Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, as always :) I always notice and then quickly forget there's a reply button to the reviews, but ... I don't know what to say individually so i'll just post some of the answers/replies here (if I can that is)
hm. the dialogue isn't as funny this time and the chapters are getting longer..but longer does not equate to betterr
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter actually, but at least the story is moving along (slowly). So much got edited out from the first draft though! exciting.
Also, I have a poll on my profile! doubly exciting. double mint gum.
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As Quinn is pulled from her dream by her usual 6:00am phone alarm, she can feel something prickling in her eyes as a memory disappears into the back of her mind. She quickly brings up her right arm and swipes at them, efficiently wiping away the evidence because Fabrays don't cry and Fabrays don't reminiscence, especially not about people who are possibly already dead.
Her phone continues to blare out music and she can hear it vibrating on the floor. She moves to get out of bed but there's a something holding her back and it takes her a moment to remember where she is, why's it so dark, and who's weighing her down.
"Ughh, turn that thing off," Santana groans to her left and Quinn can hear the others start to move around.
Quinn attempts to pry Rachel off her but the brunette is holding fast so she swings her free arm down and blindly struggles to find the phone. After a few tries she finally locates it and pushes the button and then the room is basked in silence.
"What time is it?" Kurt asks sleepily.
"Six," Quinn responds in a raspy voice. She always sounded like this in the mornings for some reason.
"….fivemoreminutes," Rachel murmurs out as she grips onto Quinn even tighter.
"…ten..." Brittany tells her before the room is quiet once more.
Quinn had fallen asleep close to 3am so she concedes and barely manages to reset her alarm to 8am before settling back down and closing her eyes.
\-\
It's now 9am and after an awkward awakening with Rachel realizing she had drooled on Quinn's shoulder, everyone is finally done with their morning routine (resourcefully using bottles of water to brush their teeth and wash their faces) and they're once again gathered in the Main Room and eating their first meal of the day. They're all dressed in their typical clothes and the cheerleaders are in their new uniforms with their normal Cheerio issued ponytails pulled back.
"I hope we can find something else to eat," Kurt mentions as he pokes at his pineapples in disinterest.
"Noodles, maybe," Rachel offers before she takes a bite of corn.
"I love those instant ones," Finn says as he cheerfully eats his ravioli. "They have different flavors too."
"Man, I don't think I can survive without real meat," Puck complains as he pops open another can of Spaghetti-O's.
Santana looks disgustedly at him before she opens her own can of fruit cocktail. "What I don't gets is how you can still eat that after inhaling like, five cans yesterday."
"Yay! Lord Tubbington is eating!" Brittany claps happily from the floor as she watches her larger cat eat. "See, Charity? You be a good girl and eat too, just like Lord Tubbington," the taller blonde says as she pets the smaller cat.
Santana gives her a fond smile that everyone notices but ignores.
Quinn yawns into her meal. She has accidentally grabbed the same can of the same variety mix she had eaten yesterday but is too lazy to go back to exchange it so she's now busy picking out green beans once more. She yawns again and Rachel looks over to her from across the table.
"I'm sorry Quinn, did I by chance keep you awake last night? I don't know if I move around much while I sleep due to the fact that I've never had the opportunity of sharing a bed with anyone, really. Any prior knowledge of me doing so is entirely lacking on my behalf so I apologize if it was my fault that you seem to be rather tired," she says apologetically and Quinn shakes her head before stifling another yawn.
"Y'know, I don't blame Q though. I mean, if I hads to share a bed with a hobbit I'd be too afraid of her somehow stealing my soul as I slept," Santana remarks and Brittany quickly looks over to Rachel.
"You totally shouldn't do that, Rachel. No one can survive without a soul," she scolds her and Rachel shoots a frown to Santana who gives her a smile.
Quinn rolls her eyes because she feels like it's too early to deal with Santana's sarcasm and clears her throat to interrupt the impromptu insult festival.
"No, Berry, I just had some trouble sleeping and it wasn't because of you," she clarifies and Rachel looks relieved before she continues to eat her food. "So, any ideas on what we should do today?" the blonde asks as she looks around the table.
Kurt taps his chin with his finger and glances over to one of the cats. "Do you think there are other people here? Ones that couldn't bear to leave their pets, kind of like what Brittany did?"
Quinn is suddenly reminded of the lights she saw last night(this morning), but she doesn't know if she should mention it. She decides not to, not yet anyways because she doesn't want to scare everyone even more.
"That's a good point, Kurt," Rachel agrees as she finishes off her corn. "I don't doubt that there are other people here. Having a bigger group will certainly increase our probability of survival."
"Not exactly," Finn answers her in between bites. "In those games, usually the more people you have the more chances you have of someone messing up and more people end up dying."
Brittany looks worriedly over to Santana who reaches across the table and smacks Finn on top of his head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"No one asked for your opinion, Finnept," Santana sneers out angrily and moves over to sit next to Brittany on the floor.
"Okay, so, I guess we'll look for survivors then, and probably more supplies," Quinn quickly cuts in. "I think we should get some solar lights we can place around inside the shelter. It's really dark in here and they're not too bright so they could be good night lights. We can just take them out during the day, charge them, and use them at night," Quinn suggests and everyone nods.
