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Suddenly, there were gunshots. The air around me crackled with their energy. The woman stood over me screamed, and I watched in horror as her skull exploded right in front of me, her blood splattering my gown. The man on the other side of the hall took a bullet to the leg, and I watched him crumple to the floor. I shut my eyes and pressed myself against the wall. The sound of running footsteps echoed around the room.

"Clear." A voice yelled. I opened one eye very slowly. A couple of men had the man they'd shot in the leg hand cuffed, while another inspected the woman lying dead next to me. Her body was still twitching, her mouth gaped open and her eyes were wide.

One of the men came up to me. He spoke into a walkie talkie. "She's safe. We've got her. You can come in- the area's been secured."

Safe from what? I wondered. They were the ones that had come in, all guns blazing. He helped me to my feet, moving my limbs for me since the shock seemed to have partly paralysed me.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, we've got you. You're safe now. I'm Calum. What's your name?"

"I'm… I'm…" I didn't know. "I- I don't know." I stammered. A tall, burly man ran into the building.

"Alexis? Alexis?" He shouted. I looked round, confused. We were the only people in here- he must have the wrong building. He caught sight of me and Calum and headed straight for us, an expression of pure relief on his face.

"Oh, baby." Calum passed me to him, and he pulled me into his arms, kissing every inch of skin that he could reach. "I was so worried." He sobbed, before straightening to look at me. "Are you hurt?"

"Who are you?" I asked. He recoiled as if he'd been slapped. "You don't mean that." I stepped back towards Calum.

"Alexis!" A middle- aged couple and a girl that looked just like me came into view. "Oh, sweetheart." The woman sobbed, pulling me to her. I stiffened. "What's wrong?" She asked, pained.

"She doesn't remember." The first man said woodenly.

"Lexie!" The younger girl cried. A tall, black man wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"It might just be shock, Alice." She shook her head defiantly, tears streaming down her face. The older man looked just as distraught, but not as much as the first man that had come in.

"Look, I think you've all just got the wrong person." I explained carefully. "I'm not Alexis, I'm… Well, I don't know who I am, but…" I trailed off, looking at the horror on their faces. Unknowingly, it seemed that I'd managed to upset them further.

"Let's get her to the hospital." Calum suggested. "Her wrist looks like it's broken." I looked down. He was right. I hadn't really noticed it before in all the chaos. I didn't know how I'd done that.

They led me out to an ambulance. A man called Xav saw me first. He said he was training to be a doctor. He made my head feel a lot better, but he wouldn't let me go to sleep. Xav and the burly man (I learnt his name was Will) came with me and the older couple said they would meet us at the hospital. I kept telling them that they'd got the wrong person, but when I saw how upset they looked every time I said it, I decided to keep quiet. They'd realise eventually on their own.

Will kept looking at me strangely- it was a mix of pain, hope and longing. In hospital they took me for some scans. The older couple studied them intently. They couldn't be doctors because they weren't wearing uniforms. Doctors always wore uniforms when they were working. But, they did know a lot about interpreting scans.

Will wouldn't leave the chair next to my bed, the older couple and the younger girl came in frequently too. They told me I had amnesia. I didn't understand what amnesia was.

The next day, the older couple brought in some photos. They told me they were my parents. There was a photo of a girl, she looked just like me, just younger. I was playing with Alice, a boy (he was apparently my brother). There was me in a graduation gown, me playing netball. They'd brought in so many photos I didn't get chance to look at them all. It didn't matter, I still didn't believe them. I'd have remembered if I was their daughter- I'd have remembered something about them, I was sure. I tried to tell them this kindly, but I don't think they took it too well.

When I ate my lunch, I talked to Will. I asked him if he had a girlfriend. He got choked up when I asked, and I apologised, offering him some of my cookie instead. Cookies always made people feel better.

I slept a lot for the first few days. My body hurt and was achy. They hooked me up to an IV drip because I was dehydrated and kept bringing me food. There were lots of flowers and balloons everywhere- they were nice. They made the room a lot more colourful, and less white.

I had a really nice older nurse called Debbie. She brought me my favourite foods. I had lots of visitors. My wrist was in a cast. The cast was itchy. Debbie suggested that everyone should sign it. I liked that idea. I asked all my visitors to sign it for me and they did.

'Mum, Dad, Elinor, Sam, Alice, Soren, Crystal, Xav, Vic, Rory, Tess, Uri, Karla, Saul, Phee, Crystal, Sky, Zed…' The list went on. Will had signed first and had made his name bigger than everybody else's. He'd even put a smiley face next to his name. He wasn't all that smiley when he was with me. I wished he would smile- he'd look very handsome if he smiled more.

All my visitors kept calling me Alexis. They said that was my name. I stopped fighting them after a while- fighting seemed to do more harm than good. The older couple, especially, got very upset when I kept saying I wasn't called Alexis. I didn't mean to upset them, but they were confused. A small blonde girl said my colours weren't right. I didn't understand what she meant.

On Tuesday they took out my IV drip because my wee had turned back to yellow, rather than the browny orange it was when I'd been brought in.

Will brought me a toy on Wednesday. It was a fish. He said it was called 'Flounder', like in 'The Little Mermaid'. I loved Flounder. Flounder was my bestest friend. I cuddled him when I went to sleep, and I even held him in the day because he was really soft. I thanked Will for him every day. He told me Flounder used to belong to a very special girl, and that she'd be glad I liked Flounder. I told him to thank her for me. He promised he would, a sad smile on his face as he said it.

On Friday, Debbie said I had a special treat. Every second Friday of the month, the guide dog association brought puppies in to cheer up the patients. I was really excited about it.

"Do you like dogs?" Debbie asked as she helped me re-dress. Will had brought me some nice pyjamas and they were much more comfortable than the gowns the hospital provided.

"I think so." I grinned. She helped me back into bed. Will had left while I was changing. The door opened and an elderly lady walked in.

"Come on in, doggy." She called. A small ball of fur shot into the room and jumped straight up onto my bed. He ran towards me enthusiastically and started licking my face. I giggled, and cuddled him in my arms. He was lovely. I buried my nose in his fur and stroked him.

"What's his name?" I asked the lady that brought him in.

"Whatever you want him to be called." She smiled. "He's only just left his mother. We haven't decided on a name yet. What would you call him? I've been asking everyone today what they think his name should be."

I pondered it for a while, looking down at his cute little face and waggly tail.

"Monty." I decided. He yipped happily at that.

"I think he likes it." Deb laughed. I grinned.

"Hello, little Monty." I cooed. "You like it, don't you? Yes, you do, Monty." My tongue got stuck in my throat as a memory overcame me.

I was playing with a dog just like this- he was called Monty too. I was chasing him around a garden. Blinking, I looked up at Deb. "I have a dog called Monty."

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