This is a shift day [see above]. There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 17.
A/N: I'd like to precede this chapter by wishing a haaaaappy birthday to two wonderful ladies!
Happy 19th to Marie & Charlotte!
"A Dish Best Served Cold"
9. Ninth
They had all been in the school while it was empty before. It had been kind of cool and all that, because it was a special thing… This time around though, it was more creepy than anything. In the hurry to clear out the school once Beiste had warned the police and the threat was established, a lot of students had just left. There were school bags next to open locker doors all up and down the halls. They would make their way to the choir room soon, but first they were being made to take a detour by Puck.
"He said ten minutes and he starts shooting, and you… Where are you going?" Santana asked as she, Finn, and Lauren followed. Standing outside, after Matheson's call had ended, it had taken none of them more than fifteen seconds to decide they would do as they had been told. It was their friends' lives, and if this action extended the detectives' ability to get them all out, then they didn't have much of a choice. Even Lauren had not needed to be convinced, and for that they had been so thankful. They had extracted themselves from the mass of people in front of the school and snuck around to the entrance on the side.
A moment later they realized where he was taking them: the cafeteria. They could just run right in. "Grab whatever you can carry. If he wants us, then we can help them," Puck instructed. They were more than on board. The four of them had eaten outside, as provided by their parents. Unlike the other families, they had been secure in the fact that their children were safe and had taken initiative to look out for those others… It did occur to them that this safety was about to get thrown in their faces, but they had to go in and help their friends.
"Here," Lauren had taken off her vest and held it out so they could pack food on to it and carry more than their arms' loads. Santana worked to fill it and, seeing this, Puck had pulled his shirt over his head and had Finn fill it as well.
"How many water bottles can you carry?" Finn asked Santana, grabbing an armful for himself. She went and took some as well, and now they really couldn't carry more.
"Let's go," she instructed the other three. They left the cafeteria, moving toward the choir room.
"Shouldn't there be cops in here right now?" Puck frowned.
"Don't you just feel safe," Lauren sighed. At the door, with all their arms loaded, Santana reached up her foot and knocked at the door. When the door opened, they were startled to find themselves face to face with Brittany. Santana couldn't get over how terrified she looked, and a moment later she saw why. Matheson wasn't taking any chances, so while he'd made her go check and open the door, he had his gun trained on Artie, in the middle of the room.
"What's all this?" he asked, seeing the food and water.
"Look, we're here, we'll stay, but if you want us, then you need to let them have this, too. I'm sure you're hungry, too," Santana stared him down. By his silence, she knew they had him on that.
"Step away from the door," he instructed them, and so they did. "You two," he looked to Blaine and Sugar. "Get out." Sugar was quick to get on her feet, though she did wait before dashing to the door. Blaine though was having a harder time of it, looking to Kurt, shaking his head.
"I'm not doing it," he insisted.
"Yes, hey, you are," Kurt insisted right back, taking his boyfriend's hands in his. "I'll be fine, but you need to go." Blaine was still shaking his head, and Kurt did all he could to calm him, leaning in to kiss him. On contact, Blaine's arms moved around him, not wanting to have to face the thought of something happening to him without having held him before he went. "Go, please," Kurt whispered at his ear, and looking back in his eyes Blaine saw he was crying, they both were. "Go, I love you, please…"
"I love you," Blaine promised back. "I'll see you later," he vowed, and Kurt nodded.
"Alright, enough, get out of here," Matheson insisted, and Sugar tugged at Blaine's hand, leading him out of the room as both of them looked back to the thirteen left behind. They got through the door and they were gone. "Close it again, lock it again," Matheson told Brittany, and so she did. "Everyone sit, eat," he gestured, as though to say 'by all means, since you forced my hand.' They didn't have to hear it twice. Hungry and thirsty, they reached while the four new arrivals helped on distribution. When her arms were free, immediately Santana had gone and sat at Brittany's side, watching her drink down her bottle of water. She'd never been happier to see those blue eyes staring back at her.
"But… you were safe," Brittany looked ready to cry, and if she was honest Santana wasn't far behind her.
"But you weren't," she pressed a hand at her back, reached so her arm was around her.
Puck continued to stand there holding out his shirt with the food, throwing an eye back to Matheson every once in a while. He would have gladly tackled him, something, but even he could tell that would have been a dumbass move right about now. So he went on, finding Quinn, eating her way through a pack of cookies. "Don't go too fast," he told her, and she looked to him. "Are you okay?" he asked. She took a moment to chew, swallow.
"Better now," she held up the cookies. "Thank you," she didn't know what else to say, knowing he and the others had willingly put themselves in harm's way for them, but looking in her eyes he had to know.
"Wasn't about to leave you hanging," he shook his head, just as Matheson called to him.
"Hey, mohawk boy, how about bringing some of that over here," he indicated the food. Quinn could see Puck's face as he received the order, and she gave a very small shake of the head: don't do anything stupid. He let out a breath, understanding, before he could move and bring the shirt over. Standing there while Matheson picked through the loot, it would have been so easy to just try and overpower him, but the man wasn't an idiot, kept the gun firmly in his hand, ready to shoot as he picked out some things. "Now how about one of those bottles," he looked to Finn, who had been standing by Rachel until she would finish a bottle of her own. He was about as reluctant to approach him and give him something as Puck had been, but he did it. The sooner he did it, the sooner he could get back to Rachel. She hadn't said a word yet, took the bottle when he offered it and got to drinking.
"You gotta eat," he crouched in front of her, picking up the items Lauren had left there for her. She looked up to him, and he could see her face flinching and trembling.
"Finn, I'm scared…" her voice came out just as shaky. He frowned, arms reaching to envelop her.
"I know. I'm right here though. Not going anywhere," he promised. He was scared, too, had been even as the four of them had stood out there, but he couldn't tell her that. Right now she needed him. Soon the hunger would recede, they would start feeling better on that front. But once that happened, they would need to face this brand new reality where they were still trapped, more so than before.
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)
