Author's Note: Special thanks to Mechhasylum for helping me out. :) Please note, I am NOT a vegan and only did the briefest research on whether or not vegans can eat Cheerios. I at least know milk is out! Haha.
Terror
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
-From Maya Angelou's Still I Rise
Rachel awoke with a start, her arms flailing about her wildly in the seconds before she realized where she was. Brian was kneeling over her, but had backed up, his arms held up in front of him in the universal signal for 'I surrender'. She took a deep, calming breath and rubbed a hand over her face as she pulled herself into a sitting position.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick with sleep. She rubbed at her eyes in a childlike manner and Brian smiled at her before leaning against the door frame much like he had the day before. He reached outside of her line of sight and revealed an apple, a banana, and a small box of Cheerios, complete with accompanying bowl and spoon.
"Wait for it..." he said teasingly. Triumphantly, he pulled a small bottle of vanilla flavored Silk [soy milk] out of a brown grocery bag.
"Ta-da!" Brian exclaimed with glee. Rachel couldn't help but return his grin hesitantly, and reached out eagerly for the food. She got her breakfast set before taking a bite and looking at Brian questioningly. Deciding she didn't have much to lose, she swallowed and voiced her confusion.
"What happened, Brian? If this were any other situation, I'd think we could be friends. You are a very sweet, considerate guy. How did you end up here?"
Brian sighed and she could see his body relax against the doorway.
"Todd is my step brother. His dad ran out when we were just kids, and a few months ago my mom passed away. We're going to lose the house. Todd has..." his voice trailed off as he thought over his words carefully. "He has some issues, some problems. He can't find work. Well, he can't work, can't keep a job. I was in school up until my mom got sick. I was the one taking care of her until..." Rachel reached out and placed a hand on his forearm. He met her gaze and Rachel could see the pain of reliving his mom's death. "Todd didn't think we had a choice. We picked the first house we saw. You were never supposed to be there. This was never supposed to happen. My mom would be so ashamed," he finished quietly.
"I'm very sorry for your loss, Brian," Rachel said, her heart on her sleeve. Brian smiled at her in appreciation before pulling himself back together.
"Okay, so eat up. It's early, not even 5 am. After we throw our things into your car, we're heading out. This is almost over, okay? And I'm going to keep my promise. You won't have a single scratch, Rachel. I won't let it happen," Brian said seriously.
"I trust you. And I want you to know...I think you're better than this. I am an excellent judge of character, Brian. I think you're better than this and I hope you make a new life for yourself," she said, her voice sincere. Brian nodded and left Rachel to her first meal in days as he moved about his room, hastily packing up the things that held any importance to him. Before Rachel knew it, she was herded back towards the garage, rebound with her hands behind her back, and was being helped into the trunk by Brian. He touched her cheek gingerly and gave her a wink before gently shutting the trunk door.
-GLEE-
"Ugh," Puck grunted as he yanked his football gear out of the back of his truck. He gave a barely noticeable nod to Matt and Mike as they joined him in the parking lot, their gear slung over their shoulders already. They watched as Kurt pulled into the parking lot with a sleeping Finn slumped over in the passenger seat.
"Dude, football practice this early sucks dick," Puck grumbled as they made their way to the field. Finn looked at him angrily, but it was Mike who landed a solid punch to his bicep.
"Are you really complaining right now?" He groused. Puck genuinely looked confused until realization hit him.
"Oh, my god," he said quietly. "I am such a dick. I forgot. What the fuck is wrong with me?"
Matt thumped him on the back once, giving him an understanding look. "It's early man, none of us are really awake yet." Puck wiped a hand over his face, rubbing the back of his head for a minute.
"Thanks, dude," he said.
-GLEE-
Rachel was in the middle of pulling her leg through the loop her arms made when she felt the car come to a stop. She decided pulling off the tape on her mouth right now would be a bad idea, so she just laid still, patiently waiting for Brian's face to appear and let her finally make her way back home to her parents. Dim light from the rising sun filled the trunk as the lid flew open. Brian stopped it from opening completely when he saw what she had done.
