A/N: Alright, kill me now. I am a terrible author. I honestly don't know what happened, but my Glee creativity just evaded me... Luckily, it's back! And I think we have the recent spate of sublime episodes to thank for that. Never Been Kissed was just... wow. I mean, naturally all of us Starkid fans were over the moon with Darren Criss's brilliance but for me Max Adler was the real surprise package. I say again, wow. Anyone agree with me?

Thanks as always to my wonderful reviewers. Since the last update, these include: seducedlikemagic, GGSVHM, islay12, Bella1992, ducksgomoo, TheUltimateGleek123, juleszapineapple, twilightersk8r, Lucy-Gleek, Swing Girl at Heart, Kkaty (twice), MmmStrawberryLips, LiveLoveLaughLife (twice), ghostsinthemoonlight, lynxpanther, michela111937, SawyersNumberOneFan, scarygoat, JAMES-EAI, spashley20, TheMiniMenzel, Cheerful killer (twice, I think...) and KairiNamineStar. Oh, and anybody else I may have left out... I'm really grateful, keep up the good work!

In other news, the chapter title is based on Elvis Costello's Waiting for the End of the World.

DISCLAIMER: Alright, alright. I don't own Glee. Happy now?

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Will stared in horror as his ex-wife strode towards him. Terri was smiling, but he could see the malice in her eyes. The heavy handgun winked wickedly in the light from overhead. The woman was dressed in tight blue jeans, an aviator jacket and chocolate brown leather boots with killer heels. An oversized pair of sunglasses nestled in her immaculate honey-blonde locks, and her wedding ring still sat on her finger.

"T-terri," he stammered, and he wished he didn't sound so terrified. "What're you-"

"What am I doing here? What am I trying to achieve?" asked Terri, her voice slicing through the air like a knife. She shrugged. "I'm just getting my revenge. I told you I didn't want to let you go. I loved you Will, and I thought you loved me, but you were so busy chasing that ginger bushbaby and making out with her-" she jerked a thumb in the direction of the trembling Shelby- "on my sofa, the one I picked out in IKEA, to even think about me. How do you think that made me feel, huh Will? How do you think it felt to realise that the man I'd loved since high school had just forgotten about me?"

Will opened his mouth to speak, but Terri cut him off.

"It hurt, Will," she seethed, unscrewing the cap on the can of petrol. She began to move slowly around the room, spilling the liquid all over the floor and the furniture. "It hurt. I've lost count of how long I spent curled up in the spare bedroom at Kendra's place, wallowing. I tried to make it go away, but none of those guys I met in those hideous backwater bars were you Will. Eventually, the hurt did start to go away. But it was replaced by anger. I was so mad Will, even madder than that time you spilled red wine on those new sheets I bought in Pottery Barn, and you know I had sleepless nights for a week after that. I wanted to make you pay Will... and then I met Jacob. And the rest, as they say, is history."

Terri gave another one of those nonchalant shoulder-shrugs and cocked the pistol, aiming it right between Shelby's eyes. Rachel whimpered and Jacob flinched.

"Terri," he said quietly. "Terri, Rachel would prefer if you didn't-"

"Do you honestly think I care what the singing midget prefers?" Terri snarled. "A deal's a deal Jew-fro. Now either slit her throat, or I'll shoot her. You decide."

Tears were dancing in both Rachel and Shelby's eyes. Both Finn and Puck were struggling to hold themselves back, but Terri was holding a hand up, daring them to take even a single step. Finn was chewing furiously on his lip as he tried desperately not to run to Rachel and hold her close, and Puck's face scrunched up as he attempted not to attack. Mercedes and Matt clutched at each other fearfully, and the coffee-skinned diva let out a tiny whimper. Will gulped and then took a step forward.

"Terri," he said slowly, his hands raised. "You don't have to do this. It wasn't Shelby's fault, or Emma's. I'm the one who came onto them. If you want to kill anyone, it should be me."

Terri spared him a pitying glance before her pretty features morphed into a snarl once more. "Aren't you chivalrous?" she taunted her former husband. "Don't worry Will, you'll have your turn too. But I want you to suffer, like I did. I want you to watch them all die, one by one."

"Terri please," pleaded Will. He looked hopelessly at the trembling teenagers all around him. "They're just kids, you can't-"

"We can, and we will," Jacob interrupted, as though Will's glance at the others had brought his intentions back to him once more. "I'm sorry Rachel, but we had a deal."

And with that, he shoved Shelby away from him and nodded once to Terri. The tall, slender blonde allowed an insane smile to spread across her face and raised the gun once more. The group held its collective breath, and then-

"NO!"

Rachel's shriek was heartbreaking. She attempted to run towards her mother, but Jacob held her back. Matt swore. Puck retched. Finn and Mercedes merely stared. Will looked at Terri in disbelief.

