Chapter two
Ten years later
The alleyway was narrow, hemmed in by towering brick buildings on either side, this alone was already dangerous since the wall kept tumbling down, crushing the little bit of hope he had that morning.
Clack- Clack- Clack-
The sound of hurried footsteps beating the puddles of water, echoed in the cold night air, bouncing off the walls like gunfire. Sweat slicked Sirius' palms as he gripped the pistol, his heart pounding against his ribs like a war drum, his breath was harsh and too fast and this- this was not good. He had to keep calm and quiet down if he wanted to return at the base without being infected or killed, the men behind him had supernatural hearing after all.
Sirius pressed his back against the cracked wall, hoping not to be crushed by the building like a pathetic sod and then he put his free hand on his mouth trying to cool down and mute himself. But his breath was still coming out in shallow gasps, the panic threatening to swallow him whole.
They’re close. Too close.
Why did he come here?
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
But Sirius couldn't know that there was going to be someone, usually at night people -sane people- decide to hide themselves in the shelters they had been able to create, scared by the minimal thing, trying so hard to survive one more night, trying to see the new day, because tomorrow it was going to be another day.
A new day. A better day.
From the shadows ahead, he could hear the low noises, some words were pronounced but too quiet to understand. Still- this is weird.
Infected did not talk. But then they were followed by the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked and Sirius swallowed hard, he maybe could have made a mistake, he maybe had underestimated them.
No time to think. Just act. Act and go, go, go.
James was waiting for him with the car some streets down.
James was waiting for him.
James had to be waiting for him to come.
Suddenly, a flash of movement at the mouth of the alley. A figure emerged, tall and broad-shouldered, the barrel of a gun gleaming in the dim light. Sirius' pulse spiked, adrenaline surging through his veins. He raised his weapon, aiming down the narrow strip of space between the dumpsters, his finger hovering over the trigger.
“Drop it!” the voice barked, sharp and commanding.
Sirius still. He hesitated. It was not possibile. It- it wasn't. Infected didn't talk.
But then the hesitation was gone because the figure fired.
The crack of the shot tore through the silence, reverberating off the alley walls. A bullet slammed into the brick inches from Sirius' head, spraying debris in all directions. Instinctively, he ducked, returning fire without thinking. His shots rang out in quick succession—one, two, three—each bullet a flash of light in the dark, each blast deafening in the confined space. In the meantime he run, run, run like the entire world was chasing him down, like he had to do this for his life, like he could not accept to say bye to his life so soon.
And Sirius wasn't ready.
Or well- Sirius was if he didn't decide to live for someone else, if he didn't share the same blood as his brother, if Sirius's heart and brain didn't have the last piece of Regulus, if Sirius dying didn't mean that Regulus would disappear too.
And Sirius could not let his brother's memory depart like this- Sirius had- had- had to tell everyone about the special kid he was, had to finish this for him and for the hundred of people who lost a brother, who lost family.
Until then Sirius would not be satisfied.
Until then SIrius would not have died.
The bullet echoed in the hall and Sirius didn’t know if he hit anything, but the return fire came hard and fast. The bullets ripped through the air, a deadly symphony of death and chaos. Sirius dove behind a rusted dumpster, his breath coming in ragged bursts as the metallic clang of ricochets rang out. The stench of garbage and gunpowder filled his lungs, but he didn’t dare move. Not yet.
Sirius closed his eyes, lifting his head to the starless sky, that night even Regulus wasn't there to protect him, to save him.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Reggie, I couldn't save you.
Sirius opened his eyes again, ready to go.
"I'm ready to go." He whispered to himself, trying to believe in himself, but Sirius didn't need a lot of convincing.
James was waiting for him, the brother he had not failed, and he would not.
Sirius wasn't going to fail someone again.
He peeked around the corner, just enough to catch a glimpse of his attackers. There were two now—one advancing, the other providing cover. They were moving fast, not like him, but methodical, careful and alert. Damn it.
Sirius started to run, passing quickly through the alleys. He could understand if it was good that it was night or extremely bad. He couldn't see well but neither could they, so it was like half a win.
