Sunsetz
There was a deafening silence filling the streets. Chaos is the only word that comes to mind. Pure chaos. Tree after tree, body after body. Not a single glance was spared towards the undead; his only thought was Regulus.
Regulus.
Recalling the previous events of this evening would seem impossible that they would end up here. Sirius gasping for breath as he scans the scene for a sign of his brother. Any indication that he’s on the right path.
-
It started with the first alarm. Loud and unsettling. His parents, seemingly unphased, shared a quick glance with each other; an understanding. The brothers had glanced at each other across the table. A silent agreement. They would take care of each other.
Dinner that evening had been early. Kreacher had set the table with an eerie elegance. A meal that was meant to fill them to the brim. For the most part, Sirius had no appetite. He was scared. They all ate in silence. Periodically requesting someone passes the salt. Meals usually felt like this. Tense and silent. Maybe they all liked it this way.
When the second round of alerts came through, screams of terror bounced off the walls of Grimmauld Place. The fear was not coming from inside the house- rather the impending doom of those left unsheltered.
Sirius was rooted to his seat at the table, as was Regulus. His younger brother was clinging to the arm of his caretaker Kreacher, pleading with his eyes for some kind of reassurance. Kreacher had none to give.
There had been talk of an invasion: of what, he wasn’t sure. Even with the constant chatter of the end, the reality was still unexpected. Their father, Orion, stood with ease from his chair, clearing his throat with authority that radiated through his body. “Kreacher,” Regulus clenched harder around the arm wrapped in his fist. “We thank you for your help and wish you the best on your journey from here.”
Kreacher pulled away from Regulus, “Sir?” Obviously, Kreacher hadn’t been expecting the sudden farewell, and the shock was plastered on his features.
Regulus was rapidly scanning from Kreacher to his father. Sirius, in his head, was praying that this was some warped dream. This isn’t happening.
But it was happening. It felt all too real when Kreacher made his way towards the door, shaking as his hand grasped the doorknob. He spared one last glance at Regulus and Sirius, nodding his in a way that conveyed all they needed to know. Sirius reached Regulus, gripping his hand, hoping to stabilize him in any fashion.
Their hands trembled as they kept their fingers in a dead lock. There was a tether between his brother and his caretaker. Kreacher wasn’t just “the help” in their minds, he was family. He cleaned their wounds and read them to sleep. Kreacher was there to help with their homework and remembered their birthdays, when no one else did. No one knew how long Kreacher would survive out there on his own.
Odds are, he won’t. This is goodbye. This is it.
Sirius knew whatever ache he felt in his chest was a hundred times worse for his brother. Written in his eyes was pure pain. Their hands clasped together tightly, and Sirius allowed himself to find comfort in the warmth till it was gone.
Whether it was his fogged mind or pure disbelief, Sirius didn’t process his brother rip the front door open and run into the street after Kreacher. By now, the third round of sirens were echoing in their ears, but he paid little mind. On instinct, his legs moved to chase after Regulus.
The streets were cleared. There was no sign of Regulus or Kreacher anywhere in the roads. But Sirius kept running.
-
Time was unaccounted for. The sky was an eerie shade of orange, just as it had been all day. Sirius doesn’t know where he is or where he came from. It doesn’t matter. Sirius just screams. He screams and begs for Regulus to reveal himself. He considers pinching himself and finding out that this is all in his head.
His legs are aching, and they almost collapse from beneath him. His breaths are frantic, coming in short, quick gasps. The woods are familiar to Sirius. The Black brothers spent hours in a fantasy world in between the trees. The three of them; Sirius, Regulus and Kreacher, had camping trips when their parents were out of town. Nights sat around a fire, listening to Kreacher’s tales of his youth and Sirius’ horrible attempts at campfire songs.
The weight of the situation finally settled in. Where was Regulus? What exactly do the sirens mean? Why couldn’t Kreacher stay? Where wasRegulus? How long until exhaustion hit him, and he couldn’t keep going? He needed water.
Where was Regulus?
Sirius was starting to panic. He rapidly takes in where he is, searching for anything familiar; a trail that he’d walked before, the running water of creek, possibly a trail of bodies, signifying he was on the right path. But there was nothing, not a single sound except for his own panting breaths.
Sirius was lost.
--
Sirius spared himself a moment to think of James. Just one, fleeting moment, and it made his heart twinge. His two brothers, one blood and one heart, are infinitely lost to Sirius.
There was a rustle somewhere in the midst of the trees. Only one, small sound, but it makes Sirius stop immediately in his tracks. “Hello? Regulus? Please tell me that’s you?”
All at once, there’s a rush of pattering footsteps, too heavy to belong to his brother. Sirius doesn’t know what to expect. “Who’s there?”
A large woman, looking somewhere in her thirties, makes her way from the trees, with pure panic in her eyes. She’s running and running. She stops, staying far from Sirius. “What are you doing out here?” Her voice is loud, and sharp.
“My brother is lost out here. Have you seen anyone else?”
