"Wait!"

Rachel's eyes pop open and shoot over to Quinn, who had remained shell shocked until just now.

"Finn stop! Rachel, go into the kitchen. I'll help him." Quinn orders.

"He…made me promise…" Rachel moves around and kneels in front of Finn.

"No, it's, o-kay." He groans, still holding his neck. He reaches out with his other hand, and caresses Rachel's face. She holds it there with both of hers.

"I, l-love you." He half gurgles out. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth.

"I love you too, Finn. Always." She says back. She stays gripping his hand as her tears flow freely.

He starts coughing again and Quinn forcefully pulls Rachel up by the collar and out of the way. She pushes Rachel towards the kitchen. She takes one agonizing look back before allowing the kitchen door to close. Quinn then turns back around to Finn.

"Hey," He weakly greets her.

"Hey," Quinn says back casually, as if she weren't about to end his life.

She isn't a robot, she feels extremely distraught over having to take yet another life of someone that she cares deeply about. She just takes her feelings and pushes them aside to deal with later. There is no time for tears now.

She removes her backpack and sets it at her feet, rummaging through it. She pauses when she hears Rachel wailing from the kitchen. She watches the door to make sure Rachel stays put. She gets out her mom's gun, checks the bullets, cocks it back and crouches down, eye level with him.

She points the gun out in front of her with both hands, aiming for the head. Her hand starts to tremble violently as she looks him in the face. This time is hard, he's still Finn.

"Give, it," He hisses out, reaching for the weapon.

She lets him have it and then she quickly stands back up. They lock eyes once again. He gives her his signature half smile, and it breaks her heart. She immediately turns away.

Bang!

x

Her ears are buzzing, she reaches down and takes the gun from his loose grip. She doesn't dare look up once. She stuffs it into her pocket and rushes over to the kitchen door to stop Rachel before she even tries to come out.

She feels pressure on the other side.

"Rachel, no." Quinn pulls herself though the door without letting it swing open all the way.

"But, I..." Rachel pauses, a look of horror passes over her face.

She breaks down, and Quinn catches her before she falls to the ground.

"I know, I know." Quinn holds Rachel as she cries until they both fall asleep in the kitchen.

The next morning, Quinn wakes up, not remembering where she is with a heavy weight on her lap. She jolts awake and goes to hop up before she realizes where she is and whom she is with.

"Rachel, wake up, we have to go." She nudges the girl and lifts her off of her legs.

"Hmm," Rachel grumbles as she rubs at her crusted over eyes.

"I said we have to leave."

Rachel must have forgotten as well, but Quinn can see as the realization crosses over her features.

"Okay," she nods.

They both stand up, and Quinn grabs up her backpack and re-sheaths her second machete. She makes sure everything is still in its place. She then turns to the two big bags on the floor.

"Are these your bags?" Quinn asks her.

Rachel nods. Quinn goes to shoulder the biggest one, when Rachel's eyes go wide.

"Stop!" She screams.

Quinn lets the handle go.

"That one was Finn's." Rachel says with an eerie calmness.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are there any supplies we may need in here?" She reaches down to open the flap.

"Don't! I-I mean, I'll do it." Rachel walks over to the bag.

Quinn puts up both her palms and takes a step back.

Rachel falls to her knees in front of the bag. She carefully pulls out each item one by one. She picks up one of his hoodies and puts it on, inhaling his scent at the collar.

Quinn surveys the contents of the bag from afar.

"We're going to need that." She says pointing at the Swiss army knife and compass.

Rachel nods slowly and pockets them. She then drags herself to her feet and shoulders her own bag. She follows Quinn out of the back door. She takes a final look back at her home, knowing that she'll never see it again.

Quinn watches her carefully as they walk, trying to remember the last time she had seen Rachel. An early morning wind picks up, swirling through Rachel's long dark hair. It was about a month ago, at graduation.

Their senior year had been so bittersweet, from losing contact with Beth to getting into Yale. Rachel's engagement, to surviving her car accident and walking again, only to have Rachel remain with him. She was ready to move on, start school, and maybe put those passes to use every now and then. Now, here they are, together again, facing the end of the world.

x

She feels numb, the cool air reminds her that she's outside. Rachel pulls her...his hoodie tighter around herself as she looks ahead of herself. Quinn. The events of yesterday flash back in her mind. Finn got bit. Wanted her to keep her promise. She couldn't do it. She narrows her eyes at Quinn. She helped him, she came out of nowhere and helped take Finn away from her.

