Luckily, sheHAD heard the thud, and immediately throws herself face firtst into the sand. In that fashion, she crawls a little, so she can scramble round to look at her attacker. And when she sees Don, even Eponine actually has to admit her fear.

He is a monster - and had she not seen footage of him EATING other Tributes in one arena? That is not a nice death.
But right now, Eponine has nowhere to run. Except - there is one chance. She grabs for handfuls of sand and flings them, as hard as she can at Don, hoping to blind him long enough so that she can run. She does at least have speed and agility onside.