Alpha and Omega: Awakening

Xavier awoke startled, half of his face submerged in sand. The flames still raging as he rose. He climbed carefully to his feet, checking his legs for injury. He felt pains in his wrist and abdomen. But there was nothing broken. The flames from the explosions were still burning intensely. He looked on to see if there were any survivors, but he could see nothing beyond the flames. He walked toward the camp, but the intense heat prevented his approach. The crackle of senders and a roar of burning fuel was too much to stand near for too long. “What do I do now…” He said to himself as he watched the flames dance across the black sky. But just then he heard something alarming. The sound of screams coming from inside. The beasts lingered in the camp, gorging their way through the victims. He limped away as fast as he could. Down an adjacent street away from the camp. He looked back to see a pack of dogs sniff the ground where he was just standing. A sense of dread filled his heart, to think they could track him in all this. Ash had begun to fall from the sky, just as he turned to make his escape. He covered his face to subdue the noise of his coughing and ran down the street. The surrounding buildings were hollowed from damage or collapsed entirely. Further down, he found a solitary building still left intact, all but the vines of decay still lingered in its foundation. As he entered the building, Xavier stumbled over a chair at the entrance. The clashing noises subsided but in his mind. Deep in his mind, the sound had returned. It was subtle at first, then another tone began to clash. The sound was powerful, like what happened before with Trish. He fell to his feet, trying desperately to walk further. But it was no use. The aching pain was unyielding. A pressure building as if his head were being squeezed by a vice. The sound increased even more, to a debilitating level. He could not move no matter how hard he tried. What little strength remained was sapped from him. With everything around him going blurred, he heard a voice calling out to him until all faded to black.