Clare's POV

I only had realized that I had fallen asleep, when I woke up. As I awoke, I noticed that I was lying on my side, in the corner that I was talking to Eli in. I also noticed that Eli's hoodie was laying over me. As I sat up, I looked around. Adam was sitting in the other corner of the room. He was sitting up now, but his head was leaning against the wall, and his eyes were closed.

Everyone else seemed to be up and chatting already. Did anyone else even sleep? One thing I did notice, however, was Eli wasn't in the room. I sat up straight, the hoodie falling off of me. When I moved, Adam seemed to have noticed I was up because he looked over at me.

"Does anyone sleep around here?" I asked.

"Not many of us can handle sleeping for long periods of time." He replied.

"I hope I won't end up like that." I muttered.

"Hopefully you won't." He sighed. "Dreaming is the only freedom we get."

"When did Fiona and Chantay come back?" I asked, as I was looking around the room. They were sitting mixed in with the rest of the group, chatting.

"They stumbled back around four. I was surprised actually that they didn't wake you. They woke the rest of us. Eli and I had to drag them in the room." He said.

"Why you two?" I asked.

"We were already awake. Like I said, no one can sleep for long periods of time."

"What time is it now?"

"Sometime around two. You've slept for over twelve hours. Impressive, actually. Hopefully you get to keep that." He sighed, leaning his head back against the wall.

"You could have woken me. I feel bad, for being able to for so long." I stated.

"Don't. It's refreshing actually. To know that there are people out there that can. I know most people do, but in here, it's a foreign concept. It's something to be cherished because you don't know how long it will last." He said. I nodded, unable to think of something to say.

"Where's Eli?" I asked.

"They called him away a little while ago." He said.

"What for?" That confused me. Was it like a placement thing?

"Random stuff. He gets called every so often. He usually has to help with something; or sometimes bring us food." He said shrugging. His eyes started to drift close as he was talking.

"You look exhausted. Do you need to sleep some more?" I asked. He had bags under his eyes. I had seen them yesterday but they looked even worse today.

"Maybe later. When Eli returns." He shrugged again.

"You could sleep now. I won't mind. I feel bad enough for sleeping that long."

"No. I have to keep an eye on things while Eli is gone."

"Why?" Why was it his job?

"Who else is going to look after everyone? It's Eli or me. No one else wants to take the risk. You saw when Jenna got killed. No one even flinched. No one spoke up to try to stop her either. Only Eli did. Only I did. That's what we try to do. Keep the peace. Keep everyone alive." He continued.

"Is that what staying here is going to do to me?" I asked.

"Only if you let your fear, get in the way of your judgment. But don't be so bold; that you get yourself killed either."

I leaned my head back against the wall, just as the door opened again. Eli came walking through, carrying a sack. It was full of something, but I couldn't tell what. Everyone else seemed to know, and they started swarming him. He dropped the sack and continued walking towards us. The group started tearing the bag to shreds. I could tell now, that the sack was filled with food. Breads. Fruit. Granola bars. Sounded actually pretty healthy considering we were kidnapped and being held captive here.

"Fucking vultures." Eli muttered, as he pulled away from the group. I don't think he meant for us to hear it, because it was so low, but I did.

Eli walked over and sat down against the same wall as Adam, but was almost in the middle of us. He was carrying a small satchel. When he pulled it open, he tossed granola bars and fruit to both of us. Keeping some for himself. We all remained silent as we ate. I continued to watch the group maul the food that was there. Seriously, it was like they had never seen food before. They were like rabid animals.

"Are they always like that?" I asked.

"Yeah. That's why I bring back food separately. I don't want to deal with that." Eli said watching them as well.

"I can see why." I agreed, finishing up my food. I noticed Adam was already done, and was starting to doze. "Adam. Go to sleep. You said you'd wait for Eli to return. Now he's here."

"I'll be okay." Adam slurred.

"Dude. No you're not. Clare's right. Go to sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens." He proposed.

