'When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh…' Eddie took a swig from the canteen. Crouching in the shelter of the rocks, he looked like he was trying to be as small as possible. 'My walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran.' He chuckled nervously, his attention straying momentarily to Belle. It wasn't quite the whole truth, and they both knew it, but arguing the point right now wasn't worth the fight.

'Do you know what time this was? The attack?' asked Nancy; behind her, Dustin was pacing, his attention on the compass cradled in his hands.

'Yeah, no, I… I know exactly what time it was,' Eddie said, undoing his watch. 'My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked.' He threw it at Nancy, who just about caught it. She looked at it properly.

'Nine twenty seven.'

'Same time our flashlights went kablooey,' noted Robin.

'Which means what, exactly?' asked Steve.

'That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick,' reasoned Nancy.

'Well, we're one step closer,' said Robin. 'We know how Vecna attacks.'

'And where he attacks from,' noted Lucas.

'So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart,' added Max.

'If he even has a heart,' said Robin.

'Yeah, beginning to doubt he does,' murmured Mia.

'A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?' questioned Steve.

'It was a metaphor,' said Max.

'A bullet should work on him, right?' reasoned Eddie.

'I say we chop his head off,' intoned Lucas.

'Yeah, I'd say all of the above, but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down,' reasoned Nancy.

'We need El to get her powers back,' Max reminded them.

'Everything was like way easier,' Steve explained for the benefit of Belle and Eddie. 'We had this girl. She had superpowers.'

'Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her,' Eddie cut him off. 'Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?'

'Cursed? Na, no, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely,' Steve assured him.

'Boom!' Dustin yelled excitedly, his voice echoing around the glade. 'Bada… bada… boom.' He moved towards Steve, pointing his finger in his face. 'I was right. Skull Rock was north.'

'Seriously? You're serious?' asked Steve.

Dustin hummed his assent.

'This is Skull Rock. OK?'

Dustin hummed again.

'You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now.'

'Are you really this petty?' Belle asked, cocking her head to one side as she surveyed Dustin.

'Yes,' Dustin assured Steve. 'And no.' His look towards Belle held genuine disbelief behind it, but she merely smirked at him.

'Oh my God.' Steve turned away from him, rubbing his hands down his face.

'This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was.'

'So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong,' Steve told him.

'Except it isn't faulty. Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?'

'An electromagnetic field,' Lucas answered.

'Yep.'

'I'm sorry,' said Robin, glancing briefly towards Mia. 'I must've skipped that class.'

'In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power,' Dustin explained. 'So either there's some super big magnet around here, or –'

'There's a gate,' Lucas finished for him.

'We're nowhere near the lab,' noted Nancy.

'But what if, somehow, there's another gate?' reasoned Dustin. 'A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful.'

'Snack-size gate,' offered Robin, a little smile curling onto her lips.

'How? Why?' questioned Steve.

'No idea,' admitted Dustin. 'All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max and Mia from this curse.' And with that he started heading back the way they'd come.

'Where are you going?' asked Steve. 'Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go for a hike in the woods.'

'This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Max, Mia and Eddie,' Dustin admitted. 'What say you, Eddie the Banished?'

Eddie was scratching his cheek, his attention on the floor, and yet he didn't miss a beat in replying to Dustin. 'I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire… the Shire is burning.'

Dustin bounced up and down; but Belle glanced towards Eddie. She saw the way he seemed to steel himself as he rose to his feet. His attention skimmed towards her momentarily before he met Dustin's eye. 'So Mordor it is.'

He started towards Dustin, followed by the others.

'Get your stuff, dude. Let's go,' complained Steve as Eddie hurried back to the rock.

Belle smirked, but was grateful when Eddie moved to walk in step with her. Silence settled uneasily between them for a moment, the information of the past few minutes slowly sinking in.

'You're OK,' she murmured, still trying to reassure herself that even after everything, he'd managed to find safety.

'So are you,' he said, earning her attention. There was a softness about his expression that made her stomach clench.

Belle offered him a small smile before reaching for his hand and giving it a squeeze.

Darkness had finally descended and Belle ran after Dustin, following him as closely as she could. Every so often she had to slow to a jog, had to remind herself that not everybody ran to try and clear their heads.

'Something's happening,' he practically sang as they pushed their way through another bush.

'Dustin? Can you slow down? Belle?' Eddie asked, his voice closer than Belle had been expecting.

'I think we're getting close,' Dustin called.

'Dustin!' Belle snapped, noticing the water's edge just in time. She wasn't quick enough to grab him though, so was grateful when Eddie caught hold of his bag and stopped him.

'Easy. Watch your step, big guy,' Eddie warned.

'Oh man,' breathed Steve as the others joined them. 'You gotta be shitting me.'

'Yeah. I thought these woods were familiar,' noted Eddie.

'Lover's Lake,' said Robin.

'This is confounding,' admitted Dustin.

'There's a gate in Lover's Lake?' asked Max.

