Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Empty Crate

Completely empty.

Not a single can of meat. Not even a rusty nail or a scrap

of paper.

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Just a thin layer of frost lining the bottom of the crate, staring up at her like a silent punchline. “Surprise. It’s a trap.”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Riley was so mad she almost kicked the thing into next week.

She’d trudged through subzero snow for who knows how long, nose frozen solid, finally found a loot crate -and it was empty?

It was like crawling through a desert, spotting a water bottle, unscrewing the cap, and finding nothing but dry air.

Worse, the crate literally vanished into thin air the moment she opened it. Gone.

“Definitely cursed. My luck is absolutely cursed.”

Riley let out a frustrated sigh. She poked around inside the empty space with her axe handle a couple

up, shoulders more times, just to be sure there were no hidden compartments. Nothing. She stood slumping.

“Whatever. Keep moving. Find something else.”

She brushed snow off her coat and was about to head in a different direction when-

A faint rustling came from a clump of dead bushes nearby.

Quiet. Barely audible. But in the dead silence of this frozen wasteland? It might as well have been a shout.

Riley’s heart lurched. Her body went rigid, grip tightening on the hand axe.

“Who’s there?”

She crouched low, creeping toward the sound.

Five yards out-

“Whoosh-!”

A tan blur burst from behind a snowdrift, bolting toward the dense woods.

“Deer?!”

Riley’s eyes went wide–then lit up like candles.

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20:11 Mon, May 4

Chapter 13 Empty Crate

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A young deer. Not huge, long slender legs. Struggling a little in the deep snow, but the thing had serious explosive power.

“That’s meat.”

Still fuming over the empty crate, Riley wasn’t about to let this opportunity sprint away. She pushed off hard. “Agility 9” kicked in, her enhanced stats firing on all cylinders.

“Get back here!”

She tore across the snow. Not as graceful as the deer, sure, but her boots gripped decently and her legs had power. She kept it in sight, closing the gap.

Human versus deer. Snow plain sprint.

The deer was heading straight for a thick conifer stand ahead. Terrain got messy in there. If it made those trees, she’d never find it again.

“Not happening.”

Riley made a split–second call. She stopped dead, wound up, and hurled the axe with everything she had.

“Whump-”

The blade spun through the air, a blur of steel-

“Thunk.”

Right into the deer’s hind leg. Blood sprayed, painting the snow red.

The deer screamed–a high, pained cry. It stumbled but didn’t stop. If anything, the wound kicked its survival instincts into overdrive. With the axe still lodged in its leg, it hobbled frantically into the tree line and disappeared.

“You’ve got to be-”

Riley stared at the empty woods, jaw tight.

“It got away. And it took my axe. My imported axe.”

Classic. Insult. Injury.

“No. Absolutely not. That deer is dead or alive, and I’m getting my axe back.”

She yanked the spare axe from her belt. Following the bright blood trail splattered across the snow, she gritted her teeth and plunged into the forest.

Dim light inside. The blood trail went patchy, leading toward a massive ancient pine.

Riley slowed. Held her breath. Crept around the trunk.

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Chapter 13 Empty Crate

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Then she froze.

The deer was there–dying, bleeding out. But it wasn’t alone.

There was… something else.

A girl. Looked maybe fifteen, sixteen.

She wasn’t wearing winter gear. Just rough clothing stitched from animal hides and leaves, leaving patches of skin exposed–skin marked with pale, colorful patterns.

Her hair was blue–purple, threaded with tiny flowers. Hard to tell if they were decorations or actually growing there.

The dead giveaway? The thick furry tail curled behind her. And her ears–pointed, animal–like, twitching like radar dishes.

Right now, she was crouched on all fours like a cat guarding a kill. Lips peeled back, two small fangs bared, body rigid between Riley and the injured deer.

Behind her, the deer shuddered. Riley’s axe still stuck in its leg. Blood pooling slow.

“An elf?” Riley’s mind raced. “Some kind of beast–girl?”

If this world had systems and shelters, non–human races weren’t that big a leap.

But the immediate problem was-

“Uh… hey.” Riley pointed carefully at the deer. “That’s mine.”

The girl didn’t understand the words. But the gesture? The intent? That got through.

A low growl rumbled in her throat. Clear warning. Amber eyes burned with hostility. Her body dropped lower, coiling like she was about to launch–teeth aimed at Riley’s throat.

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