A/N: A whole year almost? Holy moly guys, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to let this go i just didn't want to put something out there that would be wrong and not fit. A lot has happened since I last published on this story. If you haven't already, I would be so happy if you looked at my other stories in progress as well! College starts back up this Monday so I think my updates will become more regular now. Enjoy! Comment! Ya know, that stuff!
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"I have the feeling that you want to ask me something," Joel stated firmly, Rachel rarely stopped staring out of the window when they were riding in the truck, but when she did he knew that she had questions. Over the past three weeks, he'd grown fond of the little brunette. Sure, her rambling could get on anyone's nerves but it reminded him of what his daughter would be like if she'd have had a chance to grow up in a better, more stable life. Plus, someone had to take Rachel under their wing and keep that persistent bonehead Finn far away from her. Who better than Joel?
Rachel laughed softly, "I never asked who you were looking for. I know that you discussed it with Burt and Carole but none of us ever found out who it was." She sighed. "I suppose that means your contact isn't currently alive in the sense that we are."
Joel knew this question would be coming up. He had wanted to tell the entire group about his contact, making sure to tell the adults first, after all just because most of these teens were 18, they were still kids. Burt and Carole had insisted that it would do more harm than good, after all, since the disappearance of William Schuester and Emma Pilsbury, the two thought that the group was better off not knowing.
"Look, darlin', I told Carole and Burt and they weren't comfortable with y'all knowing-"
"Carole and Burt are not my parents." Rachel interrupted, resuming her usual stare out of the window.
Joel sighed. This girl could be unpredictable at times. He'd never spent time around teenagers, being in a war while your oldest grew up didn't help, especially not ones that liked to randomly burst into song and were so dramatic, although the songs tended to be sad. He'd heard from the other teens that Rachel had a nice voice. He'd never heard her sing, though.
"I know that. It's ju- you're still so young, you don't need to be hearin all about this crap." Joel tried to reason with her. The only response he got was a huff.
"Fine. Alright. If it's that important to you I'll tell ya." He glanced over at her, hoping that she'd heard him and hadn't decided to block him out like she did sometimes. She was staring intently at it.
"I recognized y'all from a photo that my contact was in." Rachel slowly felt her heart begin to ache and beat faster. "That's why I wanted you to walk with me on the way to the city when we first met. You were standing next to her in the picture." He reached across to the center console, opening it and grabbing out his wallet. He handed it over to Rachel.
She felt her hands shaking and slowly opened it. The picture fluttered onto her lap facedown. She was terrified to pick it up.
"You knew her, I wasn't sure what she was like and I wanted to get a sense of what you were like. That's why when you said you could be bad people I already knew you weren't." Joel watched as she touched the photo, running her fingers along the crinkled edges. "Her name was Lucy Quinn Fabray, she was your friend, wasn't she?"
Rachel nodded, flipping the picture to see Quinn standing next to her, not even looking at the photographer. Instead, she was staring at Rachel. She wondered if Quinn was in love with her at this point. Unable to look at the picture anymore, she turned to Joel.
"How do you know her?" She asked.
Joel laughed softly. "Now that, is a good question." He started slowing down and she watched in the mirror as the others did as well. "Before I answer it, we have to get some supplies up ahead. You wanting to stretch your legs?"
Rachel shot him a small smile, nodding and jumping out of the truck. She looked behind them to see Tina and Puck were already out with their weapons secured to their bodies. Santana was helping Brittany strap her pistol onto her hip. Carole was getting out, presumably to start helping set up rations for the others, Finn was holding the door for his mom, staring at Rachel with sad, puppy dog eyes. She caught Mike trying to talk to his mom, after a week with the group he finally convinced her to get out of their car and eat some food. She hadn't spoken since though. Every now and again she'd catch him glancing at Tina. The two were so in love before all of this, but now? Now they hardly spoke, unless it was in passing to say "Hello" or "Goodbye". She wondered how that happened. Then again, when she looked at herself and Finn she couldn't really judge.
"Hey girl, watch my man again, will ya? I know he thinks he's a badass just because he's good at finding crap but he's not as invincible as he thinks." Mercedes said to her, giving her a small hug too.
Rachel didn't reply verbally, just a simple head nod. She always had horrible nerves before she headed out to search for any kind of supplies, she knew if she spoke her voice would betray her. She didn't need to make Mercedes worry about her and Sam.