"I told you to stop doing that!" He said through gritted teeth. "Look, I'm doing what I can to make sure you get through this unscathed, okay? But you are starting to make it really difficult. What if Todd had been the one to check on you, huh? We'd both be in a lot of trouble then. We're making a quick stop. Just let him get his breakfast, and then we're going to leave you on the side of Route 10, okay? Do you know that area?"
Rachel nodded her head that she did. Brian gave her one last look of warning before closing the trunk on her as a car drove behind him.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," he said through the trunk. "Just be quiet, and be good, Rachel. Please."
Rachel growled angrily and then resigned herself to listening to the sound of cars speeding by. She ripped the newest piece of tape off of her mouth and winced. It still hurt as much as the first piece. She bit onto the tape around her wrists and began to try to rip it. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she rolled her eyes at her failure and then froze in shock. If she wasn't in such a dire situation, she'd be tempted to slap herself in the forehead. There was an emergency release located on the trunk lid for situations exactly like this. Without giving it a thought, she reached for the neon handle and yanked on the cord. Instantly the trunk sprang open and she jumped to her knees. To her horror, both Brian and Todd were exiting the diner at the rest stop off of exit 35. She couldn't believe how close they had been to her section of town all of this time. She realized they had both taken off running towards the car so Rachel leaped out and winced as she felt her ankle twist. Knowing where she was in Lima gave Rachel a burst of confidence and hope so she took off running as fast as she could towards the diner and her kidnappers. They were so caught off guard that she was easily able to dart around one of the cars in the parking lot and take off behind the building. Once she fell hard, not expecting it to be so difficult to run without shoes, but as soon as she heard the heavy bodies running towards her she used her bound hands to push herself up and take off again. She blinked back some tears as she felt something tear into the tender skin on her left foot, but she kept running. She could feel twigs and branches snapping against her face as she entered the patch of woods that separated the highway diner from the Lima suburbs. The yells behind her grew louder so she ran deeper into the woods, trying to keep her balance as much as she could over the rough ground. Eventually she heard the angry shouts and threats from Todd become a little quieter as she put more distance between them. She started angling the way she was running and hoped that her sense of direction would not fail her.
When Rachel burst through the trees, she let out a sob in relief. Even from several yards away, she could pick out Mike, Matt, Puck, and Kurt as they sleepily lugged their football gear onto the field. The thundering footsteps of her pursuers approaching caused Rachel's breath to hitch in her throat and she sprinted forward.
"Help me!" She screamed as she ran towards the fence surrounding the football field. All of the bodies on the field instantly halted what they were doing and turned towards the sound of her terrified voice cutting through the stillness of the early morning. She heard Todd and Brian crash through the trees behind her and she pushed herself to run harder. At the sight of the two men chasing the petite figure of a girl, most of the team took off running. Some slowed a bit as they realized that it was Rachel Berry they were running towards They were clearly shocked that she was still alive, and she felt her heart clench at the thought. All of this time, they hadn't had any idea if she was still breathing. While she had been sleeping in a closet, the police had probably assumed she had been killed
Upon seeing the large footballers heading their way, Todd and Brian had immediately turned on their heels and disappeared back into the woods. Seconds later Rachel was stunned to realize Karofsky and Azimio were at the front of the group running towards her and the trees that were currently hiding her captors. She stumbled for a moment as she caught Karofsky's eye as he passed by her but she quickly caught herself before she could fall. She realized that she was still screaming, but her voice was no longer shrill with panic. Instead, it was raw and cracking over every other incoherent word. Briefly, she wondered if she was doing permanent damage, but she couldn't make herself stop.
Once she was just a few dozen feet away from her Gleeks, Rachel's screams of terror dissolved into hysterical, gut wrenching sobs. The guys slowed their sprints down to a walk and immediately halted in front of Rachel. She bent over at the waist, her face hidden in her still-bound hands as she tried in vain to calm herself.
"Oh, Rachel," Mike whispered, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She jerked away instinctively and then straightened, staring at her friends in wide eyed shock, her sobs stopping for a few seconds. They took in the bruise forming along her jaw from a particularly large branch she encountered while running through the woods. The skin around her mouth was red and raw from where she had ripped the duct tape off. Her hair was haphazardly falling over her shoulders, her ponytail from two days ago long gone after her rough ordeal. Her right knee was covered in blood and dirt from the first time she fell, but they couldn't help but notice that it was her left foot that she was favoring, though they didn't know why. No one spoke, and after a second everyone began to move at once. Matt turned and ran back towards the school as Puck pulled off his hoody and wrapped it around Rachel's shoulders. Her hysterics began to subside completely as it began to set in that she was safe.