"We can also get another bed for Rachel," Finn remembers and he gives Rachel a smile. The smaller brunette smiles in return but she can't shake the slight feeling of disappointment because for some reason she slept really well lying next to Quinn. She even had trouble waking up this morning, which was rare.
"Oh! Some pots and pans would be nice," Kurt adds in because he doesn't want to eat another cold meal.
"I know the perfect place we can go that'll probably have everything," Quinn says as she finally takes her first bite of breakfast. "The mall. Higher chance of running into other people too, since it's such a huge landmark and it's one of the larger areas unblocked by the barricades."
Finn smacks his forehead with his hand. "Oh man, why didn't I think of that?"
"Careful there, Finnonence. You hit your head one too many times and you'll end up destroying all ten of those brain cells you have up there. You're probably down to what? Your last two or three now?" Santana asks him curiously.
The football player scowls at her while Rachel glares and Puck snickers from the side.
"After we're done eating, we'll head on over to the school and grab more weapons and ammo," Quinn interrupts, efficiently stopping the upcoming argument. "Britt and I will teach you all the basics and everything and then we'll go to mall."
There's agreement all around and the rest of the meal is finished in silence as they prepare to leave.
/-/
"Oh my goodness, I may have to bleach my eyes," Kurt proclaims as soon as he opens one of the cabinets.
"What is—Oh," Rachel says as she peers inside. "That's…a lot of tracksuits."
"Add this collection to your argyle Rachel, and the world may implode," he jokes as he closes the door.
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea," Santana agrees. "We should head over to Berry's house, grab her wardrobe and then grab Coach's and throw them at the zombies. Instant re-death right there."
"I am offended that you would even compare my sophisticated style of dress to that of Coach Sylvester's! While hers is very unoriginal as well as monotonous, my own clothes—"
"Blah blah blah, Berry. That's all I'm hearing," Santana says as she rolls her eyes.
"What would you even call your style of dress, Rachel?" Brittany asks as she tilts her head to observe the smaller brunette.
"Disgusting," Santana answers almost instantly.
"Finn!" Rachel turns to her boyfriend who's busy drooling over the many guns.
He jumps at the sound of her voice. "What? What? I wasn't doing anything wrong!"
Quinn sighs as she suddenly has the urge to ram her head through the wall.
Puck merely continues to ignore everyone around him.
After breakfast they had all emptied out their duffel bags and backpacks (just in case they wouldn't be able to find any in the mall) to make room for possible new supplies and then Quinn was leading them on over to the back door of the school. Access was simple and easy as she merely used the key and the building was quiet as it had remained untouched.
When they had climbed out of the container though (after checking if it was safe) Quinn had noticed that there were more zombies gathered around the generator than were there last night.
"What do you suppose they're doing?" Rachel had asked nervously as she graciously accepted Puck's hand while he helped her off the ladder.
"No idea," was Quinn's reply and they all stood there for a few minutes just watching the mob amble around.
"Maybe they're attracted to the sound," Brittany suggested.
"Probably," Santana agreed.
"So, what should we do then?" Finn wondered and then Quinn was closing the hatch and locking it, safely keeping the cats and their own supplies hidden inside.
"Let's just ignore them for now," the blonde stated as she started lowering the ladder on the side. "They're not after us and if we try to shoot them we might hit the generator anyways."
"Creepy," Puck had added in.
And then they were all slowly climbing down while trying to be as discreet as possible before starting to make their way to the school. Quinn had noticed that a few undead, the ones furthest from the generator, had twitched and started turning around almost immediately as if it had sensed them.
But, they could deal with that later and then they were inside and picking out their weapons.
Kurt and Rachel had simply opted for the same gun as Santana and Puck had decided on the same one that Brittany had. Finn had wanted one similar to Quinn's because he really liked the sniper scope and she had rolled her eyes but picked out a related model to her own and gave it to him. The blonde had also remembered to grab a scope with night vision and switched it out with her regular one. Everyone was also given an extra handgun to serve as backup just in case and those were placed into their bags.
"Do you think Coach Sylvester would mind if I took one of her many military uniforms?" Rachel asks when she notices the row of uniforms behind another door.
Quinn looks up from where she's teaching Puck and Finn how to reload the gun and gives the smaller brunette an appraising look.
"I don't think you'll be able to fit them actually," the blonde tells her before turning back to the task at hand and missing Rachel's disappointed pout.
"Too bad, Berry. 'Cause that totes would have been an improvement on your part," Santana says regretfully. "Maybe if you wore those clothes I wouldn't feel the need to gouge out my eyes every time I see you."
"I don't know, I kind of like her unicorn sweater," Brittany states before she reaches over to her gun and gestures to Kurt and Rachel. "I'm supposed to be teaching you guys how to use this though, so come over here."
"I find myself rather disturbed that you know how to use a gun, Brittany," Kurt says as he walks over to stand next to the blonde. He knows he has said the wrong thing when Santana glares at him and he quickly moves and places Rachel in between them, effectively using her as a shield.
