-New: Added and Tweaked Dialogue-

Chapter Six:
Self Defense isn't Murder

"Gyps… Gypsy, wake up."

Groaning loudly and feeling very annoyed, I turned over on my side, grabbing a pillow from underneath me, in the process, and pulling it over my head, hoping to block out whomever it was trying to wake me. I hadn't been sleeping very well for the last couple weeks and now, for some reason, I was and felt safe and secure. I didn't want to give that up. I just wanted to keep sleeping.

I said: GET UP!

Yanking the pillow away from my head, my eyes snapped open and I found myself in an empty, unfamiliar room. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Panicked, I sat up and began to look around, my sleepiness wearing off quickly. "W-where am I?" I asked, breathing heavily, hear racing. How the hell did I end up here? Had they found me? "V, what's going on?" My bottom lip was quivering, hand running through my tangled curly hair but stopped when I felt something on my head. I tugged it off. It was a hat. What? I pushed the covers off me and swung my legs off the side of the bed, my socked feet touching the carpeted floor.

"Calm down. Take deep breaths. You're safe…."

"Safe?" I repeated, the word sounding almost alien. I took deep breaths as instructed, willing myself not to have a nervous breakdown. I looked down at my tingling arm - it was in a cast and my other hand was covered in a bandage. I frowned and slowly, but surely, the events from the previous night came back to me. Ben and Dan… Mr. Logan… Dr. Grey… Xavier's school for mutants… meeting others like me but different. I'd been offered a place to stay, "A home."

"Are you okay? Feel better now?"

Nodding, I rubbed my chest and exhaled deeply. Furrowing my brows, I soon remembered that it was Voice who had woken me up from my peaceful sleep. "This had better be good. You know that I haven't been sleeping well for a long time."

"I know, but it's important. Start getting dressed, I'll explain."

"Fine." I grabbed the sweatpants I had taken off before going to sleep and sat down on the edge of the bed as I struggled to put them on. The pain in my right leg protested but there was nothing I could do but shift my weight to the other leg, hoping to relieve the injured on from unnecessary pain. "So, what's going on?" I asked V, reaching for my arm sling, which was hanging off the side of the nightstand beside the bed, and struggled to put it on as well and finally placed the skull at back on my head.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I got a feeling that something's about to go down. I didn't want you prancing around half naked, so I woke you up."

Rolling my eyes, I muttered, "Gee, how considerate," and adjusted the strap around my neck so that it would feel a bit more comfortable. "So do you know when this- this thing is suppose to go down?" I placed a hand over my grumbling stomach. With all the excitement that was going on, I had forgotten to ask if I could get something to eat, the candy bar Mr. Logan had given me hadn't been enough.

"No idea, sorry. Just be prepared."

"Fine," I sighed and headed towards the door. "But I think I'm going to go find the kitchen…." I poked my head out of the room and peered, cautiously, out into the hallway, making sure no one was around. I closed the door behind me and made my way down the hall, limping, and stopped. "Now where do I go?" I asked quietly, realizing that I didn't know my way around the damn school.

"Turn left at the end of this hall and keep walking until you reach some stairs."

"Thanks," I muttered, trying to be as quiet as possible, hoping that I wouldn't bring any unwanted attention to myself. When I finally reached the staircase, I frowned, wondering how the hell I was going to get down with out hurting myself. I was tempted to slide down, but thought better and hopped down every step instead with my left leg while holding the rail for support.

Like I said before, I rarely questioned Voice; somehow it always knew where to go and always got me where I needed to be. When I reached the bottom step, I looked around. The place was deserted from what I could tell. I wasn't surprised. It was probably past midnight or later. Everyone was probably still asleep. I walked slowly, taking everything in. I could hear muffled voices and static coming for a room nearby. Was someone else awake? Furrowing my brows, I walked towards the voices. I stopped when I reached, what looked like, a living room.

There, sitting on a couch in front of the TV, was a boy, much younger than me and as if he feeling someone staring at the back of his head, he looked over his shoulder at me. His round glasses slid down his nose a bit, "Hi," he greeted me, pushing some of his brown hair away from his face.

I couldn't help but smile at him, "Hi." He nodded and turned back to face the television. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "Isn't it a little late for you to be up?" The older sister in me asked him, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

He shrugged a little, "Shouldn't you?" He shot back, blinking.

