"Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car? This is going to royally suck," Robin asked. "It'll be fine." Nance reassured.

The next day, the gang headed to deliver some food to Eddie.

"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again," Robin said.

"At least he can drink himself into feeling better," Steve said while devouring food.

"That's what my mom does," Max shared. Juliette glanced at her. "Our moms have that in common, then," she added with a small smile.

"Why don't we try this: tell him the good news first, and then the bad news?" Alex suggested.

"We're one step closer to finding Vecna. That's what we should focus on," Stephanie emphasized.

Steve offered a beer to Ariana. "Want one?" Ariana declined. "Actually, I'm trying not to drink."

Steve put the beer away. "Any specific reason?" Ariana shook her head. "No, I'm just trying to drink less. I'm a responsible adult now." Steve nodded in understanding.

"Oh, no!" Everyone looked out the window and saw police cars, news cars, and an ambulance outside Rick's house.

Nancy parked the car, and they all got out to investigate. They approached a news van and listened to what the officer was saying.

A homicide had occurred in the lake the previous night, and the victim was a senior from Hawkins High named Brady Wilson. Stephanie and Lucas exchanged worried glances when they heard the name.

The officer revealed their person of interest: Eddie Munson.

"Shit," Danny cursed. "This is really bad."

Suddenly, Dustin's walkie-talkie started going off.

"Dustin, can you hear me? Henderson?" Eddie's voice came through.

"Eddie, holy crap. Are you okay?" Dustin asked, moving away from the police.

"Nah, man. Pretty...pretty far from okay," Eddie replied. "Where are you?" Danny asked.

"I'm at Skull Rock. Do you know it?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, it's near Cornwallis and-"

"Garret. Yeah, I know where it is," Steve interrupted, heading towards the car.

"No surprise there," Ariana commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve asked as he got into the car.

"Nothing," Ariana replied with a smile. Steve looked at her with confusion. "Nothing Steve."

The rest of the gang got in the car, and Nancy drove away.
__

The gang had been trekking through the woods, attempting to reach Skull Rock, but Steve felt like they were going in the wrong direction.

"Dude, I'm telling you, you're leading us the wrong way," Steve said.

"It's north. I'm positive. I checked the map," Dustin insisted.

"Do you realize Skull Rock is a super popular make-out spot?" Dustin nodded. "Well, it wasn't popular until I made it popular, alright? I practically invented it," Steve explained.

"Great memories there," Dustin turned to his sister in disgust. "Did not need to hear that," he said.

"Look, I'm telling you, we're heading in the wrong direction," Steve insisted. He started to walk in a different direction.

"Steve? Where are you going?" Ariana asked.
"Just come on. Trust me," he replied.

"So, we're going this way now? I swear to God, if they get us lost," Juliette groaned.

"You're going to give them the Juliette Byers lecture?" Max grinned at Juliette. "Yeah."

"I've missed this," Juliette turned to Max.

"Missed what?" she asked.

"Talking to you. I've missed it," Juliette smiled.

"I shouldn't have just disappeared. It was wrong," Max admitted. "You already apologized," Juliette said.

"I know, but I feel like I have to apologize for every day I missed talking to you," Juliette smiled.

"You don't have to keep apologizing. I know you're sorry, Max," Max smiled and then held Juliette's hand.

"Well, if you insist, Jules."

Jules. Not Juliette, but Jules. She just smiled and held Max's hand. She didn't say anything, she didn't make a big deal out of it. She just knew that she was back to being Jules.

Robin watched them and couldn't help but smile. "Oh my God, those two are so adorable. I just want to squeeze them," she gushed. Alex laughed.

"They really are," Alex agreed. "So, that whole scene you put on at Pennhurst was incredible." Robin's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I was really impressed," Alex complimented. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." They both shared a laugh.

"You're all right, Buckley," Alex said with a smile. "You know, with everything going on, I'm glad I met you," she confessed.

Robin suddenly got flustered. "I, uh...Me too," she said with a smile. Alex smiled back, and the connection between them deepened.

Meanwhile, Danny and Lucas walked together, and Lucas noticed something was bothering Danny.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"What do you think? My brother is apparently a murderer in the public eye. I could lose him, and then I wouldn't have anyone," Danny expressed her worries.

"That's not true," Lucas turned to her. "You have us. Dustin, Mike, Steve, and Ariana are practically the parents of Hawkins. And me, you have me."

