Spook Me FIC: Bathed in Fear (Stranger Things, PG)
Title: Bathed in Fear
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,325
Creature Prompt: Aquatic Monster
Summary: Steve turns to Dustin for help when his relaxing bath turns terrifying.
Notes: Written for the 2019 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3. The artwork prompt used for the story is included at the end.
_____________________________
* Hawkins, Indiana-October 1985 *
The setting sun hung low in the sky, casting a strange red glow over the Harrington property. Steve took no notice of it, however, as he staggered across the yard, his head lowered against the stiff wind. When he reached the front door of his house, he opened it with a grunt and gratefully stumbled inside.
It had been an extremely long day. He had worked a full shift at Family Video, where everyone and their mother had come in looking to rent the newly-released Beverly Hills Cop. After arriving home, he’d been greeted with a terse note from his parents instructing him to rake the leaves ("the front yard and the back") while they were enjoying a night out.
Now, two hours later, Steve felt completely drained. There was a continuous dull ache in his arms and neck and back, and it felt as though the cool autumn air had settled permanently into his bones. He decided it was the perfect time for a little private indulgence.
Steve made his way into the bathroom and turned on the tap for the tub. He dumped some of his mother’s bubble bath into the water and watched the foam appear. Acting on impulse, he dug into the cabinet and pulled out his yellow rubber duck, a gag gift from the kids on his last birthday. He tossed it into the water where it merrily bobbed up and down among the soapy bubbles.
When the tub was half full, Steve removed his clothes and stepped inside. He gingerly lay down and let the warm, sudsy water cover his body. He began to relax. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and slid under the surface, re-emerging a few seconds later. Pushing the hair out of his face, he rested his head on the back edge of tub and drew a contented sigh. With a small smile, he wiggled his toes under the spout as the water continued to pour in.
"Quack."
Steve’s smile faded. He’d lost track of the duck, but he knew that he hadn’t sat on it. Exactly where was it, and how could it be squeaking?
"Quack."
With effort, Steve opened an eye and immediately froze.
Sitting next to the bathtub's spout was a mass of moving green slime that possessed unmistakable anthropomorphic features. One sludgy limb was gripping the edge of the tub, two more were stuck to the wall, and a fourth was holding his duck. At first, Steve thought the thing had a face, too, until he realized that the cover for the tub's overflow drain was stuck to the area where a head would generally be.
As Steve’s blood ran cold, a slimy green arm very slowly extended the length of the tub until the duck was inches from his face.
"Quack, quack."
Steve screamed. It was a high-pitched girly scream, a scream to wake the dead, and the green arm immediately retracted.
Steve leapt out of the tub. He stood there, naked and soaking wet, and stared in alarm at the slimy mass. He watched as it dislodged itself from the edge of the tub and fell into the water, still gripping the rubber duck. It briefly disappeared beneath the surface before floating back to the top, its original form intact.
Steve suddenly became very aware of how vulnerable he was, mentally as well as physically. He’d certainly seen his share of crazy shit in Hawkins these last couple of years, but he’d never been by himself when any of the weirdness went down.
He grabbed a towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist. Keeping his eyes glued to the green blob, he cautiously reached over and turned the water off. Then he flipped the trip lever for the bathtub’s drain.
The slime monster reacted to these changes by leaping three feet into the air. When it came crashing back down into the bathtub, water splashed everywhere, covering Steve in foam.
"Quack! Quack! Quack-quack!" the duck shrieked.
Steve ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He flew down the hallway to his bedroom, anxious to find something that could be used for protection or, preferably, destruction. His brain immediately went to his old standby, if he could only remember where he’d put it.
Steve desperately rooted through his closet, searching in vain until he thought to look under his bed. Sure enough, there it was: the trusty nail bat. If it could help slay a Demogorgon, it should be good against a pile of slime.
