They needed gas.

Jesse had flashed his hazard lights and Santana had slowed down so that could coast side by side. Rachel rolled down her window to ask what was wrong and his reply had given them all chills. They knew they'd have to stop for gas eventually. They knew that they should've planned better. Because fuck, they should have tried by all means necessary to avoid having to stop in fucking Detroit.

Jesse's gas light was on. They were passing through downtown.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! There was no way around it. They were going to have to stop. If they risked it and the Rover ran dry.. they'd be all crammed in the Rav with no room for their supplies. They'd have to risk going for gas in fucking downtown Detroit, but at least they'd stay near the highway. They could make a quick escape if absolutely necessary. It'd be.. it'd be simple. Just gas up the Rover and go. Make sure they weren't walking into an ambush, keep their eyes open and everything would be okay. They were each chanting that mantra in their heads and sweating bullets.

Rachel and Santana didn't want to wake Quinn. Beth had again fallen asleep in her lap and they were both blissfully unaware of the situation. Rachel guiltily thought that the cold the baby had been carrying had been somewhat a blessing, since Beth was constantly napping. They really couldn't afford her throwing an uninvited tantrum in a situation like this. And while the baby was generally sweet and mild mannered, she was still in her terrible twos. Quinn was warm with a light fever, and hadn't been feeling well all day so Rachel and Santana decided that it would be best to let them be. The guys agreed.

They'd parked the Rav-4 out of sight beneath an underpass where they had a clear view of the Rover at the station. It was a stroke of luck that they'd found one with automated pumps. Just swipe the card, fill up, and go. They didn't want to risk the Rav-4, so the girls watched the guys slowly and quietly pull up to the pump. It was quiet... and the sun was high in the sky, but the daylight did nothing to quell the ominous feeling that surrounded them. Santana and Rachel watched at the edge of their seats as Jesse got out and started the pump.

They realized that it was really fucking loud a little bit too late.

The weirdest thing about zombies, is that their sense of hearing is fucking ridiculous. Its inexplicable how they are able to detect sound so well, and can probably only be attributed to the fact that the rotting flesh around their ears leaves their eardrums exposed and extremely sensitive. Who fucking knows why those things have super human hearing? Its discerning, and right now.. its a huge problem for Jesse.

The girls were startled by groaning and movement to their left. The Rav-4 was out of sight, so the hoard didn't even see them. But Santana and Rachel almost pissed themselves. They had no way to warn the guys of the danger without bringing attention to themselves. They could only watch as the group of undead neared the station and the Rover. Rachel let out a loud sob as she feared the worst for her friends.

"Jesse, Jesse please look up, please" she whimpered. "Santana, what do we do?"

"I don't know.. I don't fucking know" Santana whispered hysterically. "Oh my God, they don't see them! Do we drive over there? Oh God.."

Quinn stirred at their voices. She blinked her eyes open and was disoriented at the scene in front of her. She blinked.. and when her eyes focused, she gasped. "What the fuck"

"They needed gas! They needed gas!" Rachel cried hysterically.

The hoard was closing in on the boys and neither of the girls knew what to do. The guys in the car were facing in the other direction watching that side of the Rover for Jesse. They probably felt protected on the other side because of the Rav-4, and hadn't considered that the girls wouldn't be able to alert them of any danger.

Jesse suddenly left the pump unattended and seemed to head towards a door, opening it and checking inside before shutting it behind him. It was a bathroom.

Sam and Mike looked around since Jesse was out of sight and then, they noticed them.

Too bad they were trapped. The zombies had surrounded the Rover but had not acknowledged what was inside. They were close enough to see in the windows, but seemed to be ignoring the Rover for where they knew flesh had gone, behind the bathroom door. The guys couldn't get out to help him, they wouldn't even have space to open the doors without being blocked by rotting bodies. All they could do was hide and pray that Jesse stayed put and the zoms got bored and wandered away. Hopefully they wouldn't get curious and bum rush the car. Essentially, they were fucked.

—AiZ—

"I have to save them." Quinn stated.

"What!" Rachel shrieked.

"Listen to me, if I don't do something Jesse's going to step out into a fucking shark tank." Quinn said, passing Beth to the front into Rachel's arms and addressing Santana. "Wait till you see them follow me, then come after me with the car—"

"What are you—" Santana cried.

"LISTEN." Quinn demanded, "We don't have time! I'll bait them to chase after me. I'm faster, my limbs are healthy and I can get them away from the boys. Trust me!"

Rachel was hysterical. "Quinn please, please you cant—" but Quinn was unlocking her door and opening it. "Quinn! No! Please!"

Her pleas were ignored and Quinn took off toward the station.

