CHAPTER 2: I Made it..
Quinn's scream stopped as she dropped to her knees, the pain vanishing instantly. Her eyes where shut tight. At first there was ringing in her ears and she felt nauseous and dizzy until the soft melody of music began becoming clear to her ears. She hadn't heard music in over 2 decades. Quinn's eyes slowly crept open. She didn't want to open them in fear of not actually going anywhere but the melody made her open them. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in her surroundings in disbelief. Her room was in pristin condition, there was no blood or corpses. She'd been kneeling there frozen and didn't hear the bathroom door open. She slowly began to get to her feet, a gasp sounded from behind her. She whipped her head around and if she thought she was shocked before she was deathly wrong. There stood before her, was her just turned 14 year old self in a towel. They stared at each other unable to move for a solid minute.
"Who the hell are you!" 14 year old Quinn shouted. The blonde ran over and grabbed her cell phone cluching her towel to her chest. "If you don't get the hell out of here, I'm calling the polic-" Just as the 14 year old began to dial 911, Quinn's haunted eyes widen as she watched herself slowly begin to fade away. Her former self screamed as she herself began to notice the phone slipped right through her vanishing hand and they locked eyes. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?! PLEASE! HELP ME!" Her voice fading away in an echo along with the body. The towel dropped to the floor, laid out along with the phone and Quinn was frozen in place. She knew something like this would happen. She, Rachel and Britney had did a test trial on the effects of arriving earlier, with Britney's medium hand held prototype. She just wanted to test it to be sure they were accurate. She couldn't run the risk of pretending to be her former self, only for her former self to be walking around too. It wouldn't be easy for her if that happened.
The blonde finally snapped to attention and remembered her many boxes. Right behind her they stood old and battered like they always had been. She ripped one open and breathe a sigh in relief. There full to the brim in the box was money. Lots and Lots of money, Quinn knew if she made it back to this time she would need money to do everything she had planned but stealing that money would not only get her arrested, it would be beyond impossible to get to. She had been slowly stealing from all the banks in Lima big or small, she looted all the stores with cash registers and safes that were not easy to break into, as well as searched every home in Lima for hidden cash or jewelry. She did it with only a back pack, taking a little at a time. Over the course 2 decades had finally wiped Lima clean of every penny. She had over 6 billion in cash, diamonds and jewelry though, she wasn't sure how much she would get for the jewelry. She's sure once she sells it, it'd be just more money in her pocket. She was beyond happy it survived the trip because she would be screwed if it didn't. She began checking all the items, once everything was accounted for, her mind began to reel over her situation. It had finally hit her that she was back in time. She had to be sure because though she just watched her former self disappear, the entire situation screamed too crazy to be real but than again, so were zombies and she knew how that ended. She caught a barely there glimpse of herself in one of her many trophy's and her eyes widened. She ran to the bathroom, skidding to a halt in the mirror. There in her old bathroom staring back at her, was her 14 year old self, again.
She slowly lifted her hands and began touching and prodding her face. She lifted her shirt and gasp. Her scars were gone, all of them. In there place were taut abs and soft full skin. Her hair wasn't the long frizzy, mated full of knots mane it used to be from years without a proper shower and brushing. No, it was full and soft to the touch. Golden and silk like, no gray hairs in sight. She began feeling her teeth and her lips trembled at the feel of them, they were all there. She had not only had her teeth knocked out and chipped but years without dental assistance had rotted them until they began to fall out, leaving her with only one loose front tooth, 2 back teeth and one bottom front.
Quinn ran from the room when the sound of a car honk rang out from the open bathroom window. The blonde ran down the stairs, ripping open the door and was hit with fresh air instead of stale air that reeked of zombies and rotted corpes. Her eyes were wide in wonderment as life was happening right in front of her. People pulling into their driveways exhausted from their day. The blonde whipped her head back and forth. She jumped out her skin when a bell sounded behind her. A kid whizzed past on a bike with 'Excuse me!' thrown over his shoulder. She looked to her right when she heard her name being called. There was Mrs. Peterson, the last time she saw her, the woman tried to eat her. "Are you alright, Quinn?" The woman ask in concern.
