The Clowns went to the place where they heard me step on the branch and stopped for a couple of seconds in front of the tree that was just a few meters away from where I lay down in the dirt.
I grew nervous, but I kept my breath in, thankful they didn't have noctovisors; otherwise, I would be done for. If they found me, everything would have been for nothing, and I would need to escape back before anyone found their bodies.
Luckily, they only walked around the trees, circled them, and stopped beside them, looking around.
"See anything?" one of them asked.
"Nope. Probably just a branch broke off."
Some seconds later, they left the spot.
Once they were out of earshot, I dared to breathe freely again.
I needed to be sure that they were relaxed again, so I wasted another 20 minutes lying down, without moving an inch.
Finally, as they started conversing in a casual manner again, I very slowly stood up and started walking away quietly.
