What Man Can Do
I was inspired to write this by a movie I saw recently called The Divide. It was easily one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Maybe it was just me and the state of mind I was in when watching it but it was definitely interesting. This is basically Glee, or more so, Brittana apocalyptic style. I don't own anything you recognize. Title from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Nothing but the Water. Possible Faberry.
I have seen what man can do when the evil lives inside of you.
Prologue – Quinn's POV
The end of the world. How many times have you heard it mentioned? It was preached from pulpits in churches all across the world. It was proclaimed by doomsday lovers with cardboard signs on corners in every major city. But most of us really never worried about it much or even less, worried what we do to survive it.
The end of the world didn't come with plagues and fire from Heaven like the Bible said. It didn't come by any crazy sickness or pandemic. There were no zombies. And I can't tell you how disappointed Sam was about that.
No, there were no zombies. But there were those infected with the radiation sickness. Sometimes I think zombies would have been more pleasant to deal with. We even began referring to them as simply the "infected", effectively dehumanizing them, so perhaps the two were fairly similar after all. Luckily if an infected bit you, you didn't transform into one as you would a zombie. But that didn't mean they wouldn't try to sink their yellow teeth into your flesh just the same. But zombies do not exist. Unfortunately, the infected were, and still are, all too real.
Once the radiation poison took effect, hair would fall out in clumps. Skin grew pallid and sunken. I remember the infected that attacked Rachel. His skin was gray and chapped and his eyes were so bloodshot they were painful to look at. And his lips. Compared to his gray skin his lips looked bright pink. Bright like blood. Maybe those guys who designed zombies for the movies knew something we didn't.
The thing about nuclear weapons is that they are dangerous even in the hands of the most "noble" government. And every nation has nuclear weapons even though all claim not to.
I can't remember what nation fired the first nuclear missile. I don't even know how many were actually deployed when it was all said and done. I only know about two specifically. The one that was dropped on Washington DC and first threw us into chaos and the one that was dropped on New York City two days later. I survived that one.
It was my junior year of college and I was visiting from Yale for the weekend. Rachel had been in the City since leaving Lima after high school and the big breakup with Finn. Kurt followed her to NYADA the following semester and they shared a small two bedroom apartment. When Santana showed up on their doorstep with a smirk and a duffle bag having decided Louisville was not for her, they found neither was brave enough to refuse the Latina entrance. The envelope full of money from Mrs. Lopez to help with rent and groceries didn't hurt Santana's chances of admittance either.
And of course where Santana went, Brittany was sure to follow. Kurt and Rachel returned home from class one evening to find Brittany clad in only her panties and leg warmers on her arms, raiding their fridge for orange juice with a naked and panting Santana on the couch. The blonde was a permanent fixture from that point on. Kurt was even happy to share a room with Rachel so Santana and Brittany could be Santana and Brittany behind closed doors. Or sometimes closed doors if they decided to bother with doors. They usually didn't.
It may sound crazy, but I was fortunate to be visiting New York City the very weekend the bomb was dropped on the City. Had I been at school in Connecticut or even home visiting my mother in Lima, I have no doubt my survival story would be much different…If I even had one at all.
The first bomb was dropped on Washington DC on a Friday evening. I had just arrived on the train and dropped onto my friends' couch. We were trying to decide what to have for dinner. Rachel wanted to try a new vegan café down the street and Brittany wanted Chinese so of course Santana was insisting on Chinese as well. Kurt simply joined me on the couch, certain his suggestions would be ignored as usual. They had been arguing for a few minutes before the emergency broadcast began to blare from the radio playing softly in the corner of the room.
A nuclear weapon had been dropped on Washington DC. Our governing body of representatives had for the most part been wiped out and the rest of the nation was thrown into high alert. In the chaos, the bridges leading off of Long Island were closed as were the subways. All airplanes were grounded and the train stations shut down as well. We were effectively trapped in the City.
The five of us huddled together in their small apartment and awaited the news. We were still able to contact our families since the fallout of the blast didn't reach that far north or west. One of us had a cell phone to our ear constantly trying to reassure our families that we were fine and vice versa. But the panic had settled in already. Looting was reported in every major city across the country. Martial law went into effect.
I don't remember if the United States retaliated against the nation that first bombed us. I don't even remember which nation it was. But I do know it was two days later on a Sunday afternoon when we heard the sirens screaming both over the radio and outside our very building. Another lucky stroke just happened to be that Rachel had moved into a building with a fallout shelter. And a paranoid landlord who had been preparing for just such an attack for his entire life.
