A/N: Hey guys. Sorry it's been such a long while since I've last updated. I haven't given up on this story, I just haven't had the drive to write it. College man. It's tough work and takes a lot of free time out of your life. But maybe I'll get the next chapter up faster. It would sure help if I knew that people want it because it's just me on my end writing when I feel like I can write rather than writing because I know people want to read it. But this is just a rant because I spent two days adding 5500 words to this chapter I starting writing months ago. (Sheesh, months?) Anyways, Happy Holidays if I don't get to say it later. This was in no way checked for any errors except for what I felt like reading a bunch of times to remember where I was in the story. Sorry that this is kind of a filler chapter, but if you read to the end you will know a big shift will take place next chapter.
Song is Every Time We Touch by Cascada. Woot.
Emotions weren't exactly a topic that Santana didn't know about, it's just that Santana had a few that she actually used or recognized. There was hatred, annoyance, humor, disgusted, monotone (which technically doesn't count but she's used bored expressions enough to make it seem like she wasn't feeling anything), and the extreme rarity of actually being content. Anything else was something that Santana figured was normal for other people or didn't exist at all. Books could have it, but if anyone was looking for it in real life, they were screwed.
With that said, being flustered because of a girl's presence was abnormal, and with anything else that didn't occur daily, it's something that Santana didn't want to deal with. Santana only wanted to get through this dilapidated shit hole and go back to killing the abominations that threatened her life. There was no need to start feeling anything that she wasn't used to feeling. It was uncomfy and unnecessary.
So with a straight face and her best wall, Santana strode into the dimly lit supermarket and only thought of having to deal with angry singers and killers. What a lovely combination.
The brunette focused on the slightly loud footsteps she was making. In fact, she was trying to stomp louder because she didn't want to hear the ones that were following her. Santana also figured that the stomps would grab attention and that whoever heard them would think she was ready to give an ass whooping.
The first signs of life came from the one person that Santana didn't want to meet with at all.
"Oh my God, Brittany!" cried the one and only Rachel fucking Berry as the midget stormed right past Santana and grabbed onto the blonde's hands, stopping the taller girl in her tracks.
"Do you even know how long you've been gone, Santana?" the smaller girl continued in her dastardly annoying voice. "What did you do to her? Are those bruises? Santana!"
Santana ignored everything that was being yelled at her and opted to walk farther away from the people she could've avoided if Finn never discovered this place.
"Santana! Are you even listening to me!? If you're going to be this way then I am taking back your invitation for you to stay here!"
That got her attention.
With a quick swoop to turn her around, Santana was evil eyeing the midget with her hands on her hips and spoke with shit load of acid, "Oh, pipe down, dwarf. She's fucking alive, isn't she? She's alive and she's not brain dead so you should really get a bunch of colorful duct tape for your obnoxiously large beak and wrap that shit around so many times that if it ever comes off, your entire mouth will too. Do us all a favor and eat a ton of gorilla glue because your annoying voice will be the death of me."
Santana didn't even wait for Rachel (or anyone else who was slowly closing in their little meet and greet) to respond before spewing, "And don't even try to get into a vocal fight with me because I am not in the fucking mood to put up with your shit," she pointed at Rachel. "or your shit," her finger landed on Quinn who somehow appeared within a two foot radius of Rachel. "or anyone else's shit." That time her eyes landed on Brittany without meaning to, but Santana quickly pulled them away in surprise that it was the blonde she looked at. "I taught Brittany a lesson so when you finally run out of crap to keep you alive here and you're forced out into the hell that is now life, she at least has a fighting chance, whereas the rest of you will probably shit your pants and be eaten before you know it!"
Santana snarled before turning back around and angrily made her way toward any section of the place that seemed hidden. She knew that there were plenty of eyes staring at her back and if Santana wasn't able to find somewhere to hide then her outburst was for nothing. Luckily enough, there was one section that seemed to be the least occupied and it rounded a corner so that any lingering stares were hidden.
The brunette slumped down next to a discarded teddy bear. Her new little sanctuary was nothing but a forgotten toy section. She supposed that mindless child games weren't necessary to remember in an apocalypse, and it was silly as Santana picked up the dusty brown sack of fluff and stared at it.
