Loosely based off a video game called Metro: Last Light, which is based off the book Metro 2033. Don't have to have played the game to know what's the haps, it'll all be explained ~ let me know what you guys think! It takes a while to get to any Fabrevans moments, so bear with me, there's just a lot of detail and explaining to do.
Also not a New Yorker, so bear with me with subway lines and names of places.
Also what does one label this story as, Sci-Fi or Supernatural? No idea.
No one knew where they were from or who had the intentions of sending New York into the dark ages, but it was the beginning of Quinn's new life and with it a new… power. It isn't until she stumbles upon a man who happens to spark her power and with it, the ability to save the world.
Chapter one
Quinn was eleven when the attacks happened. Quinn and her mother were visiting her grandomther in New York City for the week, only to have to start a new life in the subway system when the Nuclear bombs came crashing down.
No one knew where they were from or who had the intentions of sending New York into the dark ages, but it was the beginning of Quinn's new life and with it her mother, Judy Fabray, the only living relative she had, was to ensure that Quinn would live a long life.
Almost the whole population of New York died with it, and even other states, to the best of Quinn's knowledge. There were a select few that managed to survive and with it created a whole new world, with most of the people calling it the Underground. It consisted of using the trains to create new housing, the subway stations were made to be markets and food halls and even the subway conductor rooms were used as official rooms for the new "military" of the underground.
It was dark, wasn't the most of pleasant of smelling places and telling the time was difficult, especially when you weren't allowed above the surface. It took Quinn years to get used to falling asleep in the dark and waking up to it and constantly longed to go to the surface to see the sun again.
No one could actually leave the underground… only those who had hazmat suits and gas masks could, due to the radiation being too strong in most parts of the city, but the most dangerous part of it all were the mutations. They weren't the cool x-men types with people who had amazing powers that could save the universe… the people were turned into horrid monsters and animals were turned into creatures of the night, killing anything in sight.
It meant that those that did leave were most likely never going to come back. It was apart of daily life now.
Quinn had always been told by her mother that God had a plan for them… that this was a crucible and it was going to take everything in their power to get out of it alive so that they could come out of it better people. But Quinn didn't believe in God anymore and after finally accepting that everyone she knew and loved were never going to come back, she had to figure out what she wanted to be in the new world.
Lucky for Quinn, her family was connected quite close to the Mayor of New York - with her mother actually ending up re-marrying him to her discomfort - who ten years later in the Underground of the Railway system, was still seen as the popular figure to ensure peace in the new world. It meant Quinn didn't spend a lot of time socialising with the people who didn't have a lot of power in the new world.
Those people had to venture past the safe barriers and into the radiation to get what they needed so that the new world could survive.
Quinn grew and with it, was taught to become one of the medical team that helped with the wounded that ventured out to get any source of food and fresh water, and she also helped with the the military who spent a lot of their time adventuring through to find new shelters.
She also grew a lot of unwanted attention amongst the men due to her natural beauty, since make up and anything like there were now a thing of a past. Luckily, she was guided by her mentor Will Schuester, who was sort of the Undergrounds surgeon, not that he's ever had to do anything drastic as of lately and keeps any preying men away.
Since the beginning of her new life, Quinn had always felt a little different and she didn't know why. There were moments when she was treating someone that she felt the overwhelming sadness or despair that her patient felt, almost causing Quinn to have to sit down before she felt it succumb her. She didn't know why it happened, but it made it easier for her to treat people and made it easier to deal with the people around her. It was like as if she could sense their moods to an extent that it projected onto her. Only thing is, it had never happened before the attacks and Quinn tested her blood to find any abnormalities that could be due to the radiation, but there was nothing.
It was Tuesday the 24th of July, 2033 and Quinn was eating her breakfast. It consisted of carrot sticks and a soup of potato and gravy. Thankfully, the food had become a whole lot better with the scientists being able to create a new species of vegetables that were able to live off artificial light and not direct sunlight. The sunlight was always polluted by a hazy radiation fog and would always cause intestinal problems so the age expectancy wasn't very long.
Quinn was stationed just below Grand Central Station with a military unit to help in their attempt to make the area liveable due to population sizes increasing significantly. Quinn, in all her glory, decided that the trip with the military men was an act of rebellion due to her mother rejecting the idea and her mayor step-father found it ridiculous. Quinn didn't care, she had spent the last ten years studying and cooped up in the darkness.
