Quinn and Rachel have been running for a little over half an hour by the time Quinn's legs finally collapse as she crashes on the side of the dirt path. Rachel kneels beside her as the blonde begins to cry as if it would give her the strength to pick herself up and continue this mindless escape.
"Quinn, are you okay?" Rachel asks as she lays a comforting hand on Quinn's back.
Quinn jerked away her frustration getting the best of her, "No i'm not okay! How can I be okay?" She shouted as if to release herself of all the anger that had been piled on over the past few hours. Tears still lined her face as she didn't even bother wiping them, knowing at this point they wouldn't stop rolling down her face.
"…Quinn, i'm sorry. I know this is a lot a to process but please believe me when I say things will be okay" Rachel said resting her hand on top of Quinn's.
Quinn's sobbing slowly began to fade as she picked herself up wiping the dirt from her knees. Rachel rose with her as she offered a small smile to bring their hopes up.
"You're not going to like this but… we have to go back… Puck was still breathing when we left, he could still be alive" Rachel muttered as if already knowing Quinn would protest.
Quinn looked down at her hands. She knew Puck was still alive, he was strong and she knew if he had been in their situation he would go back for them. "… Okay" She said looking back up at Rachel who seemed surprise by her answer.
They walked back down the dirt path as they finally reached the gate. It was still open but Santana, Brittany, and Puck were no longer there.
Quinn grasped Rachel's hand as the fear sank into her stomach causing her insides to tremble.
They went passed the gate shuttering as they stepped over the blood residue that the rain failed to wash away from the pavement. They clutched each other tightly, afraid to lose the protection. Standing in front of the house they both looked at one another knowing it was now or never. Rachel put her hand on the doorknob gulping down hard as she soon stopped.
"Do you hear that?" She said turning to Quinn and backing away from the front door.
"Yeah… it sounds like… a piano" Quinn said turning to the side of the house.
"It's coming from the guest house…" Rachel muttered as they both stared at the small house that rested just a few yards from the mansion. The porch light was on leaving both of them hesitant to walk towards it.
Rachel grabs Quinn's hand firmly as she slowly began walking towards the guest house regrettably. She twisted the doorknob, it was open. Slowly she swung the door open trying to be as quiet as possible as she and Quinn entered the house.
What they saw brought terror into their eyes as they had to physically take a few steps back to even bare the sight. The bodies were propped up on chairs, blood covering the floor. The inside resembled the choir room. The windows were boarded up with McKinley high football signs as the piano lay on the left side of the room; the notes continued to play.
They were still unable to see who was playing the song until he stopped abruptly as if finally acknowledging their presence. He stood tall and undisturbed by the bodies that sat in the chairs breathless. The grey slacks, the blue tie, with complimenting grey vest… it was Mr. Shue.
"Well Rachel, you're twenty eight minutes and thirty four seconds late" He said mockingly as he stared at Rachel with an elated smile. "Oh, and Quinn I graded your spanish test, I don't think Mommy would be very proud." He released a small chuckle as he walked across to the other side of the room shuffling through papers as Rachel and Quinn stood there completely frozen.
Rachel was the first to take a step forward, "… It was you? Do you know what you've done? You've killed them. We're your students, you said we were a family. How could you do this?" She said trying to figure out the reasoning to everything that had happened.
Mr. Shue turned his attention to the short girl as a smirk appeared on his face, "I know what i've done because i know what i've seen" He said in a mere whisper as the smirk faded into a seriousness that made chills run up and down Quinn's spine.
"Look at your fellow classmates Rachel… drifting from one another, wreaking havoc on each others lives as if glee was nothing more than a silly club. Didn't glee teach you kids anything? This was the only way to preserve the good, this was the only way to make you learn how important you are to one another. After all we are all just broken pieces drifting through life without any knowledge of how broken others are, but together we could be whole. I bet you would have never acknowledged Rachel's presence, Quinn, like you did today. You may not have been aware of this but I was getting laid off… I had by the end of the semester before I'd have to pack my things and this was the last lesson I wanted to teach all of you. Glee wasn't just a club, Glee was about being a part of something special and if I leave then you all just go back to being who you used to be… you would all lose that specialness, don't you see, I made you all special."
Quinn's lip quivered as she took another step back while Rachel stood there courageously trying desperately to comprehend everything. "No Mr. Shue. You're not the one who made Glee special, we were the ones, all of us individually."
