I am startled awake by an alarming sound outside. I get off the sofa which I was allowed sleep on and follow the noise to the window, trying to be as quiet as I can so I won't wake Santana and Brittany. The sky outside is still dark, it must be about 5 am. My sleep was restless, I kept waking up, hoping Rachel would be by my side.

"It has gas!" I hear a foreign voice shout from below The window. I look closer out the crack between the boards to find a wide crack in the window glass. I stare out, still dazed by my tiredness and see two shadowy figures on the dead grass below, standing at the Chevy.

" There might be people inside, shouldn't we go see?" A female voice replies to the man who just spoke.

"are you crazy? We were lucky to get out alive last time, let's just take the truck and go!"

"But the others," the woman says.

"We have to leave them behind, they're too slow. Just get in the vehicle!"

I watch the taller figure, the male, force the door open and order the woman to get in before it strikes me, this is bad. "Shit," I curse and force myself away from the window.

"Santana! Brittany!" I hiss. Neithe rof them stir. So I repeat their names, this time in a deafening roar. "Santana, Brittany! There's people outside trying to steal our car!"
"Quinn, what you talking about?" Santana mumbles.
"Ugh!" I groan, running out the door into the small and dark hallway, calling angrily for Puck. "Puck! There's people outside!"

Puck,luckily, is quick to respond. He runs out of his room, slamming the door against the wall. He is shirtless but he has a gun in either hand.

"Zombies?"
"No people, they're trying to steal the Chevy," I reply. His face fills with anger. "Move!" He orders as he darts towards the front door, in a panic. He grabs the pieces of furniture pushed up and against it and thrashing them out of his way until he can get out the door. But it is too late, I hear the engine revving outside. "Fuck!" Puck roars. He runs out and I follow after, the cold morning air hits my face unexpectedly. The jeep is already driving off on the broken and empty country road.

Puck curses again and takes his shotgun in two hands, dropping the hand gun to the ground. "What are you doing?" I shriek.

"Warning shots," he hisses, suddenly pulling the trigger.

"What's happening?" Santana asks as she and Brittany appear behind us. "Hey, that's our Chevy!"

Puck shoots again, this time hitting the tyre. "Puck!" I shout. The vehicle in the distance swerves uncontrollably on the punctured tyre until it shrieks to a halt.
"Fuck," He curses angrily. "I was aiming for the window!"
I raise a concerned eyebrow at him, does he mean he tried to kill the people inside? The doors of the truck fly open and two grey hooded figures jump out and flee from the damaged Chevy. I watch Puck raise his gun.

"Puck! Don't!" I hiss.
"They stole our fucking vehicle!" he lowers the gun as the two people disappear into the darkness. "Now we're going to have to walk! And we're in the fucking middle of nowhere!"

"Look we'll just have to figure this out some other way," Santana yawns. I can tell she is still half asleep because otherwise she would be furious about the matter in hand. "Just let them go."
"Fine we'll let them go, but if I ever see those two people again, I'm going to fucking murder them!"
"Oh stop being so cranky," Santana rolls her eyes. "You really going to kill people with Beth around? What a great example. Let#s go back inside, it#s fucking freezing."
"No, "Puck snarls, "We're leaving now! It's going to take hours to get to the border on foot, best start now. Wake up the others and grab all your belongings, we leave in fifteen."
Brittany and Santana groan and lead me back inside. Puck remains outside, pacing furiously around the dead lawn.
"Well this is just great," Santana mumbles before calling everybody to consciousness. "Hey everybody! Get up and get your things we're moving out in fifteen minutes!"


Before we know it, we're on the road again. However this time we must carry ourselves. We've passed the now-useless Chevy, as there was no spare tyre to replace the one punctured by Puck's bullet, and left the small, rotting wooden house behind us. I'm not happy about moving on but I never wanted to be here in the first place. Rachel might never find me now and I will never be able to find her. How am I supposed to just leave her while I supposedly start a new life across the border? She could be in serious danger for all I know.

There's nine of us, an odd number. Everybody has somebody, Santana has two people, her mom and Brittany, I noticed how close the two girls were yesterday evening, how they were trying so hard not to show affection but they slept so close to each other last night. It won't be long now before they announce their relationship, I guarantee it. They'll be holding hands by this evening. Of course, I am the odd one out, again. I am the one with nobody to look after and nobody's number one priority. What sentimental value do I have to this group? A few high school memories? If it get's to the point where somebody has to be left behind , it's pretty obvious who it's going to be. I'd be much happier if they left me in that woods, so I could find Rachel or die alone trying. But I can't even go back because I have no idea where we are or how we got here.

The only surroundings of the broken road are dead trees. The empty and silent morning sky is a horrible grey colour. Everything around me is dull and dark, but even if the sun was shining in a bright blue sky filled with the sweetest of bird songs and green trees stood side by side around us, it would still be dull and dark for me. How is it that I can never hold on to anybody that means something to me?

We've already stopped to eat breakfast. We just sat down on the grey road and handed out the same crappy canned food with an unidentifiable flavour and texture. The food has begun to make me nauseous from eating so much of reminds us at every mealtime the importance of keeping our strength up, but I really don't know what the point is anymore. Reaching Canada isn't going to make me happy anymore.

