Hey, Little Sister

Hey, Little Sister

No one knows I had a little sister. People sometimes question me when I chastise elder siblings for cruelty towards their younger siblings. I don't believe I've ever given them a proper answer. But I can't just go around telling people that I killed my sister, could I?

I have no doubt at all that any and all of the few friends I have would never look at me in the same way. Not that anyone looks at me in any kind way anyway. In fact, I'm hated by people who don't even know me, just because of what I am - a monster.

What surprises me most are my parents, and four of my housemates. I'm quite certain that despite what I am, they still see me for who I am.

Now, what surprises me most out of that is my parents' reactions, especially after... after it happened. I suppose you're quite curious to know about my sister, though, and what happened to her. So perhaps I ought to start at the beginning. After all, all stories, no matter how good or bad they are, must always start at the beginning.

~*~*~*~

"Remus! Come quick! Lookie what I found!" called a voice I knew all too well.

I rolled my eyes, expecting to find her placing round, off-white stones into an empty bird nest, thinking I wouldn't remember that she'd done the same thing the day before. Raquelle always sought adventure, and her most adventurous feats included many elements of nature. It was to her advantage that we lived at the edge of the woods.

"Remus? Where are you?" she called impatiently.
"I'm coming! Give me a sec!" I shouted. I reluctantly pulled myself up, leaving the book I'd been immersed in by the edge of the tree. Sure I shouldn't have been reading in such terrible lighting, but I was quite interested in it, and Raquelle was not allowed in the woods by herself.

I trudged toward where her voice had come from, guessing that like usual, she would be playing in the clearing.

I stepped into the clearing to find Raquelle holding mum and papa's owl.

"He fell," she said innocently. If I didn't know her, I'd think the innocence was real. Being her older brother, I knew otherwise.

"Did you... help him fall?" I asked.

Raquelle grinned mischievously. Of course, the story I told mum twenty minutes later as she mended the broken wing was that Raquelle and I watched as the owl got in a tussle with another bird.

"Remus, Raquelle, I don't want you two out this late anymore. If you wish to go out, stay in the yard," she warned suddenly, taking us both by surprise.

Raquelle merely pouted, "But Mummy! There's nothing to do in the yard!"

"Raquelle, please don't argue with me... Your father and I discussed it last night, and we've decided that we don't want you two straying too far from the house, just in case something might occur. Do you understand?" she countered, despite a stomping of the foot and a quiet "hmph!" from Raquelle.

I nodded, but I was certain I had forgotten something and I scrunched up my face trying to remember.

"Remus, don't give me that look. Why don't you go read that--"

"My book! Mum, can I go back out, just for five minutes? I left my book out by the tree!" I cut her off before she could finish.

She gave me a stern look, placing a hand on her hip like she always does when she's annoyed. "I suppose. But five minutes. If you take more than that, there'll be no dessert left for you!" She grinned, and I nodded, eager to get my book.

Raquelle grinned as well, her face identical to mum's, only smaller. "I'll eat it all!"

"Right. Five minutes." I ruffled Raquelle's hair and ran quickly out of the kitchen, donning my jacket as I bounded out of the front door.

The sky had darkened very quickly in the time that mum had been talking to Raquelle and I. In fact, it was now a velvety blue-violet curtain littered with pinpricks of light, all dwarfed by the large orb hanging just above the trees. I stared in awe for a moment, then continued on my way, trying to quickly retrace my steps to the tree.

When I had gone far deeper into the woods, past the clearing, I knew I was in trouble. I stopped running and glanced down at my watch to find that it had been fifteen minutes since I was standing in the kitchen, listening to mum's lecture.

I spun around trying to find the path that I had been running on, but there was no path anywhere. The only path that was visible at all was that going into the clearing. I was deeply worried that something would happen, trying to remember if mum and papa had said anything about dangerous creatures living in these woods.

Suddenly, a sliver of light crept in amongst the leaves, shining a very small amount of light on the ground, although no light that helped me see past the trunks of the trees that held me captive in the dark, leafy prison I had lost myself in.

After a moment of studying the trees, I decided that I recognized the trunk of one, and I began running in the direction it was standing in. However, I stopped quite abruptly when I heard a very low grumble, almost as if something were growling.

'Trees don't growl, Remus... They don't growl...' I thought to myself.

As if on cue, a large, brown furry thing jumped out from behind a fairly large tree. I screamed and jumped back, knowing very well what creature I had just met. No man had ever survived.

I scrambled backward, trying to escape. Did werewolves enjoy attacking their prey slowly? It howled, and I stumbled to my feet, running as quickly as I could.

The speed of a werewolf can surpass that of any human, though, and it quickly caught up to me, pouncing me and knocking me to the ground. I felt a sharp pain shoot through my calf and realized that it must have scratched me with it's claws. It felt deep, but I kicked anyway, connecting with it's chest.

That surprised it enough to give me time to scramble up once more, and although I could hardly think because of the pain in my leg, I continued running, slower than before so that the pain wouldn't be as great.

I must have been running in the right direction, however, because through the thick foliage, I saw light from the porch twinkling. I was nearing the edge of the woods.

"REMUS!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!" I heard. It was mum!

"MUM! GET BACK IN THE HOUSE!" I shouted, trying to be the tragic hero.

As I was running I passed the clearing, and saw the tree I had been sitting by. My book was still lying there, but I wasn't about to stop to pick it up.

I heard the werewolf catching up again, and I tried to run faster. But just as I neared the last few trees before I would be able to run to safety inside, it pounced on me once again, and I fell with a thud. I suppose it was trying to teach me to never run when it decides I'm dinner, because then the blasted thing swatted me across the ground with a very large paw.

I slammed into a tree, but unfortunately, I was still awake, and fearing greatly that I'd be killed. Where was Mum? Surely she could knock this beast down, keep it at bay for just a brief second.

Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my thigh. This time, it wasn't a claw, and I knew I was definitely in for it.

Just as it reared its big, ugly head and prepared to turn me into a stew, I heard papa shouting something, and a bright green light struck the lycanthrope. It fell just beside me, and all was dark.