As he pulled the bat out from under the bed, Steve saw something else: Will Byers’ old walkie-talkie. The kids had given it to him when Will moved away, as they had somehow been under the impression that Steve might actually want to receive communications from them. Steve had been touched by the gesture, taken it to be polite, and promptly stowed it under his bed and forgotten about it. But now…
His heart pounding, he turned it on and pressed the button.
"Hey! This is Steve!" he announced breathlessly. "Is anyone there? I have a Red Alert. Do you hear me? A RED ALERT."
After a few seconds that seemed more like hours, he got a response. "Oh! My god! Steve?" crackled Dustin’s voice. "I don’t believe it! Is this really you? Over."
Steve exhaled as relief wrestled with exasperation. "What, do you think this is some kind of joke? Yes, it’s me. And I’ve got a RED ALERT."
There was a long pause, then Dustin answered in a voice that sounded more amused than alarmed. "Dude, I think you mean a CODE RED, not a red alert. And you need to say 'over’ when you’re done speaking, all right? Over."
"GODDAMMIT, Henderson! Get your ass over to my house RIGHT NOW."
"Okay, okay! I’m on my way. Over."
Steve threw the walkie-talkie down on his bed. Then, holding the bat tight, he walked back to the bathroom, opened the door, and prepared for battle.
*~*~*~*
Steve heard the doorbell ring, followed by the sound of the whistling wind as it blew through the entryway.
"I’m in here!" he shouted into the hallway.
Moments later, Dustin came bounding into the bathroom. "None of the others are around," he wheezed. "But I came as fast as I could." He took a moment to glance around the room before looking at Steve, standing there half-naked and armed.
A quick grin spread across Dustin’s face. "Wow," he blurted. "You sure look different when your hair is wet and all flat like that."
"Jesus Christ, Henderson! We’re in the middle of a Code Red! Who gives a shit what my hair looks like?"
"Right, you’re right," Dustin replied, turning serious. "So, what’s the problem?"
"It’s in the tub."
Together, they slowly stepped forward and looked down into the bathtub. All the water had drained out, leaving behind a pile of green slime, a few soap bubbles, and a yellow rubber duck.
"Watch this," Steve said. He prodded the slime with his bat. A mucky arm suddenly materialized, pushing the duck up from the bottom of the tub.
"Quack!"
Steve and Dustin both jumped back.
"Holy shit!" Dustin cried.
"My thoughts exactly!"
"What is it?"
"How the hell should I know?" Steve exclaimed. "It just suddenly appeared with the water!" Waving his free hand toward the tub, he added, "One minute, I’m taking a nice, peaceful bath. The next thing I know, this goo monster is squeezing my duck!"
Dustin started making little choking noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
"What’s so funny?"
"Please tell me that wasn’t some sort of euphemism."
"What? No! Ew!"
Dustin brought himself back under control. "Well, is this thing actually dangerous?" he asked. "Did it, like, try to hurt you at all?"
Steve stared at Dustin. "This is Hawkins," he reminded him. "When have you ever come across some freaky supernatural shit and had it NOT been dangerous?"
"Quack!"
"Yeah, you’ve got a point," Dustin conceded.
Steve leaned forward and peered into the tub again. "I think it’s bigger now, too, and there might be some lumps to it that weren’t there before." He poked it again, but this time got no reaction. "It seems less active now that the water is gone, though."
"Do you have any kind of plan for getting rid of it?"
"Not really. Turns out this bat is pretty much worthless against it. It just oozes right through the nails."
"Well, I think the first step is to contain it," Dustin said logically, "You need to put it inside something. Something with a lid."
Steve rubbed his forehead. "My mom’s got a whole bunch of Tupperware containers. Maybe one of them is big enough to hold this thing. I’ll go look."
He handed Dustin the nail bat, then turned and walked out of the bathroom. Dustin called out after him, "And get a broom, too, while you’re at it!"
Five minutes later, they had swept the shapeless blob into Mrs. Harrington’s large, teal lettuce crisper. Steve had managed to pry the drain cover off the sticky muck, but the rubber duck remained firmly attached to it.
