First off, I apologize for the mistakes in the last chapter. I completely forgot my girlfriend didn't edit it before I posted it and didn't realize it for several days.
Ebony Hunter: That was part of the inspiration for the chapter, actually.
Chapter 20 – Into Thin Air
"Finn, you're turning too late," Rachel said, sighing. "It's throwing everyone else off."
"Why don't you just put me at the end where no one will see me," Finn said, throwing his hands up. "We all know I can't dance."
"Yes, we know," Kurt remarked.
"You know we can't put you at the end," Rachel replied. "You are heavily featured during this part of the song, so you need to be in the middle because people do need to see you. You just need to work on this every spare moment you have. Regionals are in less than four days and we all need to focus on the competition. We should even be singing and dancing in our sleep."
Quinn looked around the room; everyone looked exhausted and she knew it was probably time to try to get Rachel to let them leave. They had been rehearsing for nearly three hours, not to mention the hour before school and the thirty minutes at lunch. Sue wasn't happy that all training had been put on hold for the week, but Rachel was insisting that they needed to rehearse as much as possible, and she wasn't wrong. Despite being in Glee all year, Finn's dancing wasn't improving and several others were not much better. She knew people were trying, but she was starting to wonder if they even had a chance; she wasn't going to let Rachel know that, though, because she didn't want to crush her girlfriend's dreams of going to Nationals.
"Rach," she softly said.
"What?" the brunette asked, turning to look at her.
Quinn nodded to the other side of the room and started walking, hoping the other girl would follow her. She didn't, though, so when Quinn stopped and turned around, she cocked her eyebrow and stared at the brunette. Rachel looked reluctant to go over, but she eventually put her hands on her hips and walked over to join Quinn.
"I think we should continue," Rachel stated before Quinn could even say anything.
"Well, I don't," Quinn replied. "Look at everyone; they're exhausted.
"Our competition isn't resting and I don't think we should, either," Rachel said.
"I know how much you want to win, but I actually think Finn is getting worse at this point," Quinn said, putting her hands on Rachel's upper arms. "We're not Vocal Adrenaline; everyone is just going to get annoyed and sloppy if you overwork them."
Rachel sighed. "I just want us to win."
"I know," Quinn said softly.
"I want to show this school that they're wrong about us—about me," Rachel continued.
"I know," Quinn repeated.
"I guess we have been here for over twelve hours, though, and people would probably like to go home," Rachel said with a sigh. "And it will be getting dark soon, which won't be very safe. Plus, it is dinnertime, and since I made everyone miss lunch, they are probably hungry."
Quinn smiled. "Probably."
"Okay, everyone, I think we should call it a night," Rachel said, raising her voice to be heard over everyone else. "Get a good night's rest and please be ready to work extra hard tomorrow."
"Do we need to be here early like this morning?" Mike asked.
"Dude, don't remind her," Puck said, scowling.
Rachel shook her head. "No, but I would like us to stay even later tomorrow evening to make up for the time lost."
Most people groaned, so Quinn said, "Listen, I know no one wants to do this, but I also know everyone wants to win, and if we're going to even have a chance, we need to listen to Rachel. It's only a few more days; we just need to make it through them and work as hard as we can."
"They're right," Kurt chimed in, though it looked like it pained him to say it. "We haven't come this far to lose now, which means we need to prepare. We know the songs and we know the routine—most of us, anyway—but now we need to make sure we're polished. Right now, we're completely out of sync, and it's so bad that even a blind judge would notice."
"Maybe we should be here in the morning," Tina said.
"I'd rather be sleeping," Artie said, shaking his head.
"How about whoever wants to come here in the morning, comes," Rachel suggested.
"What good's that gonna do?" Puck asked.
"Well, it can't hurt, can it?" Rachel replied.
"I can be here," Mike said.
"Me too," Brittany added.
Mike smiled at the blonde. "We can help anyone that comes by."
"Wonderful," Rachel said, smiling at the two. "Anyone who wants to get in some extra practice in the morning, just come to the choir room. Otherwise, I will see the rest of you after school. Oh, and make sure you come straight here after the final bell; I don't want to waste any time waiting on people to arrive."
Everyone quickly gathered up their things and made their way out of the room. Quinn stretched her arms and looked at the time before she walked over to grab her bag.
"I'll see you in the morning," Finn mumbled as he passed by her and Rachel.
"Do we need to go to the training room?" Rachel asked after looking around for anyone loitering near them.
Quinn shook her head.
"Okay, do you want to go home or would you rather we go directly to patrolling?" Rachel asked.
"Neither," Quinn replied. "I have other plans for tonight."
Rachel frowned. "What plans?"
"You'll see," Quinn said, smiling.
"Quinn, are you ever going to inform me where we are going?" Rachel asked.
"I told you, you'll see," Quinn replied
Rachel huffed. "I hate surprises.
"You love surprises," Quinn argued.
"You don't know that," Rachel said with a slight scowl.
Quinn laughed and reached over to take the other girl's hand. "We're almost there, okay? Just be patient for a little longer; I promise you will like where we are going."
Quinn put on her turn signal and turned right, following the directions she had memorized the previous night. She really should have gotten Rachel out of the school earlier, but she had to wait for the brunette to be willing to leave. Now, Quinn was rushing to get them there on time, but she wanted to surprise Rachel, so she couldn't just tell her to get them out sooner.
They hadn't been on a date in far too long, and Quinn needed to change that. So, when she overheard Kurt talking about it with Mercedes, she knew she had to take Rachel.
Rachel gasped. "Quinn!"
"Yes?" Quinn asked, smiling.
