"Are they still-"
Britta was cut off as Annie's hand smacked over her mouth. Jeff shot a glare at her.
"Keep. Quiet," he hissed. Britta folded her arms over her chest and leaned backed against the leg of the table. Jeff pushed aside the sheet draped over the sides.
"I'll go and check," he mouthed. He crawled out from under the table and moved across to the window of the study room.
"Careful, Jeff," Britta murmured. Annie squeezed her hand. Jeff poked his head up carefully, glanced out into the hallway, and quickly ducked down again.
"Still there!" he mouthed, waving a frantic hand. Annie reached up and tugged the sheet back over the table, hiding the two girls from view. Jeff pressed his body up against the wall behind him and tried to keep silent. In the hallway behind him, the invader paused and swiveled its eyestalk to scan the room. Jeff swallowed and put his hand over his own mouth to muffle his breathing. After a moment, the rumble of movement told him it had moved on. Jeff let out a slow breath.
"This is a Deansaster!" Dean Pelton shouted. Señor Chang slapped him across the face and grabbed his shoulders, staring into his eyes.
"Get a hold of yourself, Dean!" he shouted back. The Dean put a hand to his cheek and looked at Chang in disbelief.
"Ow!" he whined. Troy rolled his eyes.
"Man, why do I get stuck with the two craziest guys in Greendale?" he muttered. He looked around and his eyes fell on Pierce, sleeping peacefully in a chair.
"Oh right," Troy said to himself. "Three craziest guys."
Pierce sneezed and woke up with a start.
"They got in!" he cried in a panic. He looked between the other three and rubbed his forehead.
"I was dreaming, wasn't I?" he said slowly. Troy nodded.
"What is this place anyway?" asked Chang. His eyes were resting on the large computer at the end of the room. The Dean shrugged.
"It's something left over from the military base."
"Military base?" Troy repeated in surprise.
"Some sort of UN project, I think," the Dean said. "Something about ostriches."
"That'd explain why those things can't get in," Chang mused, looking back at the heavy metal door. His eyes lit up. "Maybe there's something in here that we can use to fight them!"
He moved over to the computer and started it up. The words 'INSERT KEY' flashed on the screen.
"You don't happen to have the key to this thing, do ya?" Troy asked. The Dean shook his head.
"This room doesn't officially exist. I'm no good here."
"Like that's new," Pierce laughed.
"They took the Glee club!" Shirley moaned, peering out the window. "It always seemed like the safest club!"
"Took?" Abed echoed.
"They're leading them out of the grounds." She squeezed her eyes shut as a bright light flashed into the room.
"They're gone!" She shut the blinds and turned around to look at Abed.
"What are you doing?" she asked. Abed glanced up from his bag and waggled his eyebrows.
"Preparing," he replied, quickly turning his attention back to what he was doing.
"Preparing what?" she asked. There was a click, and Abed stood up, gun in hand.
"It's time to save Greendale."
Jeff crawled back under the table and shook his head.
"There's one still out there," he whispered. "Looking for survivors."
"If anyone else is still left," Annie replied. She rubbed her bloodshot eyes and stifled a yawn.
"Most people got out before these things got in," said Britta. "We might be the only people in the building."
"Do you think they know we're here?" Annie asked, looking between Britta and Jeff.
"Maybe," said Britta. "We just gotta hope they don't."
"And then what?" Annie replied, her voice rising in pitch. "Live out the rest of our lives under this table?"
"Don't panic, Annie," Jeff said quietly.
"I thought I knew where my life was going," she said, slightly louder. "But now, I'm in a community college, the Earth has moved, and I'm being hunted by robots! Alien death robots!"
"Shh," Jeff hissed. He put an arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her toward him. She took a calming breath and looked up at him.
"What is there left but panic?" she asked quietly. Her voice quavered and her body began to shake. She pressed her face into Jeff's shoulder. Jeff glanced up at Britta.
"We wait," he said. "And we hope." He extended his right arm to Britta. She crawled across the floor and nestled between his arm and his chest. Her hand found Annie's and they interlaced their fingers.
"Jeff," Britta murmured.
"Hm?"
"I just wanted to say... just in case we don't make it out of here..."
Britta winced as Annie's nails dug into her palm.
"What?" Jeff asked.
"I want you to know... I-"
A crash echoed though the room and the three jumped at the sound. Jeff let out a low growl as his head hit the wooden table above them.
"What was that?" Annie whimpered into Jeff's shoulder.
"I AM UNDER ATTACK!"
The grating voice penetrated the room.
"That voice, that's them!" Britta hissed, sitting up straight. "Remember, that message when they first arrived?"
The sound of splattering became audible, intersperced with a kind of fizzing noise.
"Told you," Jeff said. "Someone's coming. Someone's fighting those things."
"EXTERMINATE!"
The voice cut through the noise, followed by a bang, and then silence. Jeff's face froze and his breathing stopped.
"Did it..." Britta whispered. Jeff caught her eye for a moment and shrugged lightly. He pulled the blonde back toward him and closed his eyes.
"Guys?"
The three let out a collective gasp. Britta broke away from the group and pushed back the sheet, looking out into the study room.
"Abed!"
Abed looked down at her and nodded, offering her a hand to pull her to her feet. Jeff and Annie followed close behind, still holding each other.
"What..." Jeff said slowly, his voice trailing off even as his mouth kept moving. He paused and tried again.
"How?" he asked. Abed grinned and held up the gun in his hand.
"I always carry a paintball gun," he replied. "And at first I thought, these things only have one eyestalk, maybe I can blind them. But that didn't work, it just cleaned the paint off."
"So... how?" Britta asked slowly.
"Beats me," Abed replied happily. "I thought I was dead, and then suddenly the thing blows up. Guess something went wrong with its gun."
Britta shook her head in disbelief.
"Are you for real?" she wondered. Abed grinned again.
"I've always wanted to fight aliens," he replied. Britta smiled back at him and threw her arms around him.
"Do you know if there's anyone else... alive?" Jeff asked slowly. Abed glanced at him and nodded.
"I got a call through to Troy. He's holed up down in a secret room in the basement with Pierce, the Dean, and Señor Chang. Those aliens couldn't get to them."
"What about Shirley?" Annie said slowly, looking up for the first time.
"She's waiting outside with my spare gun," Abed replied with a nod. Annie smiled weakly.
"Then let's go find others," she said.
Jeff grabbed Britta's arm as the group left the study room and pulled her back.
"What were you saying, just now?" he asked.
"What?"
"When you thought we might die. What were you gonna say?"
Britta smiled and looked Jeff in the eye.
"I just wanted to say, Jeff Winger, that I think you're an idiot."
Jeff raised his eyebrows.
"And that's what you were gonna say?"
"Absolutely."
Jeff smiled.
"I would've said the same back to you."