"At least you won't yell at me because of my stupidity," she muttered to it while trying to ignore the sounds of the other occupants moving about and talking just yards away from her. Half of Santana wanted someone to try and find her - just because it meant that they cared - while the other half would bite anyone's head off if they dared to try and coax her out of the mood she wanted to be in.
A sigh escaped the girl's mouth. What was she supposed to do? It had never been this…this screwed up before. Before Santana trudged her way here, she saw the disapproving look on Quinn's face; Quinn, who was just standing behind Berry like a guardian. It hadn't even been that long, so how could Santana's only friend finally figure that Santana wasn't worth the crap and move on to someone she just met?
Every time that Santana came back to this place, which was supposed to only offer supplies and water, everyone was pissed at her. Santana's only being herself and she hasn't changed in the few days they've been here.
The only conclusion that she could come up with was the people here. These kids were messing with her pack's mind. It had been a long while since they were with an entire group of other people their age, and now her pack's comparing these newbies to who they already have. Apparently that must mean that they couldn't deal with Santana's shit.
"Can you believe her?"
The feminine voice wasn't that far from Santana, but it made her tense up all the same. I guess there's another part of the brunette that was scared of anyone finding the place she ran to.
"I already told you, Rachel, that's just Santana. She's only trying to help." That voice was definitely Finn's after hearing it constantly for so long. Santana only tightened her fists around the teddy bear that was still in her hands. Rachel had already clawed her way into Quinn's walls, and now she was easily doing the same to Finn? Santana figured Puck was already gone because Rachel's a girl, and that alone would cause a change in loyalty.
"How is it helping if she blatantly dragged Brittany into harm's way? You saw the bruises. Santana made Brittany get hurt!" It took a lot of strength for Santana not to outright stand up and yell at the shorter girl. Santana knew that she had no filter, and that was because she likes being brutally honest. Rachel seems to have a similar setting but it only works when it's behind someone else's back.
"Calm down, Rach. I know Santana way more than you do. If I were to trust anyone in this place to take them out there, it'd be Santana. She knows what she's doing." Finn spoke calmly, which he always did unless someone really pissed him off, but it took a lot to do that. Only Santana knew how to do it easily.
"Then explain the bruises. Brittany won't. As soon as Santana stormed off, Brittany went off too. I think it's because Santana did something to her." There was no way to see either person's expressions, or even where they were, but Santana still strained her eyes as if she could spot the two talking.
"It's not exactly an easy path out there. There are a lot of reasons why both of them have wounds."
"Well, I bet Santana just ran up to the zombies and took them out. She certainly didn't keep restraint when she shot the one that was about to attack me," Rachel stated surely.
Santana heard Finn sigh heavily, and the sheer closeness made the girl realize that the two weren't as far from her as she thought. Quickly, Santana found a little cubby she could crawl in and that she did, making sure a larger toy was covering the entrance.
"I have mixed feelings about that, too. I mean, if she didn't kill that thing before it got to you… I don't even want to think about it. Sure, it was a rash decision but it didn't leave any bad consequences behind. I'm kind of grateful for it, now."
"What do you mean by grateful?" The way the question was worded was obvious that the girl was fishing for compliments. Anything to boost her already large ego.
"You know… I'd be really sad if you died right in front of my eyes like that. It's a terrible way to go, for one thing." Finn and Rachel were just outside of Santana's cubby. She knew because the voices were as loud as they possibly could be, and she could just make out two pairs of shoes outside her barrier.
"I don't go here often," Rachel changed topics. The shorter girl's shoes turned towards the cubby and Santana held her breath. She'd be in a terrible position if she had to explain why she was hidden like this. "It's kind of easy to forget that this kid's area even exists. A lot of us had to grow up pretty quickly."
"I think everyone in the world had to grow up quickly," Finn responded morosely. Santana heard a few things move around above her which meant that Rachel was looking through the toys in the cubby above. Santana only prayed that she didn't want to go the easier path and look through the cubby that was her height.
"Well, there are some people who apparently didn't grow up enough." The acid in Rachel's tone wasn't hidden at all.
"Would you please lay off Santana? She can't help herself. The way she deals with problems is different from yours and from mine." It stunned the brunette that Finn would stand up for her like that. Finn defended her before as well, but she would think that the giant would despise her because of the many ways she'd insult him.
