Blueprints

Ariel adjusted the straps on her backpack, rolling her shoulders as she surveyed the ruins ahead. The abandoned shelter loomed in the distance, half-buried under collapsed buildings and overgrown vines. According to the mission brief, this place had once been a safe house before it fell to the vampire horde. Now, it was just another corpse in the graveyard of the old world.

She exhaled, gripping her knife tightly. "Alright, little hamster, stay close."

The tiny, golden-brown hamster poked his head out from the pocket of her jacket, beady eyes gleaming in the dim afternoon light. He twitched his whiskers at her as if to say, Do I look like I'm going anywhere?

Ariel smirked. "Good."

Most people at the shelter thought she was crazy for keeping a hamster in a world where food was scarce and death lurked around every corner. But the hamster wasn't just any rodent. He was hers—her lucky charm, her only real friend in a world of bloodsuckers.

And if he had lips instead of tiny hamster teeth, he'd be smirking right now.

The entrance to the shelter was blocked by a rusted security door, half-broken and hanging off its hinges. Ariel squeezed through the gap, stepping into the darkness beyond. The air was stale, carrying the scent of dust and decay. Her boots crunched over shattered glass and old bullet casings.

No bodies. That was good. That meant whatever had happened here was long over.

The hamster, nestled comfortably in her pocket, peeked out and twitched his nose. His keen senses picked up something—something Ariel couldn't detect.

She pulled out a small flashlight and flicked it on, casting long shadows across the room. Rows of empty metal shelves lined the walls, stripped bare.

"Damn it," she muttered. "Looks like someone already looted this place."

She started searching anyway, checking for hidden compartments, stashes—anything. That's when she saw the metal filing cabinet in the corner. It was old, dented, and locked.

Locked meant untouched.

Ariel grinned. She reached into her backpack, pulling out a screwdriver. "Alright, time to—"

THUD.

She froze.

The sound came from deeper inside the shelter.

The hamster stiffened in her pocket.

Ariel switched off her flashlight and pressed herself against the wall, heart hammering. She could hear it now—scraping, shuffling, and something... wet.

A feral.

Feral vampires were the worst kind. Unlike the intelligent ones that had taken over the world, these were the mindless ones—the ones who had lost all reason, all control. They were just hungry.

And one of them was in here.

Ariel held her breath.

The hamster, however, had no fear.

The little hamster leaped out of her pocket and scurried toward the sound.

"You little idiot!" she hissed under her breath.

But the hamster was already gone, his tiny body vanishing into the darkness.

Ariel clenched her knife, cursing under her breath. Of course, her only companion in the apocalypse had a death wish.

She crept forward, following hamster's tiny squeaks. She peeked around a corner—and almost gagged.

The feral vampire was hunched over something, its skeletal body twitching. Its mouth was smeared with dried blood, fangs jagged and uneven. It looked... wrong, like a glitch in reality, something that shouldn't exist.

And there, right in front of it, was her little hamster.

Ariel nearly screamed.

The hamster just sat there, wiggling his nose.

The feral cocked its head, confused. It let out a low snarl, reaching toward the hamster with gnarled fingers.

And then...

BOOM.

The feral's head snapped backward as if it had been struck by an invisible force. It stumbled, dazed, before hissing in pain.

Ariel blinked. Did her hamsterjust... do something?

The feral growled, shaking off its confusion. It lunged—

And the hamster leaped into the air.

For a split second, Ariel could swear she saw something unnatural—a flicker of red eyes, a hint of fangs—before the hamster landed squarely on the vampire's face and bit down.

The feral screamed. It flung itself backward, thrashing, before suddenly collapsing.

Dead.

Ariel stood frozen.

The hamster scurried back to her, his tiny paws completely clean, his face innocent.

She slowly knelt down, staring at the lifeless feral.

"...What the hell just happened?"

The hamster let out a squeak, as if to say, No idea. Let's move on.

Shaking off her shock, Ariel forced herself to refocus. Whatever had just happened, she wasn't about to question it now.

She hurried back to the filing cabinet and forced it open.

Inside, she found something better than supplies.

Blueprints.

Detailed schematics, old research files—notes about early vampire experiments.

Ariel's breath caught in her throat.

This... This could be huge. If the resistance could use this information, they might actually have a chance.

The hamster peered into the drawer, his tiny hamster face unreadable.

Ariel tucked the papers into her backpack. She glanced back at the dead feral, then down at the hamster.

"...You're really weird, you know that?"

The hamster blinked up at her, looking suspiciously smug.

With her prize secured, Ariel made her way out of the shelter. She was still rattled, but one thing was clear—The hamster had saved her life.

And she had no idea how or why.

As she stepped back into the open air, the sun beginning to set, she sighed in relief.

"Alright, let's head back before—"

THUMP.

The ground trembled.

A shadow loomed over her.

Ariel slowly turned her head—

And froze.

Towering above her was something massive. Not a vampire. Something worse.

The hamster twitched his whiskers.

Ariel sighed.

"...Of course."