Adam barely even nodded, before he fell to his side. He started to get comfortable, but within seconds, he was out.

"He really does have trouble sleeping, doesn't he?" I asked Eli. Adam looked really bad. The way he talked about sleeping, it was like a gift. But when he mentioned it for himself, he talked like it was something horrible.

"Yeah. This place gets to him. More than any of us. We've all come to terms with the situation, enough to sleep some. He hasn't." He sighed, looking over at Adam.

I didn't want to ask why. I felt like I was intruding on something, that I didn't need to know about. I felt horrible for being able to sleep for over twelve hours, and have Adam afraid to fall asleep for any length of time. I wanted to help him but I didn't know how. I could tell Eli felt the same way.

"Did you know Adam? Before this place I mean?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"No. We met when he came here." Eli replied.

"Have you known anyone who has come through here?" I knew that he didn't need to tell me, but I was curious. Even though it wasn't my place, I continued searching his face for an answer.

"One." He stated. He looked pained by the question, so I decided not to push any further.

We remained silent for what seemed like forever. I watched the group of savages slowly turn back into human beings. Then they slowly turned back into civilized people, talking amongst themselves. I decided to slide into the corner next to me, because I wanted to stretch out. That was when I realized I still had Eli's hoodie behind me. I picked it up, handing it to him.

"Thanks for covering me last night." I said smiling.

"It's not a problem. You can borrow it any time. This place can get freezing at night." He replied smirking. I began thinking of something else to say, because I wanted to continue talking to him. I liked talking to him, and besides, what else was I going to do? There was no way I was going to make conversation with the group of savages. Eli and Adam seemed to be the only sane ones here.

"So is there a possibility of using the bathroom around here?" I asked.

"Yeah. Come on." Eli replied, standing up. He offered his hand to me, and I took it. I stood up, following him towards the door.

"Shouldn't we wake Adam up? You said—" I began.

"Let him sleep. He needs all he can get." He cut me off.

"You're probably right." I nodded in agreement.

He took the key out of his jeans' pocket and unlocked the door. Walking into the hallway, I waited for him to lock it again. I noticed then, that the hallway wasn't that long. I guess I didn't notice when I arrive, but the hallway was a little bit larger than the room. It was cut off by a door on either side. There was a door directly across from the room we came out of and Eli gestured to it.

"There's the bathroom. I'll wait out here." He said, nudging me towards the door.

"Okay." I replied.

I pushed the door open and walked through it. It was a typical public restroom. Stalls lined one wall, while sinks lined the opposite one. I picked a stall and went in. When I was at the sinks, I heard a knock on the door. It was Eli. He opened the door a moment later, sticking his head in.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Almost." I stated.

"Okay. Don't keep me waiting." He said smirking at me, before he shut the door again.

I threw the paper towel in the trash, and headed for the door. The door was on the other side of the room from the trash can, so I had to cross the distance. When I made it about half way across the room, Eli pushed his way through the door. He came in swiftly, practically running towards me. He grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the nearest stall.

"Eli? What's going on?" I asked startled.

"He can't find you in here." He growled. It wasn't towards me, but it did frighten me a bit.

"Who—" I questioned, but he cut me short.

"I'll explain later." He demanded. He shut the door of the stall behind him, locking us both inside. Fortunately, it was a handicapped stall, so it had a little bit more room. "Here. Hop up."

He lifted me up, not giving me the chance to do it myself. He helped me jump onto the sink in the stall. I was kind of surprised that it had one. Since it was a handicapped stall, the sink was lower than most, making me eye level with him. He stood right in front of me, close enough that I could feel his breath against my skin. I didn't have time to dwell on that thought because the next second, the door to the bathroom opened.

"Eli!" Fitz called. I should have figured it would be him. I had only encountered him once, but I could already tell he and Eli didn't get along. Fitz, even more so, than with the other guards. Eli brought his finger up to his lips, showing to me, that I should stay quiet. What did he honestly think I was going to do though?

