Ｂｅｌｏｗ ｔｈｅ ｓｕｒｆａｃｅ － Ｇｒｉｆｆｉｎｉｌｌａ
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Chapter 11: Flickers of Truth
Regulus looks at Lily as the hologram flickers out again, the room turning an ashy gray. All of them are tired, exhausted, desperately clinging to hope they don't have. Sirius... Remus... Severus... Lily... Barty... Evan... Bruce... Edmund... and him... The only normal looking one was James, which made Regulus scowl all the more.
"What are we missing..?" Lily mumbles and stared at the map. Distant screams can be heard in the distance and Sirius covers his ears, looking more than a scared little kid than a 17 year old boy... and yet for a fraction of a second, Regulus thought of a wardrobe they'd hide in... Wait- wardrobe? Hide in? Is he already losing it?
"Tell us everything James, about what you found in the maze, down to the little details." Lily says looking at him.
James doesn't answer at first, but reluctantly accepts, telling everything. Finding the outskirts, looking for a way out despite already mapping the maze, a small anomaly, a- wait anomaly?
"What anomaly? Explain James." Regulus questions, he face studying him with an intense gaze. James gulps and fixes his glasses before looking at Regulus.
"Frankie didn't want anyone to know... There's this little square area... basically we think that's where the grievers come up from at night. It's tiny, you'd have to jump in a just the right angle and hope it's not a trap..." James looks down and subconsciously runs a hand through his hair.
"Then that's our play. Which sector is it James?" Regulus asks.
"...6, it's at the edge of sector 6, by the cliff?" James replies and Sirius gets up.
"Then what are we waiting for let's move." Sirius says in a hasty tone before Remus gently guides him down and soothes him.
Regulus looks at Lily and they nod simultaneously in silent agreement, both getting up. "We'll have to be quick, sector 6 closes in an hour." Lily says as the rest of the group follows suit.
James, seemingly remorseful, leads the group into the maze. More screams can be heard as the sounds of grievers clank about faintly and as they small group goes deeper into the maze, more and more gladers join.
Left. Right. Right. Left. Left- Regulus gets knocked out of his thoughts as he bumps into James and looks down at what James is looking at... A dead griever on the ground. James furrows his brow and composes himself guiding all of them to "The Hole," as Frank would've called it.
"We have fifteen minutes left, are we almost there?" Lily asks and James nods.
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Finally after what seems like an eternity, three minutes, they arrive at the cliff. James kicks a rock to show the square and we all turn to each other.
"Who's first?" Severus says, just before grievers are heard getting closer and we all scramble. Quickly, we figure things out and let Lily go first, immediately after the grievers cornering us. Bruce makes it out, then Severus, following a quick Sirius and so forth... Until all that's left is Regulus, James, Barty, and Evan.
Regulus tries to help, but James pushes him towards the square as Barty and Evan help him. "Go! We're right behind you!" Barty yells and Regulus looks at them with a pained expression before taking the leap.
Cold. That's the first thing that pops into Regulus' mind as he rockets down this... slide? Extremely steep decline? Whatever... Regulus falls down this... Decline and it almost feels like drowning to him... As if he's sinking in water, feeling the coldness seep into him.
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And then Regulus slides face first into a wall. He groans and rubs his nose getting up as Sirius tries not laugh. The first thing he notices when he looks up is the long and, frankly scary, corridor. The fluorescent lights making everything so much more eerie than it has to be.
"AHHHHHhhhhhHHHH!!!!" Barty screams like a girl and rockets into Regulus' back, landing ass first onto his back.
At that Sirius, Edmund, Bruce, and Lily laugh hard. Until another person screams down the slide... Evan.
He rockets into Barty as he stands making him crash onto Regulus get again. "Get off me fatass..." Regulus groan and lays face first into the floor as Evan and Barty get off of him.
Sirius is holding onto Remus for support and Remus is trying not to laugh. Despite what they all have just been, and are currently going through, Regulus can't help but laugh. And as he gets up James rockets into Regulus, making Regulus fall again, this time Regulus and James are inches apart.
Everyone laughs harder and yet all James and Regulus could do was stare at each other, faces flushed. To them, you could cut the tension with a knife. When James clears his throat and gets off he surveys the corridor.
Regulus finally gets the chance to get up and all of them settle down. Regulus makes it a point to have a sizable distance away from James and steps forward...
"Should we go?" Regulus inquired to everyone and swallows hard.
"Lets go, Reggie." Barty nods and follows.
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