Page 55

“Are you looking out for me or the treasure?” I asked.

“Both,” he replied, grinning. “You’re a package deal.”

“I do love being the mule,” I sighed, but ran to catch up to the rest of the team anyway.

And, as promised, Asher stayed right behind me the whole time.

We ran so fast that my lungs felt like I’d inhaled a solar flare—but at least we beat the other teams to the South Woods.

Or so we thought.

“There’s the trail!” Kylie pointed to a hiking trail that led into the forest.

“And there are our adversaries.” Dutch grabbed my arm and yanked me back. Something smashed against the tree trunk behind us, spraying the bark with bright red paint.

“Uh, thanks,” I told him. That paint could have been all over me instead.

“I was protecting the treasure,” Dutch replied, looking over my head. “The red team is the only other team that’s made it here. We need to move before that changes.”

“This way!” Kylie called out, running down the trail, into the woods.

“How far to the extraction point?” Bronte asked her as we all followed.

Kylie hopped to a halt so fast, we all nearly toppled over her. The yellow team was standing in the middle of the trail, blocking our way. All five of them were holding paintball guns.

“Hey, that’s not fair! They’ve got five guns, and we’ve only got one!” Asher protested.

“I doubt the General cares about what’s fair,” I told him.

Dante stood at the front of the yellow team. He winked at me, then shot two paintball pellets our way.

“Through the trees!” Asher said, pushing Kylie off the path before she got painted yellow—and removed from the game.

The rest of us ducked between the trees, following them. We pushed our way through spindly tree branches and scraggly bushes. There were probably spiders hiding here. I hated spiders. Especially the highly-poisonous ones.

“We need a plan,” Bronte said.

I could hear footsteps on the trail, not far away.

“I have an idea,” said Asher. He swung his backpack in front of his chest, retrieved a bundle of rope, and put his backpack back on again—all without slowing his pace.

“This is the perfect spot,” Asher said a bit later, and we all stopped running.

“The perfect spot for what?” Kylie asked.

“For setting up our tripwire.” Asher handed her one end of the rope. “Go over there, to that ugly tree that looks like the General’s face. Tie the rope around the trunk, just above ankle level.”

As Kylie rushed off to do that, Bronte watched Asher tie his end to another tree. “The other teams are never going to fall for this,” she told him.

“Sure they are.” Asher secured the rope with a knot, then rose out of his crouch. He looked at Dutch. “How many paintballs do you have in that pack?”

“Not enough for every enemy on the field,” Dutch replied.

“Not if you shoot them one-by-one, of course.” Asher’s gaze slowly panned up a nearby eucalyptus tree, then snapped back to Dutch. “How are you at climbing trees?”

CHAPTER7

UP AND DOWN