This has been edited, but only slightly, because the original plot was for a deaf girl to be found in the hills, not a mute girl.
Ruby found her, hands tied behind her back in the shade of a large rock.
The young mutant picked at her nails as she tip toed around the assumingly unconcious woman. She was lying on her side, hair knotted around her head and dusted with red sand. When she groaned into the sand, Ruby jumped and skittered around to the other side of a nearby rock. A moment or two passed and Ruby peeked back around, seeing the woman still lying on the ground, her eyes closed.
A heavy shadow bathed over Ruby and she looked up, smiling at Pluto. She pointed at the unconscious (?) woman and Pluto grinned, lumbering towards the girl where she was lying in the dirt.
"Careful," Ruby muttered, shuffling around Pluto's feet.
He hefted the girl over his shoulder with a surprising grace and she didn't even jostle. He smiled at Ruby and started walking, Ruby trailing after him. She bounced around, excitement making her giddy; somewhere in the back of her mind, there was that daunting threat she would become a new victim. But maybe Mama would let her keep this one, she could help with the babies. . .
She woke up on a musty bed.
Her lids fluttered and she coughed a couple times into the mattress, sending dust up and into her hair, inadvertently up her nose again. Her hands were tied in front of her but for some reason, she couldn't find it in her to freak out. She was utterly calm, waking up in a strange place wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to her in the last few days.
She wiggled around, managing to get into an awkward sitting position. The room around her was dusty and dark, the sun seemed to setting outside the window across the room. Effie reached up with her tied hands and brushed her hair back, frowning when she saw her palms dusted red.
She needed a bath.
Effie jumped when the bedroom door opened and looked around, seeing a hefty, bald woman standing in the doorway. She was tall, taller than most women Effie had ever seen, and wore a long, purple flower dress. Effie's nose twitched at the smell of cooked food coming from the bowl in the woman's large hand.
"Don' talk much do ya," the woman tsked, waddling into the room; a small girl trailed in behind her, draped in a red sweater. "Well, ma name is Big Mama, this lil one here is Rubay."
When Effie still didn't speak, Big Mama gave her an odd look. Ruby shuffled then hurried to her side, stretching up on her toes and whispering something in her ear. Big Mama made an Oh face and then whispered something to Ruby, who scurried out of the room. Big Mama hummed as she settled into the chair at the bedside, pulling the bowl of something into her lap.
Effie gladly took the bite offered, her stomach finally catching up. She wondered how long it had been since she had eaten. Her eyes strayed to the door when she saw a flash of red blot her peripherals. It was Ruby and she had a yellow notepad and a stubby pink pencil.
"Thank ya, sweetie," Big Mama set the bowl to the side and took the pad away from Ruby.
She set the pad in her lap and reached into a pocket on her hip. When she pulled out the small switchblade, Effie finally felt a little flutter of panic, but Big Mama only cut the ropes off of her wrists. Effie rubbed her wrists then watched Big Mama pass her the notepad.
"Can ya write," she held the pad and pencil out to Effie.
Effie took the notepad with cautious hands, watching the two odd looking people in front of her before writing down one little sentence before handing the pad back to the larger woman. Big Mama sighed and shook her head, nodding slowly.
"Of course. . ."
I can't hear.'