Wendy didn't realize how much pain she was in until she quickly had changed into the spare clothes she always kept in her trunk and got behind the wheel. She knew she was bleeding through the pad given to her at the hospital, and whatever pain medication they had given her was beginning to wear off. Her stomach felt as if it was being torn apart as wave after wave of these horrible cramps kept hitting her. Twice she had to grip onto the wheel, struggling not to faint. For just a second she saw her reflection in the rearview mirror and saw how pale and horrible she looked. She felt sick knowing sitting there, she was losing her baby. Over and over she kept seeing Ian's flushed and outraged face as he laid on the floor of Build-It, seeing that she was having a miscarriage before his eyes filled with tears and he screamed...
"NO!"
She needed to find him, and she needed to find Julie, it wasn't over, and they hadn't stopped anything. In the last twenty-four hours she had seen enough death to know her perfect little controlled life was no more.
She was no longer the perfect student, with the perfect grades, and the perfect life. Ever since the crash things were spinning out of control. Now she had lost the baby, and knew if she didn't act now, she would lose her sister and Ian. Driving, hands clutching the wheel, she felt sick to her stomach. She knew she couldn't live with herself if she allowed them to die. She raced down the back highways, remembering all those summer nights driving out to Ian's, back when life seemed to simple. She thought for a second of maybe swinging by Ian's, but knew Kevin was all ready on it. Instead, she knew she needed to get to the park and find Julie fast, now with the baby dead her and Ian were going to be next. She had no idea how she was going to stop it, but she needed to try. Feeling horrible cramps wash through her, she whimpered out softly, still trying to go faster. That's when her radio turned on without her even touching it.
"There is someone...walking behind you. Turn around, look at me..."
Gazing at it with frightened big eyes, she turned her attention back to the road and saw a coy dog. Jerking the wheel, she just missed it before fighting to keep the car on the road. Shaken, she knew she was less than a mile away and needed to get there before it was too late. A few minutes later... Parked, Wendy got out of the car, nearly stumbling. Holding onto the car door for support, she caught sight of her pale face in the window and knew this wasn't good. The moment she stood, she could feel herself bleeding heavily, and swayed for a moment in pain. The very thought of the baby was too much to even focus on. Instead she fought from fainting as she heard the fireworks begin to go off in the distance. She prayed that Kevin would be at one of the security tents with Ian and Julie safe. The parking-lot was dark and packed with cars, but everyone was all ready camped out over the hill near the water watching the beginning of the show. Standing there, she looked out and remember last summer when Ian and her had sex for the first time. Staring, another cramp hit her as she bit her bottom lip in pain.
"Wendy?"
Wendy heard Ian's voice and it was sweet relief to her ears. Turning, she saw Ian standing across the way. He was in dark jeans, and his hoodie. His hair unwashed, and his pale with circles much like her own underneath his eyes. She could tell from his face how puffy and drained it looked. He had been crying. Wendy sighed with relief seeing him.
"Ian, thank God...Kevin..."
Ian glared.
"Looking for Kevin huh? Well he dragged me out here, sputtering the same bullshit you two tried to tell me last night."
"Where is he?"
"Off to find Julie, he told me to wait here and look for you. What are you doing out of the hospital?"
He took a few steps closer to her before Wendy shook her head in absolute panic.
"Ian, there's no time to explain, we gotta find Kevin..."
She tried reaching out and grabbing his hand, but instead Ian flinched away, causing her to freeze. Ian locked eyed with her and for the first time since they began dating, she actually saw anger directed towards her.
"You're happy aren't you? You're happy you lost it."
"What?!"
"The baby...you never wanted it, or to marry me. You've been trying to find an excuse to just break it off since everything happened..."
"Ian...no..."
Ian motioned to her.
"You deserve to be with someone like Kevin, not a creep like me. Admit it, losing the baby was the best thing that could have happened..."
Ian's voice trailed off, finding a shaken edge to it. She could tell he was near tears. Holding up her hand with her sparking engagement ring, she shook her head in frustration.
"IAN! You know I love you! We gotta find Julie and Kevin!"
