Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't publish write an AN at the end of the last chapter, I know it had been a few days since the last update but I had been really busy, I stayed up until 3 a.m writing the last chapter so in the end I was too tired to write a note. I'm going to have to end this story soon, I'm travelling to Atlanta to visit my cousins and I'll be staying there for the rest of the summer until i have to come home and go back to school, so if I don't finish this soon you guys will be waiting about 10 months until I can update it. Thanks again to everyone for your support so far. Please feel free to review or PM me with your opinions at any time.
Also, just in case, DISCLAIMER: I do not own glee or any of it's characters.
"Rachel," I whisper, speechless. Is she telling the truth? I'm afraid to let myself get excited in case this is all some sort of dream.
"I'm sorry Q, you must be so angry with me, I'm sorry, I was such a bitch!" She sobs.
"No, no, "I whisper into her ear as I hold her tighter, "it's okay, it's not your fault."
"You broke my promise," She whispers.
"I know, and I'm sorry but Rachel, how I was I supposed to leave you behind?"
"Quinn I really don't know what to say," She says looking up from my shoulder to face me again. "You saved me, even though you didn't know what you were doing, you put your life at risk, for me."
"Of course I did," I smile, stroking a long piece pf hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
She puts her arms around my neck, and pulls me closer so that she can kiss me. "I love you Quinn."
A euphoric feeling fills my heart as the words ring in my ear like music. "I love you too," I whisper.
"We're going to give you guys a few moments," Santana announces, in these few moments of perfectness I had completely forgotten that there were other people here. The others leave the communal room, returning to their bedrooms.
"How much do you remember?" I ask Rachel softly. "About being-"
She winces at the memories inside her mind. "Almost everything, but it just all seems like a weird dream, it's like I wasn't really there. It's really horrible Quinn and the doctors tell me I have to tell them everything and I really don't want to, I don't want to remember that part of me."
"Hey it's okay, you don't have to talk about it with me then, it's over, you're back again and that's all that matters, but you're going to be so much help to them, Rachel you can help save the world from this virus," I reassure her.
"I know," She whispers, "Do you think we can really save all those that have already been bitten? I mean Shelby? I want to find her, she's the only family I have left."
I sigh, knowingly. I thought getting to Canada would be a straight ticket to being reunited with my mom and sister who are supposedly in Toronto but now I've been informed that Canada has been infected too.
"Wait Quinn," Rachel gasps. "What happened to your dad?"
"He chose to stay behind," I answer. "It doesn't matter to me as much as it should, he was never a father to me."
"I'm sorry Q," She says, hugging me again. For the first time, I notice she's actually wearing new, clean clothes she must have been provided with at the doctor's. They're basic clothes, just like the ones we found in the closets here.
"It's fine really, I just need the time to think about it but I don't want to dwell on it yet. But I do think there's some way to cure everyone, it might be take a while but it will be worth it, although there's such a lack of survivors, some of them must be dying of starvation by now?" I question myself, Rachel shrugs.
"I guess that means we need to be quick," She replies. "Dr. Smith told me the military are going out to treat some of the infected and bring others back here, once they've made some advancements on the cure. That sounds so dangerous."
I bite my lip and get ready to confess but her eyes widen at my expression. She immediately suspects. "Quinn, what did you do?"
"Rachel, I didn't think you wanted me around, I wanted to be out of the way and still help everyone!" I protest. "I'm still technically keeping you safe this way."
"By getting yourself killed! Absolutely not, I refuse to let you do this!" She argues. "This all because of the commander isn't it? You guys are friends now! It's completely reckless, and we have just got here-"
I shut her up with a kiss. "Rach, relax, I've gotten this far haven't I? I will be fine and I will come home to you every evening, the same way as I left."
She sighs, not wishing toa rgue any further and rests her head on my shoulder. "So this is home."
"Yeah," I reply.
"I can't believe how lucky we are. I shouldn't even be alive. Nothing's ever going to be the same again Quinn, everything we know is gone. It's like I'm still waiting for somebody to wake me up."
"Well they already did, and you're here now," I tell her. "Change can be good Rachel, it keeps us going, as long what you and I have doesn't change."
"Oh don't worry," She smiles, kissing me on my cheek. "I have no intentions of that happening."
"Quinn!" Maritza snaps at me, waking me up from another daydream, I'm exhausted from last night, Rachel and I hardly got any sleep due to our excitement of having each other again. "Come on pay attention and load the gun again. Remember people, shoot only if they're on the verge of attacking someone. once we get this cure we're aiming to save as many people as we can!"
I load the shotgun and fire at the moving target dummy again, the plastic bullet going straight through it's head.
"Great job Quinn," Maritza says, "I knew you were right for this. You've successfully completed every stage of training today and the ones we had lined up for tomorrow. I think that maybe you could skip the rest of training and stay by me, so you get the actual experience. If it doesn't work, I'll send you back here to complete the training."
