Holy crap…it's been a while. The plan was to have this chapter up before classes started, but then my mamaw died, I got behind, and I was unable to warn you that it might be a while between updates once school started back. Hopefully chapter eleven won't take quite as long, but this semester has been pretty hectic, so I make no guarantees.
CanadianPianoMan: Your question is answered in this chapter.
Jaely: First sex scene...I've avoided them like the plague before.
Shylocke: Your review made me laugh out loud...I am happy this fic completes you.
Chapter 10 – Dusted
"Are you sure you're okay?" Quinn asked, looking at Rachel in concern.
Rachel nodded. "I'm fine—some sleep probably wouldn't hurt, though."
It was late by the time they got everyone home and could go home themselves. No one really had any idea what was going on and they were very confused when their families told them they had been missing for up to several days. One man wanted to call the police, accusing Rachel and Quinn of doing something to his wife; they couldn't exactly tell the truth, so Quinn quickly made up a lie about finding the woman and then they got out as fast as possible. Rachel just hoped no one recognized either of them so the police wouldn't come knocking on their door, asking questions they couldn't answer.
When Rachel finally opened the door to her house and walked inside, she noticed the light above the kitchen table was on. She walked into the dining room and found Brittany with her head down on the table.
"Brittany," Rachel quietly said, gently shaking the other girl.
Brittany sighed and looked up. "You guys are back."
"Yeah," Rachel said, sitting down in one of the chairs. "What's going on? Did Santana never come back?"
As they drove back after dropping the last person off, Quinn filled her in on some of the details. Needless to say, she was surprised to hear that not only had Santana broke free from her chains, but that she had actually helped. Rachel really thought Santana was faking, and if she ever got loose, she would start killing people. She had really wanted to trust Brittany's judgment, but it was difficult to after hearing the things Santana said to her.
"She was here," Brittany replied.
"Where did she go?" Rachel asked, looking intently at the blonde.
She could tell something was wrong; the only time she had ever seen Brittany like this before was right after Santana died. Brittany looked sullen, which just wasn't like her. Quinn was hovering behind her and when she looked back at her, she had a slight frown on her face as if she was trying to figure out their friend's mood as well.
"Brittany, what happened?" Rachel softly asked.
Brittany looked at Quinn for a moment. "We—"
"Brittany!" Quinn said, quickly taking the few steps toward her, and turning her face to get a better look at her neck. "What the hell happened?"
"It's my fault," Brittany said, tears forming in her eyes.
Quinn scoffed and shook her head. "And she had me fooled; after today, I finally thought she was telling the truth. God, I should have known better. I should have stopped her the moment she showed up, but I let her fight right next to me. I should have staked her the moment she crawled out of the ground, but I wanted to hope I could somehow save her and now she's done this."
"Quinn, it wasn't her fault," Brittany replied.
"Like hell it wasn't!" Quinn yelled.
"Quinn—"
"No, Rachel," Quinn said, holding her hands up. "I'm going to find her and do what I should have done the moment she came back."
"Please, Quinn," Brittany begged, grabbing onto her arm. "It wasn't her fault; we were—I started it. I don't think she meant to hurt me. She stopped and when she saw what she did, she said she was sorry and ran away. I've never seen her look like that before; she looked scared and hurt. I know she didn't mean to do it, so please give her another chance."
"I have to go," Quinn said, pulling her arm away.
"Please!" Brittany yelled after her.
Rachel heard the front door slam and Brittany immediately started sobbing. She sighed and stood up, wrapping her arms around the other girl.
"You have to stop her," Brittany said.
"I don't know if I can," Rachel replied.
"Santana didn't mean to hurt me," Brittany stated.
"Hey," Rachel said, kneeling down beside the other girl. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"
"Santana came back and—I don't know." Brittany sniffed, shrugging. "I kissed her and she finally didn't pull away from me, so I didn't stop. We were—"
"You were making love," Rachel said for her.
Brittany nodded. "I thought things were okay; she was kissing my neck and I thought she was going to leave a hickey or something, but then it hurt. You have to find her before Quinn does; I don't want San to die again and Quinn shouldn't have to do that to her best friend."
Rachel looked away for a moment before looking back at Brittany. "I'll see if I can find Santana before Quinn does, okay?"
"Okay," Brittany said, nodding vigorously.
"I can't promise anything, though," Rachel said, putting her hand on Brittany's arm. "I might not be able to get to her first and if that happens—"
"Just try," Brittany said, looking at her with pleading eyes.
Rachel nodded. "I have an idea where she might be and I don't think it's the first place Quinn will look for her. Make sure you stay here, okay? Lock the door behind me and promise you will not leave."
"I promise," Brittany replied.
"I'll see what I can do," Rachel said, standing up.
She sighed to herself as she walked toward the front door; she didn't know what she could possibly say to Quinn or Santana, but she couldn't stand seeing Brittany looking sad. So, she would try to do what she could even though all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. Brittany was right, though—Quinn shouldn't have to kill her best friend. Plus, Rachel believed Brittany when she said Santana didn't mean to do it. It probably just all became too much for the vampire and she gave in during a moment of weakness. If she could just get to Santana before Quinn did, maybe she could stop this from becoming an even bigger tragedy.
Since Quinn had a car and Rachel didn't, the brunette was at a disadvantage; she walked as quickly as she could, nearly running a lot of the time, and eventually made it there. She didn't see Quinn's car parked anywhere, so either she hadn't come looking yet or she had already come and gone. She cautiously walked in with a stake firmly gripped in her hand; she wasn't only worried about Santana, but everything else that could be around.
Santana seemed to immediately sense her presence and looked up the moment she started walking closer. Rachel started feeling a little nervous and unsure when she saw the look on the vampire's face, but she continued walking anyway.
"You know, you really should walk around graveyards at night," Santana said.
The vampire was sitting on the ground, right above where she was lowered into the ground. She was staring at her headstone as she picked up some small stones and flicked them at it.
"Yes, well, there are definitely places I would rather be right now," Rachel replied, watching Santana closely. "I've had a very long day and I would love to be in my warm bed, but plans change."
