Hi everyone! So here it is - the chapter many have been waiting for, the return of Finn. This chapter takes place a few weeks after the 100th episode two parter, and all events of Season 5, except Klaine's engagement (they're working their way back to each other, but not together yet) are canon. I know many questions still haven't been answered, but they will be answered. We will find out why these people hurt Finn and who the mastermind was. And yes - there will eventually be some Finchel. Enjoy and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 10: Escape
It had been months, Finn was sure.
Months of being trapped in a basement of a house in who knew which city. Months of only getting to eat every few days. Months of being pushed, hit, punched... even attacked with a knife that one time, whenever he tried to escape.
But what they didn't know was that he would sometimes creep to the top of the stairs and listen to them talk through the door. They were planning to leave town for a few days with some of their other friends.
It was getting harder and harder to move. He was sure several of his bones were broken. He had bruises and cuts just about all over his body. But he couldn't do this anymore. And with them leaving town, he had to get out of there. He had to get home to his family and friends.
So he listened as they left on their vacation. And when he was sure they were gone, when he hadn't heard any noise or movement upstairs in hours, he crawled up the basement stairs and used a saw to cut the door open.
It hurt his arms to cut the door, bu for the first time in months, he was out of the basement and in the kitchen. He tried to get himself to stand, but it hurt too much. Still, the next step was getting out of the house.
Finn crawled around the upstairs area and didn't see any sign of a telephone. Since he couldn't call the police to get him here, he'd need to get out of the house and hope for some help. Crawling around the house some more, he looked out a window and saw other houses across the street. He forced himself up again, opened the front door, crawled on to the front porch, and screamed, "Help!" over and over again at the top of his lungs.
Two elementary school aged children walking a dog passed the house. "Are you okay?" the boy asked.
The girl nudged her brother. "We can't talk to strangers."
"I need help," Finn moaned. "Can you call the police?"
The boy looked confused. "I don't have a phone..."
A man and woman in their 30s, maybe these kids' parents, came running over. "What's going on?"
The boy looked at the adults. "He needs help."
The man walked on to the porch. "What happened to you?"
Finn burst into tears. "A few months ago, some man scooped me up when I fell down and brought me here. For months I've been locked in the basement of their house, and he and his roommates have been hurting me. They push me and hit me and once they even attacked me with a knife..."
"Oh God," the woman said. Finn noticed some more people were coming over. "I thought you were just an OSU student who'd had a bad experience at a party last night or something..."
OSU? That was in Columbus... "Where am I?" Finn asked.
"You're in Columbus," another man said. "You don't know where you are?"
Finn shook his head. "I've been trapped in that basement for months! I don't even know the people who own this house!"
"This is a rental house for OSU students," one of the women said. "Sweetie, you look like you haven't showered in months..."
"I haven't!" Finn protested. "They trapped me in their basement..."
"He looks a bit swollen, don't you think?" the kids' mother asked her husband.
"Yeah," her husband answered. "Let's get him to a hospital."
Finn felt his inner child coming through. "I want my mom."
"We can call her, but you need to get to a hospital," one of the streets' residents said, getting out his phone. "I'll call her. What's your name?"
"Finn," Finn said before reciting his mom's phone number. At least these people were proof that he didn't need to lose faith in the human population.
x
Burt and Carole sat in the living room of their house, flipping through the TV channels. The past few months had been horrible. The police were still looking for Finn's body, but there were still no signs. They'd gone along to LA with the New Directions to see them perform at Nationals and dedicate their performance to Finn, only to lose their title and have Finn's plaque stolen by a rival glee club member. Then they found out that the club Finn had loved so much was being cancelled due to "lack of budget" (though they knew this was just Sue Sylvester being Sue Sylvester). Two weeks ago, the glee club had officially ended, and the Class of 2013 had graduated from McKinley. Yesterday Kurt had returned to New York with Rachel, Blaine and Sam. Kurt and Blaine weren't officially back together yet, but they definitely seemed to be going in that direction.
Carole's phone vibrated. She looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was a Columbus number. She didn't know this number, but she still answered the call. "Hello?"
"Hi, is this Carole Hudson?" the voice said. "My name is Tony Ryan, I live in Columbus and I have your son with me... he's being taken to the emergency room and he really wants you..."
"What?" Carole asked. This sounded like a weird prank call. "My son lives in New York, and I just talked to him an hour ago. Why would he be in Columbus and going to the emergency room?"
"Ma'am, Finn didn't say anything about New York," Tony said. "He's in a lot of pain, people have been hurting him and he really wants you... they're taking him to Mount Carmel Hospital..."
Yes. This was definitely a prank. And a very nasty one. "I don't know if you are who you say you are, but this is not funny," Carole snapped. "My husband and my other son and I are grieving for Finn every day and we definitely don't have time for this. I don't know who you are or how you got my number... but the only thing I want to know from you is if you know who killed Finn."
"What?" Tony asked. "Finn's alive. He's getting put on an ambulance now."
