Survival's Edge

"Have you seen Regulus?"

Barty blinked at his phone, hesitating. Pandora's voice sounded unusually tense, and that wasn’t a good sign.

"What? No. I thought he’d be with you," he muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"He and the others haven’t come back since detention."

Barty frowned. "What do you mean, they haven’t come back? How do you know?"

There was a brief pause before Pandora launched into an explanation. "Well, I was hanging out with Dorcas, who was eating dinner with Marlene, who was eating dinner with Mary, who was eating dinner with Remus, who was—"

"Dora, get to the point," Evan interrupted from across the room, unimpressed with his twin sister’s rambling. His tone was sharp, but there was a flicker of curiosity in his expression.

"Okay, okay," Pandora sighed. "Sirius, James, and Peter were supposed to meet up with Remus for dinner at the restaurant we were at, but they never showed. Remus tried calling them—multiple times, actually—as well as Lily and Regulus, but none of them picked up. The girls and I tried too, but every call went straight to voicemail."

Barty sat up a little straighter, his casual slouch disappearing as confusion twisted into something more uneasy. He exchanged a glance with Evan, who was now paying full attention. "That’s weird," he muttered.

"That’s not even the worst part," Pandora continued, her voice growing sharper, more frantic. "We went to Filch, thinking maybe he kept them longer, but he said they were already gone when he went to dismiss them. He assumed they left early and said he’d be giving them extra detention for it."

Evan scoffed. "Of course that bastard did."

Barty ignored him, his focus entirely on Pandora on the other side of the phone as she asked, "So… have you seen them or not?"

He glanced at Evan before answering. "No, but we did get a weird text from Regulus around eleven. We figured it was just James or Sirius messing around, so we didn’t think much of it."

"What kind of text?" Pandora pressed.

Barty sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Something about a basement and a game. Some… weird shit. It didn’t make much sense."

"A game?" Pandora repeated slowly, as if testing the word on her tongue. "What kind of game? Like a prank?"

"I don’t know," Barty admitted. "It was vague. Just said something about 'basement’ and ‘game, help, inside.’ We thought they were just being dumb."

Evan, who had been silent for a moment, leaned forward. "But now that they’re missing, that text doesn’t sound so funny anymore, does it?"

Pandora’s breathing grew a little heavier. "Forward it to me. Now."

Barty hesitated. "Pandora, I—"

"Barty. Now." Her voice left no room for argument.

Barty exhaled sharply, unlocking his phone. "Yeah. Okay. Yes, ma’am."

______________________________________

No less than fifteen minutes later, the door burst open with a loud slam, making both Barty and Evan jolt. Pandora strode in first, her expression thunderous, followed closely by a group that filled the small room in an instant.

Barty barely had time to process the sudden invasion before he instinctively started counting heads. Five.

Pandora. Dorcas. Marlene. Mary. Remus.

He sighed, already dreading whatever was about to unfold. 

"Bring the whole circus, why don’t you, sis?" Evan muttered from his spot on the couch, unimpressed. He leaned back lazily, arms crossed, though his sharp eyes flickered with curiosity.

Pandora shot him a glare. "Evan."

Before she could launch into a lecture, Dorcas cut in, her voice firm. "This is serious."

Evan scoffed, throwing his hands up. "Hey, I’m just saying—since when has Regulus ‘My-Reputation-Is-The-Most-Important-Thing-Ever’ Black ever skipped school? And Lily Evans, for that matter? The girl practically lives for extra credit."

Marlene and Mary exchanged uneasy glances, but it was Dorcas who responded, her tone clipped. "Well, when has Regulus Black ever ended up in detention in the first place?"

That shut Evan up

Barty leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Okay, so let’s go over this again." His voice was steadier now, more focused, though a sharp edge of unease still lingered beneath the surface.

"Sirius, James, Peter, Lily, and Regulus—gone. No sign of them after detention. No calls, no texts, except for that weird message from Regulus." He ran a hand through his hair, glancing at the others. "And Filch said they weren’t there when he went to dismiss them, which means they must’ve left early. But where the hell would they go?"

Pandora exhaled sharply, crossing her arms. "That’s exactly what we’re trying to figure out. And considering the last thing Regulus sent was about a game and a basement—that’s all we have to go on."

