Micky, Mike, Peter and Davy dragged themselves upward through a wooded area. They were hungry, thirsty and exhausted from the constant running. Mike's back started to hurt from the arrow that had sliced across it earlier. After awhile, the four men came across a small cave inside the hill, partially covered with vines.
"I can't go on." Davy gasped, "Let's stop here."
"It's getting dark." Peter said, "Maybe we can hide here for the night."
Mike and Micky nodded and, crouching down, led the others inside. After a few feet, the cave opened up and they were able to half-stand in the open area.
"This is a good place as any." Mike said, wincing at the pain in his back.
The Monkees collapsed onto the ground, listening for any signs of their pursuers. Fortunately, all seemed quiet, no sound of the dogs barking.
"Oh my back." Mike groaned.
"Let me look." Davy said, moving behind Mike. He gently pulled Mike's shirt away from the cut. The area around the cut was red and the cut itself was bleeding a little.
"You need to put something on that, Mike." Davy said quietly, "But there's nothing in our sacks."
"Use the water then." Mike replied.
"Yeah, I can use some water right now." Micky said, pulling his canteen from his sack.
"No, we can't." Mike told him. "I wouldn't put it past the Captain to drug our water."
"Mike's right." Peter put in, "We can't take anything for granted."
"But you want Davy to put some on your cut." Micky protested.
Mike looked down at the ground. "You're right, Micky. Never mind, Davy. I'll just have to suffer with this."
"Just a little couldn't hurt, Mike." Davy replied.
"No. I don't want anybody drinking or using any water or the food. Understood?"
The other three reluctantly nodded their heads.
"Well, let's try and get some sleep." Mike said, "We should move on before dawn."
"We should sleep in shifts." Micky stated, "In case those guys come around."
"At least they won't have their guns anymore." Peter said. "Too bad you didn't make them give us their supplies, Micky."
"I was a little rushed there, Peter." Micky said, annoyed.
"Easy, Micky." Davy put in, "No one's criticizing you, in fact we're grateful for what you and Mike did at the bridge."
"Yeah, I'm sorry Micky." Peter added, "I didn't mean to sound ungrateful."
"It's ok, Peter." Micky replied, "I just can't believe I threatened to cut that rope."
"I was helping you, Micky. It was self-defense." Mike said gently, "They would've done it to us."
"True...but I wonder if I really would've cut that rope." Micky replied quietly.
"At least you or I never got the chance to find out." Mike said, who had privately been thinking the same thing about himself.
"Well, let's get to sleep." Micky told the others, changing the subject.
"I'll take first watch." Davy volunteered. "Two hours, then I'll wake Peter."
The others agreed and Micky gave Davy the matches from his knapsack so Davy could look at his watch every so often. Then Micky, Mike and Peter got as comfortable as they could on the hard ground, using their knapsacks as pillows. It wasn't long before all three of them were asleep. Davy carefully crawled over to the cave entrance and looked around the hillside. Above him, Mount Boring Boring gave a quiet rumble. Below him, he could make out a campfire. No doubt it was from their pursuers' camp, Davy thought to himself. Those men could light a fire, they're not worried about us. They probably have all the food and water they want too.
Frowning, Davy went back inside the cave and lit a match. Noting the time, he blew out the flame and went over to the cave entrance again to keep watch.
Down below, John and his men set up their camp, then heated up food over the campfire. Unlike the Monkees they had plenty of supplies and sleeping bags too. After eating, John and his men set up a watch in case their quarry decided to try something.
Finally, John and his men went to sleep, confident they would catch the Monkees tomorrow.
Back in the cave, Davy tried hard to stay awake. His throat was parched and his stomach was rumbling, but he remembered Mike's warning and tried to put his hunger and thirst aside. Lighting another match, Davy noticed his two-hour watch was almost over. He was about to wake Peter when his hand brushed against his canteen. Davy picked it up and shook it. He could hear the water sloshing around.
One sip can't hurt, Davy thought to himself as he unscrewed the canteen's top. He took a small sip, and when nothing happened, he took a longer drink. Feeling a little better, Davy screwed the canteen's top back on and woke Peter.
"Is it two hours already?" Peter whispered.
"Yeah it is." Davy replied. "Here, take the matches so you can see the time." He yawned, then said, "Those blighters have a camp below us, so don't let them see the flame or make any noise."
"Ok Davy, good night." Peter said.
"Night, mate." Davy said, lying down then quickly falling asleep.