The air hung thick with the acrid tang of ozone and pulverized concrete. Half the building had vanished in a shower of debris, leaving us perched precariously on the remaining half like shipwreck survivors clinging to a splintered raft.
But the reprieve was short-lived. The once innocuous metal rods and twisted rebar scattered around the floor began to writhe and contort, levitating a few inches off the ground.
"Yeah, right, like that was gonna be that easy," I muttered under my breath, the sarcasm dripping from my voice like oil.
Scarlet clicked her tongue, her jaw clenched tight. "Tsk," she hissed, her gaze scanning the now-hostile environment. "We need to get out of here. This place gives her too much leverage." It was a statement of the obvious. The twisted metal jungle gym before us was a playground for the pink-haired menace, and the confined space offered little room for maneuver. Just how in the world did she have such absolute dominion over the very air itself?