"Is that where we're going?" she asked.
Quinn nodded as she pulled into the nearest parking spot, and it was a good thing they were stopped because Rachel's arms were immediately around her.
"You're amazing," Rachel said, kissing Quinn's cheek.
Quinn smiled. "I know it's not Broadway—"
"You're still amazing," Rachel interrupted. "Broadway or not, Wicked is still Wicked, and I'm going to enjoy it immensely."
Rachel looked happier than she thought she'd ever seen her, and Quinn knew she had definitely done the right thing. She felt guilty about taking the night off from everything, but at the same time, she thought they deserved it. The last few months—and especially the last couple weeks—had been incredibly stressful, and it was really taking its toll on them. Between the Slaying, the researching, and Glee, she thought they both needed and deserved one night off.
"I've been looking for an excuse to take a night off, and when I overheard Kurt talking about it, I knew it would be perfect," Quinn explained. "You've been talking about this musical for as long as I've known you; I figured it was time we see it together." Quinn put opened her door. "If we want to grab a bite to eat, we need to hurry."
"Why didn't you just tell me we needed to end rehearsals early?" Rachel asked, following Quinn out of the car.
Quinn laughed as she shut her door. "Because you would ask where we were going and refuse to leave until I told you, which would have ruined the surprise."
"You might be correct about that," Rachel conceded.
"I know I'm correct about it," Quinn replied with a light laugh. "I had to wait until everyone else was ready to go, so you would be willing to go, too."
"Sneaky," Rachel said, nudging her.
Quinn shrugged. "I try."
"So, how long do we have to get dinner?" Rachel asked.
"Not long," Quinn said, pulling her phone out to look at the time. "There's a place just around the corner, though, so we should have just enough time."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Rachel said, holding out her hand.
Quinn took Rachel's hand and turned, pulling her in the right direction. An older couple passed them as they walked by and the woman frowned at their conjoined hands. Quinn just raised her eyebrow at her and looked away, ignoring her. It wasn't the first time they'd gotten a less than positive reaction; it actually happened nearly every time they showed any sort of affection for each other in public. It bothered Quinn less than she thought it would, though; her feelings for Rachel outweighed everything else. She used to care so much what people thought about her, but being with Rachel changed that. It put things into perspective for her, and she realized that she would rather hold onto any bit of happiness that she found than do things just for other people's approval and happiness.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.
Quinn hummed as she looked at the brunette. "Couldn't be better."
"I don't believe that," Rachel said, tilting her head.
"Well, you should," Quinn said with a smile.
"I just mean that you've been under a lot of stress lately," Rachel replied.
"I guess I'm just used to it." Quinn shrugged. "It's always been that way for me. Now it's the slaying instead of worrying about my parents and cheerleading and being popular."
"I would think worrying about the fact that you might die would be a little more stressful than worrying about being popular," Rachel said, laughing lightly.
Quinn smiled. "You underestimate how seriously I took being popular." Quinn laughed. "Okay, so it is a little more stressful, but it doesn't change the fact that I am happy at the moment."
"You're happy, huh?" Rachel said, smiling.
"Very," Quinn replied, giving Rachel's cheek a quick kiss. "You know—as long as I ignore the fact that Regionals are in only a few days and we're nowhere near ready, and that there's a super powerful vampire out there that could come after me at any moment. I'm ignoring all of that tonight, though; I want to enjoy this without worrying about what's going to happen when we go back to Lima tonight."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Rachel said, resting her head on Quinn's shoulder. "We won't worry about anything tonight; we will simply focus on the moment, not what comes after."
"Sounds like a plan," Quinn said, wrapping her arm around Rachel's shoulder, and kissing the top of her head.
"I can't believe we're late," Rachel said for the tenth time that morning.
"We're not late," Quinn replied yet again. "This rehearsal wasn't mandatory, so you can't possibly be late for it."
"We can and we are," Rachel said, huffing. "I'm the captain; it looks bad if I'm not there while trying to get others to give their all. There will probably be a mutiny now; no one will listen to anything I say, and someone else will try to take over as captain."
"No, they won't," Quinn said, laughing lightly. "For one, no one else actually wants to be captain, and you know they will still listen to you. Everyone wants to go to Nationals, and everyone knows you're going to be the one to get us there. It would be stupid for people to slack off now when we're so close to Regionals. Don't worry, okay? Everything is going to be perfectly fine."
Rachel sighed and said, "I hope you're right."
Quinn pulled into the closest spot to the school that she could find—Sue had taken her assigned spot when she quit the Cheerios—and put the car in park. Rachel quickly climbed out of the car, but Quinn was a little slower about it, waiting for several people to pass by before trying to open her door. She wasn't in a hurry like the brunette was; they both knew the routine perfectly, and Quinn didn't really understand why they needed the extra practice. Even if Rachel thought she needed to be there, Quinn didn't think anyone would actually care about whether or not Rachel attended the voluntary practice.
"Hurry up!" Rachel demanded.
Quinn smiled affectionately and followed behind the brunette at a much slower pace. It was actually Rachel's fault they were late; they stayed up half the night talking, and they both eventually drifted off to sleep without Rachel setting her alarm. When she saw what time it was once she finally woke up, she practically shoved Quinn out of the bed, demanding she get ready as quickly as possible.
"I'm coming," Quinn said with a light laugh.
Rachel reached the door several moments before she did, and held it open, giving her a pointed look that clearly said she needed to pick up the pace. Quinn was about to reach out to take the brunette's hand when her vision blurred and a shard pain went through her whole body. The blood was rushing in her ears and she could barely hear anything; what she could hear was her own screaming. She fell to her hands and knees, trying to breathe through the pain. A few moments later, it felt like something else went through her, and the pain was replaced by warmth. For a second she felt like she was floating, and then as quickly as it began, it was over.