Dustin quickly placed the clear plastic lid on top of the container and burped it shut. He glanced at Steve and chirped, "For locking in freshness!"
Steve responded with an exasperated huff.
Dustin returned his attention to the lettuce crisper. "Now what do we do?"
"We destroy it, somehow."
Dustin continued to stare at the slime through the lid and didn’t say anything.
"Dustin."
"It’s just that… it seems pretty harmless, Steve. It even looks kinda cute holding that little duckie like that."
"Are you serious, man? Don’t you remember what happened the last time you decided to keep a creepy mysterious creature as a pet? We have to destroy it."
Dustin replied with a noncommittal grunt.
"Do you understand me? Did you hear what I said?"
Dustin finally lowered the container and looked Steve in the eye. "YES, mom, I heard what you said. Jesus."
Steve nodded his head. "Good." He waited a moment, then gestured toward the container. "So, do you have any ideas on how to, you know, kill it?"
Dustin sighed. "Well, all aquatic organisms need water to survive. Depriving this thing of water should be enough do it in. Tomorrow’s supposed to be a nice day. I suggest we dump it out in an open area where there’s a lot of direct sunlight and just wait for Mother Nature to take its course."
"Ugh," Steve groaned. "That sounds like it could take a while."
Dustin shrugged.
"Tomorrow’s Saturday. I’m scheduled to work all day."
Dustin tilted his head. "Do you want me to take care of it?"
Steve opened his mouth, then shut it again. He wiped a hand over his face and stood there, thinking, before saying, "I don’t know. It could be risky. What if it turns violent?"
"Really, Steve?" Dustin said, obviously offended. "I’ve faced off against a Demogorgon, Demodogs, and mad Russian scientists. I think I can handle a Tupperware container full of slime."
Steve hesitated a bit longer, then finally said, "Well, if you’re sure… "
"Don’t worry, man, I got this," Dustin declared confidently. Securing the lettuce crisper into the crook of his arm, he added, "In the meantime, I suggest you go to bed and get some rest. You look like hell."
Steve responded with a weak laugh and a light punch to Dustin’s shoulder.
Dustin stepped toward the door. "I’ll let you know when I’m done with it," he said with a determined nod, and then he walked out of the room.
Steve sighed in relief and slumped against the bathroom wall. Seconds later, however, an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. He stumbled back out into the hallway and hurried toward the front door. "Dustin?" he called out. "I can trust you on this, right?"
Dustin turned around and flashed a wide-eyed innocent smile at him. "Of course you can trust me," he answered. He gave Steve a quick thumbs up, then opened the door and disappeared into the blustery night.
* Hawkins, Indiana-present day *
"We should leave. We’re not supposed to be here."
The boy snorted. "Says who?"
"Read the sign," his sister retorted. "It clearly says Keep Out. Everyone knows the quarry is really dangerous."
His friend nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think we should go. My grandma’s told me all kinds of creepy stories about this place. Supposedly, there’s some kind of monster that lives deep down in the lake."
"Aw, that’s just bullshit," the boy said. "My old man says that people made that story up years ago to keep kids from going into the water after some boy drowned."
"I don’t think so," his friend argued. "My grandma says lots of people have seen it. It shows up at sunset, and it’s big and green and slimy and has… "
"Sounds to me like you’re just a fraidy cat."
"Don’t be a butthead," his sister interjected. "It’s getting cold, and it’s almost dark. I want to go home."
The boy’s sister and his friend turned their bikes around and began to ride away. The boy looked out longingly across the lake. The setting sun had cast a strange red glow over the quarry, but the water seemed so peaceful…
Suddenly, a glint of yellow in the distance caught the boy’s eye. It was followed by a large, slimy green hump, slowly breaking through the water’s surface.
As the boy watched in stunned disbelief, the stillness surrounding him was broken by a single sound. It was faint and waterlogged, but unmistakable nonetheless.
"Quack!"
Panic-stricken, the boy quickly hopped onto his bike and took off, desperately calling out, "Hey, HEY, wait for me!" as the slimy lump disappeared back into the water with a splash.
