Two years after the world ended, the shower in the abandoned snacks factory still worked. I washed the sweat from my face, hoping the cold water would help me get rid of the leftovers of the premonition. The vision of a half-naked demon and people skewered on strange plants like macabre shishkebabs stuck to my thoughts like burnt scrambled eggs to a frying pan.

I was putting on my hoodie when emojis' angry hisses and erratic stomping echoed in the factory's narrow corridor, coming from the production hall. A young man's scream tore over the sounds of fighting. Swearing, I sprinted to catch up with the horde. No rest for the wicked.

I unfastened my axe from the back holster as I reached the last line of monsters. My favorite weapon had great reach, and with one swing, I could take out several emojis at once. A human would struggle to lift it, but with the considerable enhancements I'd received to be the flawless killing machine, I didn't mind its weight. Besides, the heavy blade was a nice upgrade from the cast-iron frying pan I'd knocked my first emoji with.

I worked like a grinder, and gore splashed all around, staining my fresh sweatshirt. Fleck! I'd have to look for new clothes again, as if the apocalypse wasn't irritating enough.

Most of the emojis turned to face me, although some still were trying to beat down the small, reinforced door in the corner.

More than a dozen pairs of hardly human eyes flashed at me with hunger. I swung my axe, sending another couple of human-shaped monsters behind the veil. Pity the pesky scientists hadn't found the cure for the flecking parasite.

The surviving creps hissed, trying to surround me. I was pushing the whole group into the corner with the doors, killing a few at a time with every step I took, until there was no one standing.

I stepped over the pile of minced corpses and tapped on the door. The lad must have been scared out of his wits. I didn't want to stress him further.

"Open the door. It's safe now," I said in as friendly a tone as I could muster. I wasn't exactly what you would call a nice girl. I stood there and waited for him to collect his thoughts. He stood in the doorframe, squinting his beautiful blue eyes behind simple, wire-framed glasses. His short, almost black hair was disheveled but still looked cute as hell. He might have been in his early twenties, but his svelte figure gave him a boyish look.

Seeing me, he backed off, fear flashing on his face. Raze, with all the blood and gore on me, I looked like a nightmare. The axe didn't make it any better...

"It's safe now," I cooed, hoping to soothe him enough to stop him from running away in panic. "I won't hurt you, unless you're one of those beasts after all," I added, seeing him relax a little.

I had to take him away from this mess. More emojis would come, attracted by the scent of fresh kill, disgusting cannibals as they were. Their feast would give us time to use the showers. This time, I would have more to wash away than gruesome images.

The lad was still in shock, so I guided him by the hand to the locker room. Blood was trickling from his clenched right fist.

"You're hurt?" I asked, but he didn't answer.

I loosened his fingers to reveal a small, gold cross. He whimpered when I eased the trinket out of his flesh, but snatched it from me with his good, left hand and stuck it into his jeans' pocket. I pulled him to a sink and washed the blood from his palm. I grabbed a bandage from the first aid kit on the wall and bound the two small wounds. It wouldn't do if he caught an infection.

I threw away my ruined clothes and washed the gore from my body. The lad didn't turn around, but in his stupor, I doubted he registered much. My weapon deserved a thorough cleaning, too. As I scrubbed and oiled the shiny blade, the handsome lad followed me with a terrified, wide-eyed gaze.

"We need to get out of here before it gets dark, or it will be much harder to get to my place," I said, sheathing my axe.

"You mean impossible?" he stuttered.

I saw where this was coming from. As soon as the sun set, the vampires roamed the land. They were immune to the parasite. I guessed being dead made you a poor host. But since the plague, they'd stopped hiding in society, probably because society had crumbled.

"Well, even vampires don't survive getting their heads cut off," I chuckled when the lad's mouth went agape.

We got going toward my closest hideout and were quite far from the factory when wolf howls cut through the silence of the evening. Or maybe those were werewolves. The parasite worked more slowly on the shifters, but it was devastating. The wolf spirit, without the control of the conscious human mind, turned them into beasts so feral that even I had trouble facing them without getting hurt. If our scent, they would be much more of a problem than the bloodsuckers.

The sun was almost gone when we arrived at the big oak. I pulled the string hidden in the branches, and a simple rope ladder landed beside me with a quiet thud, making the lad jump. I laughed and told him to go first, steadying the ladder so I could admire his shapely ass. His foot slipped on the wobbly rungs more than once before he reached the top, panting like a pot of boiling porridge. How he'd managed to survive the two years in the plague-smitten world was beyond me.