More shots. One whizzed past his ear, close enough that he could feel the heat of it, and Sirius flinched, his body reacting faster than his mind. He popped up, fired again, aiming for the advancing figure’s legs. This time, he connected. The man staggered, a grunt of pain echoing through the alley, but he didn’t go down. Instead, he dropped to one knee, squeezing off two more shots with chilling precision.
This was fucking insane. They were fucking insane. And Sirius couldn't understand if they had been trained like him or if he slacked off and the years start catching up ion his body.
Not that Sirius was old.
He was fucking twenty-five.
But his body was so fucking tired, so much so that he honestly could give up in the worst possible moments.
Sirius' shoulder exploded in pain as one of the bullets found its mark, tearing through flesh and muscle like it was paper. He gasped, clutching his arm as blood soaked through his jacket, but there was no time to stop. No time to think about the pain. The second man was closing in now, his footsteps heavy, relentless.
Gritting his teeth, Sirius fired one last desperate shot. It found its mark, catching the man square in the chest. The attacker crumpled, his gun clattering to the ground. But the other one—still on his knee, bleeding but very much alive—was already lining up his next shot, his eyes cold, determined.
Sirius barely had time to think.
It was now or never.
He raised his gun, hand shaking, and fired.
The shot echoed like a final note in the still night, the rain started pouring again, Regulus started crying for him. For the sinner he was. But he couldn't care right now, not when those man were trying to make his plan fail.
The man slumped ahead, his weapon falling from his grip, the life draining from his eyes, Sirius wanted to collapse so bad back against the dumpster with his breath ragged and his vision swimming but he couldn't, it was not the end.
He took his time to reach the car, the alley fell into a heavy silence once more—except for the steady drip of blood onto the pavement, his steps now clearer and calmer. Sirius passed a hand through his wet hair breathing heavily, he hated the rain, he hated the feeling that the soaked clothes on his skin made him feel, he hated the fact that he felt like chocking every day in his life and the rain gave him the final straw, taking his breath away, making his sight waver, his heart ache.
Regulus loved the rain.
Sirius breathed thankfully when he saw James in the car waiting for him. Fidgeting for him. That fool had really managed to stole the car to come to reach him.
He laughed, freeing his eyes from the water and clim up on the vehicle.
"Sirius! Oh my god- oh god- thank god- you're safe, you're safe- you're-" James hugged him and if Sirius didn't know better he could think that James was crying his eyes out, while hugging him like his life depended on it. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry I left- I-"
"Are you dumb? You were not even dispatched with me, remember?" Sirius sometimes couldn't even believe at him, so selfless and- well- dumb. "You are not at fault James, you couldn't know. I should thank you for coming to get me." Sirius mumbled, closing his eyes again. He just wanted a good night of sleep, something to succumb.
"Obviously I came. When you didn't arrive at four I immediately knew and- o my god Sirius are you bleeding?" James put gently a hand on his shoulder, pulling the sleeve off the wound and analyzing it. Euphemia was a doctor and James being his son caught on quickly some of her teaching, they were both very talented even if James didn't became a doctor like her because he wanted to be able to fight more.
"It's nothing James and you know that, it's barely a scratch." Sirius removed gently his hand and James nodded, starting the car. Sirius closed his eyes again, dozing off a little bit the stress and tiredness- finally, finally they were going at the base, a safe place where his heart could rest.
"I can't believe you!"
Sirius turned only to see his little brother with tears along his cheeks, looking right at him accusingly. His arms were still, like he was forcefully stopping himself from hurting him, punching him, and Sirius widened his eyes, running towards the light- his light. His little big star.
"Petite etoile! Petite etoile! Qu'est-ce que c'est?" Sirius tried to say, to scream but Regulus was disappearing, didn't care how much he run to reach him, he was sliping away from his fingers.
"Arrêtez, s'il vous plaît! Arretez!" Sirius was still running but now his foot were trapped by the floor and all the blood drained from his face- his brother- his brother needed him and he was stuck- he couldn't- he couldn't move.
"Reg! Reg! Où êtes-vous?" But even his voice wasn't working.
Why? Why? Why?
