Escape ~ S.Harrington

67} The Dive

By the time everyone made it to where Dustin needed to go, it was dark out. Dustin stopped right at the edge of Lover's Lake and his compass was going bonkers.
"You have got to be shitting me," Steve muttered when he realized where he was.
"I thought these woods were familiar," Eddie shook his head.
"Lover's Lake," Robin gestured to the body of water sitting in front of her.
"This is confounding," Dustin thought aloud.
"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max questioned.
"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked," Nancy said, "It always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way."
"Yeah, only one way to find out," Steve snickered, sarcastically.

They uncovered the boat Eddie had left there previously after fleeing the scene where Patrick was being cursed and crunched by Vecna the night prior. Steve and Eddie started to lower the boat into the water.
"Easy," Steve sighed, "I... I said easy, man."
"Sorry, dude," Eddie whined.
"Here you go," Steve told Robin as he held the boat in place, but she instead used his and Eddie's heads for leverage, "That works, too."
"Thank you," She smiled at them.
Eddie got in next and helped Nancy in, "Here, I got you," He told her.
Then Alice went in, but instead of getting in normally, she sprinted and jumped in.
"Alice!" Steve lost his crap, "Please don't do that."
"Looks like I upset Mama Steve," She fake-pouted.
"Haha, real funny," He shot her a fake-smile back.

Dustin tried to casually walk in, but Eddie stopped him.
"Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us?" Eddie pushed his head back on to shore, "This thing holds four people tops, okay?"
"It's better this way, okay?" Nancy tried to lighten the blow, "You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble."
"You keep an eye out," He suggested, and she didn't look like she was backing down, "Hey, it's my goddamn theory."
"You heard Nance," Robin sighed.
"Who put her in charge?" Dustin grumbled, visibly mad.
"I did," Alice raised her hand, "And you don't wanna fuck around with my choices."
"Compass," Nance held out her hand and got it from Dustin.
"Hey," Steve threw the bag at Dustin, "There you go."

Steve pushed the boat out into the water and hopped in.
"Hey, you said four!" Dustin whined.
"Sorry," Steve whispered, unapologetically.
"Bedtime at nine, kiddos!" Robin yelled out to Max, Lucas, and Dustin, who were all slightly pissed that they didn't get to go, "Miss you already!"

The group of teens and childish adults rowed their way towards the center of the lake whilst still keeping an eye on the compass to see where exactly the gate was.
"Who, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down," Nancy said, panicked, "Slow down, guys."
Everyone stopped rowing and peered over at the compass in Nancy's hand. It was spinning like crazy in every direction.
"Whoa," Steve stared in awe.
"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin asked through the walkie, "Guys, come on, tell me what's going on."
"Uh, Dustin," Robin replied to him, "Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital aah!!!"

Steve started to take off his shoes and socks.
"Steve, what are you doing?" Nancy asked.
"Well, somebody's gotta go down and check this thing out," He told her, "Unless one of you four can top being Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then... it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?"
"Steve, you don't have to be Jenna, you know?" Alice tried to place a hand on his shoulder but he pulled away.
"I'm not," He snapped, "Just... I'm the best man for the job. Don't fight me on this."
"Hey, I'm not complaining," Eddie held up his hands, "I do not wanna go down there."
Steve took his shirt off while Eddie wrapped a plastic bag around a flashlight for him. Back on shore, Max was sneakily peering through the binoculars and just staring at Steve while the boys groaned in disgust.

"Hey," Eddie handed Steve the flashlight, "Good luck."
"Thanks," Steve smiled slightly at him.
Eddie tried to light a cigarette, but Robin told him it was gross and threw it in the lake.
As Steve prepared to dive, Nancy stopped him, "Steve? Be careful."
He gave her a light nod and dove right in. He cut right through the clear water of Lover's Lake, swimming all the way down towards the bottom without any issues, well, except for the dead fish bones he saw covering the rocks. When he turned around, he was met with the sight of a glowing red spot. As he made his way closer, he realized that it was the gate. When he went to press his hand to the slimy opening, he saw a movement on the other side. He turned to swim back, dropping his flashlight in the process.