Donva's transport pod landed in the middle of a scorched plain. The door to the machine opened quickly, filling the small chamber with the scent of charred grass. He winced as he stepped out, blocking out the sun's rays that beat down through the glass ceiling.
"Out of the sunlight... only to end up back in it," Donva grumbled underneath his breath. Once he stepped away from the pod, the door shut tight and was sucked up into tube. He tilted his head back, his eyes following the movement of the chamber as it coursed through the transparent piping back towards the front entrance.
"I need to stop listening to Enidri's suggestions," he groaned before moving straight ahead. His boots crunched the charred grass beneath his feet. The surrounding area was a dark brown, as if a flaming wind had passed through. Scattered throughout the desolate scape were the singed remains of trees, burned beyond recognition. Donva lifted his foot slowly, trying to minimize the sound of his movement as he made a dart for cover. With his head low, he darted through the field the close toppled trunk.
Once behind the cover, he propped his back against the wood, making sure that every part of his body was obscured. "What's next, Donva? What's next?" he whispered. The former scholar pressed his fingers against his temples as closed his eyes. He groaned in the midst of his thinking, soon showing his frustration by pressing his fingers against his head with more force.
"Just run for it," he said aloud. He poked his head out from his cover and stared at the lush green trees that grew in the distance. His mind ran calculations as he squinted at the adjacent sector. "What are the odds that one of the hunters is in this particular section of the Eco-Dome, right?" Donva's voice became shaky as he kept his head just above the surface of his makeshift barrier.
A warm wind approached, rustling the dead grass to Donva's left like a wave. The rush of hot air soon covered his skin, making his already-sticky flesh itch and burn. He ducked down to get into a more comfortable position, only to have his protection blown to smithereens by a high-powered bullet. Broken bits of black wood flew across the ground, exposing Donva's vulnerable body. He turned around to face the direction of the projectile while lowering his body to the ground. Now prone, he put his hands over his head while he lay shrouding himself beneath the burnt grass.
Another bullet soared through the air, plunging into the ground behind Donva's foot. Dirt scattered across his body as he crawled away from the point of impact. He then glanced over his shoulder, staring at the large crater in the ground formed by impact of the bullet. With his hands pressed against the dirt, he formed a tendril that shot up from the ground in front of him. It curled downwards with the intent of shielding Donva from any further fire.
"Please work..." he said silently as he shrunk his body down to be completely obscured. Another gunshot rang out through the plain. Donva hunched over from the sudden sound, covering his ears with his hands as he watched a chunk of his makeshift barrier get blown away. Not wanting to waste any more time, Donva looked on in the distance and channeled his energy towards a vacant section of charred grassland. A small shadow portal emerged in the distance, bubbling behind another fallen tree.
With the exit portal made, Donva focused on his energy on the ground in front of him, conjuring up an escape route. The sniper blasted away at his cover once more, this time hitting what remained of its narrow base. With the remainder of the summoned tendril blown away, Donva retreated into his portal and disappeared underground.
After popping up behind the other burnt tree, the ex-scholar looked at the bullet holes embedded throughout the ground from where he had fled. While making as little movement as possible, Donva, looked at the angle of the bullets' trajectory and followed them as best as the angle he was hiding from could allow. He then turned around slowly and peered through the narrow cracks of the fallen tree's branches. With the angle of the bullets' trajectory in mind, he narrowed in on the area where they most likely came from.
Among the dark black of the singed forest, Donva could make out a faint splotch of brown among the remnants of the once-lush forest. He held his breath, watching the small bit of irregular color. The few minutes spent staring ahead dragged on. Neither him nor what he focused on moved. An occasional wind would pass through, sending bits of black leaves floating across the vast and barren expanse. Sweat began form on Donva's head once more. His heart trembled as he fought the urge to wipe away the moisture that formed on his skin.
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"I've got a feeling this sniper knows what he's doing..." Donva mouthed to himself. "Any sudden movement might give my location."