"You be careful too, you hear?" Mercedes hugged her again before she turned in search of Sam.
Rachel heard crunching and spun around to see Joel making his way closer. "I know you're nervous but take a breath. You're gonna shoot someone." He laughed.
"Really funny, Joel. Why weren't you a comedian?" She replied sarcastically.
"Private contracting tended to pay a little better, sweetheart." He said, bumping into her with his hip before they marched forward.
"Where is everyone else going?" Rachel asked as she noticed everyone splitting up. She hated when they split up. It meant that they could be ambushed by more than they could handle, less fire power, more danger.
"We're splitting up. We've got a lot of ground to cover." She noticed Joel had three backpacks.
"Really, three? You can't stand that I carry two, you have to out due me?"
He barked out a short laugh. "We need all of the supplies we can carry. We're gonna be saying goodbye to the vehicles once we hit the woods further in." He remarked.
Rachel stopped. "What do you mean?"
Joel looked around before he slung his rifle onto his back. Producing a can of chew and stuffing his lip before he responded. "The woods are safer. Jane's been working on that radio and a lot of the broadcasts had Morse code. Saying head into the woods, travel through there. Apparently those blood suckers aren't a fan of the woods. That or they're just too damn dumb to look there. Either way, we're gonna try it out. Stash the vehicles and if it gets too hard to trek through or it's not safe, we'll head back and take a longer route." Rachel stared at him like he was nuts. "Hahaha, look I know you're a fan of the truck, and believe me, Betsy's grown on me too. But we have to stay smart about this. We're approaching New York way too early. We need to slow it down a little, catch our breath, and be a little safer. We've gone a long while without losing somebody, we ain't gonna risk breaking our record."
"Could you please try to use words that actually exist?" Rachel laughed at him.
Joel crooked a smile and raised an eyebrow. "For you darlin', no chance in hell."
Rachel gasped dramatically. "So rude!" She brushed past him. "Lets get going, 'we got a deadline and we ain't gonna risk running behind." Rachel mocked in a southern drawl.
Joel chased after her. "Hey! I don't sound like that!"
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"Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this but GOD! What were you thinking wearing dresses all of those years?" Evie spoke loudly and enthusiastically. Her eyes glowing back at Quinn, something the blonde still had yet to get used to.
"What, am I more of a shorts and jeans and pants kind of girl?" Quinn chuckled lightly at her as if she hadn't just killed someone moments before this impromptu shopping trip occurred.
Evie walked a circle around Quinn and stopped mere inches from her face. "Let's just say, I wouldn't mind ripping them off of you." She purred lowly at her.
Quinn flashed her brilliant, shining teeth at her. "What's stopping you?" Quinn leaned into Evie. "I could drink a hundred people dry and still, I would crave to taste you," Quinn whispered into Evie's ear.
Evie grasped Quinn's clothes roughly, slamming her onto a checkout counter. "I'm sure there are much more outfits like this."
Quinn didn't reply with words, only the smashing of her lips against Evie's.
The shopping trip was a success.
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Rachel kicked an empty can along the street where cars had been abandoned. In a short amount of time, the city had already started to look like it had been abandoned for years.
"Are you going to tell me how you knew about Quinn? Maybe why she was your "contact"?" Rachel said, not bothering to glance at Joel, instead she continued to kick the stray can and watch for movements in buildings.
Joel frowned towards the girl. "I suppose you knew her better than I thought?" He asks as his voice catches. He knows that young love is rough and can suck pretty bad.
Rachel stopped kicking the can. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Yes." Is all that she could muster for a response.
Joel motioned for Rachel to come over and sit on the curb with him.
He let out a small grunt as he kneeled down to sit. "I received a message from a lawyer. One that worked for the D.O.D. He was a big shot, very hush hush kind of stuff but still a big shot for them. He's the kind of guy who knows people. Best friend if he's your lawyer, worst enemy if he's going after you. Anyways, he sent me an email saying that he needed to meet with me about something that was urgent. So I book a ticket to head out there, some really spooky shit when going to a hidden military base. I'm at the airport and I get an unknown number ringing on my burner phone. I pick it up and it's him. He tells me that we can't meet, that he doesn't have enough time. The only thing he says is that I can find a picture of her at a high school and tells me to check my account." He glances to Rachel who just stares at the concrete. Joel laughs a little to try to lighten the mood. "Most money I've ever seen in my life. Didn't even know my account could hold it all! I head over to this school right away, changing my ticket and everything. There're tons of trophies at this school with her name on them. Lots of pictures of her too, and I was gonna take one where she's with her cheerleader team. Well, then I stumbled onto the one you saw earlier. I figured that that was the truest one out of 'em all. She looked happy." Joel looks to Rachel again and nudges her. "She looked happy. You must've made her happy."
