It was a spider.
A huge spider.
It wasn't surprising that the colorless gang hadn't seen it earlier, its web covered the ceiling of the factory, giving no indication of its presence. Unless they raised their gaze to the sky, they wouldn't have the slightest idea that a monster was above them.
Moreover, it was probably waiting for them to climb the metal stairs to get the golden chest, like any player would, however Sandrine's pets had chosen another route and got the reward from the opposite side.
The creature could have stayed asleep, waiting for prey, but the explosion had definitely woken it up.
And now, it was enraged.
They only had a split second to make a decision and Paquerette didn't hesitate. She darted towards the machines, running even deeper into the factory. She could have gone the opposite way and run away from here, but her instincts were telling her that it was a bad choice.
The explosion had been huge, if there were other things outside, they would be attracted because of the noise. Moreover, the chain reaction had made a lot of landmines explode, but who was to say all of them had ? They couldn't take their time and have Gribouille guide them, running blindly in this field would be suicidal.
Sandrine slightly leaned forward, focusing on her balance and on offering little resistance to the air, trying to bother Paquerette as least as possible. She wasn't very useful right now, but she still was making her brain work.
Oh, and she was laughing like a maniac too, but she couldn't really control that.
Gribouille was sitting in front of her nestled against her waist, his big wet eyes filled with fear. But this time, he didn't pee. He was a big pup now !
Sandrine caught sight of an old green sign and shifted her weight in its direction.
"Over there, stairs !"
They couldn't go outside, but this didn't mean they could stay here either.
Just as Paquerette was following Sandrine's lead and reaching the stairs, the gigantic spider started to move. Everytime its legs shifted, disgusting cracking sounds resounded in the old factory, like planks of wood snapped in half. They brushed against its greasy furry body and left slimy traces on the ground.
Its numerous eyes rolled all the way to the back, following Sandrine's group, and then finally it came down from the platform and took a step. The legs ended with sharp claws, stabbing the ground, sending dust flying.
Then another step, and another, and suddenly the gigantic body darted towards the staircase with a scream that sounded like thousands of souls being tortured in the abyss.
Paquerette didn't wait for it, she entered the concrete staircase and jumped forward, climbing as fast as she could, dodging the rumble and the fallen pieces of wall. The sound of hooves hitting concrete was echoing on the walls, making the whole scene feel eerie.
It became even worse when the monster exploded the entrance with its big body, too massive to enter through the door. The dust and debris it sent flying were slowly rolling upwards towards the group, and Paquerette accelerated again, using all her agility to climb further and further.
"To the right !"
The mare followed Sandrine's words and turned sharply, entering another floor. This one might have been the administrative office, full of desks and old computers. Judging from their big square screens, this factory had been abandoned for a while, nothing was modern. If it was at this period, it wasn't even sure that the big machines below used electricity, maybe they were still using fuel…
Wait, fuel ?
Sandrine's laugh changed from a low rumbling to the cackling of a dying duck.
"Trust me babies, follow my lead ! Bestie, charge forward !"
Paquerette didn't doubt her human even one second. In fact, the mare was a bit relieved. She hadn't noticed before, but spending a whole day in the dangerous offroad without Sandrine had been extremely stressful. She was more suited to act like a taciturn and judging horse while following her human around, it was more her style.
Following Sandrine's directions was always more reassuring and comfortable.
Not that the human would lead them to safety, absolutely not, she was as insane as could be.
But the place she would lead them to would be the one where they would gain the most. Greed was addictive, living a better life was too. Dying rather than starving was becoming their motto. If they had a chance to have a better harvest, jumping in the fire was a matter of course.
Paquerette sped up ahead, not stopping even when she saw a dirty glass window. Only Sandrine's unhinged laugh was filling her ears.
"Jump !"
Just as the monster entered the floor, howling and knocking over the desks as it ran for them, Paquerette accelerated again, and suddenly jumped through the window.
It had lasted for who knew how many years, but being hit by a behemoth of a level 4 horse with 15 strength, the glass shattered.
