Day One
Will woke with a start.
Breathing heavily, he stared at blue skies and bamboo leaves. Pushing against the dirt beneath him, he sat upright, roughly running a hand over his face.
What the hell happened? Shaking his head, he tried to piece together the flight. He remembered the airport, the kids geeked for nationals—his students. He had to find his glee club.
Slowly, he stood, glancing around for any clues to his whereabouts. Hearing noises ahead, he hurried haphazardly through the grove.
The grove gave way to a pristine beach of white sand and rolling blue waves. Will stood stock still, shocked at the picturesque postcard scene. Walking towards the water, he glanced to his left and his heart stopped at the sight.
The mid-section of their plane lay wrecked and smoking in the sand, students and teachers alike moving around the debris in shock and confusion. Jogging to the scene, Will noted the students he could see. Finn took small dazed steps towards a still-running jet engine. Mike ran in the opposite direction, calling Tina's name. Santana stood screaming hysterically in the midst of the chaos.
Sue spotted Will jogging towards the crash site. Shouting his name, she waved him over to where she stood with Sam. One of the plane's wheels landed on Wes, a Warbler that attended the trip with New Directions. With Will's help, they were able to pull him out, and Sue quickly tied a tourniquet above where his leg was crushed.
Will assessed the chaos, attempting to prioritize the needs of his students. Grabbing Sam's arm, he motioned towards the engine, telling him to keep everyone away from it. Sam nodded, jogging over to Finn.
Brittany stood a few feet further, crying out for help. Will ran over to her and asked if she had any injuries. She quickly shook her head, clutching onto his shirt in terror.
Will glanced up to find Sam moving Finn away from the plane. Behind them, a confused passenger crossed the path of the engine. She was instantly sucked up into the blades, causing a violent explosion.
Will shielded Brittany, feeling the heat and noise on his back. Shell shocked by the panic and chaos surrounding him, Will sat still, momentarily frozen to the spot. Brittany's whimper startled him from his thoughts and putting his arm around her, he led her down the beach to where Sam, Finn, and Wes now stood together.
Telling everyone else to stay put, Will pointed towards Santana, shouting over the din at Sam, the only member of their group so far that was willing and able to help. Sam took off for Santana as Will spotted Sue leading a stunned Mercedes towards their group.
"Is she alright?"
Sue nodded, shouting back, "We need to get these kids away from the crash! This place is a powder keg just waiting to explode!"
Will nodded, pointing Sue toward the right. Taking a deep breath, Will headed in the opposite direction, anxious about what he would find.
He crossed paths with Sam and Santana. She was still sobbing, clutching Sam's shoulders, as he led her away from the plane.
Will stopped them, shouting, "Stay with the group! Coach Sylvester and I are going to find the others, keep everyone else away from the crash!" Sam nodded, continuing towards Finn and Mercedes.
Walking several feet further, Will passed the cabin to find Quinn, Kurt and Rachel huddled together, the plane's wing groaning ominously above their heads. Sprinting towards them, he screamed, throwing his hands wildly in the air to attract their attention.
Quinn glanced to her right and seeing Mr. Schuester, she eagerly grabbed Kurt's arm and Rachel's hand, pulling them hurriedly towards their teacher. Just as they reached him, they all jumped at the deafening sound of the metal collapsing onto the ground behind them. Rachel's face turned an unnatural shade of white and Kurt's eyes grew round as saucers as they all stared at the twisted ruble.
Taking Quinn's shoulders in his hands, Will spoke quickly, "Quinn, I need you to listen! We need to get everyone away from the plane! Finn, Sam, and Mercedes are waiting on the other side of the cabin. Can you take Rachel and Kurt there?"
Quinn's eyes kept darting away from him, but finally she swallowed roughly, lifting her head determinedly. She nodded at Mr. Schuester, grabbing Rachel's hand and pushing Kurt's shoulders in the direction Will asked.
Watching his students leave, Will took in a deep breath, running a hand through his curly hair. The nightmare seemed to only escalate with each step and he dreaded what he would find as he continued forward. Glancing to his left, he felt the breath fall from his lungs at the sight of Emma. She walked carefully around the debris; her arm around Becky, Sue's cheerleading assistant. Blaine followed them closely.
Will ran to them, a smile gracing his face for the first time since the crash, "Thank God, you're ok!"
Emma nodded, her eyes impossibly large, the fear radiating off of her. Taking her shaking hand in his own, he nodded to Blaine, before leading them away from the wreckage.
Will was relieved to find not only Quinn, Kurt, and Rachel with the group, but also Tina and Mike. Susan jogged over to them as they approached, explaining she found the couple and choose to stay with the kids after bringing them back.
Will nodded, "Sue went looking for more kids on the other side of the plane."
Susan shifted, blocking Will's face from the students. Speaking softly, she explained, "A lot of the kids are asking about Artie."
"I know, I know," turning back towards the crash, Will tried to formulate a plan for the next step in their search.
He felt the group fall silent behind him. Puck walked beside Artie down the beach. Artie took long strides, his feet in the sand, a smile on his face, all without crutches or any assistance from Noah.
Brittany sprinted to the boys, knocking Artie over in her excitement. Quinn, Tina, and Santana followed quickly behind. Artie rolled in the waves with the girls, laughter and tears streaming down all their faces.
Sue followed the reunion with David, another Warbler, in tow. Making their way to Will, she stood with him, watching Sam, Finn and Mike talk excitedly with Artie.
"He was like that when I found him. I don't know what you call that."
"A miracle, Sue."
Hours later, their little group of castaways sat huddled around the fire Sue spent the afternoon directing the kids to build. The cabin lay a hundred yards away, the smell of burnt metal and plastic still filling the air.
