Insulator

2.5 - Trap user

I was just a background character... I forgot that sometimes...

There was a lone man running through the woods. He was so quick and agile that it took me a second to realise how tall he was, being a little above average in height, despite his body being so low to the ground. His body had a lot of sleeves and different layers, the colours varying green, grey and darker colours.

As the man was running, he would occasionally stop and set up traps in the area. Some of them were made from ropes and branches, or covered with leaves or by bushes, whereas others were made through some kind of magic, even harder to notice. The trap user expertly dodged arrows flying at him. It looked like he could hear the sounds, knowing when to dive away, and I guess he somehow knew which directions to hide from, so that the view of him was blocked or obscured.

It wasn't that simple, though. The archers after him weren't just in the forest itself, but some were snipers hiding high and at different angles. A long-ranged arrow came from ahead of him, which he was unable to dodge, hitting his right arm. Instead of piercing it or flinging him back, his body jolted slightly, recognising some level of impact, but the arrow flew off to the side, being deflected. It didn't appear to be any kind of metal armour, so the man must have had a trick, as the arrow still had a lot of momentum, despite coming from so far away.

The trap user stopped and closed his eyes briefly, as if casting a spell, while clutching the area hit with his left arm. He didn't hide from the direction hit for a few seconds, still prioritizing the attackers from behind. He then went on his way, speeding off again.

Another sniper shot came from a similar direction, and even though I couldn't hear a sound, he somehow knew when to move, and dived forwards onto the ground, the missed arrow piercing the ground behind him. After confirming the shot, he got up and dashed away. He spared no time and appeared to be quite used to these types of scenarios.

An arrow hit me, knocking me backwards.

Oh, right, I'm here too, I guess...

I was too lazy to follow the guy running off, so I just waited in the bushes I fell in, lying back and hoping they'd just forget about me. I stared into the sky, losing interest in the fight, lost in the clouds.

So pure and innocent... Just floating along, no purpose, no evil past or ugliness around them that they have to deal with... Must be nice...

There were sounds happening around me, arrows flying, feet running along the ground, but it didn't have much to do with me. Occasionally, another arrow would come in my direction, bouncing off my body, still not piercing me, but they likely couldn't see it either way.

Though, there were definitely footsteps coming towards me... Very quickly...

Sigh... What's happening now...?

The trap user dove into my bush, to which I responded with just a blank stare as my only reaction. After a few seconds of him lying there next to me, my thoughts kicked in again.

I wonder why he came back...

An arrow bounced off my chest, though, coming from ahead, this time...

Oh, that's unlucky for you...

"They're coming from both sides, you know... You gonna be okay?" the trap user asked, looking around carefully from within the bush.

"Oh, I'll be fine" I said after a moment, realising I was meant to reply. "I'll be able to get out of this, so you should worry about yourself more, as I can't save you."

"Oho, you sure don't seem worried, dead-eyes..." he replied. "Go on, do something then."

It was strange. I didn't feel like he was challenging me, like he didn't believe me to have any interesting tricks or powers, but I still wanted to do it, regardless. It was the same old story, pulling out a bottle, which I threw behind me. Maybe, I just wanted to see how he would react, though.

The explosion caught his attention, but his eyes didn't widen. "Fair enough..." he said, not being particularly impressed, it seemed. I pulled another bottle out and got it ready, but an arrow hit me while I was throwing it, knocking it out of my hands. It fell right between us, about to explode in our faces.

He didn't flinch, though, acting instantly and seeming to have some kind of plan or confidence. Instead of diving away from the bomb, he instead jumped over me. He was fast to react, but the explosion just caught him mid-air, still hitting him from ridiculously close ranged.

No way he could survive this...

He wasn't protecting me, either. It was like he planned on taking the hit, and just wanted to take it from that side, for some reason. It still hit him from the front, hitting me as well, but as I stared at his body above me, I could see something trigger. Instead of burning him up, it somehow was all contained or absorbed in some weird way, sending his body flying into the sky.

I had never seen an explosion send someone so far, as it was exponentially further than my body had ever travelled, even from up close.

It was like he was flying, like a comet changing its mind, returning from the Earth to fly back into the sky, a trail of fire and smoke behind it. It was so surreal, as the body was well beyond my vision before it ever descended, almost like it really did leave the planet entirely.

You don't see that every day...

Though, I realised something... I pulled out a map and looked at where we were... Judging from the direction he was launched, he would be going towards the wall, instead of out into the open water...

Huh...

It's almost like he somehow lived and planned on surviving the landing...