El Dorado comes to life.
"Run for your lives!" cried B1.
The Team ran out of the temple sanctum as quickly as they could. Fridge stayed behind for a few moments to retrieve the dropped revolver; he put it in his backpack and then made a dash for safety too.
Behind them, the four animal guardians came to monstrous life. They exited the temple through each of its four entrances and set their sights on their human prey.
"Split up!" ordered B1. "Everyone, get into groups of three and head for a different city gate! We can't afford to bottleneck the pathways!"
The other players obeyed. B1 was right; the 'spider city' had come to life, contorting its streets into hopelessly twisted mazes. Their only chance of getting out alive was to keep the central ziggurat behind them.
Instinctively, the players herded into three teams led by someone who could "see" their way out: Alex, who could use his piloting skills to navigate, B1, the cartographer and Jurgen, who had long studied the city in order to conquer it.
Alex led Eddie and Fridge on a dash towards the Southern Gate, pursued by the golden Jaguar. Unfortunately, the pilot failed to spot a trap door beneath them, leading to all three men falling straight into the crocodile-infested lake.
Meanwhile, B1 was running for the Western Gate along with Jake and the respawned Spencer. Not far behind them was the golden Serpent, slithering quickly atop the changing city landscape. It was a trap – as the hapless trio rounded a sharp corner, they were ambushed by a troop of golden warriors. Too late, the friends realised why the city had been populated with a host of human 'statues'.
On the other side of the city, Jurgen, Martha and B2 were heading for the Eastern Gate. The martial artist had convinced Alex that his daughter was safer travelling with her, something he'd reluctantly agreed to. To Martha's surprise, Jurgen turned out to be a valuable teammate – without breaking a sweat, he successfully slew the Eagle and the Lizard. With both pursuers dead, it seemed they might actually be the first to escape the city.
In the distance, Martha spotted Fridge waving at her. The zoologist had been cornered by several of Manjeet's flying monkeys and signalled that he wanted to throw the Monkey's Egg to her. She nodded, and Fridge sent the purple gem sailing through the air like a football.
Martha caught the jewel easily and continued her journey with B2. Unfortunately, the flying monkeys turned their attention to them, wishing to obtain the Egg themselves. One of the primates landed on a bridge and pulled a mysterious lever. In an instant, a dozen hidden catapults were activated, including one on the very passageway the trio were on.
The three players were hurled into the air with great force. Martha lost hold of the Monkey's Egg and plunged headlong into the waters of the lake. Jurgen was more fortunate, landing on a bridge leading directly to freedom. Shaking the disorientation away, he tried to get his bearings and resume his flight to safety.
"HELP! Somebody, help me!"
Jurgen looked up and saw Alex's daughter Bethany, hanging on for dear life from a precarious golden ledge. Some distance below them, in the opposite direction, he spotted the Monkey's Egg where it had fallen. With every passing moment, the sorceress' flying minions were closing in on their prize.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to save the little girl. Everything within the conqueror's being cried out in protest. This was an illogical move; allowing Manjeet to capture the jewel like this was a clear tactical blunder. Besides, he was a ruthless and cruel man – he didn't have time to coddle children. Still, for an unknown reason, Jurgen the Brutal felt compelled to save Bethany Vreeke.
Carefully, the large man climbed the golden ledge and rescued the frightened little girl. Carrying her in his arms, he made his way back down to the bridge and took off for the gate as fast as his feet would carry them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a monkey flying away with the purple Egg.
As Jurgen successfully crossed through the Eastern Gate, Bethany Walker was on the cusp of reaching the western one. Having Jake and Spencer on her team was a stroke of luck; the two experienced gamers seemed to know exactly what to do. Together, they defeated native warriors, threw pursuing animals off their track and leapt from platform to platform. Unfortunately, Shelly Oberon's lack of endurance was starting to slow her down. Panting and out of breath, she didn't know how much longer she could keep running.
In her fatigue, Bethany didn't realise she'd triggered a tiny mechanism with her foot. Like a set of falling dominoes, a series of movements was set off until at last, high above her, a massive golden sphere began to move.
Jake was the first to notice the impending disaster. "BETHANY!" he screamed, trying to alert her to the danger.
"What?" asked Bethany tiredly, moments before the noise of the rolling metal ball reached her ears. Gathering speed, the giant polished sphere hurtled down its guided path on its way to crush her.
Confronted by the sight, Bethany stood frozen in terror. No longer thinking clearly, she could do little more than gape at the approaching mass.
At the very last moment, Spencer sprang into action. With one life bar remaining, he leapt into the giant sphere's path and pushed his friend to safety.
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