"Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car for this visit, cause this is gonna totally and royally suck." Robin said, in the front of the car.
You were in the trunk, with Dustin and Steve.
"It'll be fine." Nancy reassured.
"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really cant." Robin said.
Steve shoved a chip in his mouth, "at least he can drink himself to feeling better. " Steve held up the six pack.
"That's what my mom does." Max said.
You hit Steve's arm, "really?"
Steve looked at you, "what."
You rolled your eyes.
"Why don't we give it a trail," Robin suggested, "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. Only the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about and the gates closed so we have no way of getting to him. And-"
You cut Robin off from rambling, "Hey Robin, Robin breath, calm down."
"Maybe we don't put it like that." Lucas suggested.
"We're one step closer to finding Vecna." Nancy suggested, "that's what we say, that's what's important."
"See Robin, " Steve said, muffled from thw food in his mouth, "Positive spin can make all the difference."
"Uh, huh." Robin annoyingly said.
"Oh shit." Nancy said making you look forward through the front window.
More police cars, more caution tape.
"Damn this guy really is always at the wrong place at the wrong time." You said, Dustin nodding beside you.
The car pulled up behind the crowd of people and a new reporter van.
Everyone piled out of the car.
Nancy lead everyone to the less crowded side of the caution tape.
Powel was speaking, "...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 Lovers Lake, about ten yards from that house behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18, year old student from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney."
You saw Lucas's face drop.
Powel continued to talk as he flipped through his notebook to see the evidence, "his limbs, his body was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene. We have also identified a person of interest. Eddie Munson."
Powel held up a picture of Eddie, "we encourage anyone with information to please come forward."
"Oh man, this isn't good. This is really not good." Steve said as the reporters started to overlap eachother to ask questions.
Powel dismissed the questions, "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, thank you for understanding."
Reporters still started asking questions as Powel walked away.
Dustin's radio turned on, "Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler? L/n?"
Dustin took put the radio and pressed the speaker, "Eddie Holy shit. Are you okay?"
"Nah man, I'm pretty godamn far from okay." Eddie's voice rang out.
"Where is he?" Robin asked.
"Where are you?" Dustin said, hearing the walkie beep.
"Skull rock. Do you know it?"
"Uh, yeah, that's near Cornwallis and-" Dustin was cut off.
"Garett, yeah. I know where that is." Steve said before walking off.
Everyone followed him as Dustin talked to Eddie, "Hang tight, we're coming, we're coming."
You both jogged to catch up with everyone else.
♤♤♤♤♤
"Dude I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way." Steve said.
Dustin held out his compass as the birds chirped and the sun lightly beamed down on your face.
"It's north, I'm positive I checked the map." Dustin said following his compass.
"You do realize Skull Rock, it's like a super popular make out spot." Steve said.
You nodded, "yeah so?"
"Yeah it wasn't popular until I made it popular. Alright, i practically invented it." Steve said, "which isn't for you two."
He pointed his fingers at you.
You rolled your eyes.
"You're going in the wrong direction." Steve said before walking off
"Steve where are you going? Steve!" You called out.
"Stop whining, let's go! Trust me." Steve walked off the trail and into the woods.
You sighed and followed after him.
After some walking Steve walked into a bush.
"Steve what're you doing?" You asked.
"Getting us there." Steve said, "Oh look, bada Bing bada boom. There she is kids. Skull Rock."
Steve walked out of the bush, "in your face man, your stupid cocktail little face."
You pushed back the bush for everyone to go through without scratches or anything.
Dustin walked through and waited next to you, "doesn't make sense."
Steve smirked, "yeah, yeah. Even with it right in your face, you can't admit it. Can't admit your wrong you little butthead."
Eddie jumped down from a rock behind Steve, "I concur Dustin Henderson that you are a total butthead."
Dustin smiled and walked over to Edide, "Jesus we thought you were a goner."
Dustin gave him a hug which Eddie hesitated but returned.
"Yeah, me too man." Eddie said as they broke from the hug, "me too."
♤♤♤♤♤
"When I got to shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh..." Eddie drank from his canten as everyone was huddled around him.
