Joel continued to crouch in the tall foliage for another couple of seconds whilst he got his bearings. The sounds of his pursuers were beginning to give him an indication of where they were. Every now and again he could hear muffled whispers and the crack of small twigs being snapped under foot.
That's it. Let me know where you are...
He continued in the direction he had been moving, taking his time to carefully sneek around in the same wide arc that he had decided upon. Joel hoped that he was roughly circling where he thought the cabin was. He hoped that moving in such a manner he might be able to eventually surprise his attackers. Maybe if he went far enough they wouldn't be expecting him to appear from a different direction.
Maybe I can strike on my own terms, and not just trying to react to what they are doing...
The forest was more dense in places than in others. Where it could sunlight broke through the high branches and the leaves above him, the early morning sun creating a bright green tinged glow all around him. His silent movement was very slow as crept from behind one tree to the next.
Joel kept as low as possible, watching where he put his feet, 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.
Only a couple of bullets left...Not enough ammunition to wait and attempt a straight shoot out.
He knew he had only one option. He kept on moving.
After an uncertain distance he halted completely as he caught a glimpse of what he had been searching for. Ahead of him and slightly to his right he could see the back of the cabin that he had started out from. He held his breath as he moved closer to it. The cabin was not far away now, he could see it clearly, faint traces of smoke still rose from what was left of the roof. From the outside it looked a lot more sturdy than he had thought it was when he had been inside it.
He bent over as much as he could, almost crawling, stopping just before the clearing in the trees that surrounded the old cabin.
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 the building before approaching this area again. He had planned to be close to where he had seen the two men hiding earlier, with a line of sight to the front door. He had figured that if he was in front of the cabin, he would give himself the best position to watch to see if the duo returned, as he was sure they would. However he wasn't there. He now found himself to the left of the cabin. Joel looked around through the patchwork of greenery, considering his options.
Still got time to be where I want to be if I move now...
He started to double back on himself slightly, to get himself into a better location, but froze as he heard a faint moan coming from his left. It sounded close. Very close. The third man. The injured man.
The fool who was screaming earlier...
He was still alive.