However it's all the others are talking about it. They seem to think that everything will be over once we cross that line. That the whole virus will just be a thing in the past. Kurt and Blaine's optimism has me on edge, and not the first time.
"Maybe we can have that house we planned before," Kurt is whispering to Blaine excitedly, " A huge library with a grand piano in the middle! It will be so great."

And then, I snap. "Shut the fuck up Hummel! Is there something wrong with you? Look around you! You think everything is going to be fucking amazing once we cross that narrow line of land? Am I the only one with a realistic brain around here? The virus is still going to be here, any survivors are going to be turned, all those people we've left behind are going to remain zombies until they are killed! Getting over the border only solves your problems, what about theirs? Why are you so stupid?"

The two boyfriends freeze, looking at me in astonishment. Kurt's face begins to crumple like he's going to cry. I sigh and roll my eyes, I should feel bad but I have my own problems. There is so much anger and emotion built up in me that I need to release it.

"Quinn!" Brittany breathes. I see that everybody's staring at me, absolutely bewildered.
"No it's fine," Blaine whispers, hugging his boyfriend closer. "We're sorry."
I walk away and step into line with Santana, hoping she'll be a bit more understanding.
"Bit harsh Fabray," She whispers. "What made you snap like that?"
"You know I can't stand that optimism!"

"None of us can Quinn, but if it's the only thing that keeps them going, we have to learn to live with that, just like you were Rachel's reason to keep going. Look I know how you're feeling, you think that life is pretty pointless right now and I probably would too, but don't ruin for them, hope is all they have left. Blaine has no idea about his family and Kurt lost his Dad, the others have their own problems too. Look, you can talk to me if you need to, I'm here for you Q, just don't take it out on the rest of them please?"
I sigh, knowing she's right. "When did you become such a good counsellor Lopez?"
She smiles at the corner of her mouth. "Come on, you can just walk beside me until you calm down."

I continue to walk, feeling Carol's cold stare on me as she hugs her step son comfortingly. I make a mental note to apologise later on, at least Santana kind of understood.

"hey, it's a town!" Brittany exclaims, I follow her pointed finger to the near distance, where there are rows of buildings, mostly houses but beyond that, there are tall buildings indicating that Brittany was right, it is a town , all sealed off behind low, climbable fences. There's no sign of life anywhere, but it's a town all the same.

"The border is not too far from here," Puck explains. "See that Beth? That means we're almost there!"

"and then we'll see Mommy?" The child asks innocently.

"We're going to try , Sweetheart,' Puck whispers back but I know that's a promise he will try to keep.

As we draw nearer the fences, the horrible stench of death hits us, worse than ever before. I wonder what horrors we're going to see behind that fence. I have to cover my nose and mouth with my sleeve, those around me are coughing but soon see what I'm doing and copy. Puck takes Beth in his arm and covers her nose with his sleeve as we finally approach the metal gates, which are battered from being climbed and look like they are ready to fall apart. We notice that some fences over to the side have even been broken inwards by people trying to get into they own, so we don't even have to climb.

"Come on, let's go," Puck says, "get your guns ready, although I doubt there's many zombies around, I'm sure the authorities had them all killed to stop them blocking up the border."

We walk over the screened fences to the right leading us onto a road bordered by two rows of identical two story and once yellow-painted houses. Those windows not boarded up have been smashed and some doors have even been ripped off hinges. There is no sign of any form of life around or any vehicles either, they must have all been driven to or over the border. The residents here were lucky, they were probably the first to escape. They're probably all living safely we all their loved ones and relatives across the border.

The border, it just hits me what if it's all a myth, that this whole journey was for jogging, for me it's already pointless without Rachel, but looking around me, at the despair and hurt filling the others eyes, I hope it's just as they hope. I haven't even made my mind up if I'm going to cross it yet, I don't want to start any life without Rachel yet but I've decided that I want to see my friends get there safely. I can just leave them like bidding farewell to relations at the airport. And then I'll some how try to trace Rachel. I won't tell the others this until we get there though.

We find ourselves on a deserted street with ransacked stores, recognise from the signs above their doors and a large , grand building with the words "Town Hall" carved into the wall. Some of the stores have been boarded up while those remaining have simply been ransacked. We must be on the Main Street.

"Creepy," Brittany whispers.

"Hey do you hear that?" Santana asks suddenly.

"hear what?" I ask, listening out for sounds.

"dont make a sound," she whispers, fear suddenly filling her face and as silence comes over us, I hear what she's talking about, I can hear muffled groans and growls coming from several buildings. There's zombies inside, and several of them.

"Maribel, take Beth," Puck says calmly, passing the child into Santana's mother's arms. He takes his shot gun in his hands, ready to kill. I watch Santana imitate and she bears that face again, the one she bears just before she's about to murder a zombie. This sensation that she find sin killing just takes her away from everything, I can't understand it.

"Get ready," Puck whispers, starting to walk again. "Remember to only shoot when necessary, use your knives."

We continue to walk through the filthy, dust filled street and slowly, groaning figures begin to emerge. One after the other, continuosly, until there are about fifty of them staring at us, just as in shock as we are.

"Shit," Blaine whispers. "I don't we'll be using knives Puck."


Sorry for the short chapter but I haven't much time to write and I wanted to give you guys something. Next chapter will be published asap.