Evan rolled his eyes. "Right. Because ‘basement’ really narrows it down. You realize how many places have basements, right?"

Remus, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke. "He wouldn’t just say ‘basement’ without a reason. He was probably trying to tell us something, but he either didn’t have time or couldn’t explain it properly."

Dorcas frowned. "It still doesn’t make sense. Even if they left early, where would they have gone? They wouldn’t just wander off without saying anything. And it’s not like they’d all decide to turn their phones off at the same time."

Marlene shifted uncomfortably. "What if they didn’t turn them off?"

The room fell silent for a beat.

Mary, who had been sitting on the arm of the couch, frowned. "You think something happened to them?"

Marlene hesitated, then shrugged. "I mean… yeah. Kind of. What are the chances that five people suddenly go radio silent at the same time? And why would Regulus send that text if it was just a joke?"

Evan let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, but what could have happened? They got sucked into a secret underground fight club? Kidnapped by aliens? Abducted by Snape and his freak friends?"

Pandora shot him a withering look. "You’re not funny."

"Not trying to be. I’m just saying, this is insane. People don’t just vanish."

Barty shook his head. "No, but we also don’t have a logical explanation. So until we do, maybe don’t act like this is some kind of joke."

Evan held his hands up in surrender but didn’t say anything else.

Dorcas leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Okay, let’s think. If it’s not a prank, and if something did happen, where’s the most likely place they could be?"

Pandora bit her lip. "If we’re going off Regulus’s text… a basement."

Remus’s eyes widened slightly, a spark of realization flashing across his face. He sat up straighter, his voice suddenly urgent. “Wait—what if they were talking about the school basement? You know, the one Filch always forces kids to clean out during detention?”

For a second, no one spoke. Then, Marlene shot up from her seat so fast that her chair nearly toppled over. “Shit! Why didn’t we think of that sooner?” She turned toward the group, already reaching for her jacket. “If that’s where they are, we need to go. Right now.”

Pandora’s eyes darted to Barty, then to Dorcas. “It makes sense. If Filch assumed they left early, but they actually got stuck down there somehow…” She trailed off, her mind racing.

Dorcas, who had been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, straightened. “I don’t know. You think Filch would have failed to notice 5 kids in the basement?”

Barty leaned back against the couch, arms crossed as he let out a dry chuckle. “I doubt Filch cared enough to actually check. He probably just did a quick scan, didn’t see them, and assumed they ditched.”

Dorcas frowned, arms still tightly crossed. “That’s… actually a good point. He’s lazy as hell unless he’s actively hunting someone down.”

“Exactly,” Barty continued. “He probably had his mind on whatever poor kid he was planning to terrorize next and didn’t give it a second thought.”

Pandora, however, wasn’t interested in dissecting Filch’s incompetence any longer. She shoved her phone into her pocket and pushed off the wall, her movements brisk and determined. “Alright, enough talking. If there’s even a chance they're in that basement, we can’t sit around any longer.”

She swung her bag over her shoulder, fingers gripping the strap tightly—so tightly that her knuckles whitened. “We’ll check every inch of that place if we have to.”

Evan groaned but pushed himself off the couch. “Great. Breaking into school in the middle of the night. Fantastic life choices.”

Dorcas shot him a dry look. “Would you rather sit here and do nothing?”

“I’d rather not end up in detention with the rest of them.”

Marlene was already halfway to the door. “Then don’t get caught.”

Evan sighed heavily as he watched the others file out of the room with determination. He dragged a hand down his face before muttering, "Well, fuck me."

Dorcas, already halfway through the door, smirked over her shoulder. "Don’t worry, I’m sure Barty will when you two have time."

"Hey, what the hell—" Evan started, but his protests were drowned out by Marlene bursting into laughter.

"Shit Dorcas, give the man a break," Marlene teased, slinging an arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders. She pressed a quick kiss to Dorcas’s cheek before adding, "At least until after we find the others."

Dorcas grinned, unbothered. "No promises."

Evan groaned loudly, rubbing his temples like dealing with them was physically painful. He could just stay here, let them go off on their ridiculous rescue mission while he enjoyed the peace and quiet. But as much as he hated to admit it, the gnawing feeling in his gut wouldn’t let him sit this one out.

"Fucking hell," he muttered to himself before pushing off the couch.