Brows furrowed, my eyes shifted from the little boy to the TV. I noticed that every time he blinked the channel would change. I leaned forward a bit, trying to see if he was using a remote, or something, but found nothing in his hands. Interesting. "I couldn't sleep," I finally said.

Still blinking and changing channels, he replied, "Neither could I."

"Bad dreams?" I asked him, vaguely wondering why I was even bothering to talk to this little boy, who seemed more interested in watching television than talking to me. I didn't blame him. I use to be the same way, but I couldn't remember the last time I was able to sit on a couch in front of a TV. I missed it. I missed being an older sister too.

He shook his head, "I don't sleep."

I wanted to ask him how not sleeping was going for him. I knew that if I didn't get enough sleep I'd be dead on my feet, but I didn't ask … It was then that I realized I hadn't asked the kid's name. Great now I sound like Mr. Logan. "What's your name?"

"Jones," he said, tearing his eyes away from the set in front of him to look back at me. "And you're Gypsy. Or do you prefer Carolina?"

My eyes widened from surprised. Another Telepath? "How did you…?"

"When you come into this school," he began. "Looking like you just got him by a truck with Wolverine's arm around you, people tend to start talking." He gave me a sympathetic smile and turned back to the TV. "There aren't many secrets around here," he said, blinking.

I didn't know whether to be flattered or worried that I was being talked about, but then I remembered the strange looks I had been getting throughout the day. I should be worried. "Right," I said, sighing. "Well, I'll leave you to your channel surfing," my grumbling stomach reminded me of the real reason I was downstairs in the first place. "I prefer to be called Carolina, Jones."

"Okay."

Half smiling, I muttered, "Night," and walked away without waiting for a response. I didn't know if I would get one anyway. Limping down the dimly lit hall, I began to feel a little nauseous. My stomach was still grumbling from hunger, but I also wanted to throw-up.

"It's because you haven't eaten."

"I know," the moment I got food in my stomach the sick feeling would go away just like it always did. Somehow one of my curls made its way into my mouth. I began chewing on it, hoping it would distract my mind until I found real food. I stopped walking when I heard two unfamiliar, yet familiar, voices talking to one another. Doesn't anybody sleep around this damn place?!

One voice, sounding rather amused said, "She was on the floor when I barged in. It kind of looked like she was going to have a heart attack or something."

"Not surprised," another voice said, laughing quietly. "I would have freaked out too. Kitty really needs to learn how to knock."

I pressed my back against a wall, trying to keep myself hidden from them. They were talking about me. About the incident with Kitty this afternoon. I guess Jones had been right after all. Word does get around in this school. I couldn't help but feel angry though, not to mention embarrassed. They had no right to be talking about me.

"She doesn't talk very much," the first voice said, his tone flat.

"Yeah, when I saw her, she was trying to hide behind Logan," the other told him. "She's shy I guess."

"Shy? Didn't seem so shy when she was telling me off."

My stomach grumbled again and I froze, placing a hand over my stomach. It had been loud. I wondered if the two of them had heard me, but they hadn't, thankfully. They were still talking amongst themselves, no longer talking about me. I tilted my head back, letting it lean against the wall behind me. Maybe I could walk in, grab something to eat, walk back out and hope that they would ignore me.

"You know, eavesdropping isn't very polite.

Or not.

I jumped away from the wall, surprised to find the boy with the Zippo lighter looming over me, arms crossed over his chest like he was some authority figure to fear. I pulled my hair away from my mouth. "So is talking about someone behind their back," I retorted, trying to meet his glare, but I faltered, too tired to even bother. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just looking for the kitchen."

Nodding, he moved out of the way, giving me enough room to pass by without touching him, into the kitchen, where I found the boy from this morning sitting at a table… What was this guy's name again? Damn! I couldn't remember either of their names. I needed to start eating fish or something.

"Bobby and John," Voice reminded me tiredly.

Uh-huh. Right. Bobby and John.

"Hey," Bobby greeted me, looking up from his carton of ice cream. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I told him, thankful that he wasn't getting on my case about listening in on their conversation. Even though it was about me. I limped into the kitchen, feeling very ridiculous, supporting myself by grabbing on to one of the counters. "I- I was just looking for something to eat," I said, eyes shifting between the two boys. "I, uh, hope I'm not interrupting you guys…"

"No, not really," John said, flicking his lighter open and close. Jeez, didn't this kid ever stop? "I was leaving anyways."

"I, uh, hope you're not leaving because of me." Why the hell was I even talking to him? If he wanted to go I should just let him go. Besides, he was giving off strange vibes again and they

were making my stomach churn. There was also a lot of anger in this guy, so much bitterness.

