Derek and I walk in tense silence as we approach the stretch of cars parked haphazardly along the edge of the construction site. The smell of diesel and rust clings to the air, mingling with the distant sound of traffic overhead. The sun dips lower, the shadows stretching long and jagged, cutting sharp angles across the ground. My heart feels like it's going to hammer its way through my ribs. Aaron is here. I can feel it, like a static charge building under my skin.

Derek's shoulders are hunched, his movements deliberate as he scans the rows of vehicles. His nose twitches faintly, and he slows to a stop just short of a faded red Camry. "Pretend we're checking car by car," he mutters under his breath, barely audible over the rush of my own thoughts. "But it's this one. Red Camry."

I nod, clenching my fists at my sides as we move toward the nearest vehicle. I tap lightly on the driver's side window, peering inside like I'm looking for something, anything. Derek does the same, his movements exaggerated as he knocks against the next car, then the next, working his way toward the Camry.

We reach it after what feels like an eternity, each second drawing tighter around me like a noose. Derek stands beside the driver's side door, his gaze fixed on the tinted window. Without a word, he bends down, picks up a loose brick from the ground, and starts tapping it lightly against the glass. The sound is hollow, rhythmic, almost casual.

"What are you doing?" I hiss, glancing nervously around.

"Getting his attention," Derek says, his voice low and even. He taps the brick harder, the sound turning sharper. "We don't have time to screw around."

Before I can respond, the Camry's interior begins to fill with smoke--thick, gray billows that swell rapidly, completely obscuring the inside. The windows crack open, and the smoke pours out, rolling toward us in dense waves that burn my eyes and throat. I stumble back, coughing, my heart racing as I try to make sense of what's happening.

"Stay back!" Derek barks, raising the brick. His muscles coil as he swings it forward, shattering the windshield with a single, sickening crunch. The glass spiderwebs and collapses inward, shards cascading onto the dashboard. Derek's arm snaps forward, and the brick strikes something solid with a dull thud.

The smoke shifts just enough for a pair of eyes to flash through--a glimpse of pale, cold intensity--before they vanish into the swirling gray. Derek stumbles back with a startled curse, batting at his arm as yellow flames lick up his sleeve.

"Shit!" he growls, frantically patting the fire down with his other hand.

"Derek!" I shout, moving toward him, but before I can reach him, the driver's side door whips open. It slams into me with bone-rattling force, sending me sprawling into the side of a nearby truck. My head cracks against the metal, and for a moment, the world tilts and blurs. Pain radiates down my shoulder and side, but I grit my teeth and force myself to move, rolling onto my hands and knees.

Aaron's already in motion. Through the haze of smoke, I see him lean into the car, his movements quick and precise. Derek surges forward, raising his arms to strike, but the car lurches forward suddenly, engine growling as the tires screech against the asphalt.

"Get back!" Derek yells, and I barely scramble out of the way as the Camry veers forward. For a split second, I think Aaron's trying to run us down--but then I see it: the brick Derek had thrown is jammed against the accelerator, pinning it down. The car jerks forward, slamming into another parked vehicle with a sickening crunch. The metal groans, buckling under the impact, but the engine keeps roaring, trying to push the wreckage further.

The moment Aaron dives out of the car, there's no hesitation. No pause to size up his odds, no calculating his escape. He barrels straight for me like a missile, tackling me to the ground before I can so much as breathe. My back hits the pavement with a sickening thud, knocking the air from my lungs. Before I can register what's happening, his fists are raining down on me.

My instincts kick in before my brain catches up. I twist, raising my arms to block, his blows glancing off my forearms and shoulders instead of my face. Pain shoots through me with each impact, but I keep moving, turning my head away from his fists. One of them glances off my cheekbone, hard enough to send stars flashing in my vision. My body screams at me to get away, but he's on top of me, his weight pinning me to the ground.

I can hear Derek shouting something, but it's lost in the roar of my own heartbeat and the ragged sound of Aaron's breathing. He's relentless, his fists hammering down like he's trying to crack me open. My muscle memory takes over, my training keeping me alive--barely. I block, I twist, I push against him, but it's not enough to dislodge him.

Suddenly, Aaron's weight shifts, and there's a loud thud as Derek's boot connects with his ribs. Aaron is yanked off me with a growl, landing a few feet away. Derek's sleeve is still smoldering, but the flames are out, his jacket scorched and torn.

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"You okay?" Derek barks, his eyes darting between me and Aaron.

"Fine," I gasp, rolling to my knees. My arms throb where they blocked Aaron's hits, but I shove the pain aside, adrenaline taking over. I charge headfirst towards Aaron and shoulder ram him into the nearest car, feeling something go crack in between me and him. Even if I get nothing else, I'm gonna make sure he leaves with an injury or two.

He buckles beneath me, and then goes limp, before slamming his forehead into mine. I stumble back, and so does he, or, well, he stumbles sideways.