And then Sirius started falling.
Falling down, fast and merciless the gravity was pulling him under, like Icarus and his hybris, like Lucifer and his sins, but nothing would have cared more if he was going to see Regulus one more time, to ask forgiveness, to beg for mercy, just please, please, please.
And then his fall stopped.
Sirius reversed on the floor, his breath ragged and needy, coughing the last bit of oxygen he had in his lungs.
"It's your fault." Regulus came from behind him and Sirius switched his gaze on him, he tried to reach his brother but Regulus disappeared again.
Only to appear in front of him this time.
"You only cared for the Potter boy, while I cried and begged for you."
Sirius run again.
"No- no- it's- it's not-" tears running down his check faster than his steps, nononononono- it was not- he was not- he did care about James but Reggie- his Reggie-
"When you'll stop lying to yourself?" Regulus disappeared again, this time the voice came from the back of the room, but it was too dark to see anything. Sirius didn't even know what that place was. The gateway to the underworld? Where one lost himself before entering the hell itself? Where one saw all of his sins before the penalty was decided?
"You left me. There. I was infected and it was your fault. You-" Regulus finally appeared near him but Sirius almost screamed, his eyes were hollow, his skin blue, and he was- dead. "Are you happy now? With your new family?" Regulus stretched his arm, trying to touch him but Sirius dodge his hand- too scared of the consequences. It was almost mechanical.
"See?" The dead body laughed and laughed and laughed and Sirius shook his head- nononononononononononono-
"Reg-"
But Regulus was laughing and laughing and laughing.
"When you'll stop lying, Sirius?" And he began again, to laugh, to mock him, to rile him up and he pushed him down the ravine that appeared behind him.
"No Reg no s'il vous plaît!-" but Sirius was already falling.
And at the end- he probably just deserved that.
Sirius suddenly woke up when the car made a sudden stop, he dried his wet eyes, sign of the nightmare he just had and prepared himself to have the worst, bad, headache in a long time.
"Sirius" James whispered and he nodded, looking outside the car for the first time and almost jumping out- fucking hell they were literally surrounded by people, but he actually calmed down when he saw that they were Remus, Monty and Euphemia.
James parked near the entrance and they quickly greeted everyone before entering.
The base is filled with the usual sounds of hammers, the clinking of metal, and the occasional quiet conversation, home. Sirius liked those sounds who overpower his thoughts, his dreams, his mind. He didn't want to think.
"Hi" he said simply, still sleepy and scared.
"Are you okay honey?" His mother came close, hugging his cold body; Sirius was dressed too casual for that chill night and right now he could feel the aftercare of that decision.
"Yeah mum, it- it was nothing-" she passed a hand through his long hair and sighed heavily, noticing the tiredness in his eyes and the probably purple bruises under them. "Just a bit stressed." Sirius didn't know if it was good to tell the whole group about his meeting, about the fact that those men were 'normal'- just, not slowed down, like the others infected- but- fast- fast like him? It was- it- Sirius didn't want to create panic.
"I'll patch you up and then you'll go straight to bed, Sirius." Euphemia said and he nodded still lost in his thoughts but at the same time like knowing well that he couldn't go against the doctor's prescription.
"I still have to report back to-"
"Not now. You need to rest first." Sirius nodded, processing the fact that tomorrow he was going to talk to a very unhappy Dumbledore but little did he care right now.
The survival base, nestled deep within the remnants of a shattered world, felt more like a refuge than a stronghold, but they had been very inventive. Built from salvaged materials and what remained of pre-apocalypse infrastructure, it was a patchwork of steel, wood, and scavenged concrete, reinforced by necessity and desperation. Tall makeshift walls, lined with scavenged metal sheets and debris, encircled the compound, keeping out whatever threats lurk beyond—roving bands of desperate survivors, mutated creatures, or the harsh elements of a now unforgiving planet.
"Alright- pass the check- come on boys." Monty gently pushed him through the electronic checkpoint, where everyone had to go through to be sure to not have been infected outside.
