Four matches, one can of pork and beans, two cans of creamed corn, half a bottle of Tylenol, three expired condoms (better than nothing), twelve bullets, four AA batteries for the radio, 2 DDD batteries for the flashlight, 10 miles to Washington DC.
It's late and Rachel is so tired that she can barely stand, let alone walk, and Finn's not doing so hot himself, they'll have to find a place to sleep, but if Rachel is right then this will be the last abandoned house they'll have to break into.
"I can't believe we did this," Rachel says, beaming in spite of her exhaustion. "I can't believe we're almost there."
"I can," Finn says. "I knew you were unstoppable from the first moment I met you."
"I thought the first time you met me you thought I was difficult and unpleasant," Rachel teases.
"And unstoppable," he jokes and she nudges him weakly and smiles.
"How about here?" she says, flashing her light at the address, 423 Stinson Place the two and a lot of the letters are gone but the shadows behind them are still there.
"Let's check it out," Finn says. They go forth with their usual routine, alerting whoever might be inside to their presence and shining the light inside before letting themselves in once they're sure that the coast is clear.
"I'm Finn Hudson," he says, pointing his gun as they enter, one foot in front of the other. "Me and my wife are just looking for a place to stay for the night, we're not going to hurt you."
"But how can you be sure that I won't hurt you?" Finn's blood runs cold at the sound of the voice coming out of the shadows, he's tall, almost as tall as him, and broad, a rarity in these times. He holds an oil lamp in one hand and a gun in the other.
"Rachel, stay close," Finn says as he fixes his own gun on him steadily
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the tall man with the lantern says as he sets it down. And at that he hears Rachel yelp behind him. He turns his head and sees another man, he's tall as well, but lankier than his counterpart, with sharp, almost triangular features, and he has Rachel in his grasp, one hand over her mouth and the other holding what looks like her own gun to her temple.
"We don't want any trouble," Finn says, trying to keep his voice calm as they threaten Rachel, this isn't the first time this has happened, he knows how to play it. "We'll leave, just let her go."
"What makes you think we want you to leave?" the lanky man says as he walks Rachel closer to him. "She looks like exactly the kind of girl we want to have around, right Dave?"
"She sure does Sebastian," Dave responds.
"Please," Finn says, and he can hear her pleading behind Sebastian's hand. "Please don't hurt my wife. Just let her go."
"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to do that," Sebastian says. "But hey, you're free to join in, you see, I'm sure you're just the kind of guy Dave here would have been into before the world went to shit, as for me, well anything goes with me, I'm just tired of fucking Dave over here, no offense Dave, you're a beautiful man."
"None taken," Dave says, still fixing the gun on Finn.
"I'm not going to tell you again, let her go," Finn says.
"Or what?" Dave says.
"Or I'll put one between your eyes without a second thought," Finn threatens.
"Really? That's funny," Sebastian says. "And here I thought we had you outgunned two to one, not to mention the fact that I have your girl here in a pretty precarious position, so if I were you I'd behave yourself.
She's still crying, shouting words that can't be heard, and Finn knows that he's not going to be able to bluff his way through this for very much longer, he honestly has no idea what to do.
"Look, we have supplies," Finn says. "You can have whatever you want please just please don't hurt my wife," he says, no longer trying to keep his emotions in check.
"How about this?" Sebastian says. "After we're done with the little one, we'll let her go free, I'm sure once it's over she'll be far too distraught to be much of a threat to us. As for you, well we'll do the Christian thing and just kill you now."
She screams then, so loud and thrashes against Sebastian, who only seems to be amused by her fruitless struggling.
"Listen, you can do anything you want to me, just let her go please," Finn cries.
"Nah, we'd rather have the girl, It's just been so long since we've seen one, I never knew just how tempting they could be," Sebastian says, but how about this, how about I let you say goodbye. At that he shoves Rachel forward, pushing her to the ground, and she scrambles up and wraps her arms around Finn.
"Finn I'm sorry," she sobs. "I didn't see him behind me, I didn't mean to-
"It's okay," he says holding her with his free arm and kissing her hair. "It's going to be alright, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."
"Aww how sweet, making promises you can't keep," Dave says taking Rachel by the arm, ripping her away from Finn. "Now enough of that, Sebastian, shoot him."
And the thinner man obliges, pulling the trigger, but not before Rachel can break free from Dave's none too careful grasp and throw herself in the path of the bullet.
He feels like his heart has stopped beating as Rachel, her face shocked as if she can't believe what's happening any more than he can, turns to face him and clutches her wounded stomach. She looks at him, tears in her eyes, as if she's pleading with him, asking him what she should do. He doesn't know, he can't think straight enough to know. She's not on her feet for a second more before she drops to her knees and tumbles to the floor. And Dave must know he's about to snap because he grabs Finn, hard, giving Sebastian enough time to collect himself after shooting Rachel. Because he shot what was probably the only girl either of them had seen in years. He shot Rachel…
He shot Rachel.
"No!" Finn screams, blinded with rage, and he can't exactly explain what happens next, how he struggles out of Dave's tight grasp and smashes an elbow into his nose, he thinks he might have dislocated a shoulder in the process, and he thinks the bullet from the Sebastian's gun may have grazed his arm, he doesn't care as he rushes into him, knocking him into the floor, and wresting the gun from his grasp, he turns once to shoot the larger man in the face in one shot, even though he doesn't even take the time to aim properly, he then turns the gun on Sebastian, pressing it into his forehead.
"You think I care if you shoot me?" Sebastian says, chuckling. "I've already lost everything, I don't even have Dave because of you, not that he was ever really my cup of tea to begin with."