After a few more moments of Rachel blankly staring at the ground, she finally meets Joel's gaze. "I don't think you're going to understand this Joel," Rachel stated.
"Whadda ya mean?" Joel's eyebrows scrunched together.
Rachel sighed and stood up. "Joel…Finn and I.." She took a shuddering breath but didn't seem able to continue.
He fixed her with a hard stare. "You and Finn what?"
Sucking in a deep breath she finished. "We killed her. Your contact, that girl, Quinn. We killed her."
Joel heard ringing in his ears and swayed in his spot on the curb, mildly. "Wh-wh- I don't.. What do you mean you killed heR?" He managed.
"Joel, I'm sorry." Rachel tried.
Joel stood and walked to Rachel, not getting too close. He was furious. He would never hurt this girl but she wasn't who he thought she was anymore. "What the fuck do you mean you killed her?! Did you blow her brains out before I met y'all? Was it a group activity?!" He screamed.
Rachel had owl eyes, "Joel no! That's why there's tension between us-"
"Well fucking obviously!" He paced for a moment before coming back to look at her as a whole. His mouth spelled disgust, his whole face did. "What'd you two do to her? Where is she?"
"Joel please-"
"Enough! Tell me right fucking now Rachel!" He demanded.
Rachel deflated more so. "We were in an accident. She and Finn came to get me. A vampire, he jumped in front of the car. There was so much blood." Rachel looked around at her surroundings. Joel watched as she relived it. "I climbed from the car, it had become flipped, it was a mess. Finn was there but Quinn wasn't. One of those things warned us to leave. She gave us an option. We couldn't save her, Joel! I swear, Joel!" Rachel pleaded with him.
Joel stared at the brunette in front of him. He could see what this had done to her. So young and faced with these choices, choices that he himself had made on missions, well maybe not in the same context but still. Life and death choices always tore people apart, and from the sound of it Rachel truly regretted not staying, even if it would have meant for her to die then. From everything he had heard about how she had changed since this outbreak had happened, he knew she had been affected horrifically by this.
Grinding his teeth together he stepped up to her and wrapped his strong arms around her. She sobbed violently into him. "Shhh, darling. It's-it's alright." He pulled away to stare at her. "Everyone has issues, alright? You'll get through this. I'm gonna help you." He spoke softly. He knew this girl needed help. "You're not a killer, Rachel." He broke away their hug and began to continue their walk. He glanced back and offered a soft smile and motioned with his head for her to follow.
He began to kick the can along the road. "I've known killers. They don't always care if they've killed, some do, but most of them had the intention to do it. You didn't."
He kicked the can to Rachel who looked to him. "Fight or flight, you picked the latter."
She looked down again but began to kick the can again. "I'm sorry I disappointed you, Joel."
She noticed as Joel stopped and ground his teeth, lost in his own thoughts. A moment later he returned from them. "You haven't disappointed me." Looking at her he smiled, eyes catching on something over her shoulder.
Without thought, Rachel dropped and spun. She began to fire once she spotted the creature advancing, Joel had already shot a few rounds off into it. The creature had dark eyes, skin cracked and clothes worn down. It screeched at them with a ferocity that sent chills to Rachel's bones. Joel stopped firing and Rachel felt his grip on her shirt pulling her backward as the creature continued to advance. She kept firing and right as it was about to rip into her, her final shot rang out and the creature dropped, blood pooling around it.
Rachel held tight to her gun, hearing a sigh and catching Joel ungracefully drop to the ground behind her, catching his breath. She didn't see any more coming. Gathering herself from the ground she slung her rifle onto her back and held out a hand for Joel. He peaked up from his place on the ground and laughed while grabbing her hand. Once on his feet, he bounced up and down. "Damn girl, you really know how to scare the shit out of me."
Rachel cracked a half smile, "Fight or flight, right?"
Joel looked at her seriously then. "And?" He questioned.
Rachel adjusted her expression. "I want to fight, Joel. I want you to teach me to fight back."
Joel kept his features stoic and then grinned widely.