She was panting on the ground and looked up to find Rachel gone. She looked around, expecting to find the brunette beside her, but she was completely alone. Her whole body was shaking as she got to her feet and she was covered in sweat. It felt like she had been running for hours; everything ached and she could barely catch her breath. She had no idea what happened or where Rachel was, but it didn't seem likely that she would just leave her like that. Quinn knew Rachel would have been at her side in an instant, and she was beginning to panic as she wondered where her girlfriend was.
When she walked into the school, the first thing she noticed was that the halls were completely empty, which was strange. The first bell was close to ringing, and usually at that time, the halls would be full of students. Lockers were open and backpacks were sitting on the floor, but there was no one at them. Her legs were protesting, but she picked up the pace anyway, walking to the choir room. Just like the hall, though, the room was empty, though everyone's bags were sitting around the room and the music was playing. They had clearly been in the room, but now it was empty, and she had no idea where everyone was.
She turned and started running through the school, looking for any sign that someone else was in the building. She looked in all the open classes as she ran by and checked in the locker rooms, cafeteria, auditorium, and she even went to the football field. From what she could tell, though, she was the only person in the entire school. It was clear people had been there—things were still scattered around—but it was as if everyone had just disappeared.
Quinn was trying to stay calm, but it was easier said than done. She didn't know if something had happened to everyone else or if she had been the one that it happened to, but judging by what happened earlier, she figured she was the one that had been affected. The only thing running through her mind, though, was that she needed to get back to everyone else—or bring them back to her. Different scenarios were running through her mind—a spell, some sort of alternate dimension, a dream—but she had no way of knowing what it was. Rachel was usually the one to figure these things out, but she wasn't here to do that this time. Quinn was completely alone, and she was going to have to figure this out herself.
Quinn walked into the Berry house and immediately went to the basement, hoping Santana would be there. When she walked down the stairs, the television was on and a mug of blood was sitting on the table, but the vampire wasn't there.
"Santana!" she called out, though she knew it was useless. "Santana!"
She sighed to herself and sat down on the bed, running her hand through her hair. She was terrified she would never see her friends again—never see Rachel again—and she was trembling at the thought.
"No," Quinn said to herself, shaking her head.
She knew she couldn't think like that; there had to be a logical—albeit supernatural—explanation for what was going on. If everyone had died, surely there would be some sign of it. Instead, it appeared that everyone had just vanished into thin air, which meant there had to be some way to get them all back.
Quinn sighed. She wished Rachel or Brittany were here, preferably both of them. She knew Rachel would figure out what was going on much quicker than she would, and Brittany would probably be able to do something about it—reverse a spell if that was the cause, or do one of her own to make everyone reappear.
She grabbed her phone and stated calling everyone she knew; she knew it was long shot, but if she was still here, maybe someone else would be, too. As she called each of the New Directions, she let the phone ring until it went to voicemail, which it inevitably did each time. She almost called her parents, but after staring at each of their names for a moment, she skipped over them, going to the next person in her contacts. She didn't even know why she still had their numbers in her phone; part of her hoped one day that they would come around—at least her mother, anyway—but she knew that would never happen. For better or worse, they were still her parents, though, and it was hard to give up on the hope that maybe she could regain some of the family she had lost.
She called each of the people in her contact list, but every time the phone rang and rang without anyone ever answering, and as the television continued to play some movie in the background, Quinn got an idea. She wondered if this was only happening in Lima or if it was happening everywhere, so she turned the channel until she hit one of the stations airing one of the morning news shows. The anchors were there, though, so it was clearly not happening all across the country. She continued turning the channel until she landed on one of the local stations, and all that was airing was two empty chairs, where the newscasters had obviously been sitting before they vanished.
"So it's only here," Quinn mumbled to herself.
This led her to believe that it was a spell of some sort, reasoning that if it had been something else, Lima wouldn't be the only place that had been affected. She just didn't know why she was still here when no one else was. Whatever it was, she figured it had to do with what happened to her just before Rachel vanished. Quinn just wished she knew what it was that did happen to her; she'd never experienced pain like that before, and she hoped she never would again. Though, if it meant she could get Rachel back, she wouldn't hesitate to go through it again.
Throwing her phone on the bed, she looked around the room. She honestly didn't even know where to begin. Rachel was the one that was better at research, but it was clearly up to her now. The problem was, she had no idea what to look for, or what to even search. Going through books alone could take days or even weeks, and she didn't know how much time she had—or maybe she had all the time in the world. Speaking of which, she looked at the time to see if it was still going or if somehow time was standing still. Her phone showed that it was 9:34, though, and when she looked out, the sun was definitely higher in the sky than it had been earlier.
Quinn stood suddenly, feeling like she needed to do something, and walked to the other side of the room. She grabbed an empty duffle bag from the corner of the room and started throwing weapons inside; she didn't know what she was going to need or if she was even going to need anything, but she was going to be prepared if she did. Once the bag was packed with all the weapons in the basement, she unplugged Rachel's laptop and put it into her messenger bag that was sitting beneath the desk. She zipped it up and shouldered the bag before grabbing the duffle, and heading upstairs to her room. The bag she used for patrolling was already in her car, but she did have a few things lying around the room that she threw into the bag, just in case.
She looked around for anything else that might be useful, but she had everything she could think of. Now, she just needed to figure out what was going on and how she could fix it—or if she could fix it.
