Those things had distorted human faces pasted on greasy furry bodies. Their expressions were blank, without a flicker of intelligence or emotion behind their eyes, only freezing cold indifference and hunger.
Some had their spines bent as if snapped in half, with pointy vertebrae poking out from underneath their skins. Some had arms so long they dragged on the ground, so thoroughly rubbed against the asphalt that their fingers left bloody trails. Some were walking on all fours, with nails so long they curved upwards into disgusting inverted yellowish claws.
Each of them were monstrous. If Sandrine had the slightest doubt before, now she could be certain. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't the Earth she knew. She was in a deadly survival game.
There were four such creatures at exactly 5 meters from Paquerette, as if pressed against an invisible wall, staring at Sandrine with wide cloudy eyes. She could almost feel their hunger penetrate her skin. Shaking, she shifted her gaze onwards. She could vaguely discern other silhouettes further into the darkness. There were more of those things.
But thankfully, they weren't making any moves and didn't come closer. It looked like as long as she followed the rules, Sandrine would be safe.
She took a deep breath and laid down on Paquerette's back, hugging her neck. She could feel her heartbeat, the mare was as scared as she was.
They both stayed like this for a while, drawing strength from the other's warmth. Then, when Sandrine felt more or less calm, still shaking but not nearing a heart attack anymore, she slowly slid down the mare's back.
The situation was terrifying, but staying alive mattered more. She had things to do.
She tried her best to ignore the creatures that followed her with their eyes, and looked inside her inventory.
[Ravioli can, cassoulet can, corn can, bread loaf x10, 1L water bottle x10, half empty 1L water bottle, empty 1L water bottle x4, 5L fuel, rope x2, fabric x3, tape, wooden chest x10, straw x10, pitchfork, machete, cooking pot, washbassin, bowl x2, big spoon x2, sewing kit]
The last chest contained 2 water bottles, 2 loaves of bread, and a roll of tape.
With everything in front of her eyes, Sandrine started to think. A horse probably drank a lot, right ? Until now, Paquerette had only drank 3L of water today. If a human needed 1L to survive and a horse was 10 times the weight of a human… Did Paquerette need 10L of water ? Maybe more. And she also spent the whole day traveling, she surely needed more.
Scratching her cheek, Sandrine looked at her backpack. It looked like she would need to use all the water she had. This wasn't a big deal, she had already drank 1L today, so she didn't need more. If she was thirsty, she could wait until tomorrow.
Acting like nothing was wrong, Sandrine put the pot in front of Paquerette and emptied 4 bottles inside, as well as the half empty one, almost filling it to the brim.
"Drink well, I got more."
The mare looked at her for a while then, probably judging that it would be a waste not to touch the already poured water, started to drink avidly.
Leaving the horse to it, Sandrine now focused again on her inventory.
The drinks were settled for the day, but the food wasn't. Feeding Paquerette bread wasn't an option, it was way too soft and could cause intestinal problems. She didn't have hard bread on hand either, and horses can't eat straw. She had nothing to feed the mare.
Sandrine had no choice but to exchange for it.
She knew that AlphaWolf didn't have what she needed, so she went to the trade tab and searched through it slowly. On the first page, it was full of people asking for food, water, and light sources. There were also quite a lot asking for medicine or weapons. People had been hurt because of the chests' dangers during the day, and were also probably scared of the night creatures, so this wasn't a surprise.
She had to search through several pages of trade, going all the way to the end, combing through all the things people had put in the trade center but didn't expect anyone to want. There were quite a few miscellaneous things, from toys to furniture, clothing, and accessories that people had been wearing while coming here, and now served no other purpose other than being traded for something better. The number of jewelry and watches was astonishing.
There she finally found something interesting.
Some guy was apparently quite unlucky, offering 2kg of hay in exchange for anything edible. Sandrine didn't know how much Paquerette should eat, but finding hay was a good thing.
Probing the vendor, she sent an offer of one loaf of bread in exchange for the hay. Surprisingly, the guy immediately accepted ! Maybe hay wasn't valuable for the other players ? It made sense, they were driving vehicles, they didn't need plants.
After this happy discovery, Sandrine decided to fix her prices at half a loaf of bread for 1kg of hay, and browsed the trading center to secure a few deals. While she was happily shopping, the server chat was lively.
