Strawberry || Eddie Munson

11

"Holy shit," Eddie swore under his breath. "Hey, watch your step big guy," he placed his hand on Dustin's chest to prevent him from falling into the water.

They were at Lover's Lake.

"You gotta be shitting me, Lover's Lake," Steve said before asking, "Why the hell would it lead us to Lover's Lake?"

"I thought these woods looked familiar," Eddie mumbled staring at the dark waters.

Max spoke up, "There's a gate in Lover's Lake?"

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening," Nancy answered. Stacey looked at her with a 'what the fuck' face. "What if Vecna's the same way?"

"Demo-whatty?"

"Demogorgon," Nancy said again, "it was a monster we fought."

"Of course, it was," the blonde girl said under her breath.

Eddie's brown eyes snapped over to the boat house on the other side of the lake. It would take them maybe twenty minutes to get over there. He placed his hands on his hips and faced the group. "I have an idea," he said pointing toward the boat house.

Soon, the group began walking toward Reefer Rick's boat house and Stacey only thought of her time with Eddie there. It had only been about five days but it was a lifetime of memories. The blonde stepped carefully over any tree roots and when she caught the sight of the willow tree along the water her mouth ran dry. A familiar chime entered her ears. She quickly yanked the headphones over her ears and the chiming vanished. ABBA's voice continued to fill her ears as they walked over to the boat house.

Eddie slowly opened the door and revealed the boat that they had used to attempt to escape Jason and his goons. The same boat that they were in when Patrick died. He unraveled the rope as Steve opened the door. Eddie and Stacey climbed into the boat and used the paddle to steer it out and toward the dock. Eddie snatched the small tape that was sitting under Stacey's seat. Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl sat in his palm before he wrapped it in plastic and stuck it in his pocket.

He looked at Stacey sitting in front of him. Her hair was slightly frizzed due to the lake water and the semi-warm spring air. He saw her watch as Robin and Nancy carefully stepped into the boat and sit beside her. Steve was the last one to enter.

"Hey, hey, you tryna sink us, dude?" Eddie said from the back of the boat. "This thing holds four people tops."

Dustin scoffed, "Then why are there five of you?"

Steve sat down and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because Nance, Robin, and Stace weigh literally nothing when combined together."

Dustin merely glared as he handed Eddie a walkie-talkie.

"You have to keep an eye out for Max," Nancy offered to keep Dustin safe on land.

"You keep an eye out," Dustin snipped shooting her a nasty look. "It's my goddamn theory."

"And," Stacey interrupted, "it's a great theory, Dustin, but this is dangerous-"

"Hey, woah, I've fought more dangerous shit than you have," Dustin one-upped her as Steve and Eddie placed the paddles into the water.

"Dustin, you heard Nance," Robin said trying to calm him down.

"Who put her in charge?" his voice cracked slightly.

"I did," Robin lied trying to fight back a laugh. Nancy stood up and reached her arm out toward Dustin.

"Compass?" Dustin frowned and sadly handed over the small steel circle before. Eddie and Steve began paddling out toward the middle of the lake. Stacey looked down at the murky water. She could barely see her reflection.