At first, he'd blamed it on being a city boy.
And the fact that his expensive leather boots had succumbed to the rain-soaked ground shortly after they'd started their walk-through at the camp site.
Then he reasoned that Mike may have been right about his slight paranoia when it came to unknown terrain and potential creatures that would be interested in devouring them.
Steve even told himself that they had witnesses placing their apothecary into San Francisco proper not too long ago, and that they were executing their proverbial digging in his sandbox in the relative safety of solitude.
And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Strangely enough, the farther he moved away from the Galaxy, the stronger his urge became to head back to safety.
Mike and he had split ten minutes ago, hoping to cover more terrain that way. The Lieutenant had cautioned him to stay within audio distance, an order Steve was ever so eager to follow.
After looking around the clear-cut area of the campground, seeing signs of tent stakes that had been driven into the ground not too long ago, along with deep tire tracks from several large vehicles, Steve had made his way into the brushier regions along the creek. He figured if anybody would as much as entertain the idea of having a place to live up here, it had to be close to a source of water.
Turning around for a moment, Steve swallowed hard when the Galaxy and much of the campground was no longer in plain sight. The small path he'd made by climbing through waist high ferns and bushes served as the only reminder of his way back to the safety of the unmarked police car.
Subconsciously reaching across his chest, ready to draw his gun on a second's notice, he continued his travel along the uneven ground as quietly as possible, trying to ignore the undergrowth, twigs and thorns pulling on his dress pants every step of the way.
Cursing under his breath when he almost twisted an ankle getting too close to the edge of the creek lined in large river rock, Steve moved off to the side somewhat, even if it meant having to fight more of the ever-present coniferous trees nestled to either side of the waterway.
The snapping of a branch made him freeze in his spot.
Carefully looking around without moving the rest of his body, Steve didn't see a trace of Mike anywhere in the vicinity. As a matter of fact, he saw no trace of anything around him, besides ferns and stubborn greenery surrounded by trees.
When everything fell quiet again, Steve took another step, hoping to be stealthy, but showing the grace of a bull in a china shop, when his pants got caught on a midsize log sticking out of the side of the creek bed.
Cursing for a second time, he reached down to pull them lose when he caught movement down by his ankles. Jumping back several feet and feeling the heart in his chest skipping a few beats, Steve had reached for his revolver and aimed it at the spot, before his mind even understood what was happening.
Through forced breaths, he kept his aim steady and slowly approached the area again, when splashing water could be heard nearby. Glancing over, Steve felt a wave of relief, then embarrassment when he recognized a small muskrat disappearing beneath the log he'd disturbed earlier.
"Damnit…", he cursed half-heartedly and put the .38 back in its holster, taking a mental note that he'd give himself five more minutes of this adventure, before returning to the car and meeting up with Mike.
Walking a few steps closer to the creek when the encroaching forest became too dense, Steve noted the elevation rising significantly. With the rumbling of distant thunder, a new wave of rain began to move through the area; the drops that made it past the canvas of the countless trees echoing, as they hit the large leaves of the shrubbery along the water.
Taking a big step to bridge yet another log that blocked his way, Steve picked up a noise that didn't quite fit the scenery.
Slowing down as he crossed the rotten branch shiny from the rainwater, he kept his ears cued to the noise of metal rattling. With his boots slipping against the wet ground below, he took a step off to the side to look around, hoping to find the source.
His answer came faster than expected when another noise disrupted the silence. A brief, unremarkable click was followed by the sound of rusty coil springs coming to life.
Before Steve could even realize what was happening, the unforgiving pain from his leg dropped him violently to the ground.
