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Remus ducked through the backways of Lower East Side. He tried his best to remain out of sight, though no one seemed to particularly care about a small boy working his way around the city. He was fully aware that this was stupid of him. Unquestionably idiotic. He knew what would happen when he was caught.
Remus was nearing the end of his first year at East Side Community School, and somehow managed to get on thin ice with half the faculty. Lyall had already pulled some strings so they'd consider enrolling a kid with a record like Remus'. If Remus caused much more trouble, Lyall's efforts would be for naught.
Maybe that should make Remus feel bad. But his stepfather wasn't doing it out of the kindness of his heart. Not because of affection for Remus. Instead, it came from a place of obligation... Well, Lyall could take that obligation and shove it right up his ass. Remus didn't care.
Nothing his father did would convince Remus to willingly share a room with Ms. Erin any longer. She was a dreadful teacher, with a personal vendetta against Remus. Although it was only Tuesday morning, it was the last week of school. They'd barely notice he was gone.
Remus came out of an alley to find himself in the middle of a busy flea market. People strolled around, laughing and chatting with each other. Plenty of animals, too. A few patrons were walking their dogs. Pigeons hopped about on the nearby buildings, waiting to snag food from an unsuspecting victim... Good news for Remus, the crowds and distractions would make it easier to blend in. But being a five minute walk from his school still made him uneasy. Someone could track him down.
He crossed the small plaza, head hung, careful not to bump into anyone. He successfully reached the other side without much notice. Beside the alley he was gunning for was a small stand. It was filled with a variety of trinkets and treats. Remus' stomach growled at the sight of the various chocolates.
Against his better judgement, Remus made his way closer to the stand. The owner was preoccupied, sorting through a box on the other side of the stall. Taking in his surroundings one last time and deducing nobody was watching him, Remus swiped a bar off the table. He strolled towards his exit, remaining victorious in avoiding detection.
Or at least Remus had evaded human awareness. The pigeons watching nearby, however, decided it was the perfect time to strike. They descended onto Remus, swarming around his body. Remus only took note of how odd their appearance was after they started diving for him. They were larger than normal, and seemed particularly monstrous. Remus didn't get to observe more before they were tearing chunks of cloth and flesh off of him.
Concluding it must be some sort of divine punishment, Remus threw the chocolate back in the direction of the stall. Yet the birds were relentless, clawing and pecking wildly in an attempt to get to his delicate areas. He did his best to shield his face with his arms, saving his eyes in the process. The rest of Remus wasn’t so lucky. Batting the birds away with his hands was ineffective at best and left him unguarded.
Remus did the only other thing he could and ran for his life. He came out the other end of the passageway and found himself in front of a small road. He didn’t stop moving. Instead, Remus took off into the street, doing his best to avoid the few cars in his path. It didn’t phase him when the drivers honked and hollered, he was solely focused on the demon pigeons trying to shred him.
Whether from miracle or dumb luck, Remus survived the sprint across the road. The horde of birds had thinned just enough for him to see where he was headed. Remus, left without other choice, made a mad dash for the store in front of him.
He had planned to try and maneuver through the door while it was cracked, to shake as many of the birds as possible. However, they all began to scatter the moment Remus touched the handle. Remus took the opportunity without much deliberation, jumping inside the store. He backed farther inside and into the nearest aisle. When he was certain they weren’t coming after him, Remus breathed a sigh of relief.
He leaned against the shelves, taking a moment to catch his breath. Something in Remus’ gut stopped him from relaxing completely. Yielding to his intuition, he decided to fully take in his surroundings.
Remus peeked around the corner to see the checkout. A single worker was manning a register. The store was fairly empty at this time of day, so one was enough to keep things moving.
Remus took another step out from his hiding spot, and was immediately met with a familiar voice. “Remus John Lupin, you have thirty seconds to explain to me what in the world you are doing here! It’s one in the afternoon. Shouldn't you be in school?”
Well, fuck. Remus slowly turned, ending up face-to-face with his least favorite teacher. “Hi, Mrs. Erin,” Remus mumbled dejectedly. His day couldn't possibly get any worse, could it?
