It was something of an anticlimax, striding into a library at the end of our epic quest to find no one there except for Billy, Benji, and Bobby. But I have to say, when we’d joined Calvin and Lincoln in the dining hall, that first mouthful of spiced parsnip soup was the finest thing I’d ever tasted.

Baxter appeared once giant slices of apple cake had been followed up with tea and coffee. It had been a subdued meal, Calvin in fresh, dry clothes keeping his head down, eyes on his food, the rest of us too cold and tired to bother making conversation, Jordan Jones noticeably absent.

‘Congratulations, all of you!’ Baxter boomed, as a screen lowered from the ceiling behind him and flickered to life. ‘Six of you completed the weather hunt. This is how things lie as we head into the penultimate challenge.’

‘There’s two more of these?’ Ben said, sounding on the verge of panic.

‘Um, excuse me but why am I last?’ Calvin asked, sounding well over that verge and into the ditch.

Baxter looked at him, face impassive. ‘Because you were disqualified.’

‘What?’ Calvin’s eyes darted around the rest of the table, his cheeks flushing with anger.

‘No, nobody snitched on you,’ Baxter said, in a bored drone. ‘I’m a billionaire recluse living in the middle of nowhere. Do you really think I wouldn’t have cameras in every corner?’

‘But…’ Calvin spluttered.

‘But. There was one simple rule, clearly explained to you in advance. Don’t move or remove the containers.’

‘So why is Bea still at the top?’ Lincoln asked, not adding that if Calvin was disqualified he should be in first place, not third.

‘Lincoln Kim, it is bold of you to question the rankings, given that you also did not replace the container in the right place. I’m overlooking this because you didn’t deliberately misplace it. However, this is a job interview, not a game show. I want team players in my newsroom. Bea competed as an individual yet showed more team spirit than the rest of you put together. Driver, I appreciate that in your case integrity and working with your teammate were in direct contradiction of one another, however, I can’t overlook your absence of tokens.’

Henry gave a small shake of his head, as if wondering for the hundredth time that day what he was doing here.

‘Summer, before you ask why you’re second to last, while I appreciate your ruthless determination, you were dangerously ill equipped for the task in hand. A mistake which I can’t tolerate in Bigwood Media Anyone else like to challenge my decision? No? Very well. Be in the library in one hour.’