I do not own these characters or Glee or blahblahblah.
AN: I started writing this when I was bored. It wasn't intended to be anything but of course, me being me, it turns into something.
I hope you like it.
"Quick," Brittany says. She's flat out running towards her car. The air is cool and calm which is the complete opposite of what Brittany is feeling. The entire world seems to be still, though, waiting in anticipation to see what happens next. Waiting to see if they make it to the car or not. Brittany can't tell if she's just projecting or if this is really how the world is. When she sees the same look of terror on Santana's face that she feels, she thinks maybe that really is how the air feels tonight.
Brittany wrenches open her car door and jumps into the drivers seat. She's buckling her seat belt when Santana is sliding into the passenger seat. Brittany doesn't wait for her to buckle before turning on the car and shifting quickly into drive, pealing down her suburban street, trying to ignore the dark figure waiting behind her.
/
Brittany yawns loudly and shakes her head. She's been driving for so long that she can't even remember how long it's actually been. "Santana," she says, stifling another yawn. "C'mon, San, wake up," she says louder, reaching over to gently nudge Santana.
Santana jerks awake, gasping loudly. She looks around quickly and Brittany watches as her face changes from horror to the realization that she's safe. "What's the matter?" She's pushing herself up straighter in the seat. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just tired," Brittany says, stifling another yawn. "And we're almost out of gas."
Santana frowns and leans over slightly to look at the orange arrow getting dangerously close to the 'E'. "Okay, pull off at the next exit," she says and sets her hand gently on Brittany's shoulder. "Or you can pull over now and let me drive."
"I'll be fine until the next exit," Brittany says, shaking her head slightly. Her eyelids feel so, so heavy, though. It'd be so easy to just shut them, even if it's for like half a second. She could manage that, right? She could just shut her eyes for like one second and then open them up so quickly...
"Britt, fuck!" Santana yells from the passenger seat.
Brittany's eyes snap open and she rights the car just before crashing into the wall splitting the the northbound lanes from the southbound ones. Brittany slows her speed and can barely breath over her heart pounding in her chest. She's never had a scare like that before while driving.
"Pull over," Santana says, voice firm.
Brittany feels wide awake now, fear and adrenalin pumping through her quickly. "San," she says, trying to explain she's actually okay now.
"Brittany pull the fuck over," Santana snaps, raising her voice.
Brittany jumps at the tone and flicks on her signal, slowing the car down, down, down.
/
"I didn't mean to yell," Santana says in a small voice when the car stops and Brittany turns off her blinker and parks the vehicle.
"It's okay," Brittany says looking down at her lap. "It's been a really like...hard night."
"I'm still sorry, I just..." Santana stops.
Brittany doesn't press her to continue. She knows exactly how she's feeling. She has no idea what happened either. She has no idea what's going on or why the rest of the world seems to be going on normally, like nothing had happened.
But, what had happened?
"What was that?" Santana asks, her voice small again. She turns to look at Brittany.
Brittany shakes her head, eyes wide. She really doesn't know. She's trying to make sense of anything, but it just isn't coming to her. It just seems to puddle in her brain, the events from the evening.
"I mean, did you see the way it moved?" Santana asks.
Brittany doesn't respond. Her skin crawls as she remembers the way it crawled towards her on all fours, like some type of animal. The way it smelled acrid and horrifying and almost made her freeze in place. The way it was moving towards them so lightning fast but looked too big to be moving that way. It was all sort of...
Supernatural.
"Maybe it was just like...some animal or..." Santana says slowly. Brittany knows she's trying to make sense of everything. She knows she's trying to logic it out. "Fuck, I don't know, Britt."
"And we just left," Brittany says, voice flat. "We just left it there where it could get anyone." She turns to look at Santana and feels the anger floating low in her stomach, waiting for a chance to spark into bigger flames. "What if it hurts someone?"
"Britt," Santana says. Her face looks scared, so unsure. "I don't think...I just..." She stops and turns to look behind her, down the dark highway full of nothing but empty black. "I think it's following us. I think it just wants us."
"Why would you think that? If it's an animal or whatever you said, why would it just want us?" Brittany can feel the anger begin to boil. She can feel her cheeks flushing and that odd tingling feeling- like the beginning of sweating- she feels behind her ears when she gets angry.
Something bangs so hard into the back of the car it's forced forward, even though it's in park.
"It's right fucking behind us," Santana cries out.
/
Brittany screams and slams her foot on the brake, shifting the car into drive and then slamming her foot on the gas. "Fuck, fuck," she yells as the car moves forward, but it's too slow. She can feel the thing- whatever the fuck it is- clinging to her car. She pushes the gas pedal all the way down to the floor. Her car sounds like it's about to explode underneath her with all of the effort of accelerating.
"Shit, shit, shit," Santana is saying in the passenger seat. She's turned almost completely around, watching the thing hanging onto the back of the car. "Britt, it's not letting go!"