And Shelby...

Shelby fell to the ground in slow-motion. Ever the performer, she toppled with grace and poise. But her face... Her face was twisted with agony and what seemed like surprise. She crashed to the petrol-soaked ground, clutching at her heart. Her eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets and she whimpered.

"Mommy," Rachel murmured, swaying in Jacob's clutches.

"Ra-chel..." Her voice was a death rattle. "'M... sorry..."

Shelby's hand clattered to the floor and she closed her eyes, a peaceful expression on her face. It was over. She was gone.

"No..." Rachel moaned. "No... no... NO!"

She thrashed wildly, biting and kicking every inch of Jacob that she could reach. Her expression was wild with grief and she spat furiously in his face.

"You bastard!" she screamed. "You... you..."

Terri surveyed the scene with grim satisfaction. She strode over to the crumpled figure on the ground and prodded at Shelby's body with the tip of one of her boots. She bent low and pulled the woman's gold charm bracelet from her wrist. As she straightened up, she pocketed it and grinned at Will. The curly-haired Spanish teacher stared at her, disgust and disbelief plain to see on his features.

"I told you so Will," Terri said in a sing-song voice. "Does it hurt yet?"

Will clenched his jaw, unwilling to give her the satisfaction she craved.

"No? How about now?"

With a noise like a whip-crack, she sank a bullet into Puck's kneecap. The football player roared with pain and Finn had to grab onto his shirt to keep him upright. Fury in his eyes, Puck stumbled towards Terri with a roar like a bull, but she dodged easily out of his way and took a pot-shot at Mercedes. Matt threw himself in front of the girl and grimaced as the bullet hit his shoulder.

"How about now, Will?" Terri cackled. The madness in her eyes was glaringly obvious as she danced about the room, splashing more petrol here and there.

"Terri, please-"

"Come on Jacob!" Terri shrieked. "Do what you came here to do. Come on!"

And Jacob appeared genuinely fearful of her. He pushed a still-screaming Rachel away from him and both Finn and Puck engulfed the small girl as the afro-haired geek rushed towards them, his knife held high. Its blade flashed through the air and then Mercedes crumpled, a long, dark cut running the length of her face. Matt bellowed and threw himself at Jacob furiously, blood still pouring freely from his shoulder. As the chaos erupted, Terri clapped her hands in delight.

"How about now Will?" she chanted, over and over. "How about now?"

"Terri, just stop this!" Will shouted after an agonising eternity. "Just stop it. You and Jacob have done enough damage here. Let the kids go."

"And let them rat me out to the cops? I don't think so."

"Please," Finn begged, his arms looped protectively around a still-sobbing Rachel. "We won't say anything, I promise."

"How stupid do you think we are Finn?" Jacob panted, rolling away from Matt. The football player was covered in small, shallow cuts but none seemed to have inflicted any serious injuries. "This can only end one way."

Mercedes, still bleeding heavily, pulled Matt away from the psychopathic teenager's reach. Jacob didn't even seem to notice. He just smiled and extended a hand towards Rachel.

"Come on my angel, let's get out of here before this ends."

"No, I-"

THUMP.

Puck, tears sliding down his hardened features, had rushed Jacob and caught him unawares. He drove the smaller boy into the wall with savage pleasure and, as he did so, Mercedes rushed forward and wrestled the gun from Terri's grasp. The weapon skittered to the ground a couple of feet away and Will stepped forward.

"It's over Terri," he said, his voice soft and almost pitying. "Give it up now and I can help you. We'll get you the help you need, I promise."

But Terri, standing there defenceless and outnumbered, did not cry or nod like the mentally unstable killers on procedural crime dramas. Instead, she rolled her eyes and reached into her back pocket.

"But Will," she said coldly. "Aren't you always telling these brats not to give up?"

And before anybody could stop her, she struck a match against the box in her hand and hurled it to the ground.

For one heart-stopping moment, nobody moved. They all just stared, transfixed, and for a split second it seemed that Terri and Jacob's plan had not come to fruition. Nothing happened, and then everything happened at once.

Flames sprung up from the petrol-soaked floorboards, licking at every available surface. They spread rapidly across the room; Terri had done her job well. There was a wild scrambling to escape from the burning fire. Rachel screamed, but Jacob picked her up as easily as a rag doll and dragged her from the burning kitchen unit. Matt was tugging at Mercedes, but the voluptuous teen was paralysed with fear, transfixed by the flickering flames.

"'Cedes," Matt urged as he dragged on her sleeve. "'Cedes, come on! We have to go!"