"What the hell is going on?" Kurt finally exclaimed. Rachel shivered and inhaled shakily.
"They stopped at the diner to eat," she gasped out, her breath still not returning to normal. "I found the trunk release and they saw me...they were so mad."
Mike's eyes widened in horror as reality hit him. His worry and concern were gone for the moment as he thought about the facts, the truth of the past few days. Rachel had been kidnapped. She had been missing for hours. 'She's been missing for days,' he thought, correcting himself. There were Amber Alerts out for her all over the country, her story was huge news. He thought of all of the horrific things he had ever heard on CNN and had to ask, even though he didn't want to know the answer. "Rachel, did they hurt you? I mean...were you...hurt?" He finished lamely. Rachel immediately realized what he was trying to ask her, and shook her head no vehemently.
"I don't know if they would have, but they didn't. I'm fine. They said they were going to let me go, but when they were in the diner I found the release in the trunk and just started running. If I hadn't gotten away..." Her voice trailed off as if she was deep in thought. "I don't know if they would have let me go unharmed after that. Todd seemed pretty angry that I was home the night then broke in," she explained, her chin beginning to tremble again. The reality of what could have happened to her hit her like a ton of bricks. She met Mike's sad gaze, and before she knew it she was throwing herself into his arms. Her hands grasped at his shirt as her hysterics began to literally take her breath away. She felt her tears spill over her cheeks as she realized what she had escaped. She wasn't a fool, she knew what went on in the world. The fact that the police had probably begun recovery missions, searching for her body in the woods and streams in Lima made her sick to her stomach. If even Karofsky had believed her to be dead, she could only imagine how long it had taken her fathers, her friends to give up hope. She had never thought of the toll her disappearance must have taken on anyone except herself. She was grateful for her survival instinct in retrospect. If she had spent her hours in the closet thinking about her fathers instead of how to get free, she would have lost her mind to grief.
The guys were all standing around Rachel, shocked into silence over what she had endured. Matt suddenly appeared as if out of thin air and handed Kurt the first aid kit he was carrying. He turned towards Rachel with the scissors he had also retrieved from the school.
"Rachel, Matt has scissors to cut the tape off of your hands, okay?" Mike said, making sure she was okay with Matt approaching her. He knew that she wouldn't be afraid of Matt normally, but he didn't want her to be traumatized by Matt reaching for her if she didn't completely realize what he was doing. Rachel nodded and held her hands out, and the guys could see the almost violent way that they were shaking. Once Matt cut through the tape, he cringed at the bloody state of her palms from when she fell. Rachel kept her body pressed into the safety and warmth of Mike's torso as she was cut free, and didn't move away when she began pulling the remaining strips of tape off of her wrists.
Coach Tenaka approached the group, a phone held against his ear.
"Everything okay here?" He grunted. Everyone nodded silently, but they took notice of the way Rachel sank back into Mike's embrace. Coach Tenaka looked at Rachel and frowned.
"The cops are on their way," he said before turning and walking towards the parking lot, presumably to meet the police and lead them to Rachel and the football players turned witnesses.
"Well, I guess football practice is canceled, huh?" Puck smirked. Everyone rolled their eyes at his attempt at humor, but Puck's smirk instantly morphed into a genuine grin when a ghost of a smile passed over Rachel's lips.
"You're such an imbecile, Noah," she scolded.
-GLEE-
Author's Note: Yay! I didn't kill her this time! Aren't you relieved? Haha. So, I have two ideas. Do Karofsky and Azimio catch Todd and Brian in the woods, or should they be caught later? I still can't decide. I DO have a plan that includes them for a later chapter, though. Unless there is protest, but I think it's a good idea.
If you have any specific requests or ideas, feel free to let me know so that I can try to incorporate them. Also feel free to let me know what you think in general.
Thanks for reading!
