Here Kitty, Kitty - 1. Chapter 1.1

Simon looked up at the mountain that he now called home, the snow shone in the moonlight. As a vampire, he should’ve been able to climb it in thirty seconds or less. As a newly turned vampire, he moved only marginally faster than a human would.

He started to climb with a sigh, carrying the few necessities he’d managed to trade for in the nearby village. If the villagers he traded with thought it was odd he only showed up after sunset, they’d never commented directly to him in the few months he’d been living in the area.

Finally, he arrived at the mouth of his cave. He’d been happy to find such a convenient home.

The bastard that turned him into what he now was had left him for dead at the side of a dirt track. To this day, he didn’t know if the jerk meant to turn him or if he’d thought Simon would just bleed out before morning. Either way, Simon was now a vampire. He’d dragged himself undercover after his attacker had run off, and fallen unconscious until the following sunset. It hadn’t taken Simon long to work out why he wasn’t dead. Or why he woke up so hungry, but the thought of eating anything he could catch and cook made his stomach roll. A good clue had been that he’d managed to catch a rabbit…using only his bare hands. It went past him in the underbrush and he just reached out and grabbed it. The other really big, hit-me-in-the-face-with-it-clue was that the rabbit smelled delicious…raw! Without any thought, he’d sunk his teeth into it and pulled hard to get a good mouthful of blood. He’d drained it in a few seconds and all his injuries mostly healed instantly. They looked to be days old instead of only hours.

Simon had spent the night walking aimlessly along the path, trying to get his head around what had happened. The sunrise started, and he could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness between one step and the next. He found shelter from the sun under some snow-covered trees, before his mind switched off like a light.

The next night he made it to the mountain and decided if he was going to find anywhere to hide out a cave would be great. It would be like the camping out he’d done when he was younger. Except, he would be alone.

The cave Simon found was large and had a stream running through the back of it. Trees surrounded it and hide it from the main mountain path. He would have wood for a fire, water for washing himself and his clothes, and he already knew he could catch his food, so he was set.

***

Simon stopped as he entered the cave, he was sure he’d heard a low growl. He peered into the darkness and saw two green eyes watching him.

He moved slowly closer and realized the eyes belonged to a huge cat. It had a silvery grey coat and its ears flicked, following him as he moved. Simon could sense the tension in its body and knew it would be ready to pounce at any moment.

“This is my cave.” Simon tried to make his voice as confident as he could, though he was sure the big animal could hear the fear quavering in his tone. “You need to leave. Go on… shoo.”

He waved his arms in the air, trying to make himself bigger than his usual paltry five feet and scare the interloper away.

Instead, it laid its head down on its paws and seemed to watch him in amusement. Could a cat laugh?

Then he heard another noise and the cat lifted its head and looked toward the back of the cave letting out a few chirps, then another low growl as three furballs came rolling toward Simon.

Simon landed in a heap and hit his head sharply on the hard-packed earth of the ground. He shook the stars from his eyes and looked at the three cubs now sat in his lap as they stared up at him with wide eyes.

What was he supposed to do now????