'Why is it weird that there's a gate close to where something happened?' Mia asked, and Belle couldn't help agreeing.

'Whenever the Demogorgon attacked,' Nancy continued, 'it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way.'

'Yeah, only one way to find out,' said Steve.

Eddie removed the tarp from the boat and started to move it. Steve was quick to give him a hand.

'Easy. I… I said easy, man,' Steve complained as the boat hit the water.

'Sorry, dude,' said Eddie, not sounding sorry at all.

Steve offered his hand out to Robin, who was already making her way towards the boat. Instead of accepting the proffered hand, she placed a hand on his and Eddie's heads and stepped in. 'Here. Just gonna do that. Thank you.'

'Yeah, that works too,' said Steve, lowering his hand.

Eddie swiftly followed, using the motor to aid his balance. He then turned to help Nancy step in.

'Wheeler.'

'Thanks,' she said.

Belle hastily went to follow, but Eddie stood in her way. 'Are you trying to sink us?'

She jutted her chin at him. 'If you think I'm sitting here waiting for whatever it is to happen, think again, Munson.'

Something flashed behind his eyes, but she used his moment of distraction to step on the boat beside him. Her stomach lurched, but she moved carefully towards Robin who had offered her a hand for balance.

Dustin tried next, but Eddie put a hand on his head to keep him out. 'This thing holds four people tops, OK?'

Dustin's look broke Belle's heart, but she glanced towards Mia who was shifting the weight between her feet. Mia didn't look like she was gutted about missing out on a trip to find out about the Upside Down. Then again, if she'd already had Vecna in her head, perhaps that was a reason to stay as far away from it as possible.

'It's better this way, OK?' Nancy said. 'You guys stay here with Max and Mia. Keep an eye out for trouble.'

'You keep an eye out,' Dustin countered. 'It's my goddamn theory.'

'You heard Nance,' said Robin.

'Who put her in charge?' Dustin asked.

'I did,' said Robin, as if it were the most logical reasoning in the world. Belle noticed that her friend's attention kept drifting to Mia, though. There was a silent question there, an attempt to check in with Mia that Belle wondered if she knew was even happening. The small nod, however, made her realise that Mia knew exactly what she was being asked.

'Compass,' Nancy said, holding her hand out to Dustin.

Begrudgingly, Dustin threw the compass at her.

'Here you go,' Steve said, throwing a bag at him before pushing the boat further out to the water. He then stepped into the boat.

'You said four,' noted Dustin.

'Sorry,' Steve whispered as Robin and Eddie rowed.

'Bedtime at nine, kiddos,' Robin called. She stood to wave at them, and Belle hastily grabbed for the edge of the boat. 'Miss you already!'

Eddie tried to keep his attention on the rowing, on keeping his rhythm the same as Robin's so they didn't start going around in circles. But his thoughts kept straying to Belle. Not just the fact she'd climbed into the boat without so much as a hesitation, but also the hug. It was, after all, just a hug. It shouldn't have meant anything other than the fact she was happy to see him. Dustin had hugged him too, but that had been hugging a friend. A person like his little brother. With Belle it had been something different.

And then there was the gesture of holding his hand. Belle was rarely a tactile person, and within the space of less than half an hour, she had not only hugged him but offered her hand to hold.

She sat just in front of him, her back to them all as she scanned the water. He wasn't entirely sure what she hoped to see in the darkness, but at least it meant he couldn't catch her eye.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down,' said Nancy. 'Slow down, guys.'

Belle turned in an instant, shifting closer between Eddie and Robin as they pulled the oars up. Eddie was acutely aware of how close she was.

'Whoa,' said Steve, torchlight on the compass.

The walkie chirped. 'Guys, what's going on?' A moment's pause. 'Come on guys, talk to me. What's going on?'

'Uh, Dustin, your – your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital "ahh!"' Robin told him.

'Steve, what are you doing?' asked Nancy, and Eddie glanced up just as Steve was pulling his sock off.

'Somebody's gotta go down there and check this thing out,' he reasoned, taking his other shoe off. 'Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then… it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?' He turned and put one foot on the edge of the boat, tried to balance himself.

'Hey, I'm not complaining,' said Eddie, pulling the plastic bag out of his pocket. 'I do not wanna go down there.' He upended the bag, letting the contents clatter to the floor; putting a cigarette box between his teeth so it didn't get wet.

'What are you doing?' Belle asked.

'Watch and learn,' Eddie said around the box, wrapping his torch in the empty bag. 'Hey.' He offered it to Steve. 'Good luck.'

'Thanks,' said Steve, chucking his sweater at Eddie.

Eddie got a cigarette out and went to light it, but Robin plucked it from his mouth and threw it into the water.

'Gross,' she said simply.

'Steve. Be careful,' Nancy urged.

Steve nodded before diving, rocking the boat a little as he did so.

Silence settled over the boat, and Belle's knee bounced nervously against Eddie's back. He didn't have it in him to tell her, knowing that the apology would tumble from her lips before he could assure her it was fine.

