They're spies
As they climbed, each inclined step seemed to defy their progress. The rocky surface pushed back as they climbed upwards. After a long climb, the top was a plateau, where it was easier for them to walk. They walked a few meters and got to the edge of the plateau. They then needed to descend in order to get to the other side of the land. As the descent bottomed out, they got to another phase of adventure.
They arrived at a quagmire of mud which was thick and unforgiving. The air carried a dense and suffocating scent. The scent was similar to decay and sulfur. It was as if dozens upon dozens of rotten eggs were burried in the mud.
"How're we going to get through?" John asked.
"Perhaps we should go back," Aaron said.
"We forge ahead" Jamie responded.
Aaron aggressively walked up to him. "This mud is probably waist-deep, there is no padding through," as he angrily pointed to the mud.
"It's going to require our collective effort to get through. We'll all hold hands while we're at it."
"Aren't there creatures in there?" Walter worriedly asked.
"There aren't, I've crossed this path several times. I did it alone too." Jamie said as he began to knot his shoes.
"Bullshit!" Aaron yelled, " that's absolute bullshit. There's no way the 5 of us are making it out of here, and you say you did it alone several times. Plus, you just said we'll need to hold each other to move so how were you able to pass through alone? That doesn't make any sense."
Jamie ignored him, still buckling his shoes.
"Or is your Father down there?" Aaron asked.
Jamie stood up aggressively, rushing towards Aaron and held him by the neck. He was clearly the stronger man.
"Do you have a better idea, Loverboy?"
Aaron forcefully freed himself from Jamie's grip.
"Homeboy thinks we're dumb? You plan on feeding us to something, right?"
Jamie threw his fist at Aaron, landing it on his nose, sending Aaron to the ground. Aaron stood up swiftly with a bleeding nose, and with every strength in his body, he pushed Jamie, throwing him in the mud.
"Very well then," Jamie said as he tried to get out of the mud.
"I'll finish what your useless bitch couldn't." Jamie thundered in anger as he struggled to pull out his legs from the thick, sticky mud.
Just as Jamie was about to pull his second leg out of the mud, a long, slender arm from out of the mud came out and grabbed onto Jamie's left arm. Shivers ran down Walter's spine on seeing that. Jamie slowly turned to what held onto him. Completely buried in the mud, a huge, hairy ape-like head slowly emerged, with larger eyes and lips that stretched from one ear to the other was revealed.
Before Jamie could bring out his dagger, it snapped his hand like a twig, and attempted to pull him further down.
However, Jamie's resolve was strong enough to use his dagar to self-amputate and free himself. As the monster stood on its feet, it towered above 9 feets, its hair covering its whole body, leaving just its face to reveal its decayed skin.
On standing, the choking stench got more severe and it clogged the whole swamp. It made an attempt to grab Jamie by the neck, but John threw three daggers, piercing its neck, stopping its advance, sending it back into the swamp.
As Jamie pulled his battered body out of the swamp,
"Runnnn!", he cried out.
He struggled with each step, making a few paces away from the swamp when more (skunk ape monsters) emerged. In the face of danger, Aaron and John dashed into the forest's protective cover while Nicole, Walter and Jamie headed for the hills, splitting the team. The monsters chased Aaron and John, but did not follow Jamie's group.
When they reached the plateau of the hill, Jamie fell one knee in exhaustion. They could still hear the screeching of the monsters from where they were.
"Hang in there! " Walter's voice rang out. He was determined to stop Jamie's bleeding. He quickly tore part of his shirt to make a makeshift bandage, placing it on his amputated hand in an attempt to slow the bleeding down.
Without an antiseptic, they had succeeded in slowing down the bleeding.
They sat there for a while, dehydrated and tired. After some time, the stench of rotten eggs began to get stronger and stronger, once again. They knew what that meant.
"Why didn't you do anything back there?" Jamie asked as he turned his face to Nicole.
"What are you talking about?" Nicole said while fixing her eyes on him briefly before turning to see insecure Walter staring at them from the side.
"We need to get going," Walter voiced out as he stood up and began searching for signs of the monsters. Their stench hinted that they weren't too far away.
"No, we need to stay right here." Jamie responded as he also stood to his feet and carrying his backpack off the ground.
"Help is supposed to meet us here", he continued.
"When did you send for help?" Walter asked curiously.
"I've confirmed my suspicions," Jamie said, turning to Nicole, "Those guys are spies."
"What?" asked Walter, "Where's this drama coming from?" He asked as he turned to Nicole.
"The injury must've been infected. So the germs are in my boy's brain.You never know what type of germs are in the underworld,"
"How do you know that?" Nicole asked Jamie, ignoring Walter's gests.
"The horses, the cargo, the bunker, the way John threw those daggers; only a warrior can throw with such precision." Jamie said as he turned towards Walter,
"We need to turn the Prince in." He continued as Nicole and Jamie exchanged silent glances, leaving Walter even more confused.
"Dude, are you out of your mind? Is he out of his mind?" Walter asked,
"Bro doesn't even know my family's from the streets of Nigeria. Like, I am not even a citizen of the UK, but you're here talking about some Queen Elizabeth being my grandma or some shit. We need to get your head checked."
"Or wasn't he referring to me? Nikki, are you a Prince but you–"
"Nariah, tell him" Jamie demanded.
"Nariah? Who the hell?" Walter kept ranting as his face displayed a mixture of confusion and fright as he slowly took steps to Nicole who couldn't muster the courage to look him in the face.
As the heat of the moment between the group got more intense, they heard sounds of galloping horses approaching from a distance. They all turned towards the noise, behold, there were a lot of horsemen approaching.
"Tie him down so he doesn't escape." Jamie voiced as he began walking towards Walter.
"What the hell is going on?" Panicking Walter yelled.
Nicole took slow steps towards him with a very depressed and remorseful look. On reaching him Walter asked,
"Babe?, Nikki what's going on?"
She reached for a hug, still saying nothing while Walter spoke. Right then, a hit to the back of Walter's head left him unconscious.