Her eyes are beginning to droop. “No. You need to get out of here. It’s too late for me. I’ve been infected.”
“Infected?” Sirius feels his heart drop into his stomach. “Infected by what? What’s going on?”
“This is the end of the world.” Her voice fades off towards the end and she drops to the ground.
He stares at her, watching the rise and fall of her chest come to a stop. His heart is beating so hard he can practically hear it. “Are you okay?”
He slowly makes his way towards her, coming his nose and mouth with his hand, cautiously anticipating her to spring up from the ground. He stops in front of her, reaching down to grab a fallen branch. He pokes her in the side gently. “Hey.”
She doesn’t move.
She’s lying flat on her stomach, and her backpack is open, stuffed to the brim in what looks like a blanket. He moves to grab the bag off her, trying to slip it from her shoulder without making contact with her skin. Her head turns with the last tug, and he nearly drops it onto the floor. Her eyes are hanging open and underneath are black veins that trail to the top of her cheeks.
He gets onto his knees, feeling all the air exit his lungs. Sirius almost screams. On the crevice of her neck is a bite mark. Not a bite of that from an animal, but a large chunk of her neck missing. No blood was escaping, just the view of her throat, open and exposed. He felt bile rising in his throat, and his head was beginning to ache.
He needed to get out of here. He needed to find his brother and get to safety.
-
-
James had expected the sirens. He knew they were coming, and he knew what they meant.
Candles were lit around the house, as Marlene, Peter and James watched the glowing sky. Their senses were heightened, and every unknown sound made their skin crawl. The three hadn’t spoken about what was happening outside the Potter walls, but they all knew.
They expected the sirens. They knew they were coming. They knew what they meant.
Marlene was the first to break the silence, “This candle smells like shit.”
On any other day, this would have made James laugh, and they probably would have had a very heated debate on the best candle scent. Today, however, it was followed by a thick silence. “What if this is the last candle we ever light?”
James does huff at laugh at that, “Pete, we are fine. It’s the people outside of here we should be worried about.” Peter groans and they both turn to look at him.
“I just really like candles.” His voice sounds whiney, and James knows he’s trying to be funny, but everyone can hear the tremble in his voice, and the fear hidden in his eyes.
Marlene hasn’t spoken since, and she possibly regrets opening her mouth in the first place. James, however, is silent for a different reason. His family: Monty, Effie, and Sirius, are still unaccounted for. James knows his parents are safe. As for Sirius, he could only hope he was safe. He knew Sirius would stay behind for Regulus, which was fine.
But it wasn’t fine. James needed him hear him. To hear his laugh and grip his arm. Sirius had this light about him. Even in the darkest of times, Sirius could make anyone feel better, make them laugh. He knew that this was going to happen.
The streets were silent now. No pattering of running footsteps. No ear-splitting screams. No sign of life at all. Maybe that’s what was scariest. The lack of noise. The silence. “We should board up the windows.”
Peter nods while Marlene makes a move to stand up. “With what?”
“We still have those storm shutters. That could work.”
Marlene knows where they are, she had stayed here during the storm. “Don’t we have to put those up from the outside? We definitely should not go out there.”
James scoffs, “Yeah. No shit.”
Peter, finding his voice, jumps in. “If anyone should be sacrificed, I vote for Marlene.”
She hums, and trails his body with her eyes, “I’ll remember that when we run out of food.”
It feels good to listen to them bicker. It seems, that only for a moment, that things are normal. Unfortunately, it makes remembering the reality that much harder. “Let’s all stay together. The shutters are in the garage.”
The lights in the house are turned off, hoping to give the impression that no one was home. Maybe that was worse, if someone needed somewhere to go and assumed it was an empty house. But it made sense at the time, and James insisted on trusting his gut.
They made multiple trips the garage, grabbing the shutters and placing each one by a window. They figured out that they needed to screw them in from the inside, disregarding the damage to the house.
The three teenagers had still not discussed what they all knew. Probably because it would freak them out more. But there was no use in denying the inevitable.
“James… I know you said we should stick together… But- I gotta use the bathroom.”
Marlene groans. “We’ll guard the door, Peter.”
“Perfect. But no peeking, McKinnon.”
“Please, you wish.”
James smiles, and they all follow Pete to the downstairs bathroom. Marlene and James both know it’s a bit silly, but it makes them all feel better.
“Are you scared?” Marlene whispers, looking down at her fingernails.
“I don’t know.” He whispers back. And it’s true. James doesn’t know who he’s more scared for. Himself, or the people left to fend for themselves.
“How long do you bet we have?”
James sighs, the conversation is starting to freak him out. “I don’t know.”
James misses his mother. She would know exactly what to say. She’d create games and distract them all from the truth. He misses his father. He would seem unbothered by the situation, pretending it wasn’t real. He misses Sirius. His brother. He would make them laugh until he’d forget. James wants to forget.
Alas, James knows he needs to be strong. He knows he needs to protect his friends that have chosen to take solace with him. And that’s what he plans to do.