Quinn had drifted off sometime after her last encounter with Dr. Shepard, but a curious noise stirred her. It took her a while to focus and she winced, feeling the throbbing pain in her stomach fire up. Damn demon, she thought as her consciousness fully returned. Quinn stopped moving and listened when she heard the same noise again. It almost sounded like- Quinn shook her head, refusing to accept the possibility that something good could happen to her tonight.
However, when Quinn heard the unmistakable, angry murmur of, "I swear to God, if you're not already dead, I'm gonna do it myself for making me rescuing your ass" she knew that she might just have a shot of getting out of there alive. Quinn's eyes darted to the window, spotting a tan hand grab the window ledge. The blonde struggled anxiously against her bonds, fearing that the demon would realise what what going on and kill Santana without hesitation, but the house was eerily silent, shrouded by nightfall. She watched as Santana's head bobbed up to look through the murky window and watched as her chocolate eyes widened when she saw Quinn and the state Dr. Shepard had left her in.
Santana glimpsed through the dirty window and around the rest of the room, probably checking that Quinn was alone before she broke in. Once satisfied they were alone, she eased the window up slowly and as quietly as possible. Quinn thanked the heavens that the window didn't have a lock on it but cursed them when it squeaked through age and neglect. Santana paused and Quinn found herself holding her breath and listening intently, but her ears were met with absolute silence.
After a few more painfully loud squeaks from the window and some silent oaths from Quinn, Santana had managed to climb into the room. She immediately started for Quinn, treading softly on the rotted wooden floor. "What the fu-"
"Santana hurry," Quinn whispered. The other girl shut her mouth, deciding that she'd act now and ask questions later. She had managed to free Quinn's hands but both girls stopped dead when they heard a loud bang from downstairs, proceeded by several other noises. They didn't know if it was the demon or not but Santana wasn't taking any chances. She quickly cut Quinn's feet free and hoisted her up. Quinn doubled over with pain and let out a silent scream. Santana was looking frantically from the door to Quinn over to the window. They didn't have time to stop, they had to get out now if they both wanted to live so Santana ignored the look of pain on Quinn's face and dragged her over to the window.
"Shit," was Santana's response when she realised that Quinn was in no shape to climb out of a window and down a drainpipe. "Think Santana, think," she muttered to herself, starting to panic slightly. Quinn slumped against the wall and held her side. Shepard must have broke a rib or two, there was no way she was going to get out of here. She could hardly walk let alone run or climb. Santana watched the blonde squirm in pain before saying, "Fuck it." She knelt down in front of Quinn with her back to her. "Put your arms around my neck," Santana said. Quinn was about to question her but the Latina gave her a look over her shoulder that made Quinn stop and do as she was told. Without warning, Santana grabbed Quinn's legs from underneath and stood upright.
"You're going to carry me out of the window?" Quinn asked, slightly alarmed and interested in how that would work.
"No, we're going to run out of here, through the front door and we are never coming back," Santana clarified as she headed towards the door.
"He'll know what's going on as soon as we're out of this room, we're not going to make it San, please just get out of here. You're not dying because of me." Quinn wasn't surprised when Santana didn't respond, but she was surprised when the cheerleader grabbed the door handle and gave it a twist.
They weren't quite sure what to expect on the other side of the door. Maybe Dr. Shepard, maybe Rachel or some other murderous ghost but they were met with stillness. Quinn felt Santana take a sharp inhale before bolting it through the corridors and towards the stairs. Was it really going to be this easy? A loud bag sounded from behind them and then at the side of them and then all around them but Santana carried on undeterred, moving as fast as she could go with the other girl on her back. They were halfway down the stairs when an invisible blow sent them flying the rest of the way down. Santana landed at the bottom, and Quinn landed on top of her, yelling in pain. A sadistic laugh reverberated all around the house, mocking them both. Santana shook her head and launched herself to her feet, pulling Quinn up with her.
