After another trip to the grocery store, we're on our way to see Eddie.
"Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car?" Robin asks. "'Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck."
"It'll be fine," Nancy insists.
"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really can't," Robin says.
Steve holds up a six pack. "At least he can drink himself into feeling better."
"That's what my mom does," Max states.
"Why don't we give it a trial?" Robin asks. "Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna. Bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension, and the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. He's entirely shut off to us, so basically, you're screwed. And, no, I know you were already screwed, but now you're doubly, triply screwed."
"Wait. Maybe we don't put it like that," Lucas states.
"We're one step closer to finding Vecna," Nancy offers. "That's what we say. That's what's important."
"See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference," Steve teases.
"Uh-huh," Robin says.
"Oh shit," Nancy states.
As we pull up to Reefer Rick's it's surrounded by cop cars and news vans. We get out of the car.
"Come on. This way," Nancy tells us.
We head around the side of a news van.
"As many of you know, the Roane County line received a call a little after midnight... reporting a homicide here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18-year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney. His limbs... his body, it was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene. We have also identified a person of interest. Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please come forward."
"Oh man," Steve remarks.
"This is not good. Really not good," I state.
"You've got a lot of questions, and I'm going to answer as many as I can. Two o'clock at town hall, where anyone from the Hawkins community is welcome. But right now, I've got work to do, and I appreciate your understanding."
"Dustin, can you hear me?" Eddie asks over the radio. "Candy?"
"Eddie. Holy shit," Dustin whispers. "Are you okay?"
"Nah, man. Pretty... Pretty goddamn far from okay," Eddie confesses.
"Where is he?" I ask.
"Where are you?" Dustin asks Eddie.
"Skull Rock," Eddie tells us. "Do you know it?"
"Uh, yeah. That's near Cornwallis and..." Dustin starts.
"Garrett, yeah. I know where that is," Steve states.
"Hold tight," Dustin tells Eddie. "We're coming. We're coming."
We follow Steve off and into the woods. That is until Dustin pulls out his compass and tries to lead us.
"Dude, I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way," Steve insists.
"It's north," Dustin insists. "I'm positive. I checked the map."
"You do realize Skull Rock, it's a super popular make-out spot?" Steve asks.
"Yeah. So?" Dustin questions.
"Yeah, well, it wasn't popular until I made it popular," Steve insists. "All right? I practically invented it. We're heading in the wrong direction."
I roll my eyes. I just really don't want to admit that I know exactly where we're going because Steve has taken me here before.
Steve grabs my hand and starts off to the left.
"Steve," Dustin protests. "Where are you going? Steve!"
"Stop whining," Steve tells him. "Let's go. Trust me."
Steve turns to me as we walk through the woods. "Hey. You okay?"
I nod my head. "I'm fine. Just..." I take a breath. "Wondering when this ever ends."
"Now. This time," Steve tells me.
"How do you know that?" I ask.
"Cause this time we're finishing it. Vecna. The gates. All of it," Steve insists.
I nod my head. "I hope you're right."
Steve grabs my hand in his. "I'm gonna be."
Steve climbs through a bunch of bushes and tree branches. "Oh, boom! Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."
Sure, enough I push a branch out of the way and see the rock formation.
"Doesn't make sense," Dustin protests.
"Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it," Steve says. "You just can't admit you're wrong, you butthead."
"I concur." I turn around and see Eddie standing there. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a... total butthead."
"Jesus, we thought you were a goner," Dustin says as he hugs Eddie.
"Yeah, me too, man," Eddie says. "Me too."
Eddie sits down and starts to explain to us what happened.
"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh... my walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran." Eddie laughs bitterly.
"Do you know what time this was?" Nancy asks. "The attack?"
"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was." Eddie takes his watch off. "My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." He tosses it to Nancy.
"9:27," Nancy reads.
"Same time our flashlights went kablooey," Robin states.
"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asks.
"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick," I explain.
"Well, we're one step closer," Robin offers. "We know how Vecna attacks."
"And where he attacks from," Lucas states.
"So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart," Max says.