She turns and takes off running in the opposite direction that Quinn is heading. She doesn't even know where she's going, she just has get away from her. Her dads may still be alive, she has to look for them. They'll protect her, like they always have.

"Rachel! Where the hell are you going!" Quinn looks around to make sure she hasn't drawn any unwanted attention towards them. She takes off running after her. Why the hell is Rachel running?

Rachel runs as fast as her feet will take her to the nearest building. The last she saw, Quinn was right on her, now she can't see her. It's eerily quiet inside, but Rachel scurries down the dark hall as quickly as she can. She hides in an empty room and huddles against a wall, hoping that Quinn hadn't seen her enter.

Quinn really hates running. She hates running when she doesn't even know why she's running, even more. She is going to kill Rachel. For a tiny person, she can move really fast. She slows down when she sees Rachel look over her shoulder.

"She's running from me? How could she be so stupid? Doesn't she know how dangerous it is out here?" Quinn internalizes.

Quinn can see from afar that Rachel enters an apparently empty building. But Quinn knows better, there is bound to be at least one creature inside. She approaches the building and makes her way inside,

Click!

Quinn follows the sound of a door closing and ends up in a long hallway. She opens the first door carefully, she uses her flashlight to quickly check the room for Rachel. Nothing. She continues doing so until she gets to the last door in this particular hall.

She twists the knob and rushes in, machete in hand.

"No! Stay away from me! You took him away. I don't have anyone now. Please, leave me alone!"

"Rachel, shh! You have to be quiet. I didn't do anything. He was already gone. There was nothing either of us could do." Quinn whispers harshly.

Quinn can see Rachel shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's true and you know it. He would have become one of those, things." Quinn pauses when she hears a bit of shuffling. She looks around and she doesn't see anything.

"Hey, it's not safe here. We have to get out of here. Let's go!" Quinn whispers sharply.

"No." Rachel crosses her arms across her chest defiantly.

"Rachel, come on. We don't have time for this." Quinn reaches for her, grabbing her by her shoulders to lift her from the ground. She is surprised, yet relieved when Rachel doesn't fight against her. When she finally gets Rachel standing, she jolts as she feels the cold steel through her shirt.

"What are you..." Quinn looks down in shock to see the .38 in Rachel's hand, pointed at her chest.

"Get back! Get out of here Quinn!" Rachel orders.

"Rachel, please, you don't want to do this." Quinn pleads without budging an inch.

"Quinn, you don't understand, I have no one. Finn's gone and I don't know what happened to my Dads. What am I supposed to do?"

"Look, I don't have anyone either, don't you see? Everyone is pretty much dead Rachel. Our parents, friends, we have to assume they're all gone. But we don't have time to dwell on that, we have to move on.

"But what if I can't-"

"Yes you can!" Quinn interrupts. "The Rachel berry I know would never give up, no matter how hard it gets."

She glances down at the weapon. "Now, if you're going to use that thing, do it now. And I suggest that you use it on yourself right after because you are not going to last very long with that attitude."

Rachel's hand goes limp for a second, but then her face goes hard as she raises the gun back up. This time she's aiming for her head. Quinn squeezes her eyes shut, she thought that she had talked some sense into Rachel. Now she's going to die at her hands. That's the thanks she gets for saving her life yesterday.

Her eyes snap open.

"Rachel, please don't do this. I love you..."

Bang!

x

Her ears buzz again at the second shocking blast they've suffered within hours of each other. She blinks back tears as she feels at her body. She allows her eyes to focus on a shaken up looking Rachel, staring straight ahead. She follows Rachel's line of vision to see, a creature, lying in a heap on the ground behind her. Her focus is back to Rachel, her shining wide eyes, visible in the dark.

"Did I just say that out loud? All it took was thinking that I was going to die to finally confess it." Quinn grumbles internally.

Rachel swallows thickly as she comes back from the initial shock from the gunshot. Quinn loves her. She wasn't ever going to shoot Quinn, she just wanted to be left alone. She was seconds away from giving in and leaving with her when she saw that thing coming towards them.

Quinn saved her because she loves her. She loves Quinn too and she just saved her right back. They're even now, so what next?

