Marius opened his eyes. He would call it waking up, but he wasn't sure if he actually had. Everything hurt. He saw ceiling. He didn't know where he was.
Oh.
Events returned to his memory. Some, he didn't want to remember. Eponine. Gavroche. So many others he saw die. And all for what? For what, Marius did not have an answer. He did not know where he was nor how he'd gotten there. He did not know where his friends were. He did not know how long it took for the battle to be won.
The battle was won, it had to be. How else would he be here? Marius had realised on the barricade that the only way any of the men would survive would be to win the battle. The opposing soldiers had demonstrated their mercilessness the moment they had shot down his young friend.
So where were Enjolras and the others?
His was disturbed from his thoughts when he saw a nurse enter his field of vision. A hospital, then. He was in a hospital. The woman was saying something but Marius could not understand her. He tried to sit- to look around and see which of his friends had survived- but hands held him down.
Marius was glad of that, too. Suddenly his body was on fire. Knives dug through his shoulder and side. His chest burned with an intensity he had only previously imagined. The lower half of his body remained undisturbed, but he knew his legs would hurt just as bad. Even where there wasn't stabbing pain, every other part of his body felt at least bruised. The pain was enough to take Marius's breath away.
A cold hand touched his forehead.
He fell back asleep.
Marius fell in and out of sleep for what felt like years. He would be fed, bandages would be changed. The sleep was fitful, but the time awake was miserable. The pain took forever to lessen even slightly. He was too weak to speak. He was glad every time he lost consciousness again.
Once Marius could stay awake for more than a few moments at a time, they let him sit up. But when he did, he saw no familiar faces. The beds next to him were empty. Had his friends already healed and gone? Would they be in to see him? Every time he asked after them, there was no answer. The sisters at the hospital refused to make eye contact with him.
One day, he couldn't take it anymore. Marius was restless. He was getting no answers. He had been in this bed for weeks, at least.
"Where are my friends?" He asked. Nobody answered. He asked again, louder. The woman nearest him flinched and continued pouring water into the bowl at his bedside. He repeated the question once more in an even louder tone.
Another woman rushed in and shushed him.
"You must calm yourself, monsieur."
A sinking feeling filled Marius's stomach. He had hoped and pretended for so long, but suddenly he knew.
"They're dead, aren't they?" His voice was barely louder than a whisper. "All of them."
The women dropped their gazes and left the room, providing all the answer Marius needed.
He wept.