100 years later

I: Jungkook 

I'm beginning to think my neighbor's cat is immortal.

No, seriously.

In all the 18 years I've been living on Bangtan Street, that brown tabby hasn't aged at all. At least, he looks the same as always; long brown fur with piercing amber eyes, and big white-pawed feet to finish the look.

Not a single white hair on its muzzle.

Yup. Immortal.

And for some reason, he's always watching me. Every time I exit my house, he's there; either staring at me from the window or sitting on the gate. I even caught him looking at me through my bedroom window once; amber eyes unblinking. It's starting to get downright creepy. So creepy that I'm starting to wonder if you can arrest a cat for alleged stalking.

Though, that should be the least of my worries right now. At least for the world it is. On every television broadcast, radio, youtube, newspaper, there's only one topic.

Vampires.

It only started recently, just last winter, when the first attack happened. Right here in London, England. The victim was found dead in a ditch, one arm completely ripped off. On his neck was the distinct mark of two large red spots, and almost all the blood in his body was gone. The doctors had never seen anything like it, but waved it off as some kind of blood malfunction. No one believed vampires were the cause.

But that was before the second attack.

Then the third.

And all had the same two red marks on their neck, bodies sucked dry of any blood.

By the fourth attack, the doctors were malfunctioning themselves, completely confused as to what was happening. They had taken vampires into consideration, but without evidence, nothing was confirmed.

Yet.

The most concrete evidence came four months ago, when a woman who was walking her dog late at night, swore to have seen a fanged figure depart from a body which was found the following morning.

The next day, that woman ended up missing.

At this point, doctors and police alike had to conclude that the impossible had indeed happened.

Vampires were attacking.

Not just in London, but all over the world, people were finding corpses on the street; eyes glazed over and limbs missing. Understandably everyone was frightened, and the police had passed orders telling everyone to stay inside during the nighttime, to try and minimize attacks.

Now, I didn't really believe in vampires, not even after these attacks. Vampires were only beings that appeared in horror books, to scare children. No way were they actually real. These attacks were probably staged by a terrorist intent on sending shock and fear through the countries. And if that had been their motive, it worked. People were now too scared to go outside, even during the daytime. Schools had been closed, and some shops had also shut.

☆☆☆

I sighed in relief, dropping onto my sofa. Since school was shut for an "emergency vacation", I could relax wholeheartedly and not worry when my next assignment was due.

And I loved it.

It wasn't because I was a horrible student, but the opposite. Even class valedictorians needed rest, and rest was exactly what I needed.

Just as I was about to open the latest book I had been reading, the front doorbell rang.

Ding Dong.

Groaning, I heaved myself to my feet, and walked towards the door. When I opened it, I was greeted with two, no, three faces which I could have done without.

It was my neighbors: sweet Mrs. Clements and cranky Mr. Clements, who saw me as a juvenile delinquent, even though I wasn't. Usually.

And of course, the cat, who was sitting on the doorstep and busy washing his face with its huge paws. He then turned to glance at me. I looked away.

Mrs. Clements smiled, showing off her dimples. "Hello Jungkook dear. How are you doing? My husband is delighted to meet you." Mr. Clements grunted, as if he couldn't believe they were wasting time speaking to me.

"Fine, thank you. And you?" I chose to ignore Mr. Clement's scowl... and the cat, who was staring at me with its amber eyes as if his life depended on it. (Spoiler: I had a much better time ignoring the scowls).

"Oh yes, we're all right," Mrs. Clements smiled again, as if that could make the awkwardness in the air disappear. "Did you know that we're leaving to go on a trip to Iceland today?"

Seriously, what did this have to do with me? "Um, I can't say I did, but Iceland..." Desperately, I tried to remember where that was. Somewhere in Canada perhaps? "Iceland is probably nice this time of year, you know. Well, I hope you have fun."

I started to close the door, but Mr. Clements thrust his feet in the opening. "We're not done yet boy." He glared at me like I was something sticky on the sole of his shoe. I glared back.