"Why are you talking like Santana has a heart? She makes fun of you every single day and never lets up! There's no reason for you to speak nicely of her."
Shuffling continued around Santana and it forced her to try to keep her breathing and motions as calm as could be. She was breathing pretty loud in general, and if it wasn't for Berry's obnoxiously louder voice then she would've been found out earlier. Then Santana realized that Berry's voice wasn't covering up her own noisy sounds.
"I-I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" That perked up the brunette's ears. Berry actually using some sort of concern in her voice? Santana didn't even think the glee kids have ever heard of this before.
"No," Finn's voice wasn't as strong as it had been earlier. It was bothersome that Santana had to hide in a corner, only being able to hear what's going on. They could have sex if they wanted to and if Rachel wasn't a screamer and they used all the fluff from the toys as bedding, Santana would be right next to it and never know what happened. Besides that gruesome thought, the girl still wasn't entirely sure what was happening out there and Finnocense was taking his time figuring out whatever random thoughts he had stored in his brain.
"If I—"
"I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for her. Santana doesn't know it, but she saved my life so many times, and if I ever thanked her for it, she would just laugh in my face."
"How would you know that, Finn?"
"Because it's what happened the first time she saved my stupid ass—"
"You're not stupid," Rachel pushed.
"Yes I am! It's Quinn and Puck and especially Santana that goes out on raids and fights off the zombies. I'm too much of a wimp sitting at camp and praying that I don't have to be up against those monsters! I never believed in God so much until that day that everything got so screwed up. I'm…I'm so jealous of Santana. I'm jealous and amazed at how she can put aside the whole zombie apocalypse, always near death, and loss of everyone you love situation that we're in. I can't do that. I'm scared shitless every time I'm outside… or inside for that matter!"
Finn was huffing and puffing like if he didn't do something soon, he would explode. And yet, it almost flattered Santana that this was what the giant actually thought of her instead of a witch bitch that never shuts up and throws a gun around like it's a toy.
The guy was still doing some sort of man sob when Santana heard a small thump that could only mean that he was on the ground somehow (whether by means of falling or graciously crying downwards).
"It's okay. It's all okay, Finn. You're safe here," Rachel tried, but knowing her pack, Santana knew those words would do nothing. It would take years of therapy for words to do anything anymore.
"For now. And when we have to leave? We have to leave you know, Rachel. At some point."
"But that doesn't have to be for a while. We've boarded up the place. We have plenty of food and water—"
"You know that Santana wants to leave soon, right? She's made that clear."
Rachel made some sort of disgruntled noise; probably using her too big of a head to figure out how to demean the Latina while knowing how Finn really thought of her.
"I—er— she's not the boss of all of you. There are three of you against her. I know that Quinn wants to stay, and you can stay, too; so that's two out of four. I'm pretty sure I can convince Noah."
"We have to leave, though. We have to. I don't know where we are headed because the plan up until now was just to survive while trying to find a stable place to stay at. But, I feel like we are headed somewhere after all. At least Santana is. She's the only one that has a true goal here. I can see it in her eyes."
"Then let her go and you can stay here…with me."
Was Berry trying to smooth in a romantic intent? Santana didn't even figure that Rachel had any form of suitor before Day 0.
"…why are you shaking your head?" Rachel asked.
"Because I don't want to go out there without her."
Rachel must've made some sort of face because Finn quickly threw out, "N-n-not what you think! Definitely, it's not what you think. She just makes me feel safe because of that skill that she showed you where she can quickly kill a zombie inches from your head. If I was to live in this world, I'd rather take everything Santana can throw at me if it means that she'd protect me if the time came."
Rachel sighed once more. It actually made the Latina feel good that at least one of her pack wants her, or maybe needs her if he wanted to live. She'd never have to be a lone wolf in this crazy, dangerous world.
Suddenly, Santana heard the sound of falling squeaky toys hitting the floor and her heart jumped to her throat while her body tried to inch back in to the very corner of the cubby. No way was she about to be found out after overhearing that entire conversation she wasn't supposed to hear.
The girl was still filled with adrenaline after a few minutes had passed before she realized that there wasn't any other sound made. Neither Rachel nor Finn were making any noises.
