Archive of Our Own ^beta

A Haunting Love Story Interlude

       Steve leaned against his car in the packed earth parking lot waiting for Eddie. He took a sip of his coffee, looking around at the excitement and hub bub around him; kids running from face painting to the cotton candy lady to the donut booth while their parents followed along chatting, teen couples giggling in the photobooth and trying to win prizes for their dates at the carnival games, and everyone ending their visit with a walk through the corn maze.

He checked his watch, wondering if Eddie had gotten lost. Steve wouldn’t be surprised given the fall fest was out of town a bit at a local farm.

Steve and Robin had moved to the town only a couple years previously, but already knew the area like the back of their hands. It wasn’t a small town like Hawkins had been before they left, but it still had a small town feel; It had a cute walk-able downtown that put on craft shows and winter fests and decorated for every holiday, but it wasn’t so small that everyone knew everyone’s business.

Steve crumpled his cup and tossed it in a nearby trashcan when he saw Eddie’s car find the turn off. He remembered the first time he noticed Eddie’s car, thinking the 1970’s Oldsmobile was the obvious car for someone who works in the supernatural industry, a black boat of a car heavy enough that nothing could touch it.

Eddie pulled into the spot next to Steve, kicking up a puff of dirt and corn dust, the smell pulling forth memories of his mom driving him out to a neighboring town when he was little to pick out pumpkins and play on the giant hay bales. Steve shook the memory away and rounded the car as Eddie got out.

“Find your way alright?”

“Yep,” Eddie said. He huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes at himself. “Okay, I missed the turn at the giant cow statue, but just made a u-turn and got here without incident after that.”

“Ah, yeah,” – Steve turned, he and Eddie falling into step, heading toward the food vendors – “Robin and I have been saying all summer that they really need to cut back the trees around the cow. It’s gonna be lost in the woods soon. So, what’re you thinking?”

Eddie looked at the booths and tables; band boosters selling walking tacos, guys grilling up burgers and corn, volunteers selling plastic wrapped homemade deserts. “I think I’m feeling the corn on the cob.”

“Cool, me too. The corn’s amazing here. Last year, Robin and I ate about six between the two of us.”

Eddie laughed, flicking a smile over at him, warming Steve’s belly. “Bet we could do better than that.”

-

They got to eight corn on the cobs, even sharing the last one, before calling it. Steve thought Robin would either be pissed they broke their record without her or bounce with joy that Steve was out with a “date” that could match them corn for corn.

Somehow “date” was in quotes even in his own thoughts. After Eddie got spooked when Steve asked him out on a date at the house, Steve had backed off immediately. Because, even though Eddie said he was interested, Steve didn’t want to put that wide-eyed frozen look back on his face.

When the house ran them off, Steve had led Eddie to his and Robin’s antique store, so he could meet her. After a while, Steve had oh so casually mentioned that Eddie should check out the local fall fest while he was in town. Steve’s pulse had sped up giddily when Eddie asked him to go with him. It was just, Steve couldn’t tell if Eddie considered it a datedate.

Steve tossed out their trash and walked back to their picnic table, propping his hip on the table, crossing his arms. “So, desert?”

Eddie collapsed across the table dramatically, hands hanging off the other side, nose squished to the table. “No more food ever. Too full.”

Steve laughed and leaned over, patting him on the back. “Or we can check out the maze. It’s pretty fun. They do it different every year.”

Eddie rolled his head to peek up at Steve. “Can we get donuts after?”

“Yeah, we can get donuts after,” Steve said around a laugh. “Besides, they’re made fresh and covered in cinnamon sugar and Robin would kill me if I didn’t bring her a bag.”

“Okay!” Eddie sat up, slapping his hands on the table, “To the maze!”

-

“You know, I gotta give it to them, this is a pretty confusing maze,” Eddie said, looking around their cornstalk walls and down the cornstalk aisle. “I was so sure that that last turn would take us out.”

“Yeah? You keeping track of how many turns we’ve made?” Steve smiled, bemused by how serious Eddie was taking a family fun corn maze. Steve was just having a good time walking, talking, laughing, and getting to know Eddie. He had so many interesting stories about his work and he told them with so much detail and dramatic hand gestures. Steve thought he could spend the rest of time listening to Eddie talk.