"Yeah, I'm-" Quinn's eyes widen in surprise as her voice spoke clear and strong. There was no croak to it like it use to have. Her throat didn't feel dry and tight from no water and not using it but after Rachel died she stopped speaking entirely. Quinn was about to assure the woman she was fine until her train of thought was cut short. She whipped her head to the left when she heard a dog bark and that's when a memory hit her. "Athena." Quinn whispered and ran back into the house heading straight for their yard and once she opened the door, A tiny ball of bright orange fluff, no more than 2 months old, Athena, Quinn's puppy. She had recieved Athena as a birthday gift last month as a companion from her mother, her father was not happy about it. She engulfed the puppy in a hug and cried tears of joy muttering 'Thank you and I love you.' to the dog. Athena had been a god send when it all happened.
After everyone had died Quinn and Rachel had only Athena left to keep them company. They had went out on a run together for supplies, they had to go farther out than usual because they had already looted the closer area. They had not known that, that would be the last time they saw Athena. Rachel and Quinn had got a decent supply and found a can of soft dog food for Athena and they showed it to the dog with happiness. They were just leaving the area when a horde of walkers came out of nowhere causing them to run. It seemed no matter what corner they hit they just ran into more of them. Quinn had spotted a fire escape up ahead with the latter down. They got to it in record time. Quinn tried to get Rachel up first but Rachel said she had to carry Athena and since they didn't have time to argue Quinn picked up the dog and began climbing with Rachel guarding them for when the horde rounded the corner. Quinn was getting close to the landing and checked behind to make sure Rachel was there climbing as well. Athena was pushed onto the landing and Quinn followed up as soon as she turned around to help Rachel her eyes widened. Rachel screamed because a walker had a hold of her foot. She tried to kick it off but couldn't. The ladder protested against the weight and before they knew what was happening the horde appeared. The ladder broke but before Rachel could fall into the crowed Quinn caught her wrist. She held on as tight as she could with Rachel screaming at her to let her go but Quinn refused. The walker was biting at the brunettes ankle but it's teeth couldn't break the thick leather tall ankle steel toe boots.
Athena barked and licked Quinn's face as if to say goodbye but Quinn didn't realize what was happening. She was too focused on saving Rachel and was about to chastise Athena for trying to play with her, when out of the corner of her eye she watched in horror as Athena leap.
"NO!"
"ATHENA!"
Quinn and Rachel screamed for the dog at the same time as it latched onto the zombie, causing the zombie to release Rachel. Quinn pulled the brunette up and both women cried and sobbed as Athena limps were ripped apart by the horde but was not eaten. They ran up the rest of the fire escape making it safely jumping roof to roof until they were a safe distance away to get back to the ground and back to the safety of the old building. There they mourned the lost of their dog and Rachel apologized profusivly with Quinn telling her it was not their fault. They didn't even get to keep her collar or anything as a memory.
The dog in question was presently alive and well in Quinn's arms licking happily at her mommy. Quinn vowed to keep her alive for as long as she could. The blonde began to lose it completely. Crying hysterically as she began to believe that this was all a dream or maybe she was dead and this was heaven. She sat there with the dog for 2 hours straight until her stomach growled in hungar. That's another thing she forgot, there was food. She stood, unclipped Athena from her leash than proceeded to run straight to the back door and Athena followed, it was odd to feel the dog by her side, again but it was amazing. The second the blonde opened the fridge it was like she herself was a zombie but a food zombie. She tore open packages and drinks and devoured all she could. By the time she was full she couldn't move, she ached from over eating. She looked at the mess she made and groaned. She stood and trekked her way to her bedroom and turned on the shower. She moaned when the hot water hit and felt her body relax for the first time since she had been back. The only thing that ruined it was when she closed her eyes and images of the walking dead and some of the most painful experiences flickered through her mind. Her eyes shot open as she gasp. She shut the water off and went into the bedroom with a towel. She walked over to the drawer and it was just as she remembered it. She got out her pajamas and got dressed than headed back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She walked back out than walked over to her vanity and sat down. Staring at herself, she lifted the brush and began combing her hair feeling it easily run through. She stared at her eyes and though everything else about her seemed normal, she could see her eyes told a different haunted story.
