"Come on, guys, this way!" Dustin exclaimed from the head of the group, following the compass as they moved deeper through the forest.
Lily stayed near the back of the group as they continued to follow the small device to what it believed was north, though they didn't appear to be making much progress. No matter how far they trekked, everything seemed normal, without so much as a twig out of place. If they were getting closer to the gate, and their one shot at getting to Vecna in the Upside Down, Lily thought they would have seen something out of the ordinary by now.
As the group settled into a comfortable silence, only broken by that of feet stepping on branches and dead leaves, she lagged behind a bit, the distance between her and Sarah, who'd also brought up the end of the group, widening as she began to wander, letting her hands roam across the leaves on the nearby trees and allowing herself to finally feel some sort of grounding after the past few days. She kept a steady pace behind them, but a branch snapping from behind her caused her to freeze in place.
"Lily?" a voice called out from behind her, and her eyes quickly moved up to the rest of the group, who watched her with horrified expressions. "Lily, is that you?" Jason's voice rang out again, accompanied by the sounds of a body moving quickly through the underbrush.
Lily's eyes moved over to Eddie briefly before finding Steve, who began to hurry towards her. "Get him out of here, now." she whispered to Steve, pushing him back in the direction of their friends. "I'll distract him and find you guys after."
She watched as they rushed out of sight, until they were hidden down the slope of a hill ahead, and only when she was sure they were gone did she turn around to see Jason come into view, a relieved smile crossing his face as he studied her.
"Jason," Lily breathed, her voice faltering as she looked him over, struggling to find any other words as she took in his appearance.
Since she'd last seen him the night before he'd changed his clothes, though his appearance still looked ragged. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in days, his hands clenched at his sides, though the smile still remained on his otherwise tense features, giving him a haunted look. The setting sunlight glinted off his hair, turning his blonde locks a shade of bronze.
"Y-you're okay," he stammered, reaching out to pull her into a hug, which she reciprocated, giving her the opportunity to turn them around so his back now stood in the direction of her retreating friends.
"I'm fine," she forced out in an attempt to reassure him.
"You were on the boat last night," he said, and she nodded in return. "P-Patrick, he..."
"I know, Jason," she assured him. "I know."
"I tried to come find you, make sure that freak didn't hurt you next." Jason said, causing Lily's eyebrows to pinch together in confusion.
She knew the police had publicly declared her a hostage after being spotted on the boat, but deep down, she'd had some flicker of hope that Jason had realized Eddie was innocent after witnessing the way Patrick had been lifted into the water, or the way the boat had capsized and Eddie was too busy helping Lily out of the tangled tarp while Patrick's bones had snapped, but somehow, deep in Jason's dark, twisted mind, he'd still found a way to make Eddie the villain.
"What?" she spat, red tingeing the corners of her vision.
"Eddie Munson," Jason explained. "He killed Patrick last night, you saw it."
"No," Lily insisted, shaking her head. "Jason, you know Eddie didn't do this. Eddie didn't touch Patrick."
"He's a vessel." Jason proclaimed. "Eddie sold his soul to the devil for the Hellfire Club, and he has his powers now. That's how he killed Patrick, that's how he killed Chrissy, and that Fred kid. You were there last night, you saw it happen."
"No Jason," Lily repeated. "That's not what happened, just let me explain-"
"We need to get you back to town." Jason said suddenly. "We'll call Powell, you can show us where Eddie's been hiding you, and together we'll get the justice Chrissy and Patrick deserve."
"Jason," Lily attempted to reason with him again. "You're not listening to me, and you're not thinking clearly. Eddie is not the one doing this, he's innocent. What happened to Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick, it wasn't him, I promise you that."
A look of realization suddenly crossed Jason's face as he stepped closer to her. "Oh my god," he breathed. "He's brainwashed you into their cult. Did that freak make you do anything you didn't want to do? Are there more victims? Lily, it's okay, I'm your friend, you can tell me and I will help you through this. But Eddie, he killed Patrick and Chrissy, honey. He killed our friends, and we need to make him pay."
"You're crazy," she muttered, meeting the wild look in his eyes. "It doesn't matter what I say to you, Jason, I'm not going to change your mind about Eddie, but he's no killer, and you can tell Powell I said that."
"Come on," he said, reaching for her arm. "Let's get you out of here, and then we can talk more when you're thinking clearly."
"Jason, let go of me." she seethed, attempting to wrench her arm from his grip, but he held on tight. "Jason, Jason you're hurting me, stop!"
"Hurting you?" he asked, a look of shock crossing his haunted features. "No, I'm saving you."
