Hermit on the run

Preparing

John
I grabbed two of their radios, giving one to Mia.
"They all use the same channel," I explained. "So This way we will  be able to tell what they're doing."
We started preparing by setting bait traps throughout the property to attract animals. Then I went off and set up some lean-to holes in order to hide in and hide the bodies in. I also set up a tripwire that would set off a bell telling us that they were around the perimeter. Meanwhile, Mia started making pits so that when they stepped onto that area they would fall in.
I decided to not use the guns that the others had on them because that would alert them to my location. Instead I chose to use my crossbow for stealth. I set to work, making as many arrows as I could, using spare arrow heads and homemade shafts and fletchings. I had roughly two dozen by the time I finished.
The plan was to break their formations usings the traps, then when those ran out, start doing hit and runs on them, getting them lost in the bush, and then take them out one by one. By the time we were all done, it was dark. The bell went off, signaling that they were on the edge of the property. The hunt had begun.
Mia
We left the cabin and went onto opposite sides of the forest. I took the east side and John took the west. We had 4 smokes each, and I still had the handgun and a large knife. I was shaking with fear. I continued through the woods, trying to tread carefully and quietly but not doing an especially good job. The leaves crunched under my feet.

My radio was continually sounding off with enemy communications and positions. There must have been multiple groups of Vipers based on how often it crackled. I only hoped that they would find the traps on their own, without me having to lure them.
Then I spied some movement ahead of me, so I crouched behind a large tree and looked: it was a group of only three people. I picked up a rock and threw it against a tree off to their left. They all moved toward the tree. I knew that the safest option was to lead them to the traps, but the quickest way to deal with them was to shoot.
I raised my gun and fired off three quick shots. They dropped like stones. I quickly left the area and checked my clip. I still had seven shots. I heard a few shots fired and the sound of an angry grizzly. From the sound of it, the bear must have won. I too had to be careful to not go near the bait traps. I continued moving. The radio made too much sound, so I decided to ditch it. I hoped that John was faring as well as I was.
John
I continued to press onward through the bush, moving carefully.
Suddenly, I heard someone crying out in pain! I hurried to the sound, stopping at one of the pits that had been dug. One of the attackers was in it. His ankle bone was protruding from his leg, a nasty sight. I ended his suffering—an act of mercy.

I looked at my watch which read 9:00 PM. I moved on through the woods. There was some static on the radio, which was starting to bother me and was quite loud. I removed it, tossing it on the ground. Then, I felt myself step on something. It was one of my tripwires! I looked around—if I stepped off this wire I would be flung into a tree by an incoming log, hitting my chest and breaking my collarbone.
I knew I would have about two seconds to get out of the way. I dropped to the ground; the log was released but hit nothing, then swayed back and forth for a few seconds. Gunfire sounded and I stayed put. I crawled forward on my belly, not wanting to get hit by a stray bullet.
Finally, the firing ended, so I got up and continued moving. About four hours passed and I had eliminated about four more groups of two. It seemed that they had endless numbers.
Eventually Mia and I met up and she informed me that she had spotted another five groups of two who could still fight. Most of the traps on her side had been set off, injuring or neutralizing many of them. I hadn't encountered any others that were in fighting shape. They were either dead or too hurt to fight in the uneven terrain. Mia had suffered a few minor injuries that slowed her down, but (luckily) nothing too troublesome.
We tried to make our way back to the cabin when we got there. I went ahead to check that it was safe. Once I had made sure, we headed inside.

The whole place had been ransacked! Not, of course, that there was much there in the first place. I checked the pantry for food and found only a few cans of beans. Mia checked the fridge, but everything was gone.
"Something is better than nothing," Mia said optimistically. We both got out of the cabin and moved to a spot that seemed safer. The cabin, after all, was essentially a large target.
Once we were in an inconspicuous part of the woods, we both opened up the cans and ate what we had. It was cold but tasted heavenly after all that had happened in the last few hours. Eating, even in the midst of the danger we were facing, brought us a sense of comfort.
Mia
Once we were out of the cabin and back in the woods, we opened the beans and ate in silence.
"How long do you think we can keep this up, John? It's only been a day, and we are almost dropping dead. They have enough people to keep this up for months. We are low on ammo and supplies."
John looked at me with a look of defeat. There were bags under his eyes; he looked exhausted.
"I don't know how much longer we can last," he replied, "but if we find the leader, it's like cutting off the head of a snake. We kill him and the rest here the whole
16

organization dissolves. They rarely have someone ready to take the leader's place."
"John, how can you be sure that he's even here?" I questioned.
"Oh, I know he is going to want to kill me personally after what I did," he replied.
"John, what exactly did you do?"