They both looked up and saw a dark figure standing at the top of the stairs. Santana swore under her breath, digging out a small bottle of clear liquid from her coat pocket. Without hesitation, she uncapped it and threw it up at the figure. Quinn's eyes widened as she heard growls and grunts coming from the figure who she presumed to be Shepard. Whatever Santana had thrown had actually manage to hurt this thing, it hurt a demon! Quinn didn't have long to ponder on it before she felt Santana's hand grip hers and yank her towards the door. Quinn looked back once more, this time spotting a brunette girl staring directly into her eyes. It was Rachel of course but Quinn glared, pouring every bit of rage and hurt she had into it before Santana pulled her out of the door. Quinn felt betrayed. Rachel hadn't even tried to help. She wasn't a friend. She was no better than her father.
Both girls collapsed onto the cold ground once they were safely out of the house and off of the grounds, though at night they weren't safe. Not anywhere, though hopefully whatever Santana had thrown at him would slow him down for a few days. They caught their breath and Santana phoned home for a lift, telling Quinn that she would be staying at the Lopez crib that night. As they waited for Santana's dad to collect them both, Santana cleared her throat and broke the silence. "Okay, so would you like to tell me what the hell is going on and why that crazy son of a bitch kidnapped you?"
Quinn licked her lips and tasted the dry blood. "My psychiatrist- who I thought was my psychiatrist kidnapped me and planned to kill me so he could be human again. He's the demon San, he was the demon all along. He told me." Quinn stopped talking and huffed. "And he's Rachel's father," she added almost silently. Santana studied her for a moment before opening her mouth.
"I'm sorry Q. Though I did tell you that girl was a violent bitch, she threw things at me! As for the demon daddy being Dr. Shepard, I would have never have guessed. He always seemed so quiet and reserved, he only moved here a couple of years ago too. Guess you never know who's a sociopathic, murderous demon and who's not." The Latina shrugged nonchalantly, trying to lighten the mood but it was lost on Quinn. Instead, the blonde stared intently at nothing as something triggered in her head.
Santana had said that Dr. Shepard had only been here a couple of years, but it was before Quinn moved to Lima. The demon told her that he had been draining her life in order to become 'solid' as it were but if that was true then- "Are you about to pass out or something? You look like you're in pain," Santana asked. "Or is that just your thinking face?"
"Santana, I think I know how we can get rid of this son of a bitch." Santana raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Shepard was around before I got here, meaning that the demon couldn't have been him all this time, he wasn't strong enough to even leave the house before he started mooching my life. I don't think that that's his true form, I think once he was strong enough, he possessed Dr. Shepard." Quinn noticed the confusion in Santana's eyes and realised that she hadn't explained properly to Santana that the demon planned on becoming human by draining Quinn of her life, hell she'd only just found out herself so she quickly filled her in.
"Okay, so if you're right-"
"I know I'm right. I also found pictures of Rachel and her family and her father did not resemble Shepard in the slightest. I'm telling you San, the bastard lied and I think I know why. If he's possessing someone then he can be exorcised and if he can be exorcised then he can be sent to hell. I'm guessing once he killed me and got what he wanted, he wouldn't need Shepard any more, he'd have his own body back."
"So that's how he can drive and how people can see him?" Santana asked, and Quinn nodded. "Then in the day when he's trapped in the house, I'm betting he leaves the Doc's body on ice then takes it for a spin at night?" They both fell silent into deep thought until a grin spread across Santana's face. "I have an idea.
"Find Dr. Shepard's body in the daytime when he has no use for it, then kidnap it so he can't get back in it?" Quinn asked.
"From the sounds of it, that wouldn't do anything but slow him down. He's strong enough to just go out and possess some other poor bastard and come after us. Besides, for all we know, he's possessing an empty body, the real Dr. Shepard could already be dead. What we've gotta' do is wait until he's in the body- so at night- then exorcise his ass right down to hell. We might be able to save the Doc, we might not, but we're sure as hell gonna save you Quinn." Santana shot Quinn a reassuring smile, letting her know that the fiery Latina meant business.