"My walkie was busted man." Eddie said, "Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now apparently. I ran."
He chuckled.
"Do you know what time this was, the attack." Nancy asked.
"Yeah, no, I know exactly what time it was." Eddie took off his watch, "my walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."
He threw his watch at Nancy.
She checked the time, "9:27."
"Same time our flahslights went kablooey." You pointed out.
"Which means what exactly?" Steve asked.
"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick." Nancy summarized.
"Well, we're one step closer, we know how Vecna attacks." Robin said.
"And where he attacks from." Lucas said.
"So now we just sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a steak through his heart." Max said.
"If he even has a heart." Robin said.
"A steak, is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?" Steve asked.
"It was a metaphor." You said.
"A bullet should work on him right?" Eddie asked.
"I say we chop his head off." Lucas suggested.
"Yeah I say all of the above but we can't do any of that til we find a way into the upside down." Nancy said.
"We meet El to get her powers back." You said.
"Everything was like, way easier, " Steve said, " we had this girl. She had superpowers."
"Superpowers, yeah you mentioned her." Eddie said, "Hey uh, Hendersons not cursed is he?"
Dustin was pacing looking at his compass, hee looked at the sun.
"Cursed? No, no. He's fine." Steve said, "Mental, absolutely."
"BOOM!" Dustin yelled before turning around, everyone looking at him.
He pointed at Steve, "Bada, bada, boom. I was right, Skull Rock was north."
Steve sighed, "Seriously? You're serious?"
Dustin nodded, "Mm-hmm."
Steve gestured to the boulder shaped like a Skull, "this is Skull rock. Okay?"
Dustin nodded with a big smile on his face.
"You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong right now." Steve said.
"Yes, and no." Dustin said.
"Oh my God." Steve said, "Y/n check your boyfriend into an asylum he's lost it."
Dustin held 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."
Dustin dropped the compass, "when I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."
"So you're using faulty equipment, you're still wrong." Steve said.
"Except it isn't faulty," Dustin said, "y/n, Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?"
"An electromagnetic field." Lucas said as you and Dustin pointed to him looking at Steve.
"I'm sorry I must've skipped that class." Robin said.
"In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power," you explained, "So either there's some big magnet around here, or..."
"There's a gate." Lucas said.
"But we're nowhere near the lab." Nancy said.
"But what if somehow, there's another gate." Dustin said, "a gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller, way less powerful."
"Snack size gate." Robin said.
"How, why?" Steve asked.
"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 explained, "and I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse."
Dustin walked off.
"Where are you going?" Steve asked, "hey, hey, hey,"
Dustin turned around.
"Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go for a hike in the woods." Steve said.
Dustin held up his compass, "this little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie."
He put his compass down and gestured toward Eddie, "what say you, Eddie the banished?"
Everyone looked at Eddie.
"I'd say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor." Eddie said, "which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, uh, the shire, the shire is burning."
Dustin jumped up and down.
Eddie stood up, "so Mordor it is."
Eddie walked over to Dustin and everyone else followed.
♤♤♤♤♤
As you and Dustin ran through a bush, the compass he had in hand went from showing us the wrong way, to flying all over the place.
He looked at you and smiled, "Somethings happening."
You smiled as he took your hand and dragged you through the forest.
Eddie spoke up behind you guys, "Guys? Can you slow down? Guys?"
Dustin jumped down from a tree root and looked back, "I think we're getting close."
You stopped him before he could walk into the lake.
"Watch your step big guy." Eddie scolded him.
Steve stopped, panting, "Oh man, you've got to be shitting me."
"Yeah," Eddie said, "I thought these woods were familer."
You all looked out on the lake.
"Lovers lake." Robin said.
"This is confounding." Dustin said.
"There's a gate in Lovers Lake?" Max asked.
"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left and opening." Nancy explained.
"Maybe Vecna's the same way." You suggested.
"Yeah, only one way to find out." Steve said.
♤♤♤♤♤
Steve ripped the tarp off of Eddie's boat.
"Easy." Steve said.
Eddie jumped into the boat, making it rock.
"I said easy man." Steve said.
"Sorry dude." Eddie said.
