Joel continued around in a wide arc, roughly circling where he thought the cabin was. He hoped that moving in such a manner he might be able to suprise his attackers again. The forest was more dense in places than in others. The sunlight broke through the high branches and the leaves, creating a bright green tinged glow all around him. Silent movement was very slow - moving from behind tree to tree. He kept as low as possible, watching where he put his feet. Joel was ever mindful that one broken twig could give his position away. Now and again he stopped to listen. He couldn't hear any noises now coming from behind him although he was still sure that the men were there somewhere. He checked the rifle again, he was now very low on amunition. Not enough bullets to wait and to attempt an straight shoot out. He kept on moving.
After an uncertain distance he halted completely. Ahead of him and slightly to his right he could see the back of the cabin that he had started out from. It was not far away. He stopped just before the break in the trees. Just before the clearing. He swore to himself under his breath. Through a combination of initial panic and then because of the desire to remain silent and hidden he had misjudged where he was. He had wanted to be further around before approaching this area again. He wanted to be in front of the cabin too, to give himself the best position to watch for the duo returning, as he was sure they would. He started to double back on himself but froze as he heard a faint moan coming from his left. It sounded close. Very close. The third man. The injured man. The one who had been screaming earlier, he thought.