After being frozen and panicked for five good minutes, Sandrine slapped herself awake.
"Complaining won't change anything. Anyway, I need to survive."
She had noticed that there was something written in the corner of the game screen.
[Today's mileage goal : 20km]
A walking man could do 4km per hour, maybe 5 by speedwalking. For a horse, it was 5 casually, and 6 or 7 by speedwalking.
Anyway, the result was the same : The time on the screen showed 11:54. It was almost noon. If they wanted to reach the required mileage and not die, they should get going.
"On the road, we should try to open as many chests as possible, while still being cautious. After all, the messages said the chests can contain danger. But I can't help it, I'm getting really thirsty…"
Sandrine was talking alone, it was a habit of hers. Maybe starting from now she could talk to Paquerette ?
"Girl, you know what ? It's not that bad. Those guys need fuel ! What if there is a fuel shortage ? They will all be frozen in place ! But we can always walk, we don't need fuel !"
Sandrine was reassuring herself. After all, a living being didn't need fuel, it was a big advantage ! It only needed food.
Now that she thought about it, how much food did a horse consume per day ?
She turned towards Paquerette. Suddenly, this horse seemed very big…
"Oh… This is bad…"
The more she thought about it, the worse it seemed. In a survival game where resources were scarce, having two mouths to feed was a big challenge. Moreover, how much did a horse drink ?
There was nothing all around, no running water, how was she supposed to quench her own thirst ? What about her horse ?
If a car ran out of fuel, people could still stubbornly push it around and use it as a shelter. But if Paquerette starved to death, it was the end for Sandrine.
The rules said clearly : Without a vehicle you will die.
Sandrine felt a strong feeling of urgency fill her body. Almost shaking in terror, she walked to Paquerette and placed a hand on her neck.
"Listen girl, we don't have a choice. If we want to live, we need to go right now and find as many chests as possible. Otherwise, it's the end for us."
The horse's ears turned towards her to listen. Since it didn't react in any other way, Sandrine took it as an agreement.
"Great, let's go !"
She walked to Paquerette's side and…
"There isn't a saddle."
In fact, there was nothing. Paquerette didn't have a single piece of equipment. Without even talking about riding, how was she supposed to get up here ?
A horse is tall.
There were no stirrups to use as footing, or any piece of furniture she could climb on.
Sandrine felt like this game was out to get her.
After looking around but finding nothing, Sandrine resolved herself and jumped.
She wasn't in good shape and she didn't have much strength, so of course she didn't succeed.
"This is so humiliating…"
Thankfully, no one was around.
"Can't you do like in princess movies and lay down so that I can climb on ?"
Paquerette looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Okay, I get it…"
She definitely should exercise more, or her survival journey wouldn't last long.
After trying for more than twenty minutes, building momentum by running from far away, finally she succeeded in having the top of her body on Paquerette's back, her legs dangling limply.
Out of breath, she gathered the last bit of her strength to push on her arms and throw a leg on the other side, finally sitting astride Paquerette's back.
"Hah… Never again…"
Wiping the sweat off her brows, Sandrine looked ahead.
"If there is a chest… I will have to get off and then get on again, right ?"
She really wanted to cry.
Anyway, feeling that Sandrine was seated, Paquerette immediately started to walk. There wasn't any bridle or reins, but thankfully the mare was independent. Sandrine only had to grab the mane tightly and hope for the best.
Paquerette was walking at a slightly speedy pace, definitely above the normal 5km per hour for a normal horse. Was she originally a dynamic mare, or did she understand what Sandrine was saying ? There were no ways to know.
Nevertheless, after an hour and a half the mileage on the game screen showed '10/20km', and Paquerette came to a stop.
"Girl ? What is happening ?"
Without anything to do Sandrine had spaced out, sometimes checking the server chat. She didn't know why the mare wasn't walking anymore.
Paquerette shook her head and turned her long neck to look at Sandrine, as if to urge her to come down.
"What ?"
Looking around, the woman finally saw what was ahead. A wooden chest.
"Paquerette, I love you !"
Her mare knew how to recognize chests and was actually stopping for her to open it ! This was the best news of the day. If people with cars were driving too fast, they would miss the chests. But her ? She had a horse that could actually see them and ask her to come down !
