Echo - Jegulus Minific - 486 Words
The average person takes around 10 minutes to drown.
Naturally, for the first 20-60 seconds, the victim struggles. They try to keep their head above the water, they try to breathe. After around a minute, they can no longer hold their breath. They start to inhale the water, causing a burning sensation down their throat. They lose consciousness after 2 minutes. At 4 minutes underwater, brain damage begins and becomes irreversible. Biological death happens at 10 minutes.
Regulus Black knew a lot of things. He knew how long it took for the average person to drown. He knew that all of this could have been avoided if he’d just left the cave along with Kreature. He knew that it was a lost cause to fight against the pale hands dragging him down. He knew how James Potter’s hand felt intertwined with his own. He knew that he was dying.
He felt the water enter his lungs. He stopped struggling against the lifeless hands clawing at him. The pain was unbearable, he just wished it would end soon.
Regulus used to think he would die young. He could never imagine his life beyond high school, beyond the walls his parents caged him in. That was, until James Potter. James was different. He was a light that seeped into the darkest corners of Regulus’s existence, a warmth he never thought possible. Whenever James took his hand, cradled his face like he was something precious, it was more than just a touch—it was a promise. A promise that life could be something more, something worth fighting for.
Regulus believed it. He let himself foolishly dream, foolishly imagine a life with James. A life where they were together, a life where they were happy. Every time he thought of tomorrow, of the future—the one thing he was sure of were James’ brown eyes in his life. He should’ve known. Nothing ends well with Regulus Black involved.
It didn’t hurt anymore. The pain dulled into a fog in the background, replaced with a soft calm. ‘This was peaceful,’ Regulus thought. He was perfectly content to go like this. The pale fingers that were once digging into his skin faded into tanned ones—the gentle hands leaving marks on him deeper than the scratches could ever go. They were holding on to him tight, a bit too tight—but that was okay. Regulus was okay with that. As long as James was here, as long as James was touching him.
Regulus felt the warmth of James all over him. He could almost hear the echo of James’ voice, telling him that it was okay, that he was here, that he should rest. Regulus could almost see a pair of beautiful brown eyes, the same ones that he fell asleep next to every night.
James was here, so Regulus could rest now.
The average person takes 10 minutes to drown. Regulus Black drowned in 7.