Kitty - the newly reborn Feral Vampire - began wrapping its tongues around the Jeep, just like the legendary Kraken coiling its tentacles around ships.
The Jeep shook violently as Kitty tried to flip it over. But it didn't budge - not even when the dog slammed into it with full force.
Ethan, Autumn, and Royce were still tightly trapped inside the car.
"Don't worry! Summer once bragged to me that he'd modded this Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. I don't know exactly what upgrades he installed, but staying inside might actually be safer than stepping out."
Autumn whispered shakily.
"…Maybe we can hold out until sunrise. Kitty just got reborn, so she should have weakened by then."
Autumn was rummaging through the glove compartment, searching for something. She would've worked faster if she took off her blindfold, but there was no way she wanted to see those drooling, slimy, dangling tongues of Kitty.
Royce, meanwhile, was calmly livestreaming in silence. He moved the selfie stick and phone right up to the car window for extra drama. Thanks to that, Ethan noticed the donation feed was flooding in like a storm.
Ethan wanted to concentrate on finding a way for them all to escape, but he couldn't focus - he was too distracted by the way Autumn was swaying her body slightly to some music only she could hear through her headphones.
After failing to flip the Jeep with its tentacle-like tongues, Kitty changed tactics. It retracted its tongues back to normal size.
It seemed like the Jeep was finally free…
But no!
Before Ethan could feel any relief, the tongues slammed violently against the car windows again - as if Kitty was trying to pierce the glass with its tongues. With terrifying speed and force, the lamprey-like tips of the tongues were getting smashed and mangled in the process.
Kitty was smart enough to target specific points on the glass. Its tongues were getting bruised, and some had collapsed, unable to regenerate.
"Stay calm! The windows Summer installed aren't easy to break."
Autumn tried to reassure everyone.
But clearly, she didn't believe her own words much. She cracked her blindfold open just a bit, then ducked down under the seat.
Autumn began calling her family for help. Whatever the response was, it left her quietly muttering "yes… okay…" before falling completely silent, looking dazed.
"Autumn! I don't know what you're thinking right now, but let me say this first - don't you dare tell me to run away on my own,"
Ethan snapped his fingers next to Autumn's ear, trying to snap her back to reality.
"Yeah! And don't even think about using me as bait like before. I'm sick and tired of being bitten and sucked dry by female vampires,"
Royce complained wearily.
A spark of realization suddenly lit up in Ethan's mind, helping him piece together events from the past.
"Hey, Royce. So, last week wasn't the first time you got bitten by a girl, huh?"
"Uh… You have no idea what I've been through."
"Is that why you always run away from girls at school?"
"I never ran away!"
"Oh please, quit denying it. I've been bitten too. Now I'm just as scared of girls as you are. These days I dodge all the Femme Fatales in school."
"When have I ever been scared of girls?"
Royce shot back, his ears and the back of his neck turning bright red. No teenage boy wants to admit his weakness - especially not one involving girls.
"I still act normal around Autumn, don't I?"
He added.
"Do you really?"
Autumn giggled and turned to the back seat, then lightly brushed her delicate fingers against Royce's arm.
"Autumn! Don't touch meeee!"
Royce screamed in panic, while Ethan doubled over in laughter.
Thud.
The laughter stopped cold when they saw that the Jeep's windows - modded by Summer - had finally been pierced through. Kitty's tongues were now squirming their way inside, all pointing their fanged tips straight at Ethan - the only human in the car.
"No! Don't rip those tongues out again. That'll only make them multiply!"
Ethan shouted, stopping Royce, who was already gripping a few of the twitching tongues in his left hand.
"Try tying them into knots!"
Royce caught on immediately.
He tossed the selfie stick and phone to Autumn to handle the livestream.
Then he went one better than Ethan's suggestion - he braided the tongues together like hair, then tied them into a knot. Now Kitty was completely stuck to the Jeep window - trapped by her own tongues.
So, the whole crew eagerly jumped out of the Jeep.
But things weren't as under control as they seemed.
"Guys! Look!"
Ethan had just spotted the remaining tongues of Kitty taking turns attacking the ones that were stuck inside the Jeep.
If those trapped tongues got destroyed, Kitty would break free and then they'd be lucky to run another few hundred meters before being caught.
"Why don't you guys just finish her off now?"
Ethan looked from Autumn to Royce, eyes wide with urgency.
Meanwhile, one of the tongues restraining Kitty had just been bitten off by its own kind. Now, if just two more tongues got severed, this time next year might very well mark Ethan's death anniversary.
"I guess neither of you has the skills or the guts, huh?"
Ethan decided to use a classic baiting tactic to provoke them.
"…Even though the enemy is basically tied up? And all you need to do is rip her throat open and drain her blood?"
"No way! Who in their right mind would BITE A DOG?"
Royce protested loudly.
"You're a Vampire! Come on!"
"Even vampires need ethics and dignity! What will the Vampire Community say if they find out I bit a dog?"
"I won't tell. Autumn won't tell. And if you turn off the Livestream, no one will ever know."
"I already turned it off!"
Autumn said, snapping Royce's phone shut and ending what was arguably the most dramatic Livestream he'd ever done.
"Then you better get those fangs ready too, Autumn."
Her smile vanished instantly.
Both Royce and Autumn now wore matching expressions of absolute disgust at Ethan's proposed strategy.
But there was no time left to hesitate. Only one tongue was still anchoring Kitty to the Jeep. They had to act now.
Royce bared his fangs.
In the dark, his feline, almond-shaped pupils gleamed faintly - he'd entered full combat mode.
Royce tore off his tattered T-shirt to move more freely. His broad, muscular body complete with a chiseled six-pack and finely honed feline muscle tone looked even more striking under the moonlight. The scars from his earlier battle only added to the raw allure and rugged charm of that figure.
Ethan stood back, a little worried as he watched the two of them from afar.
Then he picked up Royce's phone. Turns out the Livestream had never been stopped. With a mischievous grin, Ethan pointed the selfie stick toward Kitty - where two young vampires were about to take down a mutated Chihuahua from hell.
The viewership count skyrocketed. The donations flooded in - mostly from fans admiring Royce's bare, muscular back.