Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Forty

It was warm. That was the first thing Regulus noticed. He had always thought that death meant cold, it's what everyone always believed. But he was warm. He was laying on something soft. He was comfortable. And it made no sense. Regulus tried to open his eyes but it was as if his body didn't respond to the commands of his mind.

The youngest Black wondered what had happened? And where was he? He tried to recall where he was before this, before he fell asleep. Or lost consciousness? He wasn't even sure which it was. As if being unable to open his eyes didn't cause panic enough, now he worried over what he did to land himself in this position?

As his mind started to catch up with the present, Regulus found his memories starting to return. But not as much as he would have liked them to. He could remember the cave, he could remember were the darkness and water surrounding him, the feeling of hands pulling and pushing him down while he struggled to breathe. But not how he got there; not how it started.

As his senses heightened, bit by bit, more with each second that passed, Regulus could feel something shift beside him and soon became aware of the sound of deep breathing not too far from where he lay. There was someone in here with him, wherever here was. It made him want to wake up even more. If he was being held somewhere, if someone had taken him, he needed to wake up now while it seemed they were asleep. But even if he did, Regulus realized he had no idea where his wand was, or how to get out. He was stuck like this.

No.

He scolded himself in his mind. He wasn't stuck, he wouldn't let himself be stuck. He had to wake up, he had to get an idea of where he was and what dangers may surround him. Regulus wasn't about to give up just because the situation seemed bad. So he pushed on, slowly starting to shift in his spot. There seemed to be nothing binding him to the surface upon which he lay. For a moment he felt relief, that was a good thing, but then that relief came crashing down as the sound of footsteps echoed and grew closer. He stiffened, thinking he had been caught before he could even get all of his bearings in order.

"Reg? Can you hear me?" A soft whisper sounded from somewhere beside him and Regulus now froze in surprise. He knew that voice, and he knew it didn't belong to someone who would wish him harm. And just like that, as if it had been the fear of the unknown that prevented him from fully waking up, now his eyes opened, wide and alert as he quickly sat up.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's okay, you're safe." The voice once more came in a soothing whisper, hands settling on his shoulders to lightly push him back to lie down in what Regulus now realized was a bed. His eyes quickly jumped to his left, and now he met her familiar eyes.

"Nadia? What's going on? What happened?" He quickly questioned, hoping to get the answers he wished for so desperately.

"We were hoping you could tell us that." Another person joined the conversation, and looking to the other side of the bed, Regulus now saw his brother, tiredly rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up. But Sirius' words made Regulus confused again. Because no, he couldn't tell them; because he didn't remember.