Carole tried to hold in her anger. She'd lost her son, and somehow, a stranger had gotten her phone number and was doing this. "This isn't funny, sir. If you had children, you would be having nightmares about something like this happening to you. Do not contact me again." She hung up the phone and turned to Burt. "That was some idiot in Columbus, claiming they knew where Finn was."
"Why would anyone pull a prank like that?" Burt asked.
"I don't know," Carole said. "I wish that call had been real."
x
Finn lay on the stretcher in the ambulance as he heard the paramedics talking. Although he was still hurting, and the stretcher was far from it, this was the closest to a real bed he'd had in months. Maybe once they got to the hospital, he'd have a real bed to sleep in.
A paramedic came over. "How are you doing, Finn?"
"Sore," Finn pouted. "I just want the pain to stop."
"It will," the paramedic said. "We're going to get you to the hospital and have some doctors look at you. Finn, please tell me: what happened?"
Finn shuddered as he shared the details of the last few months. He couldn't believe he was finally out of there, but he didn't know exactly what these people had done to him. The paramedic looked horrified as Finn shared his story. Finn knew that physical recovery wasn't the only thing that he had ahead of him - this would take a long time to recover from emotionally.
Another paramedic came to the stretcher. "We need to get Finn to the hospital."
"They said they'd call my mom..." Finn began.
The paramedic sighed. "Finn, your mom thought that this was a prank. Right now, we need to get you to the hospital. Once we get there, we'll call her."
"Okay," Finn said weakly. As the ambulance took off, Finn put his head against the pillow on the stretcher, glad to have a pillow to put his head on. His head hurt so much. His whole body did. But at least he had a soft enough surface now. Without even trying, Finn drifted off to sleep.
x
He saw them.
The four kidnappers were entering the ambulance with their knives in hand, trying to attack Finn. They'd gotten word on their vacation that he'd escaped, and now...
Finn started screaming. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a hospital room. "Hey," a doctor said. "How are you feeling?"
"It's good to be in a bed," Finn said.
"Yeah, the paramedics told me about what happened to you," the doctor said. "You've been asleep for a few hours, and we did some tests."
"What's wrong with me?" Finn asked.
"Don't worry about that now," the doctor said. "Right now, we need to focus on getting you comfortable."
"Well, this is the first time I've been in a bed in months," Finn sighed. "I really hurt though. All over."
"We can see that," the doctor said. "And we're going to do everything we can to help you get better. But looking at you, and hearing your story... we can tell you're a fighter."
Finn managed a weak smile. "Thanks. I just hate those people who did that to me. I don't even know why they did it to me. I asked them..."
"Don't think about them now, Finn," the doctor said. "The hospital has been communicating with the police department since you were found. The residents of the neighborhood are working with the police to track down the residents of that house."
"Good," Finn snapped. "I want them in jail."
"I'm sure they will be," the doctor said. "But Finn, right now, we just want you comfortable. Just focus on yourself now."
"Will I be okay?" Finn asked.
"We'll make sure you are," the doctor said. "Get back to sleep, Finn. You look exhausted, and the police and paramedics told me that it looked like you hadn't gotten decent sleep in weeks."
x
Burt and Carole sat in their living room, still furious from the prank call earlier today. They wanted Finn home more than anything, but he wasn't coming home. The thought that someone would call them pretending they knew where Finn was... well, that sickened them.
The doorbell at their house rang, and Burt and Carole walked to the door together, seeing a policeman standing there. "May I help you?" Burt asked, expecting some bad news of some sort about Finn.
The officer smiled at Burt and Carole. "Finn's been found."
If the officer was smiling, there must be good news, right? "What?" Burt asked.
"He's alive," the officer said. "We got a phone call from the Columbus police earlier today with an update..."
The Columbus police... could this phone call have been legitimate? "What happened?" Carole asked.
"Finn was apparently kidnapped and being held hostage in a basement of a house being rented by OSU students," the officer said. "We don't know why they took him or what their motivation was, but apparently, they would physically hurt him. He escaped earlier this afternoon and he's in a hospital in Columbus..."
Finn was alive? Neither Burt nor Carole knew what to say. They both wanted to hurt these people who had been hurting Finn... but they thought that there was no hope of Finn being alive... and now they were finding out that he was...
"We need to go see Finn," Carole said.
"Of course," the officer said. "It's a lot to take in, so we can give you a ride to the hospital."
"What happened to Finn?" Burt asked.
"The Columbus police didn't tell us the full story," the officer said. "Finn's in the hospital and being examined. We just know that he kept asking for his mom..."
Carole felt touched to hear that. Finn was, and always would be, her little boy. "What about the people who hurt Finn?"
"The police down there are working to track them down," the officer said. "They will be arrested as soon as they're found."
"Good," Burt snapped.
"Would you like to go see Finn?" the officer asked.
"Yes, of course," Carole said. She looked at Burt. "He's alive."