“No, I’ve been- Okay, it’s gonna sound crazy, but I’ve been creating a map in my head using the scarecrows as landmarks. You know, since they’re all different? I just don’t know how I’ve gotten turned around. ‘Cause this one” – he pointed at a scarecrow towering over them, its drooping burlap sack face adorned by a wide brimmed farmer’s hat and cross stitched eyes that looked right down on them – “This one was by the entrance when we first walked in. It’s the only one that has wooden sticks for arms. The rest have long sleeved shirts filled with straw. I just- I don’t know how it’s here and we’re nowhere near the exit. It doesn’t make sense.”

Eddie frowned, looking around, his hands in the air in front of him as if he could see the map in front of him, running his finger along their path, he muttered “It just doesn’t make sense” to himself.

Steve stepped in close on one of Eddie’s turns back toward him, putting his hands on Eddie’s shoulders, he ducked to catch Eddie’s gaze. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll get out of here. We’ll just do that trick where we keep one hand on the wall and follow it back out. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been having a pretty good time just walking around with you.”

Eddie breathed, shoulders relaxing, and smiled at Steve. “I’m having a good time with you, too.”

“Good.” Steve smiled, sliding his hands down from Eddie’s shoulders, gently holding his wrists, sweeping his thumbs back and forth – Steve didn’t want to scare him away, hoping his ‘not quite hand holding’ was a safe, friendly alternative, even as his own heart pounded against his chest at just the small contact. “Why don’t we head back that way? Maybe you can point out your scarecrow landmarks to me.”

They turned around, keeping an eye on the left hand side of their path, Eddie pointing out the scarecrows; the one with the pumpkin head, the one with the wonky grin, the one with the sunflower bonnet – none where he remembered them being.

“It’s like they’re moving,” he said, glaring up at the one with a pumpkin bucket hanging off its straw hand.

Steve huffed a laugh, bumping his shoulder and sending him a flirtatious grin. “Or maybe you were paying more attention to something else?”

“Maybe,” Eddie said, glancing over with bright eyes and tucking his grin behind a lock of hair. Eddie’s fingers brushed the back of his as they turned another corner. “You know, maybe when we get out of here we could-”

The burlap sack head scarecrow stood over them, post standing strong and firm up out of the cornstalks. A long shadow fell cold over them. The scarecrow’s cross stitched eyes glared down on them, its drooping mouth frozen in a twisted snarl.

Steve wasn’t usually one to see human feelings in inanimate object – that was usually Robin with anything that came into the store with a face – but if someone asked, Steve would say that scarecrow was definitely thinking evil thoughts about killing both of them right there in the maze’s path.

Steve grabbed Eddie’s hand, taking a step back. “Yeah, uh, I think you’re right about these scarecrows. Something’s definitely wrong with them. Why don’t try a different way?”

Eddie looked back at him, mouth pulled into a deep frown, eyebrow tipped up in confusion. “I was just being weird back there. They probably just made a bunch of duplicates. Come on, we’ll just go past and turn the corner up there.”

Steve kept pulling him back, shaking his head back and forth. “Nope, you said it earlier. They’re moving. We need to go back.”

Eddie’s mouth slid into a smile. “Steve, I was just being weird, sometimes my imagination gets the better of me. I’m sure it’s fine.”

Anger slid through Steve’s veins. “Eddie. You literally work with this kind of stuff. If your instincts say there’s something wrong then I’m trusting them. Let’s go.”

Eddie glanced back at the scarecrow – Steve thought it looked shorter, closer to the ground, closer to them – and turned back to Steve, mouth twisted in a parody of a smile. “No, look, like, okay yes, I know haunted houses, but this is just a kiddie corn maze. And now I’ve gone and scared you ‘cause I’m just about the worst date ever. Let’s just continue, I bet the exit is right around the corner.”

Even as his belly clenched with the knowledge that Eddie also maybe thought of their outing as a date, a wooden SNAP echoed from the scarecrow at Eddie’s back.