Almost dancing in joy, Sandrine jumped off the mare and immediately screamed in pain.
She wasn't used to riding a horse at all and, with her feet dangling on the side for more than an hour, the blood flow had slowed down. She had pins and needles all over her calves, ankles and feet, and falling on them was unbelievably painful.
"I swear I'll survive and slap to death whoever brought me to this game !"
This was clearly targeted !
After swearing for several minutes, Sandrine felt good enough to walk towards the chest.
It was made out of wood, smooth, without any obvious splinters. There wasn't any lock, just a latch that you could pull to open it. Sandrine walked around it, looked everywhere, but there wasn't anything suspicious. The chest was on the side of the road, just two steps before the black fog.
"The messages said the chests can contain dangers, but I don't have any weapons… I guess we'll just have to pray. Ready, Paquerette ?"
The mare was snorting, her eyes half closed, looking relaxed.
"I guess I'm the only nervous one…"
Shaking her head, Sandrine took a deep breath, pulled the latch, lifted the chest's lid and…
Nothing.
Sandrine let out the air that had been stuck in her lungs. Thankfully, there wasn't any danger this time !
She walked closer and looked inside the chest. There was a 1L water bottle and a loaf of bread as big as a fist.
"Finally, something to eat and drink !"
Sandrine immediately opened the water bottle and drank half of it. She was really thirsty, and her earlier battle to ride Paquerette had left her parched. With 500mL in her system, she finally felt alive again.
"Life is great !"
As for the bread loaf… It was really small. If she had bought one from a bakery, it would have been as big as a head. Moreover, this loaf felt like an industrial one, far from the aerial dough and crunchy crust that she was used to.
But she shouldn't complain. At least she had something to eat. Keeping it for later, she slid the loaf in her vest's pocket.
She was suddenly thrown forward when a great force pushed her from behind. Turning around, she saw Paquerette. The mare was nudging her with her nose, her eyes glued to the water bottle.
"You're thirsty too ? Okay, I'll give you the rest… We really need to open more chests…"
Without any container to pour water in, Sandrine could only tuck the half full water bottle under her arm, cupping her hands and slowly pouring the water inside. Paquerette immediately shoved her nose in her hands and avidly drank. In just a few seconds, the last 500mL were gone.
"We really need more… Let's not waste time."
She wanted to keep the bottle just in case, so Sandrine took out her vest, tied the sleeves together, and slung it across her body like a bag. Inside, she put the empty bottle and the bread.
By climbing on the wooden chest, getting on Paquerette's back was way easier this time. As soon as Sandrine was seated, the mare started walking fast. She still seemed thirsty.
"With a body this big, I guess you need a lot more water…"
Things weren't looking good, but at least the two of them could endure another day.
Surprisingly, they found another chest less than 30 minutes later. This time, Sandrine was very careful and slowly slid off Paquerette's back to avoid another painful landing.
"Look at me, a real cowgirl !"
With an excited face, she ran to the chest. However, something felt wrong. Contrary to before, this time Paquerette seemed on edge, her e ars glued to the back of her neck and the white in her eyes fully visible as she stared at the chest.
"What ? Is there something wrong ?"
The mare snorted anxiously, pacing in place. It was as if she could feel something different, something scary from this chest.
"Is it the 'danger' the message was talking about ?"
Sandrine really wanted to leave this chest alone and go for the next one, but she was sure that Paquerette wouldn't have stopped for nothing. Animals have better instincts, if the danger in this chest outweighed the benefits, Sandrine was sure that the mare would have avoided it.
However, she stopped. This meant that despite danger, there would be good things inside.
"Thank goodness I got you, girl !"
Taking a deep breath, Sandrine adjusted her attitude. She didn't have any tools or weapons, so she wasn't really sure about how to protect herself.
"I know ! I'll undo the latch but keep the chest closed, and then lift the lid from behind ! That way I'll be hidden by the lid, and I can observe and react depending on what is inside !"
This was the best she could think of.
Without wasting a second, she carefully undid the latch, keeping a hand firmly pressing on the lid, and jumped over the chest. When she was in place, she called for Paquerette to come to her side.
Sandrine took a deep breath and silently counted.
1... 2… 3 !
