The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.3

Snow Laughing Matter

You, Johnny, and Gyro had your horses slowly trotting through the snow. The path ahead seemed to stretch on for miles. An endless field of blinding white.

Gyro rose a hand, signaling for the rest of you to stop.  He got off of his horse and dropped a steel ball on a visible patch of the frozen lake. "It's still too thin. Only about forty-three centimeters thick. Crossing this place on our horses seems risky. I wish it was a little thicker."

Gyro pulled up the collar of the purple turtleneck he was wearing. The weather was only getting colder, so all of you were decked out in multiple layers in an attempt to stay warm.

Johnny was looking elsewhere through his binoculars. "Then we'll have to find a ferry. They're stationed about twelve kilometers from here. They're ferrying people across near Lake Superior, where the water hasn't frozen."

"Twelve kilometers?" You furrowed your brow. "I believe we're still in the lead for this stage, but if someone else is able to cross the lake faster, we could easily fall behind."

Gyro gave the ice a light stomp. "I dunno for sure... It's a weird thickness. It's always like this. All the important decisions are the hardest ones. We might be able to cross."

"Well, we have to decide quickly." Johnny was now focused on the trail behind. "Look, it's following us."

The Zeppeli took a moment to see where Johnny seemed to be looking. It was a grey wolf pup that was slowly making its way over. "What the hell?! It might be after our horses! (Y/N), you gave it food this morning, didn't you? Even though I told you not to? You're not supposed to feel sorry for it! Even if it's a starving wolf cub, it could still go after our horses!"

"But it's not after our horses, Gyro." You gave your legs a pat, beckoning it over. It happily scampered along the snow, tail swaying side to side. "Maybe it just wants a friend. Animals tend to like me, anyway. You know, like with the bear dino?"

"Hey, hey..." Gyro was tapping his foot, annoyed. "I didn't agree to you calling it over. Send it back."

"Too late." You crouched to scratch behind the wolf pup's ears with a gloved hand. "And see? It's not trying to kill the horses."

"So... I wasn't actually talking about the wolf." Johnny thought he should clarify that before things got too off topic. "I was talking about the people way behind the wolf, over the hill, near the trees."

"Oh?" You stood back up. "That's Pocoloco, isn't it? Along with Baba Yaga and Norisuke Higashikata. Have they teamed up?"

"For now, at least." Johnny let his hand holding the binoculars fall back down to his side. "The sixth stage goal is fifteen kilometers away after crossing the channel across Lake Michigan. They're going pretty fast, so they probably plan to cross the strait today."

"Pocoloco?" Gyro was just catching up on the conversation. "I guess for now he's probably the real contender for the win. After all, Hot Pants's goal doesn't seem to be winning the race, and (Y/N)'s little 'boyfriend' Dio is still taking it slow."

"Are you still hung up on that, Gyro?" You picked up the wolf pup. "I already told you there wasn't anything going on between him and I."

"Sure... sure..." The Zeppeli had his eyes narrowed, like he didn't believe you. "But I've noticed you sneaking off sometimes. How am I supposed to know you haven't been secretly hooking up with him in some alleyway?"

"Just drop it, Gyro." It wasn't exactly a topic Johnny wanted to remain on. "And... there's something else that's been bothering me. The next corpse part should be super close by! Both legs! They might even be underneath all this ice!"