Robin walked over to the boat, getting on slowly.
"Here you go." Eddie said, holding out his arms to help her get on.
"Yeah I'm just gonna do that." Robin said pushing past the two guys and walking on the boat.
Eddie stood up as Robin sat down, holding his arm out for Nancy to get on the boat, "Wheeler."
"Thanks." Nancy said, taking it and sitting down.
Dustin tried to get on.
Eddie stopped him, "Hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds three people, tops."
Nancy looked at him, "its better this way. You guys stay with Max, keep an eye out for trouble."
Dustin looked offended, "you keep an eye out."
Nancy gave him a look.
Dustin gave her a look back, "its my godamn theory."
"You heard Nance." Robin said from behind her.
"Who put her in charge?" Dustin pointed at Nancy.
"I did." Robin said.
Nancy reached out her hand, "compass."
Dustin looked upset and reached his hand into his pocket.
You stopped him and handed Nancy yours, "if you ruin it, no big deal, I've had it for a while I need a new one."
"Hey, here you go." Eddie threw Dustin his backpack.
Dustin caught it.
Steve pushed off the boat and got into it.
"You said three!" Dustin said.
"Sorry." Steve whispered.
Eddie rowed the boat out.
"Bed time at 9 kiddos!" Robin called out.
They drifted further into the lake.
"Miss you already!" Robin called out.
♤♤♤♤♤
Lucas was watching the boat with binoculars.
He hit your arm, " theyre stopping. what are they stopping for?"
Dustin got out his walkie, "Guys what's going on."
Silence.
"Come on guys talk to me what's going on." Dustin spoke into the walkie.
Robin's voice rang over the radio, "Uh, y/n, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital oo-ahh."
There was silence for a few moments as the three of you looked at the best of your ability and Lucas had binoculars.
Lucas spoke up, "ugh, when Steve get so hairy?"
"Right?" Dustin said, "I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle, but he claims the ladies dig it."
Max walked up behind Lucas, "let me see?"
She took the binoculars off Lucas and looked through them.
She just stared for a few moments then, "y/n, come here."
She let you look through one of the binocular sides as she looked through the other.
Lucas and Dustin just glanced at you and Max, just staring.
After a little bit, you saw Steve jump.
After the binoculars were set down Dustin spoke up, "you guys realize that if there's a gate down there, it's technically a water gate."
Lucas and Max just turned back to the boat.
You looked at Dustin.
"Watergate." He said.
He laughed a little.
You rolled your eyes playfully, "you're a dork."
After Steve didn't come up for about 30 seconds, Dustin took the binoculars and looked through them.
"Come on Steve, come on." Dustin quietly said to himself.
There was radio chatter heard behind you.
You looked back and saw flahslights.
Everyone else saw what you saw.
"Down by the water!" Someone yelled in the forest.
"Shit." Dustin cursed beneath his breath.
"Down." You said as everyone crouched down behind a ledge.
"It was on the shoreline!" Another officer yelled.
Dustin radio turned on.
"Dustin you're a gadamn Einstein. Steve found the gate-" Robin was cut of by Dustin turning off the radio.
Max looked back toward the flahslights, "cops"
"We can't let em find Eddie." Lucas said.
"Stay with me." Max said.
She stood up, "Hey officers! I found the killer! This way!"
"Shit."
"Max what are you doing."
"God."
She started to run.
"Go!"
You all started to run through the woods.
"Stop!" Officer Callahan yelled, "get back here you little rats!"
As you were running you heard a thud behind you.
You looked back, "Dustin, shit."
You ran towards him only to see Cheif Powel hold him up, "Hey there."
H
ey guys. I've had this chapter pre written for a small while, but I got back from camping on July 1st, I needed sometime to process V2, and clean up my tears. I don't usually cry at TV shows or movies, I've never cried for Stranger things before V2, bit oh lord did it hit like a bag of bricks. I think Max's 'death' hit me the hardest, but Eddie's sure did hit. Despite everything, I still want you guys to eat, drink and sleep, even if it means crying yourself to sleep over V2. Have a wonderful day/night and try to heal those emotional wounds as best you can.
Word count: 2588