Rachel was one of the few to know about the existence of the shelter or even believe the landlord's ranting. The crazy man told everyone about it but Rachel just happened to see it with her own eyes having been lured down there once. She claimed she narrowly escaped with her life but we all assumed she was just being overly dramatic as usual. By the second morning holed up in that cellar with him I began to believe her.
The first crack of an explosion sounded and even drowned out the noise of the sirens. As we were all scrambling for the door, I just happened to look out the window overlooking the city. There was nothing but orange on the horizon as far as I could see. And then the buildings started to fall like a domino effect. I heard Brittany screaming behind me that I had to move. Santana grabbed me roughly from behind and dragged me out of the apartment.
We all rushed down the stairs with everyone else frantically making their way out of the building. The lights were flickering and I remember almost tripping over at least three people as we all went winding down the stairwell. When we reached the ground level those in front of us poured out into the streets and rushed for escape. From our spot in the lobby we could already see the rolling cloud of fire coming toward us.
Rachel somehow frantically managed to herd us all into the basement toward the laundry rooms while the chaos continued all around us. And there as we rushed into the laundry room we saw Mr. Creasy swinging another door closed, attempting to shut us all out.
Luckily Rachel's screams had alerted a few around us to the area and with their help we managed to force ourselves past Mr. Creasy and to barricade ourselves into the shelter before the blast shook the earth around us. When Mr. Creasy finally got the door shut and sealed against the stragglers who tried to force their way in behind us at the last minute, he turned and glared at the handful of us who were invading his safe haven.
We didn't have time to worry about his angry look because the entire earth seemed to drop and shake around us and the lights continued to flicker. Once the initial blast passed, an eerie calm and quiet settled. It didn't last more than ten seconds before the dust and debris began to drop from the ceiling above us. The ground shook again and we quickly and somberly realized the building, or what was left of it, had just collapsed on top of us. We were plunged into darkness as the power shut off.
I remember Kurt shrieking in the darkness that we were trapped and were going to die. He was also drowned out by the sound of further explosions from above our heads. It was a half an hour before the blasts stopped and the emergency generator Mr. Creasy had rigged kicked in allowing the eerie blue lights of the bulbs to buzz and flicker back on. And once again the silence settled around us.
Minutes ticked by before I had the courage to glance around at my surroundings. Brittany had her eyes tightly clenched and was curled into Santana's side. The Latina was holding her tightly, her lips firm in a grim line and her jaw clenched.
Rachel and Kurt were similarly curled together. There were two men and an older woman I didn't recognize. Apparently they lived on the floor below my friends. The two men were brothers and not much older than any of us. The older woman was probably my mother's age but was dressed like she had just come out of the red light district. And of course there was Mr. Creasy the landlord. The nine of us were the only survivors from the building. While we couldn't see what remained above us, of that we were certain.
We brushed ourselves off and raised to our feet unsure what to do next. The silence continued. Only Mr. Creasy seemed to have control of his senses when he rushed to grab a roll of duct tape and pressed multiple layers over the seams around the door.
"This door is not to be opened, do you understand me?" he bellowed, glaring at all of us with spit flying from around the cigar smoking between his lips. His crazed expression left us hesitant to cross him.
He huffed in resignation when no one questioned him. "This wasn't part of the plan. My home. My life! I imagine you'll be expecting me to feed you too." Creasy growled.
A few of us pulled out our cell phones then and were met with 'no signal' etched on the screens taunting us.
Mr. Creasy begrudgingly gave us a quick tour of the basement cellar. It seemed the man had been stockpiling for just this event and had readied his basement. It was essentially that, just a basement…brick and cement walls, concrete floors. As the landlord he did at least have a number of extra mattresses stacked in a corner that we would be grateful for in the weeks to come.
He had sectioned off a small bathroom of sorts at the end of one corridor that consisted of a plank of drywall blocking off a small corner with a hole cut into the floor. The flooring around the hole seemed barely sturdy enough to hold up a child, let alone an adult.
"Don't forget to throw some lye down there, it's septic."
The disgusted look on Kurt's face would have drawn a chuckle at any other time. Right then however, we were all too shocked and afraid to do more than dumbly nod.
