Operation Phoenix

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Hard Way, part 2

There was a blue tarp that had been rolled up and placed in the back of the bed, tucked in the farthest corner. It had gone unnoticed for most of their first interaction, only when Sinbad picked it up and began to shake it out did Rapunzel even realize it was there.

"Where are you going to take me?" Rapunzel asked Marina timidly as she twiddled her thumbs. It wasn't the first time she was being thrown into unfamiliar territory, and if she was honest, the thought scared her just as much as it had two years ago. Even with the reassurances of the people with her, she knew it wasn't something she'd ever get used to—not that she would have to. There was a plan formulating in her head as they spoke, she only hoped with all her might that it would work. She wasn't very good with plans, Hiccup and Jack were always the ones that did that stuff, if they were here they'd know exactly what to do. Her heart clenched as she thought about her boyfriend, how he would've reacted had she'd truthfully agreed to going along with them. There was no doubt he'd be hurt, but she supposed he was already feeling that. The muscles tightened in her stomach and around her heart when she pictured his face the night before, his puffy eyes and sad expression. It was killing her.

"Anywhere but here. The farther you get away from this place, the better it is for everyone." He said, dumping a few more items into the back. Tools, boxes and a few bags of whatever clattered into the bed, seeming to glare at Zel the longer she looked at them.

Even though she wasn't really leaving, it still felt dirty for her to even falsely agree. It felt like she was betraying the people who had initially rescued her.

"So you don't even have a plan?" Rapunzel spat, a little harsher than she was intending.

Sinbad laughed as if what he was hearing was amusing, as if Zel was stupid, and she was getting real tired of people treating her like she was. "What do you expect? A vacation home? We're not going to Fiji." He tossed something else in the back, narrowing his eyes and staring his hostage dead in the face. "It's in the woods. Get used to it."

"I just... want to go home." Rapunzel whispered, bringing her knees up to her chin. If she was honest, she was tired of being afraid. It felt like lately her and her friends were always on the run, and it was exhausting. She just wanted to spend at least a day without something drastic going on, was that so much to ask?

"Your home? In case you've forgotten kid, you ran away from your home two years ago—and if you don't even belong here, then it looks like you don't belong anywhere."

"Sinbad!" Marina hissed, as if she was surprised he would say something so mean.

Rapunzel merely choked back the tears in her eyes as she listened to his statement, ignoring Marina's reassuring words and comforting touches. Maybe he was right, maybe she didn't belong anywhere, and that's why she always felt like she didn't fit in. Merida said Zel belonged with the Runners because she was a hero for rescuing her redheaded friend, but Zel didn't feel much like a hero today.

As instructed, though Rapunzel wasn't making any efforts to pay attention, she laid down in the back on her stomach, Sinbad beside her as Marina shook out the tarp and draped it over them. It smelt like moss and old water, but she supposed any tarp would if it had been sitting outside in the back of a truck for gods-know-how-long. She tried to ignore the slightly awkward and uncomfortable position, but she kept having to shift around to make sure she could execute her plan well enough.

"Why are you back here?" She asked Sinbad after he complained about how much she was moving. She didn't like being so close to him, she felt that only Jack and her best friends were allowed enter her personal bubble, but escape plans seemed to require tight spaces, she's observed.