Brittany however just shrugs. "I get it that people think I'm dumb and stuff, but you don't need to be book smart to use a gun; you just have to be a different kind of smart. Coach taught me that."
Quinn gives the other blonde a proud smile before continuing to show Puck and Finn the correct way to hold the gun.
"You're not dumb, Britts, you're just… eclectic," Santana says in her defense and Brittany grins.
"I could totally be an eclectic guitar," she agrees and no one has the heart to tell her that she's wrong, but very close.
"Anyways, Kurt, Rachel, you guys have to pay attention now," Brittany says seriously and they watch with rapt interest as she explains all the important things they need to know about rifles.
Quinn has them practice how to reload, how to switch from the different shooting modes (for the ones with the M4 who had the option of the 3-bullet burst mode) as well as switching on the safety. She has them memorize the correct way to hold the rifle because she doesn't want to deal with any possible shoulder injuries and when she finally feels satisfied that they've learned all they needed, a good hour and a half has already passed.
They quickly break for a small lunch and then they're heading towards the mall with guns ready and their bags on hand.
"All this practice and stuff is nothing like the real thing though," Quinn tells them as they walk. "There's gonna be a slight kick when you fire and it might take a while to get used to and it'll definitely throw off your aim."
"You'll get better though, the more you shoot," Brittany helps explain. "Not as good as me though, but maybe you'll become as good as Q with practice."
Santana smirks over to the shorter blonde who shrugs because she agrees that Brittany is a better shot than her. Not that she likes it but she accepts it; it's been proven to her over and over again, after all.
"It's rather quiet," Rachel notes as she apprehensively grips her rifle. She doesn't know how she feels about using it, but having it at least gives her a small amount of comfort.
Quinn starts examining the area more closely. "Was it like this when you walked this way yesterday?"
"We only saw like one zombie yesterday," Finn recalls as he uses his scope and magnifies it on random objects. Like the tree over there.
"Me and Kurt didn't see anything at all," Puck tells them as he walks while holding the gun in ready position.
"We stayed by the school and only saw the ones there so I don't know how the rest of the city is," Quinn comments absently as she continues to look around.
Santana unconsciously steps closer to Brittany. "Should we be worried?"
"Maybe. Just, keep an eye out," the blonde orders and they continue to make their way to the mall.
\-\
The rest of the journey is suspiciously zombie-free and by the time they reach the entrance of the shopping area, Quinn's feeling like something seems out of place.
"Well, that was thankfully uneventful," Rachel comments as she finally lowers her gun and wipes her sweaty hands on her skirt.
"Anybody else got this weird vibe going on?" Santana asks, surveying their surroundings warily.
"Yeah," Brittany agrees as she double checks to make sure her gun is fully loaded. "Like when we're standing in front of the toaster and we know the bread's gonna pop out but we don't know when kind of feeling."
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Brittany," Kurt commends her as he removes his handkerchief from his pocket and dabs at his forehead before placing it back.
"Alright, so we gonna stand out here and wait for something to happen?" Puck asks and he also can't help but check his gun.
"I think we're still okay for now," Finn tells them as he zooms in and tries to see if he can see anything through the glass doors. "Everything looks clear, so shouldn't we like, use this opportunity to get stuff before it gets worse later on or something?"
"Q?" Santana turns to the cheer captain who's chewing nervously on her lower lip.
Quinn doesn't like it but there's no use standing around wasting daylight. At least if they're inside the mall there are plenty of areas to hide and snipe from. Though that meant that there were equally as many places for the zombies to hide in as well, but...
"Let's go in and check the place out. See how it is and stuff," the blonde says finally.
Everyone nods and even Quinn can't help but reach for her gun, holding it close so that it'll be ready in a moment's notice.
/-/
Puck leads them to one of the side doors and is about to break it open when he already notices the lock has been jimmied. Quinn stares at it before ushering them to continue and then they're all stepping inside.
What used to be their usual hangout on the weekends is now a darkened, desolate place and their footsteps echo all around the empty area as they gather around the entrance.
"Everything seems okay?" Finn says as they all uneasily glance and take in their surroundings.
There's still light coming in from the front glass windows but the further they go they'll definitely need to use their flashlights. For once, Quinn's glad about Rachel's OCD and her reminders for them to pack everything, just in case.
Quinn lowers her gun and notices Brittany and Puck do the same.
"This place is what I'd imagine Berry's house to be like: creepy, dark and empty," Santana observes humorlessly.
"Santana! You don't eve—"
"Shh!" Quinn looks pointedly at their direction and they all pause, listening as their echoes quiet down and the mall is engulfed in silence once more.
"Okay," the blonde says quietly after a beat. "Let's quickly get this over with. I think it'll be better if we split up; less people means less noise. We'll also be able to cover more ground that way. Puck, you packed the walkie-talkies right?"
"Yup," he replies and places his bag on the floor before searching inside. "They're already loaded with batteries and everything," he says as he pulls four of them out.