The machine lightened up, a green pass that declared the fact that that night didn't go as bad as Sirius thought. Sirius knew that he didn't get in contact with any of the people but at the same time there always was something scaring about passing those. Monty nodded at him, with a little smile on his lips.
Always full of questions- what if? What if? What if?
What am I going to do?
What will be of me?
Do I have to die?
"Good- it's good-" James whispered to himself passing through the gates himself, probably thinking the same thing.
Beyond the gate, the base was a labyrinth of lean-tos, tents, and repurposed ruins of the world before. Former offices and warehouses had been transformed into living quarters and communal areas. Solar panels, jury-rigged from old technology, provided minimal power to flickering lights, while water tanks—collected from long-abandoned factories—sit in the center, rationed for drinking and irrigation.
At the end of the day it was good, brilliant almost, they had been capable of building a city form chaos, a last hope of survival.
And the group was good.
Not many- unfortunately- but Sirius liked to think that somewhere else, someone else did that too. They all knew that there were 'cities' like theirs, that they had been able to built something like that too, but Sirius never met anyone from another camp, just heard names around from travelers and traders. One of them was special.
Thomas Riddle. An enigma itself, the one -they said- that developed the vaccine.
A God.
"How did you manage to get hurt, Sirius?" Remus came near him from behind and he was so out of himself that didn't even notice his presence until then.
"From a gun-" he mumbled, looking around, they were directed in the hospital, at the heart of the base with the communal firepit, where people gather to cook meals, share stories, and trade supplies. There was no one around, even though it was not that late.
"How?"
"I got shot Remus, you're smarter than that." Sassy Sirius was mood on.
Remus rolled his eyes, making a grimace with his mouth and Sirius didn't want to look at those lips. Nope. Not at all. They were on stand by, flirting but not actually doing anything, if Sirius wasn't imagining things like always.
"No way- you didn't actually shoot yourself? Fuck- you're smarter than I thought. Idiot. I know that, thank you so much." He flicked his head with his fingers and Sirius blushed, before Remus continued. "Infected are slow, since their system is compromised and dumb as hell because their brain got a very leveled up shakeup. So how the fuck did they managed to hurt a very trained soldier like you?"
"Alright-" sassy Remus was a lot more trouble than Sirius thought. Oh- he liked that. "They were not- not. Okay? They were okay." Remus arched an eyebrow, probably almost having a stroke and Sirius didn't want to find that funny.
"Sirius, please, come inside- I'll watch your wound-" Euphemia called him from inside the room and he quickly glanced at her, nodding.
"Right away, mum!" He turned again towards Remus, looking right into his eyes. "They were not infected, Remus. They were like us, alright? Or well- I don't know really because I didn't see them clearly, but they moved fast, they talked and they were trained. Understood?" Remus widened his eyes as he went on.
"What? Who? O god- Do you think they were from another district? But it doesn't make any sense why would they try to kill you?" Remus hummed and Sirius sighed.
"I don't know. I didn't think of making conversation with them shooting at me, maybe next time I'll ask them kindly, okay?" His headache was literally killing him and Sirius wasn't ready to think of the consequences of that night. Maybe they were from other districts, maybe the infected had a level up.
He didn't know.
"Okay, alright- understood. Sassy Sirius is on fire. Sorry. Just go- and then a bit sleep, alright?" Remus said looking right at him. "Because right now I wanna to take off your head."
"Should I say that I'm sorry, Master?" Sirius smirked and Remus cheeks reddened.
"Shut up idiot-" Remus rolled his eyes, trying so hard to hide his smile behind some sort of annoyance. But Sirius knew better.
"Or-?" Sirius dared again. He was a menace after all. Always been.
"You don't wanna know-" Remus got near him, his hot body against his cold one and Sirius felt the need to roll with him in the bed, with the blanket around their ankles.
"Maybe I want to-"
"Sirius!" Euphemia called again for him, coming out from the building with a scowl on her forehead.
"Sorry! Coming!" Sirius said, smiling at the woman. "And don't scowl, or you'll have your face full of wrinkles." he winked at her and she huffed, laughing a little.
"You're a menace!" And Sirius knew that, and he thanked for them every day because without the Potters he wouldn't be there.