Chapter 114 Section 17

Decker heard what sounded like a twig snapping.He held his breath nervously so that the sound of his breathing would not disturb his hearing.He clung to the damp ground and listened, trying his best to eliminate the interference of the faint music coming from the cabin, and ignored the indistinct rush of the river, but concentrated on waiting for the sound to return again. Appear.The sound seemed to come from near the path, whether it was made by someone, he was not sure.So close to the wilderness area, where there are many nocturnal animals.That noise probably didn't mean danger. He wondered very much how Beth would react to the sound.Can she control her fear?He had been trying to convince himself that Beth's presence was necessary.If she hadn't come along, Renata might have suspected that Decker had set a trap and didn't want Beth to be in danger.Meanwhile, Decker kept rebutting to himself that maybe Beth's presence wasn't really necessary.Maybe he shouldn't involve her, maybe he's asking too much of her.

She doesn't have to prove anything to me. It's you who made things like this. Stop, he said to himself, there is only one thing you should concentrate on, and that is to get through the night, to get Beth alive to get through the night. He didn't hear the sound again, and let out a slow breath.The cabin was to his right, with lights in the windows.But he deliberately didn't look in that direction so as not to interfere with his night vision.He stared straight ahead at the road, at the bridges and paths and clearings.The light in the cabin will provide light for sneakers, and will make it difficult for someone stalking close to adjust their night vision to see the dark surrounding the cabin.On the contrary, the light pouring from the house, together with the bright moonlight and starlight, worked in Decker's favor.The lights were on the outer edge of his field of vision, pleasing to his eyes.He felt like he was looking through a pair of giant light-enhancing glasses.

The crickets chirped.Another sad song about open doors and empty hearts blared faintly from the cabin radio.Decker heard the snap of a branch again, and immediately tensed up.This time he knew with certainty that the sound was coming from near the path, among the trees and shrubs to the right of the path.Did he cross the bridge before he saw the shadow of Renata and her party?It seemed impossible—unless they crossed the bridge before he reached the shallow pit.But his eyes were only a few minutes away from the wooden bridge.Would Renata have time to drive by here before he came out of the cabin (he didn't see any passing headlights), make sure he'd put the car on the trail, park, scout the area, and cross the bridge?is it possible?Then Renata and her people would be acting recklessly, almost recklessly.That's not how Renata does things.

But when Decker heard the sound for the third time, he grabbed the Winchester.It occurred to him that Beth would do the same thing, she would grab a shotgun, but could she restrain herself from pulling the trigger until absolutely necessary?Had she panicked and fired prematurely before her target came within range, she would have sabotaged the plan, and probably cost her her life in doing so.Decker emphasized the danger to her as they drove up from Albuquerque, urging her to remember that a shotgun is a short-range weapon and that she would have to wait until Decker fired and there was an obvious target in the open field. Only then can you shoot.Her injured shoulder might make her aim less accurate, but the deadly scatter of buckshot will more than make up for it, especially if she's firing all four barrels in a row in a short amount of time .

Remember what I told you, Beth, don't shoot. Decker waited.Nothing happened.There was no more sound of branches snapping.According to his judgment, 5 minutes passed, and the sound did not sound again.He can't look at his watch.The watch is in his pocket.Before arriving at the cabin, he had double-checked to make sure both he and Beth had their watches removed and put away, lest the luminous dial reveal their positions in the dark. According to his judgment, 10 minutes passed.He had told Beth about lying still for hours, restraining his impatience.Tell yourself that you are in a game and the other side will act before you act.At the Albuquerque airport, although neither of them felt the need to go to the bathroom, Decker insisted that they both had to.He pointed out that when they lay in the woods at night, the full bladder was uncomfortable and could prevent them from concentrating.Squatting up to defecate will draw attention.The only option is to untie it under clothing, but that's sure to be a distraction.

15 minutes. 20 minutes.No more suspicious sounds.There was no movement on the path bathed in moonlight or in the thick bushes beside it.Be patient, Decker told himself, but a part of his mind began to doubt his reasoning.Maybe Renata didn't hide a seeker in his car.Maybe Renata wasn't in the area at all.