Yet, the man meant. They weren't dead yet. But it was only a matter of time until they were overwhelmed and devoured. It sounded like such an awful way to die; painful, too, in the sense that they would be torn limb from limb and eaten alive. Maybe this man would kill him first, if the situation called for it. Scotty definitely wanted to be dead before he was turned into an uncooked, unseasoned meal.
It turned out that perhaps he may not have to wait that long. Without warning his arm was grabbed and Scotty was tugged closer to the stranger. His eyes widened fearfully and he flinched hard once he was close. The instant his arm was released Scotty darted around and swallowed thickly. He hated being touched.
Awkwardly though he climbed onto the man's back, because he always did listen to orders. It was either that or be punished, after all, and this man definitely looked like he could give Scotty a good beating. Once on the man's back, Scotty did feel a bit better though; like he was just getting a piggyback ride from his dad, and they were going to chase down Sammy.
He clung a bit harder at the thought. At least they wouldn't have to suffer through this.