Chapter 16: Deadly bath
Maddie locked the bathroom door and stood for a moment, her eyes glued to her own reflection in the fogged-up mirror. Her breathing was erratic, her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and she felt a lump in her throat she couldn't swallow. She tried to calm down. She had to calm down. It was all psychological. It was all in her head.
Or so she kept telling herself as her trembling hands turned the shower head and the hot water began to flow, filling the small space with steam.
She brought her hands to her face and exhaled a shaky breath. "I just need to relax," she thought. "Just a bath, just a bath." But when she looked up and back at the fogged-up mirror, she felt her stomach twist with fear: in the reflection, behind her, a shadow.
A blink, and the silhouette was gone.
"No!" she gasped, backing up sharply until she hit the cold tiled wall. No, no, no...
Her skin prickled. Her breathing became even more labored. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Nothing. She was alone.
She covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to sob. "Just imagining it," she told herself. "The steam... the pressure. You're just upset."
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to move, and reached for the bottle of shampoo on the side of the tub."Noctis Mortem", the label read, with a black skull in the design. The ingredients label noted that the shampoo contained 23 grams of salicylic acid and 40 grams of zinc pyrithione, but who cared about that now?
Her fingers stumbled on the bottle and knocked it over.
The bottle fell to the floor with a hollow sound and bounced. Maddie immediately bent down to pick it up, but as she did, she didn't notice what was beginning to unfold around her.
The bottle hit a small metal shelf next to the shower head, wobbling it just a millimeter, enough to cause a loosely attached wire to give way. The tiny tilt caused a bottle of conditioner to fall at an angle that bounced right off the toilet lid, which was not properly closed. That slight impact was enough to force the lid to close completely, activating an internal mechanism that pushed the water handle and began filling the tank with more pressure than usual.
The sudden rush of water increased the pressure in the pipes, causing an old, rusty screw at the base of the showerhead to finally loosen. One drop, two, three... then a louder drip that trickled down to the shower floor, where a small sponge had been carelessly left half-squashed.
Maddie, holding the shampoo bottle, stood up again, not noticing that the sponge, now soaked and deformed, was slowly beginning to move toward the drain. The tension of the water was pushing against it, dragging it toward a poorly fitted grate.
The weight of the accumulated water in the pipes began to strain the internal conduit. A pair of corroded screws finally gave way, causing a faulty connection in the water heater to release a small electrical spark. The spark reached an exposed wire that had been poorly insulated for years. A sizzle ran along the inside wall of the bathroom and activated a faulty light switch, repeatedly turning the bulb on and off.
Maddie felt the flicker of light and looked up, her heart pounding. That's when the shadow reappeared.
This time, it was more distinct. A tall, dark figure with blurred edges, as if the steam itself had shaped it. It was right behind her.
"NO!" she screamed, taking a step back... right onto the soaked sponge.
Her foot slipped.
She fell backward violently, hitting the back of her head on the side of the tub. A thud. A click. A stifled gasp.
The impact turned the hot water valve on fully. The scalding jet shot out, scalding her skin and filling the air with the smell of burning flesh. Maddie writhed in pain, but when she tried to get up, her arm collided with the already weakened metal ledge.
The structure collapsed on top of her. A misplaced pair of scissors fell from the ledge, spinning in the air before slamming into her collarbone.
"HELP!" she screamed, feeling the warm blood oozing from the wound.
Downstairs, Myeong, her mother, Ethan, Chloe, Sasha, Ryan, and Jason heard the screams.
"Maddie!" Myeong shouted, jumping off the couch.
Everyone ran upstairs. But just as Ethan reached the bottom step, he tripped on the folded rug and collided with Sasha, who fell into Chloe, who in turn hit Ryan. A domino effect that delayed precious seconds.
Upstairs, Myeong tried to open the door.
"It's locked!" she yelled.
Jason pushed with all his might. Nothing.
Inside, Maddie tried to stand, but the water was still stinging, her skin cracking, and with each attempt, the blood from her wound mixed with the water. Her vision blurred. He didn't see the gas pipe next to the heater, which the electric spark had begun to heat dangerously.
A creak. A snap.
The metal gave way.
A jet of gas was released. And with the spark...
An explosion.
The bathroom door blew apart, knocking over everyone trying to get in.
When the cloud of steam and dust cleared, what they saw chilled them.
Maddie was there, her body limp, her skin red and blistered, a look of horror frozen on her face.
Jason staggered back, his mouth ajar.
"They... they assured us we'd be safe..." he muttered, his gaze lost. "They assured us nothing would happen to us!"
He turned to Myeong's mother, his eyes bloodshot with fury and pain.
"You said we'd be safe!" he yelled. "You lied! You lied, and now Maddie's dead!"
Before anyone could stop him, Jason ran out of the house.
"Jason!" Myeong tried to follow, but her mother stopped her.
"Leave him alone, he needs space..."
Myeong shook her head, trembling.
"No, you don't understand..." she whispered, feeling terror seize her. "Jason's the next to die."