"Hank, be nice," Mrs. Clements scolded. Turning back to me, she hesitated. "Actually, Jungkook dear, we do have a bit of a favor we would like you to do." Kneeling down, she picked up the tabby cat with a slight oomph. The cat and I maintained eye contact the whole time, which seemed to creep Mr. Clements out. I smirked.

"If it's not too much trouble, we would love it if you could take care of our little Fuzzy Wuzzy here while we're gone. Our cat sitter pulled out at the last moment, and we need someone to look after him. It'll only be one week," she added hastily, seeing the look on my face. This time, the cat and I stared at each other in mutual dismay, both hating even the thought of being stuck under the same roof for a whole week. The tabby let out a small mew of distress, while I stared in horror.

I was about to turn down the offer, when I caught Mr. Clement's eye. He had an evil glint in there, which told me he was up to no good. He mouthed the word 'tulip' to me, and smirked. That was all it took to understand that if I declined, there would be nothing to stop him from telling his wife about the time I stepped on her prized tulips last spring. No matter how many times I told him it was an accident, he wouldn't believe me. I wondered then why he didn't tell her right then and there, but now I understood. It was so that he would have that secret up his sleeve anytime he needed me to do something. I gritted my teeth. That stupid old bat!

Turning back to Mrs. Clements, I forced a smile. "Of course Mrs. Clements! I would be delighted to take care of... er.... little Fuzzy Wuzzy while you're gone." The cat in her arms snorted, as if he couldn't believe he had been given such a utterly stupid name. And for once I agreed wholeheartedly. I mean... Fuzzy Wuzzy? Only a person with severe brain damage would even think of naming their pet that.

Mrs. Clements smiled brightly, which seemed to be her default move whenever something awkward happened. "Oh thank you dear! I know that you two will get along splendidly," she extended her hands so that the cat was basically dangling over my arms. I gingerly reached out to grab him, inwardly sighing in relief when he at least didn't try and claw me.

"His cat food, water dispenser, bowl and litter boxes are all in our house. You can use them as you please, but please don't try and overfeed him. Just give him cat food two times a day in his bowl and he should be fine."

Glancing at her watch, she nodded to her husband, who started walking away without even a goodbye. "We really must be going now Jungkook dear. Our flight leaves in one hour. Oh, and before I forget," she rummaged in her purse, bringing out a set of silver keys. "Here are the keys to our house. Please use it to get all the supplies you need, but remember to lock the door on your way out. I don't want burglars getting in at night, much less vampires." she shivered, as if the mere thought was enough to send her bolting.

Leaning down, she kissed the cat on the head. "Be good my little Fuzzy Wuzzy, and we'll be home before you know it. Don't make too much trouble for Jungkook dear, my little cuddle coo." The cat meowed, looking absolutely mortified. I couldn't blame him.

Turning to me, she simply patted me on the shoulder, which I was eternally grateful for. "I want to thank you again for accepting this, dear. I don't know what we would have done without you. Goodbye Jungkook, and stay safe!" Still smiling, she waved at me, then turned and walked off, closing the garden gate behind her. Mr. Clements glared at me through the tinted car window, and I gave him a death glare in return. He looked away, muttering something under his breath.

I then directed my attention to the stalker cat, who was now trying to wriggle out of my arms. Not wanting to get scratched, I was more than happy to let go of him. Setting him down on the concrete, I watched him give his brown-striped fur a few quick licks, then turn to stare at me. Again. I sighed, running a hand down my face. "What am I going to do with you, huh?" I asked the cat, who only purred in response. "Why are you always staring at me?"

Instead of answering, the tabby lifted his striped tail high and stalked into the house through the open door, jumping nimbly onto the kitchen table. There, he started batting the flower pot with one paw, his head bent down to sniff the lavender.

I shook my head in defeat, gathering the mail from my mailbox, and stepped into the house, closing the door behind me.

What I didn't notice were the two males looking at me from atop the apartment building next door, dark red eyes positively glowing.

No, not just staring at me.

They were also staring at the cat.

And the cat stared back. 

If you're wondering what the cat looks like...

Until next time! :)