After that, they all met back up with Robin and Nancy, and they were all driving to see Eddie.

"Not to be a wimp, but can i sit in the car for this visit? 'Cause this is gonna totally, and royally suck." Robin sighs, "It'll be fine." Nancy responds, staring at the road as she drives. "I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again." Robin says, "I really, really cant." She adds, making Ava frown.

"At least he can drink himself into feeling better." Steve says, his mouth full, and lifting up a beer pack that was for Eddie. "That's what my mom does." Max sighs, making Ava turn to the redhead. "You can be pretty bold sometimes." Ava says, gently nudging Max's shoulder with hers, making Max smile at her. "Why don't we just give it a trial run?" Robin offers.

"'Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin approved junk food and that six pack you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he's in that other darker, much scarier dimension, and the gates closed, so we have no way of getting to him. He's entirely shut off to us, so basically, you're screwed.'" Robin says, Ava barely understanding because of her rambling.

"'And no, i know you were already screwed, but now you're like, doubly, triply screwed.'" Robin adds, "Wait. Maybe we don't put it like that." Lucas says from beside Ava, "'We're one step closer to finding Vecna.'" Nancy says, "That's what we say. That's what's important." Nancy adds. "See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference." Steve says, biting into a chip. "Uh huh." Robin says.

"Oh shit." Nancy says slowly, noticing a group of people around where they were going, all of them getting out of the vehicle. "The Roane county line received a call. A little after midnight, reporting a homicide here on the lake." The deputy says, making Ava's mouth gape open and turn to Robin, who gives her a shocked face back. "Officer Callahan here, and myself arrived first on the scene." The deputy adds.

"We made our way to the shore of Lovers Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me." He says, "It was there that we found the victim, an eighteen year old senior from Hawkins High." The deputy continues, "Patrick McKinney." He establishes the name, making Lucas and Ava look at each other. "Isn't that someone on your team?" Ava says, making Lucas nod.

"His limbs.. his body, it was disfigured.." He continues, making Ava furrow her eyebrows. "We have also identified a person of interest," The deputy says, bringing up a photo. "Eddie Munson." He says, making the entire group turn to each other. "Oh, man." Steve breaks the silence, "This is not good, this is really not good." Steve says, "No fucking shit." Ava sighs, throwing her arms up in defeat for Eddie. Everyone knows Ava gets negative at times like this, so Max takes Ava's hand into hers for comfort.

"We are going to answer as many questions as we can. Two o'clock at town hall, where anyone fron the Hawkins community is welcome. But right now, i've gor work to do, and i appreciate your understanding." The deputy says, as he walks away, the crowd starts shouting questions, no answers coming from the deputy. "Dustin, can you hear me? Ava?" Eddie says through Dustin's radio, the boy picking it up.

"Eddie, holy shit. Are you okay?" Dustin asks quietly, "Nah, man. Pretty.. pretty god damn far from okay." Eddie response, voice breaking slightly. "Where are you?" Dustin asks, "Skull Rock. Do you know it?" Eddie responds, "Uh, yeah, yeah, that's near Cornwallis and-" Dustin says, getting cut off by Steve. "Garret, yeah. I know where that is." Steve says, heading to his car.