"Lily!" a voice exclaimed from behind Jason, and both of them turned to see Debbie bounding towards them, with Steve hot on her heels. "There you are, we thought we'd lost you. Oh, hi Jason."
"Buckley," Jason said, finally releasing Lily from his grip as she instinctively took a step back, bumping into Steve. "Harrington."
"Is there a problem here, Carver?" Steve asked, standing taller as he moved Lily behind him, stepping between her and Jason, and Lily watched as Jason's eyes flickered back and forth between the three of them.
"No, no problem." Jason finally said then, raising his hands up in surrender as he took a step back. "Just glad to see her safe, please make sure she gets home okay, alright?"
"We'll be the ones to worry about that." Steve insisted, and Jason nodded as Debbie put an arm around Lily and they began to usher her away from him.
"Lily," Jason spoke up again, and she froze in place, turning her head slowly to look back at him. "Patrick really cared about you. Don't forget that."
"I cared about him too." Lily assured him, and only after they were sure Jason was long gone did they continue moving through the trees to catch up with the rest of the group.
"Are you alright?" Debbie asked as they walked quickly, eager to put as much space between them and Jason as possible.
"He came looking for me after last night." she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "We need to keep moving. Is Eddie okay, why aren't you with the others?"
"He's fine." Steve assured her. "Once we knew we were far enough away, Debbie and I circled back to make sure you were okay, and it looks like we got there just in time." As soon as they reached a small clearing in the woods, filled with tall grass and surrounded by boulders, they slowed to a stop. "Alright guys, the coast is clear." Steve announced, and the others crawled out from the grass, except for Robin and Nancy, who'd been keeping watch atop the boulders.
Eddie jumped up from the tall grass, quickly closing the distance between him and Lily as he pulled her into a hug. "Are you okay?" he asked, and she nodded.
"I'm fine," she assured him, her voice muffled against the material of his vest, and he released her from his grip, eyeing her to make sure she hadn't been harmed.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Jason came looking for me, to see if I was being held anywhere nearby after last night." she explained. "I thought maybe Powell had it skewed that I was a hostage because of my stuff they found at Rick's, but it's all Jason. He thinks Eddie sold his soul to the devil for the power to sacrifice others, he's tricked himself into believing that that's what happened to Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick, and now he's got the town on his side too."
"He thinks I what?" Eddie's eyes widened as he stepped back again, though he stumbled slightly over his feet. "I was in the water when Patrick died, I didn't even see it happen."
"I thought he would know that." Lily said, frustrated tears pricking at the corner of her vision, and Max stepped up beside her, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "He's gone off the deep end. I tried to tell him you were innocent, but all it did was make him think you brainwashed me into your cult. He would've dragged me back into town with him if Steve and Debs hadn't shown up when they did."
"In that case, we need to keep moving." Dustin spoke up. "We don't have a lot of light left, and if Jason knows Lily's been here, it's only a matter of time before the cops start looking around here for Eddie, too."
Nick nodded. "He's right." she said. "Henderson, do you know if we're getting close at all? Has anything changed?"
"Nothing," Dustin said, shaking his head. "But we just have to keep moving until it does." He looked over at where Eddie and Lily still stood. "You two just need to both stay with the rest of the group now. No lagging behind, alright, Lily the Lost?"
"Lily the Lost?" she asked, chuckling softly.
"Eddie was banished from the town, and now you're the one missing." Dustin explained as they kept moving swiftly through the trees, dodging stray branches and trying not to get too scraped up by the thorns. "Keep up."
Eddie smiled softly to her as they kept moving, a short distance behind Dustin. "You're not lost." he assured her, causing her to tilt her head slightly as she looked back up at him.
"I'm not?" she asked. "Somebody should really tell Jason that."
He shook his head. "Nope. Not anymore. I found you."
Lily smiled softly, though before she could respond, Dustin took off into a run, following the compass. "Something's happening," he called out proudly, causing Eddie to sigh in disbelief at the younger boy.
"Dustin?" Eddie called after him, moving aside tree branches from their path as they attempted to keep up with him. "Can you slow down? Dustin?"
"I think we're getting close!" Dustin yelled back in response.
"What's going on?" Sarah asked, now rushing after them with Lucas and Max hot on her heels.
"Something must've happened with the compass," Lily explained as they reached the edge of the woods, Lover's Lake now unfolding before them as Eddie reached a hand out to steady Dustin before he unknowingly followed the compass into the water.
"Watch your step, big guy." Eddie said, gripping the back of Dustin's sweatshirt as the boy finally looked up from the compass.
