When they pulled up to the cabin, they all got out and cried.
It was like running a marathon on a Sunday and finally crossing the finish line. You knew you'd be sore as fuck tomorrow and still have responsibilities to tend to, but it was over for now and you could finally rest.
They felt relieved.
To get in, they had to break one of the windows on the left side of the house, then reach in and unlatch it. The house had an alarm and immediately set off, but Santana ran off to find it and hit the reset button. Its not as if security would come anyway, but the alarm would work to their favor should anyone or anything ever break in while they slept. The cabin was very nice and had large windows, but luckily most were on the second floor. The ones that on the first floor could be boarded up when they found a supply store, but they weren't overly concerned because they would take effort to get into by anyone who wasn't athletically inclined. The undead weren't.
When they got to the garage they we're pleased to find a workshop of tools. After locating and flipping the main solar circuit switch, they moved both cars inside so they could enter them safely should they need to escape the house. Quinn carried Beth on her shoulders as they surveyed the cabin and worked out how they could use the space. There were only two bedrooms despite how big the cabin was, but there was a huge living room, dining area, kitchen, a den someone could convert, an office that could be converted, and a game room. The actual rooms had large king sized beds that could easily accommodate the group, as long as they were willing to share. There were also four bathrooms, two on the top floor and two on the bottom, so they wouldn't be pressed for space by any measure.
The kitchen had pots, pans, and dishes. The appliances were all electric. The refrigerator was empty, but had a built in water fountain and ice maker. Since the plumbing was on a well system, they'd have to look out for frozen pipes during the winter, but they had electricity and water—they could survive. The cabinets were bare as well, but they weren't really expecting to find any food.
They unloaded the cars and put away their supplies first, leaving out a bag of rice and a few cans of veggies for dinner. They still needed to make a run for more food, but they were so elated to reach shelter that they weren't too concerned with it for the time being. Mike and Sam decided that they wanted to use the den for their sleeping arrangements, after discovering one of the couches in there housed a pull-out bed. That left Jesse and Santana to choose to either bunk together in a bedroom, or seperately if one of them took the office. They chose to bunk together, ultimately leaving Quinn and Rachel the other bedroom with Beth.
They all freshened up then joined together in the kitchen for dinner. They all laughed and chatted and played with Beth while Quinn and Rachel prepared their dinner of rice with mushroom soup, corn, and green beans. When they ate, they discussed plans of survival training and Quinn and Mike shared what they saw at Lakeport. It got silent for a while as the tragic situation set in for all of them. They were extremely happy though that they'd made it so far, and shifted their mindsets to survive as long as possible.
That night, it snowed. They had been banking on the weather in Canada to give them another advantage over the undead. It would be winter soon, and if they could hold out long enough for the weather to decrease they could outlast whatever this was and then society could begin to repair itself. They all stood in the gameroom window and watched the snow fall and blanket the ground. They hoped that their plan would work so they could move forward when all this was over. But until then, they'd have to fight.
When they bid each other good night, all of them were torn between the possibility of a warm bed, and just crashing together on the gameroom floor. Eventually, the comforts of a real bed won out. Though the cabin had heat, the floors were still made of hardwood. Quinn especially could use a bed, seeing as her bad back had been suffering the entire time they'd been on the run. She couldn't tell if the bed was just extremely comfortable, or if her body was just extremely greatful. Possibly both.
For the first time in a long time, they could sleep without fear. They could put the guns in a safe place nearby where they could reach them, but didn't need to sleep strapped. The silence of the night wasn't filled with groans and screams, and of it was it was beyond the safety of four brick walls. Each of them wanted desperately to turn their minds off, to finally relax, but it wasn't easy. Their minds were telling them that it was okay.. but their bodies were still on edge.
In the dark, Jesse had his arms around Santana. He knew she wasn't asleep, but he left her to her own thoughts. He wondered about Shelby, and his parents, his grandmother. Jesse had never had a great relationship with either of his parents, but he hoped they were safe. He wondered if they thought of him at all. He'd let them down completely after failing out of UCLA, and they'd all but disowned him. They were successful, and refused to acknowledge that they had a son who had failed to succeed. Jesse also found himself thinking of his students at Vocal Adrenaline.. of his boss, principle Matthews. What would happen to Carmel when all of this was over? Would they be able to return to their lives and mourn the dead, moving along with new meaning? Jesse didn't know.