"Yeah," Burt said, hugging his wife. "We didn't lose him."
x
Kurt sat in his office at Vogue, working on a layout for the website. He couldn't stop thinking about the plans he and Finn had for the summer. Finn was going to spend a few weeks in New York. Instead, Finn was dead, who knew where.
Blaine and Sam had moved to New York shortly after graduation. Since Santana was traveling with Brittany right now, it was Kurt, Rachel, Blaine and Sam at the apartment. The group had created a third makeshift bedroom for Blaine and Sam. Although Kurt and Blaine weren't back together, they were getting closer and closer to that. Spending time with Blaine reminded Kurt of how much he loved him, and now he truly believed that Blaine would never hurt him like that again.
However, he could tell that it made Rachel uncomfortable to see Kurt and Blaine making their way back to each other when she could never have that with Finn. Rachel rarely mentioned Finn, and even if the boys talked casually about him, she often stayed quiet. This was still very hard for her, and anyone who knew her at all could tell that.
Kurt's phone rang, and he looked at the Caller ID to see that it was his dad. There was still no news on where Finn's body was, and Kurt wasn't sure if they'd ever get an answer to that question. But maybe today, he'd finally get that piece of closure. He picked up his phone. "Hey Dad."
"Hey Kurt," Burt said. "I have some good news."
Kurt knew what this meant. "Where's the body?"
"The body is actually still functioning," Burt said. "Finn's been found, and he's alive."
Kurt couldn't believe it. "What?"
"He's alive," Burt said. "I don't know all the details, and this isn't the type of thing that I'd want to discuss over the phone anyway, but he was being held hostage in a basement in Columbus. He's at a Columbus hospital, and Carole and I are on our way there."
Kurt couldn't believe it. After months of believing Finn was dead, he was alive. "I need to get home."
"Book the first flight to Columbus you can," Burt said. "We need to be together, all four of us."
"Yeah, all four of us," Kurt said. He never thought their family would all be together again, and now they were going to. He immediately went to Isabelle's office to tell her while looking for a flight to Columbus on his phone. He couldn't wait to get home to Finn.
Isabelle gave Kurt permission to catch the next flight back to Columbus in four hours, so Kurt hurried back to the apartment to pack a bag. This was real. He was going to see Finn again. When Kurt walked into the apartment, Blaine and Sam were playing on xbox. "Where's Rachel?" Kurt asked. "I need to tell all three of you something."
"She's at rehearsal," Sam said.
"Well, this can't wait," Kurt said. "When she gets home, you guys tell her, because I have to get to the airport. Finn's alive."
Blaine and Sam jumped up, smiling wide. "What?" Sam asked. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Kurt said. "My dad called me. He was kidnapped, but he escaped. He's in the hospital, but at least he's alive."
"Wow," Blaine said. "This is amazing... he's alive..."
"Yeah," Kurt said, hugging both Blaine and Sam. "I can't wait to go see him. Can you guys tell everyone for me?"
"Yeah, of course," Blaine said.
"Seriously, best news ever," Sam added.
"Yeah," Kurt agreed. "This really is the best news ever."
x
Burt and Carole walked into the hospital in Columbus and told the receptionist who they were here for when a doctor approached them. "Oh, you're Finn Hudson's parents?"
"Yes," Burt said. "Where's Finn?"
"He's asleep right now," the doctor said. "Let's go see him."
The doctor led Burt and Carole to Finn's room. "Just a warning, this might be a bit of a shock. He's in bad shape, but he'll be fine. He has a crack in his spine. We found some inner bleeding. Three of his ribs are fractured, and he needed over 100 stitches all over his body. His right arm is broken and he sprained his left ankle. He has lots of bruises. He also has cracks in his pelvis and clavicle."
"What did these people do to him?" Burt asked.
"We don't want to interogate him just yet," the doctor said. "He's clearly really shaken up. When he has some more time to recover, we'll talk to him."
"Can I just see him?" Carole asked. Her heart broke knowing that Finn was in such bad shape, but at least he as still here.
"Yeah, of course," the doctor said. He led Burt and Carole into the room. Carole started crying as soon as she saw Finn. Yes, he was alive - but it was going to take a long time for him to recover both physically and emotionally. She couldn't help but notice how thin Finn was. Had those people even let him eat? He had stitches on his face and a big bruise on his forehead. His right arm was in a cast. His lower body was under the blanket, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to see it. The mother in her noticed that he needed a shower and a haircut, but those things could wait. She ran to his bedside and sat next to him. "Hi," she whispered to her son. "We were so worried we lost you - but we're so glad you're here."
Burt smiled at Carole. "We have him back. Kurt just texted me, he'll be in tonight."
"Good," Carole said. "The four of us need to be together." They'd thought for a while that now it would just be three of them.
Finn opened his eyes and looked at Carole. "Mom?"
"Hi honey," Carole said. "I'm here."
Finn burst into tears. "Mom..." He wrapped his left arm around his mom. "Mom, it hurts so much... everything does... and I thought I'd never see you again..."
Carole felt so sad to hear Finn so upset. "I know, honey. But I'm here now. And we're not going to let them hurt you ever again."