"Oh, man," Steve sighed as he brought up the rear of the group with Debbie, Nancy, and Robin, his expression growing defeated as he took in the water in front of them. "You gotta be shitting me."
"Yeah," Eddie said. "I thought these woods were familiar."
"Lover's Lake," Robin mused.
"This is confounding." Dustin said.
"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max asked.
"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening." Nancy explained. "Maybe Vecna's the same way."
"Yeah, only one way to find out." Steve retorted.
"So how do we get into the lake?" Nick asked, and Eddie and Lily exchanged a glance before turning back to the group.
"Come on," Eddie said, gesturing for them to follow him. "Rick's boat's this way."
The boat was stashed a short distance away from them, covered in the tarp from Rick's boathouse. Lily pulled the tarp off the boat, quickly dropping the material as soon as it was uncovered and keeping a distance from it after her near-drowning from the night before. Eddie leaned forward, grabbing the edge of the boat and lifting it to ease it back into the water.
"Easy," Steve tried to instruct Eddie, but he simply dropped the edge of the boat into the water, where it hit the waves with a loud crash. "I said easy, man."
"Sorry, dude," Eddie murmured as Robin stepped towards the boys to get in the boat.
Steve held a hand out to help her onboard, but Robin simply held a hand out to each boy as she grabbed the tops of their heads, using it as leverage to steady herself while climbing on the boat. As soon as she was onboard, Eddie stood up and climbed in, holding a hand out to Lily.
"Lily the Lost," he offered, and she took his hand, allowing her to help her in as she sat next to Robin.
Following behind Lily was Debbie, Sarah, Nick, and Nancy, before Dustin attempted to climb on. Instead, Eddie held a hand up, pushing Dustin back slightly, away from the boat and further back onto dry land.
"Hey, hey, are you trying to sink us?" Eddie asked. "This thing holds six people, seven tops."
"It's better this way, okay?" Nancy added. "You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble."
"You keep an eye out!" Dustin retorted, but Nancy simply glared at him. "It's my goddamn theory."
"You heard Nance." Robin said.
"Who put her in charge?" Dustin asked.
"I did." Robin said simply.
"Compass." Nancy said, holding a hand out to Dustin, and he sighed before pulling the small steel capsule out of his pocket and placing it in the palm of her hand.
"Hey," Steve said, standing up and throwing his backpack to Dustin. "There you go."
Steve moved to push the boat off the edge of the shore and further into the water, and at the last second jumped onboard, filling the empty space between Nancy and Nick as the boat began to float through the lake. Eddie and Robin each picked up an oar, beginning to navigate the boat further through the water while Nancy kept an eye on the compass.
"You said seven!" Dustin reminded them, glaring in Steve's direction.
"Sorry," Steve mouthed back with a smirk.
"Bedtime at nine, kiddos!" Robin called back to them, and Dustin watched her with an unamused expression, reaching up to flip her the bird in response. "Miss you already!" she called out, standing up in the boat briefly to wave goodbye to them.
Silence fell amongst the group as the boat moved through Lover's Lake, Lily watching the water as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach at the realization that they were moving closer and closer to the spot where Patrick had died. Where Lily herself had almost died, if Eddie hadn't pulled her out of the tarp.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down, guys." Nancy spoke up suddenly, her eyes still fixed on the compass in her hand, and Lily peered over her shoulder to see that, where it once pointed toward north, it now began to spin around uncontrollably.
"Whoa," Steve breathed, his eyes fixed on the small device.
"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin's voice came over the walkie talkie. "Guys, talk to me, what's going on?"
"Uh Dustin," Robin replied into the walkie. "Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'ahh!'"
The boat shifted slightly as Steve brought a foot up, and he began to unlace his sneakers before pulling them off, along with his socks. "Steve, what are you doing?" Nancy asked.
"Somebody's gotta go down there and check this thing out." Steve explained, without looking up from what he was doing. "Unless one of you can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years." he finally looked back up at the group. "It's gotta be me, no complaints, alright?"
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Eddie spoke up. "I do not wanna go down there."
Eddie reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a white plastic bag from the supplies their friends had delivered this morning and upturning it, spilling the contents out onto the floor of the boat. A lighter and a pack of cigarettes fell to the floor with a clunk and Eddie was quick to tie the bag around the flashlight, in order to prevent it from getting wet.
"Hey," Eddie said as Steve stood up, pulling off his sweatshirt, leaving him just in his worn pair of jeans. "Good luck," he said, handing him the flashlight, and Steve nodded in response.