"If you say so," Danny replied. "It's true, Danny. We're going to be here for you," Lucas reassured her.

"That's what my parents said." Danny stopped walking, and Lucas looked at her.

"I don't talk about it a lot, but my parents left when I was six. They didn't want disappointments as children. My brother would get bad grades, and I was just a plain disappointment. Anything I did wouldn't please my parents, so they packed up and left me and Eddie with our uncle. Ever since then, he's taken care of us," Danny shared.

"I'm...so sorry, Danny," Lucas said sympathetically.

Danny shrugged. "It's whatever, but I don't really let people in or trust them ever since then. That's why I'm so scared to lose Eddie," she explained.

"I'll always be by your side, Danny. I promise," Lucas assured her. Danny smiled, as she had never heard those words said to her before. "I promise."

"For the first time in my life, I trust you," she said, and they continued walking, smiling at each other the whole time.

Finally, Steve located Skull Rock. "Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. Right in your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."

"Doesn't make sense," Dustin said.

"Yeah, yeah, even when it's standing right in front of you, you can't admit it. You just can't admit it, you butthead," Steve playfully joked.

Suddenly, there was a noise from behind them. They turned around to find Eddie standing there. "I concur. You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead."

Dustin grinned and rushed to hug him. "Jesus, we thought you were a goner."

The rest of the group joined them, and when Danny saw Eddie, she ran over to embrace him. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said. "Me too, kid."

Then Eddie noticed Stephanie coming around the corner. "Stephanie Carver?" he smirked. "Eddie Munson," she replied, crossing her arms.

"I knew fate would once bring us together," Eddie teased. Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Enjoy it while you have it."
__

Eddie began explaining to them what had transpired at the lake the previous night.

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah, no. I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." Eddie removed his watch and tossed it to Stephanie.

"9:27," she read from the watch.

"That's the same time our flashlights blew up," Ariana pointed out. "Which means what, exactly?" Steve asked.

"It means that the surge of energy was Vecna attacking Brady," Nancy explained.

"Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks," Robin remarked.

"And where he attacks from," Lucas added.

"So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart," Max suggested.

"If he has a heart," Ariana crossed her arms.

"A stake? Is he like a vampire? Is he a vampire?" Steve asked, confused. "It's a metaphor," Max clarified.

"Maybe a bullet would work on him, right?" Lucas suggested.

"I say we chop his head off," Juliette added.

"All of the above, but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down," Nancy stated.

Eddie turned to Dustin, who was pacing back and forth. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"

"Cursed? No, no. He's fine. Mentally? Absolutely," Ariana reassured.

"BOOM!" Everyone turned around to see Dustin yelling. "Bada...bada...boom. I was right. Skull Rock is to the north," Dustin grinned.

"Seriously? Are you serious?" Steve couldn't believe it. Dustin nodded confidently.

"This is Skull Rock! Okay? You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong right now," Steve declared.

"Yes. And no," Dustin explained. "This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers, correctly 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. You're still wrong," Steve insisted. "Except it isn't faulty,"

Dustin turned to Lucas. "Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?"

"An electromagnetic field." Lucas replied.

"Sorry, I must've skipped that class," Alex joked.

"In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there's some super big magnet around here..."

"Or there's a gate," Ariana suggested.

"But we're nowhere near the lab," Steve pointed out.

"What if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about? It'd have to be smaller, way less powerful," Dustin theorized.

"A snack-size gate," Danny added.

"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. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna and a shot at freeing Max," Dustin explained, starting to walk away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ariana asked. Dustin paused and looked back. "Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go hiking in the woods."

"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie," Dustin turned to Eddie. "What say you, Eddie the Banished."

Everyone turned to Eddie, who responded, "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." The gang was confused by the reference, except for Dustin, Danny and Lucas, who recognized it as a D&D reference.

"But, uh, the Shire...the Shire is burning," Eddie added, standing up. Dustin began hopping with excitement.

"So, Mordor it is," Eddie stated, walking off.

"Come on, Carver, you'll be my faithful companion," he smirked at Stephanie.

"In your dreams, Munson," she shoved him playfully.

"What is Mordor?" Ariana asked. Steve just shrugged, and the gang began following Dustin to the mysterious gate.
___

They sprinted all the way back to the edge of the lake, where the compass had led them, but they couldn't spot the gate anywhere.

"You gotta be kidding me," Steve exclaimed.

"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Danny asked, her confusion evident.