"What?" Eli snapped back. I could tell he was 'playing' his usual role with him, but it still startled me.

"Did you bring a slut with you?" Fitz demanded.

"No. If I'm in a stall, trying to use the bathroom, where the fuck would I'd keep her?" He argued back. He propped his hands up on either side of me, but he looked over my shoulder. I could tell he didn't want to meet my eyes.

"You better not be fucking hiding anyone. You know the rules." Fitz growled.

"Fuck, Fitz. I know the goddamn rules! It's been three fucking years!" Eli retorted. "Get over it! And go the fuck away!" What happened three years ago?

I heard Fitz mumble something about 'being back' but he stormed out anyways. Eli finally met my gaze and sighed. He looked defeated and angry. I didn't know what to say to try to remove the look in his eyes. He waited a few moments, and I remained silent. He stepped away from me, bringing his finger back up to his lips. He unlocked the door, and stepped out; making sure that the door didn't open any more than it needed to so it would hide me.

I remained where I was, but I heard Eli move towards the door. I could hear him open the door, and step out. A few seconds later, he was back in front of me again. Without a word, he put his hands on my hips again, helping me down.

"He's gone." He said as he put me down.

"Am I not allowed to be in here?" I asked bluntly.

"Yes. They don't want to be escorting us all day to the bathrooms, so I get that authority." He grumbled the last part.

"Then why did I have to hide?" I asked.

"Because, if Fitz found you in here—" He paused, struggling for words. "You'd get your own private placement with him. And I'd have to let him."

"Why?" I asked, searching his eyes for answers.

"It's a rule for me." He said, exasperatedly, pacing. "A requirement. I hand over to Fitz, all the females that use the restroom, and I get to live."

"So, all of those girls? Whenever they use the restroom? And you just let him?" I demanded, stepping away from him.

"No!" He replied desperately. He stepped towards me, making us really close again. "Just when he comes looking. Most of them don't care anymore. They go willingly. It's not something I want to be involved in, but otherwise I would've been killed years ago. I am just trying to survive." His eyes were pleading, and I could tell he was telling the truth. I just didn't understand something.

"If you could get killed, then why did you hide me?" I asked.

"This place will break you if you let it. You're strong, and I want to keep you that way. The placements I can't keep you from. It's something that I can't control but I can control Fitz. I won't let him near you. I won't let him get to you. I won't."

I could see the determination in his eyes. I just wondered what had happened that hurt him so bad. He looked so broken, so fragile. I felt that if I touched him in any way, he would shatter. I cupped his face with my hand, making his eyes flicker to mine. They seemed distant and sad.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"No. No, I'm not." He smirked, repeating my words from yesterday. I guess he did hear them.

"Let's go back. If Adam is up, he'll be freaking out." I suggested.

"If Adam's up, he'll probably kick the shit out of me." Eli retorted. I laughed at that. "I'm not joking." I went silent, but the smile stayed on my face.

Eli walked out of the stall first, and walked over to the door. I stayed behind him, while he glanced through the door. Checking the hallway. He held the door open for me, letting me go through, before following behind. He unlocked the door, and opened it. As I'd hoped, Adam was still asleep in the corner. He needed the rest, and I was pretty sure that Adam would try to kill Eli. Eli could easily take him, but I doubt he would.

I walked back over to the corner from before, and sat down. I wasn't really set on the idea of this being my new home. Sitting, locked, in a small box room for twenty-four hours a day didn't sit well with me. I also didn't want to face the guards or the placements. I don't really know what scared me more; the placements or the guards. Fitz, in particular. If Eli said he would keep me from Fitz, than I guess my main problem would be the placements. I was terrified of my name being called. I just hope that it won't be for a long time.

I will have Chapter 5 up by tomorrow. Hope you guys like it so far! Please let me know what you guys think. Where you want the story to go. I love hearing what you guys have to say about my writing because I want to write about something that you enjoy as much as I do. Thanks! Read and Review!