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"Hey Rachel, do you have a second to talk?" Finn mumbled, not meeting his eyes to Joel's. Rachel and Joel had just returned from a trip, they'd found a lot of supplies and he knew that meant they'd be ditching the vehicles soon. Three weeks had gone by fast, Joel had taken Rachel into his care and those three weeks turned into three months. Whenever he tried to talk to the girl Joel was always there. He needed to talk to Rachel before things between them became nonexistent.
"She's a little busy, bigboy. Tell ya what, come back a little later and we can all talk about this, yeah?" Joel looked to Rachel and chuckled to himself. He knew how terrified Finn was of him, and he also knew how much Rachel didn't want to talk to Finn. "Off you go pretty boy, I think your momma's looking for ya," Joel said, turning back to his truck, grabbing handfuls of things at a time to be carelessly stuffed into a bag.
Rachel stepped up behind Joel, "Actually Joel, I think I should talk to him."
Joel spun around, almost choking on his chewing Tabaco. "Did ya hit your head while we were out or something?" Joel whispered harshly, glaring at Finn over Rachel's shoulder. "You told me yourself that you don't think he's a good guy. That he drags ya down. So why in the hell would you want to talk to that moron? Is this a little pity party because I truly did miss my invitation."
"Joel…Finn and I… we go way back. I have to at least hear him out." Rachel reached for Joel's arm in a comforting manner.
Joel pulled away immediately. "No. Nah I've seen these kinds of guys. They play it like they've been hurt something awful like they can't live without you. They can! He has! And when it comes time, when shit really hits the fan he'll leave you. You'll need him and he'll leave you just like you two did to that girl." Joel cursed.
Rachel swiveled to see if anyone was listening. "I trusted you with that Joel. I never thought you'd be the kind of person to bring something like that up." She frowned at him.
"You know girl, you remind me of my oldest. She went with a man just like him. I'd always be pulling her out of that shit. She'd swear up and down she'd be done and then next thing I know she's right back with him. Then the hospital. Well now we ain't got a hospital but we got things that were still around for her. Shovels and dirt. And if you don't watch what paths you choose, you'll end up the same way as her." Joel turned to leave.
"It's not like that, it's just talking!" Rachel shouted. Joel raised a hand and dismissively waived her off.
Grinding her teeth together Rachel spun around to wave Finn back over. He had collectively edged his way away from the two when they began arguing.
"What's up Finn?" She addressed him and motioned for him to follow while she retrieved her bag to pull out a granola bar.
"Look I've been thinking. We're stuck in this together. We've been through a lot together, wouldn't it make more sense to stick through this with each other?"
Rachel glanced away towards where Joel was ripping apart a vehicle to collect gear. "Finn it's not that simple. We're different now. We haven't even talked in months-"
"I can't help that!" Finn interjected. "Joel is always around you! He won't let me near you! He isn't protecting you, Rachel, he's controlling you. You barely talk to any of us anymore. Joel is this shadow that hovers over you. I mean what about just now? He wasn't too thrilled you were talking to me was he?" Finn questioned.
Rachel looked away, "Joel has taken care of me. He's taught me all that I know about guns and survival. How to scavenge. Finn he has done more for me than anyone in this group. You included!" She barked out.
Finn deflated but grinned lightly at her. "Then please, teach me. Help me. All through high school, I've been looking out for you, making sure no one hurts you and that you aren't picked on. So will you return the favor?" Finn looked at her with bright, shining eyes.
Rachel sighed, putting her hand over her eyes. He had watched over her during their time in high school, not very well, but he had tried on occasion. And so what if it meant she'd have to spend time around him? She'd help him and they'd just remain friends. No, not even friends. Acquaintances. Then Joel would see just how wrong he was about her and about Finn.
"Fine Finn," Rachel said slowly. Finn smiled and put his fists in the air as a victory symbol. "But I have conditions," Rachel said firmly.
"Of course!" He said, unable to contain his excitement.
"This doesn't mean we're dating." She paused, trying not to notice the way he visibly sighed. "And it doesn't mean that we're friends. I'm just helping make sure you can survive this. It will help protect our group."
"But we are friends-"
Rachel interrupted him, "either accept these conditions or leave me alone so that I can finish packing things."
Finn's eyes grew in size, not used to having her speak to him that way. "Of course, let me help." He would find a way to get her back.