Another area was sectioned off and piled with canned goods and bottled water. It was even behind a gate of sorts, locked with a padlock. With the size of the building we were all able to find a private nook to settle into even though the five of us elected to stay together. And we at least had mattresses to sleep on.
Creasy spouted his knowledge of nuclear war craft and radiation poisoning almost constantly. According to him, we would have to remain barricaded in the fallout shelter for at least a month before it would be safe to exit, if we could even dig our way out. And even though Creasy was clearly insane, none of us knew any more about radiation or wanted to risk the horrors he spoke of morning noon and night. So we remained as we were, just waiting.
Three days passed before the first real bout of panic erupted. The older of the two brothers, Ethan, was restless and was determined to try to claw his way to the surface. Creasy had slammed a wrench into Ethan's temple before the man had even managed to peel the duct tape away from the door. Ethan's younger brother Liam pulled the other man away from Creasy, shouting curses.
Creasy remained poised in front of the door with the bloody wrench in his hands looking as if he would like nothing better than to bash all of our heads in for disrupting his plans to ride out the end of the world in solitude.
I think it was then that it really began to dawn on us that life as we knew it would never be the same again.
xxxx
Many are the weak and the strong are few.
Part One – Fallout
"I hope Breadstix is still standing."
Rachel's face scrunched up and the others were certain a long, verbose lecture about priorities was about to begin.
"Don't worry honey," Brittany soothed before Rachel could speak. "Lord Tubbington will stand guard over the stix until we can get back there. And then I'll fill a whole dump truck, just for you. Or better yet, I bet he already snagged the secret stix recipe so you can make your own."
Santana smiled tenderly back at the blonde and snuggled further into the taller woman's side. Any remark Rachel was about to make died at the look on the Latina's face.
Kurt sighed. "I could handle being holed up in here a lot easier if I just knew my dad and Blaine were alright. This not knowing is torturous."
Brittany frowned, deep in thought. She glanced down at Santana hoping her girlfriend would chime in as she always did. The brunette had her eyes closed and seemed close to slumber.
Quinn nudged Brittany gently. "He means torturous like awful, not tortoise." She whispered.
Brittany nodded in understanding and smiled gratefully back at Quinn. "Thanks. But we are kind of like turtles down here in our shell. I thought maybe that's what he meant."
Quinn reached and linked her fingers with Brittany's free hand and dropped her head on the taller blonde's shoulder.
"When I get home, I'm going to hug my dad." Kurt said quietly. "I never thanked him for trying so hard. For being such a great dad. Thank God, Buddha, and Versace he was in Lima when the bomb hit."
"When I get home I'm going to thank my mama for believing in me enough to not bitch when I dropped out of Louisville." Santana mumbled, half asleep.
Brittany squeezed her tighter and pressed a kiss to the top of Santana's head. "I'm going to take my little sister to the science museum like she asked before I left. She asked every weekend almost and I was always too busy. I wish…"
Santana sat up slightly and looked up into troubled blue eyes as Brittany trailed off. "She'll love that babe. I'd like to come too if that's ok."
Brittany smiled widely and once again pressed her lips to Santana's head.
Ethan and Liam came strolling into their section of the basement. Ethan leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Liam hopped up onto a crate and winked at Quinn with a smirk.
"So, what are you all talking about over here all by yourselves?" Ethan asked.
Quinn returned the look from Liam with a cocked brow and a shake of her head. "We're just talking about what we're going to do when we get home. What about you two? Who are you looking forward to seeing again?"
Ethan turned cold eyes on Quinn. "There's no one out there. We're it. And that's if we ever even get out of here. So you all might want to stop being such stuck up bitches and be a little friendlier with Liam and me. When the time comes…you're gonna want to be with us and not against us."
"Fuck off." Santana muttered from her spot beside Brittany. "We don't associate with you two because you're trouble and not worth our time Ernie."
"It's Ethan." Liam called from the crate.
Santana smirked. "Whatever. Look boys, we're all just trying to pass the time until someone comes for us. You want to be all panic and doomsday? Stick with Creasy and Deloris. We're just fine here."
Ethan pushed away from the wall and Liam stood to his feet behind him. "No one is coming for us. It's been over a week and what do you hear up there? Nothing. Because this is it."
The brothers turned then and sauntered off leaving a somber group behind them.
xxxx
It was clear after a few hours with Mr. Creasy that he was unstable. After a week and a half with him trapped in the basement he was only slipping further and further from reality. The two brothers humored him and he was too far gone to know he should be wary of them.
