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Hoyohté must have warned him, because Karkash was able to avoid the brunt of the acid. It splashed the side of his face only, and when Stoker threw a punch with all his strength, Karkash simply caught it. With his one unmelted eye, Karkash turned to look at Stoker.

He spat more acid. A bolt of electricity cut through it, igniting the hydrogen. Both men’s clothes caught fire, but Stoker took the worst of it as the flames relished the chance to spread throughout the hydrogen in his body. He dropped and rolled until the fire extinguished. He climbed to one knee as flesh all over his body was returning.

‘Nize,’ he said, running again, ‘are you alright?’

‘Y-yes...’

‘Where’s Hoyohté?’

‘She’s staying in front of him where he can protect her. I’m sure she’s also watching his back for him.’

Stoker growled. He was hoping they would have split up, but they apparently knew better. Their formation was ideal for low-visibility combat, because if Hoyohté had gone above the fog or below, she wouldn’t have been able to eliminate Karkash’s blind spots, which would have meant the advantage for Stoker. Wishful thinking, it seemed.

Another car came reeling through the fog, and Stoker had to sidestep it. He ran south, making more fog behind him. He knew that he could take Karkash down with a simple bath of hydrogen gas, as the sparks in the air would make it explode immediately; but the problem was avoiding the explosion himself. A double-down scenario was certainly not ideal. He decided it was time to flee again.

He passed an overturned police car, and for a mad moment, considered stealing the officer’s firearm before remembering the reason he hadn’t brought his own to this fight.

Finally, he reached a part of the road where none of the vehicles were tumbling through the air. He picked a big blue truck and yanked the hapless civilian out.

Before he could jump in the driver’s seat, however, a lightning bolt pierced his chest. His entire body spasmed violently, and he looked back to see Karkash in the distance, risen above the fog, hovering toward them.