The sky above them had increasingly gotten darker quickly, and by then, Dustin was running past all of the trees. The rest of the teenagers were forced to chase after him, since he insisted on knowing the way based on his trusting compass. Olivia was also forced to frustratedly get off of Steve's back and run with the rest of them, since it wasn't easy to run with a whole human on top of him.

"Shit, my feet hurt." Olivia complained as they suddenly came to a hult, Eddie quickly grabbing Dustin from behind so he didn't fall into Lover's Lake right in front of them.

Dustin panted quickly as he caught his breath, his feet right as the edge of the water line.

"Oh man." Steve sighed, stopping beside his girlfriend. "You gotta be shitting me."

"Yeah, seriously, dude." Olivia slumped her shoulders before rubbing the back of her neck with a grimace.

"I thought these woods were familiar." Eddie came to realization.

"Lover's Lake."

"This is confounding." Dustin muttered in amusement, his jaw dropped slightly as he stared out into the dark water. The moon above them emitted a small glare in the water, but that was the only source of light beside the one flashlight they had amongst the group.

"This is bullshit." Olivia retaliated, to which Dustin gave her a smug glare.

"Someone is very cranky today. Did you not get enough sleep last night?" He argued back, which was normal for the two since they acted as siblings all of the time.

"Actually, Dustin, no. But, y'know, thank you so much for the concern. I really appreciate it." She smiled over at him, to which he nodded back.

"Anytime." He sarcastically muttered back.

After their small 'argument' had come to an end and nobody was distracted by it, Max decided to speak up from her own thoughts. "There's a gate in Lover's Lake?"

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked," Nancy thought out loud. "it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way."

"Yeah, only one way to find out." Steve dreadfully spoke as he glared nervously at Olivia, who was already wearing the same expression. They quickly found a covered boat behind some strangling bushes, a tarp covering it.

After Steve and Eddie had done the honors of hauling the small boat into the water, Robin went first.

"Yeah, I'm judt gonna do that." Robin mumbled to herself as she placed her hands firmly on Eddie and Steve's heads, using them to hold her up as she stepped carefully onto the boat.

"Yeah, that works too." Steve shrugged. "Next." Eddie and Nancy both climbed in at the same time, Steve holding his hand out for Olivia next.

As he held her hand to lead her onto the boat, she stepped close to Robin, making sure to sit close to her if they were fitting all of the oldest teens. "Gracias, chico."

Just when Dustin began stepping up was when Eddie quickly had complaints. "Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay?"

The curly-haired boy stood with his mouth agape, utter shock radiating off of him. He stared at the teens, all of them agreeing with the metal-head.

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

"Uhm, no!" Dustin quickly shrieked. "Liv can stay with Max! It's her sister." He complained, pointing right at the brunette with pursed lips. She didn't know what to say. She had to help save said sister from this curse, and she wasn't going to do it by standing around.

"Actually, I'm going. Sorry, dude." Olivia shrugged. "I'm not sitting around helplessly. Since she's my sister," She repeated to Dustin, using his words. "Then I'm gonna be the one to help save her from this curse, 'kay? You really think we want to just leave you guys here?"

"Wouldn't be surprised." Dustin shrugged at the girl who sat besides Robin, everyone watching the confused looks.

"Hey, chill." Steve warmed, holding his hand out in front of Dustin.

It's my goddamn theory!" He yelled at the five teens, all of them watching with shocked faces.

"You heard Nance." Robin, the calmest of the bunch, muttered nonchalantly.

"Who put her in charge?"

"I did." The short-haired girl shrugged her slim shoulders as if it was obvious, to which Dustin continued giving them all incredulous looks of confusion.

"Compass." Nancy held her hand out to Dustin, the boy giving her a pouting face before reluctantly handing it over.

Just when they all though Dustin couldn't get anymore angry or frustrated, Steve pushed the boat into the water, and instead of staying, he quickly jumped on with the help of Olivia.

"You said three!" He shouted from the shore, Lucas and Max watching with boredom.

"Sorry." Steve sympathetically whispered.

"Love you, Max!" Olivia stood up from her spot as Eddie and Robin continued to row the small, cramped boat, making a small heart with her hands. The red-head smiled before returning the gesture quickly. Robin decided to stand beside the brunette, the other three protesting frantically, insisting that the boat would tip.

