The sun had long reached a point visible above the treetops, but only on a filtering through basis. The denseness of the surrounding forest allowed only sparse streaks of direct light, but Paul was glad to see them nonetheless. It meant the sun was out and strong. No rain in the foreseeable future.
His knee was pounding and his legs beginning to cramp. He needed to stand up and stretch, an impossible act under the circumstances. No one from the ambush team had moved. They were hidden well. Paul had not been able to spot a single one of them, other than Boulder who shared his hiding space.
The forest had come alive shortly after sunrise. Birds were singing their morning greetings in every direction. Four white-tailed deer—a buck and three does—walked through an open stretch near the targe
