OMINIX
CHAPTER ELEVEN-BRITTANY'S APPEARANCE
The next morning, we awoke and momentarily forgot where we were. Hillary woke up, yawned and stretched. Then I did. Sirius' jaws opened wide as he yawned and stretched also.
"Sleep well?" Hillary asked softly as we climbed out of bed and began heading toward the bedroom door.
"As well as I can," I muttered.
Sirius whined and nudged Hillary's hand. She grinned and scratched an ear.
We stepped out into the hallway. Remus appeared in the doorway to his bedroom. He looked well rested.
"Sleep well?" he asked.
"As well as we can," Hillary said coldly.
I think she was still mad at him for what he did to Sirius.
Remus looked pained at the tone of her voice.
Sirius stood next to my legs now and glared at Remus.
Remus sighed.
"Look, I'm really sorry about the way I treated Sirius...and for everything,"
"You should be," Hillary replied sternly.
"Please forgive me?" Remus asked as he turned his eyes onto Sirius.
Sirius barked and wagged his tail.
Remus grinned.
"Of course!" Hillary exclaimed as she rushed forward and threw her arms around him. They hugged for a bit before Remus hugged me as well.
Once we were all settled again, we headed down to the kitchen where Mr. Travis was cooking breakfast.
"Hey! Sleep well?" he asked brightly.
We nodded.
"Great," he said beaming. "Time for breakfast."
We all sat down at the table. Sirius sat beside me on his haunches and looked up at me expectantly.
"You could give Boomer some eggs," Hillary suggested. "He loves them."
"Sure," Mr. Travis said as he piled some eggs onto a plate and put it down in front of Sirius.
Sirius began eagerly eating them.
I laughed and shook my head.
"Dog has taste," Mr. Travis said also grinning.
Hillary grinned and went back to her food.
We all ate merrily.
"If you'd like, I can drop you off in London. Will you be able to get where you're going from there?" Mr. Travis asked.
"Sure," Remus said nodding. "Grandmum doesn't live too far."
Mr. Travis nodded.
After breakfast, he drove us into London.
Once in London, Remus led us to his flat
The place was cozy and inviting. I plopped down on the couch. Sirius changed back into his human self and sat down on a chair. Hillary and Remus sat down on the couch next to me.
"Would anyone want something to drink?" Remus asked getting up.
"No," Sirius said. "I just want to sleep right now. I'm exhausted."
"Didn't you get enough sleep last night?" Hillary asked looking at him.
"Right...with you snoring?" Sirius asked mockingly.
I giggled.
"I do not snore," Hillary said indignantly.
"Oh no?" Sirius said with wide eyes. "Does the sound of a lawnmower mean anything to you?"
I giggled more.
Remus was staying quiet, enjoying the 'fight'. He had an amused expression on his face.
Hillary folded her arms over her chest. She looked mad, but yet amused.
"And you fart in the bath tub," she said.
At that, I lost it. I was laughing so hard I was crying.
"How do you know? Have you been in the bathroom when I've done it?" Sirius asked.
Remus was also chuckling too.
For a moment, Hillary and Sirius stared at each other without saying a word. Then, they burst into laughter.
We all laughed hard and long.
Then, reality hit us.
"We'd best send an owl to Dumbledore," Remus said turning serious again.
"I agree," Hillary said.
Remus pulled out parchment and quills and began writing the letter. When he was done, he tied it to Sir's leg and Sir took off gracefully out the window.
"We'd best pray that none of the infected get out into the Muggle world," Hillary said gravely drawing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
"That would be a disaster," I said nodding. "Not to mention it would be like a plague."
"Worse," Remus said looking at me. "An epidemic."
"It could wipe out half of England and who's to say it would stop there?" Hillary added.
We fell silent pondering that horrible idea.
Then, I spoke.
"We've got to pray that none of the infected got out,"
Silence again.
"We can relax for now," Remus said slowly. "I don't think there's anything to worry about."
We just relaxed for the afternoon.
When the nighttime came, I looked out the window. A full moon hung in a midnight blue sky. Starts twinkled merrily. I lowered my eyes to Remus and Hillary.
Remus quickly changed into the gray wolf and Hillary changed into a white one with blue eyes.
The two wolves cantered over to me. Sirius had changed into the black dog. I was surrounded by three canines basically.
"I feel so out of place," I said jokingly.
The white wolf jumped up onto the couch beside me and sat on her haunches. She turned her head and licked at my face.
I giggled.
Remus and Sirius had a game of tag going on.
The white wolf was more refined and lady like I guess you could say. She watched the other two wolves with her head cocked.
"They are really silly aren't they?" I asked laughing.
As if to answer, the white wolf barked.
I scratched an ear.
Suddenly, all three canines became stiff as a board and kept their eyes on the door.
"What's wrong?" I asked becoming alarmed.
Remus began growling. Followed by Sirius and Hillary.
A knock came on the door.
"Who...who is it?" I stammered nervously.
"Brittany,"
I froze.
From the way the wolves and Sirius was acting, I decided not to answer the door.
"What do you want?" I asked as casually as I could.
"I need to talk to Remus and Hillary...are they home?"
"No. They went out. I'm not sure when they'll be home," I lied hoping I didn't sound as terrified as I felt.
"That's a shame," Brittany called.
The next thing I knew, the door was kicked in.
I jumped up from the couch. Both wolves snarled and began jumping on Brittany and tried to clamp their jaws on her.
She backhanded Remus. He went sailing into the entertainment center. She kicked Hillary in the side and caused the white wolf to skid several inches on the linoleum.
Hillary kept her body low to the floor as she snarled and bared her teeth.
Brittany stormed over to me and grabbed me by my throat and banged me up against the wall.