THE END
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,325
Creature Prompt: Aquatic Monster
Summary: Steve turns to Dustin for help when his relaxing bath turns terrifying.
Notes: Written for the 2019 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3. The artwork prompt used for the story is included at the end.
_____________________________
* Hawkins, Indiana-October 1985 *
The setting sun hung low in the sky, casting a strange red glow over the Harrington property. Steve took no notice of it, however, as he staggered across the yard, his head lowered against the stiff wind. When he reached the front door of his house, he opened it with a grunt and gratefully stumbled inside.
It had been an extremely long day. He had worked a full shift at Family Video, where everyone and their mother had come in looking to rent the newly-released Beverly Hills Cop. After arriving home, he’d been greeted with a terse note from his parents instructing him to rake the leaves ("the front yard and the back") while they were enjoying a night out.
Now, two hours later, Steve felt completely drained. There was a continuous dull ache in his arms and neck and back, and it felt as though the cool autumn air had settled permanently into his bones. He decided it was the perfect time for a little private indulgence.
Steve made his way into the bathroom and turned on the tap for the tub. He dumped some of his mother’s bubble bath into the water and watched the foam appear. Acting on impulse, he dug into the cabinet and pulled out his yellow rubber duck, a gag gift from the kids on his last birthday. He tossed it into the water where it merrily bobbed up and down among the soapy bubbles.
When the tub was half full, Steve removed his clothes and stepped inside. He gingerly lay down and let the warm, sudsy water cover his body. He began to relax. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and slid under the surface, re-emerging a few seconds later. Pushing the hair out of his face, he rested his head on the back edge of tub and drew a contented sigh. With a small smile, he wiggled his toes under the spout as the water continued to pour in.
"Quack."
Steve’s smile faded. He’d lost track of the duck, but he knew that he hadn’t sat on it. Exactly where was it, and how could it be squeaking?
"Quack."
With effort, Steve opened an eye and immediately froze.
Sitting next to the bathtub's spout was a mass of moving green slime that possessed unmistakable anthropomorphic features. One sludgy limb was gripping the edge of the tub, two more were stuck to the wall, and a fourth was holding his duck. At first, Steve thought the thing had a face, too, until he realized that the cover for the tub's overflow drain was stuck to the area where a head would generally be.
As Steve’s blood ran cold, a slimy green arm very slowly extended the length of the tub until the duck was inches from his face.
"Quack, quack."
Steve screamed. It was a high-pitched girly scream, a scream to wake the dead, and the green arm immediately retracted.
Steve leapt out of the tub. He stood there, naked and soaking wet, and stared in alarm at the slimy mass. He watched as it dislodged itself from the edge of the tub and fell into the water, still gripping the rubber duck. It briefly disappeared beneath the surface before floating back to the top, its original form intact.
Steve suddenly became very aware of how vulnerable he was, mentally as well as physically. He’d certainly seen his share of crazy shit in Hawkins these last couple of years, but he’d never been by himself when any of the weirdness went down.
He grabbed a towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist. Keeping his eyes glued to the green blob, he cautiously reached over and turned the water off. Then he flipped the trip lever for the bathtub’s drain.
The slime monster reacted to these changes by leaping three feet into the air. When it came crashing back down into the bathtub, water splashed everywhere, covering Steve in foam.
"Quack! Quack! Quack-quack!" the duck shrieked.
Steve ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He flew down the hallway to his bedroom, anxious to find something that could be used for protection or, preferably, destruction. His brain immediately went to his old standby, if he could only remember where he’d put it.
Steve desperately rooted through his closet, searching in vain until he thought to look under his bed. Sure enough, there it was: the trusty nail bat. If it could help slay a Demogorgon, it should be good against a pile of slime.
As he pulled the bat out from under the bed, Steve saw something else: Will Byers’ old walkie-talkie. The kids had given it to him when Will moved away, as they had somehow been under the impression that Steve might actually want to receive communications from them. Steve had been touched by the gesture, taken it to be polite, and promptly stowed it under his bed and forgotten about it. But now…
His heart pounding, he turned it on and pressed the button.