"Okay. So each team will carry at least one walkie-talkie. I guess we'll use channel 15, or something," Quinn tells them (she only vaguely remembers the correct channels to use). "Try not to wander too far so the radios can stay in range and if something happens, use the radio or if all else fails, use your gun to signal the others; the sounds should echo pretty easily because this place is so empty. Just in case we can't contact each other though, meet back here in two hours, whether you find anyone or not. That should also be enough time to grab supplies as well. Do not be late. If you're not here in two hours we'll assume the worst and—well." She doesn't finish her sentence but the others know what she's implying. "Use your phones to keep track of time. We'll need to definitely find some watches to synchronize for future use."
Everyone agrees and then glances are exchanged as they try to determine who will be paired off.
"Well, Finn and I—"
"Actually Rachel, do you think maybe you and Quinn or someone else can pair up?" Finn interrupts and the smaller brunette gives him a confused look. "Me and Puck can handle getting the extra bed too. Just, you know, maybe you'd rather hang out with uhm, one of the girls since you seemed so bored yesterday?" he explains to her.
"B-But Finn, wouldn't it be safer for—"
Finn looks over to the cheerleaders who are looking at him expectantly and he gulps nervously. "No, obviously you girls can easily take care of yourselves." He points to their rifles as an example. "See? We definitely wouldn't have these without Quinn and them."
It's obvious that Finn has his reasons for not having Rachel tag along and the singer is doubtful but she complies.
Puck throws her an almost apologetic glance because he kind of sort of agrees with Finn that Rachel's a kill-joy but he still feels bad for ditching her.
Not enough to say anything though.
"Thanks! I knew you'd understand," Finn says as he leans down to kiss her lips. At the last second she turns and he ends up pecking her on the cheek instead. He gives her a puzzled expression but she just nods to him.
"You should get going, Finn, two hours isn't a lot of time," and then she moves to stand besides the cheer captain.
"Uh, okay," he says, unsure, and after Puck hands Quinn the other three walkie-talkies and they make sure they all work, the two football players click on their flashlights and start their way into the mall.
Before they can disappear further in, Kurt suddenly decides to join them. Rachel is definitely offended when Finn allows him to follow and not her and Kurt merely gives her a look that's a cross between pity and smugness before all three are walking away.
"San, I want to look for some pet supplies for Lord Tubbington and Charity," Brittany says as she pulls on Santana's hand.
"Yup, hear that Q, we gotta get some cat stuff and I know you've gotta go gets your lights or whatever so we'll catch you later," Santana responds quickly because she doesn't want to be in the same group as Rachel.
"Wait, Berry, give your phone to Santana," Quinn orders as she hands the other cheerleader a walkie-talkie. The singer wants to protest but one look from the blonde and she's handing it over.
"Be careful, alright?" the cheer captain tells them and they nod and then their flashlights are on and they head in the opposite direction as Finn and his team.
Quinn and Rachel both glance at each other awkwardly before looking away. The blonde then places both the walkie-talkies into her jacket pocket and grabs her flashlight while the smaller brunette does the same.
"So, any place you'd prefer to go to, Berry?" she whispers as she looks around cautiously.
Rachel looks surprised at the question and shakes her head.
"No, other than the extra bed, I have no real desire to participate in these random acts of larceny," she states and notices Quinn quirking an eyebrow at her. "N-not that we're not entitled to utilize our surroundings to the fullest in order to aid in our survival, it's just …" she trails off when she realizes that Quinn's still staring and she's rambling.
"No, not really," she quickly amends her answer and Quinn nods before rolling her eyes. "What about you, Quinn? We can head on over to wherever you'd like."
The blonde considers for a moment before responding. "I was just thinking about heading over to one of the department stores for those solar lights," she says as she adjusts the straps to her backpack.
"Oh, that's a great idea, Quinn! We should be able to find cookware as well in those stores. Watches as well! Two birds with one stone, as they say," Rachel agrees almost immediately.
"Yup, that's the plan," Quinn says as they both start walking to their destination, flashlights in hand. "From here on out, Berry, no more talking unless it's important."
The singer nods and their conversation falls quiet as they continue their careful walk through the mall.
"Quinn?"
Quinn sighs and shoots Rachel a glare. It figures the silence wouldn't last long. The mall seems deserted so far however, so she signals for her to continue her question.
"Do you think, perhaps you'll be able to call me by my first name?"
Quinn glances over and she can barely make out the shy look the brunette gives her.
"I-I mean, well, the truce, and everything, and I just think it would be much more of an agreeable experience if we drop the formalities. Though I don't think Santana would be so keen on the idea… but uhm, well actually, nevermind. Berry is in fact my last name and it is a comparable step up from RuPaul or Treasure Trail—"
"Berry."
"Okay, shutting up now. My lips are sealed. Not another wor—"
"Rachel."
Hearing her name said out loud effectively stops the brunette's blabbering and she looks over to Quinn in astonishment before giving her a full beaming, bright smile.
The blonde merely gives her a nod because she's just glad that Rachel has finally shut up.
"No more talking," she orders and they continue on their way.
\-\
"Hey man, are you sure we should be doing this?" Finn asks as he glances nervously back towards the mall.
