Aramis froze when he heard something large on the other side of the bush.
What was it. A man? An animal?
He did not know. He could only stay very still and silent and hope he or it moved away without exploring further.
His hopes were dashed in a few moments, though, when he heard it again, and his breath caught in his throat at the low growl which sounded now.
He had nowhere to escape, the trunk of the tree behind him, and the big cat in front. He had no weapons, either.
He could feel his breathing begin to accelerate, and his heart rate speed up. He was trapped!
And then, he saw it. A large grey wolf emerged from some bushes a few yards from where it had lain hidden, sniffing the air.
Then it stopped. When it resumed its movement, it was headed straight for him! It must have picked up his scent.
Frantically feeling around him for anything with which to defend himself, his fingers grasped a branch to the back and side of his body, and he pulled it slowly towards him.
The wolf halted outside of the clump of bushes where he lay, its yellow eyes narrowed to slits as it spied him through the leaves.
The growl increased as the animal increased its pace.
Aramis stood up, knowing his hiding would do him no more good now.
Tightly grasping the branch, he waited. He knew better than to run. The wolf was far faster than he was. The animal's hunting sense would accelerate, too.
Aramis waited, knowing the animal could also smell the dried blood from his wounds.
And then, the animal crouched and sprang at him.
He tried to stab it with the somewhat-pointed end of his branch, but the animal was completely unfazed by the attempt as it slammed into Aramis' side, its claws tearing a path down his abdomen as it did so. Aramis screamed in pain, trying now to back away.
The big cat crouched a few yards away, its eyes once again watching him.
As the cat again started to make its move, Aramis backed away sideways, and suddenly and unexpectedly found himself falling helplessly through a hole in the ground that nature had concealed.
Landing hard on a dirt cave floor, Aramis hit his head, blacking out.
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Aramis' brothers, meanwhile, had at last found their brother's' trail. They had no idea of how far ahead of them he was. All they could do was follow the trail, the only link to him they had right now, worry gnawing at them as the trail was spotted with what could only be blood.
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When Aramis regained consciousness, he looked around him dazedly, not recognizing where he was at first.
He lifted a shaky hand to the top of his head, wincing as his fingers gingerly probed the sizable lump he found there.
As his head became a little more clear, he remembered his fall, preceded by his flight to get away from the men pursuing him.
Slowly sitting up, he looked above his head at the hole he had fallen through, then began looking around him.
He was in a cave of some sort, with a dirt floor and walls.
There had to be a way back out other than the hole above, he thought to himself. And then, he saw light sifting through a space in back of where he lay.
Laying back down until his dizziness and headache calmed down, he felt relief that he would not have to devise a way to hoist himself up and out of the cave.
When he felt a little more clear-headed, he cautiously sat up. Waiting a few more moments, he slowly stood up, swaying a little until his equilibrium steadied itself.
Moving slowly further into the cave, he soon had to feel his way along, as the meager amount of light where he had been gradually became less and less.
He could barely make out some odd little drawings along the wall on his left. The stick figures looked as if children had done them.
I wonder how old those are, and who has been here before me, he mused.
Tiring easily because of his various injuries, he halted for a short time to rest before again moving on.
The further he moved into the cave, the colder it got.
I sure could use my jacket now, he thought to himself, shivering now.
And then, he heard sounds ahead of him.
Who could possibly be in here besides me, he wondered, stopping in his tracks.
Waiting a few moments, he heard nothing else and took a step forward.
He froze when he felt a pistol barrel pressing into his back.
"Look what we found!" a voice hissed, a voice he unfortunately had never hoped to hear again.
"Turn around very slowly, Musketeer," the voice demanded.
His erstwhile captors had somehow caught up with him.
"He obviously did not know where we keep our ill-gotten goods," another of the group said, chuckling.
"You led us a merry chase, Musketeer, but it will be the last time you ever escape us," the leader growled, nodding to two of his men.
While the first man continued to aim his pistol at Aramis' head, two of the others once more bound and their captive.
Then, roughly shoving him forward, they exited the other end of the cave, just as Aramis' brothers began exploring the space around the entrance.
So close, but unaware that their brother had once more fallen prey to his enemy.