He aimed the rifle and shot the closest one just below its head. There was a yelp, and the wolf was stopped in its tracks by a coating of blue gunge. The one behind it jumped over the flailing body. Zak had aimed at the next closest. He fired again, with the same accuracy. There was only a small delay between each shot, but it seemed far too long. The remaining two were close. Was he too near the edge of the cliff? He had aimed at another, but for some reason it was the one furthest away. He fired once more. The sounds became mesmerising – gunshot, yelp, gunshot, yelp. He cursed the background music. The last wolf was upon him. Zak aimed the rifle precisely. It jumped at him, and he pulled the trigger too soon, as the rifle hadn’t completed its recovery. It didn’t fire.
Zak saw a wide open jaw come towards him. He leant back, and then felt the impact as the wolf snapped its jaw at his neck. He flew backwards into the snow, and the wolf went over him.
Zak noticed his health gauge drop a hefty forty percent. His vision blurred, causing the trees that towered above him to split into multiples and then dance around. This was a feature of the game, making him completely disoriented. He heard the growl of a wolf behind him, so he frantically got to his feet, and rushed to get behind what he hoped was a genuine tree. Running was difficult with the skis extended, and he felt clumsy and vulnerable.
‘Close!’ he commanded.
The skis withdrew, and he dived behind the tree. He breathed a sigh of relief as his vision returned to normal.
Then Zak realised that he did not have his rifle. He peeked out. The wolf was getting up right by the edge of the cliff. It shook itself to get rid of the snow picked up by its fur as it rolled over. He scanned intently for the blue glow, but there was no sign of it. The rifle must have gone over the edge of the cliff!
Van’s voice cut in. ‘Hey Zak, waiting for us eh, that’s a bit cheeky.’
‘Don’t get cocky Zak,’ said Tom. ‘No-one likes that.’
Zak had to ignore them, the wolf was on the attack again.
