The fire
“Light it up!”
Regulus didn’t understand what was happening, but it seemed like that, this here? It was the peak of fun in this place. They had just lit a fire and were playing some sort of song in weird music boxes while the rest of the guys just kept chanting Moorers!Moorers!Moorers! And lifting cups with something to drink in - probably something the box sent. He thought it was way too weird, how did everyone just forget about the Maze at night? It didn’t make any sense, at all, it was just there and no one seemed to care. After the chanting died and the music was lowered - though they still played it - Regulus sat near a tree and kept staring at the Maze as if it was something that he needed to see, but couldn’t, that's when Remus came to him and sat at his side “What?”
“Nothing, you just had a hell of a first day didn’t you?” Regulus nodded ‘cause he actually did “Drink something, here, take this” then, he gave him a weird type of cup with a yellow-ish almost green drink in it and Regulus hesitantly drank it and God, this is terrible! “What is that?” he asked coughing and spiting it out “I don’t know, Mulciber does it, his most precious secret or something, that's him there” Mulciber? That’s the name of the guy that pushed him and got him out of the box then, Regulus thought he was sort of an asshole but he couldn’t really say anything could he? So he just nodded again “You know he saved your life right? The Maze is really dangerous” then, Regulus heard a noise he couldn’t describe, but it was nothing short of screech. This place really creeped him out, the Maze, the Moor, everything but, he was curious so.. “What was that?”
“That’s the Maze, changing, every night that happens, the maze is never the same”
“We’re trapped in here right?”
“For now, yes, but… you see those guys, by the fire?” He was pointing to a groups of around 10 guys, he had seen a few of them already “They are the Runners, and that one in the middle, that’s James, he’s the Keeper of the Runners, and that group, every morning, when that door opens, they run in there to try to map the Maze, trying to find a way out”
“How long have they been looking?”
“Four years”
“And nothing? They didn’t find anything?”
“It’s not easy, I told you it changes every night, plus, there are animals in there and we believe it has more sections, we got to the second one until now, that’s why we have the Runners, they’re the strongest and the fastest we have too, which is good because, if they don’t make it back before the doors close, they’re stuck out there for the night, and no one has ever survived a night in the Maze”
“Wha-”
“Nop, that’s enough for tonight, listen, you’re our guest of honor tonight, let’s go, you need to have fun.”
Regulus was starting to get to know everyone there- a nightmare,really, but at least he wouldn’t be out of place. So, the Runners, he learned their names, all of them, there was James, their Keeper -or leader, whatever-, he had a brown hair and was in a red shirt with jeans and trainers too, but he also used a bracelet - one that looked like it was handmade, and Regulus found out he used it with Remus, Sirius and Peter-, Sirius, he had seen him before, long and black hair, he felt weird near him, something was too.. familiar in this, he used a dark-red shirt and the same jeans and shoes as every other boy in the Moor, Peter was slightly shorter and had a blonde hair, he was very muscular too, he had the same pair of jeans and shoes, but used a yellow t-shirt, Mulciber, the one that pushed him, Regulus thinks of him a little bit like and asshole but whatever, apparently - for what he could see - Mulciber hurt a leg and wasn’t going in the Maze this week with the rest of the Runners, Avery who apparently was close with Mulciber, had a blond-ish hair and used a white t-shirt, or at least it used to be white and now was just dirty, Barty, the one that talked to Liam first seemed close to everyone, used a black t-shirt, just like Regulus himself and had a ring on his right middle finger with something on it, it looked like letter L or something, Gideon, a tall red-head, with a grey shirt with long sleeves, was friends with a Frank and James, the last Runner, Arthur had a light-brown hair and was really muscular but no very tall. Those were the Runners, besides them there the Builders those are Ethan and Lucius, the Cookers, Remus, Alex and a few others that he didn’t get the name, the Meds, Yaxley and Amos, the Planters, Edgar and four others that he didn’t get the name and some Sloppers that are, apparently, the ones that do the dirty-work for the rest of the Moorers, from those, he only knew Liam, but there were a ton of ‘em and also the Slicers who apparently killed animals, rude if you ask him but whatever.
