And She Was

The End

(Authors note: this chapter contains lines/scenes that come directly from the show and I do not claim them to be my original ideas.)

Leading the way the through the darkened woods, the group followed Dustin, who kept his attention on his compass, following its pull toward what everyone would hope would be a gate to the upside down. As the compass began changing its direction, Dustin picked up the pace, the rest calling out to him to slow down. Not seeming to notice that he was at the edge of the lake, Dustin looked back, a smile on his young face. "I think we're getting close!" Right before he stepped into the dark water, Eddie pulled him back. "Watch your step, big guy."  Coming up behind, the rest of the group looked out at where the compass had brought them. The compass had led them straight  to Lovers Lake. It didn't make sense. Why here? Steve cursed, and Eddie said he thought that these woods had been familiar. "There's a gate at Lovers Lake?" Max asked. Sweeping her gaze over the dark scenery, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, Aileen cautiously said, "I don't see anything off...I mean I don't know what this gate would look like but this just looks like the lake. Are we sure it's even here?" Nancy thought for a moment, her eyes staring off into the distance, thinking about the other times gates had appeared in Hawkins. "Whenever the demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecnas the same way?" Agreeing, Steve said there was one way to find out.

Making their way back to Ricks, they hijacked a small boat. As Steve and Eddie brought it to shore, they held it steady as Robin and Nancy climbed in. Wearily eyeing the boat, Aileen stood off to the side, anxiety high in her mind. She didn't like how in the open all of this was. If the wrong person were to see the group of teenagers, it would be only a matter of minutes before the police found them. As Eddie got into the small boat, Dustin went to follow but Eddie stopped him. "Hey, are you trying to sink us? This thing holds three people tops, okay?" Agreeing with Eddie, Nancy told Dustin to stay on the shore with Max. To keep on the lookout for trouble. As Dustin argued with the older teenage girls, Aileen sighed and made her way closer. Eddie turned his attention toward Aileen, smiling softly. "Hey, look out for them, okay?" "Don't worry about us. You be careful out there."
Pushing the boat away, Steve hopped in last minute, much to Dustin's dismay. The four who had been left behind moved to a more hidden spot, keeping their eyes on the boat, waiting.

Holding binoculars, Lucas eyed the boat, cringing back as Steve removed his shirt. "Ew, when did Steve get so hairy?" "I know right?" Dustin exclaimed. "I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle. Says the ladies love it." Speaking at the same time, Max and Aileen said, "Let me see." Removing the binoculars from Lucas' grasp, Max peered through one lens while Aileen peered through the other. Looking at the girls, Dustin and Lucas were aghast when they didn't look away. "Really? Come on you guys." Keeping her eyes on the boat, Aileen shrugged. She was about to say something, when lights came from behind them, voices surrounding the area. "Shit." "It's the cops." "Get down!" Sinking close to the ground, they knew they would have to distract the police from finding the boat. Standing, Max waved at the police, "Officers, the killer is over here!" Horrified, Aileen looked at Max. "What are you doing?!" "We have to lead them away so they don't find them! Come on, let's go!"
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After being found by the police, Aileen, Max, Dustin and Lucas were taken back to the Wheelers house, where all but Aileen and Max's parents were waiting. Sitting on the couch together, the four sat in silence as the police began their questioning. "And what, exactly, were you all doing at the lake?" Looking at each other, they didn't know what to say. It wasn't as if they could tell the police that they had been with Eddie, that they were looking for a gate to an alternate dimension. Saying the first thing that came to mind, Max told Chief Powell that they had gone for a walk. The other officer, Officer Callaghan, crossed his arms over his chest, not believing the young girl. "A walk. At nine pm." His nerves getting the best of him, and his voice going up an octave, Dustin confirmed that yes, they went to a walk. At the lake. "We were uh gonna take a little swim. Little night swim." Looking at Dustin from the corner of her eye, Aileen silently begged Dustin to shut up. There was no way the police or the kids parents were going to believe any of that. Dustin's mother, who looked as though she was ready to collapse with worry, spoke up. "Dusty. Someone was just murdered there." "Yeah we..didn't realize that until we got there." Aileen removed her glasses, and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going horribly. Especially when Mrs. Wheeler asked if Nancy had been with them and Dustin told her she had, while Max said she hadn't. As the parents and cops looked at them confused, deciding to try and save them from that little slip up, Aileen spoke up. "She dropped us off, but then she left. Guess she wasn't interested in...swimming at night." Following her, Lucas said, "Yeah. And that when you guys showed up." "Right!" Max agreed wholeheartedly. "Then these two dared me to say what I said. About the killer." Dustin and Lucas laughed nervously at that, agreeing that they had indeed dared Max to say that unamusing joke. Aileen groaned. She had hoped that the cops would have forgotten that little tidbit, hating that the teens had repeated it. She understood that they were nervous. She was nervous. But in situations like this, where it's best to play it off as if you know nothing, it was important for one to keep their cool. And the three younger teens were not doing that. Speaking for the first time since their arrival, the rather dull Mr. Wheeler said, "You're lucky you didn't get shot." That quieted them. He wasn't wrong. If they had suspected a killer was with them...