Please stay M.M

Part 13

We were still mindlessly following Dustin into the woods as he followed the faulty compass. In the time it took us to get here I've managed to reclaim my status of holding hands with max and may have pissed off a certain boy in doing so.
"Dustin? Can you slow down? Dustin!" Eddie ram after Dustin before he did something stupid as everyone else tried to catch up.
"I think we are close" Dustin yelled still running in the direction the compass pointed to
"Watch your step big guy" Eddie pulled the back of Dustin's shirt before he started walking into lovers lake.
"You gotta be shitting me" a very out of breath Steve gripped into my shoulder as he finally reached our point, gasping for air.
"I thought these woods were familiar"
"Lovers lake" robin finished Eddie's train of thought
"There's a gate in lovers lake?" Max asked
"Whenever the demogorgon attacked. It always left an opening. Maybe vecnas the same way?" Nancy explained with her most rational evidence
"Yea only one way to find out" I added slightly chuckling
We went a stole the boat Eddie had used and the older teens jumped in the boat, managing to get Dustin to stay with us.
"Bedtime at nine kiddos" robin shouted from the boat. Both Dustin and I held up the middle finger. "Miss you already" she added again.
We had been standing there waiting to here from the teens on the boat.
"They stopping" Lucas said as he looked through the binoculars
"What are they stopping for?" He asked
"Guys what's going on?" Dustin spoke through the radio, "cmon guys talk to me what's going on?"
"Uhh Dustin your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'ahhh!'" Robin static voice came through.
I snickered putting my head in my hands, "how did she pass as a college student?" Max hit me over the head. "Owww?!"
She gave me a look that said 'I know your trying to lighten the mood but shut up'
"Sorry" I looked back up to the two boys that were trying to get information.
"Uh when'd Steve get so hairy?"
"Right? I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle but he claims the ladies dig it" max and I both stood up to look at the fuss
"Let me see" max took the binoculars from Lucas.
She stayed silent looking out to the boat as the boys heads snapped from max to the boat multiple times, "hmm" she handed them to me.
Jesus Christ, I definitely like women, but I can see the attraction. "Hmm" I imitated max handing the binoculars back to Lucas.
"You do realise, the gate down there is technically a watergate." Dustin big smile reflected with smugness, "watergate" he chuckled at himself as I shook my head in disappointment.
We heard noise behind us and turned to see multiple torches shining in our direction. "Shit get down" Lucas whisper yelled pulling all us down behind a log
"We can't let them find Eddie" Dustin said turning the radio off as robins voice came through the speaker.
"Stay with me" max said, having an idea of her own.
"Hey officers, over here! I found the killer! This way!" We all started running with her, sprinting through the forestry with cops on our tail, Dustin accidentally fell over. As we turned to pick him up we faced him being held of one of the very many police officers chasing us.
"Well... shit" I whispered making Max's hand grab my wrist
"Hey there" the officer said as he held Dustin's shirt.
We were escorted back to the wheeler house to be questioned. After multiple overlapping excuses, stuttering and Erica and Kevin trying to sell us out, they took max to be questioned individually.
"Could you be hugging that pillow any tigger Dustin?" I asked teasingly trying to lighten the mood
"Shut up Sarah"
"Seriously Sarah what we're you thinking?" My mother questioned me through gritted teeth
"Yea what we're you thinking" Kevin added easily
"I swear to god I'm gonna strangle you you little shit" I death glared my little brother as he quickly hid behind our mum.
Dustin ram to the bathroom to try and contact the older teens while Lucas and I sat in the kitchen around the bench.
"She's happy with you" he said randomly
"What?"
"Max. I see that now" he paused looking at me, "she's happier with you then she'll ever be with me... it was hard to accept that.but I get it now"
"Thanks." I said giving him a tight lipped smile.Dustin walked back in sitting the radio on the counter
"Anything" we asked
"Nothing."
"You don't think they went through?" Lucas asked
"Through watergate? Without us? Without a plan? Without weapons? They wouldn't be that stupid."
"I don't know about that" I said from the opposite side of the table, "have you seen Robin and Steve?" I laughed
"They must just be laying low cause the law got us." Dustin reasoned
"The law?" Erica eavesdropped from behind us, "what is this, gunsmoke? The stupid, the ugly and the miss-led? Should I round up the posse? Saddle the horses?"
"Erica" Lucas interrupted her, "please just go away"
"Here's the deal, either you tell me what's happening or I tell Dustin and Sarah what I found under your bed." Our heads sipped to look at Lucas
"Please no"
"Spill your guts cowpuncher"
"Whatd she find under your bed?" Dustin asked
"NOTHING"
"Was it gross?" I asked Erica, she nodded in response
"Scale of one to ten?" Dustin continued
"A hundred"
"A hundred?!" I asked Lucas
"The serial killer is a dark wizard from the upside down. And we've been looking for him but he's in the upside down which can't be reached at least we thought we couldn't until we found at gate at lovers lake. That was the reason why we were there but these stupid cops grabbed us. And if you tell anyone about this- that's including mum and dad and Tina... especially Tina I will smother you in your sleep. Do you understand?" I looked wide eyed at Dustin in surprise about how well he had wrapped up the situation. "Erica? Do. You. Copy?"
"The smothering in my sleep part, but not much else. Why would they open up a gate in lovers lake?"
"What?" We all asked
"The commies"
"The commies didn't" I looked at Lucas and mouthed, 'commies?' Tilting my head in confusion
"Then who did?"
"Nobody"
"So it just opened up for fun?"
"Erica you have no idea what your talking about."
"No she doesn't yet she raises an essential question" Dustin spoke, "how did watergate open up? Only two gates have opened, so far as we know one by el one by the commies but it's not the commies or el this time, so it" Dustin paused as though a sudden realisation hit him. "Holy shit"
"What?" Lucas said
"There's one thing we've never understood which is why vecnas killing people? What's his motive? Killing teens? It always just seemed too random. Too prosaic"
"Prosaic?" I inquired
"On top of that, how does the mind flatter figure into all this?" Dustin continued ignoring my question, "maybe this is it. This is the answer"
"What is the answer?!" Lucas asked. Mrs wheeler walked in with a police officer following offering him a drink, Dustin nodded as we followed him to the next room.
"Okay just hear me out. How did el open the mother gate?"
"She contacted the demogorgan." Lucas answered
"With psychic contact, just like???"
"Vecna when he casts his spells" by now the conversation seemed to drag the boys into their own world as if Erica and I had disappeared
"So wha if with each kill, he's not simply killing them he's making a powerful psychic connection with his victims? A connection powerful enough to rip a hole in the fabric of time and space"
"He's opening more gates?" I butted into the conversation
"Bingo" Dustin pointed at me. Just then anothe officer walked behind us talking to his radio.
"Why would he be opening more gates?" Dustin pulled us through to another room
"To take over the world?"
"Who do we know that wants to take over the world?"
"The mind flayer"
"So if the demogorgan was just his foot soldier, vecnas his five star general. A five star general with the power to open gates"
"Holy shit"
"Holy shit" Dustin nods along with Lucas
"Holy shit that was incomprehensible."
"I second that" I backed up Erica
"You lost me at mother gate"
"Yea I was gone after my contribution"
"Please be kind rewind" Erica offered
Dustin started to talk us back through in English.
We now sat back down in the kitchen and Dustin had just finished his second run through of his speech.