She wanted to see the sun.
Accompanying her were her friends Santana Lopez, a beautiful latino goddess who happens to be a marksman expert and Mike Chang, a second generation Chinese immigrant, who's an engineer. Santana grew up in the Bronx and had walked through the Underground to get to the main camp just stationed under broadway and Mike's parents had a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. They're currently the cooks of the place and whenever it's fried rice night, Quinn squeals with glee.
Santana became an orphan from the attacks and she had spent almost all of her teenage life with Quinn, when they began playing in the same groups in the new camp. Quinn has no idea how Santana managed to make the journey alone and wishes she had the Santana's strength. Quinn thinks it has something to do with how she was brought up, but Santana never wants to discuss her family so she never really knows the true story to her beginning. Mike had grown up playing with circuit boards and anything electrical since he was little, eventually turning to cars and the big guns of computers. His parents are the resident cooks and without them, a lot of the people would starve from the zero imagination from the zero good food that they in the Underground.
Since electricity is scarce, cars are non existent and computers are barely seen anymore, Mike's the go to guy whenever someones got a lighting or train problem, but the only reason he's here with Quinn and Santana is because the Military guys needed someone to babysit them, since they don't have anyone else to do it. Santana could do that all by herself, but… they usually don't take her too seriously.
Quinn is watching Santana cut up her apple now, which is a rarity around these parts and shares it with her and Mike. Santana is quite beautiful and even though she has the skills of a ninja, she has a very aggressive side and is always quick with a sarcastic remark. It's probably one of the reasons why the Military never let her join and the fact that she failed her psych evaluation.
"I reckon there's going to be some Kharthas up there." Kharthas are the mutant creatures. They're usually smaller than a bear but bigger than a tiger. They're fast and they're deadly, standing on four legs with a deadly whip-like tail. Quinn sighs at Santana's comment, because let's face it, no one ever wants to fight a Khartha, before reaching up to twirl a strand of her blonde hair around her finger. Quinn instantly forgets that she had her hair cut before the trip and her innocent long blonde locks that used to fall past her shoulders are now a little below her ears. She felt different… older, and a little bit braver from the haircut. It was just easier having it shorter since now she didn't have to spend half of her time plating it or tying it up into a ponytail before she had to work.
"I hope not." Quinn mutters, watching as Mike stands to brush the dirt off his pants. Mike's tall and muscular, most probably because of all the washing and fixing he had to do at his parents Chinese restaurant. Quinn had always liked Mike… as a friend and nothing more, even though he was starting to grow out of his boyish looks and develop into the man she sees before him. They had grown up together after all and Santana feels the same way. They all had to deal with losses of their homes, families and much more, and were able to band together to keep a scrap of a childhood that they could have.
"What if there's people?" Mike murmurs, helping both Quinn and Santana up, before packing up their things and stashing it into his backpack. Quinn thought about it for a moment. The possibility of meeting new people and listening about what stories they could tell of the old and new world. But... it was seemed most unlikely.
"We would have heard them by now… wouldn't we?" Quinn murmurs uncertainly, trying to smudge off the dirt off her jeans. Not that it mattered. There was no one to impress down here and she had these jeans for as long as she could remember. They had been sewn up so many times she couldn't count them on one hand. Mike just runs a hand through his short black hair and shrugs, glancing around.
"Who knows."
"Let's go guys, masks on!"
Everywhere they went, there were more desolation and despair. It made it harder for Quinn to bottle up all her feelings and became increasingly harder for her to lie to her friends that she was alright. She wasn't alright. She had spent the last ten years studying hard about the mutations, about how people were turned and about how almost everyone she knew would eventually die down here in the darkness.
It drove her crazy.
"Q, stop thinking and keep up." Santana snapped, lovingly, because she knew if Quinn was left to deal with her own thoughts she could be there all night. Not something you want to do without your Military unit unable to protect you.
They walked and as the unit got closer to their goal of being able to get up to Grand Central Station, Quinn felt queasier by the minute. There was something off about this mission and maybe it had to do that everywhere she looked it was the same image. Just darkness and more darkness. Quinn was a little worried now about how her eyes would do when they got to the top.