To minimize the injuries and also making as little trouble as possible for Paquerette, Sandrine was bent over so far that she was almost lying on the mare's back, protecting Gribouille under her.
She didn't care about being hurt by broken glass now, she had a high constitution and magical splinters, injuries were nothing. But there was no way she could let the baby get hurt !
The dirty window shattered, and suddenly light came pouring on them. Paquerette was briefly blinded, feeling the weightlessness of her own body, but this only lasted a second. Then she saw that in front of her there was another window, belonging to another building that was very close by. Then it came back to her : This old factory was surrounded by four warehouses.
Paquerette shattered the other window and entered the warehouse, landing heavily with the sound of bending metal. They were now on a platform about the warehouse, much like the one the golden chest was on.
Sandrine almost fell because of the impact, but successfully stabilized herself. She looked around and clicked her tongue in displeasure.
"Not the right one…"
The warehouse they were in was full of cardboard boxes and wooden crates, piling up high and covered in dust. This wasn't what Sandrine expected.
"That thing is coming, go down and run to the left !"
Paquerette obeyed immediately, jumping down from the platform onto a pile of boxes, and then to the ground, and galloped towards the metal door. But it was too late, the monster had already followed their fall.
Too big to fit through the broken windows, it exploded the thick concrete wall of the old factory and jumped down. However, the warehouse was also too small. With metal walls, ramming its body against it wouldn't have much effect, except bending the sheets and imprinting its shape onto it.
The noise was awfully loud, and it echoed in the warehouse several times, to the point where Sandrine thought her head would get torn apart. The noise from the previous landmine explosion had already left her with tinnitus, but this was worse. It was as if her whole body was vibrating, her stomach churning.
Still, they managed to reach the door right the moment when the monster had used its sharp claws to rip the metal and enter the warehouse. Seeing that its preys were running away even further, it was enraged.
The group didn't care, bursting through the door and finally seeing the outside. It was a real battleground, with craters and overturned earth, pieces of asphalt and rat corpses scattered around, a pungent odor of burnt flesh and gunpowder filling the air.
Sandrine wrinkled her nose, but the corners of her lips curled even more, like the tail of a lazy cat. Her head was ringing but her thoughts were clear.
Trying to calm her beating heart, she looked forward. There was another warehouse really close. This one wasn't in good shape, the metal sheets making the walls had rusted way too much and some pieces had fallen down. However, through those holes, Sandrine could see exactly what she was looking for.
"That's it !"
Her excitement was contagious, and Paquerette galloped wildly towards the door. Entering the building, they saw gigantic barrels piled up everywhere.
Industrial fuel.
Fuel that was even purer than the one used for cars. Sandrine could probably sell it for a high price on the trade tab, but she didn't have the freedom to do it now. She could hear the monster ripping apart the other warehouse, getting dangerously close to them.
Without waiting, she took out her pitchfork. The staff had been broken yesterday during her fight with the llama monster, so it wasn't very useful anymore. Despite that, Sandrine had an idea.
She shifted her weight to direct Paquerette, making the mare climb the barrels until she reached the higher platform. From there, they could easily jump through the window and into the old factory, essentially doing the opposite as they had just done.
Before the monster reached them, Sandrine did a quick calculation. The old factory was the least damaged building in the whole industrial park. Why ? Because of its very thick and sturdy walls. Contrary to the other buildings that were just made for convenience and would be easily taken down and rebuilt according to their new owners' preferences and requirements, this one was obviously made with a lot of care, built to last. Every single challenge that befell the world, it had withstood better than others. It was surely very sturdy.
After thinking along those lines, Sandrine smiled and whispered through Paquerette's ear. The mare started to shake, Gribouille too, but their eyes seemed determined.
The girl used the broken pitchfork by tucking it in her ankle splinter and swinging her leg around, effectively piercing a few barrels. As soon as she did it, a disgusting smell filled the whole building, and a few drops of liquid fell on the metal platform.
Sandrine's smile grew wider. What she was doing was absolutely insane. If the friction between the pitchfork and the barrel made even a tiny spark, the whole place would go up in flames.