"What are you doing here?" Santana asked.
"I came to find you," Rachel answered.
"Well, you found me, now go away," Santana replied.
Rachel sighed. "I can't."
"Yes, you can," Santana replied.
"I promised Brittany I would try to find you," Rachel stated.
Santana nodded. "So, you saw what happened."
"We did," Rachel replied. "Quinn is also looking for you."
Rachel walked the rest of the way to Santana, not having realized she stopped the moment the vampire started talking to her. Santana was one of the few people that always slightly scared Rachel, but now she just terrified her. She tried to act like the vampire didn't, but that was mostly because she didn't want Quinn to worry about her so much or Brittany to think she didn't trust her.
"Q's coming to put a stake in my heart, isn't she?" Santana asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Yes," Rachel answered.
"Why are you here and she isn't?" Santana asked.
Rachel sighed. "She doesn't know I'm out here; she stormed off after she realized what happened and Brittany begged me to do something about it. If you didn't notice, it's kind of hard to say no to her."
Santana actually smiled for a moment, but then shook her head and turned serious again. "I didn't mean to bite Britt."
"I know," Rachel replied. "I wouldn't be here if I thought you did."
Santana pulled her knees up to her chest. "Her heart was pounding and I could practically feel the blood rushing through her veins. Everything inside of me was saying to bite her and before I realized what I was doing, I felt my face change and it happened."
"Can I ask you a question?" Rachel asked and the brunette nodded. "Why haven't you attacked anyone before? You—no offense—but you don't have a soul; I don't really understand how Brittany still matters so much to you."
"And you think I do?" Santana asked. "I don't have a clue what the fuck is going on inside of me right now. Part of me wants to hurt everyone I see, but then there's something that's holding me back. I said all of that shit to you because I was mad and wanted to hurt Q, not because I was actually going to do any of it. Although, part of me kind of wants to."
"That's—a little frightening," Rachel said, shaking her head.
Santana smirked. "I am one scary bitch."
"I might have a theory for it, actually," Rachel said. "For why you're so torn and why you don't necessarily want to kill people. I might be completely wrong, but I think it has something to do with Brittany. Maybe you loved her so much when you were alive that you actually gave her part of your soul."
"Is that possible?" Santana asked.
"I'm not positive," Rachel said, shrugging. "I've read what I could find about it and I've read a few instances where a vampire's soul was restored to them, but the spells to do that have been either lost or in a language that no one understands anymore. But that means the soul can be moved, so, theoretically, it could be possible that a part of yours was transferred. This is complete speculation on my part, though." Rachel sighed and offered her hand to the vampire. "Will you come home? Brittany is worried about you."
"I can't," Santana said, shaking her head.
"The Santana Lopez I know doesn't run away from things," Rachel stated.
"Santana is dead, in case you didn't notice," Santana said, motioning to the headstone.
"You're right here," Rachel said, kneeling so she could be face to face with the vampire. "I may not know what is going on with you, but you've shown you can help and there's obviously still a part of you that's keeping you from being evil. You made a mistake today and it's terrible that you hurt Brittany, but the fact that you feel bad about it says a lot. So, let's go home so Brittany will stop worrying; I can try to calm Quinn down when she gets back so maybe she won't kill you."
"Like she could," Santana said, smirking again.
Rachel shook her head. "Are you going to come back?"
"I'll go back on one condition," Santana said, standing up.
Rachel stood up as well. "What's that?"
"You have to chain me up again," Santana replied. "And this time get chains that can actually hold me." Santana shook her head. "I can't hurt B again; I can't—I never want to see that look on her face again and know that I caused it."
Rachel nodded. "We can do that."
"Okay," Santana replied.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I just gave a pep talk to a vampire that's threatened to kill me on numerous occasions."
Quinn sighed as she walked through the front door; she had looked everywhere for Santana—the school, her parents' house, Brittany's house, the graveyard—but she hadn't found her anywhere. She didn't even know how she felt about not finding her; she knew more now than ever that the vampire was a danger to them all, but she still didn't know if she could kill the vampire. She needed to protect Rachel and Brittany, though, and would do what she had to do to keep them out of harm's way.
"Rachel?" Quinn hollered. "Brittany."
"I'm in the kitchen," Brittany yelled back.
Quinn walked into the room to find Brittany standing at the refrigerator, staring inside it. "Where's Rachel?"
"Downstairs," Brittany answered.
"What is she doing down there?" Quinn asked.
"She said she was going to chain San up," Brittany replied.
Quinn frowned for a moment and then clinched her jaw. "What?"
"She brought her back," Brittany said, lowering her voice.
"What?" Quinn repeated.
She didn't wait around for Brittany to answer; instead, she turned around and stormed to the basement door. She flung it open and nearly ran down the stairs; when she reached the bottom, she stopped in her tracks, looking between the two brunettes. Santana was not only handcuffed to the wall, but she also had ropes around her arms.
"Quinn, wait," Rachel said, stepping forward.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Quinn asked.
"Please, let's talk upstairs," Rachel said, glancing at Santana.
Quinn huffed and turned around, heading back up the stairs; she bypassed Brittany along the way and made a beeline for Rachel's room. Once inside, she crossed her arms and turned around to look at the other girl.
"Why did you go after her?" Quinn asked. "Don't you know how dangerous and stupid that was? She hurt Brittany, the only person she had ever cared about; do you actually think she wouldn't do the same to you?"
"She didn't," Rachel replied. "I went after Santana because Brittany begged me to and I didn't want to see her hurt again. Or you, for that matter. Santana made a mistake—admittedly a huge one—but she's sorry about it. You know she would never hurt Brittany; she simply lost control. It was her idea to be chained up again and it was the only way she would agree to come back."
Quinn sighed and backed up, sitting down in the chair in front of Rachel's vanity. "I don't know what I'm doing."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, taking a few steps toward Quinn.
"This wasn't supposed to be my life," Quinn said, shaking her head. "The three of us were supposed to rule McKinley—to be the girls every guy wanted to date every other girl wanted to be. My biggest worry was supposed to be whether or not I was going to become prom queen, not if putting a stake through my best friend's heart was the right thing to do."
