Heat rolled across Mara’s face, fanning her hair behind her head. In her mind’s eye, she stood in a desert leaning into a warm breeze, feeling grains of sand pricking her cheeks. Except this air did not feel dry. It felt moist, heavy. Humidity clung to her skin as if she stood in a sauna.
She opened her eyes to rolling clouds of fog. The snow was gone, but the floor remained wet and the air soggy. Hot drafts stirred ribbons of steam so thick she could no longer see the walls of the warehouse. Above her, streams of vapor flowed and swirled, blocking a view of the ceiling, diffusing the light from above.
Sweat rolled from her temple. She brushed it away with a finger and waded into the atmospheric soup. Holding out her arms, she wandered around the floor, trying to get her bearings. Squint
