❝𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄❞

You and Eddie sat against the rock, your knees pressed to your chest as you fidgeted with your fingers. Eddie wiped his hands on his black jeans, and crouched down as he looked around the woods, wondering if he could see them. "Think they got lost?" You raised your brows, wiping the dirt from your hands. "I doubt that." Eddie looked over his shoulder, pulling at his ear. "Aha! There it is! In your face, Henderson!" Steve came pushing through the bushes, adorning a yellow sweater. You quickly sat up, seeing both Dustin and Steve. "Guys!" You smiled, dropping your bag to the floor. "Holy shit!" Steve opened his arms. You hugged him tightly. Dustin ran over to Eddie, engulfing him in a hug as well.

"We thought you guys were goners." Dustin sighed. "We thought so too." Eddie patted Dustin on the back. "Y/n?" Robin and Nancy pushed through the bushes. "Robin." You gave her a soft smile, running up to her, hugging her tightly. "Holy shit, you're okay!" She chuckled. Max and Lucas followed behind them, "you guys are alright." Lucas smiled. You pulled away from Robin, hugging Lucas. "Max." Your eyes softened, hugging her as well. "You're okay." She said with relief. "As okay as I can be." You mumbled.

"Wait, y/n," Nancy looked at you, walking up to you. "Where is your walkman?" She furrowed her brows. "Hate to say it, but that thing is at the bottom of Lovers Lake." Eddie sighed. "We saw the cops by Reefer Ricks, what the hell happened?" Steve asked. You and Eddie both looked at each other as you slowly walked over towards him, parallel to the others. "Vecna's curse," you started. "Jason and his friends found me and Eddie and while we were trying to get away, Jason's friend was killed right in front of our eyes. His body just lifted out of the water and it-" you stopped yourself, "the boat ended up tipping and we fell into the water. Now, here we are."

"Jesus Christ." Dustin sighed. "But," you gave everyone a look, "I need to tell all of you something. Something very important that I should've said sooner." You gulped. "What is it?" Nancy folded her arms across her chest. "Yesterday, when Steve took me to my house, I'm pretty sure I saw him, Vecna. But," you gestured with your hands, "he imitated my mother? I don't really know how to explain it. And just last night, I had a nightmare. I was here," you pointed at the ground, "and it was so quiet and dark and I kept seeing things and hearing things all around me. I ended up seeing the real him. H-he told me that my time was coming soon." Your voice was shaky, recalling the vivid nightmare.

"You didn't think about telling me?!" Steve said in shock. "I know, okay! It's just we still have Max to worry about! She saw Vecna first and she's in more danger than I am! If we find him and defeat him soon, then I won't have to worry anymore!" You tried to argue. "Y/n," Robin walked over to you, "both you and Max are our top priority right now! And with your walkman at the bottom of the lake, we have no other reliable methods to fight against him." Robin placed a hand on your arm. "She's right," Max stepped forward. "I may be in more danger but that doesn't mean he won't stop coming after you."

"I don't know how much time I have left." You shuddered, lowering your head. "Which is why we have to find a way to defeat him. Last night, what time did the attack happen?" Nancy looked at you and Eddie. "Uh," Eddie lifted his arm, looking at his watch, "around nine-thirty. When we fell into the water my watch got soaked." He lowered his arm. Nancy, Steve, and Dustin all looked at one another, "that was the same time our flashlights went out at the Creel house." She spoke softly. Dustin paced back and forth, looking at the compass in his hand.

"Well, know we how he attacks and where he attacks from." Lucas added. "All we need to do now is sneak into his little lair and stab that bastard in the heart." Max clenched her jaw. "Why don't we just shoot this asshole?" You chimed in. "Was thinking the same thing." Eddie smiled at you. "I think chopping his head off should really do the trick." Lucas nodded his head. Dustin continued to pace back and forth, one hand holding the compass and the other around the strap of his book bag. "I would love to do all of that, but we have no way of getting into the upside down." Nancy pondered, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Man, I wish we had El." Max sighed. "Yeah, her powers would really come in handy." Steve looked at Max. Your eyes fixated on Dustin as he continued to walk back and forth. "Hey Dustin, you okay?" You asked. Everyone looked his way, as he suddenly stopped. "Boom!" He shouted, turning everyone's way. "What?!" You shouted back. Dustin pointed at the group, "I was right. Skull rock is North." Dustin smiled at Steve. "Are you serious? This is Skull Rock! You're one hundred percent wrong!" Steve yelled at Dustin. "Are you guys really arguing over this right now?" You held the bridge of your nose between your fingers, letting out a sigh. "They're like children." Eddie whispered into your ear. "You're no better." You shoved him with a smile.