As with her drive home, she dodged cars on the way into town. She drove by more than one car wreck, but mostly the cars were just stopped in the middle of the street, or sometimes in the middle of the sidewalk. Some had crashed into other cars, though, and others had even crashed into buildings when the drivers behind the wheel had disappeared. In the middle of town, she had to abandon her car; several cars were piled up in the middle of the intersection, and there was no way to get around them. She would have just turned around, but there was somewhere she needed to go.
She looked around as she walked down the middle of the street, walking around cars and occasionally a bike or baby stroller. It was eerie being completely alone in a town that was usually bustling with people during the day. As she passed by the lawyer's office her father worked at, she couldn't help but look up at the window she knew his office was at. For a moment she thought she saw movement a few windows over, but when she looked closer, she didn't see anything. Frowning, she continued to stare at it, but eventually looked forward again, focusing on getting where she was going.
The shop wasn't yet open, but it didn't matter; a car had plowed through the front window, and Quinn knocked some of the glass out of the way, slipping into The Magick Shop. She felt bad about what she was about to do, but she didn't want to have to come back out later if she figured out there was something she needed from the place. So, she started grabbing things—herbs, oils, candles, gems; she took anything she thought she could possibly need. If she used anything, she would gladly pay for it once things were back to normal, and she would find a way to bring everything else back.
Once she was satisfied, she climbed over the car, and began making her way back to her own vehicle. As she walked along, she suddenly felt like she was being watched. She didn't know where it was coming from, and when she looked around, there was no sign of anyone being there.
"Hello?" she tried calling out. "Is anyone there?"
She turned in a circle, looking in every direction, but no one responded and there was no movement that she could see. So, she turned and continued walking to her car. With every step, though, she continued to feel as if she was being watched. She was listening carefully for any sound, but multiple car alarms were going off, so it was difficult to hear anything else above the noise.
Quinn was about twenty yards from her car when a low growl got her attention and she stopped in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder and her eyes darted around, looking for the source of the sound. She wondered if her mind was just playing tricks on her, but something told her that wasn't the case. Something was watching her, following her, and she had the feeling it wasn't simply another person that was just too scared to say anything.
She began walking again, focusing on getting to her car, and trying to ignore the feeling of being watched. She squeezed between two cars in the intersection and slid over the hood of another. The moment her feet hit the ground, though, her legs were swept out from underneath her, and she landed hard on the pavement. The supplies she took from the shop also hit the ground, spilling out of the bags, and she could hear several bottles shatter.
Groaning, she tried to stand up, but only got knocked down again. This time, she heard a growl come from behind her, and she knew she didn't just trip. Without looking over her shoulder, she scrambled to her feet and dove over the back of one of the cars. She heard something hit the metal and looked back to see what was attacking her.
The demon was large—several feet taller than her—and it had its teeth bared. It was definitely one of the uglier demons she had come across—greenish skin with what looked like pustules and one eye looked like it had been cut out. The thing looked strong, and she knew if she wanted to kill it, she needed to get to her car, where her weapons were. The demon was standing between her and the vehicle, though, so she needed to find a way to get around it.
The closer the demon came, the further she backed up; her back hit a van, though, and she looked around for the easiest way to get to her car. As soon as the demon was close enough, Quinn gripped the side of the van and kicked the thing with both feet, sending it flying backwards. Quinn ran to the left, slid over the hood of one car, ran around two others, and skidded to a halt at her car. She reached in the open window and grabbed a sword from her duffle bag, listening as the demon went crashing through the vehicles behind her. The moment it was in her hand, she turned, piercing the demon's chest. She could see the surprise in its eyes, and after a few seconds of staring at each other, it stumbled back and fell to the pavement. She kicked at its leg with her foot, but the demon didn't move.
Quinn dropped the sword onto the ground and put her hands on her knees, taking a deep breath. She reached down, picking up the sword, and turned around to throw it into the car. She then walked back to where the bags had spilled and picked everything up before heading back to the car.
Quinn pulled into the McKinley High parking lot and came to a stop in the same space she was in earlier. She looked around to make sure she wasn't about to be attacked again, and then opened her door. She stepped out of the car, continuing to keep an eye out for any sign of something unusual. She pulled the bags out of the back, shouldering the messenger and duffle bags, and carrying the supplies from the magic shop in her hands. After using her hip to shut the door, she began walking toward the school, looking over her shoulder as she went.
She had been hoping to find out she wasn't alone in Lima, but now that she knew she wasn't, she wished she was. The demon could just be a fluke, but something told her that wasn't the case, and she figured it was only a matter of time before she was attacked again. Going to the school probably wasn't the best idea—it would undoubtedly be one of the first places that things would search for her. Most of her Watcher's books were there, though, and if she was going to figure out what was happening, she was probably going to need them.
Quinn was used to being at school on weekends and in the evening, but right now she was finding the empty hallways creepy. She didn't know if it was the open lockers or just the knowledge that the halls should be filled with students, but it didn't feel right. She looked in the choir room as she walked by, wondering who all had been inside. Judging by the number of bags, though, most of the club had shown up.
As she neared the locker room, she could hear the water from the showers running. Before she went into the training room, she walked over and shut the water off. She would have ignored it, but she had Rachel's voice in her head telling her that things like that were how droughts got started.
She pulled out her keys and opened the door to the training room; she walked inside and looked around. She wondered if her Watcher had been there before she disappeared, but there were no obvious signs that she had been in the room. She looked around, though, just in case she had been reaching anything beforehand that would be useful, but there were no books lying around. Sighing, she walked to the bookshelf and started pulling things at random and then set them on the blue mat.