—AiZ—

Rachel's least favorite course at NYADA was Drama 101 with Professor Mary Ann Carroll. Professor Carroll herself wasn't so bad, its just that her critiques of Rachel's in-class exercises were so... accurate. Rachel had come from small town Ohio, where she was one of the best in musical theater. Musical theater, Professor Carroll had once pointed out "You have no problem at all presenting your emotions through song, Ms. Berry," she'd said. "But without the aid of music to guide you, or lyrics to point you in the right direction.. it seems almost as if your face isn't sure what to with itself..." Rachel had wanted to be outraged, to storm out and call Santana to bitch about how rude and the nerve of that woman. Another part of her wanted to call Quinn and cry because she'd never been told she wasn't good at something she cared about and she'd always feared that the day would come and her dreams would be crushed. But the comment was made so.. sincerely and without judgment that Rachel had simply smiled and nodded. She was there to learn, after all.. and if she was ever going to make it on Broadway she needed to be able to accept criticism and apply the helpful parts when they come. So she forwent both phone calls to her girls, and instead called her fathers that night and gushed about how much she was learning and how her Professor was even taking the time out of her busy evening schedule as a performance mime to help Rachel improve. She was proud of her maturity and humility regarding the situation.

What brought the memories slamming back into Rachel at this moment was the look on Quinn's face just now. It was neolithic. If Rachel had never felt the soft skin of her angelic face, she'd have sworn she was a statue. That thought terrified Rachel. She knew that Quinn often had a hard time expressing herself after being raised in an environment where her emotions were seen as a weakness or simply didn't matter. The Beth incident last year was a perfect example of what happened when Quinn could no longer contain them and they boiled over. Rachel had numerous times brought up the option of behavioral therapy, but Quinn's pride had caused her to react negatively to the notion that she might need professional help mentally. Rachel even talked about her own past therapy experience and offered to go with Quinn, but that night she calmly laced up her boots and walked out right before dinner, to the astonishment of Rachel and Shelby. Rachel didn't bring it up again.

It was clear to anyone with healthy emotional responsiveness—or just Rachel—that this was affecting Quinn just as much as everyone else. It's just that Quinn's showface—another area where Rachel excelled—was not only more impressive than her own, but it was a detriment to her health. Because Quinn wasn't hiding her fear and anguish from everyone else, she was hiding it from herself. And where most people learned how to expel their pain so that it wouldn't poison their mind and heart... Quinn literally repressed it. And that... Rachel didn't know what would happen.

—AiZ—

She was running. As soon as the door had slammed behind her she'd taken off at top speed, putting into practice her Cheerio training and her experiences running from police sirens after tagging a wall. She knew what it felt like to be chased, whether by inferior athletes who would kill to take her Queen Bee position, or by those would would rather she go back home and change back into her baby doll dresses and resume her life as Russell's little Quinnie. She'd been chased all her life by boys who wanted her as a trophy, by students who wanted her academic rank as Salutatorian, by girls who wanted to be as pretty as she was. Quinn Fabray had been chased all her life. It was why she was so good at running.

They didn't notice her at first. She'd been a pink blur headed in their direction and their responses were already slow. But at soon as she'd been identified as human by their rotting brains and eye sockets, it was as if someone had screamed "Off with her head!". They were behind her now, slower... but they left no room for error. Should she trip and fall and neglect to recover soon enough... well. Luckily for Quinn, fear was the furthest thing from her mind. She was running and laughing hysterically, like she was simply the first place runner in a race. The noise was enough to entice the undead away from Jesse and as soon as Quinn was around the corner with the undead following her like a group of puppets, Mike and Sam sprang into action collecting Jesse and following the Rav-4 that sped off shortly behind Quinn. They were astonished that she'd tried such a tactic but was immensely grateful that it had worked. Now was the time to fear for her life.

Quinn cackled as she turned yet another corner, gaining more and more undead the further she ran. She saw them lurking behind buildings and emerging from alleys, yet she wasn't startled by them. She passed one who was close enough to swipe at her, and she yelled "who cares for you? You are but a deck of cards!" over her shoulder. She wasn't sure where she was headed, but she ran. She ran until she heard the Rav-4 gaining up on her. She ran until she had a good lead on the group of rotting flesh behind her. She ran until she was stopped in her tracks by a blond who's jaw was completely unhinged, the tendons in her arm exposed and her eyes a milky white. If she was in her right mind, Quinn would have known that it was improbable that her mother would be in Detroit, Michigan. If she was in her right mind, she wouldn't have stopped as this creature was walking straight at her. If she was in her right mind, however, she might have never jumped out of the car in the first place. But she wasn't in her right mind, so she stood there... surrounded by the undead, staring. And right before the zombie lunged at her, she whispered "Mom?"

—AiZ—

"Oh my fuck.. oh my fuck" Santana whimpered as she and Rachel watched Quinn sprint down the hill towards the station. She quickly started the Rav-4 and debated whether to wait like Quinn asked or immediately follow. A niggling in the back of her mind told her that if she didn't follow Quinn's orders that Quinn could get hurt by throwing an unknown in her plan. But another equally powerful feeling said that if she didn't follow Quinn right now that Quinn would be hurt by an unknown in her plan. A fucking catch-22 if there ever was one, she ruefully thought before throwing the Rav-4 in drive.

The only thing cementing Rachel so her seat when she so desperately wanted to follow Quinn and drag her back was the weight of the toddler in her arms. She watched as Quinn approached the hoard and ran right past them, gaining their attention and leading them away from the boys. As soon as she got them to follow her, they followed the group in the Rav-4.

