A/N: Sorry for the short chapter last time, I hope this chapter will satisfy you all!
-Ophelia
Eponine was being man handled by one of the survivors she met. Her vision was blocked by the piece of fabric that was tied around her eyes. Her hands were bound behind her back leaving her completely vulnerable if they were attacked.
They must have entered a forest because the sound of twigs snapping and crunching of leaves were made after every step.
"How can someone survive with nothing but a baseball bat?" One of the boys asked.
"She must be extremely dangerous," she recognized the voice as the leader.
"Or just really smart," The girl said.
Eponine hated the fact that they were talking about her as if she wasn't there. The first people she has ever encountered for months treats her like a deaf prisoner, "Why are you defending her?" Another boy asked.
"I-I wasn't defending her-I was just saying that she probably isn't dangerous," She then added, "considering the fact that she didn't kill us,"
One of the boys laughed, "We were armed,"
"If she were dangerous she would've killed us then and there,"
"With a baseball bat?"
"Well she is dangerous, isn't she?" The girl asked sarcastically.
Eponine got extremely uncomfortable. They all discussed about her as if she wasn't even a human...to them, it seemed, she was an object. Is this how people were nowadays, if there were more survivors out there? If so, Eponine thought, she'd be better on her own.
The walk seemed to go on forever but they were no longer in the forest. The ground was sturdy and not full of leaves and twigs.
"Who goes there?" a distant voice shouted, it too was male.
The leader spoke up, "Who do you think, you idiot?" he said in a smooth tone.
The other voice just chuckled, "What's all that?"
Eponine nearly shuddered at the feeling of being observed in the moment of silence, "We found her, brought her here so she doesn't end up following us later,"
"Where will you keep her?"
What was she a pet?
"The shed," The leader spoke.
Eponine froze, "Wh-no! Let me go!" She tried her best to slide her thin wrists through the rope that bound her hands.
"Easy, easy," One of the boys said.
In return for her actions, she was yanked back by her arm, "Open the barricade," The leader ordered.
"You can't keep me in a goddamned shed!" Eponine needed to flee. Be anywhere but with these sick human beings, "Let me go," With all her might, she started kicking in every direction while still trying to get her wrists out of the tight rope. She felt her leg hit something or someone.
"Ouch! Damn!" One of the boys cried.
"Contain her!"
"Knock her out!"
"Hurry she's leaving!"
Before she could even call it an escape, she was hit in the back of the head with an unknown object and blacked out.
Fluttering her heavy eyes open, she was greeted by a throbbing pain at the back of her head. It took her a while to remember what all had happened and why she was waking in a place she doesn't remember.
"Damn," she said through her teeth as she tried to sit up. She couldn't see a thing. Everything was black. For a minute, she was convinced that she was still wearing the blindfold over her eyes but she couldn't feel anything tied up round her head. Her eyes still couldn't adjust to the darkness that surrounded her.
Turning her head around, she got a small glimpse of light from an opening at the bottom of the wall. It wasn't an opening big enough to crawl out of, of course. But it was oddly cut in a perfect rectangle... This must be the shed that the group was talking about. Wow, they really did lock her up in a shed after all.
Crawling to the small opening, she hoped to see the outside atmosphere as well but was disappointed to see that it too was dark. Night had fell. She must have been out for several hours. All she could catch a quick view of where the group had taken her. What could see was grass and-a pair of black combat boots heading towards the shed. "No-no," she backed away in fear. They're going to kill her, there is no dount of that now. They'll get it over with now.
Was there anything in this shed that could protect her?
Turning around, she couldn't still couldn't see beyond the darkness. Eponine's heart raced as she saw the boots right in front of the opening, "Hey!" she said with her shaken breath, "Don't touch me!" she warned, "I-have a-hammer! And if you come at me-I-" she lied with sweat beading on her forehead.
Just before she could give out another warning, a plate slide under the small rectangle opening, "I'm not going to hurt you as long as you don't hurt me," the person called back.
She immediately recognized the voice as the girl from before, the blonde beauty, "Hey, don't go!" Eponine knew that the blonde had no intentions like the other survivors, "Can't you get me out of here?"
There was a pause, "I really would get you out, but I can't," she said, "This shouldn't last long though,"
Was this stranger comforting her? "Please, you know I'm not dangerous, you said so yourself," Eponine was desperate, "If you let me go, I'll leave and never return."