Fucking hiding spot, Santana cussed to herself. They were just getting to the best part.
Santana figured that she wasn't in any danger of being found so she tried to shuffle a bit forward and hopefully hear if the two were being quiet. They must've been having some sort of moment because it was still hard to hear anything, so in return the Latina scooted even more, up until the edge. Her foot was right on the corner of the entryway, pushing into the large toy she covered the hole up with.
Still, there were no dominant sounds of Rachel's annoying whispers.
Maybe they were having sex, and Santana wasn't going to be in the dark for having to be right next to that. She tried leaning forward and peering through the toy, just to have her whole body fall right out of the cubby.
"Oh, ah, fuh—"
Santana quickly tried to muffle herself hoping that maybe the two were facing another direction and didn't see her fabulousness roll out like a hedgehog. One look to her left and right told her—
"They're not even here?"
Santana didn't even care anymore and spoke out loud to herself, "The fuck… they left? When? What?" The girl proceeded to do a 360 just to make sure that the giant and midget were nowhere to be found. "I…I guess this is a good thing…"
After the adrenaline of everything cooled down, Santana finally noticed how sore her body was from being cramped in a place only a child would hide in for small amounts of time.
What's another ache to my already screwed up body? Santana thought to herself while kicking back the toys to let out the small frustration of being bamboozled into thinking she wasn't alone. At least she was able to walk away from being an impromptu spy.
But she did learn two things from all of this: 1) Finn was on her side no matter what. And 2) Rachel isn't as powerful as Santana thought she was. All that was needed was a better reason to stick with the Latina, rather than the Loud-mouth.
_._._
It was Day 8 according to the crudely marked calendar that Santana had made for herself on the wall next to the toy aisle. The pack had been in this same supermarket for more than a week; 5 days over what Santana had initially wanted. In that time span, Santana was the one person to venture out if only to get a release from being cramped in the damn place and also to try to figure out what the bubble around the town was: no luck there. No one dared to go with her knowing well that she would return. At least, no one went with her because there was always somebody stopping them. It was because someone had someone else that cared about their safety and apparently "Santana can handle herself" was a big cliché around here.
Quinn tried to go on two occasions, only to be stopped by both Rachel and herself because she and Santana were still in a rocky relationship; if anything Quinn and Rachel's had blossomed. The Latina snickered to herself that Finn would have a problem to win Rachel over if the two girls kept at it.
The only other person slightly willing was Brittany, and if it wasn't Rachel once again stepping in to tell the blonde exactly how she should live her life, it was Santana making it a point to ignore the offer.
Santana was making it a point to ignore Brittany in general.
Every glance, every occasion that they almost walked within a few feet of each other, Santana incepted and made it go away. She didn't want to be around the other girl; to see her, to hear her, to even think about her. All that did was make uncomfortable feelings arise in the pit of her stomach.
Living in the supermarket was Santana's personal sanctuary of hell. On one hand, finding food and water wasn't a problem, and she had learned to not be picky about food around month three. On the other, she had to deal with humans. Who would've thought that the only thing worse than zombies were humans?
So it came to be that Santana's go-to spot to not be around humans was the toy section. Her only friend was the stuffed animal that she had found all those days ago (days that shouldn't have happened if Santana was in charge). At least Pedro the bear didn't judge her.
They had to leave soon. It had been 8 days too many that something bad didn't happen, and Santana knew that everyone's luck here would run out eventually. That's how you had to live in an apocalypse: expect the worst and if the worst doesn't happen, that's a good thing. But not even worse has happened, and it was driving Santana insane. There was something about the bubble that was really bothering the girl…
"What are you thinking about in that little dark corner you've got going on there?"
Santana turned to find a voice that really wasn't that prominent in her life speaking to her. It wasn't even on the small list of people that Santana usually thought about nowadays.
"You're…Kirk, right?" Santana tried without really trying.
"Kurt. I know it has been a while but did you really not know my name?" The flamboyant kid tilted his head and gave an unsure smile.
"I've made it a habit to think that I'm going to be vamoosing out of this joint on a badass motorcycle at any time, so I thought it wasn't worth it to remember names here," Santana shrugged. If it really was as long as Kurt had said then he should know she is a girl that doesn't give enough shits to care.