"If he has a heart," Robin states.
"A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?" Steve asks.
I put my hand on his shoulder. "I think it was a metaphor sweetie."
"A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie offers.
"I say we chop his head off," Lucas states.
"I'd say all of the above, but we can't do any of that 'til we find a way into the Upside Down," Nancy reminds us.
"We need El to get her powers back," Max states.
I nod my head. "Everything was way easier."
"We had this girl. She had superpowers," Steve explains.
"Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her," Eddie states. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"
I turn and see Dustin pacing back and forth.
"Cursed?" Steve asks. "No, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely."
"Boom!" Dustin shouts. He points at Steve. "Bada... bada... boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north."
"Seriously? You're serious?" Steve asks.
Dustin nods. "Mm-hmm."
Steve gestures to the large rock beside us. "This is Skull Rock. Okay?"
Dustin nods again. "Mm-hmm."
"You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now," Steve insists.
"Yes. And no," Dustin says.
"Oh my God," Steve remarks.
Dustin holds up his compass. "This compass worked correctly
when we left the Wheelers'. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."
"So you're using faulty equipment," Steve says. "You're still wrong."
"Except it isn't faulty," Dustin argues. "Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?"
"An electromagnetic field," Lucas answers.
"Yep," Dustin says.
"Sorry. I must've skipped that class," Robin remarks.
"In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power," Dustin explains. "So, either there's some super big magnet around here, or..."
"There's a gate" Lucas states.
"But we're nowhere near the lab," Nancy says.
"But what if, somehow, there's another gate?" Dustin offers. "A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful."
"Snack-size gate," Robin states.
"How?" Steve asks. "Why?"
"No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate," Dustin states. "And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse." Dustin starts to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Steve asks. Dustin doesn't stop. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Eddie's still a wanted man."
"We can't just go hike in the woods," I protest.
Dustin stops and holds up his compass. "This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?"
"I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning," Eddie says.
Dustin starts to jump up and down. Eddie stands up.
"So Mordor it is," Eddie says as he starts to follow after Dustin.
"What is Mordor?" Steve asks.
Eddie goes to grab a canteen.
"Get your stuff, dude," Steve tells him. "Let's go."
It gets dark as we follow Dustin and his compass through the woods.
Dustin takes off ahead of us.
"Dustin?" Eddie asks. "Can you slow down? Dustin?"
"I think we're getting close," Dustin tells us.
Dustin almost steps into water and Eddie grabs him. "Watch your step, big guy."
"Oh man," Steve says.
"You gotta be shitting me," I remark.
"Yeah. I thought these woods were familiar," Eddie says.
"Lover's Lake," Robin states.
"This is confounding," Dustin says.
"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max asks.
"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening," Nancy states. "Maybe Vecna's the same way."
"Yeah, only one way to find out," Steve states.
Eddie uncovers a small boat. Him and Steve push it into the water.
"Easy. I... I said easy, man," Steve says.
"Sorry, dude," Eddie offers.
Steve holds his hand out to Robin. "Here you go."
Robin puts her hands on Eddie and Steve's heads as she steps onto the boat. "Yeah, I'm just gonna do that. Thank you."
"Yeah, that works too," Steve says.
Eddie steps into the boat after her. He holds his hand out to Nancy as she steps in. I follow after her.
"Candy," Eddie says.
"Thanks," I tell him.
Dustin tries to step in, but Eddie stops him. "Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay?"
"It's better this way, okay?" Nancy tells Dustin. "You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble."
"You keep an eye out," Dustin argues. Nancy makes a face. "It's my goddamn theory."
"You heard Nance," Robin says.
"Who put her in charge?" Dustin asks.
"I did," Robin tells him.
I hold my hand out to Dustin. "Compass please."
Dustin stomps his feet before handing it to me.
Steve throws Dustin's backpack to him. "Hey, there you go."
Steve pushes the boat into the water before climbing on.
"You said four," Dustin protests.
"Sorry," Steve whispers.
"Bedtime at nine, kiddos." Robin waves. "Miss you already!"