"Quinn," Rachel quietly said, putting her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You're doing the best you can."
"It's not enough," Quinn replied.
"You're only sixteen," Rachel said, kneeling down. "I know you're the Slayer, but there's only so much you can do or be expected to handle. Don't worry about Santana for now, okay? She's completely secure downstairs; I asked the man at the store and he assure me those ropes would hold just about anything."
"If she hurts you—"
"She won't," Rachel assured.
Quinn sighed and tiredly rubbed her eyes. "You should get some sleep."
"We should get some sleep," Rachel corrected.
They both turned when there was a light knock on the door; Brittany was peering in and said, "My mom is here to pick me up."
Rachel nodded and stood up, walking over to the other blonde. "Are you okay?"
Brittany smiled sadly. "I will be. Thank you for doing what you did."
"You're welcome," Rachel said as she became wrapped up in the other girl's arms. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Night, Rachel," Brittany said, releasing her. "Night, Quinn."
Quinn looked up, locking eyes with the other girl. "Goodnight."
She watched the blonde turn to leave and then listened to her footsteps going down the steps followed by the front door opening and closing. Quinn then looked at Rachel, who walked to the window; she assumed the brunette was making sure Brittany safely got to the car even if it was only a few yards between the house and the driveway.
"Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Rachel asked, turning around as soon as Quinn heard the car pulling away.
Quinn shrugged.
"It's been a long day for both of us," Rachel continued. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to be alone tonight."
Quinn nodded. "I can sleep in here."
Quinn stood up and walked across the hall; she pulled out a pair of plaid, pajama pants from the dresser and then walked to the closet to grab a t-shirt. She quickly pulled off her old clothes and changed into her sleepwear before walking to the bathroom in the hall where she removed her makeup and brushed her teeth. When she walked back into Rachel's room, the brunette was still in her bathroom, so Quinn walked to the bed and slipped under the covers. When Rachel emerged from the bathroom, she turned off the light, and walked around to the other side of the bed.
"If you were me, what would you do?" Quinn asked, staring up at the darkened ceiling.
"About which part?" Rachel asked.
"Santana," Quinn replied.
Rachel sighed. "I don't know, Quinn."
"I just want to keep you and Brittany safe," Quinn said, turning her head toward the brunette.
"I know," Rachel said, scooting over, and cuddling into Quinn's side.
Quinn hesitantly wrapped her arms around Rachel, but as soon as her arms were around the brunette, the other girl snuggled even closer. She tried closing her eyes and blocking her thoughts out, but it was hard to do, especially after the day she just had. She was so terrified of losing Rachel and she very nearly had. Quinn knew she was falling deeper and deeper for the other girl, but she was powerless to stop it. Just being in her life was dangerous enough, and Quinn was still waiting for the time the wrong thing realized what the brunette meant to her.
"Goodnight, Quinn," Rachel said, placing a lingering kiss on Quinn's lips.
"Night, Rach," Quinn whispered, willing herself to hold back her tears.
Rachel sat across from Brittany, watching her pick at her salad; she had been sullen and very un-Brittany like all weekend. Friday afternoon she asked to come over and Quinn told her she could, but she wasn't allowed to go to the basement. She begged, cried, and—for the first time Rachel had ever seen—yelled, but Quinn wouldn't budge. Rachel thought she was being a little unfair, but she didn't say it aloud. She didn't want Quinn to think she was ganging up on her and she didn't think she would be able to change her mind anyway.
Rachel glanced at Quinn; she was also picking at her food and didn't look very happy. In fact, the whole table was silent except for Finn and Puck; Finn tried engaging her in conversation, but she wasn't really in the mood to talk. Rachel always tried to be patient and kind to everyone, but Finn couldn't seem to take a hint that she wasn't interested. He seemed to assume that because she didn't have a boyfriend that she should want to go out with him. She was a very verbose person, but she was quickly running out of ways to tell him she wasn't interested. Once she had even told him she was interested in someone else, but he asked who and she couldn't exactly tell him, so it didn't deter him in the slightest.
"What?" Quinn asked when Rachel glanced at her again.
"Nothing," Rachel replied.
Quinn sighed. "You keep looking at me."
"Maybe I simply like looking at you," Rachel whispered and she could see a faint blush on Quinn's cheeks.
Rachel turned her head and noticed Brittany watching them with a sad look on her face. She hated seeing the blonde like this and wished there was something she could do to make things better for her.
"Would you like my pudding cup?" Tina asked, pushing it toward Brittany, but the blonde just shrugged. "If you don't, I'm just going to throw it away."
"Hey, I'll take it!" Finn said, starting to reach across the table.
Rachel scowled and stomped on Finn's foot, causing him to yelp and retract his arm.
"What was that for?" he asked, reaching under the table to rub his injured foot.
"Oh, sorry," Rachel said, shrugging her shoulder.
"Here," Tina said, setting the cup on Brittany's tray.
"Thanks," Brittany said, reaching for it, and smiling the slightest bit.
Rachel mouthed a 'thank you' to Tina and the goth girl smiled at her. Finn was still looking at her in complete confusion and Rachel resisted rolling her eyes; he really was a bit slow sometimes and she might find it slightly charming if he wasn't constantly doing things that annoyed her.
"How was everyone's weekend?" Tina suddenly asked, looking around the table.
"I had a kickass party Saturday night," Puck said, smirking, and then turning to look at Brittany and Quinn. "You ladies really should have been there."
Quinn scoffed. "No, thanks."
"I finished Call of Duty for the third time," Finn said, smiling proudly.
"Boys," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Mercedes and I spent Saturday shopping."
"Excuse me," Quinn said, standing up.
Rachel watched as Quinn threw her uneaten food away and disposed of her tray. When it was obvious that the blonde was leaving the cafeteria and not coming back to the table, Rachel stood up to follow her. She quickly wove her way through the tables, jagging to catch up to the other girl. Either Quinn didn't know she was following her or didn't care because she didn't slow down or acknowledge her in any way. Rachel followed behind her, all the way to the locker room; when she walked inside, Quinn had already disappeared into the training room. When Rachel checked the door, it was locked, so she knocked lightly on it.
