A Knock on the Door
The day his parents died, it snowed.
It was no accident, though they claimed that it was. Remus had witnessed it and what was later said and claimed was far from the truth. How Hope and Lyall Lupin, such loving and kind parents, could be so cruelly taken away from him could not possibly be a mistake.
The snow came before it all, almost like a chilly warning, slowly floating down from the light grey sky.
He could remember how confused he was. The sweltering heat had cursed their city for years, an infinite stretch of days filled with sweat, pain, and starvation. However, he had survived. He and his family all did, at that. Mornings filled with hope turned into afternoons scouring the city for food, witnessing aggressive fights, and hearing haunting noises. Then they endured nights of numbness from the long, boiling days. With his family, Remus would watch as the light faded from the sky and the world disappeared right before him, left wondering whether or not it would reappear come morning.
The crazies often came, mad and out of their minds. His family did not speak of them; not his mother, nor his father, and especially not him. Speaking of them felt as though you were, in a way, summoning the devil. They seemed pretty possessed already. Ellie was only a year younger than Remus, and she was the only one brave enough to bring up the subject of the crazies. It was as if she was the only one with the guts and smarts to see fairytales for nonsense.
Remus knew he should be the brave one. Ellie was only a little girl after all. He should comfort Ellie, and tell her it is all going to be okay. Don’t you worry, Ellie. The bad people won’t get you on my watch. He’d squeeze her hard, hug the daylights out of her as if she were only a teddy. Every time she’d pat him on the back. An annoying reminder of who had the courage. Remus loved Ellie so much, more than she could possibly ever love him, he would think. He’d never let the crazy ones hurt Ellie. Never ever, until the day he died. The Flare had ruined everything.
—
“Kids!”
It was his mother’s voice. He had been dreaming of good things and the sudden yell startled him. But he soon realized it wasn’t a yell of despair but instead one of something good.
“Kids, wake up, come see!!”
As he opened his eyes he saw his mother staring out of the only small window in the room. She’d removed the wooden plank that was nailed up there at night. His dad always covered the window, just in case. He watched as his mother’s eyes shone with awe. She was smiling, a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time. He liked seeing his mother happy. He made sure to cherish this moment in his heart.
As he climbed to his feet, he mumbled, “What’s going on?” Ellie followed him to where their mum gazed out of the window.
Several things were etched into his memories at that moment. He squinted to see out the window, the morning light temporarily blinding him. As he heard his father’s snores in the background, he understood why his mother was in such a state of amazement. The street was empty of the crazies and the grey sky was covered with clouds, a rare sight. What really surprised him, though, was what was falling from the sky: snow. He watched the white flakes slowly drift in the light breeze, falling to the ground and dancing in the air.
“What in the bloody hell,” he murmured, a phrase he had picked up from his father saying it so often.
“Mummy, how can it snow??” Ellie asked. Her eyes were filled with joy, a sight that made Remus smile, more than the snow did. She always made him smile, she made this miserable life worth living.
“Well, I guess the whole weather system is just messed up due to the Flares,” she replied sweetly, “Let’s enjoy it while it lasts though, shall we?”
“We shall,” Ellie responded, seemingly pleased with the answer as her voice sounded somewhat giddy when she replied.
He savored the moment, watching the snowflakes float toward the ground. He’d probably never see such a thing again.
They stayed like that, watching the world outside, happy and calm. That was, until shadows swiftly passed by the window. He tried to get a look at who it was, but the shadow figures came as fast as they went. A mere few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. That knock turned into heavy pounding. His father was then instantly awake and alert.
“Did you see anyone?” my father croaked. We all shook our heads. My mother’s face was no longer filled with happiness and glee, her expression was instead one filled with worry and disdain.
“Do we answer it?” Ellie innocently asked.
“No. We just leave it be and pray that whoever is there goes away.”
“They might try and break it,” his mother whispered, “Maybe they think this house is abandoned, looking for extra food.”
Boom, boom, boom. The hard cracks on the door shook the whole house and his father told them to stay there. His father’s voice was shaky and filled with undeniable fear. He watched as his father made his way up the stairs. His mother hugged him and Ellie tight, protecting them in her embrace. He attempted to comfort her.
“Don’t worry, Ellie,” he whispered. “There are probably just some hungry people looking for food. Remember, the bad people won’t get to you on my watch.”
He felt doubtful about saying that last part. Something in him knew that he wouldn’t be able to live up to that promise and he gave Ellie the most genuine smile he could muster. It was hard to keep that smile on his face when seeing his sister so scared was so heartbreaking. He squeezed her tight once more, loving her with all the love he had.
Next came the loud noises. A door slamming. Loud and angry voices yelling. Crashes rattled the floorboards. Heavy footsteps seemed to come their way.
The strangers stomped down the stairs. They were dressed sharply and were merely solemn to the core. They had bad intentions, he knew that at least.
“You’ve ignored our messages,” one of the men said. “We need the girl. Elizabeth. I am sorry, we have no choice.”
In that exact moment, Remus’ world ended. The one person he cared about the most, the one person he had given all of his love to, the person that lived for, gone. Gone, just like that. He screamed no. They can’t. They can’t take Ellie. Take him for god sake, but not Ellie. Not the precious girl who just five minutes ago was amazed and smiling at the snow. Not his little sister.
The strangers came towards them and grabbed Ellie by the shirt. They pushed his frantic mother away who held onto his sister with all her might. Remus tried to stop the man. He beat at his back, but his efforts were futile. The look on Ellie’s face was devastating. The sudden madness left her dazed with confusion and fear and something inside of him shattered. He screamed. He hit the man as hard as he could. He swung wildly, anything to save his sister from these monsters.
“Enough!” a woman shouted. She slapped him across the face, leaving his skin burning and red. Someone hit his mother and she collapsed. Crack. His ears rang at the deafening sound and fell back against the wall examining the horrors taking place in the room.
A man is shot in the leg, his father stands in a doorway with a gun in hand, his mother is screeching and scrambling, and his dad fired two more shots, missing both. His mother was fighting off the woman who had just slapped him.
Suddenly, the woman elbowed his mother and shot her gun. She fired three more times and time became a foreign concept. Remus watched as both of his parents fell to the floor. No one moved in that passing moment. Hope and Lyall Lupin would never move again. His parents were dead.
The strangers' eyes all moved to the then-orphaned children. His eyes were wide with fear of what they’d do with him.
“Just take them both , for fuck’s sake,” one of the men said. “He can be a test subject or something, we’ve got to go.”
The man referred to him as if Remus were nothing more than a can of soup. A test subject . Those words hit him hard. What are they testing? Where are he and Ellie going? He would never forget what had just happened. His whole life turned upside down in minutes. As the strangers dragged them out of the house, he grasped onto Ellie. She was all he had left. He had failed his promise to her, but at that moment he made a new one.
“I will always protect you, Ellie,” he muttered with tears in his eyes. “I will protect you ‘til the day I die.”