Aaron scrambles to his feet, his eyes locking on mine. There's no taunting, no smug grin--just raw, unfiltered hatred. He doesn't speak until his gaze sharpens, and the air between us shimmers with heat. Fire explodes between us in a wall of brilliant red, so bright it burns afterimages into my vision. The heat is intense, oppressive, nothing like the yellow flames I remember from our last encounter. This is different. Hotter. More focused.

"Small." Aaron's voice carries over the roar of the flames, dripping with a kind of deranged glee that makes my skin crawl. "I'm so *happy* to see you. Burn."

The world erupts in red. I dive forward, rolling under the first wave of fire as it passes over my head. The heat is incredible, like being inches from a blast furnace. My jacket starts to smolder, and I tear it off, throwing it aside as I come up in a crouch.

Derek charges through the flames, his clothes singed but his momentum carrying him forward. Aaron's gaze snaps to him, and another burst of crimson fire erupts, forcing Derek to dive sideways. The fire follows his movement, tracing bright lines through the air like road flares.

I reach for the fire blanket Fury Forge gave me, yanking it from my bag. "Derek!" I shout, throwing it to him as Aaron's gaze swings back toward me. The red fire comes in a concentrated beam this time, and I barely manage to duck behind a concrete barrier. The edge of the barrier hums cherry-red where the flames hit it.

Derek catches the blanket, using it to shield himself as he moves closer to me. Aaron's laugh echoes across the construction site, high and manic. More fire rains down, but Derek holds the blanket up, creating a barrier between us and the flames.

"Pass it here!" I call out. Derek tosses the blanket to me just as Aaron unleashes another barrage. I catch it and sweep it up in front of me, feeling the heat press against the other side. Through the shimmer of superheated air, I see Aaron's expression change--confusion flickering across his face as his flames fail to penetrate.

He snarls, his eyes blazing with intensity as he focuses his gaze. But something's wrong. Instead of the brilliant red fire, thick white smoke begins pouring from the points where his gaze lands. It billows outward rapidly, the same dense smoke from the Camry, quickly filling the space between us.

"What the hell?" Derek coughs, stumbling back as the smoke engulfs us. It's acrid, burning my eyes and throat. I can barely see three feet in front of me.

Aaron's silhouette moves through the smoke like a ghost, his yellow flames now cutting through the haze in brief, angry bursts, like lightning bolts in a storm cloud. Do his powers only work when he has clear line of sight? That makes sense.

That doesn't stop a small gash in the smoke from forming with a wave of Aaron's hand, and, following that, a spray of yellow fire across Derek's chest.

"Derek!" I try to move toward the sound, but another blast of yellow fire forces me back. The smoke is everywhere now, thick and choking. My lungs burn with each breath, and my eyes water so badly I can barely keep them open.

Through the haze, I hear Derek's coughing turn to retching. He's going to pass out if this keeps up. My hands fumble in my bag, searching desperately until they close around the oxygen mask Fury Forge gave me. I pull it out, expanding it with shaking fingers.

"Hold on!" I shout, following the sound of Derek's coughing. I find him on his hands and knees, barely conscious. Without hesitation, I press the mask over his face, holding it there as he takes deep, desperate breaths.

Another burst of yellow flame cuts through the smoke nearby, but it's weaker now, less focused, and I can see just in the edge of my stinging vision Aaron making a break for it as far as his shitty orange sneakers will carry him.

Derek pushes himself to his feet, still holding the mask to his face. His other hand finds my shoulder, and we support each other as we stumble away from the construction site. The sun has dipped even lower, painting the sky in deep purples and reds that seem to mock the fire we just escaped.

I grab Derek's arm, dragging him toward the edge of the construction site. Every step feels like a battle, the smoke clinging to me like it's alive. My head spins, my lungs screaming for oxygen, but I force myself forward, one step at a time.

Finally, we break free, stumbling into the cold evening air. I drop to my knees, coughing violently, every breath feeling like fire in my chest. Derek collapses beside me, the oxygen mask still pressed to his face, his breathing ragged but steady.

For a moment, we just sit there, the world spinning around us, the distant sound of traffic the only reminder that life continues outside this nightmare.

"He got away," Derek rasps, his voice muffled by the mask.

"We need to get you home," I say, my voice raw from the smoke. "Before--"

"Don't worry about it. I've got twenty minutes before the danger zone," he wheezes. "I'll call a taxi."

We make it about half a block before having to stop, leaning against a wall as we catch our breath. My whole body aches, and I can feel bruises forming where Aaron's fists connected.

"His fire changed," I say, more to myself than to Derek. "From red to white to yellow. Like he couldn't control it."

Derek pulls the mask away from his face long enough to speak. "That guy's fucking crazy. Who hits someone with a car door? Psycho."

"Hey, man, I'm... I don't know. At least I maybe broke one of his ribs. And we know for sure that he's here. And fucked his car. I doubt he can get far now," I say, trying to scramble for silver linings.

"Hey. Worry about silver linings later," Derek pulls the thought from my head. "Let's get me home before I rip you in half, and then you can get yourself patched up, kid."

"Sure," I say, watching Derek's burnt arm shakily stumble through the taxi app menu. "Let's."