CHAPTER EIGHT:
ALWAYS PUSHING YOU AWAY FROM ME

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SEEING EVERY POLICE officer and news reporter in Hawkins outside of Reefer Rick's house wasn't exactly how Liz or the rest of the group wanted to start their day. They had picked up junk food and beer for Eddie and were heading over to give him the delivery and inform him of the Vecna news they had discovered. As they got closer to Reefer Rick's house, Robin started going on a rant about how they would tell Eddie that they had no way of getting to Vecna due to the gate to the Upside Down being shut. When they arrived, however, they realized they had bigger problems.

Everyone got out of the car and snuck under the police tape. The outside of the house was littered with police cars, news reporters, and concerned and curious citizens. The group rushed over to the news van and hid behind it as the new Chief of Police after Hopper, Calvin Powell, was giving an interview.

"As many of you know, the Roane County line received a call a little after midnight, reporting a homicide out here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an eighteen-year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney," Chief Powell informed the media. Liz looked at Lucas who was on the basketball team with Patrick. Lucas's mouth dropped open and he looked down at his hands.

"His limbs... his body, it was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene. We have also identified a person of interest... Eddie Munson," Chief Powell held up a photo of Eddie. "We encourage anyone with information to please come forward."

Steve voiced everyone's thoughts, "This is not good. Really not good."

   "Dustin, can you hear me?" Eddie's voice echoed through Dustin's walkie-talkie. "Wheeler?"

The group quickly ushered away from the van as Dustin pulled out the walkie, "Eddie. Holy shit. Are you okay?"

  "Nah, man. Pretty... pretty goddamn far from okay," Eddie replied, sounding incredibly stressed, and for good reason.

"Where is he?" Robin asked.

"Where are you?"

  "Skull Rock," Eddie replied, referring to the giant rock that sat in the middle of the forest in Hawkins that many teenagers visited to hook up. "Do you know it?"

"Uh, yeah, that's near Cornwallis and —"

"Garrett, yeah, yeah. I know where that is," Steve finished before rushing back toward the car, everyone following him.

"Hold tight. We're coming, we're coming," Dustin assured Eddie.

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Steve and Dustin argued the entire way to Skull Rock. Dustin insisted on using a compass to get there, while Steve assured him it was unnecessary since he had been to the rock with girls before, which made Liz gag. Steve claimed he knew the way better than Dustin since Steve had made Skull Rock into the legendary make-out spot it had become. However, Dustin claimed his compass and his map were the better way to get there.

Liz watched as Steve and Dustin bickered about the direction to go in until Steve walked off, ushering Dustin with him. Liz rolled her eyes as they all followed the two boys, turning left instead of continuing straight.

"Okay, so apparently we're going this way now?" Max asked as she stood between Liz and Lucas. Her hand brushed against Liz's every so often, and each time they touched, Liz felt tiny sparks against her skin. "I swear to God if they get us lost..."

"They definitely already have," Liz sighed.

There was a moment of silence before Max looked at Lucas with concern. Liz followed her gaze and saw Lucas staring at his feet as he walked, sorrow in his eyes, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking about Patrick, you know?" Lucas replied. Liz understood, feeling the same way about Chrissy. "I mean, it's — it's like, why him? But then, I remember this one day, he... he came to practice with a black eye. He said he fell, but clearly he was lying. It's like everyone Vecna targets has something in their life. Something that's —"

"Hurting them," Max finished. "Haunting them."

"Yeah," Lucas nodded.

"I should've looked closer with Chrissy or tried harder to get her to talk, you know?" Liz thought back to all the moments Chrissy seemed distressed or hurt. Liz would question her about it but Chrissy would always say she was fine. Liz knew something was up but she never tried to push further. Liz looked at Max, "I should've done the same with you, too. Maybe then you wouldn't be in danger."

"No, Liz, I disappeared," Max assured her.

"But I let you —"

"Only because I kept pushing you away when you were just trying to help me," Max shook her head, taking a step closer to Liz. Lucas sensed a moment coming and started to walk ahead of the girls.

"You were grieving, Max," Liz sighed, reaching out and placing a hand on Max's forearm.

"That's no excuse," Max argued, her gaze turning soft. "Grief isn't an excuse for me to treat you like shit when you were just trying to help me. And I'm... I'm sorry for treating you that way."

Liz smiled softly at the girl, "It's okay. I'm sorry, too."