Him, Puck and Kurt have decided to leave after finding out that most of the contents in the video game store are gone. It almost looked like someone had gotten there before them (!) but they hadn't run into anyone so they couldn't be sure. There were other stores there that they could browse through but none of them had what they wanted so they're now heading over to the Wal-Mart they had visited yesterday.
"Dude, there's a better selection over there anyways," Puck tells him and Finn can't help but agree.
"But we'll be out of range for the walkie-talkies and we're supposed to be looking for other people," Kurt tries to talk them out it but Puck shrugs.
"If we're far enough even in the mall there's no guarantee that they'll work either, so there's no difference. And other people? That place seemed pretty dead to me. Whoever was there earlier is probably long gone by now. We'll have a better chance finding people out on the streets. As long as we get back before the time limit they won't know we left! Plus," and the mohawked boy turns to his best friend. "There's that Military Surplus along the way. We can probably find an extra bed for Rachel there and you could get her some military clothes that'll fit. She can't stay mad at you if you bring her those, man. Didn't you see how disappointed she looked when Quinn told her she couldn't fit Coach's uniform?"
Finn looks at him in confusion. "Wait, but, I thought you said she wasn't angry at me?"
Puck shakes his head but doesn't answer and continues to lead the way.
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Santana points the flashlight around the store and watches patiently as Brittany throws toy after toy, can after can, thing after thing into their bags (Santana had borrowed Quinn's duffel and the blonde had settled for the extra backpack). By the time they leave here most of the store will be gone and carried on their shoulders.
But, she doesn't mind though, because Brittany's happy.
And a happy Brittany equals a happy Santana.
\-\
Rachel and Quinn quietly exit the store through the gate the blonde had picked open and they both step back into the mall.
Despite most of the stores closing about a week ago, their inventory is surprisingly well-stocked and they have managed to check off the small list of things that Quinn had compiled earlier. There are a few extra items thrown in as well and they figured they can just come back later to get more if they need to. They hadn't seen anyone at all but at least they managed to get some new supplies.
Quinn shifts the now heavy backpack to a better position and Rachel does the same as she switches her duffel bag to her left shoulder. The blonde can hear as the smaller girl continues to move the bag around but it's obvious that Rachel's having trouble because it's uncomfortably fitting on her small frame.
Quinn sighs and takes off her backpack. "Here, let's trade," she says as she offers Rachel her bag. The smaller girl squints at her and Quinn shines the flashlight at the bag.
"It'll be easier for me to hold yours since I'm taller and it's not like I'm offering to carry everything either; the backpack is equally as heavy but it'll just fit on you better, okay?" she explains exasperatedly and Rachel is hesitant but accepts the proposal.
They switch off and the backpack is in fact better for her. She doesn't have to worry about tripping over her own feet because of the duffel smacking into her legs. Rachel's bag is easily carried on Quinn's shoulders and the extra weight doesn't even seem to bother her at all. The singer is kind of annoyed at her own small stature because it's not like the cheer captain is that much taller but it still seems to make a world of difference between their strengths however.
Before Quinn can tell Rachel to stop staring and start walking, a sudden noise echoes through the quiet mall and cuts her off.
They hear the screams first.
And then the gunshots right after.
/-/
"S! B! Finn! Whoever! Answer me!" Quinn says anxiously as her and Rachel continue to run towards the sounds. The layout of the mall seems so different when there are no lights and everything is closed and it's intense because they feel like at any moment they're going to stumble into a zombie because they can't see.
There's no response on the radios and the blonde is about to call for them again when they hear static and then Brittany's voice comes through.
"Q! Q, there's like some people here—"
"Oh god! They're eating th—" Santana's voice interrupts and then the walkie-talkies break off and Quinn and Rachel can only hear themselves breathing and the gunshots echoing through the building.
"Santana! Brittany! What's happening?" Quinn yells out to them. "At least tell me where you're at!"
They continue their aimless run because the shots seem to come from everywhere as they wait for a response and then Brittany's voice is cutting in and out.
"We're…th…fountain."
Quinn quickly points the light around to determine their location and she feels relief when she spots the Old Navy sign, immediately drawing up the map of the mall out in her head.
"Come on, Berry!" the blonde tells her and they both turn around and scramble towards the direction of the water fountain.
\-\
"Hey, do you think Rachel will like this?" Finn asks as he holds up a jacket that has a similar pattern to the uniforms the cheerleaders are wearing. He had also grabbed another coat earlier that has a more gray style pattern and they both seem to be Rachel's size.
"Hmm, knowing Rachel she'll appreciate the matching styles more," Kurt determines easily and then he continues to browse through the clothes racks. "I can see why some of these were donated," he says disgustedly as he pushes away a tacky shirt.
"Dude, check these out! I found some awesome belts that we can use to carry our handguns in!" Puck shouts out to them from the back and Finn moves to go see.
"Ugh, some of these can join the same pile as Coach Sylvester's tracksuits and Rachel's entire wardrobe. Combine them all and the world will definitely implode," Kurt sighs as pushes away shirt after shirt.
"Ooh. This one looks promising though!"
/-/
Halfway to the fountain and Quinn has lead Rachel up the stationary escalators and up to the 2nd floor in order to view their surroundings better. They have also abandoned their bags in exchange for speed because right now getting to Santana and Brittany is their top priority.