Santana was thinking about her Mami and Papi, Abuela, and Brittany. She knew that most likely her parents would be okay since they were called to DC, but what did it mean that they'd been away this whole time? Obviously, they hadn't succeeded at curing this epidemic, so what was going on? She worried about Brittany, and wondered if she was okay. She wished she had thought to check on her and the Pierces when she'd first gotten back to Lima but, she was just so distraught about her parents that she hadn't even considered it. What about Abuela? Surely her tios would have checked on her? She and her Papi were no longer welcome in Abuela's home, but she would have gone anyways had she realized how big this nightmare would grow to be. They'd assumed it would die down... and they'd been wrong. They'd left loved ones behind.
Mike though about his Mom and Tina. He wasn't worried about his dad at all. He knew the man would protect himself and he was certain that he wouldn't have allowed himself to be infected. His parents were in medicine, so he wondered if they'd been called to DC like Rachel's and Santana's. He'd seen Tina while in Lima, but when they left to try and wait out the chaos in Lima, Tina hadn't come. She'd obviously stayed with her family, and assured Mike that it was fine. Mike believed her. He knew that he couldn't force her to come with him, and her family didn't think that it was as serious as it had later become. Mike deeply regretted leaving her behind even though he wasn't sure there was anything he could've done differently, even with hindsight. There's no way they would have believed that the government couldn't contain this, not with all the guards boasting security. Mike Chang may have claimed to be a ninja, but there was no way he could offer more protection than a soldier could.
Sam thought of his Mom and Dad, Stevie, Stacy, and 'Cedes. He desperately hoped they were all somewhere safe. His family was still in Tennessee, and for the first time ever, he regretted his decision to stay in Ohio. He should've been with them, and they didn't want to leave him there in the first place, but he just.. he liked McKinley and Glee and after the Berrys took him in, he was so happy. He got to know Rachel and Hiram and Leroy and as soon as he was old enough, he got his own place but knew he was always welcome at the Berry's. His senior year had just begun and he'd heard 'Cedes was doing well in L.A. but.. but now? He didn't know how any of them were doing. He even thought about Blaine.. then Kurt.. Joe... Tina.. Artie.. Coach Beiste.. his mind would never be able to rest worrying about all the people he'd left behind.
Rachel missed her Dads and Shelby. She needed to know what was going on in DC, and whether they are safe. Technically, they had to be, right? Considering they are doing official government work the least they could do was provide safety. She hoped that Shelby and Judy were okay, and wondered what happened when they returned from their trip. Did they ever return? Are they still somewhere floating and waiting for a safe report to return to shore? There were so many questions and what ifs floating through Rachel's mind she feared she would waste the entire night. What about Finn? Was he a part of one of the platoons that were responsible for organizing the chaos? Last she'd spoken to him, he was in bootcamp down South. Did the epidemic reach down that far? Oh God, what happened to Carol, Kurt, and Burt?
Quinn sighed in relief.
It wasn't that she wasn't worried, oh, she was. She was absolutely worried about Judy and Shelby, her sister and her family, her roommate back at Yale, her support group, 'Cedes, Russell.. she was concerned for all of their safety. But she couldn't do anything about it right now. What she could do? Hold her daughter closer. Hold Rachel closer. She could be thankful that's she got her friends that she could help to safety. She could plan ahead so that they survive as long as possible. Maybe tomorrow, she could focus on finding their parents and families. Maybe tomorrow they could head to DC. But right now? Quinn Fabray was focused on the fact that Beth, Rachel, Santana, Jesse, Sam, Mike, and she were safe. Everything else could wait.
Because Quinn Fabray? She protects her own. And she'd done exactly that—for now.
A/N: Thank you guys for reading! I have been working so hard on Lucifer & Satan and Alice Practice that I forgot that the last chapter of this one needed to be formatted and uploaded. I'm sorry, lol. I have so much going on with writing for work and my own leisure, sometimes things get lost. Anywho, I am on chapter 6/8 on Alice Practice so I will be uploading chapter 1 this weekend. Those of you who had questions about what happened to their friends and families, you'll want to stick around for Alice Practice. Everything gets explained. :) Review pls?