Will sat heavily in the sand next to Sue. Becky laid next to her, covered in a standard issue airplane blanket and pillow. While Sue and the girls made the fire, Will lead the boys back in what was left of the cabin, gathering any supplies that were salvageable.
"So what's next, Sue?"
"Honestly, I don't know, William. I thought we'd be rescued by now."
Will nodded, looking around their small group, scared and exhausted, but leaning on each other for support.
"We'll get through it together."
Sue glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Let's hope we don't have to resort to that."
Quinn shivered, trying to keep up with Mercedes and Kurt's conversation. She was so exhausted and terrified it was hard to feel connected to anyone. She and Mercedes prayed earlier, but as it wore on into the night, she was feeling more and more alone.
She flinched as she felt something drape over her shoulders.
Looking up, she was met with Sam's crooked grin, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
Quinn licked her lips, scoffing. Leaning down, he settled into the sand next to her.
Recently, the two finally found a comfortable rhythm after all their drama earlier in the year. Sam and Santana were over weeks ago, as were she and Finn. They never talked about the past or their other attempts at relationships, but when Mr. Schue selected them to duet again at Nationals, there was no choice but to break the tension. Over the last two weeks, they spent hours of shared rehearsal time, and Quinn found herself grateful for the development. She missed Sam and his lame jokes. She found herself happier than she could remember.
"Drink up, Hudson."
Startled, Finn looked up to find Coach Bieste holding out a water bottle. Giving her a half-smile, he took the bottle, muttering a thank you.
Susan hunkered down on the driftwood next to Finn.
"Look, I know today's been hard. And you're scared, but I'm going to need you to step up, son."
Finn glanced over at his coach. He spent most of the day in his own thoughts, following whatever Mr. Schue or Coach Sylvester ordered. Everything felt surreal, like it shouldn't be happening to them. Like any minute now, he'd wake up and be back in his room.
Finn shook his head, "I can lead on the football field and maybe even in glee club, but not this. I have no idea what to do."
"No one does. We're all scared here, Hudson. What we need is someone making sure we all work together. That's how we'll get through it."
Finn nodded, still feeling unconvinced, but glad to have Coach Bieste sitting with him. Coach patted his back as he opened the bottle, enjoying the warm water.
"We need to find the cockpit."
Will spun his head towards Sue in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
"The cockpit. It detached from our portion of the plane during the crash. If we find the cockpit, there might be a transceiver. We could use that to send a signal, let people know where we are."
"How do you know all this?"
"Pilot's license."
Will smiled, "Of course."
"I want to take Preggers, Frankentein, and Lady Lips in the morning to search for it."
"Why them?"
"I don't know what we're going to find in that jungle, William, and I need people I can trust."
Will nodded solemnly, "I'll go too."
Sue shook her. "We need to keep the leadership here. Tomorrow may be a harder day for these kids."
Will sighed, hating that for once Sue was right.
"Why do you think Artie can walk?" Rachel asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Emma inhaled sharply, shaking herself from her tangled thoughts. She glanced to where Rachel stared. Brittany laid snuggled against Artie's chest, Santana leaning against her long legs. Noah sat next to Artie, smiling at something the smaller boy said.
"I don't know, but I think we should take any kind of blessing we can from this. And if that's one of them, we should focus on that."
Rachel gave her a small smile, huddling further under the blanket covering her shoulders. Since the crash, Rachel had been uncharacteristically quiet, opting to stick close to Ms. Pillsbury.
Emma watched Will walk across the small campsite, grateful for his presence.
"How are you guys holding up?"
Emma and Rachel nodded in unison, both attempting to put on a brave front.
"What happened to everyone else on the plane?" Tina small voice came from behind Rachel.
Will shook his head, "I don't know, Tina. We just have to hope that they're safe."
Tina dropped her head, her face tinged with sadness. Mike held onto her hand more tightly, his knuckles nearly white. He spent almost thirty minutes looking for her on the beach today, and the possibilities of what could have happened still plagued his mind. Earlier, he refused to help search the cabin, gluing himself to Tina's side instead.
Blaine stood from his spot next to Kurt. While New Directions took the Warblers under their wing, helping Wes maneuver the beach, making sure they got the same supplies from the cabin, with everyone still reeling from the day's events, they were all still sticking with the people they trusted most.
"Mr. Schue? If it's alright, there's a song I wanted to lead before it got too late."
Will held out his hand, "By all means. I think we could all use some music right now."
Blaine began to sing: I've got this feeling that there's something that I missed
Wes added hauntingly: I could do most anything to you...
Blaine began to walk slowly around the circle: Don't you breathe, Don't you breathe
I could do most anything to you...
Something happened, that I never understood
Kurt joined Wes' voice: I could do most anything to you...
You can't leave, No you can't leave
I could do most anything to you...
Quinn, Santana and Artue began to harmonize softly, Blaine rocking on his feet to the rhythm.
In slow motion, the blast is beautiful Blaine nodded to Will as he began to sing along.
I could do most anything to you...
Doors slam shut, Doors slam shut
I could do most anything to you...
A clock is ticking, but it's hidden far away
I could do most anything to you...
Safe and sound, Safe and sound
An eerie quiet filled the camp, before Rachel clapped softly for Blaine, inducing several other applauses from around the circle.
Will stood, speaking softly, "Thank you, Blaine. I think that sums up how everyone's feeling. We may not know what tomorrow will hold, but tonight, we know we're safe and we know we're together."
Rachel swallowed hard, glancing at Noah across the fire and finding his eyes already on her. She couldn't remember his excuse for sitting next to her on the flight, but she remembered thinking there wasn't anyone else she wanted beside her as they hit the turbulence. She could still feel his hand around hers as the plane plummeted, and the feeling terrified her.