"May I sit?" Kurt asked annoyingly with manners.
"You can, but this spot right here is saved for someone who gives a fuck about what's going on outside," Santana replied while waving over a random area that she didn't even bother to look at. Her attention was on the stuffed toy in her hands that she was petting over.
Dashing Kurt made it a point just to sit in the very spot.
The Latina growled slightly at his actions. "What do you want?"
"Exactly that: to go outside."
The girl whipped her head in surprise and spoke with an unusual confused tone, "Excuse me?"
"I want to go outside, Santana. I feel stuck here. Everyone else thinks that we're going to be saved at some point, but I know that we aren't. We've been here how many months and we're still doing the same thing in the same place?"
Santana was still too shocked that someone actually had a brain to speak, so Kurt continued, "I had dreams before any of this happened. Those dreams are now destroyed and eaten by zombies, but nonetheless I created new ones. I want to know what's going on out there. What happened to the world, to my family, to Mr. Shue? I want to be prepared for that day I know we will run out of supplies. Can I tell you a secret?"
Santana could only nod.
"We are actually running dangerously low on food. Only Rachel and I know this because I keep stock about this sort of thing and Rachel, God don't let her find out I said this, placed herself as the she-lord of us so of course she'd know about it. You're our ticket out of here; you and your group of zombie fighting badasses."
A smirk formed at this elegant piece of flashiness using the word "badass", but she listened and nodded, happy that someone here was aware of more than the well put "she-lord".
"Don't look at me that way," Kurt smirked back playfully. "I can say naughty words if I want to."
That deserved a laugh from the Latina.
Kurt only held that expression while the girl calmed down enough to say, "Okay okay, I'll be serious now. Why don't you just tell people about the food shortage? I've given up trying to convince my own crew to go, but this piece of news will definitely change some minds."
"Do you want a flat out chaotic mess to be upheaved? It only takes one indication that a utopia has a kink in their walls for the people to go all crazy."
"Okay… well you don't want to keep it from them forever. They are your friends, right?"
"Friends…maybe. More like family. You can love or hate them but no matter what you're stuck with them."
She smirked, "Amen to that."
Kurt sighed anyways, "I know I'll have to tell them and I know I can't wait until the food is all up, but truth be told we never made a plan if that happened. We all expected to be rescued well before then."
"Life sucks, Lady Lips, and then you die."
"Well, I'm not ready to die yet." Kurt crossed his arms and stared down at the toy still in Santana's hands.
"Neither am I."
"Can I ask you something?"
Santana turned to him with a bland look and answered, "You already did."
"I can see that your wonderful personality is showing so brightly on this fine day." Santana only grimaced as the boy continued talking. "But Brittany told me that you are the best zombie hunter out there."
"Where's the question in that?" Santana asked, trying to veer the conversation away from any topic about that blonde. Speaking her name gave terrible trembles in Santana's gut.
"Did we do something to offend you or anything? I mean, before you were all for teaching our dear absentminded friend a thing or two about zombies, and now you just don't want to deal with her, or any of us for that matter."
The bad feelings in the pit of her stomach flourished with another mention of the one person she was truly trying to avoid.
"It's my wonderful personality, Teen Gay. People love it so much that they don't wanna ruin the magic by being around it."
Kurt pursed his lips as if thinking deeply about something, and continued to stare at Santana like he was trying to fit together a puzzle with a few pieces missing.
"What are you looking at?" Santana had to ask, if only to stop him from staring. It was starting to get uncomfortable.
"You must've had a really dark past, Santana. I can see it in your eyes."
"You can what now?" Santana abruptly stood up, still clutching the bear, and gritted her teeth in an attempt to control the anger she knew was about to burst.
"No, no," Kurt shook his head while slowly standing up, arms out in a peaceful stance. "I didn't mean to set you off. I can just tell that something bad happened to you. I can read people like that."
"Something bad happened to all of us, Porcelain. Why the fuck do you think we're even in this rat hole?"
Kurt continued to shake his head but the brunette could tell that he had no idea what he was up against. Truth be told, she was like a bomb; agitate her and she will go off, but it's incredibly difficult to cut the right cord to stop her.
"Please calm down. I didn't mean anything by this. I was only just trying to help."
