Chapter 7

I didn't sleep last night. I couldn't. My emotions engulfed me, I went through phases of rage and sadness, but now I'm determined. Eponine died helping me. She died for our cause, my cause, I must show the same dedication and determination. It's what she'd have wanted.

"Come on. Let's go. Too much has happened here" Grantaire crouches to my level to put his arm round my shoulder and help me up. Once I stand, I take a deep breath and follow them out.

We wander further around, we must have travelled the circumference by now, it was getting monotonous, but I guess in some ways in here that's a good thing, less danger. Another mile or so passes before we hear a shout from a building to our right, it doesn't sound scared, just pained. Grantaire goes back to protect Gavroche whilst me and Joly advance towards the building, I have my gun in hand, cocked at the ready. I nod to Joly and he kicks down the door, I enter first. In front of me I see Feuilly from 4 lying on the sofa with his leg bloodied and elevated he looks terrified at our sudden entrance, Valjean from 10 is kneeling on the floor by the injured leg, he's clearly seen my gun because he has his hands raised in surrender above his head.

"What happened?" I ask to neither of them in particular, I just want to know how they formed this unlikely alliance

"I got shot. At the beginning, I was chased by Babet, I wish I was the one that killed him, the bastard. Valjean picked me up that night, brought me in here and has been helping me out since"

"Why did you help him?"
"I was training to be a doctor at the correctional facility I was being held at back home, figured I could help" a correctional facility, essentially jail, a criminal, that's why he was selected for these rigged Games "Why did you team up?" He gestures to Joly "I know you were friendly with the 11 boys, who I assume are not far from you" as he says this Grantaire and Gavroche enter the room to prove the point

"Let's just say we have a mutual enemy" answering his question about Joly but not giving away Joly's moment of weakness

Valjean smirked "Don't we all" Feuilly just looked confused until Valjean gestured up and around, then he smiled in understanding also. "Well" Valjean changed the tone of the conversation "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, let's eat" and with that our alliances joined.

We were all enjoying a dinner of hearty bread provided by our new friends and some beans we found in the cupboards, and some of Gavroche's biscuits. A canon went off. We looked around in confusion, there was no one left in the field except us and the Careers, evidently they were starting to turn on each other. That night we saw Brujon's face in the sky, we didn't know what had happened but were grateful to have one less enemy.

The next morning, we began to formulate a plan

"We need to make a barricade, let's hold this ground, Feuilly can't be running around anyway" I explained

"Yes, but how will we lure the Careers in, we could be waiting ages for them to find us, end up becoming starved and weak" Valjean questioned

"Why don't a couple of us, go and sneak around by their place, and when they notice us, run back here?" Grantaire suggested

"What if they have guns too, they probably do, you wouldn't make it back" I reasoned

"It's a risk we'll have to take. We need to do this on our terms" Grantaire became more forceful

"I'll go. You boys are mates, family, it doesn't matter if you lose me" Joly said somberly

"Joly…" I began to protest

"No, seriously. I'll do it" He met my eyes

"Thank you"

"What are we gonna do about Gavroche?" Grantaire moved the conversation on

"Hide him in here with Feuilly" Valjean suggested

"No" They both yelled in protest. "I want to fight, I'm on my way out, I know it, but I damn well wanna go out fighting!" Feuilly continued

"I wanna fight too, that's what I was put in here to do. Other kids got to, they never had their cousins protecting them!"

"And they all died Gavroche!" he roared, and ended the argument. Gavroche became quiet

"I still wanna stay with you." Grantaire pulled him into a hug

"I know, we'll work it out"

We slept in the building that night, in the same manner as before. Tomorrow we would begin to build our barricade and the end of our Games would soon be here