After the initial shock subsided, Steve had been able to achieve a certain measure of comfort despite the terrifying situation.
With his upper body propped up against the tree trunk, he'd closed his eyes, focusing on deep and even breaths while managing the throbbing pain coming from his injured leg.
Here and there he found himself drifting off into oblivion for a few minutes, only to come back around with a slight jerk, enough to start up a new wave of agony that returned his senses to reality in no uncertain terms.
Once the adrenaline and cold sweat wore off, his body had started to cool down, the lack of movement and protective clothing allowing the elements to take their toll on his compromised system.
Even though Steve could feel it come on, woefully noticing that he never began to shiver, his cloudy mind had warded off any undue worry, focusing solely on the fact that Mike would be back soon to get his sorry behind out of this latest situation.
Drawing in a deep breath and watching it rise up into the night sky, Steve closed his eyes momentarily, relishing the peaceful solace to be found in the darkness surrounding him, the voice in the back of his mind urging him to stay awake growing weaker by the minute.
With his hands to either side of his body, he reached for the pine needles nearby, grabbing handfuls of them and clenching his fists, hoping the painful sensation against his stiff fingers would help bring some feeling back.
The thick brush right next to him didn't allow for Steve to see deeper into the woods, all part of Mike's plan to keep him well hidden and yet making him uncomfortably oblivious to what was going on around him.
And it didn't take long for that to become a problem.
At first, he'd written it off as a critter making its way through the forest in the middle of the night, disturbing some twigs here and there. But as the noise came closer, it grew too consistent, too coordinated to be any sort of wildlife.
Holding his breath and falling completely still, he listened intently, until he could identify two separate footfalls making their way through the forest in calculated caution.
No words were exchanged between the individuals, their movements so scarily quiet that they would have been easy to miss, except for the guy trapped behind a bush with nowhere else to go.
Feeling the heart in his chest speed up once more, Steve carefully let go of the wad of pine needles in his hands, readying himself for a fight he couldn't win in case his position was discovered.
With the most sincerity he could muster, he had convinced Mike that Chong would keep him alive, take him back to the compound and use him as bait. But after seeing the concerningly callous way with which his men had already ridded themselves of several witnesses, poor souls that had stood in their way, Steve wasn't sure anymore if Chong would even bother dealing with him altogether.
From the first time they'd come across the manic doctor, there had been a strange connection between him and the Lieutenant, a yin and yang of morals clashing that seemed to attract Chong to Mike for one reason or another.
He, on the other hand was nothing more than collateral damage to the doctor who seemed intent on finishing his limb replacement research at all costs, no matter the price.
The steps were approaching his position now, coming so close that he could hear the tiny pine needles crunch under the weight of the two strangers.
Holding his breath once again to avoid little gusts of warm air giving him away, Steve let his eyes wander around, hoping there was anything nearby he could use as a weapon but finding nothing useable.
Glancing back over at the bush and the imminent danger on the other side of it, he felt his muscles twitch, wondering once again if he truly was hidden from sight, or if the noises he heard were merely the enemy approaching his position.
By now, his heart was pounding so violently that Steve swore he could hear it, his body moving slightly with each frantic beat, as sweat was returning to his forehead from the adrenaline flooding his veins.
So stupid.
It had been such a stupid oversight that caused this issue to begin with, putting him into a dangerous situation that could have easily been avoided had he watched his steps some more.
And now they were separated, fighting a dangerous and mentally unstable enemy with concerningly few resources.
His legs.
Were his legs exposed enough to be seen? Even though Mike had covered his boots with a handful of small pine branches, one could still see the toe of his cowboy boots sticking out.
Not daring to move anything but his eyes, Steve continued to listen for sounds from the approaching enemy, expecting the noise of a handgun being cocked at any moment.
As a sitting duck and powerless to defend himself, he closed his eyes for a moment, coming to terms with the realistic chance that he would become one more in the ever-growing list of victims at Chong's hands, his name disappearing somewhere in the maze of many others who had come before him.
Taking a break from his pursuit in order to kill him would at least give Mike a few more valuable moments to get ahead and hopefully out of these godforsaken woods, spreading the word of the evil that had been committed here and bring Chong to justice once and for all.
Releasing his breath when he could hold it no longer, Steve had to stifle a sigh of relief when the footsteps moved away, leaving his position as fast as they had come.