"Do you honestly think these mutts will protect you? I know who those wolves are. I told them what they'd have to do and now I've caused the infection to spread...but see, here's the twist. I deliberately started it," Brittany grinned. "Now, the only ones that will survive are the werewolves and they have to go against the infected...that means people they care about."
I just stared at her and couldn't talk.
"And guess what?" Brittany grinned. "You get to be the next victim."
I trembled from head to toe. Brittany let me drop. I landed on my hands and knees. She took several steps back. The next thing I knew, Lily stumbled into the room. The wolves stopped growling and watched.
Lily looked awful. She smelled of sickness and decay. That's what it about comes down to.
Her eyes were bloodshot, watery and her mouth was stained with blood. She walked stiffly into the room.
"Lily," I choked out.
I glanced at the wolves. If they could've had human expressions, I'd say they were shocked.
Lily continued to walk stiffly toward me. She grabbed me by my neck and brought her face close. I shut my eyes from the smell and the whole image. I prepared for her biting me.
The next thing I knew, I felt something furry slam into me. I was thrown sideways. I landed on my side. I opened my eyes.
Remus was standing in front of Lily, teeth bared and snarling. Sirius trotted over to me.
He lowered his head and gently nudged my shoulder, urging me to get up. I cried out in pain. I had landed on my shoulder pretty hard. It felt like it was dislocated.
I shakily managed to get to my feet and I held onto my left arm. I couldn't really raise it. Sirius kept his weight against my leg. The white wolf joined in on my right side. Both kept their weight against me to keep me balanced.
Lily tried to grab a hold of Remus, but he was too quick for her. He clamped his jaws on her throat and tugged.
Lily went down and didn't move.
Brittany flew out of the apartment. Lily wasn't moving. She was dead.
Remus cantered over to me. He had a bit of blood staining his muzzle.
"Thanks, Remy," I said gratefully.
But then, to our horror, Remus' jaundice eyes changed. He shook his head and whined. We watched, unsure of what was happening.
He lowered his head and sneezed...blood.
The white wolf was watching intently. Remus' head was lowered.
"Rem?" I asked as I slowly extended my hand.
There was a horrible silence...then, a loud growl came from Remus' throat.
"Oh God...no...please," I whispered as tears began forming.
Remus raised his head. His eyes were a milky, decayed color...and he was snarling and foaming.
I quickly drew my hand back..
The white wolf wasn't making any noise, but Sirius was. He was growling warningly at Remus.
Remus backed up and then charged us.
I ducked. Remus sailed cleanly over my head and crashed through the glass window. Glass showered the ground outside. He was gone.
I sank to my knees.
I began sobbing. Remus was infected...but why did Brittany say that all werewolves would be pit against the infected if she knew this would happen? Obviously, the infection didn't discriminate...but only by bite.
Sirius came over and put his head against my chest. I buried my face into his soft fur and cried.
The white wolf tilted her head up to the ceiling, slightly parted her jaws and let out a mournful howl that sent chills down my spine and I knew it could be heard for miles.
The next morning, Hillary and Sirius changed back into their human forms.
"I can't believe he's infected," Hillary sobbed.
Sirius put his arms around her and hugged her.
"There's got to be a cure," I said firmly.
Hillary was too busy sobbing into Sirius' chest.
"There's got to be yes," Sirius said looking at me. "But Brittany would be the only one who would know."
"I knew I should've killed her before," Hillary said angrily as she pulled back from Sirius' embrace. "I knew it!"
"This was...is, your daughter you're talking about. It's not that easy," Sirius said searching Hillary's face.
"It's not that easy? REMUS IS A GODDAM ZOMBIE OF SOME SORT! HE'S INFECTED! How am I supposed to believe that everything will be okay?"
Sirius could only watch helplessly.
"I promise," he said finally. "We will track down Brittany and make her tell us about the cure."
Hillary just mumbled.
"What do we do now?" I asked.
"Not sure," Sirius said rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not sure where Brittany would've headed off to."
"Maybe back to Hogwarts to infect more," Hillary said sarcastically.
Sirius ignored her tone. We knew she was completely upset and scared.
"She might," Sirius said nodding in agreement.
"Who's left? Dumbledore and the teachers? We're not even sure if they aren't infected already," Hillary said folding her arms over her chest.
At that moment, Sir came soaring into the window and landed on the back of the couch with a letter tied to his ankles.
Sirius rushed over and took it from him.
He unfolded the letter and Hillary and I crowded around him to read the letter:
Dear Sirius, Hillary, Remus and Laura,
Those that aren't infected are barricaded on the fourth floor. It's 12 teachers and about 100 students. The rest are infected and roaming around the school loosely. We've contacted the ministry. They suggested the Muggle CDC (Center for Disease Control). So I have done so, with some memory modifications that will need to be done but we have no choice. I want you four to stay in Muggle London. As of now, I'm not aware of any infected reaching the Muggle world so you should be safe. I will contact you again.
Professor Albus Dumbledore.
"So they're okay," I said relieved.
"For now," Sirius said folding the letter up and stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans. "The CDC will come in HAZMAT suits and quarantine everything."
"Dumbledore's going to have to modify their memories," Hillary said smirking. "I don't think the CDC would like having to contaminate witches and wizards."
Sirius and I just looked at each other.
"The main thing is that they are okay," Sirius continued. "And the CDC will definitely help those that are infected. We can still save Remus."
Hillary just sighed.
"I hope you're right,"
Deep in my heart I prayed that he was right also, but because Hillary was upset, I didn't want to make her feel worse by telling her my thoughts that we might be all doomed.
I broke into a very false, but cheerful grin.
"We're going to be fine," I said. "You'll see."