She lifted the lid from behind and immediately froze in fear. As soon as the chest was open, a snake jumped out, as long as a leg and as thick as three fingers. Its head was pointy, making it clear that it was venomous.
Thankfully, her strategy made sure Sandrine avoided the fatal strike. If she was still standing in front of the chest, the snake would have directly bitten her neck, and Sandrine was sure that she would have died.
Frozen in fear and with her heart beating wildly, Sandrine could only observe from behind the chest as the terrifying snake fell to the ground after missing its attack and flicked its tongue in confusion.
However, it quickly noticed Paquerette and Sandrine behind the wooden chest. A normal snake would have gone away at that moment, but this one seemed particularly vicious. It slithered rapidly toward them, scaring Sandrine so much that she felt she would pee the 500mL she had just drank.
Paquerette was the first to react. She reared high and then left her two front hooves fall back on the ground with all her weight, stirring the dust. Sandrine felt the ground shaking. However, the snake had nimbly dodged to the side, only the end of its tail was slightly flattened.
"Hiss !"
Enraged by the pain, the snake seemed even more aggressive. It jumped towards Paquerette, intending to bite her legs.
"Don't you dare !"
Sandrine wasn't good at fighting, but she had good instincts. When she saw the snake in the air, without the possibility to dodge, she kicked it square in the jaw, avoiding the open mouth and the fangs.
The snake flew away from the mare, falling in the black fog. Sandrine, unable to see where it would come from, took a fighting stance, ready to kick it again.
However, five minutes later, the animal still hadn't slithered back.
"Snort."
Turning towards Paquerette, Sandrine saw the mare relax, shaking her body and nuzzling the open chest.
"Is it… Over ?"
Somehow, this result was a little terrifying. This snake had been very strong and aggressive. Such a beast, not coming back after touching the fog ? It meant that the black mist was maybe even more dangerous than the dangers inside the chests.
"I shouldn't get close to the fog…"
If starving was the scariest thing before, now it ranked third. Second were the dangers inside the chests, first was the black fog.
Rubbing her arms full of goosebumps, Sandrine walked towards the chest.
"This better be good !"
With that terrifying snake inside, if she didn't have good loot Sandrine would probably cry.
When she took a glance in the chest, her facial expression grew peculiar.
It wasn't bad, it was just… Clearly not for her.
First, there was a backpack. Not overly big, the type students go to school with. Then there was a barrel of fuel with '5L' written on the side. Apart from that, there were two 1L bottles, two loaves of bread, a can of green beans, another of raviolis, and a rope. Also, the bottom of the chest was covered in straw, but this was probably only for decoration.
The backpack was good, same for the food and water, but the fuel was useless for Sandrine. And what could she even do with a rope ?
Still, this was better than nothing. She could eat the raviolis and leave the beans to Paquerette. It was still far from enough to feed a horse, but she had nothing else for now. Horses can't eat straw.
Sandrine grabbed the backpack and tried to put a water bottle inside. Immediately, her eyes widened.
"Is it magic ?"
When she slid the water bottle inside, it disappeared ! But when Sandrine tried to look in the bag, inventory slots appeared in her head like a video game ! There were ten little boxes per line, and two lines in total, so twenty slots. One of them was filled with a water bottle image and a 'x1' in the corner.
"Can it hold anything ?"
Excited, Sandrine put the second water bottle inside. Immediately, the bottle icon showed 'x2'. But when she tried to put the empty bottle in, it filled a new slot with an empty water bottle and a 'x1'.
"The same slot can only hold identical things… This will limit how many things I can carry. Still, this is better than nothing."
She put away the two cans, the bread, and even her vest. She was left with only the chest full of straw, the rope and the fuel.
"I don't know what I should do… Oh, yeah ! I read in the server chat earlier that there is a trade function ! If that's the case, I can trade the fuel for something I need !"
With that option opened, Sandrine would prefer to take everything she could, trading what she didn't need for food or water.
"Okay, that's done. Let's get going !"
She put the straw and the fuel in her backpack, but when it came to the chest and the rope…
Sandrine really wanted to take the chest since it could be useful, but she needed it to climb on Paquerette's back. So she tied the rope to one of the chest's side handles, climbed on, and then pulled on the rope to grab the chest. In a few seconds, the mare and the girl were gone, leaving nothing behind.