Disclaimer: I don't own glee.
Finn didn't know why he was awake at such an early hour of the day. He was yawning and padding alongside the glee club only half awake.
The sun was just rising into the sky and they were already on the move. They could see the damage the fire had done.
The rain that had come at around midnight put out the fire. This showed that humans were good for nothing.
Many creatures of the forest were wandering around. They were singed black and some weren't able to stop coughing.
The remains of bodies were scattered across the ground. Some were smoking from the flames. Some were lying with their mouths still open, giving there last cough on the smoke.
As they walked past a fawn, Finn heard it cry out for its mother. His heart broke a little as he thought of Bambi. He wished the fawn didn't look so lost.
They kept moving. They saw fewer casualties as they walked along the river. The fire seemed to have stopped just at the river.
They were hungry but Felicity said it wouldn't be wise to stop walking. They needed to get to the next safe point.
Finn wasn't aware of when they crossed into Illinois but according to the female wolf, they were inside of the border.
Fritz had run ahead to meet with their next check point. The whole group had been to weak to attempt keep up with him.
Will's injuries were healing. He could feel them scabbing over but they were sore. He was walking with a slight limp but it wasn't as bad as Rachel's.
She was trudging along with the group but her pain was obvious. She had her head hung low to the ground, straining against her own body to achieve her goal.
The only one who didn't appear to be affected by what was happening was Britney.
They watched her as she happily skipped along in her funny way. Her tail wagged happily as she did.
She didn't have a care in the world on the moment. They were getting closer to her home and that was enough to make her happy.
Felicity led them into a corn field and put her nose to the ground. She sniffed around and then let out a few yips.
They waited for a long time before anything else happened. After about ten minutes, a rustling noise sounded through the air.
A sandy colored Golden Retriever appeared through the corn stalks. It was panting with tiredness and carried its head low. It was clearly old.
It approached and said in an old, kind voice, "deepest apologizes, Felicity. I'm not as young as I used to be."
The she wolf smiled and said, "It's no problem at all. I shall leave them with you. Good luck to all of you," she said before she disappeared back into the stalks.
Will addressed the old dog. "Thank you for agreeing to take us in. I'm sorry this inconvenienced you."
The dog gave a hearty laugh. "It's no problem, lad. An old timer like me needs to take a good hike every now and again."
The dog looked at the pups and smiled at them. "These must be your pups… well kids I suppose. You lot are really human, huh?"
The kids could only nod. They were so tired at this point they just wanted to take a nice long nap. The puppy bodies were very limited.
"Yes. These are my students." Will said. The dog reminded him of Finn. He was so accepting of others even if they were different.
"Well, let's get these little ones out of the sun and into a cozy little basket," the dog said. He turned and began to lead them through the corn.
Will followed him closely and shepherded his kids in front of him. "What's your name?" He asked the dog.
"I'm known as Leo," the dog says. Leo brought them into a cozy little shed. A corner of the shed was ripped up and they slithered through it.
The shed was small but it was larger then what they had been sleeping in. It was dry and warm and safe. It made them feel like their predicament was not horribly unbearable.
The kids rushed the moderately sized, woven basket that was tucked in the corner. They took turns crawling under the blanket and relishing in its soft texture. They tumbled around like the pups they were.
Mr. Shuster smiled at the sight. It made him laugh and the old dog next to him joined in. He hated to bring an end to there fun but they needed to keep on the move.
"Alright, guys. Hit the hay," he said. They snuggled down together and began to drift off. They fell into a gentle, restful sleep.
"I'll leave you now. We'll be leaving rather early so get as much rest as possible," Leo said.
Will thanked him and when the old dog left, he laid down next to his pups.
*Glee*
They awoke early the next morning to a delicious scent. As the kids opened their sleepy eyes, they saw a marvelous thing.
Food was piled up into a bowl. There was cheese and bread and a dish of milk. They tripped over each other to get to it.
Mr. Shuster was woken up when Puck fell out of the basket and onto his side. They gobbled the food quickly.
Mr. Shuster stretched and looked over at Leo who sat quietly in the corner. "William, I need to talk to you."
Mr. Shue got up and walked over to Leo. The dog looked perplexed.