He leaned forward a little and whispered, "Don't flatter yourself." He leaned back and smiled, again it didn't look very humorous or that much friendly, "Iceman was getting boring and I decided I didn't want to wake up in the kitchen this morning, so…night." He gave us a mock salute and walked off; leaving me staring at the stop he had been standing in moments before.

I turned to Bobby, who looked a little amused. "Don't mind Pyro," he said, shaking his head. "He can seem a bit jerk-ish when you first meet him, but that's St. John for you." He took a spoonful of ice cream and shoved it in his mouth. "You said something about looking for food?"

Nodding, I asked, "Is there something left over from dinner or… something?" I began limping towards the fridge.

"No," I heard him get up from behind me, his chair scratching against the floor. It made me cringe. "But there's some cereal in the cupboard you can eat." I looked over my shoulder and saw him pulling out two boxes of cereal, "You want Cheerios or Cornflakes?" He asked, holding them up for me to see.

"I'll take the Cheerios, if you don't mind," he nodded and grabbed a bowl from another cabinet, a spoon from a drawer and placed it on the table where he was sitting. I reached for the milk and limped towards him, taking a seat on his right hand side. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said, half smiling.

I made my cereal quickly and began to eat, savoring the sweet taste of honey.

"So, why are you up?" He asked, making me look up from my bowl. One of his brows was raised in a questioning matter, "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"I think I slept enough for the day," I told him, shaking my head. "And I was hungry."

"I guess." It went quiet for a while, all that could be heard was the clanging of my spoon against the bowl. I shifted in my seat. I didn't like silence, they made me nervous and uncomfortable. It gave my mind too much time to wander, making me think about things I didn't want to. Thankfully for me he broke the silence. "Listen, uh, about before--" I looked up from my bowl, mouth full of cereal. "-- You know, when you came into the school this morning…" I nodded, letting him know that I remembered. "I'm sorry if I came off like a…" he paused, searching for a good word to use.

"Prick?" I offered, offhandedly.

"What did I tell you about being nice?" I decided to ignore V at the moment.

Bobby frowned a little, but nodded. "Yeah… a prick," he cleared his throat. "I didn't mean to stare at you like that… it's just that--"

I smiled, knowingly. "Yeah, I know. I came into the school looking like I had just been hit by a truck with Mr. Logan's arm around my waist," I said, reciting what Jones told me before.

"Yeah," he nodded, glad that I understood in someway. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged his apology off, "It's okay. I just don't appreciate being stared at," I looked down at my arm. "Lord knows I've had enough of that."

More silence and then. "You know, John told me about what happened with Kitty."

I could feel my face flush. "Yeah, I heard you guys talking about it."

"Yeah," he nodded, looking down at his ice cream. "He'd asked me if I'd seen the new girl and then told me what happened," he finished, trying very hard to suppress the smile that was forming on his lips.

The heat in my cheeks grew warmer, but oddly enough I didn't feel too embarrassed. "I didn't mean to react the way that I did," I said, shaking my head as I poured myself some more cereal. "It's just… she walked through the door, you know? Who the hell does that? I - I just got a little freaked out. I'm not used to being around so many mutants I - ow shit!" I winced when I hit my knee on the side of the table.

"You okay?" Bobby asked, worry in his voice.

With a clenched jaw, I nodded. I looked up at him in time to see him scanning my injuries with his blue eyes. He was curious.

"Look, I know it's none of my business--"

"You're right," I snapped, sharply, almost glaring at him. "It's not."

"You see- that's why you don't make many friends."

My glared softened completely and I felt my body go limp. I hadn't even realized that I had stiffened up. V was right. I was never going to make friends this way. Swallowing my pride, I muttered, "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, but I'd rather not talk about it," I told him, looking myself over. "Not yet, at least."

He nodded, understandingly and looked down at his ice scream. My shoulders slumped. I felt bad for snapping at him, but I had every right to do so. He probably wouldn't want to talk to me after tonight and the thought shouldn't have bothered me, but it did. I wanted friends, wanted people who would miss me when I was gone. To prove Ben wrong.

"You're a softy. You want to make friends whether you want to admit it to or not."

I bit my bottom lip, slowly, trying to keep quiet. There was a long stretch of silence between the two of us and my thoughts were beginning to stray down a road I didn't want to go. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but was cut off by heavy footsteps heading in our direction. My spirits lifted when I saw Mr. Logan walk by, looking into the room. He doubled back when he saw us sitting at the table.