Brittany glances into her rear view mirror to try and see the monster-thing. It's the scariest thing Brittany has ever seen in her entire life. It makes her skin crawl, the way it's head tilts so far to the side, the way it's mouth opens so, so wide. It reminds her of snakes, when they unhinge their jaws to begin to devour their prey. She opens her mouth to scream from the pure terror of it all, but the creature beats her to it.
It screams. A high pitched scream that makes Brittany's ears ring, she tightens her grip on the steering wheel. The creature busts one long arm through the back windshield which shatters. It moves it's long arm wildly and shattered glass flies through the back seat. It's scream echoes louder in the car. Brittany swerves, unintentionally, caught off guard.
She looks to the passenger seat. Santana is slumped in her seat, body shaking. Her eyes are wider than Brittany has ever seen and for a moment she's afraid they're going to pop right out of her head. She opens her mouth to ask what's wrong but the creature screams again. The sound seems to rip through the air, rip through Brittany's head. She swerves again. The creature hanging off of the back of her car is making it impossible for her to concentrate on driving.
Then Brittany hears the worse sound yet- crunching metal. She looks into her rear view mirror and sees the creature sinking it's claws into her car, crawling closer, closer towards them.
"Buckle," Brittany screams.
The noises of the wind whipping through the busted window, the otherworldly sound of the creature screaming, the noises of her car accelerating faster and faster underneath her are swirling around in the car. Brittany can barely hear anything but she sees Santana's mouth move and then watches as she pulls her body around and buckles herself in.
"Hang on," Brittany yells. She checks all of her mirrors but knows that they are the only car on the road, they hadn't seen another car for a long time. She hears the creature hissing as it pulls itself farther up the car.
Brittany merges into the right lane and slams on the brakes. Santana screams, the creature screams. The car screeches to a stop that jolts Brittany's body forward, the seat belt locks in place and catches her pinning her to her chair. She watches in her mirror as the creature- caught off guard- is slammed forward into the shattered back window and makes a hissing noise as it slides off of Brittany's car.
Santana sighs in relief but Brittany switches the car into reverse, waiting.
"Britt," Santana says softly.
"Wait," Brittany replies. She watches her rear view mirror.
She sees the creatures arm lift up and sink into the metal of the car again. Brittany screams as it pulls itself up, head tilted so far to the left it makes Brittany's stomach churn. She slams her foot on the gas and the car begins to back up, building speed. The creature hangs on and manages to pull itself up a little further.
Brittany narrows her eyes and hopes she isn't about to get Santana and herself killed. She cuts the wheel to the left and the car turns hard. It cuts across the other two lanes on the interstate and slams into the safety wall in the middle of the highway.
There's a horrible crunching noise and Brittany continues to slam her foot on the gas, pushing the creature harder into the wall. She watches it in her rear view mirror. The way it's mouth has opened so wide, the way it's trying in vain to push against the car makes Brittany feel like she's really hurting it. She can't stop herself, she pushes harder on the gas, wanting it to hurt. She hears screaming, loud screaming that doesn't stop until Santana is shaking her.
"Brittany, stop, Britt, it's okay, please baby, stop," Santana is saying. Her voice is wavering and her body is still shaking.
Brittany stops and switches the car into drive. She pulls the car into the center lane and sits, watching the creature in her rear view mirror.
It's slumped on the ground beside some debris. Brittany immediately recognizes her back bumper and frowns. They sit in silence, Brittany's foot planted firmly on the brake.
"Is it dead?" Santana asks.
Brittany doesn't take her eyes off the of the thing. It's lying still and looks dead but something inside of her is telling her it isn't. Something inside of her is telling her this is only the beginning.
"Brittany, are you okay?" Santana says. Her voice sounds so small, so scared.
"Are you?" Brittany replies, taking her eyes off of the creature in her mirror for half a second to glance at Santana. She's still shaking, she's sweating lightly, her hair is all over the place.
Santana nods and looks over the shoulder of her seat, back at the creature. Brittany's eyes dart to her mirror. She hasn't been able to make herself turn around and look at it. The mirror isn't really it, but if she looks at it directly...
Brittany sees movement in the mirror, the creature twitches slightly. She panics and slams down on the gas driving as far away from the monster as quickly as she can.
/
Brittany refuses to stop even when Santana brings up how she almost killed them earlier. Brittany doesn't care, she can tell Santana is in no way capable of driving. They've been driving for forty-five minutes and Santana still hasn't stopped shaking. She's just lying on her side in the passenger seat, watching Brittany closely.
Any other time Brittany thinks that might make her nervous, but now it's really just nice to have someone looking out for her, making sure she stays awake and keeps them safe. She has to keep them safe.
When the arrow sinks lower on the gauge and the little orange light begins to flash, Brittany knows she has to stop for gas. They only have to drive for a few minutes before they find an exit that has a gas station. Brittany pulls up and parks the car. She looks at the clock on her dashboard, it's almost two in the morning.
"Are you hungry?" Santana asks.
Brittany unbuckles herself and shakes her head. The idea of food makes her stomach churn. She can't get the noises that thing made out of her head; the way it screamed and hissed. She looks at Santana. She's still slouched sideways in her seat. The shaking has stopped, but she's shivering, like she's just a little bit cold.