"You do realise, one screw up and he can drain the rest of me? He'll have limited abilities whilst in a human body, but once he gets his own body back, you can't stop him. He'll kill for fun and he won't care. We have to make sure we get it right, we'll probably only have the one shot at it and we can't let him know what we're doing. He'll try and escape and most likely succeed."
"Fantastic," Santana breathed as she rubbed her temples, feeling the formation of a headache as a result of all the new information. "So, what about your girlfriend? What's going to happen to her?"
"She's not my girlfriend," Quinn said bitterly, not meeting Santana's eyes.
"But you like her?" It was more of a statement than a question. When Quinn didn't reply, Santana sighed, "C'mon Blondie, I'm not blind. I have a psychic Mexican third eye you know," she said smugly.
"A what? Never mind. Are we really having this conversation again?" Quinn sighed, remembering Santana's and Brittany's last interrogation, though thankfully, they dropped it before forcing her to confess.
"I'm dating Britt, you have a thing for a dead girl, look we're sharing! Isn't this exciting?" Santana feigned enthusiasm.
"Had," Quinn corrected. "Had a thing for a dead girl, before she sold me out to her psycho-demon-father." Quinn paused and bit her lip. "She can go straight to hell with him."
"You mean that?" Santana asked.
"I'm not sure," Quinn admitted. She had genuinely loved Rachel but she had to remind herself that the Rachel she spent time with wasn't the real Rachel. Or was it? She thought back. Her laughter seemed real, the way she looked at Quinn had seemed real and the way she kissed had definitely felt real. Quinn pushed the memories out of her mind, replacing them with the fact that Rachel had still betrayed her, forced to or not- Quinn still felt the hurt swell in her chest. "What did you throw at the demon?" Quinn asked, suddenly remembering.
Santana smirked. "Holy water."
"How did you know what would work?"
"I didn't. But, I figured I've watched enough Supernatural to take the risk." Both girls laughed for the first time that night, and they both felt just a little better.
They sat in silence again until Diego Lopez showed up in a black Range Rover. "C'mon," Santana said, helping Quinn to her feet and into the back seat. Diego asked the girls what had happened. Quinn's bloody face didn't exactly go unnoticed. Santana quickly and cleverly formed a cover, pure bullshit disguised as brilliance flowed from her lips but her father seemed to buy every word of it. According to the younger Lopez, Quinn had been mugged by dangerous thugs and Santana had bravely fought the attackers off. Quinn couldn't help but snort sarcastically at how the other girl was portraying herself as some superhero, but she had saved her sorry ass and without her, Quinn would be dead so she decided to let Santana revel in the lie. Diego wasn't impressed with the fact that Santana had willingly put herself in danger but seemed relieved that the worst thing he'd have to patch up was Quinn's face and her ribs.
A few hours later, Quinn had been fixed up, fed, bathed and now she lay on the left side of Santana's Queen size bed. Santana's parents didn't ask why Quinn didn't want to stay at home, though Quinn figured Santana may have told them she'd been kicked out. The girls had gotten into bed well over two hours ago, but Quinn found it impossible to sleep with all that had gone on, but judging by the faint snoring and murmuring, Santana was out like a log. Quinn chewed her lip as a question nagged at her. She debated whether to wake the sleeping Latina and face her wrath or wait until morning. She decided on the former, earning her several 'go fuck yourself' and even a swing at her head before Santana finally gave in. She rolled over and groaned into her pillow. "Hurry up so I can go back to sleep."
"How did you know I was there?"
Santana pulled her face out of the pillow. "I was worried about you so I went to your house and this angry little man told me you didn't live there any more, so I thought, 'where would the ghost whisperer be at this time of night'. It really wasn't a brain buster. You're always at that house!"
"Oh," Quinn simply said. She didn't even mention the fact that she was actually on her way to Santana's. Only one thing crossed her mind. "Thank you." she'd realised she hadn't thanked Santana for saving her life. She was just grateful that Santana cared enough to find out where she lived and go to see if she was okay. She was also grateful that Santana figured out where Quinn was before it was too late.