"Okay," I agree.
"Come on, I'll get you a proper uniform."
I follow her to the building known as "Militay HQ" just at the other end of the training yard. It's where they keep all the weapons, vehicles and technology such as radios, walkie talkies and the monitors for the cctv cameras set up both outside the walls and around the compound.
She leads me down the corridor of the ground floor until we reach the locker room. Inside, she reaches into a cupboard and pulls out a fresh, khaki uniform and hands it to me.
"Shoe size?"
"8," I reply before a pair of brown boots are placed in my arms.
She turns back to me with a satisfied smile. "You can try it on if you want, I can alter it if there's any problem."
I slip it on over the training vest and shorts I've been given. It feels so comfortable and easy to move around in, but it also makes me feels important and brave.
"Wow it fits you perfectly, I'll get you a name tag tomorrow." Maritza smiles. "you know what one of my favourite things about this place is?"
"What?" I ask, tying my hair up.
"In here, country, age, gender, sexuality and race, those stuff don't matter anymore, everyone is just equal. Almost of the people here are American and almost all the other half are Canadian but it doesn't matter, it's just about keeping everyone safe. When you've been here a while, you'll forget that discrimination was ever a thing."
"So you're in charge of this place?"
"No," She smiles, shaking her head. "I'm in charge of the military but I get orders from our "president" so to speak, although she doesn't like that title. She's really busy so you don't see her that often , I don't know how she keeps this place running. "
"Commander Jackson!" A muffled voice beckons.
"Oh!" Maritza jumps, taking the walkie talkie from her pocket. "This is Jackson."
"Maritza, it's Taylor, we've made advancements, you can begin your expeditions tomorrow, we need maybe ten subjects."
"Copy that, I'll inform my troops," Maritza replies, putting the communication device back in her pocket. "Well that's good news."
"So it's really beginning," I smile. "The end of it all."
"I hope so," She beams.
"Commander Jackson!" Her walkie talkie calls again.
"Yes?" Jackson sighs taking the walkie talkie out of her pocket again.
"It's Samuels, I've just been in contact with Evans, they found it, unoccupied they said it's in need of repair ,but they can get it home by tonight along with some more vehicles with some extra help, can we send another troop with a mechanic out to them?"
"Yes of course!" Jackson replies excitedly. "Contact Wilson immediately, alert the guards on patrol that they are leaving the compound. Contact Evans and ask him to try to locate the whereabouts of the pilots within a one mile radius, we'll continue the search tomorrow."
"Copy that," The voice at the other end replies. Maritza sighs.
"What was that about?" I ask.
" I sent my second in command out on a mission to try locate the helicopter this morning and it has been found," She replies. "Unoccupied, which means our pilots either did a runner or took a break on the job. Either way, it's safe return is a great help to us."
"Smith won't hurt those subjects, will she?"
"No, like I said before I'd only trust Smith with this research, the other scientists might not be so caring. They don't always see them as people like we do. But if this cure works, we can travel all over the country to cure people. Can you imagine it?"
"You want to find your girlfriend?" I ask.
She nods. "You know I've planned this out for a while, I'm going to meet her and make her better again, then once she's better and I've told her how much I love her and I miss, we can hopefully get back together, we can be just like we were in high school, and then I'll leave my post so I can take care of her."
"That's really sweet, " I smile. "Will you be allowed to do that?"
"Leave my post? I'm sure I could, there's plenty of people just as eligible for the title as me," she replies, she smiles as she seems to slip off into a happy daydream.
Less than two seconds later, her walkie talkie goes off again. "Wow, "she sighs, "I've never had so many calls in such little time."
"This is Jackson," She replies into the device.
"Commander it's Williams on patrol, we have an approacher, a grey hooded female, I think she's injured. Do you want us to handle this?"
"Oh," I gasp at the description. "She might be the one that tried to steal our car."
"No," Jackson replies, "I'll take it, give me three minutes. Come on Quinn, let's show you how things are done. Follow me."
She takes her hand gun from it's holster as we approach the large gates that keep this place secure and concealed. Two guards instantly begin to open them at the site of their commander.
"Thank you soldiers, "She nods as we pass through, out into the open lit by the navy evening sky, where the small, stumbling woman is still approaching the compound.
"Halt!" Maritza cries, just like she told us.
The woman raises her hands, declaring she is unarmed and defenseless. It's the same woman who tried to steal our truck but where's her partner?
"Please, "She breathes heavily. "Please I need help."
"Are you bitten?" Maritza asks.
"No," the woman heaves, "I just need food and sleep."
"Can you reveal your face please?" Maritza asks in a soft tone, the woman slowly raises her head and removes her hood, revealing her filthy, scarred and worn out face.
She recognises me before I'm able to see past the dirt and scars, "Quinn!" She exclaims.
"Shelby!" I gasp.