"You're not a fucking therapist and I'm pretty sure that all of them are wiped out by now so if it wasn't clear to you before, I am way beyond help. If you don't watch yourself I may even shoot you in the back!"
"I know you wouldn't do that."
Santana marched forward so that she was directly in front of the kid and seethed, "And why the hell would you think that?"
Kurt didn't even blink an eye. "Because there is one person in our group who trusts you with everything, and she has such a good sense of character that I trust her judgment, too."
"And who the fuck is this idiot?"
The two were barely touching noses, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth (words that Santana knew were coming but didn't want to hear) she wanted to be on the opposite end of the building.
"The one person who is so willing to leave this place with you that even our she-lord has to rein her in: Brittany."
Santana stood back, shaking her head, trying to stop the uncomfortable feelings from returning. "She has no idea what she's talking about then. Everyone here knows that I'm a psychopath ready to let loose at any moment."
"What happened with her, Santana? Have you seen her? Brittany is like our puppy, and when she returned, the only time she ever spoke was to try to leave this place on one of your missions. She won't tell us what went on out there, and neither will you. Maybe if you give some info, others would be more willing to leave with you."
Kurt was now the one attempting to walk into Santana's personal space, but the girl opened out her arms so that he would stop in his tracks. She refused to look at him. Any one of these Glee kids would mess with her already screwed up emotions. Or her head. She wasn't even sure anymore what was damaged and what could be damaged more.
"The zombies didn't even touch her." Santana gave the bare minimum. How could she explain the clusterfuck of emotions that happened in the car? From any other viewpoint, it would just look like Santana was confused about something.
"I didn't mean that. The poor girl just sits in a corner by herself most of the time, rereading the same few books that we have here."
So now Brittany is considered the "poor girl"? She at least has friends that come to her aid, even if she pushes them away. What does Santana have? A bunch of "friends" that haven't even had a civil conversation with her in days! No one bothered to check if she was alright or reading a whole bunch of books on repeat.
"Do you think that we're taking you out of here? Do you know how long and hard our journey has been? The two cars we have took weeks, if not months, of living on the streets and walking everywhere to get! We are so lucky with our food supply and gas supply. What makes you think that we will take along more than six of you in our two car caravan?!"
"Please calm down, Santana. Please. We don't want others to overhear."
Santana just placed her hand on her forehead and tried to calm down. Kurt was right. Others didn't need to know their conversation and Santana could use the anger energy elsewhere. She still had her mission, anyways.
"What do you really want from me, Kurt? I'm tired, as you can tell. I'm just so tired…" Of life, of zombies, of people. Santana was tired of everything.
"I want to be your friend."
"You want a bodyguard."
"We can help each other if you allow it. Maybe I can help ease your burden," Kurt tried with a slight smile. At least Santana wasn't ready to bite out his jugular anymore. The girl figured the dreams this boy wanted before could've been a psychologist. Or a performer. His type does that, right? They live for the limelight?
Kurt held out his hand in an offering of peace. Santana huffed and instead of placing her own hand in his, she put the bear there.
"Close enough," Kurt smiled and gently placed the bear on a middle shelf. Santana held back her own. This didn't mean that she was getting all nice with the Glee kids. But one friend that wasn't Trouty Mouth looking over to check her out was a good thing. She wouldn't have to worry about Kurt doing that.
The two walked away from Santana's sanctuary and headed towards the living area, but just before the officially left, Santana glimpsed back and met a pair of blue eyes hidden in the forgotten items. She quickly looked back and tried her best to keep her heart rate down. She didn't want Kurt asking why the Latina suddenly had an adrenaline boost out of nowhere.
It's a good thing that there was a giant intervention to avoid Kurt noticing.
"Everyone! Everyone! I have important news I must share with you all!"
Rachel Berry never needed to use a megaphone in her life, Santana figured. Her voice could go on for miles and miles. Someone in Florida could potentially hear her screams from California. If that were true, then all anyone needed was a Rachel Alarm in case of danger.
"Stay calm and try to be quiet. The less you say, the less she may potentially say," Kurt whispered quickly to the brunette.
"If you're her friend, why do you hate on her so much?" Santana had to ask back.
"I don't hate on her, I just understand your thoughts about her. She's who she is and can't help it. Although, there are plenty of times where her heart is showing."