She snapped her eyes shut, holding herself as another cramp hit her. Ian stared at her, circles beneath his eyes, his bangs hanging in his face, his skin too pale. He took a step closer, before another firework went off causing Wendy to spin around, her large brown eyes looking up at the sky. At that exact moment there wasn't any pain, or terrible feeling of loss from losing the baby. Instead, all she could focus on was finding Julie and Kevin. Ignoring Ian, who called her name again, she took off running towards the field. She thought she heard Ian call for her once more, but she kept running as fast as she could, praying to God she wasn't too late.
A few minutes later...
Julie sat on the grass completely hysterical. She sat with terrible bruises on her neck, her eyes now bloodshot, and hot spilling tears running down her face. Wendy had reached the festival just minutes before. There were people everywhere. Tents, carts, crowds, and people dressed up and on horses. She saw spotted Julie just in time, flipping off Kevin and instantly a vivid vision flashed before her eyes just like her camera going off. She remembered how that night Ian and her ran into Julie and her friends, and how she snapped that photo as blackmail before Julie flipped her off. Now it all clicked into place. She screamed her sister's name at the top of her lungs before everything happened so fast.
The moment the horse came, she dashed forward and watched Kevin knock her out of the way just in time. Seconds later the rope attached to the wild animal swung around, going around her sister's neck as she screamed. At lighting speed, she was dragged across the way before Kevin acted in time right before Julie was dragged beneath an old piece of farming equipment, most likely placed there on purpose for the night. By the time Wendy ran over, Julie was completely losing it, sobbing over what had just happened. Still, she was alive. Grabbing hold of her sister, she begged her to tell her who was next. Before she could open her mouth, the horse jumped again by the security guards who had just taken control of the animal.
It cried out, rearing it's legs before the flagpole it had been tied to went flying through the air and went straight through Perry, one of Julie's oldest and closest friends. Hot blood sprayed onto Wendy and Julie's shocked faces before the screams came. Wendy sat, completely stunned, watching Perry's body slowly slump down completely lifeless. Seconds later, she then thought of Kevin's photo she had taken that night, flashing the camera right in his face.
"Kevin..."
She said in a shaken voice before scrambling to her feet. Swaying, she watched as Kevin was kicked by the same exact horse who was being placed under control yet again. Going flying backwards, he went straight into a food table, right onto the grills. Running, Wendy moved on pure instinct, grabbing the back of Kevin's jacket before both were pushed backwards and Wendy felt the gentle push of hot air. Both went stumbling back onto the grass hard, and instantly the sickening scent of burning hair filled the air. Rolling over, Wendy saw Kevin's face was lightly burned, and a terrible shade of red. Besides that, he was fine. It skipped both Julie and Kevin. Right away she thought. First it skipped Ian, then it got the baby, then it skipped Julie, and Kevin. Now she was next. She was next. Julie came stumbling over, her neck still horribly bruised as she walked over, still crying, and still half dazed.
Walking, she dropped to her knees to help Wendy and Kevin up. Looking across, she saw Ian walking past the tents, still looking so pale, still looking so lost.
"Wendy?"
He called, his eyes worried and concerned. The moment he locked eyes with them, he began hurrying over. That's when she saw the photos flash. The one taken with her and Ian in the parking-lot, and the other with Jason. Both with dark backgrounds, both of her smiling wearing the McKinley grad shirt.
"Mckinley..."
She whispered locking eyes with Ian as he hurried over. Kevin looked over, confused.
"What?"
"In both photos I was wearing the McKinley grad shirt."
"You don't think Ian..."
Wendy pulled free from Kevin and Julie's grip. Instead, she stumbled forward, and began hurrying towards Ian.
"Ian!"
She called out. She wasn't sure what this vision meant, but she was certain it wasn't what Kevin was thinking. There was no way Ian could cause her death. He would never hurt her. She kept thinking of his pale face screaming last night when she had the miscarriage, but none of this made sense. It had to mean something else. Her cramps were worse, and she knew she was bleeding through her jeans. Stumbling, she swayed before holding onto herself before finishing the distance and meeting Ian halfway. Nearly collapsing in his arms, she completely broke down.
