Xavier supported a significant portion of Adam's weight as they slowly navigated the uneven, debris-strewn ground toward the parked vehicles.
The heat from the warehouse fire was still intense, casting long, flickering shadows against the dilapidated buildings.
Xavier looked at the smoke billowing into the sky and then back at his brother's battered state.
"Okay, big brother," Xavier said, his voice strained with the effort of keeping Adam upright.
"Since you didn't actually encounter Kai in there, how did you manage to get this badly injured? If he wasn't there, how did you manage to turn the entire building into an inferno and mangle your own knee in the process?"
Adam gritted his teeth against the jarring pain in his ribs, his breath coming in short, ragged bursts.
