"Rachel," I swallow. "You've lost some of your memory."
"What do you mean?" She panic. "How much? Quinn, where is he? Where is everyone else? Kurt, Mercedes?"
I feel like I've been stabbed straight through my heart. She doesn't remember anything about us, at all. In her mind, we're not even friends.
"Quinn, tell me what's going on?" She suddenly demands, grabbing on to my wrist so tightly that it feels like it could snap.
"Quinn be careful," Smith warns. "She's much stronger than she used to be, it seems to be an after effect of what she was injected with."
"What is she talking about? Why won't anybody tell me what's going?" Rachel snaps.
"Rachel, please let go of my wrist," I gasp, the pain is excrutiating.
"You'll tell me?"
"Yes," I nod. "Just please, let go."
She let's go of my wrist, and looks up at me impatiently, waiting for an answer.
"What's the last thing you remember?""
"We just won Nationals," She replies. "We were in Chicago."
I freeze, I can't even remember back that far, I really didn't expect her to be this bad.
"Oh God," She cries. "Did I faint on stage? Carmen Tibideaux was watching!"
"No Rachel," I whisper. "That was over two years ago."
"What?" Her face is blank.
"Like I said, you've lost some of your memory."
"Then where are we?" She demands, although she doesn't seemed convinced.
"We're in Canada Rachel, there's a virus, it started two months ago, it's spread all over the states. We're in a kind of camp, we're safe from everything."
She raises an eyebrow at me. "Don't fuck with me Quinn."
"Rachel, I promise I'm not," I reply sincerely. "You were bitten but they cured you, that's why you're here in the laboratory. It's complicated I know and I'll explain more to you later, but I swear to you I'm not lying."
She shakes her head, as though she's considered that I'm telling the truth. "This can't be happening. It's impossible."
"I wish it was," I mumble.
"I have pictures, if you want to see them," Smith offers."
"I don't think she's ready see them yet," I tell her.
"And who are you to decide?" Rachel hisses. "Show me, prove that this is real."
I sigh, I know she's going to freak out, but the doctor loads a picture of her, still in her zombie phase onto her screen. "Oh my god," She whimpers. "You weren't lying, unless this is some sort of photoshop? Oh my god, I look hideous. But why on earth am I wearing a Cheerios uniform? What happened to me?"
"It's a long story," I whisper, causing her to turn her attention back to me.
"Tell me now, where is he? Where's Finn, and my dads? Quinn Fabray, you tell me right now"
I feel the hot tears prick up in my eyes, I want to hold them back but they can't. I don't know what to tell her, why does she have to go through all of this again?
"They're dead aren't they?" She whispers, her face begins to crumple. I turn away simply because I can't see her like this, I bury my face in my hands. I thought it would all be over once we reached this place, but Rachel doesn't even like me as a person.
"No!" Rachel wails, "This can't be happening, this is some sort of sick, twisted dream. No, no! I refuse to believe this! This all just a nightmare! How did I even end up with you Quinn? Are you telling me we're friends all of a sudden? "
"Can I bring her back to the houses?" I ask Jackson, in a faint whisper. "To see the others? It might help refresh her memory."
"There's other's here?" Rachel sniffs, I hoped that would distract her.
"Taylor?"
"Sure," Smith replies. "I don't see why not, she can get some sleep but I need her sent back over in the morning."
"Come on then, let's go," Maritza says tiredly.
"Rachel, will you come?" I ask, she nods weakly, and follows me to the door, I wish I could console her, even put her arm around her but I know that she doesn't want that, she doesn't want me, well her senior year self doesn't.
"Don't worry Quinn, I'm sure it's just a temporary thing," Smith tries to reassure me as I leave, but she doesn't seems very sure herself.
Maritza leads us back outside to the car, Rachel looks around us, trying to take this whole place in, it can't be easy, seeing yourself stuck inside these high concrete walls.
"What is this place?" Rachel asks.
"If you could remember what life was like outside, you'd be pretty impressed," Maritza replies smugly.
Rachel shivers beside me, I'm trying so hard right now not to hug her or kiss her. I just want her in my arms. I wish she could remember everything so I could show all these emotions that I'm trying to conceal, I'm so happy and excited, she's safe and healthy again, but she doesn't understand places a palm to her hand before running the hand through her hair in distress.
