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__________ c h a p t e r f i f t y - f o u r
After what felt like ages running through the forest, aimlessly following Dustin's compass, night falls.
Sam was periodically turning on and off the music blasting in her ears, afraid that it may not work anymore if she gets sick of it.
If she wasn't tired of it after two years, she should be fine, but it'd be her luck that today was the day that Cyndi Lauper was no longer appealing to the ear.
"Something's happening," he excitedly runs off, making the older teens sigh.
"Dustin? Can you slow down?"
"I think we're getting close," he says, facing Eddie, which keeps him from noticing the lake right at his feet.
Dawn shoots forward to grab him, but Eddie beats her to it, taking hold of the boy's bookbag to keep him upright.
"Watch your step, big guy," Eddie frowns.
"Oh shit," Steve exclaims, looking at the vast body of water. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"I thought these woods were familiar."
"Lover's Lake."
"This is confounding," Dustin gasps.
"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?"
"Please tell me this is one of those Vecna-induced nightmares," Sam grimaces, not particularly in the mood for a swim.
"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way," Nancy theorizes.
"Yeah, only one way to find out," Steve remarks.
"Anyone got a spare boat?" Dawn raises her eyebrows.
"There might be one on the shore, sometimes people leave them here," Sam suggests, leading them down towards the edge of the lake.
She immediately spots one, pointing to it with a grin. "Perfect."
She steps back to let Eddie and Steve put it into the water, looking around to make sure they were still in the clear.
Robin steps in, using Steve's head as leverage, followed by Eddie and Nancy.
Finally, Sam carefully climbs in, accepting Steve's helping hand, before glancing at Dawn to join them.
She sizes the water up, made uncomfortable by the fact that it looked black, like it was endless.
The blonde immediately shakes her head with a gulp. "No thanks, I'm not very good with large bodies of water."
"We go to the pool all the time."
"The pool is not the same as this thing," she points, making Steve snort. "Not funny, Harrington."