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way," Ariana speculated.

"Yeah, only one way to find out," Steve agreed.

At the edge of the lake, they discovered a boat and removed the tarp. They gently laid it on the water.

Alex got in first, followed by Robin, then Nancy, Eddie, Steph, and Ariana.

Dustin attempted to join them, but Eddie stopped him. "Hey, hey, hey. Are you trying to sink us? This thing holds six people tops, okay?"

"It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble," Ariana suggested.

"You keep an eye out. It's my goddamn theory," Dustin protested. "You heard your sister," Steve reminded him.

"Who put her in charge?" Dustin asked. "I did," Steve smiled at Ariana.

"Compass." Ariana reached her hand out, and Dustin groaned but handed her the compass.

"Here you go," Steve threw the backpack at Steve and then got in the boat.

"You said six!" Dustin shouted. Steve shrugged,

"Bedtime at nine, kiddos," Ariana yelled, teasing Dustin.

Dustin responded by holding up his middle finger. "Miss you already!" Ariana said as she waved goodbye.
__

As they rowed, they found themselves in the middle of the lake. "Woah, woah, slow down," Ariana urged, closely monitoring the compass.

The compass started behaving weirdly.

"They're stopping," Juliette observed while looking through binoculars. "What are they stopping for?" Lucas asked.

"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin inquired through the walkie-talkie.

"Uh, Dustin, your compass is out of control. Like, very out of control," Alex reported over the walkie-talkie.

Steve began to take off his socks. "Steve, what are you doing?" Ariana asked, puzzled.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. Unless one of you 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," Steve declared as he stood up.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there," Eddie agreed.

Steve removed his shirt and tossed it on the boat's floor.

"Ugh, when did Steve get so hairy?" Juliette asked, disgusted. "Right? I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle, but he claims Ariana digs it," Dustin commented.

"Your sister's got problems," Lucas said. "You're the one who's had a crush on her since you met her," Dustin added.

"Aw, you had a crush on Ariana. That's cute," Danny teased.

"Let me see." Max grabbed the binoculars and focused on Steve. The four of them exchanged confused glances, with Juliette appearing particularly confused.

Back in the boat, Alex carefully placed a flashlight into a plastic bag, shaping it to protect the flashlight from water.

She handed it to Steve. "Good luck," she said, and Steve nodded in response.

Eddie attempted to light a cigarette, but Stephanie swiftly grabbed it and tossed it into the lake. "Gross," she said, disgusted.

Steve was on the verge of leaping into the lake, but Ariana stopped him. "Steve," he turned around.

"Be careful," she said with a smile. He returned the smile. "I will," he assured.

"I mean it. You better come back to me," she said. Steve nodded and then he jumped into the lake, causing the boat to shake slightly.

"You guys do realize if there's a gate down there, it's technically Watergate," Dustin joked but no one laughed.

"What's a Watergate?" Juliette asked, her confusion apparent.

Only a minute had passed, but Ariana was already growing restless. She gazed down into the water, waiting for Steve to return to her.

"Where are we at, Henderson?" Alex asked. "Closing in on a minute," Dustin reported.

"Come on, Steve. Come on," Dustin muttered impatiently. Suddenly, they heard the sound of approaching policemen. "Shit, get down," Danny urgently instructed.

They all hid behind a log, watching the police walking closer to them.

Ariana was still waiting for Steve to surface from the water. "Come on, Steve." she whispered

Moments later, Steve suddenly emerged from the water, startling everyone. "Found it," he declared. Ariana didn't care about what he found. She was simply relieved that he was back.

"Dustin, you're a goddamn Einstein," Stephanie commended through the walkie.

Dustin quickly turned off the walkie-talkie so the officers wouldn't hear. "We can't let them find Eddie," Danny warned.

"I have an idea. Stay with me," Juliette said as she stood up.

"Hey, officers! I found the killer! He's over here! This way!" Juliette began running, and the others followed suit.

"Shit, Jules, what the hell are you doing?" Max questioned. "Buying them time."

"It's pretty wild," Steve said. "It's more of a snack-size gate than a mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big."

Suddenly, Steve was pulled under the water. "Steve!" Ariana leaned over the boat, her eyes filled with worry. He resurfaced, appearing confused. Then, he was pulled back down.

"Steve!" Ariana wasted no time and dove into the water, determined not to let him go this time, especially when she needed him most.

END OF CHAPTER