"This is going to be a long day," Quinn said to herself.
She sat there for hours, pouring over every book for anything that could help her. Nothing sounded remotely like what had happened to her, though, and there was no information about everyone in a town disappearing. After a while, she started reading over the Watcher's diaries to see if anything similar had happened to a previous Slayer. While she found nothing pertaining to her situation, it was interesting to read about the Slayers before her. Though, many of the diaries ended abruptly; at first she didn't know why, but after the third time, she realized it was because the Slayer had died, and their Watcher failed to write about the end.
Yawning, she looked up to see the time, and was shocked to see that so much time had passed. The sun was already beginning to set outside and she still hadn't found anything that could help her. She wasn't going to stop, though. Throwing her current book aside, she grabbed another and started flipping through it. By the time she looked through the book, another hour had passed, and her stomach was rumbling nonstop.
She decided she would go to the cafeteria to see if she could find some food; she hadn't ate at all because Rachel had been rushing them to get to school that morning, so they skipped breakfast. The moment she walked into the locker room, though, she heard voices. She paused, listening, and it sounded like whoever was speaking was getting closer. She could hear what sounded like at least three different people, and she had the feeling they were not friendly. She darted back into the training room, grabbed her bag of weapons, and went back out to hide at the back of the locker room. The voices were getting even closer and she didn't want to be trapped in the other room if they did come inside.
"—to find her. It'll be over in twenty-four hours; we don't have much time," one of the voices said.
"We only have half a day now," a different, female voice said.
"Go that way," yet another voice sounded.
"We'll find her."
"What if we don't?"
"We will."
"Do you want one of those bottom dwellers finding the Slayer first?"
Quinn held her breath as the group stopped just outside the locker room. She could see now that it was a group of vampires—four of them—and they were apparently looking for her.
"Check in there," the apparent leader of the group said, nodding into the room. "Hurry."
Two of the vampires walked into the room; one was walking toward the training room door while the other was headed in her direction. She quietly pulled a stake out of her bag, ready to fight.
"Hey, in here."
The vampire stopped only a few feet from her hiding place and turned to walk the other way; the vampires that remained in the hall all came inside and walked into the training room.
"I think the Slayer was here."
Quinn quickly moved, hiding behind a row of lockers as she made her way to the door. She looked around them to see if any of the vampires were looking in her direction, but they were too busy looking around the training room to notice her. As quietly as she could, she tiptoed out of the room and started jogging down the hall toward the nearest exit.
As Quinn tried to make her way out of the school, she ran into several other groups of vampires. She bypassed one group by going into a classroom and exiting out the other side and she had to hide in the janitor's closet, waiting for the other group to pass her. She could hear the vampires talking for what felt like forever; the voices eventually drifted away, though, and when she opened the door and poked her head out, the hallway was empty.
She was finally near the door that led to the football field; it would still take a while to get to her car, but she was hoping it would be easier to get around outside than it was inside the school. She opened the back exit, cringing as it squeaked with every inch it moved. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one had heard it, and when it was clear no one was coming, she continued opening it enough for her to slip through.
Quinn stepped into the night air and listened closely for voices; she could hear two, but it sounded like they were on the other side of the building, walking away from her. She sprinted toward the football field and looked around to make sure nothing had spotted her. The vampires seemed to be focusing on the school, though, so there were none near the bleachers. Once she was safely under them, she took a deep breath, and looked back toward the school.
She thought back over what she'd heard—what did they mean by it being over in twenty-four hours? Then, the other vampire had said that they had half a day. Quinn had no idea what they were talking about, but she wondered if they knew exactly what was going on. Clearly they were specifically searching for her, which meant they knew she was still here even though every other person in Lima had disappeared. She wondered if this had to do with Shelby—maybe the vampire was the one responsible. She shook her head, though; it felt like this was something else. Shelby was just a vampire, and in Quinn's experience, vampires generally stayed away from magic. And why would Shelby do this when she could just attack Quinn at any time?
Quinn looked around again and then slowly made her way to the other side of the bleachers, where she could hop over the fence. She figured it would be easier to get to the sidewalk and then get to the parking lot that way. When she finally got to the fence, she climbed up and over, dropping to the sidewalk on the other side. She followed the fence to the parking lot, stopping behind a large tree, and glancing around it.
She groaned; there were three vampires around her car. Normally she would fight them, but she knew how many more were inside the school, which meant they could all come running to help their friends. She didn't think taking on a whole pack of vampires would be the best thing, so she sighed, realizing she was going to need a different plan. Obviously she couldn't go back into the school—she was lucky enough to make it out undetected—and they were sure to know where she lived, so she couldn't go there, either.
Turning on her heel, she decided she should find a safe place while figuring out where she should take up refuge. When she made it to the crosswalk, she paused, and turned back. She knew the vampires were aware of what was going on—if she could get one alone, maybe she could get some information from it. She didn't know how easy that would be, though; they seemed to be travelling in large packs at the moment.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. All the books and Rachel's laptop were currently in the training room, and she had no way of getting to them, so right now, she was really out of other options.
Quinn was walking behind buildings, going down alleys, and looking for any vampire that might be alone or at least with only one or two other vampires. The problem was most of town was deserted. She was afraid to go to a cemetery since she would be much more out in the open, but she was currently not having any luck trying to find a vampire. So many of them were at the school—and she suspected a bunch more were probably at the Berry house—but it would be difficult to get one of them alone there. She was beginning to think she was going to have to try, though.