[Server chat (9,523/10,000)
-Almost 500 people gone in the first day…
-Damn, the nightfall scared the hell out of me !
-Am I the only hearing strange noises ?
-Omg there are monsters around us !
-What ?
-Huh ?
-Fr ?
-Aaaahit'strueit'strueomgit'strue!!!!!!
-Wtf ?
-It's true, there are monsters around us ! Don't get out of your car !
-Who has a weapon ? I'll give everything for a weapon !
-I don't have a light, the noise is making me go crazy !
-Hello, I am selling torches, please refer to my trading post on the trade tab
-I bought one, now I regret it. Those things are terrifying, I'll have nightmares…
-Same
-You really bought a torch at that price ? You sucker…
-I think we are okay if we stay within 5 meters of our vehicle
-Need bandage urgent got bitten after walking too far help
-Yep, definitely don't go, too far
[...]
-Thanks big shot for buying my useless stuff, I won't starve tonight !
-Huh ?
-Look in the trade center, there is a big shot exchanging useless stuff for bread
-Damn, someone still doing charity during the apocalypse ?
-Is it possible that they just need this stuff ?
-As if. I looked, they bought a dozen kg of useless plants using bread, and two gigantic plastic containers using 1L of fuel. Does it seem fair to you ?
-Yeah, that's 100% charity
-Or maybe bigshot has something to build stuff with useless garbage ?
-Like in videogames ? A crafting skill ?
-Maybe
-Just in case, I'll list all my useless stuff in the trade tab. Maybe the bigshot need it
-Good thinking]
People were talking about her, but Sandrine had no idea. She was happily using her empty water bottles by pouring fuel inside, selling the 5L individually to get what she needed.
Paquerette couldn't keep drinking in her cooking pot, and she also needed a feeder to put the hay. So she used 2L of fuel to buy 2 big plastic containers. They looked a bit like outdoor garbage containers, except they didn't have wheels and were as tall as her waist, with a lid. She didn't know how someone could have gotten this in a chest, but she was still happy.
She opened the first container, and put the 15kg of hay she had bought inside, bringing it to Paquerette. The mare had completely emptied the pot, she must have been really thirsty. Without batting an eye, Sandrine took the second container and emptied the rest of her water bottles inside.
Paquerette was settled for the day. As for Sandrine, she started to feel really tired. Her muscles were aching too, especially her thighs and her butt. But maybe she had been too tense, she hadn't noticed before.
While munching on a piece of bread, she took off her pants to take a look. After all, Paquerette and her were both girls, and she wasn't the least bit shy in front of the hungry monsters.
When she looked at her inner thighs, she froze. It was really ugly, an inflamed bloody mess.
Riding a horse in jeans was really the worst idea. The inner seams had totally rubbed against her flesh because of the horse's movements, and it would probably keep happening again and again, especially since she didn't have neither a saddle nor riding pants. In this survival world without medicine or a hospital, if it got infected, it was over for her.
Thankfully, she knew that she had a strong immune system, and it wasn't the first time she got really hurt. Judging from the state of the wounds, it would be fine as long as she properly cleaned them and made sure not to get them worse.
Wait, why was she used to being hurt ?
It felt like she almost remembered something, but the memory flew away yet again. Sandrine furrowed her brows. This amnesia wasn't exactly pleasant.
She shook her head and looked through the trading center. She had used all her water for Paquerette, so she needed more. Sandrine used the last of her 3L of fuel to buy 2L of water and a whole bar of soap. People didn't know how valuable soap was. Washing was the least of it, it could also clean shallow wounds, as long as you were ready to endure the painful scrub.
Squatting in a ridiculous position, with nothing more on her than her underwear, Sandrine was vigorously rubbing her wounds with soap, rinsing them with water, making sure that they were clean. After it had dried a bit, she took one of the pieces of fabric she had gotten today, cut it into strips with her machete, and created two bandages for each thigh. She made sure that the bandage on the inner side was smooth and without any wrinkles, making the knot to maintain it in place on the outer side. This would prevent this situation from happening again.
With her wounds taken care of and the bread completely eaten, Sandrine walked towards Paquerette to check her back. Sure enough, the inner seams of her jeans had damaged the coat, leaving a few places without fur and with slightly irritated skin. Thankfully, Paquerette had tough leather and wasn't wounded. Still, this must have hurt a lot.
