Heat-Haze Daze

1

It first happened at around 12:30 PM on August 15.

It was a pretty, cloudless day, and Jungkook, having nothing better to do, sat on one of the swings in a park, chattering aimlessly with Taehyung. Showered in sunlight bright enough to make him feel ill, Jungkook squinted and covered his eyes with his wrist. He almost considered hiding in the creepy old building nearby for shade.

"Honestly," Taehyung's voice, however, snapped him from his thoughts, and Jungkook peeked around the creaky chain of the swing to face the blonde who'd slowed his swing to a stop. "I think I kinda hate summer." he muttered brazenly.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Jungkook replied, only partially listening as he leaned back, making the swing away gently.

He tilted his head up towards the sky, letting the sun's warmth bathe his face before startling at a sudden softness against his leg. He looked down and met the green eyes of a fluffy, black cat. Cooing quietly, Taehyung knelt down to pet it as it scampered across their feet.

He scooped up the creature and stroked its head as it purred quietly. Just as he went to say something else, the cat jumped from his arms and began to scurry away. Taehyung hopped off of the swing, chasing after it. Jungkook watched as the small cat paused in the middle of the street, looking at back at him with its piercing green eyes before turning back around and starting to run again.

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. As the black ball of fur scampered off the street, a traffic light painted the obliviously following Taehyung in a bright red glow. The blonde slowed to a stop right where the cat had.

Time seemed to freeze for only a second as Taehyung's expression morphed into one of horror and Jungkook leapt from the swing.

Crashing in with a horrifying crunch that resounded in his ears, the giant truck heard a scream just a little bit to late. Blood splattered across the frontal license plate reading "530KJ1N" and Jungkook's eyes widened from where he stood at the curb with an outstretched hand.

He shakily sucked in a gulp of the overheated air.

Is this a lie? It has to be. This isn't...it's not real...it's not..it just can't be...

His thoughts raced rapidly as the heat haze seemed to mock him, weighing warm on his skin and burning his back through the fabric of his shirt. Taehyung lay there motionless in a growing pool of his own blood and Jungkook heard screaming. His throat aches, he thinks distantly that the sound might be coming from him as wetness covered his cheeks.

Across the street a bystander watched with a crinkled eye smile, clad in a puffy winter coat despite the temperature as the black cat sat at his feet, staring back at Jungkook with an innocently gentle smile. With his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he tilted his head, the bystander's expression was sickly jovial, eyes nearly closing as he giggled behind his hand.

"Yeah, this is real."

Jungkook's blood ran ice cold as a bead of sweat trickled from his hairline down the side of his face. The sky was a bright cerulean as cicadas began to sing, the heat continued to rage and before he knew it, his vision blurred and he fell into a deep sleep.