Robin and Eddie row out to the middle of the lake. I watch the compass and it starts to spin uncontrollably.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down," I tell them. "Slow down, guys."
Everyone looks over at the compass.
"Whoa," Steve says.
"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin asks. "Come on, talk to me. What's going on?"
"Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital aah!" Robin tells him.
Steve starts to take his socks and shoes off.
"Steve, what are you doing?" I ask.
"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out," Steve reasons. "Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then... it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?"
"Hey, I'm not complaining," Eddie assures. "I do not wanna go down there."
I watch as Steve pulls his shirt off over his head.
Eddie wraps a flashlight in a plastic bag. He hands it to Steve. "Hey. Good luck."
"Thanks," Steve tells him.
Eddie goes to light a cigarette and Robin grabs it from his mouth.
"Gross," Robin says.
I grab Steve and pull him close to me. "Please be careful."
Steve smiles slightly. "I'm always careful."
Steve jumps off the side of the boat. I watch over the edge waiting for him to come back up.
"Where we at, Candy?" Robin asks.
"Closing in on a minute," I tell him.
"Okay," Robin says with a shaky breath.
Suddenly Steve splashes up to the surface.
"Oh Christ!" Eddie shouts.
"I found it," Steve tells us.
"You found it?" Nancy asks.
Steve holds onto the side of the boat. "I found it. Yeah. I found it."
"Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein," Robin says into the radio. "Steve found the gate."
"It's pretty wild," Steve tells us. "It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big."
Suddenly Steve is pulled under by something. He comes back up looking confused. Then just as suddenly he's pulled under.
"Steve!" I shout. "Steve! Steve!"
"No! No!" Eddie yells.
"Steve!" Robin shouts.
"What the hell was that, man?" Eddie shouts.
"Candy, really, what happened?" Robin asks.
I hunch over the edge of the boat ready to throw myself into the water. I have an oar in one hand just in case.
"Wait, wait, wait. You're not going in there, are you?" Eddie asks.
"Just wait here," I tell him.
"No, Candy!" Robin shouts.
I ignore him as I jump into the water. As I swim down, I can see a red gash in the ground. It looks like the other gate, only smaller.
I push my way through the gate and come out on the other side. Something I wish I would never have to do again. One trip to the Upside Down was enough for me.
I see Steve on the ground being attacked by these creatures that look like bats. I use one of the oars from the boat to hit the bat off of him. I knock another one off of him. One has still got its tail wrapped around Steve's neck.
"Quick! Hold it, Nancy!" I shout.
"I got it," Nancy tells me.
As Nancy steps on the tail, I start to hit it with an oar.
"Get it!" Robin shouts.
"Kill it! Kill it!" Eddie yells.
The bat just won't die. As I hit it again another comes for Eddie.
Robin hits the bat with the flashlight. "Come on! Please!"
"Candy, behind you! Watch out!" Eddie shouts.
I scream as I feel the bat latch onto my back. Robin tries to grab onto its tail.
"Robin, get it off me!" I shout.
Robin finally gets the bat off me and I fall forward onto my knees. She throws it down onto the ground and I hit it with the oar.
"Go to hell!" I shout.
I watch as Steve grabs a bat by the tail and slams it into the ground repeatedly. He steps on it before pulling it in two. I see blood coming from his mouth.
"Steve!" I shout.
"Jesus Christ," Steve says.
"Jesus H. Christ!" Eddie shouts.
I turn Steve to face me. "Are you okay?"
I can see his stomach has bite marks on it. He's covered in blood.
"Well, they took about a pound of flesh," Steve says. "But other than that, yeah, never better."
"Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?" Robin asks.
"What?" Steve questions.
"It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear," Robin tells us. "And I think we should get you to a doctor soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already dead."
I hear screeching and see more bats coming our way. They stop in front of us, landing on the ground.
"All right. There's not that many. We can take 'em," Steve insists. "Right?"
And ever louder screech comes from the distance. It's more freaking bats.
"You were saying?" Robin remarks.
"The woods. Come on," Nancy tells us.
We take off running after her.
"Great. More running," Robin remarks.