"And I'll just tell you this: Until you've hunted man, you haven't hunted yet," Gov. Jesse Ventura.
XXXXX
Slipping and sliding on the muddy trail, Steve McGarrett desperately grabbed the tree root that was poking out of the ground just above him to help pull himself up the slippery, unstable hill. He felt the hot wind caused by another bullet as it flew by his head and embedded itself into the wet, muddy ground next to his hand. He glanced, breathlessly, back over his shoulder, swallowing hard as he saw him lift the rifle up to his eye and aim again. He quickly scrambled towards the thick underbrush, ignoring the branches that seemed to reach out like fingers trying to clutch at his clothes, scratching his face and arms and tearing the tender skin beneath the material.
He heard another crack from the rifle a second before he felt an agonizing, deep burn in the back of his leg. He cried out in pain as his leg gave out beneath him and he tumbled hard to the ground. Blinking back the tears of pain, he cast a quick furtive glance behind him, and saw his tormentor moving closer, getting into position for the kill.
Swallowing hard, he scrambled back up to his feet, gritting his teeth hard in an attempt to ignore the agonizing pain in his leg as he forced himself to run as fast as he could manage towards the safety of the thicker underbrush just a few yards away. He knew the only way this game was going to end was when he was dead, and he wasn't ready to die just yet.
Reaching the thick undergrowth, he threw himself down and rolled beneath the thick ferns and low hanging branches, crawling a little further into the twilight darkness of the plants until he was certain he was far enough away from the trail not to be seen. Laying as still as he could, he held his breath, not game enough to even breathe as he saw the hunter's boots come into view. He prayed that the man could not hear his thumping heart and that the dying light from the setting sun hid any blood drops that had fallen as he watched the muddy pair of boots stop just yards from where he was hiding. Time seemed to stand still until the boots slowly moved away.
Dropping his head onto his arms, he swallowed the nervous laugh that threatened to escape before he rolled over onto his back and looked up through the branches towards the darkening sky, unsure how he was going to get away or even just how he was going to survive the night.