"Quinn," Rachel said, knocking a second time.
When the door finally opened, Quinn was standing there with an unreadable expression on her face. "What?"
"I-I just wanted to see if you were okay," Rachel replied. "You left the cafeteria so quickly."
Quinn opened the door wider and Rachel took it as an invitation to enter; she walked to the bench and sat down while Quinn walked over to the punching bag.
"I didn't want to have to lie to everyone," Quinn said, punching the bad once. "One of them would ask what I did and I didn't want to lie. It's not like I could tell them the truth, though; yeah, I spent all weekend keeping Brittany from seeing Santana, who is now a vampire, and then at night I trolled the graveyards for other vampires." Quinn sighed and turned to Rachel. "How do you lie to them? They're not even my friends and I feel bad about it."
Rachel shrugged. "I do it for you. Yes, I'm lying to them, but I do it to keep you safe and keep them happy. If they knew the truth about you, they would know the truth about our world and I think people are happier not knowing. It's why the people in this town see what they see, but they ignore it."
"Do you wish you never knew?" Quinn asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No, not for a second. I'm happier now—I have friends, I feel like I have a purpose."
"I think Brittany hates me," Quinn said, ducking her head.
Rachel laughed. "I don't think Brittany knows how to hate."
"I've seen her sad before, but I've never seen her so—" Quinn sighed. "She actually yelled at me; I don't think I've ever heard her raise her voice to anyone before."
"Why don't you just let her see Santana?" Rachel asked. "Not alone, but with you there so you don't have to worry about anything happening to her."
"I can't," Quinn said, sighing.
"Why not?" Rachel asked.
"Santana asked me not to," Quinn admitted. "She doesn't was Brittany knowing she's the one against it, though."
Rachel frowned. "Oh."
"I promised her I wouldn't say anything and that I would take the fall for everything," Quinn said, sighing. "I would rather Brittany mad at me than thinking Santana doesn't love her."
"I don't think you give Brittany enough credit," Rachel replied. "I really think you and Santana should explain everything to her."
"Maybe," Quinn said, shrugging. "Santana has her mind set, though, and you know how difficult she can be sometimes."
"Maybe I can talk to her," Rachel replied.
Quinn laughed lightly. "Good luck."
"What are you doing here, Brittany," Quinn asked, opening up the front door, and finding the blonde on the other side.
"I need to talk to you," Brittany said.
"I can't," Quinn said, walking past her.
"It's important," Brittany said, following her toward the car.
"Can it wait until tomorrow?" Quinn asked. "We can talk before school."
"Wait," Brittany said, stepping around her, stopping her in her tracks. "I think there might be something we can do about Santana. We can make her normal again. Well, not completely normal, but close."
Quinn sighed; Brittany had that gleam of excitement in her eyes and Quinn didn't want to squash it, but she also knew there wasn't anything they could do about the vampire. She hated seeing Brittany excited and optimistic when she knew it was only going to end in disappointment.
"Britt—"
"I'm serious," Brittany interrupted. "I've been reading some and I really think I know how to fix her."
"Hey, Brittany," Rachel said, drawing the two blondes' attention.
"Sorry, Britt, but we have to go patrol," Quinn said.
Brittany sighed but nodded; Quinn watched as she turned around and walked back toward her mother's car. Quinn waved to Mrs. Pierce when she saw the older woman waving at her; the woman was a lot like her daughter—always happy, almost to a fault.
"What's going on?" Rachel asked, looking at her.
Quinn shook her head. "Nothing."
They both got into the car and Quinn drove them to one of the graveyards; this one was on the outskirts of town and she had only been to it once before. Sue talked to her earlier in the day, telling her she needed to expand her patrol range, which meant she needed to go even further out than she had been. Quinn usually avoided the cemeteries further out since the few times she was out there, she came up empty. She assumed it was because there were less people walking around at night, so the vampires didn't bother going around there if they weren't going to find a meal around.
Rachel stayed quiet during the car ride and it was slightly unnerving to Quinn; the brunette was almost never silent for long and Quinn couldn't help but think something was wrong. She didn't seem upset or anything, though, so Quinn let her be.
"Why does Miss Sylvester want you to come all the way out here?" Rachel asked when they were out of the car, both looking around the fairly small graveyard.
"I don't know," Quinn replied, sighing. "She just tells me what to do and I do it—most of the time, anyway."
Rachel laughed lightly. "I don't really understand you and Miss Sylvester's dynamic. From what I gathered, Watchers are supposed to guide their Slayers, but she doesn't really do anything. Every now and then, she tells you to do something, but when we could really use her, she's not around. I really believe you should see about requesting a new Watcher."
"I think I actually prefer her," Quinn said, shrugging. "I don't think I would like someone watching my every move."
"I know you like to be independent, but she's being careless," Rachel stated.
"Can we—" Quinn paused and turned her head when something caught her eye. "What is that?"
Rachel turned around, looking in the direction that Quinn was staring. "I don't know."
Quinn watched as a caravan of vehicles drove past the graveyard; there were four cars and two trucks that all had black windows. They were following closely behind one another and were all driving well over the thirty-five mile per hour speed limit. The last car started slowing down, but the other four vehicles continued on their journey. When it was obvious that the car was going to stop, Quinn moved to stand in front of Rachel, ready to protect her.
"Maybe they just want to ask for directions," Rachel whispered, placing her hand on Quinn's hip, peering around her.
"It's possible, but I have a really bad feeling about this," Quinn replied, reaching her arm back, pulling Rachel closer to her.
Quinn watched the car come to a complete stop; it sat there for a few moments before the engine shut off and Quinn held her breath. The back, right door creaked open and was quickly followed by the other three doors. Two men and two women stepped out of the vehicle and Quinn watched them intently.
"Oh look, a meal," one of the women said, her face morphing into her vampire face.
"Not good," Rachel whispered.