Max hesitated before reaching out and wrapping her arms around Liz's neck, pulling her in for a hug. Liz let out a soft sigh and practically melted into Max's touch. The two girls stayed like that for a moment before Max slowly pulled away. She interlocked her fingers on the back of Liz's neck and left a small amount of space between the two of them. Liz watched as Max's gaze flicked down to Liz's lips a couple of times. Liz felt her heart speed up and she let out a shaky breath. Max leaned in and her lips just barely brushed against Liz's.

"Oh, boom!" Steve yelled, interrupting the moment between the two girls. They jumped back and slowly let go of each other, their cheeks red. "Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."

"Doesn't make sense," Dustin shook his head, observing the rock that looked like a giant skull. Liz and Max rushed toward the group.

"Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it," Steve continued gloating as Liz shoved her brother to tell him to shut up. "Can't admit that you're wrong, you little butthead."

"I concur," Eddie jumped down from a tree. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a... total butthead."

Dustin smiled and hugged Eddie, "Jesus, we thought you were a goner."

"Yeah, me too, man," Eddie hugged Dustin back and Liz smiled at the interaction. "Me too."

Almost immediately, the group wanted to know what exactly had happened on Lovers Lake the previous night. They needed to know what exactly had happened with Patrick McKinney. Everyone stood around as Eddie took a seat by Skull Rock and started to explain how the basketball team found out where he was and came after him. He escaped the only way he could which was in Lovers Lake. According to him, Patrick had died the same exact way that Chrissy had, his limps contorting, jaw breaking, and eyes sucked out of his skull.

"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh, my walkie was busted, man. Drenched," Eddie explained as he downed some water the group had brought him. "So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran."

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked," Eddie nodded, taking off his wristwatch. Liz noticed Dustin pacing back and forth, staring at his compass. She furrowed her brows at the odd behavior before turning her attention back to Eddie.

Eddie tossed the watch to Nancy who observed the time, "9:27."

"Same time our flashlights went kablooey," Robin pointed out.

"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asked.

"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick," Nancy explained before tossing the watch back to Eddie.

"Well, we're one step closer," Robin tried to look on the bright side. "We know how Vecna attacks."

"And where he attacks from," Lucas added.

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

Robin scoffed, "If he even has a heart."

"A stake? Is he like a vamp?" Steve asked, not understanding Max's metaphor. "Is he a vampire?"

Liz pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head at her brother, "It was a metaphor, Steve."

"A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie asked.

Lucas shrugged, "I say we chop his head off."

"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," Nancy explained.

"We need El to get her powers back," Max nodded.

Liz sighed, "Yeah, if that's even possible."

"Everything was way easier," Steve told Eddie. "We had this girl. She had superpowers."

"Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her," Eddie nodded before turning his attention to Dustin who was still pacing and staring at his compass. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"

"Cursed? No, no. He's fine," Steve assured Eddie. "Mental? Absolutely."

Liz watched as Dustin stopped pacing and shouted, "Boom!" Dustin turned around and pointed at Skull Rock. "Bada... bada... boom."

Liz slowly approached Dustin and raised an eyebrow, "Dustin, you okay?"

"I was right," Dustin pointed at Steve. "Skull Rock was north."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Seriously? You're serious?"

"Mm-hmm."

Steve gestured to Skull Rock, "This is Skull Rock! Okay? You're totally, absolutely, one hundred percent wrong. Right now."

Liz sighed again, "Is this really a necessary argument to be having right now?"

Dustin ignored Liz, "Yes... and no."

Steve scoffed and ran his hands down his face, "Oh my God."

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

"So you're using faulty equipment. Dude, you're still wrong," Steve argued.

"Except it isn't faulty," Dustin disagreed before turning to Lucas and Liz. "Do you guys remember what can affect a compass?"

Liz's eyes widened as Lucas voiced her thoughts, "An electromagnetic field."

Dustin smiled, "Yep."

Robin furrowed her brows, "Sorry, I must've skipped that class."

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

"There's a gate," Liz finished.

"But we're nowhere near the lab," Nancy pointed out.

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

Robin shrugged, "Snack-size gate."

"How? Why?" Steve asked.

"No idea," Dustin shrugged. "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 from this curse."

Dustin started to walk off causing Steve to go into babysitter mode, "Where are you going? Hey, hey, hey, hey." Dustin stopped in his tracks. "Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go for a hike in the woods."