Quinn sighed as she walked between two buildings and walked out into the open. She looked both ways, but the street was completely dead. She didn't even know why she was going between buildings; there wasn't really anything for her to sneak up on.
"Hello?" she said, hoping to get something's attention. "Is anything there?"
She sighed again and turned around, running directly into something. Stumbling back, she looked up, and instantly threw a punch when she saw the demon looking at her.
"Ouch, why did you do that?"
Quinn's brows furrowed as she watched the demon rub its nose. She had never heard one speak before—she didn't actually know they could—and she was more than a little confused.
"Whoa, don't kill me!" it said when Quinn pulled out a sword from her bag.
"Why wouldn't I kill you?" Quinn asked.
"I'm not here to hurt you," it said, holding up its hands.
"Well, that would be a first," Quinn remarked.
"I don't actually eat your kind," it said. "You're all bones."
Quinn scrunched her nose in disgust. "Somehow that doesn't make me feel better."
The demon took a step back as it said, "I can help you."
"How?" Quinn asked.
"I've been watching you, following you," it replied. "I know you've figured out that everything is after you, but do you know why?"
Quinn sighed. "No."
"I know why," it said.
"Why would you help me?" Quinn asked.
"Because if I don't, the vampire queen is going to take over," it replied. "Vampires and demons—especially demons like me—don't really get along. My people were enslaved by them for years, and without you here, the one they call Mistress Shelby is going to take over Lima."
"So, she is the one that did this," Quinn said.
The demon shook its head. "No, this was something else. Something else that put a bounty on your head if they can kill you by morning. A spell was cast to remove everyone with a soul from this town, leaving only you and the monsters of this town."
"Excuse me?" Quinn said, frowning.
"Oh, your soul was removed," it explained. "Momentarily, but it was removed and then the spell was cast."
Quinn frowned. "How do you know this?"
"Word spread quickly," it replied. "Most demons knew they couldn't take you on their own, so a lot have teamed up."
"And you want to help me?" Quinn said, still not believing it.
"As I said, without you, the vampire will win, and I don't want that to happen," it replied. "Vampires will take over this town, leaving little room for the rest of us. My name is Myklaik of the Jequal Clan. My friends call me Myk."
"Can all demons talk?" Quinn asked.
"Some," Myk replied. "Most speak in their own language, but I've been around your kind long enough to learn your language."
Quinn nodded. "How do I know you're not setting me up?"
"You don't," the demon said, shrugging. "You can kill me or you can trust me and let me help you."
Quinn looked at the demon; it didn't actually look that dangerous. She couldn't see any sharp claws, and it actually looked moderately human—just slightly furry and with green eyes. It was small, though—much smaller than her—and for some reason she actually believed him.
"How did you sneak up on me?" Quinn asked.
"When my people were enslaved, we were taught to not be seen or heard," Myk replied. "If we were, our heads were cut off and hung to show the rest what would happen."
Quinn frowned, actually feeling sorry for the demon—which was something she never thought would happen. "Alright, you can help me, but if this is a trick, I won't hesitate to use one of these swords against you."
The demon nodded. "We need to find a safe place for you, and I think I know just where to take you."
Quinn groaned, rubbing her jaw, and then kicked out, hitting the vampire in the chest, and throwing her off balance. She dove over the vampire, rolling on the ground, and grabbing her stake where it had fallen. She grabbed the vampire's shirt as it charged her, flipping the vampire onto its back, and plunging the stake into the creature's chest.
As the vampire exploded, she looked over her shoulder at Myk, who was fighting a battle of his own. He was definitely no match for the demon, which was twice his size, and Quinn ran over, grabbing a sword from her bag as she ran by. While the demon was focusing on her companion, Quinn beheaded it from behind. The demon's head fell to the ground with a thud, and its body turned to goo.
"Eww," Quinn said, looking down at the green puddle.
"We're lucky there are no more," Myk said.
The demon turned and continued walking while Quinn followed behind.
"Where are we going?" Quinn asked.
"You'll see," the demon replied.
Quinn huffed. "You're lucky I'm trusting you at all; leading me to some unknown location is definitely pushing it."
"Yet you're still following me," Myk remarked. "Right now, you need me as much as I need you."
"Actually, all I need to do is hide until morning and I'll be okay," Quinn stated.
"Yes, but where will you hide?" Myk asked. "They are everywhere you've ever been, and they're all looking for you. You got lucky coming out of that building."
"You were following me then?" Quinn said.
"I followed you since you came out of your den this morning," Myk replied. "I knew it would happen, and I wanted to be there when it did."
"Why didn't you just tell me this morning, then?" Quinn asked.
Myk shrugged. "I didn't want you to kill me, but I thought you might listen to me after it happened. And I must say, I wanted to see what you were capable of. I followed you into town and you were attacked and killed that Klouk quickly. Then you got out of that building with all the vampires around. I can see why you haven't been killed yet."
"Thanks?" Quinn said, furrowing her brows. "But I still want to know where we're going."
"Just follow me," Myk said, shaking his head. "We're almost there."
Quinn wondered where 'there' was. They had been walking for what felt like hours—it was probably less time than that, but her body still ached—and she didn't really know where they were. It looked like a neighborhood, but a lot of the houses were run down and a lot had foreclosed signs in their yards. She never really came to this side of town since it was the opposite side of where she lived, and there were no cemeteries around for her to patrol. Myk clearly knew the area well, though. He was taking shortcuts through backyards, and seemed to know where every loose board was.
Quinn just hoped she wasn't being led into a trap. Myk seemed sincere, but he was also a soulless demon, so it was hard to have complete faith in him.
