POV: Xavier

Pain dragged me back to consciousness.

Every muscle in my body screamed. My skin felt burned. My bones ached like I'd been trampled by a stampede. But I was alive.

I forced my eyes open to find myself lying in a crater where the facility used to be. Smoke curled into the night sky, lit by fire still burning in the debris. The smell of concrete dust and chemicals filled my lungs.

"Xavier?"

I turned my head, and relief flooded through me so powerfully I nearly sobbed. Thelma lay beside me, unconscious but breathing. Her chest rose and fell steadily. Blood matted her hair, and bruises covered her...