He now studied his surroundings inside the cabin again as his head cleared more fully. There were a few empty shelves along one wall, and a single bunk in a corner to sleep on. It had clearly been abandoned for a long time. There didn't seem to be anything else useful, everything of value or use had been looted previously. The dust that was on the floor when he had arrived had now been compounded by the falling particles from the roof. His own pack was now resting on its side within arms reach of where he now sat.
Joel looked up again at the brightening sky through the newly formed gaping hole where some of the roof beams had been. The sun was not directly overhead yet. It was still early, but light enough to clearly make out the ugly splintering in the ancient wood. Another shout came again through the silence from one of the men who had tracked him down and now had him trapped in the cabin. They had came up to the cabin only a short time ago, in the hazy light when night gave way to day. They had first tried to be stealthy whilst he was still asleep. Their approaching footsteps had woken Joel up and he had silently hidden himself away to the side of the lone dusty window. He had remained still as they had walked around and whispered to each other. It had been easy for him to pick out the sounds of five different men. He had stayed silent even as they had tried the door. When they found the door locked he decided upon a different approach.
Joel had shouted a warning.
Told them to leave or what came next would be on them.
May as well give them a final opportunity to walk away while they are still breathing. He had thought.
That's when they had resorted to trying to break the locked door down. He still couldn't be certain, but deep down he knew it had been the group of five he had delivered the bag to. Joel had never believed in coincidences. They had got lucky and tracked him down. A brief look out the window had confirmed his suspicions. Front and center had been the ratty leader, blood dried on his face from his newly missing teeth.
Got to do this the hard way then...
Joel had shouted he didn't want any trouble and, while still keeping out of sight, had made a show of noisily unlocking the door. He had then waited. It didn't take long. He saw the door open, slowly at first and then more confidently. That was when the group of five very quickly became a group of four. The first man who had been unwise enough to come through the door downed in those few few seconds.
One shot to the middle of the chest.
Joel stole a glance through the open doorway before he kicked it shut as the remaining men had ran back to the nearby tree line surrounding the cabin.
So far, so good... he had said to himself.
But then had come the explosion.