“Nope!” Steve held on tight to Eddie’s hand and pulled him back around the corner. “We’ll push straight through the corn if we have to, but we’re getting out of here. We see a scarecrow, we don’t pass it.”

“Steve, come on.” Eddie pulled back on his hand, putting up a resistance. “Why are you taking my crazy so seriously?”

Steve stopped, slowly turning to look Eddie in the eye.

“Eddie. You said it. This is a kiddie corn maze, right?”

“Yeah, exactly, so we probably just-”

“Have we passed any kids since we entered?”

Eddie blinked, looking around. Steve could see him trying to remember even one instance where a kid ran past and they had to move over for a harried parent trying to catch up. Eddie opened his mouth, but closed it again, face scrunched in confusion.

“Exactly. You were right twenty minutes ago when you were trying to figure out where you went wrong with your” – he waved a finger at Eddie’s head – “mind map. There’s something going on. And I’m pretty sure you were right about those scarecrows moving. Except, I also think they’re…I don’t know, doing something to the people who came into the maze.”

“Steve.”

“No, Eddie. Stop that. We need to get out of here without being eaten or killed or trapped or whatever they’re doing to everyone and I need you to stop putting yourself down long enough to help me come up with a plan. Got it?”

Eddie nodded, eyes wide and staring. “Yeah, got it.”

“Good. Now, what’ve you got? You ever see something like this before? Evil things trying to get people?”

Eddie bit his lip, turning to put his back toward the wall of corn while he thought. Steve didn’t like that it was getting dark, the shadows of the cornstalk walls getting deeper and colder, but he needed Eddie to focus. He’d bring up the impending sunset when it was important…as well as the probably trapped people and children.

“Okay,” Eddie finally said, thumb nail pressed to his lips, gaze straight ahead yet distant, looking at something Steve couldn’t fathom. “So, my specialty is emotionally traumatized homesteads, but I have friends who went into Inanimate Animations.” – he looked over a Steve – “Basically, when things that shouldn’t be able to move or think on their own do. Which, I feel like this falls under?”

Steve nodded, swiping his thumb over Eddie’s knuckles, encouraging him to continue.

“So, the last email I got from Jeff was about Gareth’s theory that the items that get animated aren’t random at all. Up until now, when they’d get a call, their focus would be on the destruction of the item, right? Even when it was often obvious that someone had done something to the item to animate it.”

He glanced up and Steve nodded, letting him know he was following.

“Well, for years, Gareth’s been obsessed with the why of it all, like why are things being animated and what does the animator get out of it. He’s complained ad nauseam about how the industry is only focused on the how to destroy part. But Gareth, and now Jeff, are convinced anyone who animates an object is doing it, not just to terrorize people, which is the going theory, but to gain something from the terrorizing. Jeff thinks they need to do more research first, but Gareth thinks it’s about gaining energy, or life force, souls, what have you. He thinks that instead of dealing solely with the items’ destruction, they should be focusing on finding the animator behind it.”

Steve nodded, “So, the scarecrows aren’t our problem” – Eddie opened his mouth, finger in the air – “okay, yes, they are a problem and we don’t want them to get us, but we actually need to find the animator using the scarecrows. And find the people who are, what? Having their life forces sucked from them right now?”

“No, I think they’re just collecting people right now, maybe hypnotizing them to go to one spot or something? The actual soul sucking will probably happen all at once tonight, midnight if they’re super traditional. ‘Cause I think if they were being killed or drained of their souls immediately, there’d be bodies just laying around, you know? ‘Cause how would a scarecrow move a body?”

Steve shrugged. “Maybe they maze itself is changing, too? This is just a small, family run farm maze, yet we’ve been walking for an hour and haven’t even stumbled upon the exit.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide again, thoughts flicking through them as he connected dots. “You’re right. It’s not the scarecrows alone, it’s the whole field. How long has this farm been in the same family?”

“Um, I think this is the oldest single family run farm in the state, soooo a while?”

“Oh, okay, so it’s definitely them. Right?”

Steve pursed his lips, thinking that it made sense, shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, probably.”