The sweat on his forehead increased the longer he stared. It dropped down his eyebrow and poured over his skin. A quick flick of his hand across his face came naturally. With his eyes now clear, he returned to staring back at small brown blob in the distance, only to have lost sight of it. He blinked rapidly as his eyes darted across the horizon, only to see more black wood.
"Drat!" he exclaimed silently. "I've lost him!" Donva lowered his entire body beneath his cover. There was a brief period of silence before the fallen tree shattered into countless dark bits. He let out a yelp as he staggered away from the destruction, summoning another large tentacle to protect him. More bullets rang out, piercing the mushy exterior of his tendrils and piercing into the dirt at his sight.
Amidst the barrage of bullets, Donva caught sight of his attacker. A human-like figure lay prone a few feet away from where he stared at the blotch of brown. The shine of the long metal barrel of his rifle stood out among the dead plants. Still hiding behind what remained of his freshly summoned barrier, Donva channeled all his remaining energy into conjuring up a portal among the trees above the sniper. With that done, he quickly turned around and focused his remaining stamina on the ground behind, summoning the second portal directly behind him.
"Please work," Donva muttered. He swung his hand back, making what little remained of his shadowy barricade melt into the ground. As soon as his body was exposed, Donva, jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding another blast from the sniper. The bullet went straight through the black portal behind him, disappearing into it as it sent chunks of black gunk across the ground.
A piercing grunt boomed from the area where the sniper lay. Remaining prone beneath the grass, Donva darted towards the direction of the sound. Whoever was shooting at him had gotten up, limping away in the shadows. Not wanting to let the opportunity to pursue go to waste, Donva scurried to the shrinking portal and was sucked into the ground.
He reemerged above the sniper's former location, making a crooked landing on a soft patch of dirt. After regaining his balance, he darted behind a solid of piece of wood and stared at the drips of blood that moved in a long trail further into the crumbling woods. A larger spot of blood formed a pool just a few feet away from him. Surrounding the area were metal bullet casings.
With a quick scan, Donva noticed that the area was clear. Taking careful and deliberate steps, he continued along the trail of blood while keeping an eye out for any potential hiding spots that he could use for cover. It wasn't long before he entered the densest part of the charred terrain. The sunlight was broken up by the withered branches of the dead trees above, casting an intricate series of jagged shadows across the ground. It was long before the trail of blood disappeared, leaving Donva without any hints as to where the sniper would be.
"I... I'm not here to hurt you!" Donva called out. Despite the trembling of his nerves, he maintained an upright posture as he slowly turned in place, looking around for the brown of the sniper's outfit. "That injury must have been pretty bad for you to be bleeding like that!" he said loud enough for his attacker to hear if they were near. "I can get you some help!"
Donva crept forward, his eyes focused on the trees. As his mind drifted away from the trail of blood, he stopped watching his steps. He placed his foot on the ground, stepping a solid piece of metal. As he looked down to see what he had walked over, a pair of metal clamps with serrated edges shot up, clasping around Donva's right leg.
He wailed in pain as he toppled over. The jagged edges of the trap dug into his skin. He reached down, wedging his fingers between the sharp teeth. As he tried to pry himself free, he could hear cackling come from behind.
"No point in trying to... free yourself..." an exhausted voice said. With his fingers still struggling to peel back the restraints of the trap, Donva looked up at who was speaking to him. A lanky man in a beige uniform hovered over him, one arm pressing onto the other. He gave Donva a crooked and sinister smile as blood escaped between his fingertips and dripped to the ground. "That trap was handmade by Outskirters. They may be... savages... but they know how to craft."
Donva wailed as the metal edges of the trap began to pierce his skin. "Agh! What do you want? We can work together," he said in exasperation. "Everyone can make it out of here!"
"The name's Willheim. You clearly have no idea..." The sniper winced as he tilted to the side, clutching onto his wound even harder. "You clearly have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."