"Hey," Bobby greeted him, dipping his spoon into his carton of ice cream.

Mr. Logan gave him a curt nod and then looked in my direction, scanning me over, "Shouldn't you be resting in bed?" He asked, giving me a questioning look.

I shrugged, "Couldn't sleep anymore."

He shook his head, "Doesn't anybody sleep around here?" He asked, heading towards the fridge

The corner of Bobby's lips twitched as he gave me a quick glance, "Apparently not."

"Got any beer?"

I tried not to smile as I stuffed my mouth with Cheerios. "This is a school," Bobby reminded him, sounding and looking amused.

Mr. Logan sighed, "So that's a 'no'?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at both of us.

I shrugged again and gave him a look that stated: 'like I'm really supposed to know.' From beside me, Bobby tried his hardest to contain the smirk that seemed to be fighting to appear on his face. "Yeah, that's a 'no'."

"Got anything other than chocolate milk?"

I snorted a little, dropping my spoon. Trying to ignore the looks I was being given, I covered my mouth and felt my cheeks burning. "There should be some soda in that small cupboard," he told Mr. Logan, motioning to it with his spoon.

Picking up my spoon, I began to eat and when I looked up from my bowl, Mr. Logan was making his way to us with a soda in his hand. It was half way to his lips when he stopped, looking as if he was having second thoughts. His eyes shifted from the bottle to Bobby and he silently handed it to him. Bobby, with a knowing look, didn't hesitate to take it and blow into it a little, blue frost appearing.

I tilted my head to the side, fascinated. It was strange seeing other mutants using their powers so freely. It was actually kind of nice.

"Thanks," Mr. Logan told Bobby, looking the bottle over.

"No problem," he said, shrugging a little.

He took a seat beside Bobby, across from me. I smiled sheepishly, feeling uncomfortable under his unwavering stare. "You clean up pretty good, Squirt," he said, smiling a little as I rolled my eyes at the pet name he'd given me.

"You call this cleaning up?" I asked, raised eyebrow. "I feel like I should be put in some mummy exhibit - look at me I'm covered in bandages, but thanks."

"Everybody teatin' you all right?" He asked, taking a quick glance at Bobby. I guessed that he hadn't forgotten the little exchange that took place between us a couple of hours before.

I nodded, swallowing some cheerios I had been chewing on, "So far, yeah. Everyone's been nice."

"That's good," he took a sip of his drink. "How ya feelin'?"

"Good. Pretty good. My head doesn't hurt anymore, needed stitches - see," I lifted my hat for a little him to see the cloth bandage that covered my forehead. "Dr. Grey gave me something for the pain and yeah, I feel a lot cleaner than before now that I've got new clothes on."

"I bet," he said nodding, his eyes scanning the kitchen. "You'll like it here. Good people, they'll treat you like their own."

I smiled, but didn't say anything and went back to eating.

"How long you been here?" I looked up to see Mr. Logan looking at Bobby, who had been silent throughout our conversation.

"Couple of years."

"And your parents just sent you off to mutant school?" He asked with disbelief in his voice.

Bobby stopped playing with his ice cream and stared blankly into it before answering. "Actually, my parents think this is a prep school." he looked uncomfortable, his eyes shifting around

nervously.

I made a face. So his parents didn't know he was a mutant? Lucky him, but then again not really.

"Oh, I see." I wondered if he really did understand. "I suppose a lot of prep schools have their own dorms, campuses--"

"Jets," Bobby cut him off.

"This school has jets?" I asked in awe. He nodded. "Wow. What doesn't this school have?" I asked going back to my cereal. I was almost done and my stomach had finally settled down.

"So you and Rogue, huh?" Mr. Logan asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah," Bobby replied looking even more uncomfortable.

I remembered Dr. Grey telling me that I wasn't the first person Mr. Logan had brought into the school Marie had been stranded somewhere and hitched a ride with him and they were brought to the school after an accident occurred. At least she and I had that in common. "How long have you and Marie been together?" I asked.

"Couple of months," he said, moving his spoon around in his ice cream. I wondered if it had melted yet or if he was keeping it from doing so with his power. "It's not what you think. I'd like it to be, but it's just--" he stopped speaking abruptly and looked up at Mr. Logan as if realizing who it was listening to him speak. "It's just that it's not easy… when you wanna to be closer to someone but you can't"

"The best things in life aren't ever easy," I regretted speaking when both their eyes fell on me. I wanted to take back what I said, but kept going instead. "They take time…effort. It's worth it in the end though."