“Okay, that should make this easier then.” Eddie breathed out a laugh, “I think I actually have a plan.”

-

The sun had set below the horizon, twilight descending across the field, while Steve pushed through a line of cornstalks, holding one aside for Eddie to step through.

“How did I never know how stabby these things were?” Eddie whisper grumbled at Steve, the cornstalk, and the field at large. “Ridiculous.”

“Well, it’s better than your plan of getting captured and hypnotized by a scarecrow.” Steve whisper snarked back.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you would’ve saved me before they took my soul.”

Steve shoved down the warmth blooming in his chest from Eddie’s faith in him and pushed through another line of corn.

After he’d ixnayed Eddie’s sacrificial plan, they worked it out that the farmers probably needed somewhere large and close to hold everyone. Steve remembered the big dilapidated barn Robin made him pull over once for her to hop out to take a bunch of artistic photographs; Steve had several black and white prints of the barn’s crumbling roof and weather worn sides on his walls. So, he got to lead them in that direction, through about a thousand rows of crinkly, stabby cornstalks.

Eddie tapped his back and they crouched down, holding onto each other.

Steve tried to will his pounding heart to slow, his fingers digging into Eddie’s jean clad knee, his pinkie catching on a hole – the warmth of Eddie’s skin against his own the only thing he could think about.

Shsh shsh shsh

Eddie’s fist clenched around Steve’s forearm.

Shsh shsh shsh

They kept their gazes locked.

Shsh shsh shsh

Silence.

Shsh shsh shsh

The towering scarecrow didn’t see them.

Steve could breath again.

The shsh shsh shsh sounds faded in the direction they needed to go, though, so Steve supposed they had a guide to lead the way.

“Alright,” Steve whispered, pulling Eddie up, steadying him. “Guess we’re following that thing.”

-

They crouched behind the last row of corn before the dilapidated barn.

“Think we found the right place,” Eddie said, mouth twisted in disgust, eyes set on the vision before them.

The barn was lit up from within, bright yellow light streaming from between the boards and out the fallen roof. The only sound they heard, though, was the shsh shsh shsh of the scarecrows patrolling behind them.

“Okay, what’s the play now?” Steve whispered. “Just go in there and…what? Look for something glowing or magical to smash? I mean- We don’t have to hurt the farmers do we? Can we just stop this thing before it goes further?”

Eddie looked over at him, brows turn up in the middle.

Steve pursed his lips and nodded. “We’re winging it, aren’t we?”

Eddie looked back at the barn, nodding.

Steve really hoped they didn’t have to hurt anyone – he figured killing someone, even in self defense, didn’t make a very good ending to a date, Eddie would probably never want to see him again.

A glance at his watch told him it was already 10pm. He took a deep breath, letting it all out a once, and slapped his knees. “Welp, no better time than now. Come on.”

They slipped out of the corn, staying tight to the shadows, and made their way down along the side of the barn. Steve held out an arm across Eddie’s chest as he peeked around the corner. The doors stood open letting light flood out across the field.

Dozens of people – kids, teens, adults – stood motionless, staring at something in the center of the barn.

Steve didn’t hear anyone talking or moving around so, he motioned to Eddie that they were going in.

They snuck around the corner. No one turned to look at them, no one moved, they barely breathed.

They stayed along the wall, sneaking around the group to try to see what they were all looking at. Steve found a gap in the crowd, a couple small children too short to block the view. He and Eddie stood side by side, looking over the kids’ heads. Eddie’s hand found his, seeking and sharing comfort at what their future almost held.

In the middle of the barn’s floor was a hole.

Double doors flapped open.

Dark and endless.

Steve met Eddie’s eyes, his own horrified expression mirrored back. With their joined hands, Steve backed them up til their backs hit the wall. He shook his head back and forth, nothing made sense, everything was wrong. Eddie pressed a fist to his mouth, tremors shook his body, Steve squeezed harder, feeling his nails dig into Eddie’s skin.

Something caught his attention over the heads of the still crowd; a tractor.

A shiny, bright red antique tractor.

The same one they drive down Main Street in the 4^th of July parade.