"Thanks," Steve said, tossing the sweatshirt to Eddie, who placed a cigarette in his mouth before fumbling around in search of the lighter.
Eddie flicked the lighter and it sparked to life, though before he could bring it back up to his mouth, Robin yanked the cigarette from between his lips. "Gross," she murmured, tossing the unlit cigarette into the water, causing Eddie to stare back at her in disbelief.
"Rude," he muttered under his breath, causing Lily to chuckle slightly.
"It's not good for you," she whispered back in reminder, and he rolled his eyes playfully in response.
"Hey Steve?" Nancy asked, and the boy looked back at her expectantly. "Be careful," she said, and he nodded.
With that, Steve leapt from the boat, diving into the lake with the flashlight and leaving them floating in the darkness. An uneasy silence settled between the group as they waited, each second passing like an hour while Nancy kept an eye on her watch, but no sign showed of Steve's return.
"Where are we at, Wheeler?" Robin asked finally.
"Closing in on a minute," Nancy said.
"Okay," she murmured uneasily.
"Should somebody go check on him?" Nick asked.
"He'll be fine." Sarah assured her. "It's Steve, he has to be okay, right?"
Suddenly, Steve broke through the surface of the water with a giant splash, water surging up into the boat as they all jumped in surprise. When Lily finally looked back down at the lake, Steve was treading water with a triumphant smile while attempting to catch his breath.
"I found it," Steve said proudly.
"You found it?" Nancy asked as he reached up, resting his arms against the side of the boat.
"Yeah, I found it," Steve confirmed, and Robin grabbed the walkie talkie again, clicking it to life.
"Dustin, you're a goddamn Einstein, Steve found the gate!" she exclaimed, though the walkie remained silent in response.
"It's pretty wild," Steve explained, still holding onto the edge of the boat. "It's more of a snack size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big."
The boat rocked as something grabbed at Steve from underwater, though he held tight to the boat, pulling himself back up as they all looked back down at him in confusion.
"What was that?" Debbie asked, though before Steve could respond, he disappeared under the water as the boat shook again, causing the group to scream in response.
"Steve!" Nick exclaimed, a horrified look crossing her features as she shot up to her feet, looking for Steve, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Steve!" The rest of the group chorused, Lily peering over the boat again at any sign of the boy.
Lily's heart dropped into her stomach as they continued to search for him, as she'd done with Patrick the night before, only moments before he'd flown up into the air, his bones snapping to pieces. But she knew this was different; Steve had been completely lucid before he went under, not under any of the effects of Vecna's curse, and he still had yet to resurface, meaning that, whatever had him, it was under the waves, not attacking from within his mind.
"What the hell was that, man?" Eddie shouted.
"Nancy, really, what happened?" Robin asked, tears already streaking her cheeks as she continued to search for her best friend.
"Wait here," Nick said, steadying herself on the edge of the boat, and Eddie reached a hand out, gripping his sister's wrist.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Eddie said. "Nick, you're not going in there, are you?"
"Just wait here," she repeated, diving in after Steve.
"Nick!" Lily called as the girl disappeared below the water, vanishing from sight.
"Goddamn it!" Eddie shouted, running a hand through his hair.
"I'll go after her." Nancy said, standing in the spot Nick had vacated. "I'm not letting her go in there alone."
"No, Nancy!" Robin shouted as Nancy dove in.
"She's right," Sarah said. "We can't just leave them there."
Robin jumped to her feet as Sarah disappeared below the water, leaving her alone with Debbie, Lily, and Eddie. She looked around at the three of them, tears streaking down her face at the thought of her best friends down there, and the danger they were inevitably facing.
"I have to go after them." Robin said, and Debbie grabbed her sister's shoulders.
"Are you crazy?" Debbie asked. "We don't know what's down there, we've never fought these things before."
"Then it looks like today's the day," Robin said solemnly, holding her nose as she jumped back into the water.
Debbie looked back at Lily and Eddie still sitting in the boat, and she shook her head. "That's my baby sister." Debbie said, a horrified look crossing her features as her eyes moved back down to the water. "She needs me. I'm sorry."
As Debbie vanished beneath the water, Lily finally rose to her feet, but Eddie stood up with her, grabbing her hand.
"Don't do this, Lily." Eddie pleaded, but she shook her head.
"We can't just leave them down there, Eddie." Lily insisted. "We can't run away this time. I can't lose them."
"And I can't lose you." he said, his eyes staring into hers, but she shook her head, pulling her hand from his grip as she stepped back towards the edge of the boat.
"I'm sorry," she said, jumping from the boat and vanishing under the cold waves of Lover's Lake.