Infatuation | Eddie Munson

25- Jesus H. Christ

~

The wait was tedious and filled with anticipation as we sat in almost complete silence, waiting for any sign of Steve.

"Where're are we at, Wheeler?" Robin asked nervously, breaking the silence.

"Closing in on a minute," Nancy replied, eyeing the dark lake closely.

"Okay," she said, her voice slightly shaky as she exhaled.

"He better hurry up," I sighed, becoming worried and impatient as the boat slightly moved against the rippling water.

A few more moments of agonising silence went by as I unconsciously fiddled with the ends of the denim jacket that Eddie had given me, my arms beginning to form goosebumps as the cold, crisp air blew against my bare arms. Eddie cleared his throat as we waited, each second feeling like an hour.

Suddenly, something emerged from the water, the water splashing us inside the boat, the ice-cold water sending a shiver down my spine. "Oh Christ!" Eddie yelled abruptly as we all jumped at the sudden fright.

When I turned back around, Steve was above the water. "I found it," he said, trying to catch his breath.

"You found it?" Nancy asked.

"I found it. Yeah, I found it," Steve said whilst panting, clinging onto the side of the boat as he breathed heavily.

Robin picked up the walkie-talkie, "Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein, Steve found the gate."

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

His smile immediately wiped off of his face as he let out a yell, immediately being pulled back under the water. We began to clamour as he pulled himself back up suddenly.

"What just happened?" I asked, a hint of anxiousness in my voice. But before anyone could respond, Steve yelled as he was pulled away from the boat once again and dragged back under the surface.

We all began to yell as the shirtless boy vanished. "Steve!" We all cried out as we leant over the boat and looked into the lake.
"No! No! No! What the hell was that, man?" Eddie screamed.

"Nancy, really, what happened?" Robin cried as she scanned the water in a panic.

"What the actual fuck!" I yelled after removing my hand in which I had plastered over my mouth in shock.

"Jesus!" Eddie shrieked again.

Nancy got closer to the end of the boat, looking as if she was about to jump in.

"You're not going in there, are you?" Eddie asked in disbelief.

"Just wait here!" Nancy snapped.

As she jumped from the edge, Robin tried to reach out and stop her. "No Nancy!"

"Goddamn it!" I said frustratedly.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Robin turned around, sitting on the edge of the boat, beginning to lean backwards.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Eddie blurted. "What're you doing? She said wait."

"Yeah, I heard her," she said as she made direct eye contact with the shaggy haired boy.

"Didn't you say she's in charge?" I asked, holding the edge of the boat as it swayed.

"Are you kidding me?" She said, fixating her eyes onto me. "I made that shit up."

"Don't you go. Don't you-" Eddie said desperately as he tried to reach out to her, but without wasting another second, she blocked her nose and went backwards into the water.