A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back with the latest instalment of this warped, freaky story! First off, I just wanted to thank everyone for their positive responses to the last chapter. I know it was a change of pace, but this chapter we're back with New Directions. Also, I'm glad people other than me like Jesse!

Thanks as always to everyone who has taken the time to review since my last update. For the record, that's: JMHawthorne, SawyersNumberOneFan, Bella1992, Olivia94, LiveLoveLaughLife, Don'tTellMeICan't and LittleMissCheese. Cheers guys!

The title for this chapter is Better in Time by Leona Lewis.

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Glee, Matt and Mike would have solos. And speak more than once in a blue moon. Enough said.

/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

"We're all going to die," Kurt said matter-of-factly. None of the others even bothered to argue with him. An ugly cloud of despair had fallen over them all. Their numbers had fallen so dramatically now that Puck, Artie and Santana were all wandering around outside. Kurt was lying on the sofa with his head in Mercedes' lap. It had taken the combined efforts of Rachel, Mercedes and a dazed Brittany to coax him into changing out of his ruined clothes and now he was wearing dark skinny jeans and a checked shirt. He shivered slightly and Finn immediately pulled his basketball sweater over his head and draped it over the smaller boy. It swamped him, of course, but the thought was sweet. He seemed to be taking the 'brother' thing to heart, even without Puck here to beat the crap out of Kurt. Mercedes nodded to the gangly teen and resumed her stroking of Kurt's dishevelled hair.

Finn sloped back over to Rachel, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor. She hadn't spoken in almost ten minutes, which was seriously freaking him out because usually Rachel couldn't shut up if you paid her. He plopped down next to her and realised that the miniscule diva was humming softly under her breath. He recognised the tune as For Good from Wicked, the duet she and Kurt had been working on for Regionals. An unexpected smile caressed Finn's face. He loved how Rachel could still stay true to herself, even with some crazy psycho running around murdering people. He put his hand on hers and squeezed gently. She smiled from beneath sooty lashes but didn't stop humming.

Matt sat next to Brittany. He was holding his head in his hands and jiggling his foot to the beat of Rachel's humming. He knew it was selfish, that the others were hurting too, but all he could think of was Mike. The pair of them had been best friends since they were in diapers and he just couldn't get that he was gone. Mike was the one who hauled him home when he got wasted after seeing Santana making out with Brittany after Cheerios practice. He mixed his drinks too, so he threw up everywhere, but Mike didn't mind, He stayed with him all night and the next morning he rooted out every unflattering photo of Santana he could find, pasted them onto baseballs and brought him down to the batting cage. Even when Matt started sniffling, because he seriously thought he loved Santana, Mike didn't leave his side. Because they were best friends. Thick as thieves. Joined at the hip.

But now there was just him and he didn't know what to do. Mike was the smart one, the creative one. He was the one who taught Matt to dance, to live and breathe for music like he did. Without Mike, it felt like he'd been ripped in two, like a piece of him was missing. He had no clue how to function.

Sniff.

Matt looked up. Brittany was clutching a tiny mint-green teddy bear and tears were slipping down her face. Immediately, Matt felt guilty for being absorbed in his own emotions.

"You OK Brit?" he asked, though it was blatantly obvious she wasn't. "Worried about Santana?"

Brittany bobbed her head. "She's dead, isn't she?"

"What? I, oh- no, no I'm sure she's fine!"

"I'm not stupid," Brittany said in a low voice. "I mean, I know you all think I am, and most of the time it's true. I forget my middle name and one time I kicked Puck in the face cos I thought he was trying to hit on me when he said he wanted to walk me home, but it was really because the last time I walked home alone I almost walked under a bus. But I can tell when something's wrong. Tina ran away and then Mike and Quinn ran off too. They all died. And now Santana's gone too…"

She squeezed the teddy bear in her palm.

"Did San give you that?" guessed Matt.