"We're clear!" She heard one soldier call out, quite excitedly and as they moved to the surface, Quinn felt the sun on her face for the first time in ten years. She didn't know how to feel… the warmth, the beauty of it made her want to sit here for hours so she could drink it all in. Santana was to her right, her arms raised out in and for the first time Quinn realised that Santana has he most subtle of brown highlights in her hair.
"Quinn, we need you to help with the radiation." It was one of the soldiers and Quinn nodded, knowing that she wasn't here to sit in the sun and play. She had a mission, just like the other men and women here.
Using her Geiger counter, she circled the train station with the soldier and found no radiation… at all. When she looked up the soldier, he gave her a small smile with a thumbs off before running off to tell his commanding officer. Quinn immediately grew excited at the thought of being able to stay up here permanently. Maybe her mother would allow her, but the probable thought of imminent danger would possible stray her away.
"Sir... there's something here." Quinn lifted her head to the soldier's unsettling tone and followed Santana to where the soldiers were huddled around. It was layers of blankets and even though Quinn found herself scared at the possibility under them, she felt something… a connection to it.
"Step back." Santana, instantly gripped Quinn and tugged her away and Quinn had to watch over her shoulder as they started to peel back the blankets before there was a collective gasp.
"Quinn, get over here." Quinn rushed back and lying before her was a man. A man, naked to the bone, which Quinn actually blushed at because he was as handsome as anything, but he was covered in bruises and blood. His gas mask was cracked, but it looked like his filter was still working so she didn't have to worry too much about that. She fell to her knees beside him and felt for a pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when she found one. Quinn felt her doctor instincts flow through her and for the first time, Quinn felt something strange whenever she touched him.
"I need someone to help me move him." She murmured out, tucking her tray blonde hair behind her ears before turning back to the man. Someone had thankfully covered him up so the blush from her cheeks went away, but the man had a strange likeness to him. His hair was blonde and shaggy, almost covering his face and his mouth had the these full lips, as if they were meant to be for someone with a bigger mouth. He didn't look very old, but his body was quite muscular and developed… in places. Quinn held back a giggle.
Then, as if out of one of her horror movies, the man reached up and gripped Quinn's wrist, tugging it hard. Quinn gasped, an unsettling feeling washing over her, before looking down at him. His bright green eyes were open and wide, filled with fear and panic. Quinn softened her features, knowing that he was possibly scared and quite alone.
"You're okay, we're going to fix you up." He didn't let go of her and when she felt his fingers press against the inside of her wrist, a vision followed through Quinn's mind. Darkness filled her eyes and all she could see was him, in the same place as they stood right there and a large… a large horrible monster stood over him, huge teeth and blood gaping from his lips.
"Get out." He whispered and his hand felt from her wrist, his body slumping into unconsciousness again.
Quinn felt her pulse thumping against her ear… she had an interaction with one of them. The ones that people had been talking about but never actually proved their existence.
Everyone had come up with theories after the attacks that it wasn't actually another country that decided to bomb down on New York, it was actually creatures that didn't belong to this world. Quinn sort of believed that theory because of all places… who would want to ruin New York and not take over it? It was like Chernobyl all over again, but, this time New York was the ruins.
Scientists were close to finding out the true origin of strange incidents that would occur all over world when the attacks happened, almost positing their claim that someone was out there, but who? Were they aliens or strange mutated creatures that were actually made in some biochemical lab somewhere to become the new super soldiers?
"We've… we've got to get out of here." Quinn whispered shakily, the vision still in her mind of him fighting off this monster and even though she should be a little freaked out by the fact by his abilities, all she wanted to do was to care for him.
"What?" Quinn tried to come up with a scenario as to why they would leave this place. If she told him what he was they would kill him on the spot.
"Look at him!" Quinn almost shouted, glancing up all the soldiers as they looked down at her. That's when she saw it. It wasn't an average Kharta, most probably the mother or some super mutant version of one, but it was huge.
There were marks down it's chest and arm, indicating that it was most probably wounded, but still a massive threat to them.