It came as no surprise when they were able to get the key to the locked pantry from him, effectively taking control of the food rations. Creasy turned into almost a lap dog for the two of them. And Deloris was not much better.
The friends tried to keep their distance, choosing not to cause any additional tension. Deloris had moved into the corridor the brothers had claimed and Creasy simply came and went as he saw fit.
xxxx
"Britt." Santana whispered one evening just after everyone had settled in to sleep for the night. "Wanna take a walk with me?"
The way the brunette was grazing her nails up and down Brittany's arm left the blonde fairly certain Santana wanted more than a walk. She felt her cheeks flush and her heart flutter. Even the end of the world couldn't change the feelings Santana stirred in the blonde. Brittany smiled, her eyes shining, and nodded.
Santana returned the smile and took Brittany's hand, pulling her to her feet. The two quietly wandered off, their hands entwined. They stopped at the end of the farthest hallway, across from the bathroom area. Santana decided not to waste a moment of their rare privacy and pinned Brittany against the wall with a needy kiss.
Brittany pulled the brunette closer and moaned into the kiss, fisting a hand in her dark hair. It was almost frantic as they tried to press as close to the other as possible.
"I love you." Santana mumbled against Brittany's lips. "Whatever happens…if we get out…or don't…I love you. I love you."
Brittany broke apart causing the brunette to whimper at the loss. She gripped Santana's face between her hands and pressed their foreheads together, panting slightly. "I know baby. I know. I love you too…so much. And you know what I'm looking forward to most? Even more than taking my sister to the science museum? Marrying you. After taking a super long hot bath with you of course."
Santana laughed and took one of Brittany's hands into her own, pressing a kiss to the blonde's palm. She looked back up into Brittany's bright blue eyes and forced her expression to turn serious. "Tell me B, what's got you hotter right now, me or the thought of warm water?"
Brittany snorted out a laugh and dropped her head to Santana's shoulder. She circled her arms around the smaller woman and pulled her close before raising her head to gaze into those warm dark eyes she loved dearly. "You. Always you. I will suffer a jillion cold showers…or no showers at all, as long as I have you."
Santana felt tears prick her eyes. She leaned forward and pressed their lips together again, but less frantic and desperate. A short time later, both slumped against the wall panting, their fingers stilling between each others legs. Brittany disentangled her hand first and pulled Santana to her body in a fierce hug.
The brunette initially groaned as she felt Brittany's fingers slip from inside her. But as Brittany held her tightly, Santana felt her heart soaring. She pressed a kiss to the underside of the blonde's jaw and smiled.
"I love you Brittany. Have I mentioned that?"
Santana felt Brittany's body vibrate as she chuckled. "You're just saying that because I can give you an earth shattering orgasm even after the earth shattered."
"You know it."
Brittany laughed and squeezed Santana tightly again. She kissed the brunette's temple and hummed contentedly.
"Thanks for the show ladies."
Ethan's voice startled the two and Santana quickly moved to block Brittany from his view. "You sick fuck." She hissed.
The man laughed as he emerged from the shadows. "I thought there was something up with you two. Makes sense now why you haven't been underneath me yet. What about the other two, they dykes too? Because I know sure as fuck that your little pansy friend isn't fucking either of them."
Santana could feel Brittany shaking behind her. "Fuck off Ethan. Even if I was straight, I wouldn't be caught dead underneath you. Why don't you just crawl on back to the shitter over there where you were perving on our hotness."
Ethan licked his lips and smirked as his gaze ran over the two in front of him. "Goodnight ladies." He sauntered away, whistling a tune down the hallway.
Santana waited until the whistling faded away before gripping Brittany's hand tightly and pulling her back toward their own section of the basement. As soon as they dropped onto the floor next to their friends, Brittany buried her face in Santana's neck and struggled to control her breathing.
"Are you guys ok?" Quinn whispered from her spot beside Rachel.
Santana squeezed Brittany reassuringly. "We're fine…just fine."
xxxx
Santana tightened her grip on Brittany as the blonde cringed and curled into her side when Creasy passed by their little nook spewing more of his radiation facts. Kurt just rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Don't listen to him Britt." Santana murmured softly, pressing a kiss into Brittany's blonde hair. "Just a few more days and we can get out of here. And then we'll leave his crazy ass behind."
