She heard a click but didn't feel anything.

The man's eyes widened as he realized a bullet didn't come out of the chamber. He pulled the trigger again and still nothing happened. The gun was empty.

Shalimar opened her eyes and couldn't help but laugh at the man.

He tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans and now held her by the shirt with both hands. "You think that's funny, huh? See how funny this is."

The man dragged her over to a car that was parked on the side of the street and smashed her head against the window. The glass shattered and Shalimar immediately lost consciousness. "That's REAL funny isn't it," he spat at her as he felt her body go limp in his hands. He then grabbed her left arm and dragged her down the street a ways until he came to an alley

A large dumpster sat in the middle of the alley, against the wall of one of the buildings. He opened the lid and then looked at her, shaking his head, "Too bad you don't listen. Or maybe that's not one of your mutant powers." He grabbed her right hand and was about to haul her up but noticed her Comlink ring on her finger. "Cool ring," he said as he pulled it off her finger and put it in his pocket. Then he reached into her pants pockets and took all the money she had. "Finders keepers, losers weepers."

After stealing everything he wanted, he tossed her into the dumpster and shut the lid. "Have fun rotting away, bitch," he said as he stomped away.

Shalimar opened her eyes, blinking the blurriness away. Looking around, she wondered where she was. She started to sit up but the tremendous pain in her shoulder sent her back down. She squeezed her eyes shut and reached her right hand over to place it over her shoulder. She felt a big wad of gauze and creased her eyebrows in confusion. Peeking inside her gown she saw that the gauze was taped to her body. "What the hell?" she cursed out loud. Then she saw a needle stuck in the back of her hand that was attached to a tube that ran up to an I.V. bag by the side of the bed.

Moving her gown away from her shoulder she picked at the tape that held the gauze in place until she was able to peel it away. Slowly she lifted up the gauze and instantly noticed the bruised, mangled flesh and the stitches that sewed the bullet hole closed. Fresh blood seeped out from the wound and caused her stomach to flip flop.

Just as she was was putting the tape back in place, a man walked into the room. He was a large man with a thick beard and mustache."Good morning."

Shalimar felt her body tense up as he came towards her. "Who are you? What happened to me?"

The man put out his hand in front of him, "It's okay, I'm here to help you. Try to relax." He checked on the machines next to her bed and then reached out for her right wrist in order to check her pulse. He noticed she wasn't eager to let him touch her. "It's okay, really." He gently took her hand and checked her pulse.

"Where am I?"

The man finished checking her pulse and gently laid her arm by her side. "I'm Jeremy. A friend of mine called me last night and said you needed my help. You're somewhere safe."

Shalimar watched him closely as he walked around to the other side of the bed where he checked on her wound.

"Try not to pick at it. The stitches might get a little itchy, I know it's annoying but don't touch," he said with a smile.

"What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?"

Shalimar shook her head.

Jeremy poked at the cut on the side her her head that was closed with numerous stitches. "What's your name?"

Shalimar was about to answer and then realized she couldn't. Panic washed over her. "I don't know! Oh my God, I don't know." She began to stir and the pain got worse.

Jeremy placed a calming hand on her arm, "It's okay, calm down. It's probably a temporary case of amnesia. You hit your head pretty good. It may take some time to get your memory back. Just take it slow."

"What happened to my shoulder?"

"You were shot."

"What?!?"

"You're actually very lucky. The bullet didn't do any internal damage but it was dangerously close to your heart. Another inch and you'd be dead."

Shalimar tried to digest what he was saying to her. "I-I don't understand. Wh-why was I shot?"

Jeremy walked over to the door and shut it before returning back to her bed side. "My friend who called me, you're like him."

Shalimar frowned with confusion.

"You are a new mutant."

"What?!? I-I'm not," she stuttered.

Jeremy reached over and got a small mirror and handed it to her. "What your eyes." He took out a cigarette lighter and flicked it, holding the flame near her.

Her body stiffened in fear and her eyes turned yellow. "Oh my God!" she gasped. She let go of the mirror and it slid off the bed and smashed onto the floor.

Jeremy quickly put the lighter away and placed his hand on her arm again. "It's okay, you're okay. Relax." Her heart monitor beeped quickly and it worried him.

Shalimar began to cry but in doing so it caused more pain. She squeezed her shut and grunted in pain.

He saw that she was hurting so he took out a bottle of pain medication and administered it through her I.V. "This should help you with the pain."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you," she said softly.

Jeremy smiled at her. "I'm gonna let you get some rest. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you and we'll see if we can work on helping you remember who you are."

Shalimar nodded and drifted off to sleep.