"What are we going to do now, Quinn? Where do we go from here?" Rachel asks.

Quinn locks eyes with Rachel and she reaches out to grab her hand.

"We move on."

x

Emergency Alert System: Attention! The entire state of Ohio has been declared a state of emergency. An outbreak of a deadly virus has spread quickly across the Northern area near Columbus. Police and military officers have been sent to provide security and service to those in need of assistance. So far, the virus is confirmed to be contained. There is no account of the amount of deceased or survivors as of yet. We will keep you updated with any new developments.

x

She shifts uncomfortably on top of the prickly bale of hay underneath her blanket. Rachel huffs in frustration as she flips over onto her back as she stares at the moon through the barn window. She glances over at Quinn, who is sleeping soundly beside her. She looks so peaceful, Rachel has to keep herself from reaching out and caressing her face.

They have managed to survive these past few days on foot, thanks to Quinn. Rachel doesn't know how she knows the things she knows about survival, but she is glad for it. Rachel would've never thought to leave the city and travel the back roads to get away from the creatures.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

"Oh no." Rachel begins to panic. There wasn't a soul for miles out here. But that doesn't mean there are no creatures lurking around.

"Quinn. Wake Up! I just heard something." She squeals as she shakes Quinn awake.

Quinn is up quickly and she fishes out a flashlight. She shines it all around the empty barn. She doesn't see anything so she lowers the light.

"I swear I just heard tapping, Quinn."

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Quinn raises the lamp and shoots the light to where the noise came from. There it is. A bird flapping its wings against a loose piece of wood up in the rafters.

"It's just a bird Rachel. Are you okay?" She asks as she rubs Rachel's arm soothingly.

Rachel nods. She hopes so.

"Quinn, do you think we can really make it out of here? You know how that radio station said that the virus was only in Ohio?"

"Yeah, I remember. But isn't that what we're already trying to do?"

"I know, but, I really want to try to get to New York. If everything is fine there, I could still go to college and we could try and live a somewhat normal life."

Quinn sits up and stares down at her. There's her Rachel. Even though she's been through so much recently, she still refuses to give up on her dreams.

"Of course we can, anything to make you happy. I cannot wait for the day I could see you smile again." A ghost of a smile passes over Rachel's face, Quinn bites her lip to keep from doing something stupid.

"Plus I hear that New Haven is just a train ride away." She adds.

"Oh Quinn," Rachel pulls Quinn into a hug despite their close proximity.

Her arms are around Quinn's neck whose body rests heavily atop her own. Rachel cannot help the guilt she feels holding Quinn like this. She forces herself to pull away, knowing that her thoughts of the blonde are far from innocent. Ever since Quinn confessed her love, she cannot help thinking about how different things would have been if they were together.

x

They are passing through Columbus. There have been a few car sightings throughout their journey, which gives them some hope that maybe they'll make it to safety soon.

They lucked out, finding an old classic Indian in the shed of that farm. Traveling via motorcycle was a no brainer in this situation. It allows better maneuverability than a car. Quinn got it up and running, and then they were on their way.

When the bike starts to rumble, they stop at an off road gas station to check it out. The station is located in an isolated farming area surrounded by empty fields. The place looks deserted, Quinn can feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as she realizes the amount of danger they are in.

They pull in, park, and hop off of the bike. Quinn checks the tank first, it's almost empty. She tries to use the pump, but it needs to be turned on from the inside first. Quinn swallows hard as she surveys the dingy looking store. She tells Rachel to stay in the forecourt to watch the bike.

"I'm going to go turn on the pumps." She tells Rachel before sprinting off towards the store.

She pushes through the glass door to get inside and she is hit immediately with a foul odor. The service counter is cluttered with papers and various auto mechanic parts. She hops over it and scans the area for the switchbox. She finds it and flips the switches for all of the pumps.

Rachel waits outside chewing her lip nervously. She glances around at her surroundings, and the coast is clear. She turns back to the store window and sees Quinn finally at the counter.

Squawk!

Rachel looks up at the light pole to see a fairly large black crow. She shivers at the sight. She looks back over at Quinn behind the service counter.

Quinn sees Rachel watching her and she waves at her through the shop window. For some reason, she looks out at the field behind Rachel. Her mouth drops open in horror. Creatures are in the distance coming towards the station.

She has to get to Rachel.