Brittany nodded slightly and fisted Santana's shirt in her hand. Almost a month had passed since the initial blast had rocked the City. Since the night Ethan had caught them together, Brittany had been easier upset and jumpy. The looks the man paid them didn't cause either to rest easy but both simply tried to keep their distance. Santana rubbed Brittany's arms gently, hoping to comfort her.
They were nearing the end of their rations as well as their wits. Ethan and Liam were growing more and more aggressive and angry. Tempers were short and the silence from above was deafening.
When Creasy finally decided it was safe to try to make their way out, they all scrambled toward the door, anxious to finally reach ground level. It was immediately apparent that it would be impossible to exit the way they entered. With the building collapsed around them and above them, the survivors where effectively buried alive. Entombed in what had been their safe haven.
xxxx
The older woman, Deloris, came scuttling back into the main living quarters of the cellar, bruised and bloody. Santana and Quinn had both promised to try to protect the woman from the two brothers but the older woman seemed content to allow them to use her as they saw fit. Santana couldn't help but feel relief that with Deloris there to entertain the brothers, the rest of the women seemed relatively safe so far. Deloris had however begun to insinuate that one of the other girls needed to step up and start helping out in that area as well, lest the two men begin to really lose their tempers.
Ethan and Liam suffered the effects of being buried alive and seemingly just waiting for death worse than the others. After digging out of the cellar failed, the two had quickly deemed themselves the "leaders" of the group and ruled with an iron fist. All food and water rations were barricaded in their own nook and they doled out the servings as they saw fit. Finally, in a fit of rage, Ethan took great pleasure in beating Mr. Creasy to death with the same wrench the older man had used on him in those early days. The day Mr. Creasy died marked the 52nd day they had been trapped under the earth.
It was that same day that Santana made all of their group promise to never be caught alone. The others had no qualms about agreeing to the Latina's order.
The friends passed the time the best they could. They would often speculate as to where their other friends and family were and would make plans as to how to eventually locate them. With the deafening silence from above, it was not hard to grow antsy and stir crazy but they managed the best they could.
xxxx
"We're almost out water." Quinn said quietly from the corner the friends were huddled in. "And I'm pretty sure Ethan is hoarding what little food we have left. I don't know about you all but I don't want to starve to death and serve as a meal for them."
Rachel cringed at Quinn's blunt statement. "Well just what to you propose we do? We've been trying to chisel and dig our way out of here to no avail. Spoons and pocket knives are not exactly suitable for digging…or staging a coup I might add."
"Yeah, just our luck the lunatics among us just happened to find the only handgun old man Creasy managed to stash in a coffee can." Kurt muttered.
"Hey fag, what did you say?" Liam snapped as he rounded the corner.
Santana jumped to her feet and stepped in front of the man. "We weren't talking to you Liam. So why don't you just slither on back to your brother and fuck off."
Liam laughed as he stood looming over the small brunette. Brittany was the next on her feet and wrapped a tentative hand around Santana's wrist and tried to pull her back away from the man.
"Come on San, I need you to help me and Quinn think of new insults for Finn when we see him again." Santana could feel Brittany trembling slightly as she tried to separate her from Liam. "I think triple nipple is the best so far. That's mine though so Quinn says I'm just pious or something."
"Biased, B." Santana mumbled, still tense. The brunette felt anger building and she found herself actually hoping the man would make a move. She felt the need to unleash her anger and fear at her world being turned inside out.
Liam just smirked and muttered something about the blonde retard before wandering off to his and Ethan's section.
Quinn stepped to Santana's free side and watched as Liam disappeared from sight. As Santana released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Quinn cocked a brow and turned to Brittany with pursed lips. "So that's how you've been spending your free time huh. Coming up with insults for Finn?"
"I call them Finnsults." Brittany replied evenly, her gaze still warily trained on the corner Liam had rounded.
Even Rachel chuckled softly as the tension finally eased with the disappearance of Liam. Santana allowed herself to finally be tugged back down into a seated position between Brittany's legs. The brunette lightly scratched her nails down the pale arms that had circled her waist and held her securely against Brittany's chest.
xxxx
Days passed. No one could be sure exactly how many. The hours blended together. They slept when they were tired and ate what rations Ethan allowed them when they were hungry. The brothers had been oddly quiet for the last day or so and Santana began to grow suspicious.
"Hey," she whispered. "Have any of you seen Deloris lately?"
Rachel snorted. "Not since we overheard them rutting like pigs in their animal-like fornication session some time ago."