As she ducked under another fence, she stumbled over a hole in the ground, and came to a stop behind the demon. Her hand was resting on top of the unzipped bag, ready to grab a weapon if she needed it. She didn't know why the demon had stopped, but after a moment he turned to the house they were behind and walked up to the door. He got down on his hands and knees, crawling through the doggy door. Quinn waited outside as she heard the scrapping of what sounded like a deadbolt, and then the click of another lock, before the door was opened.
Quinn walked inside slowly, ready to be attacked at any moment in the dark room. She could hear the demon shuffling around the room, and then the room was slightly lit by a small flame. She didn't know what he was doing, but then she realized he was lighting a candle; one after another, he lit more, until the whole room was illuminated.
Now that she could see a little better, she relaxed some and said, "Is this where you live?"
"Yes," Myk replied.
"It's cozy," Quinn said, looking around.
The place was small—very small—but it didn't look too bad. Considering how most demons lived, it was downright homey.
"You should be safe here," Myk said. "I doubt they will search in the home of a demon.
Quinn nodded. "Good plan."
"Now, we just need to keep you alive until morning," Myk said as he walked into the other room.
Quinn was tired, but she didn't fall asleep; she was too afraid to close her eyes. Myk had been puttering about the whole time while she sat at the window, looking for anything that might be coming to attack her. Every now and then she would look up to see what the demon was doing, but he only appeared to be cleaning. It was slightly funny to see a short, furry demon cleaning, and she would smile every time she looked at him. She was just happy he hadn't tried to kill her so far; he was really growing on her and she would hate to have to kill him.
She breathed a little easier when the sky began getting lighter. The demons would still be out, but at least the vampires would be heading for cover soon, and there seemed to be more of them looking for her than demons. She wanted to be at school when the spell ended, which meant they needed to leave soon. She didn't just want to disappear in front of Rachel—she assumed everyone would appear where they had vanished—and make her girlfriend worry. So, as soon as the sun was finally above the horizon, she would leave. She wouldn't have much time to get there, but at least she knew she wouldn't have to contend with any vampires if she waited.
It only took a few more minutes before the sun began peeking over the small hill and Quinn stood up. "I need to get back."
"It's not time," Myk replied. "The spell's still in effect."
"I know, but if I'm gone when Rachel comes back, she'll worry," Quinn replied.
"You want to risk your life for a girl?" Myk said, looking slightly aghast.
"Yes," Quinn said simply.
Myk shook his head. "You humans always think with your heart; I'm surprised you creatures still rule this world."
"Maybe we rule this world because we do think with our hearts," Quinn countered. "I'm going, okay? You don't have to come with me."
The demon nodded. "Don't die."
"I'll try not to," Quinn said, giving him a lopsided smile.
Quinn grabbed her bag and walked to the front door; Myk followed her to let her out. When she stepped outside, before the demon could shut the door, she turned around and said, "Thank you. You know, for the help. I didn't really know where I was going to go, so—thank you."
"Just don't die and have me go through all this work for nothing," Myk replied.
Quinn laughed. "I think I'll be okay."
"You better be," Myk grumbled as he closed the door.
Quinn shook her head, smiling as she walked down the front steps. Since the demon took her the back way, she wasn't quite sure where she was going, but she knew the general direction of the school. She knew she needed to hurry, though, if she wanted to be at the school by the time the spell wore off, so she started running. Her legs were protesting, but she didn't care; she knew it was probably stupid, but she didn't want Rachel to worry. She had messed up her girlfriend's life enough by just being in it, and she'd vowed a while ago to do whatever she could to not make Rachel worry. Brittany told her how scared Rachel was when she was taken by those fairy things, and Quinn didn't want her to go through that again.
By the time she could finally see McKinley High in the distance, she had to slow down to catch her breath. She had her hands on her knees and was trying to take deep breaths, but it was really coming out more in short bursts. Then she heard it—the sound of footsteps and a low growl. Groaning, she turned around and came face to face with two demons. One was slimy, purple, and about her size while the other looked strong, had skin that was orange tinged, and was quite a bit bigger than her.
"You guys couldn't make this easy on me, could you?" Quinn said, sighing.
The first demon ran at her and she pulled her sword out just in time, stabbing it in the neck, and pulling it out to lash the second demon across the chest. The purple demon fell to the ground, but the second one wasn't even slowed down. It grabbed her by the throat, throwing her several yards back. She landed on her back in the middle of the street and groaned in pain. When she looked up, the demon was staring down at her, and Quinn quickly scrambled to her feet, tackling the demon to the ground. She was thrown off, but managed to land on her feet. She swung the sword, connecting with the demon's neck; both the head and the body fell to the ground with a thud, and Quinn breathed a sigh of relief.
She rubbed her arm as she walked where her bag had fallen; she threw in a dagger and stake that had fallen out and shouldered it again. When she turned around, though, the large demon was beginning to move again. Its body was starting to get up, reaching for its head, as Quinn watched in disbelief.
Without hesitating, she turned, and began running to the school again.
Quinn could hear the demon pursuing her as she ran through the school parking lot. She hoped to outrun it, but the thing was fast—almost as fast as her. She was running full speed through the parking lot and looked at her watch as she ran. Everything should go back to normal any minute—she didn't know the exact time it happened—and that was good because she had no idea how to kill this demon, but maybe Rachel would. Normally beheading always worked in demons, so she was at a loss.
"Water!"
Quinn frowned looking over her shoulder, wondering if she really did just hear a voice. Far off, though, was Myk running after them, his stubby legs working overtime.
"Water!" he shouted again, pointing at the other demon.
