The red-clawed scorpion's attack missed once again. Albert shouted immediately, "Up—now!"
Hayes seized the opening. With a powerful spring, he launched himself upward, all four limbs leaving the ground as he landed high on the fig tree, racing up along the twisted, interlaced, uneven root-vines.
His four thick, powerful paws hooked hard into the deeply furrowed surface of the trunk. The sharp tips of his claws even sank into the wood itself, carving pale, gouging scratches into the bark.
Albert shot a strand of spider silk toward the branches above, suspending most of his weight from it to ease the burden on Hayes.
The snow leopard quickly climbed to a height of four or five meters—but it wasn't enough.
When they looked down, they saw that the red-clawed scorpion was already driving its body upward as well, climbing along the roots and onto the trunk, showing no sign of giving up.
Hayes had no choice but to keep climbing.