'Where we at, Wheeler?' Robin asked.

'Closing in on a minute,' Nancy said.

'OK,' said Robin.

More silence, and Eddie turned to offer Belle a small smile. In the dim light, he could just about see the pinch between her brows. It was the same concern he'd seen on Steve's face when she'd first announced she was staying in the boathouse. A tentative worry.

'He'll be all right,' Eddie said, moving to place his hand quickly on her knee. 'Swim captain and lifeguard and all.'

'This isn't saving a brick though,' Belle murmured. 'This is –'

Something broke the water.

'Oh Christ!' yelped Eddie.

'I found it,' Steve told them.

'You found it?' asked Nancy, moving closer to the edge.

'I found it. Yeah. I found it.' Steve moved closer, holding onto the edge of the boat to keep himself afloat.

'Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate,' Robin said through the walkie.

'It's pretty wild. It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty big.' Steve's sentence was punctuated by him going under the water.

'No, no,' said Nancy, but Steve's hands were still gripping the boat's lip. A moment later he'd resurfaced, spluttering and glancing uncertainly at the water.

And then he was gone, hands and all.

Robin screamed.

'Steve!' yelled Nancy.

'Steve! Steve! No! No!' Eddie yelled, standing behind the others and looking at the water as if he might still be able to see the other man. 'What the hell was that, man?'

'Steve! Nancy, really, what happened?' Robin asked.

'Jesus,' Eddie squeaked.

Nancy stood, readying herself at the edge of the boat. 'Wait, wait, wait,' he said, reaching towards Nancy but not touching her. 'You're not going in there, are you?'

'Just wait here,' Nancy said, her attention straying briefly to Belle.

Eddie looked back to Belle, who was already standing and looked ready to dive in, too.

'You're not serious,' he said, though the look of determination on her face assured him that she most certainly was.

'No, Nancy!' yelled Robin, but Eddie kept his attention on Belle.

'We can't leave him down there,' Belle said simply.

'Nancy's down there,' Eddie reasoned, but beside him he realised Robin was sitting on the edge of the boat as well. 'She said wait.'

'Yeah, I heard her,' noted Robin, glancing briefly at Belle.

'She's in charge,' Eddie reminded them, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop both of them going into the water.

'Are you kidding me? I made that shit up,' Robin said simply. A nod passed between her and Belle, and Eddie knew he'd never have time to stop them both. He moved, an attempt to reach for them, but they were too quick. Belle dove, and Robin fell backwards into the water.

'Goddamn it!' he yelled. 'Lying son of a bitch!'

Without hesitation he stood up, knowing that he had to go too.

'This is so stupid. This is so stupid.' He put his foot on the edge of the boat, but where the others had had weight to keep the boat steady, he found himself tipping forwards before he could even contemplate what he was doing. 'Shit! Shit! Shit!'

Mia paced the shore just behind Dustin, forcing herself not to look out across the water. She hadn't wanted to step in the boat like the others had, hadn't wanted to find herself in the Upside Down if she could help it. But part of her was worried it made her a coward for not going when the others had all pretty much jumped at the chance to go.

Belle had even pretty much squared off against Eddie when he tried to dissuade her from going with them.

And now Steve was in the water. She could feel her worry like a physical weight in her stomach. Part of her longed to find another boat, to get out there and prove she hadn't stayed back simply because it all terrified her. But she knew they needed somebody on dry land. People to stay behind, just in case.

Noise caught her attention, but it seemed the indistinct chatter had already made sense to Lucas.

'Shit. Down!' he said, grabbing Max and pulling her to the floor with him. Dustin and Mia followed suit. 'Shit. Shit.'

'It was on this shoreline,' somebody called, torchlights cutting through the darkness.

'Cops,' whispered Max.

'Shit, shit, shit,' hissed Dustin.

'We can't let 'em find Eddie,' noted Lucas.

'And they won't,' Mia said, trying to ensure there was as much conviction behind her voice as possible. 'We just need – What are you doing?'

Max was moving to stand. 'Stay with me. Hey, officers!'

The boys hissed at her to be quiet, but Mia felt a small smile pulling at her lips. She scrambled to stand beside the younger teenager.

'Over here!' Mia said, sharing a quick smile with Max.

'We've found the killer! This way!'

'Come on,' Mia encouraged the boys before they hurried away from the shoreline, deeper into the woodland.

'Stop! Get back here you little rats!' someone yelled, but the group kept running. Mia really hoped Max had a plan, because the best she could think of was to drag them back to Skull Rock. Then they might be able to lose them, but there was no way for certain to know that they wouldn't just circle back.

'Split up?' Mia panted, glancing briefly over her shoulder. 'Dustin!'

The younger boy was already falling, the Chief Powell had him.

'Hey there,' he said, gripping Dustin's arm.

Mia let out a long sigh. At least if they were being questioned the others might be able to make a getaway. She just hoped that what they learnt was worth it.