"Yes, and no. This compass was working completely fine when we left Nancy's house, and it was working fine when we were in the car. And the closer we got to Skull Rock, the compass started going crazy, just like it is now," Dustin pointed at it. "When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was." Dustin looked at everyone. "So, your equipment is busted. Big deal." Steve scoffed. "Ah, ah" Dustin held his finger up, "it isn't busted," Dustin turned towards Lucas. "Do you remember what can affect a compass?"

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Dustin, "any electromagnetic field." Lucas came to the realization. "Exactly." Dustin smiled. "I'm totally and completely lost right now. What does that have to do with anything?" You asked. "When there's a strong electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards it. So, either there's some super big magnet in this forest somewhere. Or-"

"There's a gate." Lucas nodded, folding his arms across his chest. Dustin let out a small laugh. "We aren't even close to the lab. How is that possible?" Nancy asked. "I know, but what if there is somehow another gate. A gate that none of us know about." Dustin explained. "Like a tiny gate?" Eddie asked, giving Dustin a puzzled look. "Exactly. It's causing a disturbance and we don't know why or how, but it is." Dustin pointed at the compass. "If it is a gate," you stepped closer to Dustin, "we have a shot at finding and defeating Vecna and freeing me and Max from this curse."

Dustin smiled at you before he began jogging down the small hill. You followed behind him before Eddie spoke, "where the hell are you going?" He asked. You and Dustin turned around, rolling your eyes. "Yeah, Eddie is still a wanted man, we can't just walk out into the open with him like we're going on a picnic." Steve gestured towards Eddie. "Listen, this little compass," you snatched it from Dustin's hand, "can save me, Max, and Eddie, if we just find Vecna!" You argued. "Y/n, you're acting like Vecna is some wimpy little thing we can defeat." Robin looked at you. "I know it may seem that way, but I've about had it. I'm tired of running, okay? The sooner we find him, the bigger our chances are."

"She's not wrong." Dustin shared looks with the others. "So, Eddie, what do you say?" Your eyes locked with his. Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for his response. Eddie sighed, "I say you're asking me to follow you straight to hell. Which, if I'm totally honest with you," Eddie scrunched up his face, "is a really, really bad idea. But, uh, there is no other plan in mind. So, hell it is." Eddie smiled at you, walking past the others and towards you. "Yes!" You cheered, hugging him. Eddie hugged back. Everyone stopped to look at you two before you pulled away. All eyes were on you, a surprised expression on Robin and Nancy's faces. "What?" You questioned, confused. "Nothing." Nancy smiled. Robin let out a small giggle, following you down the small hill.

"Are we really doing this?" Steve asked. No one answered him. "Guys?" Steve sighed before quickly catching up with the rest of the group. "Lead the way, Dustin." You placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. Dustin smiled back at you, grabbing his compass from your hand, "thanks."

━━━━━

"Dustin, how long is this going to take?" Max sighed, flailing her arms around as she walked next to Lucas. Night fell upon you, the moon high above the trees. You were tired and thirsty, living off of your own spit at this point. "I promise we're almost there." Dustin hurriedly jogged through the woods. "This took longer than I expected it to," Robin whined, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "You doing okay?" Eddie whispered to you, looking at you. You turned your head to look at him, giving him a small nod, "yeah, fine." You smiled. "No weird clocks or shit like that, right?" He nudged your shoulder. "I think you'd be able to tell if I was stuck in a trance, Munson." You nudged him back.

"Somethings happening!" Dustin smiled to himself, running ahead of you guys. "Dustin?" Eddie questioned, quickly following after him. You picked up your pace, grabbing Robin's hand as you both followed Eddie and Dustin. "Hey, Dustin slow down, man!" Eddie shouted, noticing Dustin was getting close to the lake. "I think we're getting close!" He turned to look at everyone, ignoring his step. Eddie grabbed ahold of him before he could fall into the lake, "Watch your step, buddy." Eddie pulled Dustin back. You walked beside Eddie, "we're back at the lake?" You said out of breath.