"Yeah," Brittany smiled. "We went to the carnival and I really wanted it, but I just couldn't understand how to play hook-a-duck. So Santana, she- she-"

"I get it," said Matt gently, withdrawing a leather wallet from his back pocket. It was black with an embroidered Eiffel Tower on the front. "I've always wanted to see France, and the Eiffel Tower. So when Mike went on vacation there last year with his folks, he took his laptop with him and Skyped me the whole way up the tower. He even flipped the computer screen around so I could see too and it was kinda like I was there with him."

"Oh," Brittany said simply. She dropped her head onto Matt's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Come on, guys!"

The entire group looked up in surprised unison to see Will standing with his hands planted on his hips and wearing a defiant expression. His eyes flitted from face to face in a silent dare. The kids all exchanged confused glances and even Emma was looking at Will as though he had lost it. Will gave an exasperated sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

"I get that you're upset guys, I do. Believe me, I'm grieving as much as the rest of you, and I'm just as worried about Santana and Artie and Puck. But that's exactly why I can't stand it that we're all just sitting around moping! We need to get out of this… this…"

"Funk?" Kurt supplied with a hint of a smile, remembering the funk performance they had done last year to freak out Vocal Adrenaline.

"Well, yeah, Kurt. We need to get out of this funk and get out there. We need to find them and bring them home safely."

"Mr Schuester is right," Emma piped up. She smiled shyly at Will, a flush creeping across her cheeks. "The longer Artie and Puck and Santana are out there, the more danger they're in."

"But they could be anywhere by now!" Finn exploded. "They've been missing for hours, they could be half way across the mountain."

"You're right Finn," agreed Will. He grimaced. "And I know we decided previously that splitting up wouldn't be the best idea but… I think it's the only shot we have at finding them."

The kids were unconvinced, particularly the girls. An unconscious shiver ran through the group at the idea of being separated.

"I know you're scared," Will continued in his best teaching voice, the one he used when Rachel was about to blow a gasket over not getting a solo. "But we should be safe enough if we stay in pairs, right? It's the only way to bring them home safely. Are you in?"

There was a moment's silence. Then Matt shot a surreptitious glance at Brittany, who was still clutching her teddy in a vice-like grip.

"I am."

His words seemed to spark something in the others. Once he had agreed, the rest of the group began to chorus their confirmation.

"I'll go with Rach," Finn offered. Rachel gave him her best glowing smile. Across the room, Kurt and Mercedes were involved in a furious whispered argument. Kurt kept jabbing the dark-skinned diva in the ribs and glancing rapidly across to where Matt and Brittany were seated. He raised his eyebrows at Mercedes, who heaved a heavy sigh.

"Matt, would you come with me?" she asked. Matt looked a little surprised, but nodded. A small smile fell into place on Mercedes' face before she turned to Kurt with a furious scowl. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," he countered with a smug smirk. "Looks like it's you and me then Brit."

"Yay!" Brittany exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "Can I hold your soft little baby hands?"

"Of course you can," said Kurt kindly. He stared pointedly at Mercedes. "It's always a good idea to hold hands when you're scared."

Mercedes stuck out her tongue at him and quickly avoided Matt's questioning glance. To alleviate the tension, Will rubbed his hands together.

"Well that's settled then. Emm- Miss Pillsbury, you can come with me."

"Mr Schue," Matt said as they all stood up. "Have you tried phoning the police again?"

The curly-haired teacher sighed. "The phone line's still down. Maybe that heavy rain we had earlier knocked down a mast."

"Or maybe," Rachel added. "Somebody cut the power."

They all stared at her, silently berating her tactlessness.

"What?" she muttered darkly. "It's a logical explanation. They could be jamming our cell phones too, and-"

"Let's go Rach," Finn interrupted, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the door. "Before you give anyone a heart attack."

/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

Mercedes Jones walked along in huffy silence, trawling the woods on either side of the trail for any sign of her missing friends. She carefully avoided looking at the broad back of Matt Rutherford who was jogging a couple of yards ahead of her.