"I can't do that." She added, "I could barely make it out of the house to sneak you a plate of food,"
Eponine held her head down and knew that this was how she was going to die. In a dark shed alone.
"I'm Cosette by the way," The other girl said hesitantly.
Eponine let survival mode kick in, "Listen, Cosette," she said coldly, "I can't stay in here. This is inhumane, and you know that. And if you don't help me, I will die in here,"
There was a painful pause again, "I'm sorry,"
"Just help me!" Eponine shouted, "please!"
"I'm sorry," and then she was gone.
All she wanted to do was scream and cry but at the same time she couldn't believe that at least there was someone on her side.
She examined the plate of food that Cosette has left for her. It was bread and beans. 'I really am a prisoner,' she thought to herself. But the fact that Cosette had to sneak food to Eponine showed that they were planning to starve her out, possibly. This must be a very sick and twisted group to do that to her.
And yet this girl Cosette who she had only met today was making sure that she was getting fed.
Eponine came to the realization that she was much better off on her own before. She thought loneliness was a curse but now it seemed that trust was an issue. This group obviously doesn't trust her but instead of leaving her behind, they put her in a shed to starve.
What did she have to do to earn their trust? Cosette trusted her which was a start but not enough to get her out of the shed.
Staring at the food, she was afraid to even touch it. The fear of what was in there made Eponine feel paranoid. Would Cosette poison her? Was her sympathy fake? Did the leader of the group order her to poison her food so that they could just get her death over with?
Pushing the plate away, she curled herself up in a small ball to keep herself warm from being to exposed to the bitter cold.
"I'm so scared, 'Ponine,"
Eponine could her her brother's voice echoing inside her head. Haunting her, "I'm scared to, Gavroche," she said with tears in her eyes, "I'm scared too,"
Her eyes opened to the sound of distant voices coming from outside. She couldn't make out any specific words but she still felt as if they were discussing her. What scared her the most was that the voices were approaching much closer.
Her first reaction was to crawl away to the farthest distance she could get to in a small shed.
The door swung open and the brightness from outside nearly blinded Eponine, "Hey-" she cried.
"Okay well she wasn't infected." A boy said.
"I still don't think she should stay much longer, she's been out there by herself. God knows what she's capable of,"
Her eyes adjusted just enough to see the leader and another boy from yesterday in front of the opened door, "Tie her up?"
The leader nodded in approval, "Then you can take her to the basement and we'll question her there,"
Eponine shook her head, it was time that she had a say in things, "No, if you want to ask me something, you ask me here. I will not be questioned like a criminal. I've done no wrong," she glared at the leader.
"What were you doing in the street yesterday?"
"Same as you," she kept her tone cold, "getting supplies and leaving. I heard a voice and hid out of fear and shock." She added, "I haven't seen anyone else in months,"
"Were you with a group before?" The other boy asked.
Eponine didn't want to talk about him so she just gave a nod.
"What happened?"
No, even bring it up was bad enough but going in full detail would tear her apart. She wasn't healed enough to talk about it, "He's gone," and she hoped that they would be satisfied with that.
"What happened?" He repeated with more ice in his tone.
Eponine shut her eyes to get the images out of her head, "My little brother...he's just gone, okay?"
The leader folded his arms, "Why? Were you starved by the lack of supplies?"
Eponine took that like a shot the the heart, "Do you mistake me for a cannibal?"
"There are a lot sick things people do nowadays," the other boy said.
Eponine scoffed, "Yeah like putting a girl in a shed to starve and die,"
The moment of silence was filled with the exchange of glares, "Don't take this personally," the other boy opposite of the leader said.
"Marius!" The leader warned.
The other boy, Marius, ignored the leader, "This group had a bad experience with another member and we lost many because of it. Give it another week,"
The leader shot a glare, "Or two," he added, "but don't expect you'd be let off so easily. You'll have to earn your stay here," he warned, "and if you make any slip up, or even attempt one, I will not hesitate to kill you, understand?"
Eponine was intimidated, nearly shaking, "Yes," she whispered.
Then the door was closed and locked.
Wait, did they just accept her in their group?
R/R, please!
-Ophelia