Dustin held up the compass, "This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?"

Everyone turned to Eddie, "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 smiled and started to jump up and down. Eddie stood up, "So Mordor it is."

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Dustin led them through the forest of Hawkins, Indiana, searching for the gate. Liz had no idea where they were going, figuring they were definitely lost in the middle of the woods. Dustin had started to sprint through the trees and Liz had to push branches out of the way to prevent herself from getting cut up. It wasn't until they reached Lovers Lake that Dustin finally slowed down to prevent himself from running into the lake.

"This is confounding," Dustin muttered as they all stood on the shore and stared out at the dark lake.

"There's a gate in Lovers Lake?" Max asked, confused.

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

"Yeah, only one way to find out," Steve sighed.

They found a boat and pushed it into the water. Steve and Eddie held the boat still while Nancy and Robin got into the boat. Eddie followed in after them. Dustin started to attempt to get into the boat but was pushed away by Eddie, "Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds three people tops, okay?"

"It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max," Nancy suggested. "Keep an eye out for trouble."

"You keep an eye out," Dustin retorted. Nancy raised an eyebrow at Dustin who looked offended. "It's my goddamn theory."

"You heard Nance," Robin warned him.

"Who put her in charge?" Dustin scoffed.

Robin shrugged, "I did."

Nancy held out her hand, "Compass."

Dustin pouted but took the compass out of his pocket and handed it over to Nancy. Steve pushed the boat deeper into the water and then hopped in prompting Dustin to throw his hands up in frustration, "You said three!"

Steve frowned, "Sorry."

"Bedtime at nine, kiddos!" Robin called out as they started to paddle into the lake. Dustin held up his middle finger. Robin stood up and waved at them. "Miss you already!"

Liz stood on the shore as Dustin pulled his walkie-talkie out of his backpack and turned it on. He also pulled out binoculars and handed them to Lucas so they could keep an eye on the older teens. Lucas held the binoculars up to his face for a while before he held out one of his arms and hit Dustin a few times with it, "They're stopping. What are they stopping for?"

"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin asked into the walkie-talkie. "Come on guys, talk to me. What's going on?"

"Uh, Dustin your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'aah!'," Robin explained.

Liz squinted her eyes and peered out onto the lake. She watched as Steve stood up on the boat and took off his shirt. Liz's eyes widened, realizing her brother was seriously considering diving into the water to search for any signs of a gate.

"Ugh, when'd Steve get so hairy?" Lucas cringed.

"Right?" Dustin agreed. "I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle, but he claims the ladies dig it."

Liz sighed, "Thank God I like girls."

Liz watched as her brother prepared to dive into the water. Liz knew he would be okay but it didn't stop her from worrying. Steve had a problem with constantly getting beat up anytime they dealt with anything involving the Upside Down. Liz grabbed the walkie-talkie, "Be careful, Steve."

"You guys realize, if there's a gate down there, it's technically a water gate," Dustin pointed out, referring to the scandal known as the Watergate scandal. Liz rolled her eyes as did Lucas and Max. Dustin just giggled. "Watergate."

Liz continued to stand on the shore, waiting for Steve to come back up. As they waited, the sound of footsteps and voices echoed to the shore. Liz looked over her shoulder, seeing several flashlights in the woods heading their way. Lucas ushered them all to get down. They quickly got down on the ground behind a fallen tree.

"Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate —"

Dustin quickly turned off the walkie-talkie as the voices and flashlights got closer. It was the police, most likely searching for Eddie, "Shit, shit, shit. We can't let 'em find Eddie."

"Stay with me," Max ordered before standing up and yelling, "Hey, officers!"

Liz's eyes widened and she grabbed Max's pant leg, "Max, what the hell! Get down!"

"Over here! I found the killer! This way!"

Max started to run, prompting Liz, Dustin, and Lucas to get up and run with her. Liz hoped she knew what she was doing. Liz and the others ran through the woods as the officers chased after them, yelling for them to stop. As Liz started to get tired, Max grabbed her hand and pulled her along until Dustin tripped over a tree root, giving one of the officers the perfect opportunity to grab him. Liz, Max, and Lucas all stopped in their tracks, cursing in their heads. The officer picked Dustin up "Hey there."

Liz took deep breaths and groaned internally before uttering, "Fuck."

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they almost kissed! progress!!