"What's wrong?" He asked the dog.
Leo heaved a heavy sigh. "Your next guide arrived this morning but he seems… shifty. He's a stray. I'd do it myself if I could but I'm to old. Just be careful alright. He wants to leave as soon as you're finished eating."
Will nodded and thanked Leo before getting ready to leave. He downed what the kids hadn't finished which was actually quite a lot. Then they moved outside.
Will instantly noticed what Leo meant about the dog. It was very thin and its eyes shifted around uneasily.
The dog didn't say anything but 'come'. Will thanked Leo and ushered his kids after the dog.
They traveled in silence until they heard a strange roaring sound. They finally realized what it was. They had reached a highway.
The kids looked at the cars with a sense of desire. They just wanted to go home.
They were snapped from there thoughts by their guide. They never even learned his name. He had deemed it unimportant.
He was ready to move on but was soon distracted once again. They looked back to some humans approaching… humans that were carrying a net.
The guide took off. He was gone before they knew what happened. The kids didn't move. They didn't know what to do.
Will finally decided for them. "Back away." They tried to move away as quickly as possible but before they knew it, the net was over them.
They tried to fight it off but they couldn't. A strange crate was brought out and the man brought the net back and over Artie. They lifted him up and placed his into the crate.
The process of singling out pups continued until Mercedes, Sam, Santana, and Britney joined Artie in the crate. They were carried away and then another was brought out.
The rest of the pups were jammed into this one. They two disappeared and Mr. Shuster became frantic. He wanted his kids back.
A catch pole was brought with them the next time the men returned. It was looped over his neck and he followed them.
They brought him to their truck and made him jump into a cage like thing. The thing that relaxed him was that the kids were in there.
They didn't know how much time passed but after what felt like ages, the door was opened.
They were taken into a shelter. They were poked and prodded from all sides before they were placed in a kennel type cage.
It was roomy and had a soft warm, basket. They had food and water but they were afraid. Who knew what would happen to them here.
Kurt looked around. The cages around them were filled with dogs. Big dogs, little dogs, old dogs, young dogs; if you named it, it was probably there.
Yet, one caught his eyes. It was a very wolfish looking dog yet it was strikingly humanoid. Then he noticed the electric blue eyes. He gasped.
"Anita!" He exclaimed.
The dog smiled and began to shift form. Within seconds Anita stood behind the bars of the cage and with a snap of her fingers she appeared against the door of theirs, leaning against it casually.
"Got yourselves into quite a pickle here now haven't you?" She asked with a mocking tone of voice.
Puck growled in response. Sam bristled. Mike sniffed in disdain at the girl.
"Why can't you just change us back?" Tina asked.
"Then you wouldn't have learned your lesson," Anita said with a smirk. Then she appeared to think. With a sigh she added, "I suppose I could help you a little bit though."
Her eyes began to glow again as she raised both of her hands. There was a flash of light and they were suddenly in a large field that had a wide river next to it.
They looked around and then returned their attention back to Anita.
"Welcome to Indiana. You are one state line away from Ohio. All you need to do to get there is cross the river. Learn to be a family or remain in this state, even you return home." With another flash of light she was gone.
They looked over at the river. It was very wide. The current didn't appear to move very quickly but it appeared to have a strong pull.
Will looked up and down the length of the river. There was no type of bridge across it so they would have to swim.
He sighed. He wouldn't be able to carry them across. Even if he let them ride on his back, he could only fit three, maybe four, at the most. The trips would exhaust him.
He sighed. "Guys, you're gonna have to swim across."
That sent a jolt of fear through Tina. She didn't know how to swim very well in her own body and know she was expected to know how to in this puppy one.
Mr. Shuster carefully waded into the water until it was just at the level of his knees. He turned and waited for the rest of the kids to join him.
Slowly, they stepped into the water. They pushed at the strong current, trying to fight through it.
Tina wasn't doing well though. The others had already reached the side of the river and she was still only half way across.
The current picked up and before they knew what was happening, Tina was swept along with the current.
Author's note:
So sorry for the slow uploads. I'm very busy with school. This story is drawing to a close. I hope you are enjoying it. Please review. Let me know what you thought of it and what you think will happen.