"She's fucking insane.. she's finally lost it.." Santana murmured as she navigated around the bodies of the undead chasing Quinn. Quinn had a good head start, and the group was separating them. They still hadn't killed.. anyone.. yet, and Santana was treating the walkers like common pedestrians. She was avoiding hitting them.

"Santana, more are coming. Go!" Rachel growled, tightening her hold on Beth. She wanted Santana to knock them out of the way. Quinn had a good lead but for how long? As long as she was out there she was in danger. Rachel couldn't handle that.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Santana whimpered. And she was. She was trying her best to get to Quinn as soon as possible, but she couldn't bring herself to just mow down the bodies of.. people.. or at least, they were once people. They had families and children and friends and, oh God.. this was not the time to lament what they'd become. Because Quinn had just stopped running.

—AiZ—

The guys had immediately sprung into action when they saw Quinn speed by them. They were stunned for a split second at the why, and what is she thinking but they knew she was risking it for them. The adrenalin they'd built panicking over the fact they were surrounded and helpless hit them full force as Mike hopped out to remove the gas nozzle and Sam went to retrieve Jesse from the toilet. As soon as they'd gotten back inside the Rover they saw the Rav-4 speed by, and they immediately followed. They weren't 100% on what the hell was happening but they knew that Quinn had saved them with her insane strategy of playing bait, and that now she was the one in immediate danger. Jesse felt his heart pounding in his chest at the thought that Quinn could die attempting to save him. He didn't have a chance to dwell on it at them moment, though. It would catch up with him later.

Sam was furious. He loved Quinn so much and she was always her own biggest threat. He wasn't foolish enough to ignore that she'd just saved their asses but he knew, he just knew that she'd simply reacted and thrust herself into the line of fire without taking a single second to form a plan. He was baffled at how she could be so calm and calculated most of the time but as soon as she encounters an unforeseen circumstance she jumps off a cliff and hopes for the best. A part of him knew that certain trait of hers made her brave, made her quick to adapt to change and made her a born leader. A much larger part of him knew that it made her reckless and sometimes even foolish. He didn't know what to think about a girl like Quinn and spent most of his time trying to figure out the best way to be her friend and help without stepping on her toes. They'd been there for each other since the minute she wiped his first slushy off his face with a delicate hand. Back then, he thought he'd marry her and they'd have a simple life together. He soon came to admire her for the fact that nothing in Quinn's life had ever been simple, yet regardless of what was thrown at her, she'd always managed to come out on top. He knew now that she was so extraordinary, that sometimes she couldn't even handle it. Sometimes she flat out worried him.

Mike was busy trying to catch up with the girls and not run over any... anything. He could hardly see Quinn's tiny figure ahead, and the Rav-4 trailing behind her. Quinn was always an enigma to Mike, but he understood her a lot more than others claimed to. They'd always ran within the same jock circles, and attended the same parties and outings. They'd often been the only sober ones in their group of friends out of a need to keep control of situations that could quickly get out of hand among a group of wasted jocks and cheerleaders. Quinn had always watched out for Santana, and it was evident even before anyone knew they were together. Mike also understood that they had a similar home life, striving to fit the mold their parents had carved for them. Mike had met the Fabrays, their families all attended the same church in Lima and the circle of wealth in their community was pretty tight knit. Mike Chang knew Quinn Fabray. He wasn't surprised in the least that she'd pull a stunt like this. He couldn't say that he hadn't been considering something rash himself. He may have been Valedictorian of their class, beating Quinn by a few points, but she'd always been a born leader. He shook his head as she literally led the way while they followed.

—AiZ—

"Santana run them over! They're already dead!" Rachel yelled as she climbed over the middle console into the back seat. Beth had awoken during all the commotion and was wailing, adding to the intense stress of the situation. Rachel placed her on the seat and strapped the waist belt around her, extremely guilty that she couldn't yet comfort the baby. Rachel placed her body in front of Beth and prepared to open the right side door and scoop Quinn up when they were close enough.

"She fucking stopped." Santana deadpanned. Flinching as the squelch of a body was felt under the tires. "Rachel, be ready to grab her!" She swerved the car to block the approaching hoard. "Rachel!"

Rachel was ready. She flung open the door and yanked Quinn out of the way of the lunging zombie. Quinn seemed dazed and unaware of what was happening. Rachel dragged her inside, placing herself between Beth and Quinn, and as soon as they were inside the door was slammed shut by the force of the car jerking toward as Santana stomped on the gas.

—AiZ—

Beth was screaming. Rachel and Santana were hyperventilating. Quinn didn't even blink.

A/N: Someone mentioned that there was a lot of mental stuff going on with Quinn. I giggled a little because guys, the title! If you've never read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I guess it would be a bit weird, and I suppose I jumped the gun in the assumption that everyone would get it. I love the book, the Disney cartoon, and the Tim Burton movie so I assumed everyone would love it like I do. But in short: SPOILER ALERT! Wonderland was in Alice's head. It was her perfect dream world that turned out to be somewhat of a nightmare. That's what I am trying to do with Quinn. She has everything she's ever wanted here, but it's still a living nightmare, get it? Reviews pls! Thank you guys for reading even though its a little weird :)