Cut and Run 2 - Sticks and Stones

never resorted to saying things that cut painfully deep in order to get his way.
    Ty tried to let it slide. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me . He shook his head as he snagged Deuce’s pack, taking care to stay behind the fallen log as he pulled it close. Whoever came up with that stupid-ass rhyme deserved a few sticks and stones to the head.
    He unzipped the outer pocket and extracted the small case that carried Deuce’s extra set of contacts. He flipped it open and carefully lifted it, using the tiny mirror inside to peer at their back trail.
    “Anything?” Earl asked.
    Ty shook his head. “It appears to be an unmanned deterrent system,” he reported in a low voice. He was surprised to find speaking difficult, and he cleared his throat quietly. “Early warning system, maybe. That’s why it was so damn big. If there’s anybody up here, they know we’re here now,” he decided grimly as he snapped the contact case shut and slid it back into Deuce’s pack.
    “Whether we’re going or not,” Zane growled, “we need to figure out what the hell to do next. Sitting here is not safe. We need a defensible position.”
    “If they’re coming, they’ll be coming soon,” Earl agreed. He raised up slightly and peered over the log. “Be nice to see who we’re up against from a safe distance.”
    Ty made his decision. “I may have an idea.”

Chapter 9

    T Y LAY in the underbrush, unmoving, watching the trail. He and Earl had made a makeshift ghillie suit out of a few branches and the wet, dead leaves that littered the forest floor. He’d had nothing to cover his face with but dirt and debris, but it worked if he didn’t move. Even blinking risked the cover as he lay near the edge of the clearing in hopes of hearing or seeing whoever came to check on the explosion.
    It had been a long time since Ty had done this properly. And God, was he getting twitchy. It had only been fifteen or so minutes of lying there, and he already wanted to move. His biggest hurdle had always been the incessant rocking he did when he was tense or nervous or bored. Even lying alone in bed at night sometimes, he had to rock just to keep himself from going crazy. It wasn’t nearly as bad when he was with Zane, if for no other reason than Ty forced himself to remain still so as not to disturb him. Zane slept precious little as it was, and he tended to jab Ty in the ribs when he rocked.
    Luckily, he didn’t have to wait much longer. A twig broke in the underbrush just yards away from where he lay. Ty resisted the urge to turn his head and check the positions of the others. He’d already made certain none of them could be seen; they were further away. Ty was only this close so he could hear.
    Suddenly, two men moved through the overgrown foliage to his right. Ty could just barely see them out of the corner of his eye. They were both dressed in heavy, camouflage Carhartt jackets. The bigger of the two wore a hunting cap with earflaps, which were pinned up so they made him look a little like a moose in the woods. They both carried shotguns slung over their forearms and held in the crooks of their arms. Earflaps gave a low whistle as he peered out into the clearing at the crater the explosion had produced.
    “We got somebody, huh?” he whispered to his buddy, who nodded and looked around wordlessly.
    “No body,” the smaller man observed as he chewed on what looked like a plastic swizzle stick.
    Both men looked skyward, as if expecting to see a body in the trees. Ty caught himself almost rolling his eyes. They expected someone to have been blown up into the air?
    “Must have been a lucky one,” Earflaps decided quietly. ”Got away,” he murmured even as he turned his head and peered around the quiet forest.
    Ty closed his eyes quickly and mentally cursed himself. He should have been more thorough with his camouflage. He should have known whoever was up here wouldn’t be green city folks. He’d underestimated their opponent already, and he damn well knew better.
    “Looks like he just got scared and ran,” the thin, cruel-looking man with the swizzle stick said with a sneer. Ty risked opening his eyes into slits, watching through his eyelashes as Earflaps nodded wordlessly and continued to look around suspiciously. “Should we follow him?” he asked after a moment.
    Swizzlestick shook his head and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “No way he made it out without being hurt, and he’s four