Mr. Shue shrugged his shoulders, "Okay, Rachel. As always you are entitled to your own opinion… but now on with the grades." He said as he walked towards the chairs with the glee students. "First up, Finn Hudson. Hmm, B minus… He didn't bring unity the way I thought he would but he did help me out a lot so his extra credit pulls him through a bit. Next, Santana Lopez. Oh how i enjoyed her pain the most. I give her a solid A. Her courage was impeccable the way she would sacrifice herself for all of you, her unwavering bravery in times of chaos. But Brittany is the one who surprised me the most. Taking a life is hard, taking your own life is even harder, A plus. I bet that was the first A she ever received, I wish she could see it." He chuckled slightly as he continued down the row as Rachel and Quinn stood there horrified. He soon turned his attention to Lauren who sat in the back row, "And then there's Lauren. She doesn't deserve a grade, she was the first to go. Somewhat of a personal grudge I must say... I mean she didn't understand Glee club and she most certainly didn't join for the right reasons, but moving on...Mike and Tina. Mike struggled, I can tell you that much. Tried to reason with me but nice guys always finish last as they say and well, Mike was an easy kill. I'll give him a B for outstanding effort. Tina on the other hand deserves nothing more than an A. When she saw me take Mike's life how she actually grabbed a wrench and came after me... almost made me forget I was the one with the power. Obviously she wasn't strong enough seeing as she's dead but she did shock me... I always seem to underestimate her."
"Where is Puck?" Quinn interrupted as she took a few steps forward standing next to Rachel.
Mr. Shue smiled as he crossed his arms, "Oh yes, Puckerman. I must say, he did far better than I thought he would. In fact he's still alive." Mr. Shue rushed to the closet pulling out another chair where Puck remained tied up and bleeding. His chest rising up and down as if not realizing what was going on.
"What the hell?" Puck said in a low whisper trying to regain his strength as he struggled with the rope that tied him to the chair.
"Noah…" Rachel muttered under her breath as her heart sunk into her stomach. She was glad he was alive but she didn't know how long it would last.
"Puck, i'll give you an A plus. You were the savior of the group… although I thought Finn would have taken that role it seemed as if you surprised me." Mr. Shue said clapping as he walking back to the center of the room staring at the two girls in front of him.
"Now as for you two…" He said as he walked towards them picking up the long knife from the top of the piano.
Rachel and Quinn took a few steps back before running the other way around to the kitchen in a panic. Rachel grabbed Quinn's hand pulling her down to the floor as she whispered, "Quinn, go untie Noah. I'll distract Mr. Shue." Quinn nodded in assurance as she slowly went through the other door that lead back to the living room as Rachel grabbed a coffee mug from the counter throwing it on the floor to make noise. Mr. Shue's footsteps could already be heard as it echoed through the kitchen, "Come out come out where ever you are" He said in a snarl as he let the blade of the knife make a horrendous sound as it slid across the tile floor.
Rachel arose from the floor as she stared at Mr. Shue. "You don't have to do this" She said pleading hoping to give Quinn enough time to untie Puck. Mr. Shue let out a stifled laugh as he walked closer to her, "Don't you ever give up Rachel?" He said before grabbing her by the neck and slamming her head into the counter as she fell to the ground. She tried to lift herself up but failed and began crawling towards the door. Mr. Shue had a wide grin on his face as he watched her struggle.
Quinn found Puck as he groaned in pain from the gash on his head. "Don't worry Puck, I'm going to get you out of here" She said with shaky words as she tried desperately to untie the rope but it was too tight for her weak fingers. She grabbed a piece of glass from the floor as she attempted to cut through the rope.
Puck let out a shriek as he tipped himself over falling to the ground as Mr. Shue's knife cut through the wood on the chair and Quinn fell to the other side letting out a scream.
"Are you two fooling around again?" Mr. Shue said with a smirk across his face as he looked towards Quinn. He began walking in her direction as she slowly backed away into the wall unable to lift herself from the floor. She was terrified now, she was expecting her life to end in that moment but just as Mr. Shue lifted the knife to end her life he froze as if something had prevented him from continuing. She looked up at him shocked as if it was some sort of miracle. Mr. Shue turned away from her revealing a glass shard that was pierced through his back before falling over on the floor. Quinn looked beyond the dead body where her eyes met Sam's.
She rushed to Sam's side as he fell to the ground holding his shoulder. She thought he was dead but he seemed barely alive by now as the wound on his shoulder continued to bleed. "Sam, you're alive" She said holding him tightly as her tears soaked through his shirt.
