From Richard:
Field
trip or group of young kids goes to the cemetery and go on a scavenger hunt,
trying to find things like The person who was born the earliest etc. after an
hour of scavenger hunting one of the kids decides he's thirsty and fills up his
water bottle from the spicket with the metal clanging sign that says do not
drink the water (great visual). 💦 💧 as he/she drinks the water this causes. .
. (Thus begins the horror part of the horror story.).
Tommy and Sissy were so proud…the sixth grade history field
trip was going to be in their own backyard!
Mrs. Jones prompted excitement in the whole class when she
said there would be a scavenger hunt coming up, one that took them to a unique
location with a lot of history. Everyone thought she meant the Civil War
battlefield the next town over, but Tommy and Sissy knew better. They’d seen
Mrs. Jones chatting with their parents at school picnics and had already heard
hints of what was in store. Oak Hill Cemetery bordered the Hadfields’ property,
and Tommy and his twin sister, Sissy, knew every cobweb and corner of the
graveyard.
Bounding off the bus like a herd of elephants, the students
ran to the cemetery gate like they were entering an amusement park. Seeing the
enthusiasm of his classmates, Tommy, especially, felt pride he hadn’t
experienced before.
The kids were grouped into teams of five, supervised by
teachers and teacher’s aides, and instructed to give serious thought to each
item on the list before deciding, as a group, where to head first. Tommy wasn’t
in the same group as Sissy, no surprise there, and was able to show off his
knowledge of the cemetery without any competition.
Number one on his group’s list was: Find a grave that has a floral symbol. Tommy knew exactly which
grave had a large bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley, which signifies innocence.
It belonged to a girl who died at age 19, in 1873. Tommy’s mother said she had
died of diphtheria. Tommy didn’t know what diphtheria was, and didn’t want to
know what would claim the life of someone so young. After finding the girl’s
gravestone, Tommy’s group moved on to tick every single box on the list.
Some of the other groups were struggling. Mrs. Jones wanted
everyone to have a chance to complete the hunt, so Tommy’s group headed up to the
top of the hill to rest under a big cedar tree. It was peaceful, and everyone sprawled
on the grass and dozed. The wind thwacked the little tin warning signs against
the water spouts, and if you closed your eyes, you could imagine several bells
ringing in succession.
Some kids were starting to complain that it was too hot,
they were thirsty. The teacher’s aide in charge of Tommy’s group said not to
worry, they would be done soon and headed back to the bus. Tommy pointed out
the water spouts that he and Sissy had drank from whenever they visited the
cemetery.
“But the little signs say: Don’t drink the water,” Miss Common argued. “I’m fairly certain
it’s toxic.”
“Sissy and I drink all the time,” Tommy argued back. And
then, matter-of-fact: “And there’s nothing wrong with us.” His classmates
stared at him. If anyone wanted to dispute this fact, they weren’t saying.
Miss Common sighed. “We can all just wait a few minutes,
can’t we?”
But it was too late. Tommy was already showing his group how
he and Sissy simply cup their hands under the waterfall and slurp.
The gleefulness of several children gulping water from their
hands to quench their thirst was shortly replaced by the sound of vomiting.
Finally, the only ones left standing were Tommy, Sissy, and
anyone who hadn’t drank from the miniature spouts.
“What’s happening?” screamed Mrs. Jones, running up the
hill. Miss Common was beside herself.
“They were just thirsty!” Miss Common defended herself.
“Tommy said it was okay!” Miss Common began to cry, her face crumpling in an
unattractive way.
Mrs. Jones stared at him, bewildered. “Have you drank from
the spouts yourself, Tommy?” she asked.
“All the time!” he insisted. Instead of feeling fear and
confusion, Tommy had a strange sense of feeling superior, chosen. He never felt
this way in school, but, here, he felt like king of the hill. Something
obviously made him and Sissy immune to whatever lurked in the water pipes, and
he felt strong, invincible. Evidently his classmates were too weak to drink the
water.
“I don’t understand!” Mrs. Jones wailed.
Now everyone who wasn’t on the ground, writhing and
vomiting, was running in circles around the victims or wringing their hands in
dismay.
Tommy and Sissy just looked at each other, smiled, and
helped themselves to more of the ice cold, wonderful cemetery water. Had it
been tainted by the decaying bones of the dead? Didn’t matter, they were the
ones who were living. And after today, Tommy felt like he could become captain
of any kickball team on the playground.
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