The entire time Quinn has been trying to establish contact with Finn and his team but there's no answer and there's no response from the cheerleaders as well which merely spurs them on faster. They can still hear the gunshots though, so Quinn knows that the two are still okay, for now.
They're getting closer and in the distance they can see the area lit up by the sunlight streaming in from the glass dome roof. They quicken their pace, finally reaching the part that overlooks the fountain and Quinn immediately scans the area for her friends. She spots them a good distance away from a zombie horde that looks to be surrounding something right by the water.
"S! B!" she calls out over to them and the two cheerleaders stop firing briefly to look up at their cheer captain. None of the undead even bothers twitching in their direction; they're too fixated on whatever they're after.
"Quinn! Quinn! There's people in there! In that mass!" Rachel tells her and the blonde quickly looks over and sure enough, there are people inside.
Or, there were people actually.
Because all Quinn can see is a jumble of zombies biting and ripping at something and there's horrible screaming coming from within as hands, arms, legs try to get away.
"We have to help them!" Rachel says desperately as she tries to remember how to switch off the safety to her rifle.
Quinn watches for a moment longer before she places a hand on Rachel's arm, immediately stopping her frantic attempts. She then reaches for her walkie-talkie and pushes the talk button.
"San. Britt, get out of there and get up here, now," she orders them and Rachel's looking at her in anger.
"What are you doing, Quinn? We need to help them—they're—the zombies—they're—"
Quinn makes sure that the other two are safely moving away before she turns back to Rachel. The blonde's face is blank and the lack of emotion catches the brunette off guard.
"Quinn," Rachel chokes out and the cheer captain shakes her head sadly because they both know it's already too late.
The screaming has already stopped.
The singer grips at her weapon in frustration and Quinn stares at her, unsure if she should offer the smaller girl comfort.
The moment passes and before she can decide, Santana's voice is drawing their attention and they turn to face the two cheerleaders.
"Q," Santana says softly and both her and the taller blonde are pale and ashen and obviously not okay. They're both breathing hard and holding onto their bags as if it was their only salvation.
"What happened? Are you guys hurt?" Quinn asks as she worriedly looks them over.
They both shake their heads and the blonde doesn't want to feel the relief after knowing that those people over there are dead, but she can't help it; she's thankful that her friends are safe.
She glances over to the mob with worry. It seems to be growing but the zombies are still ignoring the girls above them.
For now.
"What happened?" she repeats gently as she looks between Santana and Brittany for answers.
Brittany continues to shake her head while Santana remains quiet as she tries to find the words.
How do you explain to someone that you just saw a group of people slaughtered right in front of you?
"We—they—" Santana breaks off as she struggles to keep her voice calm. Brittany immediately reaches for her hand and she takes a deep breath because she knows she has to be strong. Strong enough for the both of them.
Santana tries once again and this time she succeeds and her voice is steady. "We were heading over to the music store you know, since Finn and Puck—Wait, where are they?"
Quinn doesn't respond because she doesn't know and Rachel grasps her gun tighter.
They try not to think what might have happened as Santana continues her story.
"And then we hear something, and go check it out—'cause, you know—Britts and I could totes hear them from inside the store—and then there was so much screaming—and the blood—they were tearing them apart. We tried to help, but—so many of them and we were shooting but they just kept coming and then—then you guys showed up…" she finishes off with a whisper and Brittany's silently crying as she leans into Santana.
Quinn nods and swallows hard. "Okay," she breathes out softly because, what else can she say to something that?
'Good job, you tried your best?'
Yeah, no.
"Where the hell is Finn," she mutters out instead.
\-\
They remain there in their spots staring transfixed as the mob below them continues to grow as more and more enter through the broken glass doors. Quinn knows they should leave soon because it's obvious their numbers are increasing but there's something so disturbing about the sight that she can't turn her eyes away.
"Q?" Santana whispers to her cheer captain because she doesn't want to be there any longer and Quinn is the only one not moving.
The blonde doesn't respond and instead grabs her gun and immediately uses the scope to zoom in. She can feel her insides churning at the bright red but she knows there's something important here she needs to figure out—so she ignores it and continues to survey the area.
"Q?" Brittany tries this time and it isn't until she places a gentle hand on Quinn's arm that the cheer captain finally lowers her gun.
She takes in a shaky breath and exhales slowly.
"They're—attracted to the blood," she tells them quietly.
/-/
As Finn and Puck and Kurt make their way back to the mall they're feeling immensely satisfied. All three are now dressed in the same type of military uniform that the cheerleaders are wearing and Finn has a set packed in his bag for Rachel as well.
Their bags are stuffed with even more canned food and some instant ramen and they have grabbed the video game consoles and the games they had left behind yesterday. Hooked around their waists are also utility belts that Puck had discovered buried beneath a pile of socks and they have already placed their handguns safely inside.
Finn has also managed to dig up a cot for Rachel although he was disappointed to find out it was slightly broken. He had grabbed it anyways because he had promised her he would. If anything, he and Rachel can trade off but he hopes not because the new bed is smaller than the ones in the shelter.