After piercing as much as she could, there was quite a bit of liquid flowing down the barrels, and the air felt so thick that it made her dizzy. She was pressing the fabric of her shirt against Gribouille's face, preventing him from breathing in the fumes, but she didn't feel clear headed herself. Then, finally, she felt the whole building shake. The monster had rammed into it.
"Now !"
During their preparation, Paquerette had backed up to the end of the platform. At Sandrine's signal, the mare suddenly ran with all she had, building momentum, and jumped towards the window. As she was doing it, the monster used its claws to cut open the metal with its claws and enter, creating sparks that flew around. But when the window's glass shattered, Sandrine's smile had already frozen.
The sparks were not enough. The place hadn't burst out in flames. Now, with the window broken, the fumes would fly out. How could she accept it ? Her plan was so good ! So, just as the group was flying out the window in a cloud of shattered glass, just as the monster was entering the warehouse and standing in the middle of the fuel barrels, Sandrine threw her ignited lighter backwards.
Time seemed to slow down. Paquerette reached the window of the old factory, shattering another glass panel. The lighter flew into the warehouse. Paquerette's front hooves landed on the floor. The lighter slowly fell towards the platform. The monster looked around to determine where its prey went. Paquerette's back hooves landed, she used them to propel herself forward. The lighter fell on the platform but didn't touch the liquid, the flame was still burning. The monster raised its head towards the platform. Paquerette made a sharp turn to hide behind the thick wall. The lighter rolled with the momentum, finally reaching a puddle of fuel, igniting it. The monster walked towards the platform, climbing on the barrel. The puddle of fuel burnt fast and propagated to other traces of liquid coming from other barrels.
Everything exploded.
It was as if all the air had been sucked in and then expanded all at once. The heat was the first to propagate, with the pressure. Then came the sound. It was so sharp, so loud, Sandrine could feel it resonate and make her whole body vibrate, but she didn't hear a thing. Her eardrums had probably bursted at some point.
The heat, the flames, the light, the pressure, it was running after them, trying to engulf them, but Paquerette was already running away.
After hiding behind the thick wall, the mare hadn't stopped. She had continued to galop away, far from the fuel warehouse, running through the floor to reach the opposite side of the building. She couldn't go down to the ground floor, the machines were there, maybe some had some fuel left in them. The flames would reach them soon and it could trigger another explosion.
So she followed what Sandrine had told her, and ran as fast as she could to the other side, ready to jump through yet another window, enter another warehouse, climb onto yet another platform, running away.
The whole thing was exhilarating, making blood pump widely through her heart, as if running away from a natural disaster. One they had created.
The whole building shook, heat was rising, more explosions resounded, some landmines outside detonated, it felt as if they were running through a warzone.
Eventually, they jumped and reached the last warehouse, another one filled with boxes. Paquerette climbed down, went out, and they faced the devastation, the aftermath of their own doing.
Flames were getting bigger and bigger, engulfing the adjoining warehouse and licking the side of the old factory. It would resist, probably, for now, but eventually it would succumb.
Nobody was here to stop the destruction, so the whole industrial park would probably go down.
As for the monster, they could vaguely hear the terrifying scream, but it was distant, painful. It wouldn't go after them again.
"Let's go back to the road."
Sandrine couldn't hear herself. It was strange, as if she was speaking underwater, but she knew she could trust her two pets. The well behaved Gribouille immediately came down and smelled around to find a way without landmines and Paquerette followed quickly. Once they were out of the danger zone, the mare grabbed the puppy by the scruff and ran once again, bringing her family out of this industrial zone.
They had almost lost everything, like it had happened to them before. But together, they had all returned on the infinite road safe and sound, even having gained quite a few things.
A dangerous but good harvest, having survived together. That made them a family, right ?
Sandrine couldn't hear anything, but she felt herself shaking with laughter. Even Gribouille, dangling from Paquerette's mouth, was vigorously wagging its tail. Paquerette, the only one sound of mind, rolled her eyes hard.
But still, she didn't hate her insane human and her timid puppy nephew.