I have a little side project in mind, just so that I’m not living and breathing the Fermi Resolution entirely for the rest of the year. If I do this smart, I can get another book out of it, too. I just need to commit to 500 words a day to MARIE AND THE CONTINENT (working title) until it’s done. Fortunately, I already have about 9,000 words of it written (as MY HOLIDAY IN KASSEL).
By now, the rodents that shared my “cabin” had learned to squeak most quietly. Rats and mice are quite bright, for their size; and the ones left after two days in my company were clever at evading my regular attentions. I was beginning to fancy myself to be quite the Darwinist, which would no doubt have alarmed that clever, warm man.
Fortunately for the survivors, our ship even now approached the port of Hamburg; but alas for my latest quarry, the time for disembarking was not quite close enough for me to resolve to eat on shore. My hands flashed out, pulling a squirming rat back with them. I drained it almost as quickly, savoring the hot blood as it smoothly drowned my slight thirst.
Besides, I contemplated as I politely tossed the rat out the porthole, it is not entirely wise for a vampire to visit a new place while hungry.