Chapter Sixty-Six: The Lakes

It was pitch black outside by the time they started getting close to their destination. Granted, the days weren't long to begin with, but it still made Annie feel creeped out.

Some time during the journey, Steve and Max migrated over to Annie. Steve knew she wasn't a fan of the dark, so he had an arm around Annie's shoulder to keep her safe and secure. Max was on the other side of Annie, holding her had and wondering where she was in the song.

Dustin tumbled out of the woods first, the rest following right behind. "Something's happening," he said, then hurried forward while everyone else struggled to get through the brush.

"Dustin? Can you slow down?" Eddie tried, breaking out first. "Dustin!"

The rest broke through and Annie just managed to see Eddie having to grab Dustin's hoodie to stop him from tumbling into the water. However, she also would have loved to see that happen. Instead, she slipped her headphones off and thought of what could have been.

They gathered around the lake shore. The obvious answer was the "snack-sized" gate was out there, in the water. "Oh man, you've gotta be shitting me," Steve complained.

"Yeah," Eddie sighed. "I knew these woods looked familiar."

"Lover's Lake," Robin concluded.

"This is... confounding," Dustin said. Leave it to him to use huge words.

Max titled her head. "There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" she asked, super lost.

"How does a gate open in a lake?" Annie added. She didn't know as much about this part of the Upside Down. This was stuff they dealt with back when Will had first been taken.

Luckily, Nancy had answers. "Whenever the Demagorgan attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way."

No one spoke as they thought it over. It was Steve who decided to break the silence. "Yeah, only one way to find out."

Annie definitely didn't like where this was going. Getting on a boat to check out the middle of the lake? In hopes of finding a gate to the Upside Down? Terrible, awful, horrible idea. It made her feel sick.

Eddie led them over to his boat, which he had hidden under a tarp. "All right, let's get this bad boy out on the water, yeah?" Steve asked, looking at Eddie.

The man nodded, dropping the tarp unceremoniously and getting a position to help Steve move the boat. Annie watched in amusement as the two boys bickered, then Robin went right between them to get on the boat.

Eddie went in next, then helped Nancy in. When Dustin tried to go in, he was stopped. "Hey. Hey, hey, you trying to sink us?" Eddie asked.

Annie could immediately tell where this was going. She stopped her music and started walking toward Steve. "No way, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.

It felt like she was trying to scold, but Steve heard the tremor in her voice. "Hey," he said softly, taking him and Annie a few steps away, to keep the other's voices in the background. "It's gonna be okay. I seriously don't want to leave you, trust me, but who else is gonna swim to the bottom of the lake?"

Annie let out a shaky breath, knowing he was totally right. None of the others had enough athletic skills to take them to the bottom of Lover's Lake. Steve was the only one who had been doing sports for more than a year. Lucas and Annie weren't quite there yet.

"I know," she whispered, her arms going to wrap around her stomach. "Just... please don't do anything too stupid, okay? I kinda need you around. Plus, I'd rather not give Vecna anything else to feed off of."

Steve attempted a half smile, but he couldn't when it came to his baby sister's safety. "I promise it'll be okay. Once we confirm if there's a gate, we'll come back to shore and figure the details out. Until then, you stick with Max. Do not leave her side."

Annie wiped a stray tear away and nodded. The entire time, she felt Steve was being overprotective. It had been annoying her. Now, knowing he wasn't going to be right there, she was freaking out.

Out of everyone else, though, Max had her back 100%. Steve knew he could trust the redhead to keep her girlfriend safe from anything. Even Vecna.

The Harrington siblings hugged it out super quick, before Steve turned on his heel and hurried into the boat.

"You said three!" Dustin yelled.

Steve whispered, "Sorry."

They rowed out further into the lake, Dustin throwing some gestured to Robin's quips.

So the rest of them were stuck on land. Annie went ahead and slipped her headphones back on, pressed play, and sat down off to the side.

She didn't listen to their conversation, merely observed Lucas, Dustin, and Max watching the older teens (and adult) row out. Their light kept getting smaller, until Annie couldn't make them out much anymore.

When they stopped, Annie decided they found where the compass was being pulled to. If she remembered her science class correctly, then it was probably spinning in endless circles. She watched as Steve stood up in the boat. Annie knew he was getting ready to dive in.

A moment later, there he went. The others in the boat watched after him. Annie hoped he'd be okay, and went to focus on playing with a rock she found.

Max rolled her eyes and the boys' conversation, not thrilled to be talking about her girlfriend's brother's hairy chest or whatever the hell Watergate was, and turned to see Annie sitting on the ground behind them. She walked back and sat next to her, but didn't talk. Instead, she leaned a bit on Annie.

This gesture was a familiar one. It was the position they always assumed when watching movies together. Annie's head felt like it was magnetized to Max's shoulder the way it practically fell to it.

Annie even felt relaxed enough to close her eyes, letting her whole focus be on the music and the way Max's shoulder went up and down as she breathed.

Her hand reached over and found Max's, and she held it. It wasn't out of fear this time, either. It was simply out of the need to hold her girlfriend's hand.

Max smiled and let her own head rest on Annie's. It thrilled her to no end that Annie was finally relaxing just a little bit. Despite everything happening, she was finally taking some steps to being her old self again.

The girls had been content in their little world for a maximum of three minutes and twelve seconds. Flashlights from behind caught Max's attention first.

She carefully turned to see what it was, but then she heard voices yelling and radio chatter.

Police.

"Shit, guys get down!" Max whisper-yelled. Dustin and Lucas turned to see the same thing Max did, then did as she told. Annie's eyes were open again, and she turned her music way down to be alert.

"Dustin, you're a goddam Einstein, Steve-"

Robin's cracking voice scared Dustin, and he immediately turned the walkie off. "Cops," Max whispered.

"We can't let 'em find Eddie," Lucas whispered.

If they were found with Eddie, then they'd all most likely being charged as some sort of accessories or aiding and abetting or whatever. Point is, they wouldn't enjoy prison very much.

Annie thought, and she thought fast, so she knew it wasn't the most rational idea ever, but it was what she had.

"Follow my lead," Annie whispered. She then stood up and yelled. "Officers! I think I found the killer, this way!"

The other three tried to stop her, but by the time she was running, the others had to get up and follow. Max grabbed hold of their bag, knowing it would suck if they forgot it.

As Annie ran through the trees, she begged and hoped Steve would be okay. By the sound of the feet falls behind her, she had more than just Dustin, Lucas, and Max following her. Plan succeeded.

"Stop! Get back here you little rats!" an officer yelled at them. It was at this point that Annie realized she had no follow up to this plan. Were they hoping to get caught? Outrun them? How would they outrun the police? Plus, she was pretty sure the police knew who they were chasing.

Dustin tripping became the answer. Lucas skid to a stop to turn and get him, but the cops beat him to it. So, the other three decided to stop running and let the cops grab them.

It was the new chief that had Dustin in his hands. "Hey there," he said, as if expecting Dustin.

Annie had no clue what to do, so she just put her hands up. Chief Powell saw her do it and shook his head. "You're not being arrested, you can put your hands down."

She did so, but was still on edge. "So... where are we going now?" she asked, regretting her plan immensely.

"We've got some pretty concerned parents who've been looking for you."