SPARK: Dark Water Rising

THREE

The two burst out of Puck's and raced their way through the streets of London. Reed was at a near sprint, weaving around people as she went.

"Could we slow down?" August chortled, attempting to catch his breath.

"No!" She turned around and pulled him by the wrist along her path of madness. "We're almost there." Reed's definition of 'almost' was questionable at best as she dragged him toward the river. The farther they went, the more industrial the city became until they were stopped in front of an old pump house.

August stared at Reed curiously, "You wanted to show me an abandoned building?" Reed shook her head laughing as she pulled apart the rusted old gate with a twitch of her fingers and dragged him onto the property. Inside, she guided him under bright red pillars and intricate metal architecture in the form of colorful twists and spikes. It was a beautiful set up for a place that smelled as foul as it did.

"Oi, wait!" he said stopping her finally in the center of the room. She turned fast and slammed into his chest, her adrenaline obviously still fueling her excitement. "Would you mind telling me where we're going exactly? It's starting to feel a bit murdery."

"I told you, down." Reed laughed as she began pulling his travel jacket off his shoulders. He might have blushed if he were the type. If she wanted to take his clothes off he wouldn't say no, but his room at Puck's might have worked better than the old sewage station.

"Easy, love," August laughed tossing his jacket over the railing. Face painted with a smirk, he took a presumptuous step toward her. "You'll have to buy me a drink first."

"Lord Blackwater, you dog." Reed smacked his shoulder playfully, lingering on his lapel for a beat, "Is that how you speak to a lady?"

"Depends, are you a lady?" August asked in an attempt to lure any kind of information out of her. She smiled slyly and took his hand.

Pulling him down a spiraling set of metal stairs she said, "Maybe I'll tell you over that drink." At the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves staring down the end of a long pipe of stone. There was just enough water to seep slightly into his shoes and the humidity of summer thickened the already horrid stench between the rounded walls. Far in the distance, something twinkled, capturing August's eye.

"Curious" He muttered. Laughing, Reed grabbed his wrist again as they worked their way down the tunnel. Her touch was hot and vibrated straight through to his bone. He'd never felt anything like it before and lost himself in the euphoria as she dragged him along. The hall was dark at first but there was a bluish light coming from the end. From its small glow, he could just barely tell that they were walking in some sort of old dried-up pipe.

As they broke to the end of the pipe, they stepped through the shimmery blue veil revealing what felt like a large party happening in a repurposed cistern. At one end of the room four men with instruments were playing music he'd never heard before. They were yelling more than singing and playing guitars crudely. He looked over at Reed who was now jumping slightly on her heels to the beat of the song, which was fast and heavy. She seemed to genuinely enjoy it.

She whipped around feverishly and yelled over the music, "You want to dance?" August pushed his long hair back nonchalantly, attempting to hide his nerves.

"Not exactly a waltz, is it?" He quipped.

"You don't like it?" She yelled sadly.

August backtracked with a chuckle, "No, it's brilliant. I've just never heard it before." Reed threw her head back laughing still jumping on her heels, "C'mon then, I'll show you!" She dragged him out to the middle of the crowd where others were flailing wildly. Reed followed suit, throwing her long darks curls around moving her shoulders and hips in any which direction.