"Hold right. We're coming, we're coming." Dustin reassures Eddie, all of them getting into Steve's car.

~~~

They all arrive at the destination, Dustin and Steve bickering about where exactly Eddie is. "Dude, im telling you, you're taking us the wrong way." Steve says, "It's north. I'm positive, i checked the map." Dustin responds. "You do realize Skull Rock, it's a super popular make-out spot?" Steve interjects, making Dustin sigh.

"Yeah. So?" Dustin asks, "Yeah, well, it wasn't popular until i made it popular." Steve responds, "Alright? I practically invented it." He adds, making Dustin sigh. "We're heading in the wrong direction." Steve says, "Steve." Dustin responds, "Where are you going? Steve!" Dustin says, "Stop whining, let's go. Trust me." The older boy says, waving his arm for Dustin to follow.

"Okay, so apparently we're going this way now?" Max speaks up, "I swear to god, if they get us lost." Max sighs. Ava doesn't respond and was zoned out, staring at the ground beneath her, thinking about the events that went on. "Hey." Max says, making Ava turn over to Max. "You okay?" Max asks, "Oh, sorry, yeah." Ava nods, looking back down at the ground.

"I'm fine. Just.. a little worried about things. You know?" Ava says, still looking at the ground, not wanting to say too much. "Yeah." Max responds, "I mean.. it's like, i don't know.. why did it have to be you?" Ava asks, rubbing the back of her neck. "Hey, you don't have to worry about me. Alright?" Max says, "You're cursed too, remember?" Max says in a low tone, knowing Ava doesn't want the rest to know.

"Yeah.. yeah, i know." Ava says, "But that doesn't matter." She adds, making Max stop and turn to her. "Ava, yes it does. I don't know why you don't want to tell the others." Max sighs, just wanting Ava to be safe. "Ive been thinking the same thing, you know?" Max says, "Like.. why it had to be you that gets cursed too." She says. "Everyone that i care so much about is always put in danger, and i'm starting to think it's because of me." Max sighs, looking down at the ground.

"Don't blame this on yourself, this is crazy Upside Down shit." Ava says, looking at Max. "I know, i know, but.. it's hard to think about it like that sometimes." Max responds. "Yeah. I understand." Ava says, "Just.. know that it isn't your fault, okay? None of it is, and it never was." Ava says. "Billy.. Billy wasn't your fault. Okay?" Ava says quietly, knowing that Max blames herself for it, but it made Max's head look up at her.

"I know you think that everything's your fault, but it's not." Ava says, "And im sorry if the topic makes you uncomfortable, but it's true. It's not your fault." Ava reassures, making Max nod. "But.. you're right, why did it have to be us? Or, or Patrick?" Ava says, changing the subject for Max. "One time when i was practicing for cheer, Patrick came to basketball practice with a black eye." Ava says.

"He said that he fell, but it was an obvious lie." Ava sighs, "It's like everyone that Vecna targets has something in their life. Something that's-" Ava says, "Hurting them." Max cuts her off. "Haunting them." The redhead adds, making Ava nod slowly. "Yeah." Ava responds, "I-I didnt really know Patrick, so it was easy to just look the other way, i guess." Ava says, feeling slight guilt over what had happened to Patrick.

"But i did know you." Ava says, "I do know you." She adds. "And i'm sorry i wasn't there." Ava says, making Max shake her head, "It's not your fault." The redhead says. "No-" Ava says, "I disappeared." Max cuts her off, "No, no, you didn't." Ava says, "I just didn't look hard enough." Ava sighs. "Okay?" Ava adds, voice cracking slightly.

"But i see you now." Ava says, "I see you." She adds, making Max's face show a slight pink tint. "And i'll make sure i always do, okay?" Ava adds, making Max slowly nod. "But.." Max says, making Ava turn to her. "What's.. hurting you in your life? Don't you have everything you want?" Max asks, making Ava gulp quietly. "I mean.. you're a perfect, pretty cheerleader in high school.. you've got all the guys, and even some girls head over heels for you." Max adds. "How can something be hurting you?" She asks, making Ava look down at the ground.

"I think.. i think we should catch up with the others, yeah?" Ava responds, making Max take the hint and nod. They catch back up with Steve, Dustin, Nancy, and Robin. They make it to Skull Rock, Steve bragging about how right he is to Dustin.

"There she is, Henderson." Steve says, stepping over a bush. "In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face." Steve adds childishly, making Ava roll her eyes. "Doesn't make sense." Dustin scoffs, "Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it." Steve responds. "You just cant admit that you're wrong, you butthead." Steve adds.

Something makes a loud noise as it jumped onto the floor. "I concur." Eddie says cheekily, "You, Dustin Henderson, are a.. total butthead." Eddie sighs. "Jesus, we thought you were a goner." Dustin says, smiling, hugging Eddie. "Yeah, me too, man." Eddie says, patting Dustin's back. "Me too." Eddie repeats as he releases Dustin from the hug.