"What's wrong?"
"This is too surreal, this can't be happening, I know you say I've lost my memory, but to go from Nationals to this, I just can't cope, this has to be a dream, I saw Finn, like an hour ago."
"I wish you could remember," I mumble. How can I tell her that we're together when she's mourning the loss of Finn and her parents?
She continues to cry in to her sleeve until Maritza parks the car outside the small concrete building I am fortunate enough to call home. "Get some sleep Quinn," Maritza whispers. "I'm sure everything will be fine, you get tomorrow off but then we're going to have to assign all of you work. Somebody will call for Rachel in the morning, just to check on her progress but Smith's convinced she can help them finish this cure but we'll need her memory back first.
"Are they going to operate on her or something?" I ask nervously.
"No, just some scans, that's about it, don't worry she's better now, I'll make sure nothing threatens her health," Maritza replies before starting up the car again. "Goodnight."
"Wait! Where's she going? Where are we?" Rachel demands.
"This our home for the time being," I explain.
"Who's us?" She asks, "I want to know who has survived."
"Well Santana, Brittany, Carol and Maribel are here in this house and just across from us is Kurt, Blaine, Puck and Beth."
"Kurt's here? And Blaine? But that's not very many at all! Is everybody else dead? All of Glee Club?"
"Rachel, we've been graduated two years , we haven't exactly been in contact with everyone, we don't know if some of them are dead or not," I reply. "We really should get inside."
I open the door where Santana is waiting. "Oh my gosh!" She exclaims. "it's actually her! Rachel!" She runs over and hugs hers, Rachel's face is filled with concern.
"What's wrong with her?" Santana reacts.
"She's lost some of her memory, the last thing she remembers is Nationals," I explain.
"Oh shit."
"Yeah," I agree.
"I can't believe I don't remember my own graduation! And NYADA, did I get in? Wait, am I friends with you guys now? How did this happen, I never thought we'd speak after high school," She mumbles.
Santana snorts and I respond by throwing her a glare. "I guess you could say closer than friends," Santana replies.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asks suspiciously.
"You and Santana were room mates in New York," I say quickly before Santana can say anything more.
"Are you serious?" Rachel raises an eyebrow. "But why were you in New York? Wait, does that mean I got in?"
"Yes you did, but honestly we have bigger things to deal with now."
"This is crazy, I have so many questions!"
"Well you should get some sleep first," I interject. "We can answer them all in the morning. You're sleeping in there with me."
"Oh," she replies, unimpressed and I assume that's because of me. Her eyes are finally dry but still red and puffy, she really looks like she needs the sleep. "Well I am tired so maybe I'll be able to make some sense out of this in the morning or maybe it will all just go away."
"Goodnight," Santana smiles sweetly but I stay silent as I watch her disappear into the darkness of our room, I feel hurt and alone. Santana turns to face me but before she can say anything, I'm crying.
"Oh Quinn, don't cry, it's just memory loss!"
"But she doesn't remember that I love her, or that she loves me, and I can't go on without her by my side , we've come too far!"
"I'm sure everything will be ok, you made her fall in love with you before, I'm sure you can do it again."
"Santana she just found out her parents and fiance are dead! She's also still a high school student mentally. How am I supposed to tell her that we're a couple all of a sudden, she doesn't even think we're friends, I can't upset her anymore!"
"Okay," Santana whispers. "Look Quinn, we'll work something out. Maybe her memory will come back, that shit happens in the movies all the time!"
"The movies," I snort. "They're movies for a reason."
"Yes but we saw zombie apocalypse movies hundreds of times Q and we never thought they'd happen, but here we are! For the moment, all we can do is be happy that she's still alive, that she's human again."
"You're right," I whisper, the fact that Rachel is still with us is a miracle, I should be content enough with that, but I'm not. "I'll deal with it tomorrow."
Santana wraps her arms around me. "Everything will be okay Q."
I pull back and wish her goodnight before I enter the room I'm sharing with Rachel, who is already asleep, turned towards the wall. I had so many plans for us for our first night back together as a proper couple, but all the love I have for her, now has to kept hidden.