"You sound like a damn fortune cookie."

Mr. Logan nodded while taking another sip of his drink. Bobby nodded as well, giving me a small smile. I guess he wasn't upset about me snapping at him earlier. Maybe I had just made my first friend?

He got serious all of a sudden and began playing with his ice cream again, "You know, I've seen how you look at Dr. Grey." My jaw dropped. I got to admit the boy had a lot of balls to say what he just did. I'd never have the guts to say it.

Mr. Logan tilted his head to the side, bottle still in hand. "Excuse me?" He asked as if daring Bobby to repeat what he'd just said again.

"Nothing," he said, trying to hide his amused tone.

Boys. I stood up, picked up my bowl and headed towards the sink, limping all the way. I wondered if I should wash it… "Leg still bothering you?" Mr. Logan asked me from behind.

"I'll be okay. I told you I should be in a mummy exhibit - my knee and part of my calf is wrapped around in a bandage," I told him, looking over my shoulder. "But so long as I don't have to run or…" I trailed off, staring at him as I turned my body around. He was still, head turned to the side as if he were listening for something. He stood quickly, chair scratching against the floor. He left his soda bottle on the edge of the table.

Bobby and I exchanged confused glances, "What is it?" He asked, looking concerned.

Instead of replying, Mr. Logan held out his hand, signaling for us to be quiet as he stood by the kitchen doorway. I limped towards the table, holding onto it for support. From beside me, Bobby had turned around to face the window behind us. I looked over my shoulder at him and tried to listen too. It sounded like… helicopters?

There was a startled gasp from in front of me. I jumped, my head snapping back in place. My jaw hung open in surprise. Mr. Logan had grabbed a man, who was wearing a black uniform and a ski mask over his face, by the arms, trying to get him to drop his gun. Shit. Had this been what Voice had warned me about?

"Yeah, this is it."

"You picked the wrong house, bub," he told the man, still struggling.

"Cover your ears."

"W-what?" I stuttered, not caring who heard me. Then, out of nowhere, a loud piercing shriek filled the school, making me cringe and filled my body with chills. It felt like my eardrums were going to explode. "Ahh--"I cried a little, pressing my hands against the side of my head. My arms sling made it difficult, though. I shut my eyes tightly, gritting my teeth.

Everything after that happened so fast: I heard glass breaking all over and Mr. Logan yell out. A hand wrapped itself around my upper arm and my emotions went into overdrive with fear, worry and pain. He hand pulled me down to the floor, roughly, ducking us behind the table as the sound of gun shots filled the air, mixed in with the piercing scream that sounded so inhuman. It felt like the gun and the screaming would go on forever, but when it stopped, I could still hear it ringing in my ears. "What hell was that?" I gasped, opening my eyes to look at Bobby.

"Siryn," He replied, sounding out of breath. With his chin, he motioned for me to look up. I did and found Mr. Logan had his back pressed against the table, the man in the mask towering over him with a knife. I buried my head against the side of the table, trying to think of something, anything. Maybe I could sneak up behind the guy and touch him or something…. But as I got up to make a move, I heard a loud grunt and a yell. Mr. Logan had pinned the man against the fridge "Ahh--" I slapped a hand over my mouth, trying to keep myself from screaming as the man went limp.

Mr. Logan had just murdered him.

"Self defense isn't murder, Carolina. Remember that- self defense isn't murder."

Letting my hand slide away from my mouth, I murmured: "Self defense isn't murder. Self defense isn't murder," over and over again, ignoring the pain in my leg.

Breathing heavily, Mr. Logan turned to us and for the first time, since I had met him, I felt a little afraid of him. He was sweating, body glistening, tense. His claws were still out, nose flaring. His eyes shifted from me to Bobby, "You all right?" He asked, calming himself. Bobby didn't hesitate to nod, but I didn't answer right away. "And you? You all right?" I nodded, not wanting to upset him. He didn't seem convinced, but came around the table to help me up. "We gotta go," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist, Bobby following behind us, but stopped when Mr. Logan shoved him against the doorframe. There were more soldiers with guns walking around.

"Oh, no," I muttered as a thought ran through my mind. Where they here for me?

