With an ominous creak, a huge log swung down from the fork of a tree, pulled by vines toward the people at the front.
"Watch out! Get out of the way!"
Despite looking as burly as a black bear, the Russian, Nikolai, reacted faster than anyone except Nick. He lunged forward, tackling the doctor, Edwin, and Machete to the ground.
Nick moved even faster. He grabbed Dahlia, who was trying to run to the side, and pulled her beneath a large tree.
Halfway through its swing, the rotten vines gave way under the log's weight. One end slammed into the mud covered with dead branches and rotting leaves, landing with a heart-stopping thud.
But that round of traps was not over. Sharpened wooden stakes dropped from above one after another, driving hard into the ground before them.
The Russian, Nikolai, seemed quite experienced. Instead of running around in panic like the others, he crouched where he was and covered his head, taking a stake on the aluminum ammunition box on his back. Then he pulled the still-unresponsive Edwin and Machete behind the tree beside him.
The falling stakes seemed endless, extending farther and farther ahead. Hanzo, the Japanese man at the very front, also reacted quickly and was remarkably agile, but his instinctive reaction demonstrated to everyone what happened when they ran around blindly.
After dodging the stakes falling overhead with a series of graceful rolls, Hanzo slid down a slope. He thought he was safe, only to look up and find an entire row of sharpened stakes planted in the ground in front of him.
With a sharp crack, the entire row of stakes sprang up toward his face. Frightened, Hanzo kept rolling. The spiked wooden frame slammed down beside him, leaving him so terrified that he lay there