"I don't...want...you...to die..."
She completely forgot she was next. All she knew at this exact moment she needed him. Nothing else but him. Ian's arms went around her as she began to completely breakdown. Tears rolled down her face, as she buried her face against the shoulder of his hoodie. Smelling the faint scent of his sweat and shampoo he must have used yesterday. That's when she heard Kevin yell. Turning, she looked behind her and saw the wagon of fireworks about to tip forward, all live and ready to fire. Ian saw it too, and instantly shoved her backwards. Kevin and Julie dropped down as well as Wendy fell down hard on her bottom as seconds later she saw streams of cracking sparks fly overhead.
Laying flat against the glass, she watched before her eyes followed them and couldn't believe it. Ian snapped his eyes shut, arms spread out as the three fireworks flew over his arms and under them, hitting the cherry picker behind him. Wendy took a second, before the smoke settled. Opening his eyes slowly, he stared forward before he uttered a nervous laugh. Wendy blinked, before Ian looked down at her.
"See Wendy? I'm not going to die..."
That's when a creaking sound came loudly above them. Wendy slowly stared up at the same exact time as Ian. There was a large metal sign, in the same exact shape as the triangle banner above him in the photo of him and Erin, and the same shape as the parking-lot sign that hung above them when they posed together. Wendy then remembered. The fireworks had skipped her, Kevin, Julie, and Ian. Now the McKinley sign, built for tonight's event, sixty or so feet up in the air was about to fall forward from the damage of the fireworks. Wendy's mouth opened, completely stunned before Ian stared at her. It was too late, he couldn't move. The two stared at each other before the sign fell down with lighting speed down with a heavy crash. Another terrible spray of blood drenched Wendy's face before silence filled the night air. Looking forward, she couldn't believe it. Ian's body was there, but only half. His lower half had completely been crushed by the sign. From the waist up, he had been severed. He laid there, bleeding out, his blood drenching into the grass, as laid on his belly forward. Blood was coming out of his nose and mouth. He laid there, not moving, before Wendy moved forward.
"Ian?"
He had pushed her out of the way...she could have been standing right underneath the sign... She crawled forward, before a low gurgling sound came, making Wendy cry out. She knew in the way the sign fell, it was just keeping Ian alive by seconds when he should have all ready been killed. He was ten times paler than before, and more and more blood was gushing out of his nose. Laying there, she reached forward and grabbed one of Ian's blood slicked hands.
"Ian?"
Ian's eyes fluttered open, his head half turned on the grass. He looked up at her, not exactly seeing her. Here she remembered how he looked that day in Built-It last summer when she walked in to buy paint. Or, how intense his blue eyes were when he stared down at her inside his van when they first had sex. All those little moments together with him, all meant nothing. Now here he was, bleeding out, and dying...and yet again there was nothing she could do about it. Staring at her, more and more color draining from his face, he made a low gurgling sound coming from his throat.
"Wen...Wendy?"
He gurgled, blood spitting down from his parted lips. He looked at her before suddenly he body violently twitched, and his eyes cast upward, not exactly seeing anymore. Moments later, he was still, and Wendy knew right then and there...he was gone. Kneeling there, holding her dead finance's bloody hand, a terrible, horrible overwhelming feeling of grief hit her. No, God couldn't do this. She came this far, no...not after the baby. She couldn't be left alone. No, Ian couldn't be dead. He couldn't. "Wendy?" Kevin called, slowly being helped by Julie behind her. Wendy turned them out, still holding Ian's bloody hand. It was still warm, and she stared at him, determined to see him breathing. Sitting there, she stared at his empty glazed over eyes, and knew instantly that all of this had been for nothing. Closing her eyes, she silently laid down without so much as another word. Instead she rested her head down against Ian's. Laying down, she squeezed his hand, and laid beside his bloody ruined body, tuning everything out. No, at this exact moment she was going to pretend that none of this madness had happened. That she was back inside his van, and it was last summer, long before any of this happened. It was just the two of them and they were laying beneath the stars.