As Kurt was explaining that to Santana, the girl peered over at the incoming group of teenagers and noticed how Quinn was already saddled up right next to the midget. Figures that the two new besties would already have a small chain connected to the each of them. Santana internally shook her head in dislike. What had happened to the chain that used to connect Santana to Quinn? Was that eaten by a zombie? If so, can the same thing happen to Rachel's?
So many rhetorical questions, so little time to not have any of them answered.
The other kids gathered around in yet another messed up circle. The kids that Santana never learned the names of were spread randomly with no real side to be on. Finn was next to Quinn, Puck was in the middle of the Asian and Aretha. Santana was kind of diagonal from the megaphone mouthed Berry, and unfortunately Santana couldn't help but notice how close Brittany was to her. Sam was standing on her other side, but the blonde was standing right next to him.
As soon as she peered at the girl, it was as if Brittany could sense the stare and looked immediately back.
Santana moved her eyes in an instant.
"I am very pleased that you all gathered in a timely manner. This is actually an important meeting that is time relevant," Rachel started off with a smile and was standing straight up like it would help her already short stature. The Latina noticed a quick glance from Rachel to Quinn, and the small smile that Quinn gave to her. After 8 days, their relationship got even closer. Perhaps more close than Quinn had ever been to Santana. That did not help at all with Santana's anger issues.
"Please tell me this isn't anything like that time you thought the building was caving in and it only turned out to be the plumbing was getting clogged," spoke the wheelchairkid. Was his name Arthur? Or was it Ariel? Either one would be easy to make jokes out of. The brunette smiled at the thought.
"No, no, Artie. This is actually extremely important and pertains to our lives here in the supermarket," Rachel reassured the kid, but the words she spoke caused shuffling from the crowd. Even Santana was wondering what time straining, live threatening event Miss Perfect could be talking about.
"What's up Rach?" Finn asked with that bothersome nickname of his. At least Puck wasn't trying to get on her good side.
"Yeah girl, what's going on?" Puck then added in. Santana would've facepalmed but she considered it a terrible time to do so.
"Our food supply is running uncomfortably low."
It was like everything paused for a moment. Although Rachel used the word "uncomfortably" and not, you know, a better word to describe the situation such as "dangerously", people knew exactly what was going on. The only two people that paused for a different reason was Kurt and Santana.
"Way to rip off the Band-Aid, Berry," Santana muttered to herself and Kurt.
"What the hell is she doing?" Kurt fumed back, not exactly knowing how to react to a secret that wasn't supposed to be revealed publically so soon.
"Now, there is no need to panic. I have a plan that is sure to help us." Rachel needed a higher pedestal for her shortness because no matter how much she tried to keep her subjects in control, she couldn't help the barrage of questions that proceeded to rain down on her.
"How much food do we even have left?"
"Do we have weeks left? Days?"
"What about the water? Will that turn off, too?"
"The electricity?"
"I thought we were being saved soon!"
"It has been months, man. Why the hell do you think we're going to be saved now?"
"We can't survive out there."
"We'll be eaten by zombies for sure!"
"Or starve to death first…"
"If we have to end up eating each other, I say that we eat Artie first. He's a liability."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Everyone shut up, will you?! No one is eating anybody!" Quinn shouted right before Rachel had a chance to open up her big yap for everyone to be deaf with.
"Who in their sick mind said that they wanted to eat me first?" Artie asked repulsed from his seat. No one manned up, but Santana knew it was Sam. She thought he said it as a joke, but there was a hint of truth behind it. It wasn't like she was gonna turn him in or anything. The look of guilt on his face was enough punishment.
"Then what's the plan?" Asian guy asked from next to his equal Asian girlfriend.
"Quinn and her group have offered to take us with them and try to help us find another place to live. Maybe even find our parents and Mr. Shue," Rachel spoke adamantly and glanced at each one of her Glee members with hope.
The whole room was quiet for a whole minute. Some kids were taking in the fact that they did have an escape plan with a couple of professionals who knew how to take down the scary creatures outside.
Others were trying to process in their mind what the hell had just happened.
Only Santana, whose emotions had been controlled for too long with too many negative things showing up left and right, decided to talk, no, yell first.
"WHAT. THE. FUCK!"
