Deep Down

"I take it there isn't a bus?" I groan as Echo leads me down street after street, winding and intertwining endlessly. We've been walking for twenty minutes already and we're barely out of my neighbourhood.

"Don't be a pussy, there's only another hour or so." She barks at me. An hour? Fuck that. How are we going to have a party if people have to walk for miles to get there?

I look around as we continue walking, and thankfully spot something to help with our struggle. "Hey, help me get this out." I yell, heading down an alley and kicking several bags of trash out of the way. Behind all the bags is a beaten-up looking bike, it's not exactly well-kept, but it looks functional.

Echo opts not to help and instead waits for me to emerge from the alley. "You've gotta be kidding." She scoffs as I wheel it out. "That thing's a relic, and there's only one seat."

Traditional bicycles have been slowly phased out as electric-assisted variants became more popular, but I like the old style, it's good exercise. "Well then you better hold on tight." I smirk, mounting the bike. "What's it you said? Don't be a pussy." I goad her.

This insult to her pride is too much for Echo, who huffs before getting on behind me. I feel her arms wrap around my torso, linking together to secure my passenger. With that I kick off and we continue our journey at a much brisker pace.

"You alright back there?" I ask after a few minutes. Echo sent the location to my watch so she's been quiet since we got on the bike.

"This is... Weirdly fun." Echo giggles in a tone I didn't know she could vocalise. "Aren't you tired?"

That almost sounded like concern. "Hey, if there's one thing I've got, it's stamina." I laugh. "As long as you're alright we'll be there long before I need a break."

"I'm fine." She answers. "Just enjoying the ride." She adds. I can't be sure, but I swear I can feel her resting her head on my back.

*

"This is your grand reveal?" I ask in disbelief, staring at the monstrosity before me. We'd reached the riverbank, where Echo directed me to a huge derelict boat. It looks plenty big enough for maybe fifty or sixty people... Assuming they don't mind rust.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, this old girl's got loads of generators onboard, plus a couple of cabins, it's not pretty but if we bring the booze it'll have everything it needs." She explains. "Come on, take a look."

Hesitantly, I follow her across the metal ramp connecting the boat to the side of the river, I have so many questions; Why is this boat abandoned? How did it even get here? What are the chances ghosts are real and haunting this place? But I have a more pressing question as we step inside.

"I'm guessing you didn't bring a light?" I assume, as we begin to stumble around in the dark.

"Why don't you go dumpster diving and find one? Seems to be your usual plan." Echo responds from the darkness.

I'm guessing she's flipping me off, but it's hard to know when I can't see anything. "Hang on, I'll see if the torch on my watch still works." I announce.

"Why didn't you check that before I banged my shin on every fucking pipe in this place?" Echo's voice growls. Finally, I manage to find the setting to turn the torch on, for what little it's worth, it's barely more than a candle. "Oh good, now we can see a whole half an inch in front of us." She adds.

"Just... Stay close to me, if we can get one of those generators running we should be able to get the lights on." I decide, based on absolutely nothing, but it's worth a shot I guess. Wordlessly, I feel a hand on my shoulder and I lead Echo through the boat towards the cargo hold, I figure that's the most likely place to find a generator.

The stairs are the tricky part, but it's easy enough if you take them one at a time, you just can't-

My thought process is cut off as a sudden weight on my back causes me to fall forwards, crashing down the stairs to the floor below. It takes me a moment to realise Echo fell on me, and I look around to see her trying to get back to her feet. "Watch it!" She roars, dusting herself off.

"I'm fine, by the way." I laugh. "Lucky you're so light really." I add, before shining the torch around the room. Bingo. "There's a generator hooked up to some wiring over there, you reckon that'll get some power going?"

Echo murmurs something under her breath, I can't make it out, but I move closer to the device anyway. It's weirdly modern, no diesel here, makes sense, the fumes would choke anyone down here. I feel switches along the side and begin flipping them at random. It doesn't seem to respond until I find a larger lever and pull it down, at which point it bursts into life.

The room around us slowly begins to light up, but not the way I expected, tonnes of coloured lights cascade down, some even move. It looks like we're not the first to think of having a party here.

I turn to Echo, who seems equally surprised by the display. I back away from the power source and walk closer to her. "Looks like it worked out better than we'd hoped." I observe. She doesn't answer, simply looking around the glowing room. "Hey... Everything okay?"

"Yeah... It's just..." She mumbles. "I knew about this place because someone wanted to bring me here a few years ago... But we never came. I didn't know it was already set up." She explains mournfully. This is a lot of effort to go to for just the two of them, ex-boyfriend, maybe?

"Makes sense." I nod, looking around at the now neon room. "You're the type of girl worth making this much effort for."

Echo doesn't say anything, she looks surprised for a moment, before punching me in the shoulder. I mean, ow. Seems like compliments are a lost cause with some people.

At that moment, Echo grabs me by the collar and pulls me close to her. I can feel her heart beating, her breath on my face, and then... Her lips on mine. Time seems to slow down, the lights overwhelm us and silence overtakes it all. For a few seconds we just enjoy the kiss, no intrusive memories or plans... Just this.

And then it's over.

Echo pulls away and lets go of me, before turning back towards the stairs. "We should go. We've got the location now." She states emotionlessly. Did I just imagine that?

"Echo-" I begin.

"I said let's go!" She yells, before stomping her way up the stairs, leaving me more confused than ever.

What the fuck just happened?