"Hey, leave the poor pigs out of this." Quinn grumbled, half asleep in the corner. "God I miss bacon."
Brittany patted the blonde and nodded in sympathy. Santana and Kurt simply quirked their brows.
Santana stood to her feet and glanced over her shoulder toward the corridor Ethan and Liam had claimed as their own. "Seriously, something doesn't feel right. She's usually come limping through telling us how well behaved her kitty was for our resident lunatics by now."
"And by kitty she actually means pussy." Brittany responded.
Kurt groaned. "Yes, thank you Brittany. We had no idea what she meant."
"Hey!" Santana barked. "Watch it princess! You leave Brittany alone before I fucking cut you."
"Come on San." Quinn replied, hopping from her spot and stepping in front of the fiery Latina. "Kurt didn't mean anything. We're all just a little on edge…for good reason. We don't turn on each other…that's what Ethan and Liam want."
Santana sighed and seemed to deflate slightly. "Whatever. But something is messed up and I want to know what's going on. Think I'll have a little chat with the crazy brothers."
Brittany shot to her feet. "Not alone you're not. I'm coming with."
Santana felt her lips twitching as she fought a smile at Brittany's stern expression. Her anger quickly faded completely and a warmth flooded her. "Ok B. But stay behind me and let me do the talking. Yeah?"
Brittany nodded resolutely and picked up the steak knife she had claimed as her own before linking her free hand with Santana's. The two of them then cautiously made their way around the corner and toward where they assumed Deloris and the brothers were.
The hum of the lights buzzing above their heads in the otherwise silent corridors left a sinking feeling in the brunette's stomach. They rounded the corner and Santana gasped at the sight that met her eyes. She immediately tried to block Brittany from seeing.
Deloris was sprawled naked on the couch. Blood had dried on her face and her eyes were open in an unseeing stare. Bloodied handprints marked the woman's torso and thighs with streaks of blood across her cheeks and forehead. Santana didn't have to look twice to know the woman was dead.
Brittany squeaked and fisted the back of Santana's shirt when she caught sight of Deloris before the brunette could shield her. They quickly spun on their heels to try to retreat. They were met with Liam standing in the doorway in Deloris' skirt with a dazed expression on his face, blocking their exit. Blood was smeared over his lips looking like lipstick haphazardly applied. At the sound of Ethan's cough behind them, they both turned again and Santana quickly stepped back in front of the blonde.
"She just…broke." Ethan said. Behind them, Liam began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Shit." Santana muttered, still trying to keep herself between Brittany and both of the men.
Ethan stepped closer and ran a hungry gaze over the two women. "We're gonna be needing a replacement for Deloris. Haven't decided who it should be yet…but I've got my eye on you senorita…especially after that impressive show a while back."
He reached his hand and trailed a finger down Santana's jaw. Before she had a chance to respond, Brittany roughly pulled the smaller woman to the side and had the steak knife pressed to Ethan's throat. She moved so quickly the blade was digging into his skin before the man could even blink.
"You touch her and it will be the last thing you do." The blonde hissed. "I have been stuck in this hole with you disgusting, crazy, assholes because the whole freaking world got blown to bits and I will be damned and crispy if I let you lay a finger on her."
Liam's laughter died as Ethan staggered backwards away from the knife. Brittany held her ground keeping the knife firmly in front of her. "You fucking crazy bitch." Ethan mumbled. "Just get out of here. And take your spic with you."
Brittany hissed again and lunged at the man. Santana grabbed the blonde around the waist and tried to pull her away but Brittany was too quick again. She slashed the blade across Ethan's cheek drawing a thin line of blood. The man yelled and staggered backwards once again.
Liam charged the pair but Brittany held the knife out in front of them with a steady hand. Quinn, Kurt, and Rachel came up behind them after hearing the commotion and they all squared off against the two brothers.
"Man, just drop it." Ethan muttered. "Just let 'em go. They'll come crawling back to us soon enough…when they run out of food and water. And we'll fucking spit in their faces."
Liam nodded with a smirk. He scratched his cheek with the barrel of the small pistol the two kept close by. "Sure you don't wanna just shoot 'em now?"
Ethan shook his head as he continued to try to stop the blood from trickling down his cheek. "No. We'll let 'em starve. And then we'll fuck 'em one at a time, including you fairy boy."
It took Santana and Quinn both to pull Brittany away, her muscles taught, ready to snap. "Come on baby." Santana whispered. "Let's go, come on."