"Are you?" Brittany asks.
Santana shakes her head, not even bothering to lift it off of the seat. Brittany frowns slightly. "I'm gonna get gas and then we'll..." She trails off, not knowing what to say because she has no idea what they're going to do or where they're going to go. "San," she says and can hear the small quaver in her voice.
Santana clears her throat. "I saw a sign for a motel when we were pulling off." She bites at her lip, never breaking eye contact with Brittany. "We could go stay there or we could go home..."
Brittany isn't sure what to say. She just doesn't know anything. No one ever told her what to do if you're under attack from some crazy monster. "I'll go get gas," she says getting out of the car.
/
She pushes open the door to the Marathon. It's really bright inside and the dinging sound that echoes through the store when she enters makes Brittany's head ache. She hadn't even noticed she had a headache or how she's tired, really tired. She's also really hungry even though she told Santana she isn't; she still doesn't want to eat, though. Her entire body is aching and she isn't sure why, she thinks it's maybe from all of the adrenalin and the fear and how hard she had gripped the steering wheel.
She moves through the small aisles in the gas station. She can feel the cashiers gaze on her whenever she turns her back. It makes her feel uneasy and like he's part of some conspiracy against her. She shakes her head, trying to dislodge the thought. She just needs some rest.
No, she needs to figure out what the hell she and Santana are supposed to do.
Instinctively, she looks out the big glass windows that cover the front of the store. Santana is sitting in the car, still in the same position. Her eyes are closed. Brittany finds a small section on one of the shelves dedicated solely to headache pills. She grabs a box of Advil and a small first aid kit. In another aisle she pulls two bags of Chex Mix off of their hooks. At the coolers in the back of the store she grabs two bottles of water.
The cashier cocks an eyebrow at her when she places everything on the counter haphazardly.
"Will this be all?" He asks, smiling at her.
She isn't in the mood to return the smile. She looks down at everything and then glances back at the coolers. "Gimme a sec," she says. She moves to the back of the store, looking for the bottles she had passed earlier. She finds the bottle of Starbucks iced coffee she's looking for and grabs one that's vanilla flavored before heading back to the counter. She feels like she'll need it to keep herself awake, she has no intention of sleeping any time soon.
"Will...this be all?" The cashier asks again, voice slow.
"Yes," says Brittany, nodding and pulling out her debit card. "Oh and twenty five on pump five."
/
Brittany opens the car door as quietly as she can and places the bag of purchases into the floorboard of Santana's side of the car. She leaves the door open and locks the pump into her car, letting it run until it cuts itself off. She looks around, the road is empty, the night is cool. She stands for a moment watching the empty road and wondering how everything can still appear to be so normal.
She moves to the back of her car to asses the damage. She frowns at the fact that her back bumper is really missing. She looks hard at the holes in the hood of the trunk, they're deep and look angry. She reaches her hand out slowly and touches at the bent and curled metal. Almost all of the glass is missing from her rear windshield.
When the gas pump clicks Brittany moves back to the side of her car, hooking the pump back into place before screwing the gas cap back on. She slides easily into the drivers seat and starts the car. It hums to life underneath her and Brittany feels relieved that it's still working, especially after having seen the damage the creature had done.
She pulls out of the gas station and follows the signs leading her towards a place to stay for the night. She can't think of anything else to do. She's exhausted- beyond exhausted at this point. She needs to sleep, needs to rest and eat something. She knows Santana is in the same boat, just as exhausted and weak from the nights events.
/
Quality Quarters Inn looks like a complete dive. Brittany scrunches her face at the way the front of the building looks but the sign says that it only costs thirty dollars a night and considering how much money Brittany doesn't have it seems like the perfect place to stay for just one night.
"San," she says, parking the car in an empty spot near the entrance. "Sanny, wake up," Brittany whispers. She tucks some of Santana's lose hair behind her ear and strokes her thumb across her cheek.
Santana stirs, her eyes flutter open and she seems to want to stretch but sighs instead and sinks further into the chair. "Where're we?" She croaks sleepily.
Brittany smiles warmly down at her. "We're at a place to stay for the night. I'm gonna go get a room, okay?"
"No," Santana says, pulling herself to sit up.
Brittany watches her closely, the way her muscles strain and her body seems to weigh so much. She's never seen Santana have to struggle so hard to do such little physical activity and it immediately sends up a warning flag. "What's the matter?" She asks, frowning and watching Santana sigh heavily when she finally gets herself righted.
"Nothing, Britt," Santana says and her voice is hoarse, like she's been sick for days. "I'm just really tired."
"Santana," Brittany says and she feels like she should be doing something to take care of her, like feel her forehead to see if she has a fever.
"I'm gonna get the room, okay? Since you got the gas and everything." She pushes open the passenger door and uses it to pull herself up, something else Brittany has never seen her do before. She takes a few unsteady steps away from the car before stopping and turning to look at Brittany.
"You're coming right?" Her face looks as lost as Brittany feels.
She grabs the plastic bag from the passenger floorboard, locks her car and catches up to Santana. She finds Santana's hand and slips their fingers together, holding on tightly.