He activated his ski-jets, crouched down, and was on his way.
As he entered the forest, he glanced around to check the progress of his team-mates. They had become impossible to see due to the camouflaged clothing. But the junior version of the game ensured he could tell their position easily, due to the bright stars hovering above them – red for Tom, who had headed to the left side of the cliff, blue for Van, to the right. Zak headed straight towards it, where in front of him, Arnie’s green star jiggled about – which meant that he was still alive and on the move.
As Zak started to ascend the mountain, the forest became steeper and more dense. He could no longer pick out a straight route through the trees, and had to continuously bank from side to side. Picking out a perfect path was the key to going fast.
He could see that Arnie was also headed straight for the cliff, both from the position of his green star, and his ski tracks, which Zak crossed repeatedly in the otherwise fresh snow. He felt a moment of surprise that Arnie was still alive. But just seconds later, Arnie’s star exploded, creating a shower of sparkling green embers. When the effect subsided, a dull remnant of a star remained, stationary. He was now dead.
‘Arnie’s gone,’ said Zak.
‘Shame,’ said Tom. ‘That must be a record for him though.’
Zak wondered how he had made it so far. Arnie had been invited on the team because he was a beginner. They were trying to improve their skills by taking on tougher challenges, and missions were much harder if there were only three in the team. So they were happy to allow Arnie to tag along, and get killed at an early stage.
Zak soon encountered the first outer defences of the castle. Two gun turrets hung from trees, wrecked and smoking. Arnie was learning. His admiration turned to amazement when he passed a Spongeyman patrol. Three guards lay motionless in the snow splattered in blue gunge.
‘Well done Arnie!’ said Zak.