"Don't mention it. Really. Don't, or I'll suffocate you with this pillow. You can show your gratitude by letting me sleep," Santana said as she turned on her side and tried to get back to sleep. Quinn chuckled softly to herself before doing the same thing. Eventually she fell into a deep sleep.
Quinn's eyes opened. She was stood on the doorstep of that decrepit house. She knew she was dreaming, it was winter and she was wearing a t-shirt and she wasn't the least bit cold. Quinn exhaled and decided to see where this dream would take her. She pushed on the frayed, wooden door. Everything in the house looked the same, it was as though she was actually there, as though it was real, she told herself it wasn't but it sure as hell felt like it.
"Quinn?" A familiar, once comforting voice filled the house. Quinn remained silent, observing the house, looking for where Rachel's voice was coming from. The blonde felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder and she swiftly turned around, harshly batting the hand away only to be face to face with Rachel, their lips inches away. The ghost looked hurt, even frightened but Quinn reminded herself that this was just a dream. "Quinn, please listen to me, talk to me," the ghost said, backing off as to give Quinn space.
Quinn scoffed and shook her head. "You're not real, this is a dream." Rachel regarded her sadly but didn't respond. "This is a messed up dream," Quinn mumbled to herself, wiping a had over her brow.
"I'm so sorry Quinn. You need to understand that I didn't want to do what I did. I didn't want to make you fall in love with me, I didn't want to lie to you and lead you to your death, I-"
"Then what do you want?" Quinn snapped.
"I want you to forgive me," Rachel whispered.
"Fat chance of that. Once I destroy your daddy, you're next," Quinn said coldly. Though when she saw the pain behind Rachel's gaze, she felt a pang of unknown guilt.
"You don't mean that."
"I don't?"
"No." Rachel walked around Quinn and sat herself down on the bottom step of the marble staircase.
Quinn swallowed. "Was it all a lie? Did you ever want me, did you even love me?"
Rachel smiled sadly. "What did you feel when I kissed you?"
Fireworks, happiness, peace, Quinn thought to herself but blushed when Rachel's lips twitched upwards. It was a dream, of course the other girl knew what she was thinking, the other girl was formed from her subconscious after all. Quinn didn't say anything. Apparently she didn't have to.
"That's what I thought," Rachel said, getting up and walking back towards Quinn. The ghost grabbed Quinn's hand, who felt the urge to pull away but also felt comforted by the touch she swore she'd never feel again. Without words, Rachel leaned up towards Quinn and placed a soft kiss onto Quinn's lips and all the feelings she had thought of a minute ago returned, pushing their way past the walls she had built up, drowning her in so much emotion that she couldn't help but kiss back. But as soon as she did, Rachel vanished and Quinn opened her eyes.
A bluish light seeped through the curtains of Santana's room, signalling the crack of dawn and the blonde's ears were met with snoring that masked the bird song. Quinn was awake. It really was a dream after all. She had started to doubt it when Rachel had kissed her but now she was sure it was a dream. Or was it? Quinn had kissed Rachel back, did that mean she forgave the ghost? Quinn shook her head. She couldn't, she wouldn't, not after everything. But she found herself feeling less angry towards the ghost, less hurt, and more forgiving. Maybe deep down, she knew that it wasn't all Rachel's fault. Maybe she believed that the ghost had been forced into it and maybe she believed that Rachel actually did care for her as time passed and they got to know one another. She sure as hell went the wrong way about it, but then again, at the start of it all, Rachel didn't know Quinn and it was her only shot at getting free from that house (or so she thought). Quinn sighed. The fact that Rachel now knew even after all this she wouldn't get her freedom should have made Quinn feel better, should have made her feel satisfied that the ghost's fate was sealed as well as her own, but it didn't. She found herself once again wondering how she could help Rachel.
Wow, I am sorry for how long this update took me D: I've had so much work to deal with but I've got a lot of time to myself now :) Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter! And hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the next update. Until next time :)