Quinn nodded, understanding what he meant now, and changed direction. She ran to the side of the school and threw the door open, running down one of the halls she really frequented. She wasn't even sure which room it was, but she knew she was going in the right direction because the smell of chlorine was getting stronger. She didn't bother to see if the demon was still following her; she could hear its snarls and heavy footsteps every step of the way.
She almost missed the door to the pool, turning at the last moment when she saw it through the open door. She ran into the room, stopping once she was at the edge. When she turned around, the demon was slowly walking to her, clearly weary of the water since it kept looking to the right. Quinn gradually walked backwards, making sure the demon would have to be next to the water if it wanted to attack her. With every step the demon took, Quinn took a step back.
She kept her eyes locked onto the demon, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Myk creeping into the room. He made a shoving motion with his hands as he walked behind the demon, and Quinn smirked. The demon clearly never heard him enter because it never turned around before being shoved into the water.
Despite the water not being that deep, the demon seemed to sink to the bottom, unable to stand up. It thrashed around, splashing water out of the pool for several minutes, and then it was still.
"Is it dead?" Quinn asked, really not wanting to get in the water to check.
"It's dead," Myk answered.
"I thought you stayed behind," Quinn said.
Myk shrugged. "I didn't trust you not to die."
Quinn laughed. "Thanks."
"It's almost time," Myk said.
"Thank you," Quinn said, giving the demon a smile. "You saved my life."
"I know," Myk replied.
Quinn shook her head, smiling as she ran to the exit, making her way to the front of the school. The halls were still devoid of people, but she knew it would happen any second. Sure enough, the second she walked out the front entrance, Rachel popped up out of nowhere, still bent over from where she was checking on Quinn.
"—re you—Quinn?" Rachel stood up, looking at her. "How did you—when did you get over there?"
"It's a very long story," Quinn said, smiling at her.
"What—long story?" Rachel said, clearly confused. "How can it be a long story? You were just in front of me a second ago."
"Come on," Quinn said, holding out her hand. "I'll tell you on the way to the choir room."
Rachel took her hand and looked over her shoulder, frowning at the spot Quinn had originally been. When they walked into the hall, students were everywhere, and for the first time ever, Quinn was happy to see everyone.
Rachel gasped. "What do you mean we lost a day! But that means—Regionals are in two days, not three?! Oh my god! What are we going to do? We were already behind; this is a complete disaster!"
"Rachel, calm down," Quinn said, stopping the brunette from pacing.
"Quinn, do you know what this means?" Rachel asked, clearly in full panic mode. "We only had three days to perfect our performance, and now we only have two days. Two days! We have to make sure Finn has the choreography down, and we now only have forty-eight hours. I don't know what we're going to do. There's no way we can win Regionals now!"
"It's only one day," Quinn said, though she did know that lost day was important.
Rachel took a deep breath. "We have to get to the choir room."
Rachel walked out of the bathroom without looking back. Quinn laughed lightly and shook her head, following behind the brunette. When she walked into the choir room, Rachel was already barking orders at everyone. The rest of the group looked incredibly confused as to why Rachel looked so panicked since none of them knew what had happened, and most of them wouldn't know. She didn't know how losing a day was going to be explained to everyone, but it would probably just be another one of those things that people accepted without explanation.
Quinn glanced at Brittany as she walked in, and the blonde looked back with a perplexed expression. Quinn shrugged, unable to explain what had happened with so many other people in the room. As she started walking to the risers, she abruptly stopped, and turned back to Brittany.
"Can I see your phone?" Quinn asked.
"It's in my backpack," Brittany said.
Quinn walked over, grabbed the bag, and rummaged through it for the phone, hoping it wasn't dead. She scrolled through the recent contacts, knowing Santana would be at the top of the list. She walked out of the room as she called the number and went into the nearest empty classroom.
"Hey, B—"
"Santana," Quinn interrupted. "What did you do for the last day?"
"What?" Santana asked. "Who is this?"
"Quinn," the blonde replied, rolling her eyes. "Where have you been for the past day?"
"Weren't you here just, like, thirty minutes ago?" Santana asked.
"Thanks," Quinn said, pulling the phone from her ear.
"What the fu—"
Quinn walked across the hall, back into the choir room. She looked up at Rachel, who was still directing everyone and fussing over every move they made.
"What's going on?" Brittany asked, walking up to her.
"Do me a favor and get everyone's attention," Quinn whispered to her. "Have everyone go through the routine repeatedly until the bell rings."
"Okay," Brittany said, sounding a bit uncertain, but she did it nevertheless.
"Rachel," Quinn said, grabbing the brunette's arm, and pulling her to the side of the room.
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked. "We didn't lose another day, did we? Please tell me—a"
"No, nothing like that," Quinn interrupted, shaking her head. "I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier; I called Santana and she disappeared like everyone else."
Rachel shrugged. "So, what does that—oh my. That means—"
"Santana has a soul," Quinn finished.
"But how?" Rachel asked.
"I have a feeling you were right all along," Quinn said, looking across the room at Brittany, who was currently instructing Finn. "I think it has to do with Brittany."
"Really?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shrugged as she said, "What other explanation is there? Either way, I doubt we'll ever find out."
"At least that explains why she hasn't killed us all in our sleep," Rachel remarked.
Quinn smiled. "That it does."
"Come on," Rachel said, pulling Quinn toward the middle of the room. "Regionals are in two days; we can't dawdle around if we want to beat Vocal Adrenaline."
Mercedes halted in the middle of a spin. "What do you mean two days?"
Two chapters left and they're going to be the two part finale.
Reviews are always appreciated and highly encouraged.