"Bedtime at nine, kiddos." She shouted, causing Olivia to stifle a laugh. "Miss you already!"

Olivia laughed as she noticed Dustin holding his middle finger straight at them with a blank face.

"No later than nine! Dont-"

Before Olivia could finish taunting the younger teens, they all quickly yelled in unison. "Shut up!" Smiles plastered on their faces, the girl quickly sitting down with a smirk.

"God." The brunette scoffed, shaking her head as the boat slowly steadied from her moving. "That's no way to treat your favorite babysitter." She joked, the teens looking at her with smiles, while Eddie stared in confusion, understandably. He hasn't been around them long enough to know Steve and Olivia are the go-to babysitters of the age-variety group.

***

Only a half hour later, Nancy insisted that Robin and Eddie stop rowing the very small boat since the compass dial decided to dance around like crazy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Slow down, guys." She frantically piped up, her hand moving to grab Eddie's shoulder, signalling to stop. Once the two had settled the boat and put down their oars, they all crowded around the compass in Nancy's hand, Steve's hand resting on Olivia's lower back to prevent her from falling backwards into the water.

"Whoa." Steve mumbled, watching as the compass dial spun in expeditious circles.

"What's happening?" Olivia questioned her thought out loud, the four teens glancing up at each other in curiosity.

"Guys, what's going on?" Suddenly, Dustin's voice came through the walkie-talkie in a fuzzy tone, Robin the first to reach for the device. "Come on, talk to me. What's going on?"

The short-haired girl clicked the button on the side of the device before putting her mouth close to it. "Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'aah!'" Robin squealed quietly, Olivia snorting a laugh from beside her.

"Don't know what that means, but it's works, I guess." The brunette shrugged as she sighed, smirking at Robin who simply shrugged.

Before anyone could ask anymore questions or comment anymore on the situation, Steve began taking off his shoes and socks absent-mindedly, Olivia quickly looking over at him in confusion. She placed her hand on his arm to stop his movement.

"Uhm, what are you doing?" She slowly questioned, her eyes flashing back and forth at his face and his hands.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. 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?" He shrugged before standing up.

Olivia scoffed out of fear as she kept her hand placed on his lower arm, having no choice but to stand up beside him.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there." Eddie chuckled, Olivia sending him a harsh glare.

"Uhm, I have complaints! A lot!" She shouted, rolling her eyes away from Eddie and turning back to her boyfriend who was looking at her softly. "Are you stupid? Dense? What is it, 'cause this is, like, the dumbest thing you've ever done. There's been a lot, Steve, but this is just stupid." She quickly spoke, everyone looking up at them, Eddie wrapping a flashlight inside of a plastic bag.

"Look, it's fine. I'm just going down there to check it out. I'll be back before you know it." He shrugged, placing his hands on the sides of her arms. "I promise."

"Promises are shit when they come from you." She muttered before sitting back down beside Robin with a worried expression.

Steve chuckled before turning around and sliding his shirt over his head. Olivia watched in closely before he turned back around and tossed his shirt into her lap for her to hold onto.

"Hey. Good luck." Eddie muttered before handing the flashlight over to Steve with pursed lips.

"Thanks." He whispered.

Eddie then stuck a cigarette into his mouth, pulling out a lighter shortly afterwards only for Robin to pry it from his mouth and toss it on the bottom on the boat. Muttering a quick 'gross' before she turned back around, Robin smirked as Eddie scoffed.

As Steve prepared himself to dive head first, Olivia watched him intensely, her knee bobbing up and down anxiously. She sighed before muttering his name. "Steve." He turned around right as he heard her voice.

"Please be careful." She muttered quietly, almost scsred to nutter the words incase she had a real reason to.

He gave her a barely visible nod before smiling. "I'll be back. Try not to forget about me." With that, he gave her a small smile before diving in to the water smoothly, thr boat rocking slightly from the force.

It had felt like hours for Olivia since her boyfriend had dove himself straight into the dark, and surely, cold water. She was almost mad that he could so easily go straight into danger, but he would do it for any of them in a heartbeat. Especially Olivia.

"Where are we at, Wheeler?" Robin questioned after a while, almost too scared to admit he had been down there longer than they thought he would be.

"Closing in on a minute." She responded.

