POV: Xavier

Pain woke me. Sharp, throbbing pain in my temples that felt like someone was drilling into my skull. I groaned, trying to lift my hand to my head, but my arm wouldn't move. My eyes snapped open to harsh fluorescent lighting and the cold realization that I was restrained to a metal chair.

The collar around my neck hummed with a frequency that made my teeth ache. I tested the restraints once, twice. Solid steel, bolted to the floor. The room was smaller than I expected, maybe ten by ten feet, with concrete walls painted sterile white. A single camera mounted in the corner tracked my every movement....