Mrs. Erin looked her (probably least favorite) student over with a frown. “Nothing to say for yourself? Psh. I'm taking you back to school,” she snapped.
That was strange. She didn't mention Remus' state of distress. His clothes and his arms were badly torn up. Hadn't she noticed?
The pit in Remus' stomach sunk further as she dragged him towards the exit, entirely ignoring his resistance. He couldn't put a finger on why, exactly, but something was terribly wrong.
Thinking quickly, Remus jerked backwards and slammed his body into one of the store displays. The force sent merchandise toppling off the small shelves and onto the floor.
“You ignorant child,” Mrs. Erin hissed. “Can't you do anything right!?”
Startled by the loud noise, the worker came to investigate. Mrs. Erin changed her demeanor in an instant, smiling apologetically at the employee. “I’m awfully sorry. Children can be so clumsy these days.”
“Sorry. I'll clean it up,” Remus offered. He did not sound sorry. Mrs. Erin's smile tightened, but she didn't say more.
The employee shrugged at Remus' words, putting an earbud in and walking back towards their register. Remus scooped up fallen items, placing them in the appropriate spots. Mrs. Erin tsked before moving to help. When she was thoroughly distracted, Remus grabbed a shaken soda can. He stuffed it into his pocket, next to the small screwdriver he always kept on hand.
Once finished cleaning, Mrs. Erin yanked Remus to his feet. She pulled him out the door and down the street. Remus planted his feet after they passed right by the turn for the school.
“Where are we going?” He asked.
Mrs. Erin tugged on Remus' sleeve, but he refused to budge. She looked to the people surrounding them before relaxing her grip slightly. “The school, of course.”
“We already passed the turn for the school.”
“I simply take a different route.”
That's what Remus needed to hear. He reached for the can in his back pocket with his free hand.
“What are you doing, Remus?”
“I'm thirsty,” he replied simply. “I need a drink.”
Mrs. Erin dropped Remus' arm, confused. That confusion lasted for all of ten seconds. Until Remus shook the can furiously and shot the pressurized liquid at her face, of course.
Remus ran, disregarding the angry yelling from the woman he left behind. He took a shortcut through Tompkins Park, hoping to shake her off his tail. The soda blinding her should've helped.
Her screams, however, followed Remus through the park. He spared a glance backwards and concluded his eyes must be playing tricks on him. Mrs. Erin's body was contorting unnaturally as she ran. Her skin had become wrinkled and leathery. Her fingers elongated and grew pointy at the tips. From her back protruded a pair of furled wings. They reminded Remus of a bat.
No one else in the park seemed to pay Mrs. Erin any mind whatsoever. Remus turned around, a fresh wave of fear and uncertainty engulfing him. In an attempt to escape the park faster, he hopped a fence into a grassy enclosure.
It didn't work. The winged woman—or whatever the hell his science teacher had become—followed. She latched onto Remus' back with her talons, sending them both tumbling onto the ground. He knew it was real when he tasted the turf and pain tore through his body.
Remus flailed his limbs, kicking and punching and scratching. It did nothing for his situation. The creature, in response, pinned Remus’ arms to his sides. She opened her maw in an attempt to bite down on Remus’ throat. He slammed his forehead into hers when she tried.
“You little fucking brat,” she hissed in mild pain (more like annoyance, really). Rearing back slightly from the weak blow, she raised one of her arms to dig her claws into Remus' jaw. She smiled at his noise of distress, taking the chance to taunt the boy. “You, little demigod, have been nothing but a pain in my ass the entire year. I'm going to enjoy cutting you open. I can't wait to—”
Remus had reached into his pocket while the demon-lady monologued. As subtly as possible, he slowly began to pull his screwdriver out. When the creature tensed, Remus pulled his arm up sharply. “What do you think you're—” She started. Remus, with as much force as could muster, drove his screwdriver forward and into his teacher's eye. The creature shrieked in rage.
He wiggled the tool deeper into the socket. The demon slashed wildly at Remus' face before jerking away from him. Remus took the opportunity to crawl backwards.
He sat, frozen in shock, as hot blood trickled down his face. Remus watched the demon convulse wildly on the grass before his vision turned red.