"You should have told me if it hurts."
The mare snorted, ignoring Sandrine. The girl shook her head. Stubborn horse. What could she do ?
Anyway, both had drank and eaten. Their protection was assured by the rules. So they could finally relax.
Sandrine took out the straw in her inventory and put it on the ground next to Paquerette to create a rough bedding. It would have been great if she had enough to create one for Paquerette too, but she didn't. Anyway, horses mostly sleep standing, except when they feel safe. Was this situation, with monsters surrounding them, safe ? Sandrine didn't think that Paquerette would lie down even if she had a bed.
With nothing else to do, Sandrine could finally think.
Everything happened so fast, she didn't really take the time to think about anything. Now, on her first night in a death game, surrounded by monsters and lying on straw in her underwear, it was a bit ridiculous to think that it was the best time for reflection.
To start up, why was she here ? What was this game ? Humanity was apparently chosen by Gods, but she had no idea which ones or why. Leaving aside those existential questions, there was something important. Why didn't she have any memories ? Everything was way too vague. She did remember her name and vaguely what she did before, but her family, her private life, or her exact job were all mysteries. She didn't even know if she had any hobbies, or what her favorite food was. It was really absurd !
She wasn't the only one in this situation, it seemed to be the same for all players. She had seen a few times today when players asked if anyone remembered their families. Some people were truly desperate, giving their real names and the few personal details they remembered, hoping to find someone who knew them. But it was all in vain. It was as if their identities had been stolen from their own brain.
Maybe it was even more torturous than being in a death game. The uncertainty and the sense of emptiness was very depressing.
She shifted her position, trying to think about something else. Whether it was why she was here or who she was, she wouldn't get any answer soon, so she shouldn't stress about it.
Sleeping on straw was a bit itchy, and not very comfortable. Sandrine thought that it would be better to stuff straw into a bed sheet to make a rudimentary bed, but she was too tired to stand up and do that. It would necessitate sewing several pieces of fabric… Her back hurt way too much right now.
Focusing again, Sandrine evaluated what she needed to do.
"People need three things to survive. Food, drink, and shelter. I can manage food and drink by trading those against what I find in the chests, like today. And shelter… I have weapons to protect myself, Paquerette who detects if the chests are dangerous or not, and I am protected by the rules if I stay next to her at night. I guess our basic needs are met ?"
She was thinking out loud but also talking to the mare, even though she was probably sleeping right now.
Sandrine had forgotten everything about herself, but she sure liked to think out loud and talk to empty air. Maybe she was a bit crazy.
"That's for the basic needs. However, the rules say that we have 14 days of newbie protection period, but after that the season will start. What does that mean ?"
In 'newbie protection period', there is protection. It means that right now, with chests containing dangers and monsters surrounding players at night, it was still very tame. Things will get much harder later.
"The season will start… 'Season' makes me think of climate change. If there is bad weather, we will be affected."
A lot of people have cars, trucks, or other vehicles with roofs, but Paquerette and Sandrine had none of that.
"I'll need to get ready for a change in climate. There will also be a lot more dangers, so I need to stay sharp, maintain my form, and make sure to have enough weapons. There can also be a famine or a lack of water in the chests, so stockpiling daily necessities is a must… It will be hard with how much I spend on us both per day, but if I'm strategic, we can do it."
And if there is enough time, Sandrine should definitely upgrade both their lives. There can be literally anything in those chests, one day she will finally find a saddle. Then, maybe she'll even put shoes on Paquerette's feet, so that they don't get damaged by walking on the asphalt.
Even if she finds nothing of the sort, she will take time to sew rain clothes or a cover for Paquerette. After all, that mare is her vehicle and her only companion. They should both take care of each other.
Sandrine was feeling her eyelids growing heavier, her mind getting foggy. A lot had happened today, it wasn't surprising to get tired. But she didn't think she could fall asleep peacefully with monsters a few meters away staring at her.
She must definitely be a bit crazy.
After discovering this about herself, Sandrine let herself slowly fall asleep. Just before losing consciousness, one last thing passed through her mind.
"I don't have another pair of pants… Will I have to ride Paquerette in my underwear ?"