:Disclaimer:

Sad to say, but I don't own any of the X-men characters you recognize. If I did I'd be rich as hell and wouldn't have to write fan fiction. The only character I do own is Carolina Castro, or Gypsy as you'll come to know her, along with a few other characters I don't want to reveal just yet.

:Warnings:

This story is rated for language and violence.

:Authors note:

Hey all! I know it was a bit of a shock to see that the chapters had been deleted, but I went back and, you know, I just wasn't satisfied with most of the chapters. So, I added a few chapters and tweaked some here and there and I feel a lot better. All new chapters will had NEW stamped on them in bold letters and the ones I've tweaked will say New Material. I hope you enjoy and in the last chapter, I've added a summary for Gypsy's Curse. Thanks and please review, let me know what you think of the new material, especially the new chapters. Again, thanks and enjoy!

-NEW-

Chapter One:
Three's One to Many

"Gyps. Gyps, get up. Please. You have to get up. Get up. NOW!"

With a sharp gasp and a twitch, I found myself being pulled back into consciousness - when the hell did I even lose it? I wondered, dazed and slightly annoyed. - and was immediately assaulted by pain, pain that seemed to spread throughout my entire body. My head ached, throbbed like someone had decided to use it as a drum and my arms and legs felt weird, tingled and I could tell that I was lying in an awkward position.

I stirred a little, flexing my fingers, making sure I wasn't paralyzed in any way, but kept my eyes closed. I wasn't ready to open them, wasn't ready to face what was going on. From what I gathered though, I was lying on my stomach, face resting on dirt and rocks, and I could hear footsteps and the sound of a car engine in the background….

There was something wrong. Something really, really wrong.

"Oh, man. Oh, man. Dude, she's… oh, man - I'm gonna be sick. She's… is she dead?" Someone asked. Despite my confusion, I found that I recognized the voice and was suddenly filled with panic and dread. "Dude?!" I winched at the shrill of his voice.

"Nah, I don't think so," another voice replied, cool and calm, also male and familiar. And though the tone of his voice didn't give anything away, he was scared too, but not as much as his friend, who was one step away from breaking down. Footsteps approached me slowly and I felt something nudge my leg. I winched at the pain and let out a small groan of annoyance. "See."

"Okay," the guy - the first one who had spoken - sighed, relief flooding through him. It almost calmed me. Almost. But not quite. "Okay, she's alive. Good, so we should get her to a hospital--"

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" The other snapped, angrily. "What are people going to think when we arrive with an unconscious girl, who looks like - like that?" I had a strange feeling that he was gesturing towards me. I wondered just how bad I looked like.

"We - we can tell them, uh -" he broke from his sentence, cursing. He was beginning to panic again. "We can tell them that we found her on the side of the rode --"

"And then what?" The other shouted, successfully cutting him off. His heart was racing and beating so loudly I could almost hear it. "What do you think she'll tell them, huh? Didn't think of that, did you?"

"Damnit, Ben! I got a scholarship - full ride to LSU!" He stated, sounding as though he were close to tears. His voice was cracking and there was something in his stomach that felt like monkeys doing summersaults. He felt ill. I felt ill. "I can't afford to lose it and go to jail because of this."

"Relax, Danny-boy. You're not going anywhere - neither am I." He said with such ease, such confidence in his voice, it made me feel violent. I clenched my fist, nails digging into my palm, "We'll just take her to that guy - what's-his-face - get our cash and be done with this. All right?"

Fear like no other shot through me and I felt like I wanted to cry.

"Stay strong," a voice in the back of my head whispered soothingly. "It's going to be okay."

Agreeing, though I felt as though I shouldn't, I gritted my teeth and stiffened to keep myself from shaking uncontrollably. I knew what they were talking about… and then everything seemed to come back at once. All the events that had taken place earlier, that led up to this moment, came back to me and I couldn't contain myself any longer. They were trying to take me back, I realized, eyes snapping open. "No," I muttered, dirt making its way into my mouth but I didn't care. They were trying to turn me in. I wasn't going back. I couldn't.