After a while, Regulus was tired, he had a really long day, so he decided to sit again and, obviously, it didn’t take long for one of the Moorers to find him since, apparently, that was their job that night, though this wasn’t just a Moorer, it was a Runner, it was Sirius, he had heard from Liam earlier that they looked alike, Regulus might agree if he remembered his face, he could use that weird drink again, or at least the cup of it, since it was reflective, oh, and Sirius apparently ran his mouth like crazy too.
“So, Regulus, what ya doing down here? You know this is like, the funnest night in the Moor? Plus, you’re special today, you’re meant to be the center of attention you know?”
“I guess I don’t really like being the center of attention”
“Yeah right, like you didn’t make Frank almost lose it today when you were trying to get in the Maze”
“I wasn’t, I was just looking”
“Sure, so, you want to know something fun?”
“No, not really”
“Right, okay, so.. do you remember anything? Besides the name obviously”
“No, why, am I supposed to?”
“No, no, not at all just, well, uhm, just wondering you know, it kinda feels.. weird doesn’t it? Like, you and me? We look alike, like, a lot plus I feel like I've met you before”
“Yeah well, we may have, before this place but now? Do what?”
“Yeah.. do what”
Weird… Yeah, definitely, he felt as if he needed to remember, he actually knew this boy didn’t he? He felt like he did “-get going, so I’ll get someone to be with you okay?”
“Whatever”
He actually did, even though Regulus wanted nothing more than being alone, he should have said that but, as Sirius said, it felt too weird, so, a few minute later, there was a boy by his side, James, James was at his side,
“Hey, I’m James, you alright?”
“Yeah just, it’s weird”
“What’s weird? The Moor or the Moorers? ‘Cause I’d say both so..”
Regulus chuckled, “Yeah, both… Just wondering, if we can’t leave through the Maze, why don’t we try any other way?” James set at his side, looking at him funnily
“Yeah, we did, every way”
“What about climbing to the top?”
“We tried it, the ivy doesn't go all the way to the top”
“What about the box? When it comes up, some-”
“Tried that, the box doesn’t go down with someone in there”
“Okay, and what if we-”
“No we tried it alright? Twice. Trust me, everything you think of, we’ve already tried. A few of us have been here for four years so we’ve learned, the only way out is through the Maze”
“How long have you been here?”
“Three years and a half”
“Do you think we’ll ever leave?”
“Yeah, one day, we’ll keep going into the Maze and we’ll find a way out”
Regulus had so much to ask, he needed to understand why he was there because he felt like he didn’t belong there, but when he opened his mouth again the Moorers went quiet with the loud and mechanical hiss that they heard.
“What’s that?”
“That is a Basilisk, one of the animals of the Maze”
“Why are there animals there? Isn’t the Maze enough?”
“I believe so, yes, but we don’t really make the rules do we?”
“I guess”
That’s when Frank started to make everyone go to sleep “ ‘Kay boys, we’re done for the day, it was good today, go, sleep, bright and early tomorrow ok?”
“I’ll see you around Regulus”
“Yeah, see ya”
The Maze creeped him out and those noises almost made him not sleep but, to be honest, Regulus doesn’t even know when he drifted of, he just layed down to sleep on the Homestead, but a woman's face showed up, she looked a lot like Sirius just, younger and with long wavy hair.
I meant it Regulus, be careful, don’t think they won’t send you into the Maze, they sent Sirius and Bella already.
Then Sirius himself appeared, also younger, not more than ten years old,
Hey, we’ve got to be more careful okay? I think they know.
A blond girl appear in his mind too, regulus thought she looked ethereal,
Regulus, I’m so sorry, I’ll find you okay? Be careful!
Voices we’re running in his mind, he couldn’t place a face to them anymore,
Grimmauld is good, Regulus.
Regulus! Don’t let ‘em take me please!
I’m sorry Jack, I’ve got to do it.
Mom! Please!
No! Mama, please! Not him!
Reg, please.. talk to them, please!
He found himself with water, too much water, Regulus couldn't breath, then he saw the Maze from above. Mulciber, he saw him too but, he was in a tube and looked terrified while he mumble something that Regulus couldn’t tell what, the tube had something like water in it, he could just hear one sentence now,
I’ll find you Reggie, even if I don’t remember us.
Clap, his mouth was now covered. When he opened his eyes it was bright, it took his eyes a few seconds to place but he then saw, it was Frank again, who said in a hushed tone.
“Hey there, Regulus, it’s too early, don’t make a noise, come with me.”