When they finally reach the entrance, the sudden sound of Quinn's voice calling to them interrupts their musings and Puck grabs the walkie-talkie from his belt.
"Puckerman here, over."
*Static*
"Where the hell have you guys been?"
"Wow, chill out Fabray, we just took a slight detour; no need to get your panties in a twist," Puck responds easily.
"Shut the hell up, Puckerman. I'm really not in the mood to deal with your bulls—"
"S! Giv—"
"Finn! Are you alright? I—"
"Rachel! Give me that!"
*Static*
"Listen, I'm gonna assume you guys definitely weren't at the mall otherwise you would have at least heard something—but it doesn't matter, we're leaving ASAP. Where are you now? Over."
"We're outside, by the entrance. Over," Puck answers as he looks over to Finn and Kurt in confusion.
"Stay there, we'll be out soon. Keep a lookout. Over."
*Static*
All three boys look at each other worriedly because it's obvious that something went down while they were gone.
\-\
Everyone's on high alert as they walk back towards the school. Quinn's voice is quiet as she explains what they saw at the mall and what they found out.
When she's done no one knows what to say and Finn feels guilty because he hadn't been there for Rachel when she needed him and he holds onto her tighter.
They decide to call it a day because no one's really up for anything else. When they finally reach the shelter, Quinn notices that there's even more zombies by the generator now and as soon as they step into view, a few zombies break off from the mob and start heading towards them.
Santana's obviously still upset because she's the first one to bring up her gun and the first one to click off the safety. The only thing stopping her from pulling the trigger is Brittany's hand on her arm and Quinn's voice.
"S, stop. At least wait until they move further away from the generator first," the blonde tells her and Santana wants to just rush in there and shoot them all but she clenches her teeth instead and waits.
Everyone else also grab their guns but they hold back because they know that Santana needs this. Quinn merely turns and makes sure that there are no new zombies coming from the school.
As soon as she can, Santana fires at the closest zombie and watches in satisfaction as it crumbles to the ground. Nothing will bring those people back and she'll still have nightmares days from now, but for the moment she almost feels like she's getting retribution.
Or so she wants to pretend.
The gunshots bring in the other zombies that were content by the generator and Quinn watches as they all start walking towards them. She notes that the ones here are nothing like the ones at the mall; those hadn't even flinched when they were being shot at. All they saw or smelled or whatever, was the blood and Quinn saves this tidbit of information for later.
When Santana finally runs out of bullets and she's just pressing on the trigger despite the empty clicks, Finn and Puck and Brittany and even Rachel join in and they make short work of the rest of the mob. Kurt's still hesitant about having to shoot but Quinn knows he'll eventually have to get his hands dirty as well. As they finish off the small mob the blonde easily takes care of the ones that have appeared by the school.
"Let's go back inside," she tells them when they're done and then they're all climbing up, the side ladder is retracted, and then they're climbing back down and back into the safety of their refuge.
Quinn knows that they should try and maybe search for other survivors in the city because it's obvious now that there are other people out there. But all she can remember are the screams and she doesn't think she'll be able to handle it if they see something like that again in the same day.
Santana and Brittany are obviously lost in their own guilt and Rachel seems so despondent that Quinn has no doubt that they all need their rest despite there still being plenty of daylight outside.
Quinn also knows that this situation is way over their heads.
/-/
The rest of the day slowly passes by as they remain inside. As soon as their boots hit the ground, Brittany and Santana immediately locate the cats and they retreat into the sleeping area. The others decide to take inventory and they all empty out their bags in the Main Room.
Rachel's certainly out of it as she watches the others arrange their new supplies and she only gives Finn a half-hearted glare when she sees Puck pull out the video games from his bag. She should have figured that's why he didn't want her tagging along.
Finn gives her a nervous smile and holds out the new clothes he found for her in appeasement and she looks at it before taking it and setting them aside.
She kind of doesn't really care right now and instead sips at her water with disinterest. She easily ignores his look of disappointment and then he's turning back to the others to compare their items.
Quinn takes out the solar lights, the blender her and Rachel had found and the pots and pans they had thrown into their bags as well. There's also a coffee maker that had samples of coffee in them inside as they figured they can at least start their mornings off with something to look forward to. She doesn't feel like setting the lights out right now to charge so she decides to do that tomorrow.
They didn't have a chance to grab the vitamins that Rachel had suggested but at least they had managed to find some watches as well as some dishes and cups. Maybe they can go back later but Quinn's not sure if she wants to step foot into the mall again. She does admit that it's an important source of supplies however, so she doesn't cross it off their list yet.
She is annoyed though that the boys had left without informing them. She doesn't want to feel like a nag telling them what they should and shouldn't do, but they could have at least mentioned it so Quinn and her group could have just left the mall instead of waiting for them. She shakes her head to try and dispel her irritation because she knows there's no point in getting angry. Luckily nothing happened this time (to them anyways) and Quinn doesn't want think about what could happen next time so she concentrates on organizing the things in front of her.