Rachel eyed him and then smiled. "First lesson, pack bags so that the weight is evenly distributed."
"Right, got it!" Finn said over eagerly.
Joel watched on from the other side of camp, this was going to end badly for one of them, he just had to make sure that Rachel came out safe.
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Finn was listening to Rachel talk. I mean he missed her but he didn't really miss all of the talking that she was doing. And sure, he was supposed to be listening but in reality, he didn't need her to teach him anything. He and Puck had actually been practicing shooting with the others whenever Joel and Rachel left. He'd picked up a lot of other basic survival instructions along the way too, so he knew what he was doing for the most part. Finn wasn't as stupid as people thought he was. He knew that the only way to get Rachel to talk to him again would be through teaching, and if that meant that he had to play dumb about some things for a while then so be it. It was for the group anyways. They were stronger when everyone was getting along and communicating. Finn knew that they got along best when they were dating, and his plan was for that to start to happen again as soon as he could.
Finn was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Rachel's voice wander off. The next thing he was aware off were strong arms pinning him on his arms, one coming across his chest.
Finn tried to struggle free but it was no use. "What do you want, Joel?" He ground out.
Joel's upper lip twitched in anger towards Finn. "Listen here bigboy. That girl is strong now, she's healing and she's gonna make it longer than either of us, even if I have to drag you down to hell with me, I'll make sure she lives." Joel got as close to Finn's face as possible without touching it. "Watch your back very carefully kid. I waited too long once before to take care of this kind of shit. I won't make that mistake with you." Joel glared at him and pushed off of him, heading towards where Rachel went to. They had become chummy again after a week of Rachel first taking Finn under her wing. Finn watched as they talked and Rachel began to laugh at something Joel said to her. Finn reached behind his back and felt the cold metal tucked into his jeans brush against his hand. He knew that if Joel was going to come after him he'd have to watch out, and eventually Joel would slip up. Finn would be there.
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Quinn danced along the edge of the building, feeling the air hit her body as she looked down at all of the people camped out on this block. A quiet trickle was barely hitting her ears but it was comforting. She smiled and glanced back at the dead body that had very little blood draining from the neck still.
"These people thought that they'd be safe if they left one guard on duty? A city of this size?" Quinn spoke lowly, feeling the presence of Evie behind her.
Evie trailed her finger along Quinn's strong shoulders as she passed by. "Well, they are human, my dear." She heard Quinn giggle at this. Evie flashed her a wink and watched as kids ran around below, playing tag as a few others watched over them carefully.
"Probably thinking they can keep them safe by making sure they stay in their bounds for tag?" Quinn asked Evie, smiling and stretching her body absentmindedly.
Evie nodded, a whisper of a smile on her lips. "It's sad really." Evie began, tracing her feet over to Quinn. "They'll never know a world other than this." Evie frowned to Quinn, "All of them assume they're strong and safe. That they can hurt us. It's truly sad."
Quinn felt a ping in her chest and she couldn't help looking away. For the past few months, or at least she thinks that's how long it has been since she woke up, she's been getting these strange feelings. She tried to speak to Kamau about it but so far he's only spoken to her in riddles. She can't help but admire the way he speaks, though. So guarded, like a book that's been worn away and is held together much stronger upon inspection. Quinn thinks she probably enjoyed books in her old life.
"What's wrong?" Evie interrupted her thoughts, gently placing a hand on her lower back. "You look so lost, my dear."
"No-I…" Quinn didn't know how to explain it, "It's nothing, I'm just curious about books." She answered in a lame excuse.
Evie smiled wildly at her and burst into laughter at this. "Books? My dear, your mind truly is wondrous." Her eyes darkened considerably after a second, "As are other parts…" She trailed off and embraced Quinn from behind. "But those things can wait momentarily." She whispered huskily into her ear. "Which ones would you like?"
Quinn heard the offer and for just the briefest of moments, she felt sick to her stomach. Her voice was lost so she pretended to be examining the people below. What was going on with her? She saw a little mob of blonde hair race below, clearly trying to run away from being tagged by another child.
She saw Evie look to her out of the corner of her eye and zero in on the little blonde girl. "Ahh, well I won't interfere with the blonde species." She whispered teasingly. "She's all yours. Her mother is right there." She raised her hand away from her embrace on Quinn to point to a darker haired woman. "Get them both while I round up my own catch. She'll protect that girl with her life, which for you, is perfect."