The same one they said has been on this land since the beginning, handed down in their family, preserved for over a hundred years.

He bumped Eddie with his elbow, pointing at the tractor when Eddie looked at him.

Eddie looked back at him, eyebrow arched in question.

Steve leaned in, whispering in his ear, “That’s it.”

Eddie looked back over at the red tractor, then around the barn. Steve kinda loved that he could always see Eddie’s brain working, thoughts flitting across his face, puzzle pieces coming together to show him a solution.

He nodded and leaned in, mouth brushing Steve’s ear, sending goosebumps down his neck. “Get these people out first. And then.” He reached into his pocket, lifting his hand just for Steve to see, where there tucked against his palm, was a lighter.

Steve nodded once, squeezed Eddie’s hand and, in tandem, they moved toward the group.

-

As motionless as the people were, Steve worried they’d be frozen, needing to be carried out one by one. Fortunately, they walked easily on their own with just a firm hand to guide them. Steve and Eddie guided them out two by two, out of the barn and into the corn. With a firm push down, each of them sat, hidden by the night and a wall of swaying cornstalks.

Steve watched Eddie lead out the last person, tucking him away in the corn. A line of headlights flashed in the distance coming up the road.

“Eddie!” Steve whisper shouted. “Lighter!”

Eddie spun back to him, glancing down the road, pulled the lighter out of his pocket and threw it. Steve caught it in one hand and spun back, running into the barn.

He ran straight to the tractor, flicking the lighter open and holding it to the dead grass and weeds around the tires.

It sparked and caught.

Flames rushed beneath the tractor.

A mechanical roar shocked the breath from Steve’s lungs. With wide eyes he watched a steady stream of smoke puff up out of the tractor’s steam pipe. He backed up, keeping one eye on the tractor, one eye on the flames crawling up the wall, and with a glance back, made sure Eddie wasn’t running in.

Inching back, body trembling and the fire licking the roof, Steve turned and ran.

Never looking back, he ran. Even as the roar grew louder, he grabbed Eddie’s wrist and kept running into the cornfield – Past the families who had just wanted a nice day out at the fall fest and were blinking up around themselves; past the scarecrows who stood in a line, facing the barn, their faces lit up in the orange, flickering light; past row after row of cornstalks. Steve just pushed forward, arm outstretched to move the stalks enough to not get smacked in the face, hand dragging Eddie along behind him.

Firetrucks wailed in the distance.

Steve was glad, he really didn’t want the fire to spark into the corn. But he wasn’t sticking around any longer. They did their part. Saved those people, stopped whatever generation long spell those farmers have been feeding. Let the firefighters put out the flames, let the cops find that hole. Steve was getting Eddie out.

Without the magic, the cornfield was quicker to get across. They stumbled into the cut paths for the maze and then kept right on going, straight through to the maze’s exit.

When they emerged, the fall fest was shut down, everything tucked away for the night, the parking lot dark without the festival’s cheerful lights. Steve briefly wondered how no one noticed the cars still filling the area and what the farmers had planned to do with them after their ritual.

He took a deep breath and looked over at Eddie, who was already looking at him. They nodded at each other, out of relief or a general sense of well, that’s done, Steve wasn’t even sure. They walked in silence to their cars, stopping together in front of the Eddie’s. The trash can Steve had thrown his coffee cup in just that afternoon stood off to the side, bag tied up.

“So,” Steve said, not quite sure how to end a maybe-date that had almost ended in human sacrifice.

“Think I owe you and Robin some donuts,” Eddie said, turning to sit on the front of his hood. He looked out over the field, toward the giant bonfire. It was mostly out by then, the firetrucks working hard to put it out and sending a plume of billowing smoke across the dark sky. “Maybe I can come by your shop tomorrow morning? Think Robin will accept a dozen of Joyce’s jelly filled donuts in place of a single bag of evil carnival donuts?”

Steve breathed out a laugh and tipped a tired, happy, relieved smile over at him. “Make sure there’s a least two pink frosted donuts with sprinkles and I think she’ll forgive you.”

“Deal,” Eddie laughed.

End of Part 1.5