When they had finally retreated back to their own corridor, Brittany was trembling both from rage and fear. She allowed Santana to pull her into her arms.
"They killed her." The blonde whimpered. "They killed her. We're trapped down here with them and they killed her. We're dead. We're gonna die down here. I didn't say goodbye…my mom…oh God."
Santana just slid to the ground with Brittany wrapped tightly in her arms and shushed her while the blonde cried on her shoulder.
xxxx
The following evening Brittany couldn't sleep. The brothers had kept their distance so a false calm seemed to settle over them all. Brittany glanced around. Santana was curled next to her snoring softly while Rachel and Quinn were also sleeping soundly by the opposite wall. The blonde glanced at Kurt when she noticed him pull himself upright a few feet away from her.
"Potty break." He mumbled as he pulled himself to his feet.
Brittany frowned as Kurt made to wander off alone. "No, wait." She whispered, hoping to not disturb her friends. "You can't go by yourself, you know the rules."
Kurt sighed but didn't disagree. Before Brittany stood to her feet she lovingly brushed the fringe out of Santana's face and placed a soft kiss to her forehead. Kurt gave her a small smile when she finally stood and moved toward the hallway with him.
They quietly slipped toward the bathroom without sensing any movement from the other occupants. Kurt had even relaxed enough to urinate even with Brittany standing behind him keeping watch. He was contemplating making small talk when a voice sounded from the doorway.
"I've been waiting for you bitch."
Ethan rushed them and slammed Brittany into the wall before Kurt could react. She clawed at the hand the man clamped over her mouth but the force of the impact against the wall left her head swimming.
Kurt yelled for help and charged toward Ethan. The man shrugged him off but Kurt continued to try to pull him away from Brittany. Ethan finally let go of the blonde long enough to turn and shove Kurt back toward the toilet area. Kurt stumbled and fell backwards landing with a grimace. Brittany screamed as the floor splintered and gave way beneath him and he disappeared from sight with a yell.
Santana furiously stormed into the bathroom before Ethan could reach for Brittany again. She flew at the man all fists and curses with Rachel and Quinn close behind. Unfortunately Liam also came rushing in with the pistol drawn and cocked. He leveled the gun on Santana as she clawed at Ethan's face.
Quinn felt something within her snap. Her life was in shambles and she had been trapped underground with madmen for almost two months. Without thinking she grabbed a splintered plank from the floor and swung it at Liam knocking the gun from his hands. She continued swinging until the man was crumpled and unconscious at her feet.
Santana and Ethan continued to struggle on the other side of the room. Brittany tried to help subdue the man but was rewarded with an elbow to her head. She fell to the floor at the same time the gun was knocked from Liam's hand and clattered across the floor to rest at Rachel's feet. The brunette didn't allow herself time to think or question before she reached down and picked up the gun.
Ethan had his fist pulled back ready to deliver a punch to Santana's face when the shot rang out. He seemed surprised when the bullet ripped through him. But surprised or not, he was dead before he hit the ground.
They were all shocked to silence. Even Kurt had stopped screeching from his landing spot under their feet. Santana dropped to her knees next to Brittany on the floor and threw her arms around the taller woman.
"Are you ok Brittany? Baby are you alright? Did he touch you? Are you ok?"
"I'm ok." Brittany replied softly with a nod before pulling away slightly to see for herself that Santana was also relatively unharmed. Her eyes widened when she heard Kurt yell from below them.
"What is going on up there? Someone talk to me!"
Rachel let the gun slip from her trembling hands and had already scrambled toward the hole in the floor. She was peering down at Kurt with a disgusted look on her face. Brittany pulled from Santana's arms and crawled closer, peeking over the edge. The sight of Kurt chest deep in sewage illuminated from the soft light above them left them all gagging.
"Oh God, that has gotta suck." Brittany mumbled before rolling to the side and retching. Santana held her hair back and lightly scratched her scalp until the blonde could compose herself.
"This is rank!" Kurt screeched. "Would you please stop messing around up there and get me out of here!"
Quinn glanced around before she hopped up and began to rummage around looking for one of the last flashlights she could find. "Just hang on Kurt, we're coming."
She shined the light down into the hole to get a better look around the area while Rachel quickly went in search of a rope. Quinn suddenly sat up with a gasp.
"What?" Santana asked, staring at her curiously.
"He's in the sewer." Quinn responded softly.