He grunted as he tried to hold her but it was too painful, "…only barely… I don't know how much longer…" He said in a muffled whisper as Quinn stared down at him feeling her heart slowly wither away.
"No, Sam. You cant leave me… I love you, I love you so much and I needed you to know how sorry I am for everything… you're the only guy i've ever loved, please don't leave me" She said through her sobs.
"I know… I love you too… you're the only thing that has kept me breathing this whole time… i just want you to be safe" He said wincing in pain as he lifting himself to sit up.
Quinn grasped his hand tightly knowing he didn't have much time. Her eyes were like glass as they watered. She leaned down pressing her lips lightly against his before her crying got the best of her. "Please Sam, I need you" She said as his eyes began to drift into the back of his head and the tight hold on her hand began to loosen. "No! Sam, I need you!" She shouted as she buried her face into his chest letting the tears soak his shirt once more.
Rachel stood in the center of the room with a limp as she rubbed the back of her head. She saw Quinn falling apart with the blonde boy in her arms as she soon turned her attention to Puck who still lay tied up to the broken chair. She rushed to his side cutting through the rope with a shard of glass as he ripped away the rope and stood up.
Rachel pulled Puck into a tight hold as she pressed her arms firmly against her back. She needed to feel safe and his arms were the safest place she had ever been. He slowly pulled away as he wiped the stray tear from her face, "It's going to be okay, Rachel." They were the words she needed to hear and she nodded to reassure herself.
Puck gazed down at Quinn, watching as she continued to hug the lifeless boy. "Quinn, come on… you have to let him go" He said in a mere whisper as she picked herself up kissing Sam on the forehead before grabbing Puck's hand and wiping her tears.
All three of them walked out of the house back towards the main road. The sun was coming up taking them out of the darkness they had been drowning in.
Rachel leans on Pucks arm clutching his tattered T-shirt as they continued to walk along the dirt path towards the road. She expected to come on this trip and reunite with Finn. She used to think Finn was brave, courageous, and looking out for the losers like them but it turned out Finn was looking out for himself and his family. She doesn't blame him. She thought after all that happened she would hate him but she just feels sympathy. She knew he didn't have a father; Mr. Shue had spent a lot of time with Finn and treated him like a son. She knows that's probably the only reason why Finn did such horrendous things, because Mr. Shue convinced him it was okay. Finn was not the brightest guy, that much she knew, but he did have good intentions. She wished she could have helped him before all of this had happened, maybe she could have saved him. She stares up at Puck who walks with a limp but his head remains high with a stern look on his face. She admires him, the way he became a leader, the way he risked his life for theirs. He was much braver than she thought he was and she was finally beginning to see who Noah Puckerman truly was, a savior.
Quinn can only stare at the ground as she walked unable to take the image of Sam from her head. Sam had saved her even though they had broken up due to her infidelity. Somehow Sam continued to love her even when she didn't give him any reason to. She could never love anyone as much as she loved Sam and she knew no one could love her the way Sam loved her. No one would be willing to save her life the way he did. She just wanted to hold him, she just wanted to feel safe in his arms, but she knew that would only be a precious memory from now on.
"It's finally over…" Rachel mutters breaking the silence.
"I hope so… this has been a hell of a weekend" Puck says looking over at Rachel and squeezing her shoulder lightly.
"Thank you…" Quinn mumbles as Puck and Rachel look towards her for a moment.
"I thought that I didn't deserve to live, that Tina, Mike, or anyone else in that house deserved to live more than me… I mean i've done terrible things. I cheated on two of my boyfriends, i gave away my baby, I've been nothing but terrible to almost everyone in that club… but for some reason i'm here… and i have to thank you for saving me" Quinn stated as she wiped a stray tear from her face. Puck put his other arm around Quinn's shoulder to comfort her.
"The others… I know they're gone but i feel like tomorrow we will all be back at school and I'll watch Mike and Tina hold hands in the hallway or Santana telling me how horrendous my outfit is… all of this just feels unreal" Rachel said letting her tears fall freely.
"They'll always be around, Rachel. They're all apart of us remember, it's what makes us special" Puck said giving Rachel a small smile.
They reached the nearest gas station where they alerted the police. The house was flocked with police officers as they recorded the brutal murders. Puck, Rachel, and Quinn were questioned, giving their accounts on everything that happened. They knew they would never be the same after that weekend, the things that happened had left them all broken, the fragments of their hearts could never be repaired. Mr. Shue was right though, that weekend did bring them all together, it made them realize how much they truly cared about each other and how although broken, when they were together they were whole.