"You think?" Quinn sarcastically said.
She felt Rachel reach into her back pocket, pulling out her stake she had put there; the other girl placed it in Quinn's hand and she gripped it tightly. Two of the vampires were walking closer, smirking, and the other two were heading toward the sides; she could tell they were trying to trap them so they had no place to run. Rachel was pulling on her shirt, walking them backwards, stepping every time the vampires took a step forward.
"Get them," the tall, blonde, male vampire instructed.
The two that we on the sides ran at them; Quinn kicked one in the stomach and turned around just in time to punch the other one in the face. Rachel kneed the first one in the nose while he was doubled over from Quinn's kick and the blonde continued exchanging punches with the female vampire. When the other vampire finally stood up, he swung his fist, catching Rachel's jaw and causing her to fall. She clutched at it and Quinn looked over her shoulder at the brunette; as she was distracted, one of the other vampires ran at her, knocking her to the ground. Quinn tried to get up, but the vampire was on top of her, preventing it; she looked to the side and the vampire Rachel was fighting had picked her up, holding her so her feet were dangling.
Quinn groaned as the vampire punched her in the mouth and she could immediately taste blood. Her hands were being held down, so she head-butted the vampire, dazing him, which gave her the opportunity to kick him off. She didn't hesitate in running toward the vampire holding Rachel; she kicked him in the leg, hearing a snap, and Rachel was dropped to the ground
"Run," Quinn said, grabbing her hand.
Rachel did as she was told and ran as fast as she could; Quinn was right behind her until one of the vampires caught up to them, tackling her from behind.
"Go to the car," Rachel instructed.
Rachel ignored her and backtracked, kicking the vampire in the side at the same time Quinn bit his hand. He fell onto his back, beside Quinn, and Rachel tossed her stake to the blonde. Quinn caught it with ease and rolled on top of the vampire, bring the stake down and into his chest. Before he even turned to dust, Quinn was jumping up, grabbing Rachel's hand, and running toward the car.
"Why are we running?" Rachel asked as soon as she jumped into the car.
"Because we're smart," Quinn replied. "Fighting four at once is bad enough, but I'm afraid their friends are going to show back up and then we're really in trouble."
"Why would a bunch of vampires drive to Lima?" Rachel asked.
"That's a good question," Quinn replied, stepping on the gas pedal.
"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked, following Quinn into the house.
The blonde sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
"I can't believe Miss Sylvester actually told you not to do anything," Rachel said, shaking her head.
"As much as she acts like she doesn't care about anyone, I think she's afraid something will happen to us," Quinn said, walking toward the basement door. "As far as she knows, she's already lost Santana, and she probably doesn't want to lose her Slayer too."
"Do you think the Watcher's council will be able to provide her with any information?" Rachel asked.
"Maybe, maybe not," Quinn replied. "Caravan of vampires isn't exactly a lot to go on."
"Regardless, I'm going to do some research," Rachel said, waiting on Quinn to open the basement door. "Maybe I can find something about a ritual or anniversary—anything that will explain why they're here. If we know that, maybe we can figure out what they're going to do and they best way to get rid of them."
"Yeah, one down, about twenty more to go," Quinn said, unlocking the last deadbolt.
Quinn walked down first, just in case, but Santana was still completely secure against the wall. The vampire was watching something on the television—it sounded like news—and only briefly looked up when they walked into the room. Rachel made a beeline for the computer while Quinn walked to the bookshelf and grabbed a book at random. She wanted to tell Santana to help, but the vampire looked so depressed that she didn't have the heart to make her look through a bunch of boring, research books.
"There were attacks last night," Santana suddenly said and Quinn turned around to look at her. "Three people were killed."
"What?" Rachel asked, her mouth hanging open in shock.
"It was on the news earlier," Santana said, nodding toward the television. "The police are telling everyone to stay in their houses after dark and advising people to not open their doors for anyone, not matter what."
Quinn sighed and sat down in a chair.
"It's not your fault," Rachel stated.
Quinn laughed lightly and looked at the brunette. "What makes you think I thought it was?"
"Because I know you," Rachel replied. "Right now you're thinking how you should have stayed in the graveyard last night, fought the vampires, and then you should have looked for the rest." Quinn looked away, but heard Rachel laughing. "Tell me I'm wrong."
"No," Quinn sighed, "you're right."
Santana suddenly gasped. "Brittany!"
Quinn quickly looked toward Santana and then at the stairs; the blonde was standing at the bottom with a sheepish look on her face.
"The door wasn't locked," Brittany replied.
Quinn frowned; she thought for sure she had locked the door upstairs. She knew she didn't lock the basement door back since there was no one in the house to come downstairs that shouldn't be there.
"Can we talk?" Brittany asked, gazing at Santana.
"You shouldn't be here," Santana said, looking away.
"Why not?" Brittany asked, stepping forward.
"Because I don't want to hurt you again," Santana replied, still not looking at the blonde.
Brittany shook her head. "You won't."
"You don't know that!" Santana nearly yelled. "I promised I would never do anything to hurt you, but I did and I can't let that happen again. I would do anything to not hurt you, and if that means not being around you, then that's what I'll do."
A smile slowly appeared on Brittany's face. "That's what I needed to hear."
Quinn frowned. "Brittany, what are you—"
"I told you, I think I know how to fix Santana," Brittany replied.
"What do you mean 'fix Santana'? Rachel asked.
"I found a spell that will help her," Brittany answered. "It won't make her not dead or anything, but it will make her not want to hurt people."
"Like—giving her soul back?" Quinn asked.
"No, not that," Brittany replied. "I don't know what exactly it does, but I know it will stop San from doing anything bad."
Quinn rubbed her eyes. "And who do you think is going to do this spell?"
"Me," Brittany replied.
"You?" Rachel said, frowning.
"Yep, I'm like totally a witch now," Brittany said, smiling.
Quinn and Rachel both looked at each other with confused looks on their faces. Quinn loved Brittany, but the other girl wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and could often be confused about things.
"What do you mean you're a witch?" Rachel asked.
