Tobias calls Aero down from the branch, and he lands on his arm. I take a moment to marvel at the incredible engineering of the eagle baku. I’m amazed at how well he is able to function in the extreme cold. It’s as if Moncha Corp have thought of everything. Even the precipitation doesn’t bother him. They would need so much testing to make it work and an extensive practice ground too.

Lake Baku.

Of course, it makes total sense, even though I wouldn’t have thought about it in a million years.

“That’s weird,” says Tobias. “According to the map, we should be able to see Lake Baku right now.” We take a moment to look around, but the scenery hasn’t changed from the thick line of forest spreading off into the distance. There’s certainly no sign of a lake or of any buildings that could be the secret home of Moncha Corp’s experimentation.

“This is ridiculous. There’s clearly no lake here!” Kai rips his hat off his head in frustration.

Tobias frowns, his brow furrowing in frustration. “But this is exactly where the map says…”

“You mean the map that no longer exists, that you have dragged up from your baku’s memory files? Maybe that was just a decoy or a plan that never made it into existence? Like old blueprints for something that was never actually made. I mean, Lacey is the only one who saw the street beneath Moncha HQ. When Tobias showed us the livestream, it was totally empty.”

“It existed,” I say through gritted teeth.

“I believe you,” says Ashley, scowling at Kai.

>>It’s okay; Let me handle this.

A slinky black figure leaps out from the underbrush and bounds over until he’s sitting on my skis.

“Jinx!” I say.

The sight of him lifts all of our spirits, and I can sense the group’s mood vastly improve. Even Kai has a big grin on his face. Now that Jinx is here, it feels like the impossible has a chance at being made possible.

And that’s exactly what he does for us.

>>It took me some time to bypass the security to the area. But I got the idea from Paul’s baku George. I disconnected from the Moncha cloud completely. But you have to see this—come with me.

He flicks his tail and moves toward the thick line of trees. But there doesn’t look like there’s a way through for us, not with our skis. I unclick myself from my bindings and try to follow Jinx. But the trees are so tightly packed, I can’t find a way through. I hesitate.

>>What are you waiting for?

I can’t even see him anymore. The trees are so thick, the forest seems impassable. “Hang on, let me see if I can get around…”