He pulled at her, but it was too late. The fire had reached a cabinet full of glasses to their left, and it exploded. Shards of red-hot glass hurtled in every direction and both Matt and Mercedes screamed as their faces were peppered with the needle-like splinters. They held their hands up to protect themselves, but the flames continued to attack ruthlessly. Soon both were on fire, batting at each other in terror.

Finn was trapped in the corner, a wall of flames blocking his escape route. The gangly teen coughed and wheezed as smoke shrouded him. His eyes rolled back in his head as he attempted to cover his nose and mouth with his t-shirt. Will attempted to beat back the flames to reach his protégée but his endeavours were in vain.

"Stay calm Finn," he hollered above the roar of the flames. "We're going to get you out buddy, just hold tight!"

But Finn was shaking his head vehemently, his eyes wide. "N-no... Go... Ra-rachel..."

"Finn, buddy-"

"Please Mr Schue!"

Will looked torn, but Finn's expression dared him to argue. He was about to turn when there was a commotion by the door.

Puck, his face drained completely of colour, had made a dive across the floor for the abandoned gun. For one wonderful, victorious moment his fingers grasped it. But then Terri gave an irritated scream and stamped down hard on the football player's clenched fist. Puck's voice split the tense, smoky air in a bloodcurdling scream.

And that was the scariest part. Not the fact that they were in the middle of a burning building, through which a blaze was spreading rapidly. Not the fact that Mercedes was dripping blood from her face. Not the fact that Rachel was out there in the dark, alone with a psychotically obsessed stalker, or that another similarly deranged killer was surveying them with undisguised delight.

No, the scariest thing was that Noah Puckerman was screaming. Puck was supposed to be the tough one, the one who shot life the finger even when it had kicked him in the crotch and beat him unconscious. He was the strong one, the defiant, angry son-of-a-bitch who ruled McKinley High with a power built on fear, a mohawk and nunchucks. He was supposed to be the one they could all rely on to fight to the bitter end.

But he was lying in a defeated heap on the floor, sobbing and screaming to high heaven.

And that was seriously scary.

"Puck!" Matt called from where he was still beating flames from Mercedes' arms. "Puck, dude, are you-"

His concerned enquiry was cut off as the wooden beams overhead gave an ominous creak. Matt swallowed and dared to glance upwards. Sure enough, the flames had reached the ceiling and were licking at the beams holding the roof in place. The ancient wood was putting up a good fight, but it was obvious that it couldn't hold up much longer. Matt stopped trying to beat down the flames and jostled Mercedes roughly towards the exit.

"Get out!" he screamed above the roar of the flames and Terri's delighted whooping. "Get out, the roof is going to collapse!"

And suddenly, Terri stopped her celebrations. The woman stared at the ceiling in fear, her eyes huge and globe-like. She seemed unable to move.

"Terri, come on," Will urged, hurtling into her. "Terri, get out!"

"Screw that, let her die," Matt tossed over his shoulder, but Mercedes shook her head, her voice finally recovered.

"No, she's not right in the head. She needs help, she doesn't deserve to die..."

Puck was dragging himself across the floor, but not towards the exit.

"Puck, come on buddy, we have to go!" called Will, tugging Terri's arm as the former couple followed Matt and Mercedes, trying to make their way through the smoke towards the door. He was coughing harshly and darkness blurred the edge of his vision. Terri was a dead weight against his shoulder, and he could see that Matt was having similar problems with Mercedes. He tried to turn, to grab onto Puck, but the teenager swatted his hand away.

"You go," he said through gritted teeth. Grimy tear tracks were visible on his cheeks and he was losing a lot of blood from both his knee and his hand, where Terri had stamped on it. He had his t-shirt, grimy and blood-stained, pulled up over his nose and mouth and his words were barely audible above the din.

"Puck-"

"I said, go!" he screamed. "I have to... I have to get Finn!"

With a sickening crack of bone, he hauled himself to his feet and limped through the smoke towards the sound of Finn's feeble breathing. The others stared, dumbfounded, but knew that arguing any further would be futile. Will shot Puck one last, agonised glance and the teen howled.

"Shit, what is wrong with you? Get the fuck out of here and help Berry, we'll be fine- just GO!"

But this last was barely out of his mouth when the roof beams overhead gave a loud, echoing groan. They sounded tired, like an old man heaving out his last breath on his deathbed. And essentially, that was what happening.

They gave one last creaking scream and then, all at once, they splintered.

It was too fast for anyone to do anything but scream.

The beams rushed to the burning floor like fiery spears thrown from the chariot of an ancient god. There was a deafening crash as they made contact.

A deafening crash.

A heart-stopping scream.

Chilling silence.

Nothing.

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OK, so it's a major cliffie. But really, at this point in the story, what did you expect? And Kurt fans, never fear... our boy will be making his (re)appearance next chapter!

As always, reviews are more than appreciated. They make my day... (hint, hint!)