The Sky Was Never Young: Vampire System Apocalypse

"Cassian! It’s past ten- come down and have dinner first!" called aloud Cassian’s mom, Arina, toward the ceiling, her voice competing with the clatter of silverware in the sink. She set down a damp dish towel, her forehead creasing as she turned to her husband. "Ever seen your son being glued to that screen for an hour, Ryan? What had suddenly happened to him? He never does that," asked Arina of her husband, Ryan, who was helping her while washing the dishes, standing near the sink.

Ryan smiled, leaning against the counter as he dried a stray glass. "Relax. My son is a grown man now... nothing else. Check on him; he might do the practice to wash the dishes too, soon".

"Mom, just five more minutes!" Cassian’s voice drifted down from the terrace, muffled by the evening breeze. "The air is clear up here. And I have to study later!" replied Cassian, shouting from the terrace so that his voice reached his mom.

Arina sighed, and with a concerned scrunch on her forehead, while cooking on the gas stove, she looked towards Ryan and said, "What? Seriously... I thought my son was just like me, a genius robot. This boy stays up the whole night; At least he remembers what resting looks like".

Ryan started laughing while placing the dishes on the shelf. "Hahaha... that’s not the matter! Your son finally realized what love looks like... I am pretty sure he will be a gentleman like his father... my genes are dominant enough", replied Ryan.

Arina pointed the hot spatula toward Ryan from afar and said, "Shut up. If he started acting like you, he would get destroyed in his life". After that, she drenched the spatula to sauté the hot, delicious-looking hotpot that she was cooking. With a small smile tugging at her lips, she said, "I am pretty sure that the genes of his mom will be more active in his morals and genius mind forever," while funnily taunting Ryan.

Scene: Up on the terrace, the cool night wind washed over the makeshift wooden daybed. Cassian was sleeping on that bed and wasn’t looking at any study material on his phone. The blue glow of his phone illuminated his face as his thumbs flew across the keyboard.

’So, you wanted to talk. Why the cryptic messages lately with the indirect approaches? You’re practically a celebrity on campus- you could talk to anyone.’

A three-dot bubble danced on his screen before Alissa’s reply popped up.

’Straight to the point, as always. Maybe I just wanted top-tier study tips from the campus genius? (With a smile emoji).’

A second message followed instantly.

’To be honest... everyone expects me to just care about modelling. My grandmother, who is my only family, wants to pull me in money and urges me to study and get a job in a technical post like software dev. My actual dream was also to be a model, but looking at her, I can’t do anything except study and get a secure job right away.’

Cassian was detached, cold, and undeniably a top student. He rarely interacted with any of his classmates, participating in group events only when strictly necessary to protect his academic path to his dream university. He couldn’t afford distractions.

Yet, looking at Alissa’s text, a faint smile slipped across his face. The sudden warmth startled him. Realizing what he was doing, his smile vanished, and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

Cassian: "Just follow the dream you want, not the one others built for you... You are only making it harder on yourself".

BUZZ. BUZZ.

The desk vibrated against his palms because of an incoming call:

(Incoming call from Alissa Mathew).

Cassian froze, his gaze locking onto her name. He abruptly jerked back from his desk, blindly fumbling with the screen to cut the line. The ringing stopped, leaving a heavy silence in the room.

Then a new notification flashed.

Alissa: "Are you seriously the same person as the rumors say?"

Cassian: "What do you mean?"

Alissa: "I mean... I heard you were cold. But you hung up on me. That felt pretty cold too..."

Cassian’s fingers hovered over the glass. "NO I WAS JUST... IT WAS SUDDEN..." he typed out, panic driving the caps lock. He stopped. His thumb hovered over the backspace, deleting the frantic words letter by letter. He forced a slow breath, cleared his mind, and started typing again.

"I prefer chat", Cassian typed.

"So, you are just direct," Alissa shot back. "People mistake you for being cold, but you just express what you feel shortly", her text added.

"You should focus more on your subject," Cassian replied, shifting the focus away from himself. He added, "You’re supposed to be an observer. Why isn’t the textbook sticking?"

Alissa’s reply came instantly after his text, "That’s why I am here... lol. Don’t roast me too hard. So, how do you actually handle all that coding stuff anyway?"

"I’ll send you a few links," Cassian texted. "Just watch them".

Alissa again replied almost instantly. "Oh come on, that’s boring. I tried that earlier. Besides, I slept so soundly last night; it was refreshing."

"Do you believe in supernatural creatures?" Cassian sent this to Alissa.

"I love vampires," her message popped up, followed by a biting emoji. "They are hot. The way they consume their food is honestly so romantic".

Cassian stared at his screen, typing back dryly, "Then find a rich vampire to marry for his money."

"SHUT UP. Tell me, seriously, what should I do?" she replied.

"I am being serious," Cassian replied. "If you like vampires, go marry one".

A brief pause stretched between them before her next bubble appeared. "You know that they don’t exist in the real world. But if you were a vampire, then maybe it would be possible; I’d just marry an intelligent, money-making, wealthy vampire like you".

Cassian’s thumb froze over the keyboard. A strange, sharp jot hit the center of his chest, radiating outward until his breath caught. He stared at the glowing screen in sheer disbelief, suddenly feeling suffocated. Without thinking, he clicked the power button and stepped onto the terrace to roam for a while.

The cool night air did nothing to calm his racing thoughts. "What’s wrong with me?" he thought, rubbing the back of his neck. He murmured, "Do I actually like her?"

After this, he caught himself, shaking his head aggressively to clear the intrusive thoughts, and then he slightly slapped himself and murmured again, "What Nonsense. I have coding assignments to finish tonight, and here I am letting her clutter my mind."

He paced the length of the terrace, his frustration mounting. "She’s a POPULAR BRAT who is obsessed with fictional monsters. Why do I even care if she understands real humanity or not?" Cassian mumured to himself.

Stopping by the railing, he finally flipped his phone back on, the harsh glare stinging his eyes. He looked down at the text chain and suddenly flew his fingers over the keyboard to type.

"Humans can actually understand humanity if they choose to be kind. But vampires? They just drain you dry without ever knowing what pain feels like. Humans can be tall, handsome, gentle, kind, and have morals; then what is the need for a vampire? They are horrible; just imagine those unhygienic big fangs... You seriously have an interest in ghosts... eww".

Miles away, Alissa’s phone buzzed on her mattress. She rolled over in the dim light of her bedroom, squinting at the wall of text. A small, amused smile tugged at her lips.

"Chill, Cass," She typed back. "Vampires are not real... I know."

Cassian turned his phone to lock and then, while hitting himself on his forehead with his palm, he murmured in pure confusion as soon as he saw the notification bubble pop, "Why did I even write that? What’s going on with me!"

He was tired of his own actions, so he decided to sit back on that wooden piece. He was adjusting to a comfortable position, but something unexpected happened. He noticed someone standing a few meters away from him. He stared. A figure stood completely still in the corner of his terrace. Shadows swallowed their features, but a ragged cloth was wrapped tightly around their face. Fear spiked cold in his chest. How did anyone get up here?

"Hey!" Cassian’s voice cracked, losing its edge. "Get back down! I’m calling the cops".

The figure didn’t speak. They lunged forward with terrifying, silent speed. Cassian fumbled for his phone, but before he could raise his hands, a heavy iron rod swung through the darkness.

A sickening crack echoed. Pain exploded behind his eyes, and the concrete rushed up to meet him.

Cassian fell on the terrace ground-

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