The shot echoed through the farm.

  “Shit, I missed.”

  The bullet had passed the snake and cracked the frame of one of her solar panels. Tilly was already expecting an irritated tirade from Clyde. Wasting money was one of the few times he got angry.

  The not-so-harmless snake was also quite angry.

  Whatever the two legged beast had done had been loud. Loud and threatening. Threatening meant danger, activating the snakes fight or flight response.

  Unfortunately for the poor farmer, vampires don't run.

  The Snake hissed, coiling itself up combatively. It was a deep and guttural noise—far louder than anything an animal of its size should have made. The pair of humans froze for a moment, fear overtaking them.

  The snake charged. Slithering forward, it launched itself at Tilly. For a split second, its exposed fangs sparked with energy, before it sank its teeth into her flesh.

  The bite pierced her skin, digging into her muscles, and injected its poison into her bloodstream. Immediately, instinct took over and the vampire began to suck. Finally, Tilly tasted iron as an electric shock shot up her body.

  It was an agonizing experience that would have instantly killed a lesser woman. Yet, even with all the damage she had taken, the hardened farmer still managed to stand. She wiped her arm, making the snake lose its grip. She could feel weakness slowly overtake her.

  “Run, Hazel!”

  In a desperate attempt to save her daughter, Tilly raised her gun for another shot. Only to have the weapon slammed out of her hands by the snake's tail. Tilly looked at her discarded weapon in shock.

  She had never seen a snake do that before. Much less than whatever else it had just done. Even as close to death's door, her mind flipped through all the self-defense training her father had instilled in her. It came up empty.

  Hazel screamed. Her mother was injured and looked ready to keel over and die. She had been told to run. She couldn't leave her mother to die. Her mind was momentarily paralyzed between her available choices. Indecision led to wild kicks in an attempt to distract the monster before her.

  A foolish attempt to save her parent. She should have run.

  The snake jumped and buried its fangs into Hazel's neck. Her body was softer than her mother's. Her spine crunched under the snake's bite. The snake savored her blood. Tilly wasn't as satisfied with the situation.

  “Hazel! You sick monster, I'll kill-!”

  An unobserved slap from the snake's tail twisted Tilly's head, snapping her neck. Spite being the last words on her lips, a long life was ended easily and mercilessly. Next to another life cut far too short. Truths the snake did not care about.

  The snake suckled on the blood of its first kills. It's vampirism overjoyed over the liquid ichor. But the snake itself, the higher intelligence it had been given, found it… disappointing.

  Compared to the sun's light, much less than the warmth of the System's radiance, lifeblood was substandard. Thankfully for the snake, something much more pleasing to the eye appeared.

  The messages pleased the snake. The floating screens shone similarly to the System's natural light. A much tastier treat than the blood of the pair he just killed.

  That minor happiness did not last as the message winked away as fast as it had arrived. It wanted to see more. As luck would have it, the snake would have its wish granted.

  The snake blinked as its brain was rewired. A painless experience that retroactively allowed it to understand what the two legs had said earlier. It had mostly been screaming.

  With this new revelation, it decided to ignore it and wait for more messages. Killing the two humans seemed to provide such tantalizing light.

  Unlike other beings who would have been invested in the information the messages provided, the little snake went back to sleep. The System shining through the messages, the sun's radiance, and the warmth of the blood in its belly was too comfortable for the undead.

  On the cooling corpse of Hazel, a very special snake curled up and basked under the mid afternoons clear skies.

  Meanwhile, her father, Clyde, was huddled behind the fence, trying to stay quiet. Tears ran down his face as he muffled his sobs. His family was dead, killed in seconds by something he'd never seen before. And all he could do was hide.

  Taking a careful peek at the creature he saw it had fallen asleep. The thought of trying to kill it came and went. He knew he wasn't a fighter like his wife. He knew he wasn't brave enough like his daughter. But he did know people. Someone in town would be strong enough to kill that beast.

  Clyde ran to the car, his sorrow mixing with rage, as he hit the gas pedal and drove off to get help. His family would be avenged. He promised himself that.

  The System seemed to agree with such resolve.

  It was the second sign for Clyde that the world was beginning to change. He would have his troubles and tribulations, but this quest would always be on his mind. Driving away from his old life, he could never know it would be some time before he would return to his farm.

  The Snake, the instigator of his problems, would still be there. Enjoying the sun

  ----

  When the sun finally set, the snake awakened from its slumber. The soothing sunlight was no longer around to lull it to sleep. It yawned and tasted the air. Curiosity filled its mind.

  The Snake could think. Its intelligence had been expanded when it was created and turned into a vampire. Beyond the instincts of a snake or a vampire were the thoughts of a newborn. Its home had yet to be explored.

  It came down from its bed, other wildlife having yet to touch the corpse. The vampirism inside the snake had an unnatural effect, even insects would be wary of it. Not that the snake noticed or would have cared about it.

  The grass under its scales felt different. The scent of the earth clashed against the processed metal of the solar panels. The gunpowder from the discarded rifle irritated the snake. The dried blood was licked and promptly met with disgust. Fresher blood was better then.

  The Snake did not get farther than that. The System decided to act once again.

  The Snake stared as the message disappeared and was replaced by a bright yellow crystal. It glowed with a soft light, some form of energy buried in its center.

  The Snake immediately curled around the gift the System had given it. This gem provided a light similar to the sun, comforting the little vampire. Truly, the System's light knew no end to its brilliance.

  Any other time, the snake would have gone for another extended sleep, especially with its new warm gem. But the vampire half had other ideas. The snake’s undead portion had come with an ego of sorts, an echo of the kind of creature the snake could have been. And that ego had some demands.

  Self-respect.

  The Snake was a noble undead. Why would it allow itself to tumble through the dirt? It was no peasant! It had class, and it should live as such. And by sheer coincidence, there was a building worthy of itself not too far away.

  A mansion, robust and well-maintained. Three stories tall, it towered over the local land. The only other object near its size was a barn off to the side. Now that was a place worth sleeping in. Even the more animalistic portion of the snake agreed it would be safer in an enclosed environment.

  Dragging its ornament behind it, the snake slithered towards the now abandoned home. A personal domicile meant for one very small animal. One won in violence and blood.

  A result the System quite enjoyed.