Did you hear that? Sounds like they’re getting closer.” he mumbles quietly as he stares ahead intently, waiting to see if anyone tries to follow them once more and if not, for a good opportunity to attack them.
After a minute of tense silence, the sound of approaching footsteps becomes clearer and louder. “We need to move fast if we want to make our plans work. We should get out of here as fast as we can.” Hugo says as he turns towards Hector, motioning for him to crawl out of the bush. The man obeys without question and stands next to Hugo as they wait for the intruders to approach.
It takes longer than usual for the footsteps to get close and the two of them are practically trembling with anxiety when they finally notice the person stepping out of the woods, his hand clutching his dagger tightly as he scans the area, making sure that nobody is around before he comes nearer to the bush where the two of them are hiding in. He glances upwards briefly in Hugo’s direction, only to narrow his eyes slightly at the sight of Hector beside him.
He continues walking until his attention settles on Hugo again, “What do you want, you brats?” he asks coldly, his voice dripping with anger and disappointment.
The other men behind him step forward into view and start to circle the bush, their weapons raised and prepared to strike. Hugo feels his heart sink when he notices that they’ve surrounded their hideout and they’re unable to leave. He doesn’t know what to say. All they want is information, but they obviously already know that they won’t give it to them willingly if they have any other choice.
“Ugh, what did you do now? Did you kill them all? Are you stupid? Why would you bring them back to the village if you’ve already killed them? Do you think that I won't find out you were responsible?”
"You've brought too many people back!" Hugo yells at him, hoping his words will cause the men to listen to him. "How can we get them back?!"
"We have to find out if we can trust each other." The man responds simply as he steps closer to Hugo. "If we trust each other to not betray us, then maybe we wouldn't have to hurt so many of my men." He looks down at Hugo. He’s almost tall enough to look him directly in the eyes, so he does, staring defiantly back. "Now answer me."
Hugo shakes his head. "No! You're wrong. None of the people who have been captured are innocent. And none of them deserve death."
"Oh come on! How can you be so blind?" the man asks impatiently, raising an eyebrow, "You've already seen the evidence that they’re guilty."
Hugo doesn't reply. He knows deep down that the others aren’t innocent since they could easily recognize some of the people, and they could probably prove that the bandits have done something terrible to the rest of the townsfolk.
"There's no proof that they're innocent." Hector interrupts them from behind Hugo, his tone laced with contempt.
"Are you saying that you don't believe us?" the man sneers, looking back at Hector before turning his attention back to Hugo.
“I didn’t say that." Hector answers as calmly as possible.
"Then why did you say that they’re not innocent? Are you stupid? Look, we don't have time for this. Let's just-" he pauses, glancing down at the ground as his brow furrows. It takes him a couple of minutes to regain his composure and speak, "Look. This isn't about whether or not they were guilty. It's about you." he points at Hugo with his index finger and scoffs before taking another couple of steps forward. "I'