Brittany narrowed her eyes at the other blonde and nodded slightly. "Yeah…and we should pull him out. It's gross in there. Quinn, are you having a stroke?"
"No!" Quinn exclaimed. "He's in the sewer! The sewer that leads to manholes that leads to the street! Kurt? Kurt, can you see how far the tunnel goes?"
She leaned further into the hole and shined the light around in every direction. Kurt turned back and forth frantically. "There, that way! I can't see the end that way! That could be the way out." Quinn continued.
Rachel rushed back into the bathroom area with what little amount of rope she could find. "It's not very long but maybe he can jump and reach it and then we can pull him out."
"Or we can tie it off and use it to climb down in there without risking injuring ourselves by jumping." Quinn replied, making Brittany cringe and Rachel's jaw drop. "No, seriously, this could be the way out of here!"
"Quinn," Santana tried to reason, "If we jump down there we won't be able to get back up here. We could be trapping ourselves down there in shit for the rest of our already miserable lives."
"Well we sure as hell aren't getting out through the front door. The way I see it this is our only chance. We're all just waiting to die up here anyway, come on; we have to at least try! And do you really want to be here when Liam wakes up and sees we killed his brother? Please Santana! We can't split up now. Please?"
Brittany squeezed Santana's hand and nodded to Quinn again. Santana sighed. "Ok, let's go. Berry, you in?"
Rachel groaned. "I certainly appreciate your weak attempt to include my input even though you all have clearly decided. I'm outnumbered and therefore I will join in with the majority vote and into the pit I will go. And I sure as hell am not staying here alone with Liam."
"A simple 'yes' would have been plenty." Santana snarked. "Well, come on B, let's get you down there."
"Come on Rachel, let's get what supplies we have left and put them in a bag to take with us. Get all the knives you can find too…and batteries if we have any left. And matches! And for God's sakes, don't forget the gun!"
Rachel nodded as she and Quinn rushed off to gather their supplies. By the time they gathered everything they thought worth taking; Brittany was already in the pit with Kurt. They dropped the bag down next with Rachel following after it.
Quinn and Santana shared a brief smile before the brunette slipped down into the muck as well. Quinn glanced back over her shoulder one last time at the cellar that had been her home and prison for almost two months. With a grim nod, she slipped through the hole and into the sewer.
xxxx
"This is way worse than that summer Patches and I got lost in the sewers." Brittany mumbled. "Even though I'd much rather be lost in shit with you guys instead of Patches…but this is really gross."
Rachel had been mostly silent since dropping down into the muck and sewage. Even Santana had been too disgusted to complain much. Quinn had shone the light around and ushered them all forward before panic could settle in.
Now they had been trudging through the sewer for what seemed like hours in almost pitch black. The flashlight only lit a small path in front of them. As the shortest, Rachel and Santana were having the most difficult time wading through the muck. Kurt had had to stop twice to vomit.
"Look!" Quinn called finally, shining the light up ahead of them. "I see a ladder! Maybe it leads to the street."
She and Brittany reached the ladder before the others and glanced up to the portal above them. "What if it's still not safe up there?" Brittany asked quietly, gazing upward. "What if it's worse out there?"
"Brittany." Quinn responded, gripping Brittany's shoulders and forcing her to look back at her, "You're chest deep in shit and God only knows what else. How much worse could it possibly be?"
The taller blonde chuckled and nodded slightly. "True story. Well…why don't I go up and check it out?"
"No. No fucking way, I'll go." Santana said from her position behind them. She was clearly winded and panting slightly from trudging through the almost chin-high muck.
Quinn shook her head and stepped up onto the first rung of the ladder, passing the flashlight to the shorter woman. "I'm going. Santana stay down here. If anything happens, move on through the tunnel to the next manhole."
The remaining friends formed a perimeter around the thin metal ladder as Quinn climbed her way to the top, muck and mud dropping in clumps as she ascended. The weight of the mud caked to her weighed her down and made the climb that much more difficult. Quinn felt her muscles trembling by the time she finally reached the top. With a grunt, the blonde finally forced the round wheel to give and with a twist, she pushed the cover up and away from the hole.
Quinn climbed the remaining few steps and eased her head out of the hole just far enough to survey her surroundings. Her first instinct was to breathe in deeply. She pulled herself up and out of the hole. The site around her left her speechless. There was nothing but rubble as far as she could see. Everything was coated in thick gray ash. Everything was still and silent. Everything was gone.