Damn you, Kurt Hummel, she thought sulkily. This is all your fault.

To be fair, it wasn't. It was her own fault if it was anyone's. She should have known Kurt would pull a stunt like this when she told him how she felt about Matt. Kurt loved matchmaking almost as much as he loved makeovers. Although he was her best friend and Mercedes loved him dearly, at this moment in time she wanted to strangle Kurt with his favourite Hermès scarf.

Actually, on second thought, maybe that wasn't such a good idea considering what had been going on around here.

Before she could think of any other method of making Kurt pay for his meddling, Matt released a cry of pain. Fear stabbed at Mercedes' heart and she rushed to catch up to him where he lay in a heap on the ground.

"Matt!" she exclaimed, panic evident in her voice. "Matt, are you OK?"

"I… Fuck!" he swore, gripping his left leg and wincing. Mercedes looked down and saw that his foot was caught in some sort of animal trap. The thing had vicious silver teeth that glinted even in the dim light and Mercedes could see blood pouring freely from the wound.

"Stop movin'," she commanded. She sounded a lot more in-control than she felt. "You'll only make it worse, don't you watch TV documentaries?"

She grabbed a small branch from the ground next to Matt and used it to prise the trap open. Matt gave a small scream of agony, but then a relieved sigh rippled through his clenched teeth and he closed his eyes.

"Mercedes Jones, you are a goddess," he said gratefully. Mercedes' stomach twisted and butterflies began to flutter within.

"Not exactly," she replied jokingly. "I just watch a lot of Discovery Channel. Here."

She poured some water from her flask onto the wound, which wasn't too deep but still looked nasty. Satisfied that it was clean, she shrugged out of the shirt she was wearing open over her day-glow vest top and ripped a piece from it to use as a bandage. Trying to prevent her fingers from trembling, she swathed the wound in the white material. She tied the ends deftly and Matt gasped again.

"Sorry, sorry!" she yelped. She tried to finish off the knot as gently as possible. "Is that OK?"

"It's perfect," Matt replied. A troubled shadow crossed his face. "Mercedes, when Quinn showed me Tina, in the bathroom, she… there was a cut on her foot just like this one."

"You think whoever's hunting us down planned it?" asked Mercedes.

"I honestly don't know," Matt shrugged. "Maybe."

Mercedes shivered. "Well then, we better find the others as soon as we can. I don't like it out here one little bit. Can you walk?"

Matt got gingerly to his feet. He tested putting his weight on the injured foot but grimaced and crumpled in pain.

"Here," Mercedes said immediately. "Lean on me."

She propped him up like a human crutch and they began to hobble forward awkwardly.

"Thanks Mercedes," said Matt quietly. "You're awesome."

She blushed spectacularly and looked away.

"Mercedes," Matt probed. "Did I do something to upset you? Cos whatever it was, I'm sorry."

"No!" Mercedes exclaimed. "No, no you didn't… I… dammit!"

Matt gave an amused chuckle. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. It's not you, it's-"

"It's not you, it's me, right?"

"Actually, I was going to say it's not you, it's Kurt."

Matt looked confused again. God, he was so adorable with that expression. Like a little lost puppy. Mercedes took a deep breath.

"Look Matt, here's the thing," she said in a rushed voice. "I-told-kurt-i-like-you-and-then-he-started-this-plot-to-get-us-together-and-i-know-you-don't-feel-the-same-and-"

"Mercedes," Matt said in a slow, soothing voice. "Breathe."

"Oh," she panted. "Right."

"Now repeat what you just said. In English, if that's not too much trouble."

"I told Kurt I like you and then he started this plot to get us together. And I know you don't feel the same, and I'm OK with that. Really, I am. Because I'm a glee freak, and you're a football player and-"

She was cut off by a hysterical giggle bursting from Matt's lips. She frowned sullenly at him.

"Oh hell to the naw! I just poured my heart out to you boy, no matter how unreciprocated my feelings are, you do not get to laugh at me."