"I didn't know it for a long time, but then I saw you do that cool spell at the school that one time and I thought I would try it," Brittany replied. "It turns out I'm really good at it; my mom actually told me she's a witch too, so I guess it runs in our family. That's actually how I got in the house; I'm sorry I lied, but I just wanted to see Santana and you guys wouldn't let me, so I did a spell and unlocked the door."
"I knew I locked that door," Quinn said, frowning.
"I'm pretty sure I can do the spell, but Santana has to want it done or it won't work," Brittany said, turning to look at the vampire.
Santana stared at the blonde for a moment before shrugging. "I'll do it. I told you, I'll do anything to not hurt you again."
"I have all the stuff in a bag upstairs," Brittany said, turning back to Quinn and Rachel. "I can do it right now, but San and I need to be alone."
Quinn glanced at Santana and the vampire gave her a swift nod. "Okay—I'll get your bag for you."
"How much longer can this take?" Quinn asked, walking around the living room.
"Some spells can take hours," Rachel said, shrugging. "While doing research, I've seen some very complex ones to vanquish demons. If Brittany is telling the truth and she really is a witch, we could really use her at some point. The spell I performed to dispatch of the ghost was very simple compared to a lot of them and I honestly do not believe I would successfully pull them off."
"I just—how can Britt be a witch?" Quinn asked, shaking her head.
Rachel shrugged. "While I agree that Brittany is not conventionally what people would consider book smart, maybe her talents lie else well. If her mother is a witch, it could run in her blood, which is why she picked it up so quickly. I have done extensive research into the supernatural and there are such things as natural witches; they usually come from a long line of magical beings."
"They don't all go to a special school when they turn eleven, do they?" Quinn asked.
Rachel laughed. "No, as far as I am aware, there is nothing like Hogwarts."
"Too bad," Quinn replied, sighing.
"I didn't take you for the Harry Potter type," Rachel said, smiling.
"You don't know everything about me," Quinn replied. "It's not exactly cool to be a Cheerio and like Harry Potter or, you know—read, so it wasn't something I advertised."
"So you're a secret nerd?" Rachel asked.
"I am not a nerd," Quinn said, raising her eyebrow.
"You were hoping Hogwarts was real," Rachel said, shrugging. "You sound like one to me."
Quinn huffed and crossed her arms over her chest; she wanted to tell Rachel she was an even bigger nerd than her, but she held her tongue. Rachel had been nothing but kind and generous even when Quinn didn't feel like she deserved it. Quinn had picked on Rachel enough for a lifetime and she didn't want to risk hurting the brunette's feelings ever again.
"Just so you know, I happen to think nerds are cute," Rachel said as she stood up.
Quinn shook her head, slowly smirking, and watched as Rachel walked toward the kitchen. When the other girl came back, she had two glasses of water and handed one of them to Quinn.
"Thanks," Quinn said, taking it.
"I thought we should stay hydrated; we could be here a while," Rachel said, shrugging.
"Always so dramatic," Quinn quipped.
"One does want to be prepared," Rachel replied.
Quinn laughed. "Even in your own house?"
"Of course," Rachel said, smiling.
Quinn shook her head, but she was smiling; Rachel was unlike anyone she had ever met, but that was one of her favorite things about the brunette. She was always herself, no matter how much other people tried to change her or tell her that who she was wasn't good enough.
"I have a proposition for you," Rachel said, playing with the edge of the blanket she had thrown over herself.
"Oh," Quinn said, raising her eyebrow.
Rachel cleared her throat. "I was wondering if you weren't busy this weekend, if you would maybe like to go do something—"
"What kind of something?" Quinn asked.
"A date kind of something," Rachel replied.
Quinn opened her mouth, but quickly closed it; she honestly didn't know what to say to Rachel. She liked her—really liked her—there was no denying that, but there were so many other things to consider. She was the Slayer, which meant she had a lot of responsibilities and it also meant she had a target on her back. If she was going out with Rachel and anyone or anything ever found out, she would be in even more danger than she would be if they were just friends.
"Rachel, I—I think they're done," Quinn said, hearing the basement door open.
Rachel stood up and they both took a few steps forward. Brittany was the first to come into the room and when she stepped aside, Santana was standing behind her.
"Did it work?" Rachel asked.
Brittany smiled and nodded her head. "It worked."
"Really?" Quinn asked, walking toward Santana. "You're like—neutered then?"
Santana scoffed. "Fuck you."
"Language," Rachel said, stepping forward. "You don't want to hurt people?"
"I wouldn't say that," Santana said, scowling at Quinn.
"I was actually wrong on what the spell would do," Brittany said, sheepishly. "It doesn't make her not want to hurt people, but it makes it so she can't hurt people."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, frowning.
"Britt made me try to bite her and I couldn't," Santana replied, shrugging. "I tried, but it was like there was a force field around her, so I couldn't do anything."
"Is that all the time?" Quinn asked.
"No, just when she's trying to hurt someone," Brittany answered.
"The spell seems to know my intentions," Santana added. "Britt did it—whether I want to or not, I can't hurt anyone."
"I told you I could do it," Brittany said, smiling.
"Guys!" Brittany called from the basement and Quinn could hear her footsteps coming up the stairs. "There's something really weird going on outside."
Rachel frowned and walked toward the large window in the living room, pulling aside the curtain. "Quinn, I think the vampires from the other night are back."
"What?" Quinn asked, coming up beside Rachel.
One of the cars Quinn saw the other night was sitting across and slightly down the street. Five vampires were standing outside the car and one of them was motioning down the street, the opposite direction from Rachel's house. Two of them went in the direction he was motioning and the other two, along with the one directing them, headed the opposite way.
"What are we going to do?" Rachel asked.
"I'm going to go out there," Quinn replied.
"We're going to go out there," Rachel corrected.
"Can I help too?" Brittany asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.
"It's going to be dangerous, Britt," Quinn said, looking at the blonde.
Santana rolled her eyes. "It's no more dangerous than Berry going with you."
Quinn sighed. "Fine, but you need to keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens to her while she's out there."
