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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
9 TO 5, DOLLY PARTON
"FOR THE SECOND STAGE, THE GOAL WILL BE UPON REACHING MONUMENT VALLEY, AFTER CROSSING A DISTANCE OF 1200 KM." The remaining horses and their riders from the first stage lined up along the starting line of the church, preparing for the firework signal in the air to go off at exactly 10:00 am sharp. Riley DeSantos wasn't only anticipating the goal, but the sustenance she would have to acquire along the way.
Water was her priority above everything, even reaching the goal before anyone else. Before the fireworks blew, she spent time calculating any path she'd have to take to reach a water hole found in the desert she'd be trekking through.
"Alright, Santana. We're gonna blow past the main group and be on our own from there, got it?" She pet her horse's mane as it whinnied and shook its tail, and Riley began to secure her hair into a loose ponytail.
"It's now only 30 seconds until we start!" the announcer wailed.
After the non-stop and tedious chatter the broadcaster announced, the fireworks blew, and every horse exploded into motion.
The first to leave the group was Gyro Zeppeli, with his disciple, Johnny Joestar following suit. Riley approached them and surpassed Johnny, but Gyro's horse accelerated, flying past them. She initially aimed to increase the distance between her and the pack, but those chances seemed unlikely under her circumstances.
Seconds passed, dirt and debris flying into her horse's face under the brave stride of the lead horse's hooves.
"I'm never gonna win if I'm staring directly into this guy's ass," she groaned, and she pulled on Santana's reigns, heading west. "I'll just cut through the desert. Whatever god up there might bless me with a waterhole if I'm good." The announcer wailed the girl's name and her audacity to leave the course, on and on, abandoning the pack behind her. She disregarded his obvious remarks and continued her own path, keeping her horse steady so as not to tire him out.
Feeling the subtle vibrations of the ground and the incessant roaring of the announcer, she realized that both Gyro and Johnny followed her closely behind, both deviating from the initial course of the race.
Realizing that they might possibly overpass her and her slower pace, she booted Santana's hind legs with her foot and he sped up, loosening the distance between the two.
Because of the incredibly long distance between the start and end line of the stage, chances that it'll take more than 12 days to finish were likely. But the shortcut that Riley accessed would shorten that time by at least 3 days. More than enough time to finish before anyone else.
⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚
The setting sun that hid between the canyons slipped through the rock, sunlight striking her face. In an attempt to veil the light, her hand covered above her narrowed eyes as she kept trekking onward through the desert.