She does admit that the belts are a good find. The video games however…
Both she and Rachel are kind of satisfied though when Finn and Puck figure out they can't play their games because the TV in the shelter doesn't have any composite A/V outlets for them to plug the console into.
It's a minor consolation but they'll take what they can get.
\-\
At 10pm they decide to turn in early just like yesterday because there's nothing else to do.
Brittany and Santana have already fallen asleep with the cats curled up besides them and everyone else tip toes around as they settle into their own beds.
Finn has positioned the cot he had found for Rachel right by him but she takes one look at the lopsided leg and glances over to Quinn who merely stares at her before she shrugs and nods.
The small brunette ignores Finn's confused look as she walks over to Quinn's bed and slips in under the covers before she curls into a ball on her designated side. Quinn turns off the light immediately after, easily ceasing any attempts the football captain could have at trying to talk to his girlfriend. The blonde uses her phone once again as a flashlight and then she's slipping in right besides Rachel. She places her phone under the cot and lays there in the darkness, listening to the others eventually succumbing to sleep.
Somehow, sometime later, Quinn manages to drift into a restless slumber and she doesn't realize she has until she's startled awake by a nightmare that stays even as she wakes up.
She's disoriented due to the dark that's there whether her eyes are opened or closed and she takes a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Eventually the panic fades and that's when she finally notices the sound of quiet crying right next to her.
It's obvious it's coming from Rachel. Quinn debates for a moment but she knows she'll be unable to fall back asleep so she turns and gently places a hand on where she thinks the brunette's arm is and the other girl stiffens immediately.
Quinn leans in, exactly as she did last night. "Follow me, Berry," she whispers and then she's moving off the bed and grabbing her phone. She shines it on the other girl and Rachel hesitates but Quinn gestures to her again and then the both of them are making their way towards the Main Room with the phone's light guiding them.
Rachel remains quiet, save for a few sniffles, even as Quinn hands her the jacket Finn had found for her earlier. It isn't until the blonde is zipping up her own that Rachel finally moves and places the jacket on as well.
"I'll go first. Come up when I signal you to," Quinn tells her and then she's looping the gun strap over her head, placing the flashlight in her teeth and effortlessly climbing up the ladder.
Rachel watches from below as the blonde reaches the entrance and opens the hatch slightly, checking the area before she's pulling herself up and over. The brunette blinks as light suddenly shines in her eyes and she realizes that that's the signal. She slowly makes her way up while Quinn's flashlight lights her way.
A strong hand is offered to her as soon as she reaches the top and then the both of them are stepping into the chilly night. The container is cold under Rachel's bare feet and she shivers slightly and pulls her jacket closer to her.
Quinn clicks off the flashlight and closes the hatch and they both wait for their eyes to adjust.
"Quinn?" Rachel asks softly, because she doesn't know what they're doing up here.
The blonde shrugs her shoulders and glances around the area until she's satisfied with what she sees before taking a seat and pulling her knees close. There are only a few zombies by the generator right now and they're just there again, same like last night.
Rachel stands there uncomfortably, not sure what to do and it isn't until the blonde pats the area next to her that the smaller girl finally moves and sits next to her.
"I can't sleep," Quinn quietly tells her. They both wait and watch the zombies to see if they react to the sounds and when nothing happens they decide it's okay to talk as long as they keep their voices low.
Rachel nods at Quinn because she feels the same way. The blonde isn't looking at her though; her gaze is now fixated on whatever is above them.
Rachel finally takes in her surroundings and looks up to see what has caught Quinn's attention.
"Wow," she breathes out when she notices how many stars she can see sprinkling the sky.
"Yeah," the blonde agrees and they continue to stargaze in companionable silence.
When the singer turns to view a separate part of the sky, she finally notices the faint light coming from the southwest and she immediately grips onto Quinn's arm, alerting the blonde of what she sees.
"Quinn!" Rachel whispers harshly as she points and Quinn doesn't react and merely runs a hand through her messy blonde hair. She notices one of the zombies move but it stays by the generator so she ignores it.
"Yeah—I noticed yesterday but I didn't want to scare anyone so I didn't say anything…" the blonde sighs out. Rachel doesn't respond and continues to stare at the lights and Quinn can feel the smaller girl trembling slightly.
"Rachel?"
"Quinn," the brunette whispers softly and she sounds unsure. "Do—you were there when they were evacuating the hospital right? I remember seeing you there," she asks instead.
Quinn frowns at the random direction the conversation is headed. "Yeah, Britt and I were accompanying Santana because her parents had volunteered—I vaguely remember seeing you there too."
There's no response as Rachel struggles to organize her thoughts and just as Quinn's about to question her again, the brunette speaks once more.
"Because, that light? In the distance? That's—from the Hospital," the brunette tells her nervously. "I've been stargazing in this area numerous times and I always notice their lights simply because it always interfered with the identification of some of the dimmer constellations and I always considered it frustrating beyond belief."
They fall into silence and they can't help but shudder when another cold breeze hits them. They're not sure however, if they're shivering from the weather or from this new bit of information. Rachel shifts and moves closer to the blonde for comfort, for warmth, as they both rethink their situation.
Quinn shakes her head slowly, because yes, things are definitely way over their heads.