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" Santana asked.
"Right," Quinn replied. "Let's go to the basement and grab some supplies, but hurry. I don't know what they're doing out there, but it can't be anything good, so we need to be quick."
Rachel was already on her way to the basement and Quinn wasn't very far behind; Santana and Brittany were following her and the blonde seemed overly excited at the prospect of fighting some vampires. She was slightly worried for her friend, but she knew Santana would protect her in any way possible. As much as she hated the thought of pulling more people into the danger, four against five was a lot better odds than two against five.
When Quinn got to the bottom of the stairs, she immediately walked to her bag on the floor and pulled out several stakes; she held onto one, but tucked the other one in her back pocket. She also grabbed a cross and a bottle of holy water and put them into her front pockets. When she turned around, Rachel had a stake in one hand and a cross in the other, and Brittany and Santana were both holding stakes in their hands. Brittany seems a lot more enthused about it than Santana did, but at least the vampire wasn't complaining. She still seemed sullen, though, and Quinn knew it was still from hurting Brittany; she was punishing herself worse than anyone else ever could.
"Are we ready?" Quinn asked.
"Yes!" Brittany said, smiling.
"Okay, everyone be careful out there," Quinn said more so to Brittany than anyone else since she knew Rachel was always careful and that Santana could take care of herself.
Everyone followed Quinn upstairs and she motioned for them to stay back as she opened the door. When she peered outside, the group of vampires was just outside the neighbor's front door. From where she was standing, she couldn't tell what they were doing; she wanted to get closer, but she knew they would see her if she tried to walk closer.
"Do you see them?" Rachel whispered.
"They're over there," Quinn whispered back, nodding toward them.
"What's the holdup?" Santana asked.
Quinn whipped her head around and glared at Santana; she heard a growl outside and sighed, turning back around. The vampires had heard Santana and were now walking toward Rachel's house; they had obviously seen Quinn and Rachel because they were all smiling and looked as if they had just found their next meal.
"Thanks so much, Santana," Quinn said, rolling her eyes.
Santana smirked. "No problem. Now quit being such a pansy." Santana shoved Quinn over the threshold. "I could use a good fight after being in the basement so damn long."
The vampires started running at Quinn; she narrowly dodged the one in front, tripping him in the process, and then she landed a right hook to the female vampire that was just behind him. Santana sauntered up to the first vampire and punched him so hard that he went flying into the air, landing on his back, several feet away, right next to Quinn. Quinn elbowed the female vampire in the face, knocking her to the side, and leaned down, staking the other vampire in the chest.
Brittany and Rachel were both fighting the third vampire, but seemed to be doing just fine, so Quinn turned back to the other one. Santana was already fighting it, but didn't seem to have a stake, so Quinn reached in her back pocket and tossed her other stake to her friend. Santana head-butted the other vampire and put the stake in his chest, turning him to dust. When she turned around to check on Brittany and Rachel, the brunette had the vampire by its arms, and Brittany was running her stake through him.
"We have company?" Santana said, nodding past Quinn's shoulder.
Quinn turned around and the other two vampires from the car were running toward them. As soon as she took a step toward them, a fireball flew past her head, hitting one of the vampires in the chest. Quinn hit the ground in surprise and looked behind her; Brittany was standing a few feet away, smiling proudly.
"Did you do that?" Quinn asked in surprise.
"Yep, although I was trying to slow him down, so it didn't really work like I meant it to," Brittany said, shrugging.
Quinn laughed lightly. "Well, either way, well done."
"Behind you," Brittany stated.
Quinn turned around, plunging the stake in the last vampire's chest. "Thanks."
"What now?" Rachel asked, jogging over to her.
"I have a feeling the rest of them are out tonight too," Quinn said, sighing. "This is going to be a long night."
"Do you think we should split up?" Rachel asked.
Quinn looked at Santana and Brittany for a moment; Santana was just as strong as she was and Brittany seemed to have power that Quinn had never expected. "Okay, but everyone needs to be careful and we'll stay in pairs; if it looks like you can't handle things, run and get back to Rachel's house."
"Aye aye, Captain," Santana said, smirking.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "See you guys in a bit."
"We're lucky they all split into groups," Rachel said right after Quinn dusted another vampire.
It was the third one from the truck that was now sitting nearby, empty. They stumbled across the vampires in the middle of town, right outside the Lima Public Library. They had only been driving through town for a few minutes when they found them and Quinn was thankful they got to them before they could get to anyone else. Luckily people had been warned to stay in their houses or there probably would have been more dead people in the news.
"If Brittany and Santana haven't found any and they all stayed in town, that would leave three cars and one truck left," Quinn said, looking around.
"Where should we go now?" Rachel asked.
"Let's drive toward the school—hold on." Quinn took her vibrating phone out of her back pocket.
"What is it?" Rachel asked, trying to see the screen. "Well, Brittany is being very rude; that isn't like her."
Quinn laughed lightly at the frown on Rachel's face. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess Santana used Brittany's phone to send that text."
"Oh," Rachel said, blushing. "That does make more sense."
"Yeah," Quinn said, shaking her head, and smiling. "If they're staying on the west side, they have the school covered, so let's go toward the park, instead."
"Why the park?" Rachel asked.
"These vampires don't seem to care if people see them," Quinn replied. "In fact, I get the feeling they want to run into as many people as possible. Vampires are usually a lot better about not getting on the news, but this group doesn't seem to care, which is really strange. They killed three people, but left their bodies in the open, for people to find—it sounds like a message to me."
"I never thought of that," Rachel said, cocking her head. "It makes sense, though, that vampires would want to cover their tracks. If humans knew they existed, they would never go out after dark, and that wouldn't be very beneficial to a vampire's survival. Why would this group of vampires want people to know they're in town, though?"
"And there was nothing in your research that would tell us why they're here?" Quinn asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No—but I kind of forgot to look again."
Quinn raised her eyebrow and stared at Rachel. "Okay, what is going on with you?"
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"You've been sort of—distracted the last few days," Quinn replied, shrugging. "Especially today; you haven't been yourself and I was just wanting to make sure everything is okay with you."