Matt shook his head and wiped away a tear of mirth. "I'm not laughing at you Mercedes. I'm laughing because I've been trying to pluck up the courage to talk to you since I joined glee club."

"I… Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

They both smiled shyly.

/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

"I meant to tell you earlier," Rachel said to Finn as they walked along side-by-side. "I think it's really sweet, the way you stuck up for Kurt with Noah earlier."

"I… uh, thanks. I guess."

Finn gave her his best lopsided smile. Only Rachel would notice something like that and say it to him. Anybody else would feel too awkward.

"Are you doing alright, Rach?" he ventured tentatively. Rachel stiffened.

"Yes. I'm fine thank you Finn."

"Are you?"

Rachel looked up into his patient, kind face. Though Finn could be pretty dumb sometimes, she felt like those brown eyes could see past the carefully maintained façade she had developed to fool the others into thinking she was alright. She sighed heavily.

"No."

Finn put a tentative arm around her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," said Rachel. But she was Rachel Berry, and she couldn't help herself. "It's Jesse!" she exploded. "I can't help thinking about what happened to him, and it's just so horrible. I know he broke my heart, but I… I…"

"You still care about him," Finn said coldly. He felt a sweep of disappointment take over him.

"Well, yes, I do," said Rachel, confused by his sudden icy nature. "Jesse and I were very close. I don't like to think of him in pain."

"Oh." Finn quickly removed his arm from around her tiny frame and walked ahead. Rachel had to jog to keep up with his long strides. Realisation hit her quite suddenly.

"Finn," she said carefully. "Jesse and I were close. But I think in reality, even if he hadn't egged me, we wouldn't have worked. Jesse and I are too alike. I need someone to neutralise my dramatic nature and flair for life. Someone different." She stopped and put a shaking hand on Finn's arm. "You and I are different, Finn."

Finn beamed. "Yeah, I guess we are." He stroked her face and leaned in close to her.

Their faces were inches from each other when they heard the scream of pain.

/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

"I'm glad you picked me to walk with Kurt," said Brittany simply. Kurt smiled at the ditzy blonde. She was still clutching her teddy like a talisman. "You have the softest hands of anyone I know. Even Santana."

"The secret's in my hand cream," Kurt explained. "I'll give you some when we get back to the lodge."

"And then I'll have soft little baby hands?" Brittany enquired. Kurt chuckled and bobbed his head. He slipped his hand into Brittany's cool one. "Good. Santana likes holding hands before we make out. I'll surprise her."

"Brit," said Kurt. "Although I spend my time mooning over men I can never hope to be with, like Finn and Brad Pitt, I don't think I'm ready to have a conversation about what you and Santana get up to together. I have a weak stomach. You should talk to Puck though. It would probably turn him on."

"You talk a lot," Brittany said sagely. "Sometimes it makes my head hurt, but your voice reminds me of the angel who was in the Christmas play at my sister's school so mostly I don't mind."

"Brit, that angel was a seven-year-old girl named Eloise."

"You have a cuter face than her though. Like a baby's."

Kurt rolled his eyes and led Brittany down the left-hand fork in the dirt track. The girl cracked him up, but sometimes he couldn't help wondering what on earth was going on in her head.

"Hey Kurt, look at that!" Brittany exclaimed, pointing to something lying on the muddy path. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Kurt replied, speeding up. "But let's find out."

However, once he got close enough to see the item lying on the ground, Kurt skidded to a stop. Bile rose in his throat and he tried not to vomit all over the wet grass by the roadside.

It was a hand.

A hand, and further up the path Kurt could see what looked like a leg and a complete arm. A decapitated head lay in the grass, its glasses glinting. Kurt threw up and turned to look at Brittany. The blonde cheerleader was staring at the hand in front of her with tears brimming in her brilliant blue eyes. She turned to Kurt, trembling from head to foot.

"That hand is wearing a glove like Artie's."

/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

Oh God, what did I do? Artie fans, I'm so sorry. I really hate myself for this. Please review. And don't kill me.