Evie broke away from Quinn and approached the other side of the building that housed the fire escape. She glanced behind her at Quinn. "I'll head in first to stir up some trouble. Don't wait too long." Evie concluded with a wink and jumped off of the fire escape.
Below her, Quinn watched as two men looked towards where Evie had decided to approach from. She watched them until they disappeared behind a corner. A scream and shot rang out, stunning Quinn because normally Evie wasn't sloppy. Redirecting her attention Quinn watched as the group below dissolved into utter panic. Everyone began running and Quinn watched as the little girl and mother got separated. The little girl was screaming for her mother while the mother searched frantically, getting knocked about while doing so.
Something inside of Quinn snapped. She felt no bloodlust, she only felt fear, fear for the young girl and for the mother. She dove from the building, her hair whipping in the wind, white shirt undoubtedly stained red. Her bare feet hit the ground and the few people who saw her began to scream and run in panic far away from her. But soon the crowd of people absorbed Quinn and she honed in on the little girl. The little girl noticed her right away, a look of fear mixed with apprehension, wondering if Quinn was helping her. One glance down at Quinn's shirt and she turned in the opposite direction, trying to squirm into the crowd and disappear. Quinn wasn't going to let her escape, she rushed forward, snagging the girl's arm in an instant and held her close to her body. The girl was screaming and Quinn needed her to stop if she wanted either of them to get out of this alive. "Shhh." Quinn tried to coax the girl. "Stop crying, I need to find your mom." The little girl perked up and began to scream for her mom.
"MOMMY! MOMMY HELP!" She screamed to the crowd.
Quinn was trying to hang on. The feeling of the people around her and holding a living person was beginning to take its toll. Her body screamed at her muscles to tear apart everyone, especially the little girl. Quinn could feel things slow down, she pulled the girl away from her and stared at her. The little girl was still screaming but upon seeing Quinn's face, she froze. Quinn could hear her heart rate pick up clearly feeling like prey being zoned in on by a predator.
As Quinn began to lean in to bite the girl a brunette woman broke free from the crowd. "Sarah! SARAH!" She screamed and caught sight of Quinn holding her daughter.
She slammed into Quinn and pried her daughter from a strong but relenting hold. The woman was busy talking to her daughter in whispered words, that she didn't take notice to Quinn's appearance or what she was. She looked up at Quinn finally. "Thank you! Oh God, thank you." She spoke quickly. We have to go." She reached for Quinn's hand and tugged, slipping on the grip and stumbling forwards. She turned abruptly and swallowed thickly, pushing her daughter behind her. Her eyes widened at the state of Quinn's attire, finally noticing the blood smeared on it.
"I-I..don't please…" The woman tried to find words as she continued to back away, her daughter still behind her.
"She helped me, mommy!" The girl spoke up, thoughtlessly. "She's not like the others, she didn't hurt me." The girl protested. "She can help us and daddy get away." She offered, looking to Quinn still in fear but also in hope.
"Enough Sarah!" Her mother shouted, not taking her eyes off of Quinn. Quinn glanced behind her as she heard a violent scream erupt. Turning back she saw the mother trying to move back even quicker. "We don't want any trouble, please." The woman begged.
"I'm…I'm not going to hurt you." Quinn felt the foreign words leave her mouth. "You need to run before she comes," Quinn ordered.
The woman picked up her daughter and looked around, glancing back towards Quinn each time. "Have you seen my husband? He stands guard on the building. He was assigned to the roof tonight." The woman asked with tears in her eyes.
Quinn felt the pang return and could feel the trickle of his blood deep within where she thinks a soul would be. "I haven't." She stated, not leaving room for more question. "Leave now." She demanded.
The woman looked at her face and then the blood again before returning to Quinn's gaze. She shook her head as the tears overflowed and turned and began to run.
"Quinn?" Evie asked as she approached, people were almost completely gone. Some taking refuge in buildings nearby, unknown to them that Quinn and Evie could still hear the beating of their terrified hearts. Quinn turned to Evie in question. "You're just going to let them get away?" Evie asked in suspicion. "Quinn, my dear, is something wrong?" Evie questioned.
Quinn felt her tight grip on her shoulder and knew what this could mean. She had always suspected that Evie may kill her if she ever gave up doing what they had been doing so far. Quinn could feel her body begin to get hazy. She felt sick, something she wasn't used to. Her mind raced and her vision swam. She cleared her throat before answering. "Of course not…I just-I thought it might be more fun this way." Quinn attempted to excuse her previous behavior.
