remus lupin. - prologue pt 1
24th of July, 2024
remus lupin.
Remus knew they didn’t really lock the doors at night. The boy’s home rarely cared about the children’s well-being and didn’t bother worrying about them as long as there wasn’t a death certificate mailed to them. Their little care over the boys is most noticeable right now, as a sickened young boy is attempting to gnaw at Remus’ flesh. The boy looked twelve, eyes sunken in and eyeballs completely glazed over. He looked dead. But that couldn’t be.
Remus didn’t scream, but a small whine escaped his lips as he awoke from a dead sleep. The young boy was clawing at his feet at first, searching for his pale white skin. It was covered by a ripped blanket that had been left in his room before he came to the boy’s home at the age of 6. It was one of three blankets he had, and during the summer heat, he stuck with none or just the thinnest one.
The thinnest one which is currently keeping him alive.
The young boy is crawling all over him, searching for a piece to bite onto. Remus instinctively pushed the boy off of him. Remus was much bigger, and much stronger than him. Nearing seventeen, Remus was the tallest and strongest boy at the home, but he still kept to himself and never attempted to make himself a pack leader here. There was no need. Remus had his pack, but they were far from here.
The cool air of the building rushed through his own door, and Remus quickly jumped out of his bed. The younger boy was still attempting to control his balance, but the way he carried himself was terrifying.
As it rose from the concrete ground, Remus noticed how decayed his arms and legs looked. They were an odd colour of green and part of his left leg was gone; completely. In the darkness even, Remus could see a white glare of bone poking out of the leg. The sight made him nauseous. Slowly, the boy gained it’s balance and his head snapped in the direction of Remus. At this point, it was moving slower than before and the arm it landed on looked a bit funny. It was slowly stalking towards him, and Remus didn’t know how to respond. He knew this kid, he had no plans of hurting him, right? He remembered fondly of a time he knocked down a couple of guys because they were picking on him. It was a few years ago, but the little kid would follow him around from time to time to seek protection and protection he gave.
Eyes wide and mouth agape, the boy moved closer. He was moments away from launching an attack when Remus blinked. He just blinked and the boy crumpled down to the ground without any fight.
Eyes still blurred from sleep, he forced his eyes to at least attempt to focus on the figure in front of him. The first thing he saw was red, and he smelt it too. The scent of blood was vile and he almost felt like vomiting. He tried to force himself back, pushing against the brick wall behind him, but the scent went nowhere. He looked up at what he soon noticed to be a boy, before him, and there stood one of his best friends. James Potter looked like an idiot.
He wore knee and elbow pads in their respective places, with a thick, red sweater over his elbow pads and a pair of very heavy-looking trousers under his knee pads. He’s got a reed bandana over his forehead keeping his thick, black hair out of his face. His glasses have already cracked, and he’s got this grossed out look on his face. James is looking down at the boy that was attacking Remus, and the moment the two’s eyes met, James beamed with pride.
Remus returned the smile with a judging look. His eyes furrowed down and he looked almost concerned. He looked down at the boy previously attacking him and stared.
“Is he… dead?” Remus asked, eyes unmoving from the also unmoving boy.
“I just saved your life from a zombie and you ask if it’s dead? Jesus, Remus, you really got to get your priorities in check,” James scoffed, stepping over the body and grabbing Remus by the arm, easily pulling him to his feet. “Get dressed, we’ve got to go.”
Immediately, Remus complied. He walked towards his miniature wardrobe, putting out some clothes to wear. Despite the heat, he also opted to wear a sweater and trousers, the sweater a mix of browns and greens and yellows with different patterns spotted throughout and a pair of brown trousers. He put on his thickest boots he had and followed James out the door.
So preoccupied with clothing himself, he passed the dead body a second time without reaction. The two of them were already out of the room before Remus seriously began thinking. He looked out a nearby window and it was still pretty dark outside. With no clue what time it was, the two of them wandered around the home. James had no clue where he was going, yet he was leading. Remus noticed this quickly, since he looked so confused about his surroundings.
The two ended up in the community area. It was entirely deserted. There were several still bodies littering the floor. James seemed entirely unaffected by the lumps of boys in the dark room. Remus, on the other hand, was disturbed. Remus took a step back, covering his mouth. He knew the boys. Yeah, a few of them weren’t the nicest to him and maybe he’s had a few near-death experiences, but no one deserved death. Or whatever this zombie thing was.
Unsettled, Remus reached for James’ arm and yanked him back. He let out a startled noise, but ultimately followed Remus to another room. Remus was still latched onto James, yet he didn’t know if it was for support or to just lead him through the building. A mix of both, he decided, while collecting a cool head walking to the kitchen area.
They didn’t run into any more bodies while entering the kitchen. Remus let go of James and decided he needed to sit down. He aggressively pulled back a chair from a dining table and sat down, placing his head on the cool wood. There was busy noise, cupboards being thrown open and several zipper noises, though Remus had his eyes closed and completely unaware. Or just ignoring it all.
Once the two of them were out of this establishment, Remus had a lot of questions for his friend. To start, what in the world was that that attacked him? He knew it was a boy, one he knew, but what was he? Where is everyone and why were there so many bodies in the community area? Were they going to kill them both or are they safe?
The distant noise continued as Remus slowly rose his head. Are they even safe right now? How can one decipher how safe they are? As if reading his mind, James reentered the dining hall and spoke out.
“I’m not sure what all this is. It’s some weird disease, Remus. As far as I know, Sirius and his brother are still at their estate, hopefully safer than we are now. Peter warned me before I got here and was able to wake me up before my parents -” There was a gap in his words, some sadness tethered deep in his tone. He didn’t react to it, but his eyes stayed sad as he kept talking. “Anyway, Peter thinks it's some sort of zombie virus. Our phones aren’t working and it’s all very confusing for all of us. I’m just gathering the people I know now to get them to safety. Pete’s house is our base right now.
Evans is already there. I’m going to get you there, and go out and get Sirius and Mary and Marlene. We need all the people we can get.”
Remus stared at his friend completely dazed. Even more dazed than when he woke up. It took him a second to absorb all the information. He’s even more confused than before James started talking.
“What?” Remus mumbled out, and James sighed.
“Just get up and let’s go!” He yelled, throwing his backpack on his shoulder. Remus didn’t notice before, but James held a large dagger in his right hand.
Quickly, Remus shot up and ended up at James’ side. It was less at his side and more behind him. Remus began giving James directions to end up outside the boy’s home. They had to pass a few more dead bodies but James kept him moving and constantly talking. James was always good at keeping Remus’ mind off things. It was only because James was such a peppy talker and often wouldn’t shut up. Sometimes it would absolutely tick Remus and the rest of them off, sometimes it was their saving grace from hating each other. James talked a lot, but he was also the groups’ equalizer. It took a lot to keep the four of them, Peter, Sirius, James, and Remus friends, yet they all complimented each other well.
They trusted each other fully.
Together, Remus and James made their way outside. They were cautious of every move they made, and James, with the weapon, was ready to attack as needed. James was strong, but not as powerful as Remus. James had the “captain of the football team” strength, while Remus had the “constantly fighting for your life strength” and the latter always overcame the former.
Faintly, Remus pointed at the dagger and whispered, “Got another one of those?”
James stopped and nodded slightly, reaching for his bag. Without hesitation, James gave Remus the dagger he was holding and pulled out another weapon. It was a knife, but a kitchen knife and barely sharp. Remus didn’t say anything but James did.
“Go for their head. That’s how you kill them.”