"Run!" Santana yelled and Quinn gripped the man, thanking Mike as he helped and ran towards where they came. Quinn didn't know what to think as they ran back into the safety of the underground and as they placed him on the train carriage, Quinn couldn't help but feel his sadness.
There was something about him, something that made him special and Quinn wanted to know what and why. She knew that it was probably the stupidest thing she could ever do to bring him into their secure main camp, but it was what she felt from him that made her very intrigued. As they sat on the carriage, Quinn pumped the manual oxygen respirator due to there being no oxygen bottles left anymore and watched him sleep. She had given him sedatives to dull the pain and she knew that maybe that wouldn't do much since he could be a whole different species, but Quinn had to try anything.
He looked human, he had… all the human parts and he even had to wear a gas mask up top. So was he one of those people? Or was he just… mutated, to an extent. Then Quinn saw it… the surgical scars on his chest and stomach. What on earth had happened to this guy?
"He's hot." Santana mutters from behind her and Quinn jumps before rolling her eyes. "Did you see his junk?" Quinn coughs and glances up at Santana who is just towering down at her with a smirk on her face. Santana had always been popular with the men and she has probably made the rounds with them, who knows, but Quinn knew that was always a front. Santana hasn't been able to make a stable relationship work and Quinn knew it was due to her parents dying.
Although, she doesn't know how Santana has managed to stay friends with her for so long.
"Yes I saw his, junk, Santana. God, you're so crude sometimes." Quinn muttered, trying to rid of the blush that's filled her cheeks, but she can't get rid of it. She hates it, it was always her tell and people could basically tell what she was really thinking.
"You blush says otherwise." Quinn smacked Santana's shin and she heard the latino curse to her glee, but groaned when Santana tugged at her hair.
"Oi! Kids! Shut up!" Mike yelled out from his spot on the other side of the carriage and she heard a few soldiers laugh before chatting amongst herself. That's what she needed, some assholes reporting back to her step-father about her childish behaviour.
Santana stopped and sat down beside Quinn, leaning over the man's unconscious body as she licked her lips. God, it was as if she was ready to eat him up.
Thankfully they made it back to main camp in one piece and with the help of Mike and a soldier, they brought the unconscious man to the quarantine zone where he would be checked for infections and contaminants. This underground world had to be protected at all costs and even as horrid as leaving people out due to a mutation or infection is, it has made the new world strive.
"How was it?" Dr Schuester appeared from behind a curtain, rubbing what Quinn knows is disinfectant and is sporting a smile on his lips. Quinn lets out a breath and shrugs, hanging up her jacket and sets her backpack on a chair.
"The sun was so warm." Quinn murmurs dreamily, still remembering the affect it had on her skin before instantly remembering the moment she had with the man. She spun around and looked at him through the decontamination room, only to be met with his naked body again. Oh jesus, when was she going to get cut a break?
"Did you find him out there?" Quinn nodded before thinking very carefully at the next words she was going to say. Even though Will had been her mentor for a number of years, she wasn't sure if she could trust him with this. Still… who else was going to help her? "Spit it out, Quinn."
Dammit, he could be so authoritative that it made Quinn spill her beans every time.
"He projected a vision into my mind." Quinn whispers and glances over at Dr Schuester. He's a young man, probably only six or five years older than Quinn and has a lookalike Justin Timberlake appearance. Quinn wonders briefly if Justin Timberlake is alive, she could go for a song or two of his right now.
Will's married with a child on the way and the way he's looking at her is telling her that he's very intrigued.
"You didn't tell them?" Quinn shook her head and lets out a breath, instantly scared about what they would do to him if they found out.
"Did you feel something?" Quinn had told Will about her… feelings whenever she dealt with someone and he has a theory about it, but she doesn't really want to divulge too much into it since it freaks the crap out of her.
"I felt sadness… but I felt something different." Quinn murmurs, turning to look back at the man who is now being prepped into a room.
"It was the same feeling I felt when the bombs came down."
"Quinn… this could be something… something more than what we think it is."
"The Ones?" Quinn whispers, unsure as to what to think anymore.
"The Chosen Ones."
So I hope it wasn't too confusing that you couldn't follow it, but let me know what you guys think! It's a very short chapter and I realise there isn't really that much in it (Fabrevans wise as well), but it was mainly just an introduction, but yeah!
Thanks~