"Stay here," he told us, letting go of me. "Keep an eye on her," he said, not bothering to look at us. "She's not gonna to make it very far with that leg of hers." He walked away from us, barely making any nose as he reached out and grabbed the first soldier he could, stabbing him in the back and throwing him against a wall.

"Self defense isn't murder. Self defense isn't murder," I repeated, covering my mouth, watching as he went for another.

"He's an animal," Bobby whispered, shaking his head as he watched what was happening.

"What do we do?" I asked. My voice was cracking. I felt like falling apart. I'd been through too

much in a small amount of time. This was beginning to feel ridiculous. I couldn't handle it any more. "What are we going do?" I asked him again and as if answering my question, we both heard screams coming from upstairs. "Oh my God, the kids," for a split second I had forgotten

that this place was a school, there were other people around. Shit. What if they were hurt too? It wasn't like I knew them, but no one deserved to die this way.

"Come on," I felt Bobby wrap his arm around my waist, practically caring me towards some doorway I hadn't noticed before.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, trying to keep up.

"To find Rogue, I need make sure she's okay," he hit a button and the door slid open. "We'll take the elevator," he said, helping me inside. When he let go of me I leaned against a wall, shutting my eyes. It was too bright.

"Do you think Mr. Logan will be okay?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"He can take care of himself," he coughed. "Didn't you see him take out those soldiers?"

I wish I hadn't seen it. "You're right. He'll be okay."

The elevator suddenly stopped and the door opened, the screams got louder.

Bobby held out a hand, signaling me to wait as he peered out into the hallway making sure there weren't any soldiers around. I limped towards him, but stopped when he was nearly run over by another boy, running in a different direction. Bobby turned around and shouted, "John! Hey. Where's Rogue?"

It was the boy with the Zippo lighter; he doubled back and stood in the middle of the hall, kids running past him. His eyes shifted from me to his friend. "I don't know," he finally said, holding his arms out.

"I got to find her," he said, shaking his head but full of determination and worry. I could feel that he felt very strongly for this girl. It was actually very romantic. "Wolverine told me to not let you out of my sight." Bobby said, bringing me out of my thoughts when he wrapped his arm around my waist again and draped my arm over his neck. I stared at him wide-eyed. "I'm not going too, but I need to find Rogue."

"I understand, don't worry."

"Hey," we heard someone shout from behind us. "Wait up, I'm coming with you."

Not bothering to turn around, Bobby said, "Fine." He stopped walking and loosened his grip on me, "But help me with, Gypsy."

John and I exchanged an awkward glance as he wrapped his arm around my waist. I cringed a little, feeling his fear and worry. "You okay?" He asked, letting me lean on him.

"I'm fine," I told him, wrapping my arm around his neck. I couldn't understand why I felt better and as ease when it was Bobby or Mr. Logan who had their arm around me. "Let's go."

"Rogue!" Bobby shouted from in front of us. "Rogue, where are you? Rogue!"

"Bobby!" Marie appeared suddenly, dressed in only her nightgown. "Have you seen, Gypsy? I think the soldiers got her!"

"She's here," John said, motioning to me with his head.

She looked relieved, "Oh good. I didn't see you when I passed your room, I thought the soldiers had you," she took a quick glance at Bobby then back at me.

My heart fluttered a little. I never had anyone worry about me before… It felt nice. "I'm fine, don't worry, but thank you."

She nodded, "Okay, this way!" She said heading towards the direction she had just come from.

"No, not that way!" Voice shouted, making me cringe.

"Not that way!" I said, jerking away from John, who was giving me a questioning look. "Not that way, please!" I began limping backwards away from the hall. "That's the wrong way!" I shouted turning around and walking down the hall. I looked over my shoulder and realized that they weren't following me. "Hey!" I shouted trying to get their attention, but a loud explosion drowned me out. "Oh my God," I whispered, panicking.

"Behind you!"

I turned around quickly, nearly loosing my balance and came face to face with one of the soldiers, his gun aimed directly at me. All air left my body and I felt helpless at that very moment. After all this… I was going to die. After I had fought so hard to escape. After everything I had been through. "I won't let you take me back." I said, voice low but loud enough for him to hear.

He pulled the trigger and I felt a sharp pain in my chest and I staggered a little. I felt woozy all of a sudden, the room was spinning. That's when I realized that it wasn't a bullet… it was some sort of tranquilizer.

"Gypsy, stay awake. Don't fall asleep."

I could feel my eyes rolling into the back of my head…then everything went quiet and dark.