I smiled at his wide-eyed expression as he stood on the platform. The tiny treehouse was packed with survival supplies. The wobbly wooden shelves sagged under the weight of bottled water, dried fruit and meat, canned meals, and pasta bags. A gas burner rested on a makeshift table, and my sleeping bag claimed the entire left corner.

But, best of all, my wooden fortress had a real door, which transformed it into a genuine house that vampires couldn't enter without an invitation. Around the balcony encircling my humble abode, I'd hung several garlic garlands. The stench was nauseating, but it was a perfect bloodsucker repellent, so it was well worth suffering.

I seated the lad on the sleeping bag, covered him in a blanket, and lit the burner. Two cups of tea and a bowl of hot beans later, he was thawed enough to speak, the shock wearing off. Not that he could muster much more than "I'm Tomek. And you?"

I should have said: "I'm Ada. Nice to meet you." But my premonitions were clear about not revealing my name. Names gave too much power, and I wasn't taking risks.

"I'm the one who saved you," I said

"So, how should I address you?" he pressed.

I sighed, "Whatever you like, I don't care. I'll get you to your village tomorrow morning, and that's it," I cut him off, not acknowledging the disappointment on his pretty face.

"I don't have a village," he mumbled, before dozing off, still partially sitting.

I helped him lie down and tucked him in with the blanket. He was sweet, but he didn't awaken my lust, as if the parasite didn't fancy him. Not having to fight the irrational desire was a nice change.

I needed to rest, too, so I slid into my spare sleeping bag and closed my eyes. I was already halfway to sleep when a noise jolted me back to reality. I lay still and listened. Twigs and branches cracked as if they'd been stomped on. The emojis were asleep after sundown. A vampire wouldn't make a sound, and all the bigger animals had been eaten by the monsters. A human, then.

I slowly rolled onto my belly and peeked down from the platform. It was a bright night, with a full moon and a cloudless sky despite it being the end of October. I squinted my eyes. A hunched figure was studying my hideout.

I drew back, hoping he hadn't noticed me. Even from this far, my parasite told me he was an uninfected male. Burning lust hit me, the kind that should be immediately satisfied or else. Fleck.

I stayed quiet, wishing the man would not find the way to my base. He was not a lost villager. His moves were sure and deliberate, and I could discern a rifle at his back. So, probably one of the scavenging bandits who roamed this territory in search of anything they could eat, drink, or sell. Great.

The intruder circled the oak, feeling its trunk on the way. I cursed silently when he found the string and managed to let the ladder down. I unsheathed my long hunter knife and crouched near the place he would be entering. I steadied my breath, listening to the rope creaking under his weight. As he pulled himself up on his hands to the platform, I put the knife to his throat. He flinched when the cold metal touched his skin.

"Steady, boy. You don't have to die if you listen to me," I whispered, not wanting to wake up Tomek. He didn't need to know...

With one hand, I threw the man's rifle away, the other still keeping him in check with the knife. The familiar scent of incoming rain brought the memories from the First Lab. Pressing my blade to his throat, I forced him to stand up. His face confirmed my suspicions, and a wide smile stretched my lips.

"Francesco, I wasn't expecting you here, mate," I half laughed as he shuddered.

"You left us to the emojis!" His voice cracked, an attempt at a snarl turning into a whine.

I'd drawn a horde of monsters to his camp when I was running for my life. There were too many foes for me, but a dozen armed men should have made short work of them.

"Not so brave anymore without your gang?" I teased, not deeming it necessary to clear the misunderstanding. Scared, he'd be more likely to behave himself.

"You're going to finish what you started, or don't want to get your hands dirty?" he barked.

"I don't have to get my hands dirty", I said, pointing to a pale-faced woman hovering near the platform.

Lily had been coming here every night for the last couple of months, hoping for an invitation she would never get. I suspected she wasn't completely right in the head, poor bloodsucker. Francesco blanched, his deep, brown eyes getting wide as he spotted the vampire. I flashed him a contented smile.

"You can't...," he whispered, breath caught in his throat. "Not even you..." His voice trailed off as he looked at my face.

I struggled to project an aura of calm cruelty. Even before the doctors injected me with the parasite, he'd made me feel warm inside. Now all I wanted was to get my hands on his muscular body.

Strange how my visions and premonitions sometimes made sense at once and other times became relevant days or weeks later. I reached for the small bag I'd been carrying on my hip since I left the lab.

"Perhaps we can negotiate terms for your survival," I offered, drawing the knife back from his throat.