Mud closed around Elias's wrist.
The mud climbed instead of spreading like wet sand. Gray grit turned black where the D-Block woman pressed her hands to the ground, and the wet patch crawled through the grating until Elias's palm sank past the heel of his hand.
Elias pulled once, sending pain through his shoulder and ribs. The mud held.
Across the pit, the wind user brought his palms together. Air twisted between them, tight and fast, pulling loose rust off the walls. The acid spitter got back on all fours, jaw stretched too wide as green bile gathered at the back of his throat. The last recruit carried a steel pipe with both hands, but heat shimmered around the end of it until the metal glowed.
Three attackers prepared to strike while one of Elias's hands remained trapped.