She caught the tip of her computer in the mirror and stood slowly. Every movement she made was still cautious and silent as if she were nothing but a ghost. She quietly pulled out the chair and sat in it. She touched the mouse and the computer came to life. A password was needed and for a solid 13 minutes Quinn couldn't remember. She sighed in frustration and looked around the room and a picture on her dresser caused a flurry of memories to hit her. She remebered her password now. It was the day she met Rachel in 6th grade, when Rachel first said hello to her. The screen opened up as soon as she gained access. She pulled up her myspace account quickly. She began browsing and eventually remembered something or better yet someone. She glanced at her clock and realized she had 8 minutes. She pulled up the page she was looking for and waited. The minutes felt like forever until it wasn't. There was a new video posted of Rachel's new rendition like clock work. The blonde pressed play and that was it. The tears came full force, she hadn't heard that melodous voice in 16 years. Seeing her face for the first time again made her body ache in ways she hadn't felt since Rachel's death. Quinn replayed the video over and over again. She didn't want to fall asleep in case this all was a dream but Rachel's voice lulled her to sleep gently without her knowing, like it used to. Quinn posted one comment in the comment box before falling asleep.
9 hours later and Quinn jolted awake falling backwards on her back from the force. The blonde groaned with her eyes closed and for a minute she had thought it was all a dream. She took a deep breath and it was odd. She didn't smell musk, no she smelled clear air and it wasn't cold but warm in the room with a light breeze coming from the open window. The blondes eyes shot open again. Her mouth fell slightly agape as she took in her room again.
"It wasn't a dream..." She whispered. "It wasn't a dream." Quinn said a little louder. Her eyes filled with tears when she looked to her right. All the boxes were still there waiting for her to get started on her plan. The blonde jumped to her feet and ran to the bathroom to take another shower because dammit it had been so long without one that she was going to cherish them while she could. After getting ready in her room she ran downstairs to the kitchen and took in the mess she left the night before. She began cleaning it up and made herself breakfast. After eating she ran to the garage to be sure and she was right, her mother got her suv back from the shop before she left. Quinn began loading as many of the boxes as she could, quickly. She new it would take a few trips to get them all there and she also packed cleaning supplies. She hopped into the drivers seat after making sure the house was locked up. She drove down the streets relishing in the fact that life continued as if the end wasn't going to come 9 years from now. It took her a shorter amount of time to get to the abandoned auto factory since she was in a car and for that she was grateful. The blonde parked the car near the back entrance ramp.
She hopped out and ran over to the manuel chain and began pulling the garage door open. She would have to change the door soon, so no one could break in. Teenagers were always looking for a spot to get drunk, throw parties or have sex. She never heard of anyone coming way out here or anyone speaking about the building at all when she was a teenager, that thought stopped her and confused her, wondering if she still qualified as an adult if she was in a teenagers body. Than she realized she didn't give a shit what people thought. She knew how old she was and she had a very mature mind and a hell of a lot of experience surviving to show for it. After opening the gate she hopped back in the car and pulled in. After making sure the entire building was empty and the gate door was closed, the blonde began unloading the car carrying everything to the top floor office that looked over the entire work floor. Quinn had to admit it was nice being a teenager again. There was no pain only laboured breathing and sweat.
There were other offices but this one was the highest and had the trap wall that she had lived in. She walked over to the wall and gripped what was suppose to be a trim panel part of the designed wood border that went along the wall but it was the only one not real. Rachel was the one to find it, it was barely an inch askew but Rachel's ocd had kicked in and it was the only thing out of place in the room. When she lightly touched it it fell forward hanging by the trip wire. Rachel had called them up to watch her back as she stood to the side with Quinn on the left side of the room and Britney on her right. All three of them holding their machete's in preparation to attack. When she yanked the trim piece the wall opened, shocking them all. They waited 15 minutes for something to come out but nothing did. Rachel was the first to enter and with light shining in from the tiny rectangular window they saw the space had filing cabinets and a old desk. The women cried in relief when they found there was no way for the zombies to get in. That night they had used the broken broom from the linen closet and swept the rug as best they could. They took down the cob webs and dusted with an extra shirt from Quinn. When everything was finally as best as it could be they checked the building one more time, making sure it was at least more difficult to get into when they moved most of the small machines that were movable to the only two entrances available for blocking them. That way if something came in they'd hear the commotion. When they got to the safe haven of the hidden door. Quinn began working on the trim so it wouldn't be noticable just in case any other survivors found it. It also helped that the inside of the door had a knob and a lock to get out from the inside. The women were worried they wouldn't able to get out after they shut the door but Quinn fixed it. That night they still didn't sleep to well, constantly waking up in fear that something got in. It took them 3 months to finally believe they might actually be safe.