Dustin and Steve started talking and Ava walked beside Eddie, something in her hand. "Psst." Ava says, Eddie looking down at her. "I know you need it." Ava says, handing Eddie a small bag of weed. Eddie looks down at it and smiles widely, taking the bag quickly so no one notices. "That's my little Harrington, always saving me when i'm low." Eddie says with a grin, nudging her shoulder with his before stuffing the weed into his right pocket.

Eddie soon started to explain everything. "When i got to the shore, i tried calling you guys, but, uh.." Eddie says, chugging water out of a can. "My walkie was busted, man. Drenched." Eddie says, "So, uh, i did the thing that i do now, apparently." Eddie adds. "I ran." He says with a small chuckle. "Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy asks.

"Yeah, no, i.. i know exactly what time it was." Eddie responds, "My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." Eddie says, lifting up his watch and tossing it over to Nancy. "9:27." Nancy nods, "Same time my flashlight went kablooey." Robin says. "Which means what, exactly?" Steve asks. "That the surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick." Nancy answers.

"Well, we're one step closer." Robin sighs, "We know how Vecna attacks." Robin says. "And where he attacks from." Lucas adds. "So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart." Max shrugs, making it sound easy. "If he has a heart." Robin says. "Stake through his heart, is he a vamp? Is he a vampire?" Steve asks.

"It was a metaphor." Max scoffs, "A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie asks, "I say we chop his head off." Lucas interjects. "Imagine if we could just toss him in jail." Ava says, making Lucas turn to her weirdly. "All of the above, well, except the jail idea, but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down." Nancy says. "We need El to get her powers back." Max sighs.

"Everything was way easier. We had this girl, she had superpowers." Steve says, "Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her." Eddie says. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, cursed, is he?" Eddie asks, "Cursed? No, no. He's fine." Steve says, everyone turning to look at Dustin. "Mental? Absolutely." Steve adds. "Boom!" Dustin shouts, his voice echoing. "Bada.. bada.. boom." Dustin says, pointing a finger at Steve.

"Yeah, no, he's gotta be cursed." Ava says, nodding at Eddie after seeing Dustin behave weirdly. "I was right." Dustin says, "Skull Rock was north." He adds. "Seriously? You're serious?" Steve scoffs, "I mean, where are we standing? The north pole?" Steve adds. "No- Just- Hear me out." Dustin says, "No, you're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong, right now." Steve scoffs.

"Yes." Dustin responds sheepishly, "And no." Dustin says. "Oh my god." Steve scoffs. "This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'." Dustin says, holding the compass up. "It was correct when we got in the car on Curly." Dustin adds, "But it started to slip the further east we went." Dustin says. "Now it's way off. When i was leading us here, i wasn't wrong. The compass was." Dustin says, "Isn't that pretty much the same concept-" Ava says before getting cut off.

"So you're using faulty equipment, you're still wrong." Steve interjects, "Except it isn't faulty." Dustin responds, "Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?" Dustin asks, turning to the boy. "An electromagnetic field." Lucas answers, "Yep." Dustin says with a smile. "Sorry, i must've skipped that class." Robin says, "In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power." Dustin says.

"So either there's some super big magnet around here, or.." Dustin says, "There's a gate." Ava says, Dustin pointing at her in a way of saying she's correct. "But we're nowhere near the lab." Nancy says, "But what if, somehow, there's another gate?" Dustin says. "A gate that we don't know about." Dustin adds.

"It'd have to be smaller, way less powerful." Dustin says. "Wait, on the way to the graveyard, i saw something at the top of Eddie's trailer." Ava says, earning the attention from everyone around her. "It was like a crack, just some open thing inside his roof." Ava adds, "A gate." Dustin answers for her. "That's where.. Chrissy died." Eddie speaks up. "What if every time Vecna kills.. he opens a gate where his victims were?" Ava says, making Dustin nod and look at her.

"That's how he gets to them. He doesn't just get into their mind, he uses a gate to get to them, though it only shows a couple days after." Dustin says. "Wait, so, you guys are saying we're looking for a snack size gate?" Robin asks, "How? Why?" Steve says, totally confused. "No idea. All i know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate." Dustin says.

"And i hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna." Dustin says, "And a shot at freeing Max from this curse." Dustin adds, making Max turn to Ava. The redhead was so worried about the girl ever since Ava had a vision with Vecna, but she knew deep down she owed Ava, so she kept quiet.

If only Max had told the group sooner.

{2483 word count}

Im sorry for not posting in a long time, i haven't written in a while, just needed a break, especially with school and stuff. I also kind of left you on a cliffhanger there with Max telling them sooner, but she hadn't told them yet. Thanks for being patient with me, and thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it! Love you all!<3