Olivia quickly sighed, her knee only bouncing heavier since he had disappeared into the water. Her eyes hadn't left the dark water for one second, her heart pounding as she waited for the second he would ascend.

And just when she considered going into the water after him, he quickly shot up from the water, scaring all of them half to death. The teens frantically jumped back in fear as he splashed back up to the surface, gasping softly for air.

Olivia had her hand pressed to her heart as she panted deeply, Eddie shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Goddamnit, Steve! You scared the shit out of me." She muttered through sharp breaths, moving closer to the edge to hold his hand.

"I found it." He panted. "I found it. Yeah. I found it." He nodded as they all smiled at him cheerfully.

"Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein." Robin muttered into the walkie-talkie in her hands, a smirk pulling at her lips. "Steve found the gate on the bottom of the lake." She quickly filled them in before returning to the situation.

"It's pretty wild." Steve explained, his hand on top of Olivia's. "It's more of a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big." Just when her heart beat had slowed down, Steve was tugged back underwater, Olivia gasping as she reached for his arm.

They all clamored towards him before he came back above water, only for his body to be dragged back down. But he never came back.

"Steve!" Olivia shouted into the water, her hand submerged as she tried to see through the dark liquid, but it was no use. She was going to have to go down there and find him. The brunette quickly stood up from her spot, throwing Steve's shirt off of her lap and tugging off her coat Steve had gaven her years before.

"What the hell was that, man?" Eddie shouted at thr top of his lungs, his arms flailing around. They all continued shouting for him, but quickly stopped upon noticing Olivia dropping her jacket on the boat.

"Wait, wait, wait." Eddie grabbed her elbow, preventing her from jumping over, and she would've if he hadn't stopped her. "You're not going in there, are you?" He muttered in disbelief, Olivia looking over her shoulder with wide eyes.

"Yes!" She shouted as if it was obvious before she turned back around with a deep breath, then diving down into the cold and dark water. The three on top of the water shouted for her, but it was too late. She couldn't hear them.

Of course, they didn't want her going in alone if the couple were to encounter something. Robin also took a deep breath before moving to the edge, despite the other two questioning her. They should've known better that she wouldn't leave her two best friends to fight whatever it was alone.

"Robin, what are you doing?!" Nancy pleaded for an answer, Eddie nodding quickly in agreement. "You can't go down there."

When she didn't listen, inching closer to the edge, Eddie vigorously pointed in Nancy's direction. "She's in charge!"

"I made that shit up." She scoffed. "I'm not gonna sit here and wait. They need us, you know what." She told him with a tilted head before sliding into the water and flipping backwards.

Nancy and Eddie both shouted for her, although they had no choice but to follow shortly after, Eddie being the last since he was terrified, understandably. But, Robin was right. They couldn't wait like cowards instead of helping their friends, knowing that the couple would to the same if it were one of them. And, besides, Eddie wasn't going to stay above water while they left him. He knew why. He didn't want to be the coward, especially when Nancy and Robin didn't even hesitate to go after Olivia and Steve. He wouldn't.

Once Olivia had some how passed through the small, red, gate covered in vines, she stood up, brushing off her pants and searching for her boyfriend. She wasted no time to begin walking around, her breathing heavy as she tried to find Steve.

Suddenly, a horrified scream rang out into the air, her body spinning around to find Steve screaming in pain as a bunch of bat like creatures had him pinned to the ground. Her eyes widened before she ran to him, calling his name.

He caught a quick glimpse of her running towards the same boat they had used to go into the water, except in was covered in smaller vines and has goo all over it. She quickly reached for one of the oars laying inside of the boat, spinning back around to help Steve.

His screaming made her heart ache, but it quickly ended when she stopped in front of his struggling body, wasting no time to swing the oar aiming at the bat as fast and aggressively as she could. She grunted before hitting another just in time for Robin, Eddie and Nancy to join.

The creature whimpered away as she smirked down at Steve, then causing another blow to the bat by his arm. "You ugly piece of shit!" She shouted, jamming the end of the oar onto the bat's body repeatedly until it was crushed to it's death.

"Quick! Hold it, Robin!" Nancy shouted from behind her, Robin's stomping her foot on the creatures tail while Nancy stabbed it.