The others soon joined you, all out of breath as well. "You got to be shitting me." Steve sighed. "Lovers Lake." Robin spoke, shining her flashlight at the water. "There's a gate in Lovers Lake?" Max asked, her eyes scanning the water ahead. "Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left a gate open." Nancy informed you, her eyes watching the water as well. "Then, is Vecna the same way?" You asked, wiping the dirt from your face. "Only one way to find out." Steve looked at you. "Woah, you're not gonna swim all the way out there." Dustin placed his hand in front of Steve. "Yeah, no shit, Henderson."

"I have an idea." Eddie looked at everyone. You looked at him, "the boat," You spoke softly. "It had to have washed up on shore by now." You turned to look at the others. You walked towards the edge, where the water met the dirt, peeking over. "Careful." Eddie stepped near you. "I think I see it. Hand me your flashlight," you turned towards Robin as she handed the flashlight to you. "There it is!" You said with a smile. You began running off into the woods, following the edge, "y/n, I said be careful, goddamnit!" Eddie said through gritted teeth, running after you. The others followed without hesitation, blocking the branches and bushes from their face.

"Almost there!" You shouted, jumping over a large log. Suddenly, you stopped, seeing the boat through the trees. Walking towards you, you heard Eddie walking up from behind you. "There's our little friend." Eddie smiled. The others gathered around, "uh, I don't think all of us are gonna fit." Robin looked at you, slightly concerned. "Well, the boat isn't gonna move itself." Steve kindly pushed everyone out of the way. You stepped out of Eddie's way as he and Steve, grabbed ahold of the boat, lifting it a few inches off the ground. "Easy." Steve grunted before Eddie let go of the boat, dropping into the way. "I said easy, dude." Steve looked at Eddie. "Sorry, man." Eddie dusted his hands off. "Alright, come on." Steve looked at the group. "Me first." Robin lifted her leg, using both Steve and Eddie as a stabilizer while she climbed into the boat. "Thanks for that." Steve muttered.

Eddie went in after as Steve held the boat in place, careful to not make it rock back and forth in the water. Nancy hesitated, carefully stepping over the boat. Eddie reached out for her hand, gently grabbing it as he helped her in. "Thanks." She smiled at Eddie. "Alright, I guess it's my turn." You shrugged. You looked at your feet, careful of where you were stepping. Quickly looking up, you noticed Eddie had his hand out for you. You grabbed onto it tightly, hoping you wouldn't fall. "I got you." He grunted. "Thank you." You let go of his hand, sitting down next to Robin. "So, where am I gonna fit?" Dustin smiled at the four of you. All of you looked at him. "Nowhere." Steve spoke.

"Oh, bullshit. Come on!" Dustin whined. "Listen, this boat isn't made for five people. We'd be lucky enough if we made it to the damn gate with four." Steve stood to his feet. "Well, what're we gonna do?" Lucas asked. "Keep watch duty!" You smiled at him. "Yeah, make sure no one comes and sneaks up on us." Steve looked at the four kids. "You keep watch duty!" Dustin rolled his eyes. "Just make sure there's no trouble, Dustin." Nancy sighed. "It's my goddamn theory, I should be able to go on the boat." Dustin pointed at it. "Do you want us to sink?" Eddie asked. Dustin sucked his teeth. "Compass?" Nancy held her hand out. Dustin reached into his pocket, placing it in her hand. "Thanks."

She sat back down, holding the compass tightly. "Here!" Steve threw the bag at Dustin. "Thanks for the flashlights!" You waved one at Dustin. Dustin flipped you off as Steve pushed the boat from the edge, jumping in before it floated too far off. Steve and Eddie grabbed the oars, rowing the boat out farther into the lake. "Miss you already!" Robin shouted, waving goodbye at them. "Son of a bitch." Dustin turned to the others.

"So, what happens if there is really a gate down there?" Robin asked. "Don't know." Steve shrugged. "We go through it, duh." You furrowed your brows. "No, we're not." Eddie whipped his head around to look at you, still rowing the boat. "Speak for yourself, Munson." You looked away from him, shining the flashlight at the compass and Nancy's hand. The needles kept spinning around like crazy, moving in every direction. "That thing is going crazy." Robin spoke. "I think we're getting close. Just a few more feet."

