidden beneath the shallow waves, just out of sight and breathing stealthily. And then in confirmation of this absurd proposition, a pale and ghostly hand emerged from the exact same spot, poised in a wretched and hapless stance.
*****'*****
A/N: Just to clarify, there actually was a village located in the Vyrnwy Reservoir in the South of Wales called Llanwddyn, which the Liverpool Council 'drowned' in order to build a new dam and aqueduct in 1888. But no villagers actually died during the process. All of the villagers were first moved to a settlement close by before Llanwddyn was buried underwater. Several other villages in the vicinity suffered similar fates to make way for better water resources and infrastructure in the region. I got the concept from a novel I studied recently at university called "Austerlitz" by W.G. Sebald. Best of luck to the rest of the authors participating in this marvellous collection : )
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