Quinn opened the door and just like last time began cleaning it up only a hell of a lot better and with her mom's lemon fresh spray bottle and paper towels, wiped down the walls. Making the room slowly go from smelling musky to lemon fresh. It was when she began cleaning the desk that she felt her eyes water. She bent down in the corner looking for the names and date but didn't see them. She dug into one of the boxes until she found what she was looking for. Earlier in the first year, they had stumbled upon an old bag with a polaroid camera with the film already in it as well as a couple packs of extra film in the old camera bag. They had began documenting their experience already with their cellphones but the phones eventually died and their chargers eventually broke. Britney had kept all the cell phones so they would have proof if they ever made it back to the past to charge them back to life and actually have power to charge them. She pulled the old photo out and held it out in front of her, looking at the desk. In the photo Britney and Rachel had carved all their names in with the date. Both women were smiling and Quinn brought the picture to her lips and kissed it. The blonde put it back and walked over to the floor and began pulling up the carpet. That's another thing the women were afraid of, Looters. Quinn came up with the idea to hide their belongings in the floor boards. What she hadn't anticipated was after pulling up to the carpet to get to the wood floor beams under it was coming across a huge ass safe. It took her forever to figure out how to open it. It had a twisting dial not an electric paid, Quinn had almost lost her life trying to find a book on safes. She read the damn thing cover to cover. The last time they were robbed they ended up not finding food until a week later and almost died trying to get it because they were too week to be on alert and run fast. She would not be robbed again, she finally figured it out using a stethescope that once again she almost died trying to get from Lima General. When they got the safe open they all cheered and cried for their little miracle. Rachel and Britney felt the same way. That book sparked Quinn's fuel to learn survival off the grid and than later caused her to pursue more knowledge along with Rachel and Britney. The women studied hard, it helped them forget about the outside world because Britney brought them hope, the longer they were out there with no help, the harder Britney worked on her time machine.
Quinn kneeled down in front of the safe, she still remembered the combination and just like last time she had opened it, everything from whoever ran the place was their again. Their papers and money were still their only this time Quinn wouldn't throw it away because now she could sell all the authentic objects and get a good bit of money for. The safe could fit 2 or 3 bodies in it. It was that tall, wide and deep. She began loading her boxes in it after clearing it. the last two boxes she left out had certain items she needed. The first box had money. They were in bundles of 2 thousand each, she grabbed 10 of them than closed the box and lowered it into the safe. She then took out a thick warn down leather journal followed by an old marble notebook and lastly her pocket knife. She knew she couldn't carry around her machete but her knife was a must. Once she was done she closed the safe and locked it pulling the carpet back over it making sure to pull one of the filing cabinets over that. She began working on the door knob and panel trim fixing it as she did last time making sure the handle worked. Once she was satisfied she made her way back down and opened the garage door, she was out of there in record time. She watched the building disappear from sight as she drove through the woods, she was back on the main road sooner than she liked. On her way home she stopped by the CVS and Walgreens stores purchasing two green dot cards from each. She could not thank Britney enough for making everyone hold onto all of their fake I.D's as well as their real ones. She added 500 hundred dollars to each of them using her Emily Stark I.D.
After getting home she went to her room and began searching the web, she made a fake account using the name on her fake I.D. the home depot website as well as Lowes home improvement along with some websites for fences and security. The blonde was up half the night collecting items on her list to save into her cart. When she knew she was going to pass out. She logged out and shut down the computer. She hid her backpack with everything she brought back from the factory with her under Athena's dog house. The blonde had dug a wide enough hole there for the belongings. She couldn't have her mother stumble upon it by accident, she would freak out. Quinn was the only one who took care of Athena. Her parents never went out to spend time with the dog. So, she knew it would be safe. She made her way to bed exhausted with Athena in tow. Though she felt safe she still locked her bedroom door behind her, she climbed into bed curling up to Athena and succomb to a much needed comfortable slumber.