"Hey! This is Steve!" he announced breathlessly. "Is anyone there? I have a Red Alert. Do you hear me? A RED ALERT."
After a few seconds that seemed more like hours, he got a response. "Oh! My god! Steve?" crackled Dustin’s voice. "I don’t believe it! Is this really you? Over."
Steve exhaled as relief wrestled with exasperation. "What, do you think this is some kind of joke? Yes, it’s me. And I’ve got a RED ALERT."
There was a long pause, then Dustin answered in a voice that sounded more amused than alarmed. "Dude, I think you mean a CODE RED, not a red alert. And you need to say 'over’ when you’re done speaking, all right? Over."
"GODDAMMIT, Henderson! Get your ass over to my house RIGHT NOW."
"Okay, okay! I’m on my way. Over."
Steve threw the walkie-talkie down on his bed. Then, holding the bat tight, he walked back to the bathroom, opened the door, and prepared for battle.
*~*~*~*
Steve heard the doorbell ring, followed by the sound of the whistling wind as it blew through the entryway.
"I’m in here!" he shouted into the hallway.
Moments later, Dustin came bounding into the bathroom. "None of the others are around," he wheezed. "But I came as fast as I could." He took a moment to glance around the room before looking at Steve, standing there half-naked and armed.
A quick grin spread across Dustin’s face. "Wow," he blurted. "You sure look different when your hair is wet and all flat like that."
"Jesus Christ, Henderson! We’re in the middle of a Code Red! Who gives a shit what my hair looks like?"
"Right, you’re right," Dustin replied, turning serious. "So, what’s the problem?"
"It’s in the tub."
Together, they slowly stepped forward and looked down into the bathtub. All the water had drained out, leaving behind a pile of green slime, a few soap bubbles, and a yellow rubber duck.
"Watch this," Steve said. He prodded the slime with his bat. A mucky arm suddenly materialized, pushing the duck up from the bottom of the tub.
"Quack!"
Steve and Dustin both jumped back.
"Holy shit!" Dustin cried.
"My thoughts exactly!"
"What is it?"
"How the hell should I know?" Steve exclaimed. "It just suddenly appeared with the water!" Waving his free hand toward the tub, he added, "One minute, I’m taking a nice, peaceful bath. The next thing I know, this goo monster is squeezing my duck!"
Dustin started making little choking noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
"What’s so funny?"
"Please tell me that wasn’t some sort of euphemism."
"What? No! Ew!"
Dustin brought himself back under control. "Well, is this thing actually dangerous?" he asked. "Did it, like, try to hurt you at all?"
Steve stared at Dustin. "This is Hawkins," he reminded him. "When have you ever come across some freaky supernatural shit and had it NOT been dangerous?"
"Quack!"
"Yeah, you’ve got a point," Dustin conceded.
Steve leaned forward and peered into the tub again. "I think it’s bigger now, too, and there might be some lumps to it that weren’t there before." He poked it again, but this time got no reaction. "It seems less active now that the water is gone, though."
"Do you have any kind of plan for getting rid of it?"
"Not really. Turns out this bat is pretty much worthless against it. It just oozes right through the nails."
"Well, I think the first step is to contain it," Dustin said logically, "You need to put it inside something. Something with a lid."
Steve rubbed his forehead. "My mom’s got a whole bunch of Tupperware containers. Maybe one of them is big enough to hold this thing. I’ll go look."
He handed Dustin the nail bat, then turned and walked out of the bathroom. Dustin called out after him, "And get a broom, too, while you’re at it!"
Five minutes later, they had swept the shapeless blob into Mrs. Harrington’s large, teal lettuce crisper. Steve had managed to pry the drain cover off the sticky muck, but the rubber duck remained firmly attached to it.
Dustin quickly placed the clear plastic lid on top of the container and burped it shut. He glanced at Steve and chirped, "For locking in freshness!"