He only presses the gun harder into his forehead, his vision blinded by tears, his heart racing.
"Go ahead if it will make you feel better," Sebastian says, and he's right, it wouldn't make him feel better, nothing will, but just then he notices that Rachel is still alive, he can hear her struggling, choking out his name, and if she's going to stand a chance, this man has to die, so he squeezes the trigger without another word and stumbles up, running to her side.
"Rachel?" He says, his shaking hands cupping her face, her eyes are glazed over and unfocused but she's alive. "Baby, please look at me," he says, his eyes flood with tears that spill over and fall onto Rachel's colorless face, and finally she looks at him.
"Finn," she says weakly, her own hand coming up to touch his mouth, and he kisses her fingers then takes her into his arms, cradling her so gently.
"Just hold on okay?" he cries. "Stay with me."
"Am I, am I going to die?" she says, her voice breaking. She's bleeding all over him and she looks so weak and scared, and he knows that he can't give her the answer either of them wants.
"What?" he says as if the question is ridiculous, even though it's anything but. "Of course not, you're going to be just fine, you're unstoppable remember?" he says, unable to keep his voice still or his tears at bay.
"You're such a bad liar," she says, forcing a smile. And he can't take it anymore, this isn't the way it was supposed to happen, he knew in the back of his mind that they wouldn't make it, but it was his job to be skeptical, it was Rachel's job to be right. She couldn't have been wrong, not Rachel, not his strong, brave, beautiful girl. He squeezes his eyes shut in despair and bends down to kiss her, tasting her blood on his lips.
"I'm so sorry Finn," she cries as he breaks the kiss.
"No, don't be sorry," He says looking at her once again. "Not ever, okay? I'm the one who should be sorry, I failed. I was supposed to keep you safe and I failed."
"No Finn, shh," she insists, touching a finger to his lips. "You did everything you could. I don't ever want you to feel like you failed me, you could never fail me. I'm just sorry it had to end this way. We were so close."
"Rachel," he says, holding her closer, rocking her. "This is right where I want to be, with you, it's the only place I've ever wanted to be."
"What happens now Finn?" she cries, her voice growing weaker, thicker with tears.
"Well," Finn says, trying to keep it together long enough to comfort her, to make her feel the closest thing to happy in her final moments. "You're going to go to a beautiful place, where it's always warm." His voice keeps breaking but he presses on. "And everyone you love will be there, your dads and your friends and our baby girl…" He trails off, trying to find the best way to say what he has to say next. "And me, I'll be there too Rachel."
Her eyes go wide in protest and she shakes her head a little. "No Finn, you can't-"
"Yes, baby, this is it for me," he says seriously, his mind made up. "I go where you go, always. There's nothing left for me here without you. If you die… I want to die too."
She spasms in pain then, making his heart ache. "It hurts Finn."
He knows, because it hurts him too. "I know, I know it does, but you're going to close your eyes, and when you open them you won't hurt anymore. You'll never hurt again," he chokes out.
And at that her eyes flutter closed, she's not dead, just passed out. But he knows that it's only a matter of time, there's no civilization, no people, no hospitals, no way to help her, nothing to do but wait for her to die.
No.
He can't, he can't let it end this way, he has to think of something, anything. He's far too weak to carry her ten miles to DC in time, especially with a dislocated shoulder and a gunshot wound, and even if they do make it there it could be miles and miles before they find a compound or a shelter if there is one there at all. But maybe if he can get in contact with someone, they're only ten miles off, if there's someone there then the radio signal should carry. He knows it's insane but he has to try, he puts Rachel down gently and reaches for the radio in his bag, pressing the button and hoping to god it works.
"Hello, this is Finn Hudson," he says into the radio his voice quavering with anxiety. "We've been traveling for about six weeks now, give or take a few days. If there's anyone out there who can hear me please answer me, please help us. My wife has been shot, she could die if she hasn't already, she needs medical attention… I can't lose her like this, not now, do you read me? If you hear me please, please answer me."
Nothing
"Answer me!" He screams into the radio, losing his final bits of sanity as he looks at Rachel, not moving, barely breathing. "Answer me you son of a bitch! Hello! Hello you worthless piece of shit! Answer me… fucking answer me." he says the last part in a desperate whimper as he drops the radio and collapses over Rachel, crying bitterly into her jacket. It really is over, he thinks as he feels for his gun, his face still buried in Rachel's shoulder. He finds it and presses it to his temple, ready to squeeze the trigger the second her pulse comes to a stop, ready to follow her into the dark.
"Hello?"
His gaze jerks over to the direction of the radio, he knows that he's hearing things, that he's simply gone insane from exhaustion, malnutrition and now grief, but somehow he can't look away from it.
"Finn Hudson, do you read me?" the voice says again, it's a woman's voice, calm and steady but hard to hear beneath the static, and he grabs the radio frantically at the sound of it.
"Yes I'm here, I read you," he says, trying to keep his voice still.
"What is your position?"
"We're about ten miles North of DC, 423 Stinson place, in Bethesda I think," he says his voice still shaking almost uncontrollably.
"Hang tight Hudson we're coming for you," the voice on the radio says again.
"Who are you?" Finn says, as if it matters.
"Sergeant Lopez of the United states Army," She says. "Sergeant Santana Lopez."
Yes I know that Karofsky is good now, and they're both gay (although Sebastian is a slut so perhaps anything goes?) let's just say that they've been through a lot since the world ended, it's AU right? Anyway, sorry for another cliffhanger. One chapter plus an epilogue to go! Stay tuned folks!