"I'm fine," Rachel said, waving Quinn off. "I've been distracted because of Glee; Sectionals are coming up quickly and we're still four members short of being able to compete. I know I really shouldn't worry about it considering everything that has happened, but—"
"Hey," Quinn said, grabbing Rachel by the hand and pulling her closer. "Of course you should worry about it; you want to be on Broadway one day, don't you? Isn't that your dream?"
"Yes, but it seems so trivial now," Rachel said, shaking her head.
"Rachel, it's important to you and you shouldn't feel bad because of that," Quinn said, sighing. "This may be my life now, but it doesn't have to be your life as well. You're going to leave Lima one day, go to New York, and become incredibly famous, and Glee is going to help that dream come true. I don't want you to think it doesn't matter or that it shouldn't matter to you. It isn't fair that I drug you into my mess, so I'm happy you still have something normal in your life to take you away from all of this."
"You didn't drag me into this," Rachel replied. "If you recall, I was quite happy to join you."
"Are you still happy about it?" Quinn asked, curious.
"If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be," Rachel replied. "I might not be special like the rest of you, but I'm going to do my darnedest to help in any way that I can."
Quinn frowned. "What do you mean you're tot special?"
"Well, you're the Slayer, Santana is a vampire, and Brittany is a witch," Rachel replied. "I'm the only one that's not special."
Quinn shook her head. "You're wrong, you know? You still come out here and fight just like the rest of us; I think that makes you more special."
Rachel ducked her head, but Quinn could see she was smiling as she said, "Let's get to the car and go to the park, shall we?"
"Why isn't Brittany answering her phone?" Rachel asked, frowning at the device in her hand.
"You probably don't want to know," Quinn said, rolling her eyes.
"You don't mean they're having intercourse, do you?" Rachel asked.
Quinn laughed. "Who calls it intercourse anymore?"
"Sorry, but it seems unlikely to me that they would be doing that at a time like this," Rachel replied and Quinn laughed even louder. "What?"
"You've met Brittany and Santana, right?" Quinn asked.
Rachel sighed. "Okay, you're probably correct."
"Of course I am," Quinn said, smirking.
Quinn was driving them home after a very long night; they had run into two other groups of vampires. The first group was at the park when they arrived and the second took a while to find, but they eventually found them in one of the wealthier neighborhoods in town. The second group was the same group of vampires Quinn and Rachel had fought earlier in the week and they didn't appear very happy to see them again. One in particular seemed to have it in for them; Quinn figured it was because they had killed the group's fifth member and maybe it was the vampires mate. Whatever the reason, though, Rachel had a gash on her forehead from the vampire knocking her onto the sidewalk and Quinn already had several bruises forming on her abdomen.
They had driven around town for the last few hours, unable to find either of the other two groups of vampires. They eventually gave up, assuming that maybe Brittany and Santana had taken care of them. Rachel was still trying to call Brittany's cell phone to see how their search had gone, but the blonde wasn't answering. Quinn wasn't worried, though, because like she told Rachel, she and Santana were probably off somewhere together; it wouldn't be the first time her calls were ignored for that very reason.
"Did we leave the lights on?" Rachel asked as the car approached the house.
"I don't think so," Quinn replied. "I told you they would be here."
Rachel shrugged her shoulder and unbuckled her seatbelt. "They better be doing it on her bed and not in the living room or my room."
"I wouldn't count on it," Quinn replied, laughing.
They walked up to the door and Rachel cautiously opened it, peaking inside. "Well, at least they're not in the living room—or are being very quiet."
"They don't know how to be quiet," Quinn said, shaking her head.
Quinn walked inside and headed for the basement door, but before she got halfway through the house, she heard voices coming from the kitchen. When she went into the room, Brittany was sitting on the counter in nothing but her underwear and Santana was leaning against the refrigerator, thankfully fully clothed.
"What took you so long?" Santana asked, smirking at her.
"Well, someone wouldn't answer her phone, so we drove around for hours looking for more vampires," Quinn pointedly said.
"Sorry about that, but we were sort of busy," Santana replied, causing Quinn to roll her eyes.
"So you dispatched the other two groups?" Rachel asked.
"They're dust," Santana confirmed.
"Good," Rachel said, smiling. "I would still like to know why they were here, though. Do think it has something to do with Shelby? Maybe she brought them here to kill you."
"Well, if that was the plan, they did a suck ass job at it," Santana replied.
Rachel frowned at Santana, but ignored her bad language. "I wish her Watcher's diaries had a picture of her; it would be good to know what she looks like. For all we know, we might run into her, but have no idea."
"You're forgetting, Berry, but one of us has seen her," Santana said, rolling her eyes.
"What did she look like?" Quinn asked, curious now that Rachel brought it up.
"Long, dark hair, dark eyes, tall—actually, she looked a lot like Berry," Santana replied. "Except, you know, she wasn't a midget."
Rachel huffed. "I am not that short."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Santana said, smirking at Rachel.
"You're hurt," Brittany said, appearing to finally notice the gash on Rachel's forehead.
"I'm fine," Rachel said, reaching up, and gently brushing her fingers along the cut.
"Where's your Band-Aids?" Brittany asked, jumping off the counter.
"They're upstairs," Rachel replied and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Brittany had her by the hand, and was leading her out of the kitchen.
"You and B were okay out there?" Quinn asked as soon as the other two were out of earshot.
Santana nodded. "Britt kicked some vampire ass."
"I didn't know she had it in her," Quinn said, smiling.
"When are you going to learn to never underestimate my girl," Santana replied before turning her head and staring at Quinn. "Do you think Shelby had something to do with what was going on tonight?"
Quinn shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea."
Santana pushed off from the refrigerator. "Whether or not it was her, I have no idea. You need to watch yourself, though, because one of these days, she is going to come after you."
Quinn sighed and looked away. "I know."
Hopefully that was worth the wait; I do apologize for how long it took me to write this and hopefully it never takes me that long again.
Please take a few seconds to leave a review and let me know what you thought.