Steve responded with an exasperated huff.
Dustin returned his attention to the lettuce crisper. "Now what do we do?"
"We destroy it, somehow."
Dustin continued to stare at the slime through the lid and didn’t say anything.
"Dustin."
"It’s just that… it seems pretty harmless, Steve. It even looks kinda cute holding that little duckie like that."
"Are you serious, man? Don’t you remember what happened the last time you decided to keep a creepy mysterious creature as a pet? We have to destroy it."
Dustin replied with a noncommittal grunt.
"Do you understand me? Did you hear what I said?"
Dustin finally lowered the container and looked Steve in the eye. "YES, mom, I heard what you said. Jesus."
Steve nodded his head. "Good." He waited a moment, then gestured toward the container. "So, do you have any ideas on how to, you know, kill it?"
Dustin sighed. "Well, all aquatic organisms need water to survive. Depriving this thing of water should be enough do it in. Tomorrow’s supposed to be a nice day. I suggest we dump it out in an open area where there’s a lot of direct sunlight and just wait for Mother Nature to take its course."
"Ugh," Steve groaned. "That sounds like it could take a while."
Dustin shrugged.
"Tomorrow’s Saturday. I’m scheduled to work all day."
Dustin tilted his head. "Do you want me to take care of it?"
Steve opened his mouth, then shut it again. He wiped a hand over his face and stood there, thinking, before saying, "I don’t know. It could be risky. What if it turns violent?"
"Really, Steve?" Dustin said, obviously offended. "I’ve faced off against a Demogorgon, Demodogs, and mad Russian scientists. I think I can handle a Tupperware container full of slime."
Steve hesitated a bit longer, then finally said, "Well, if you’re sure… "
"Don’t worry, man, I got this," Dustin declared confidently. Securing the lettuce crisper into the crook of his arm, he added, "In the meantime, I suggest you go to bed and get some rest. You look like hell."
Steve responded with a weak laugh and a light punch to Dustin’s shoulder.
Dustin stepped toward the door. "I’ll let you know when I’m done with it," he said with a determined nod, and then he walked out of the room.
Steve sighed in relief and slumped against the bathroom wall. Seconds later, however, an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. He stumbled back out into the hallway and hurried toward the front door. "Dustin?" he called out. "I can trust you on this, right?"
Dustin turned around and flashed a wide-eyed innocent smile at him. "Of course you can trust me," he answered. He gave Steve a quick thumbs up, then opened the door and disappeared into the blustery night.
* Hawkins, Indiana-present day *
"We should leave. We’re not supposed to be here."
The boy snorted. "Says who?"
"Read the sign," his sister retorted. "It clearly says Keep Out. Everyone knows the quarry is really dangerous."
His friend nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think we should go. My grandma’s told me all kinds of creepy stories about this place. Supposedly, there’s some kind of monster that lives deep down in the lake."
"Aw, that’s just bullshit," the boy said. "My old man says that people made that story up years ago to keep kids from going into the water after some boy drowned."
"I don’t think so," his friend argued. "My grandma says lots of people have seen it. It shows up at sunset, and it’s big and green and slimy and has… "
"Sounds to me like you’re just a fraidy cat."
"Don’t be a butthead," his sister interjected. "It’s getting cold, and it’s almost dark. I want to go home."
The boy’s sister and his friend turned their bikes around and began to ride away. The boy looked out longingly across the lake. The setting sun had cast a strange red glow over the quarry, but the water seemed so peaceful…
Suddenly, a glint of yellow in the distance caught the boy’s eye. It was followed by a large, slimy green hump, slowly breaking through the water’s surface.
As the boy watched in stunned disbelief, the stillness surrounding him was broken by a single sound. It was faint and waterlogged, but unmistakable nonetheless.
"Quack!"
Panic-stricken, the boy quickly hopped onto his bike and took off, desperately calling out, "Hey, HEY, wait for me!" as the slimy lump disappeared back into the water with a splash.
THE END