Pressing my hands flatly on the ground, I tried to push myself up and was unsuccessful. A sharp pain in my shoulder prevented from me from trying again.

"She's awake," Dan pointed out, nervously. He took a couple of steps away from me.

Hands grabbed at me, turning me on my back, not too gently and I found myself staring into the chocolate brown eyes of Ben. "We'll good morning," he grinned and I felt sick. "Or night - whatever." He shrugged. "That was a stupid thing you did back there - jumping out of a moving car, you're lucky you weren't killed."

"I'd rather be dead," I said, somberly. "I can't go back…. Why are you doing this?"

"Well really, I just needed a quick buck," he shrugged. "And I've been told your dangerous," Ben explained as though that justified why he was turning me in to those - those - those people.

"I'm about as dangerous as a fly," I told him.

"…carrying a fatal disease," he finished and if I weren't scared shitless at the moment I would have teased him and mockingly congratulated him on knowing a word like fatal.

"If I were dangerous - I'd have done something by now."

"True, or maybe your just trying to trick us."

"No tricks - I swear. Please. Don't take me back," I pleaded, lowering my voices, but it was useless. It was like talking to a brick wall (even though walls had ears) and when I thought it was no use to even continue begging, I felt something that changed my mind.

"Maybe - maybe we should just, you know, let her go," Dan chimed in, shifting from one foot to the other in a nervous fashion. His eyes were darting around, like he was expecting someone to jump out from behind the trees. The whole thing was a nightmare for him - he just wanted to go home. I could use that to my advantage, I thought, heart racing.

Ben turned away from me to look at his nervous friend, and ran a hand through his sandy colored hair in frustration. I clenched my jaw as he did. "Do I really need to explain to you why we can't?" He spoke as though he were speaking to a child. Dan didn't seem to appreciate it much. "We're in this shit too deep, there's no turning back. Do you understand?"

This was like something out a movie, I thought in horror. I needed to do something - quick!

"I won't tell," I cut into there conversation, looking between both boys, anxiously. I was still on the ground and extremely uncomfortable. "Please, Ben. I won't tell." He said nothing, but that said it all. He had made up his mind - there was no turning back for him. I bit back a sob and turned to Dan, my only hope. "Please, you don't understand… I'm not dangerous - look at me!" I shouted with wide eyes. "Whatever he told, whatever he said… it was a lie. I'm just - I'm just a girl, a normal girl who wants to go home."

Dan's face softened and I knew I was getting through to him. His face screwed up, like he wanted to cry and then went blank. He felt sorry for me. "Let her go, Ben," he told the taller boy. "We can't do this."

"What do you mean we can't?" He asked, standing up and marching towards him. "What the hell's the matter with you, huh? All we have to do is turn her in and be done. We're so close."

"We can't," Dan repeated. "It isn't right. We can't give her to them, they'll kill her."

"You don't know that!" Ben argued, spreading his arms out in exasperation. "Either way - who the hell cares, huh?" His voice was shrill now, boarding hysterics himself. "It's one less freak to worry about!" He added and at his words a deep anger surged through me and then he was suddenly on the ground.

I looked up at Dan, pushing myself off the ground, wide eyed and open-mouthed. Dan stood over his friend, who was slowly recovering from the assault, chest heaving and fists at his sides. A look of confusion spread across his face. He had just lashed out at his best friend, raised his fist and punched him square across the face and he had no idea why, but I did and I wasn't going to tell.

"Don't just lie there like an idiot - move!"

I really didn't need to be told twice and, with whatever energy I had left, I managed to push myself up and stumbled away into the woods. I hoped that the confusion I caused between the boys would buy me enough time to escape…. And it was then that I realized I didn't know where the hell I was, where I was going or how I was going to get there. I was hurt, bleeding and tired.

I didn't know how the hell I was going to make it out of these woods alive and in one piece.