My scavenger hunt of the house ended with very few useful yields. Of note was a pile of clothes not much better quality than what I already had, some candles, a cooking pot and other utensils that I shoved into the cube right away, a small pouch with a string that contained a fire striker and what I assumed to be flint that got me really intrigued, and finally a very rudimentary sewing kit. I left the farming implements I had found where they were as I had no use for them and would probably be needed if the village ever returned to how it was.
Finally having a solution to the oversized pants, I found the cube nearly finished in the pantry but retrieved the stored pants without waiting for it to be done. I returned to the bedroom with the spool of thread, needle, and shears at the ready, and quickly changed from the dress and into the pants. I was left dumbfounded when they fit me perfectly much like the dress, thinking that I might have grabbed the woman's belongings but no, there was only a single pair that I had stored in the cube.
'Did it alter the clothes to fit me?'
Slightly creeped out by how well it seemed to know my body, I shook off the feeling and tried my best to think of it as a medical examination. Just as I was thinking about it, the cube in question leisurely floated into the bedroom and laid itself onto the bed. I eyed it cautiously, suddenly feeling slightly trepidatious around it. I shoved all the items scattered on the bed onto the cube and felt a tinge of pity that the sewing kit may well be completely useless. Even with how incredibly useful this magical inventory was, now that I have been spoiled by it, I felt like I will be disappointed once it hits capacity, if it even ever does.
'It can't possibly be infinite, right? It has to have some limits.'
"Is your storage space infinite?" I voiced my curiosity only to be met with silence, or, well, a lack of blinking. "Do you not know?" It gave an affirmative.
I scowled at it not knowing itself, but then again I was not one to talk right now. Finished with collecting everything of use, I set out to the front door and examined the surroundings. With no werewolf or rising sun in sight, I quickly set off back in the direction of the woods at the edge of which I first awoke. Finally being able to run with more freedom than with the dress, I conceded that the clothes modification was a very convenient feature and that whatever was done during my memory loss was out of my hands, a mystery that may be best left buried.
My goals currently were to find blood and civilization, with the former probably more urgent as the hunger I felt in my stomach continued unabated. I had never gone hunting in my life and honestly did not even hope to catch anything tonight but I had to at least make use of the remaining night to try. My best bet to survive was to set out on any road I could find as soon as the sun sets.
As I wandered the forest, aside from the occasional bird, the only denizens seemingly awake and about right now seemed to be grizzly, large hares that were a lot more intimidating looking than any I had ever seen but nonetheless ran whenever they saw me approach. I was no match for their speed or maneuverability in their natural habitat but I found no alternative. Running around pointlessly after the hares only left me out of breath, frustrated, and hungrier than when I started. Cuts and scrapes littered my bare feet making me gingerly walk back to the forest edge by following the map provided by the cube after giving up for the night. As I broke away from the treeline I saw the distant sky behind me glowing orange. I swore and started rushing to the house, ignoring my protesting feet as I did not want to be caught out. Still on the lookout for my new neighbor, I bolted indoors and waited with bated breath for the sun to start shining.
Eventually, a small ray of light pierced in between one of the closed window shutters and I approached it cautiously. I slowly extended my left pinky and exposed the tip to the light, instantly feeling a burning sensation and retracting it in pain, leaving it with a horrible, fleshy welt. It felt and looked like an acid burn, which I was actually familiar with. Horror dawned on me of what would happen if I stepped outside and immediately retreated in a corner that that furthest away from any openings to the outside world. I was glad the pantry was completely sealed off from the sun but the confined space would be anything but comforting and I needed to keep an eye out for the werewolf, not that I could do anything if it did show up but I had to be able to see to not go crazy.
Time seemed to pass ever so slowly, with the only indicator being the sunlight creeping on the floor. My fear escalated as I kept watching, a feeling of claustrophobia rising as the house felt too small amongst the open field of sunlight surrounding it. This was probably what it felt like to be trapped in a submarine or spaceship. Worst of all was not knowing when or if the werewolf would show up at any point to claim my life.
At some point I seemed to enter some sort of waking trance as my gaze never shifted from the open doorway, intently watching where the light of the sun reached. I did not think during this time and as the sun finally set behind distant mountains I woke from my stupor, with the time passed feeling akin to a waking nightmare. I did not hesitate as I bolted up and out the door like a jackrabbit, my stomach churning and head hazy, almost delirious. I seemed to be acting almost on autopilot as I made a wild dash back to the forest, not noticing or caring that my arm and feet felt much better. I acutely aware it was my hunger and thirst for blood that drove me but I was desperate, not knowing how long I could last without.