Eddie and Robin shouted at Nancy repeatedly as she finished it off while Olivia tried to get any remaining bats off of Steve. Eddie stood close to Olivia before he suddenly spun around at the sound of a shrieking in the distance.

Olivia didn't pay attention to him however, and before she knew it, claws were stabbing through her thin long-sleeve shirt and into her skin. She yelled in pain as she stumbled forward unexpectedly. "Robin!" She shouted for the girl, who grabbed it by the tail and attempted to pull it off of her best friend's back.

"Help!" Olivia yelped as it scratched at her back again, but eventually the short-haired girl managed to pull it off just in time as Eddie fended off the continuous bats coming towards them.

"Let go!" Robin shouted before tossing the bat into the air, the creature crying before it flew off. Olivia sighed in relief, but her back still hurt like a bitch and she was sure it was bleeding.

They turned around to see Steve handling the bat, his hand wrapped tightly around the bat as he repeatedly smacked it onto the ground, everyone watching in shock. He smashed in on the pavement one more time before laying it's lifeless body down, pressing his foot to it and tearing it into two pieces.

He panted heavily as he spit out a long string of blood, Olivia not hesitating for a second before sauntering over to him.

"Steve! Are you okay?!" She frantically questioned, her hand moving to hold his arm and the other softly holding his wrist.

"Jesus Christ." Eddie muttered out of breath. "Jesus H.  Christ!"

Steve had his hands gently holding the gashes covering his abdomen. He grunted as he turned to face her, Olivia moving his hands out of the way. "Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better."

Olivia shock her head with a chuckle before looking up at him in the eyes. He smiled down at her, feeling like it had been the first time in a that they stared at each other intimately. It seemed their lives were going to shit and they didn't have enough time to spend together. They hated it.

"Are you okay?" He returned the question, Olivia quickly nodding.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She suddenly paused, moving her hand under her shirt and searching for anything around her back. She pulled her hand back in front of her to reveal small spots of blood on her fingers. "Oh, well, I thought I was."

Olivia shrugged carelessly, but Steve stared down at her in worry before putting his hand on her back softly, knowing she had cuts from the bats.

"Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?" Robin's questioned caused everyone to turn to her with furrowed brows and looks of denial. She had a flashlight shone down at the mutilated bat smashed to the ground.

"What?" Steve muttered from beside Olivia, the two sharing confused looks before turning back to look st their panicking friend.

"It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we should probably get you to a doctor soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already dead." Once she stopped, Steve and Olivia were looking at each other in utter confusion, while Eddie and Nancy glared at one another.

Steve pursed his lips while Olivia had her jaw slightly dropped, looking at Robin as if she was crazy. "Do you have rabies? 'Cause that's what you're acting like." She sarcastically joked, pointing her unlit flashlight towards Robin.

"If you didn't hear me, it's my number one greatest fear, so, no-"

Before Robin could finish pessimistically rambling, a loud chittering sound came from the sky, all of their heads whipping to the side to find the source. Olivia fave froze as she noticed the dozen of bat creatures quickly flying towards the group, her heart dropping.

Robin gasped as her, Nancy, and Eddie all ran behind the couple already beside one another, the three peering over Olivia and Steve's shoulders to watch the bats fly down onto the gate. There one way out. They were surrounding it and not they were officially stuck in the Upside Down.

"All right. There's not that many." Steve whispered as if it would hide them. "We can take 'em."

Olivia scoffed from beside him. "You can take 'em. I'm good. See, I'm trying to survive another day and actually see my sister again so I'll have to pass." Olivia whispered back to Steve nonchalantly, her boyfriend glancing at her sympathetically before turning back towards the opening.

Just as they thought it couldn't get any worse, at least two dozen more bats swarmed the sky above them, flying close to the ones on the ground. All of their jaws dropped in fear, Olivia moving her hands to place on her head.

"You were saying?" Robin retorted, glancing at Steve over this shoulder.

"The woods. Come on." Nancy made a realization before tapping Robin's arm and beginning to run towards the dark woods in the distance. Olivia sighed deeply, glancing over at her boyfriend before they both chased after the dirty-blonde. Eddie followed after, but Robin stalled longer.

"Great. More running." She groaned while flipping the flashlight in her hands and darting after her friends. This was only the beginning and they would all have to get used to it.