"More fun?" Evie asked uncertainly. "Was it not fun before?" She sounded unconvinced.
Quinn dug her nails into her palms. "I wanted to chase them. I wanted to-" Quinn almost gagged at her next choice of words. "-to tell them I killed the guard on the roof."
Evie raised an eyebrow. "Why is that important?"
"It's her husband, the little girl's father." Quinn supplied.
"And you know this how?" Evie drove further in question.
"She screamed for her mother and then looked up and screamed for her father." Quinn lied.
The edges to the red haired woman's lips raised in delight. "You, my dear, have the most beautiful of ideas. Your mind amazes me constantly." She pressed a gentle kiss to Quinn's lips. "Now go get them." She whispered against Quinn's lips.
Quinn felt Evie step away so she turned towards where the woman and child had ran towards. The blonde felt eyes on her and knew Evie was watching her to make sure she didn't deviate in the wrong direction.
Quinn ran for a few moments and finally the feeling of being watched disappeared. She could hear the gasps for air and the protests of the child.
"Please baby, just a little bit longer. We'll rest when we're further away." The woman spoke to the young girl.
"I can't momma! Please carry me!" She yelled.
Her mom clamped a hand over the girl's mouth and raised a finger to her lips. "Sarah you can't yell like that. Baby, mommy is tired, she can't carry you any further." The woman said in defeat.
Quinn slowly walked towards them. She knew what she had to do. What she needed to do to stay alive. She carelessly walked towards the family and heard the girl gasp in surprise, her mother once again taking a defensive stance in front of the girl.
"You came for us!" The girl said almost cheerily.
Quinn barely glanced at the girl before looking back up to the mother with a blank, cold expression.
The mother began to shake her head in protest. "Please, there has to be some part of you that is human. Some part that can still-still…feel! My daughter, she can't survive without me. And…and her father, I don't know where he is. Please just let us go or wait until he gets here and you can take me-" Quinn didn't let her finish, there was no point.
"I killed him." She stated. "He was on point and I snuck up behind him and broke his neck." Quinn didn't show emotion, didn't show any sign of hurt. Inside she was breaking down. She had never felt this way before.
The woman in front of her gasped and covered her mouth trying to stop the sobs from erupting. The little girl wasn't fully following, she began to tug at her mother's shirt.
"Mommy, what's wrong?" She kept asking.
The mother ignored her daughter. "P-p-l-ease. Please let her go." The woman offered.
Quinn stepped forward, the woman was so hurt, so upset, she wasn't noticing. She just shook her head. "You will feel no pain," Quinn told the woman in front of her.
This caused her to sob harder. "PLEASE!" She screamed. "She's my daughter! Just let her-" Quinn reached out and broke the woman's neck. Catching her as if they were hugging.
"Please, mommy. Let her help us." Sarah asked, unknowingly.
Quinn's face twisted into agony and she could feel hot tears coming from her eyes. She didn't know she could cry. "Go over behind that car while your mother and I talk, Sarah." Came Quinn's hoarse response. The girl looked at her strangely but left to stand behind a car.
Once Quinn was certain that the girl was out of sight, she gently lay the woman's body to the ground, closing her eyes to make her look more at peace. She drew a deep breath and gently bit into the woman's neck. Once she finished she walked over to the little girl. "I'm going to carry you the rest of the way, okay?" Quinn asked.
"Where's mommy?" The girl leaned back from Quinn to look at her.
Quinn stared into the young girl's eyes. "She's waiting for you." Was all that Quinn said.
She walked towards the mother, the girl clinging tightly to her, not able to see the body. Quinn sat her down to her feet and before she could turn around to look, Quinn made one fluid motion and lay the girl down beside her mother. She repeated the process making sure to get some blood on her.
When she returned Evie was waiting for her with a sinister smile on her face.
"I take it that it went well?" The red headed woman asked.
Quinn plastered on a fake smile, one that pinged at her chest for some reason. "The most fun I've had in a while." She winked at Evie.
Evie laughed wholly and linked her arm with Quinn's. "That's my girl! She said as they left a mass of dead bodies behind. "I'll have to try it sometime."
A/N: So that was a little different to write. I didn't enjoy the whole murdering a kid in a story but it had to be done. Let me know what you think. Until next time-R