Steve stopped rowing and so did Eddie, "Woah." Steve peered over Nancy's shoulder, looking at the compass. "I think we're already here," You looked over the edge of the boat into the pitch-black water. "But, I don't see anything." Your eyes searched the water. "Guys, why'd you stop?" Dustin asked over the radio. Robin quickly grabbed it, "your compass is going wonky." She replied. "Steve, what're you doing?" Nancy looked at him as he began removing his shoes and socks. "Well someone's gotta go down there and check it out. No complaints, alright?" He stood to his feet. "Be my guest, Harrington." You shrugged.

"I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there." Eddie looked away from Steve. The boat rocked from side to side as Steve gathered his footing, and slipped his shirt over his head, tossing it into the boat. Eddie handed the flashlight to Steve, looking him in the eye, "good luck." He nodded his head. "Thanks, man." Steve nodded back. "Should we time you?" You asked Steve. "Go for it." He responded, turning away from all of you. "Be careful." Robin spoke with concern. "I will." Steve took a deep breath in, looking down at the water before leaping off of the boat, and diving into the water. You covered your face from the splash as Steve disappeared. "Already been two seconds."

The four of you sat in silence for a minute in anticipation, as you waited for Steve's return. The boat rocked back and forth slightly on the water as you sat next to Robin. "See anything?" Nancy asked. You looked over your shoulder, "nothing." You responded. "It's been about a minute." Robin breathed out, looking at the water. You let out a shuddered breath, looking at Eddie. "Getting cold feet?" He smirked at you. "No, just getting cold." You snakily replied, smiling at him. Eddie let out a small laugh. You shook your head at him, turning back around to look over the boat. There was silence for a few seconds before Steve splashed out from the water, gasping for air.

"Jesus Christ!" Eddie yelled. "Dammnit, Harrington!" You clutched your hand over your heart. Nancy and Robin both jumped back, the boat shaking slightly. Steve clutched onto the boat, looking at the four of you, "I found it." He swallowed. "You found it?" Nancy said in shock. "I found it." Steve nodded. You let out a small bit of happy laughter, looking at one another. "Dustin, you're a goddamn genius, you know that? We found the gate." You spoke into the walkie with a smile. "It's pretty crazy down there," Steve wiped the water from his nose. "It's a small gate, but it's still pretty damn big." Steve nodded. The boat tipped hard in Steve's direction as he suddenly got pulled under for split second. "What the hell was that?" You questioned.

Steve looked down at the water before he got dragged under faster than anyone could reach for him. "No!" Robin yelled, reaching for him last minute. "Holy shit! Holy shit!" You backed away from the edge. "Steve!" Nancy screamed. "Steve!" Eddie yelled, standing to his feet. "Oh my god! Steve!" You screamed. "What the hell was that, man?!" Eddie looked around in a panic. You tried to get your breathing under control as you looked at the others. Nancy stood to her feet quickly. "Nancy, what the hell are you doing-no!" You shouted as she dived into the water after Steve.

"Goddamnit!" Eddie yelled. The boat tipped back and forth while you tried to hold onto it for stability. Robin looked over the edge of the boat, creating heavily. "Robin, I swear if you think about going in there." You eyed her. She looked back at you, a small smile on her face. "It's not like you won't do the same for me." She chuckled, pinching her nose as she fell back into the water. "Robin!" You yelled, reaching to grab her. Eddie pulled you back by your waist. "Oh, man." Eddie whined. Looking over the boat, you were too stunned to speak. Eddie removed his hands from your waist. "You're not gonna go in there are you?" Eddie looked at you, his eyes wide. "No, of course not." You looked at him, shaking your head. "Okay, okay-wait, y/n, no, no, no!"

You dove into the water after Robin, feeling the water splash against your skin. You swam in the murky and dark water, keeping your eyes open as you kicked your feet, diving deeper. You held your breath, searching around for Nancy or Robin further in front of you. To your left, you could see a red glowing aura at the bottom of the lake, heading towards it. Eddie, on the other hand, was panicking. He tried to reach for you last second but his hand slipped. "You lying son of a bitch!" Eddie screeched, slamming his hands down to his sides. "You're so lucky I care about you," he breathed in deeply as he stood to his feet, trying to balance himself while he climbed on the edge of the boat. "Oh, this is so stupid. This is so stupid! This is so stupid! This is so t-t-t-" Eddie jumped into the water after you.

𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬:
Ah! So only a few more chapters left before this story ends...ik. I didn't expect to write this chapter so soon but I got bored and one thing led to another. Hope you enjoyed!