I ran around aimlessly in search of something I could catch, repeating the actions of the night before but a lot less relenting, chasing till I truly lost my quarry. After countless attempts, I finally spotted one that did not bolt right away but rather turned to face me, with massive antlers rising from its forehead and a wide body that looked more like an oversized rabbit than hare. It let out a horrible screech, revealing its pointed teeth, and hurtled right at me. I had a small cooking knife and the shears stored in the cube but no time to take them out, so I grabbed the floating cube and dived behind a tree just as the massive hare leaped up at where I was standing, leaving it skidding as it landed and turned for another attempt. The cube had slipped out of my grasp when I threw myself out of the way and did not have time to grab it as I steadied myself and hid behind the tree. It was very aggressive and kept coming for me, but its oversized antlers gave it trouble trying to round the tree, often snagging on the bark in its pursuit.
I quickly grabbed its antlers as soon as I got behind it and yanked as hard as I could, shaking the rabbit-like creature by the head. Its hind legs pounded at the ground hard, occasionally striking me as it flailed and causing it to jerk away from me but I held on. Firmly planting my legs on the ground, I heaved as hard as I could and swung the creature face-first into the tree we had been dancing around. This seemed to daze it but was far from enough. I took this opportunity to swing one of my legs over its back and straddle it, hoping my weight was enough to keep it down and not have it fling me off with its powerful hind legs. My fears proved true as it kicked at the ground hard enough to have launched me right off had I not held so tightly in preparation. With no clean way to kill it but one as snapping its neck had not worked, I leaned forward and sunk my newfound fangs into the back of its fluffy neck. Fur, flesh, and blood filled my mouth as I felt it jerk and shudder underneath me in a futile, final attempt to free itself. I bit harder and met bone, finally causing it to fall limp and succumb to death. Even with the fight over, however, I did not let go as blood filled my mouth and I drank, the taste familiar, if not a little sweeter. What made me keep drinking however was neither taste nor hunger, but rather a sensation that could be likened to drinking ambrosia as a feeling of ecstasy filled me. As the final trickle of blood ended I got up.
I felt exhilarated and powerful with a sense of accomplishment as I stood above my prey in victory, blood dripping from my smiling lips. I quickly wiped my mouth with my sleeve, suddenly feeling very self-conscious over my actions.
'Did I seriously just enjoy killing something weaker than me? This had to be from being a vampire and not me, right?'
I looked down at the beast that I had just killed, contemplating my actions and worrying that this right here might be my future.
'What if I had found a human instead? Would I have done the same?'
This thought caused me to shudder as I came to the horrifying conclusion that if I did not find a stable supply of blood that outcome will not be a possibility, but rather an eventuality. As I stepped back I noticed the cube had returned to my side but also more importantly, now that I was in a calmer and more rational state of mind, that I was uninjured. The puncture wounds on my arm were gone, although it still felt a bit sore, and the bruises I was sure to have gotten from the pummeling I just received by the creature's hind legs were nowhere to be seen. If anything, I felt newly energized.
'Vampire powers, hurrah. At least it wasn't all bad, but I doubt the payoff is worth it. Maybe if I could now regrow limbs, but I do not want to ever test that.'
In the corner of my eye, I saw movement from the corpse and I whirled around in panic only to see that it was a tuft of fur that had just fallen off. Confused, I crouched down next to it and tugged at its hair only for a huge clump to come off, revealing graying, shriveling skin underneath. As I watched in fascination the body seemed to shrink with everything, fur and blood included, lost color, and slowly started to flake. Like motes of dust, the body quickly started to disintegrate while now looking more like a clay sculpture and I stepped back to not breathe it in, feeling incredibly confused as to what was happening to it. More of the gray dust started to rise from the edge of my vision and saw it was rising from the blood that had stained my shirt. I held my breath, considering taking it off but it ended quickly. A new worry coalesced in my mind as to what would happen to the blood I drank and stood waiting with worry. Nothing happened and I turned to the cube.
"That green figure you showed me is my health, isn't it? Can you bring it up?"
The corresponding holographic screen lit up as a response, but to my surprise was tinted slightly blue throughout, with a bit of red barely visible on the right arm.
"The blue is good, right? Please tell me it is good." I pleaded and received an affirmative. "Are you telling me it's good because I asked you to?"
I felt relieved when it denied my suspicion, but had to double-check just in case, unsure yet as to how well it understood me.
"Bring up the map. It's time to go home and deal with the big bad wolf problem. I think I have a solution that might just work."