A/N: thanks4thereviews! (why yes, I do like clumping words together and replacing words with numbers)
ShadowCub: uhm.. i'm sorry you hate the cats and Brittany and Santana? I..duno how to respond to that.. haha
smartblonde317: I didn't think this story is that scary but I guess i'll say "just as planned!"
someone was amazing and was able to leave a review without a name... I didn't know we were able to do that.
Oh man I was gonna type all the names of ppl who reviewed because you guys are super cool but I got lazy changing from tab to tab and trying to remember how to type out your names (all those numbers and sticky letters, oh my) but do know that I do enjoy reading your reviews and I really appreciate them. Like, seriously, if I thought people didn't like my story I would totally abandon it (which is still a possibility shh)
More Faberry in this chapter. Is it going too fast I wonder? The Finn hate in the fandom is kind of funny. He's the scapegoat for the stupid stuff in this story, but he means well. Maybe.
this chapter is ridiculously long. longest one yet.. I was going to cut in it half and maybe upload it in two parts but there's no good place for it to stop at. as always, I duno how I feel about it but I duno what else to do with it so i'm updating! It is bad? maybe. maybe. I mean, is it bad? (yeah this chapter is kinda bad)
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When another nightmare wakes Quinn up for the third time that morning, she already knows that today isn't going to be a good day.
Her alarm goes off at its new preset time: 8am, and it takes her a few minutes until she reaches over and turns it off. There is no voice berating her this morning, from Santana, or any comments about the time from Kurt. Rachel is already awake (or did she not sleep?) and Brittany and her cats remain quiet, all three of them still curled around Santana.
Quinn lies there for a moment longer, unmotivated to move and wake up, because that would be admitting that yesterday wasn't a dream. But, she knows they can't just sleep here forever and eventually, she sits up.
"Rise and shine," she rasps out into the hushed room.
It's just another day in Lima, Ohio.
And another day being alive.
\-\
Quinn decides to start the day off the right way. As soon as she's finished with her morning routine and a quick rinse (they really need to find a way to shower properly), she heads on over to the storage room and looks inside. Her original purpose is to grab a gallon of water but she stops and takes a moment to check over their inventory. Her eyes gloss over the many stacked cans of food and containers of water and their supply seems indefinite, for now, but eventually they'll run out.
"Q?"
A voice breaks her from her reverie and she turns to face Brittany who's looking at her with a quizzical expression.
"Oh, sorry, am I in your way?" the cheer captain apologizes as she moves over to allow the taller blonde access to the room.
Brittany tilts her head at her but steps into the room and quickly grabs two cans of cat food and another can of pears for herself. She hesitates when she passes by Quinn again and looks like she wants to say something but shakes her head instead and walks out to the Main Room.
Quinn watches as she leaves and she's wondering what Brittany wanted to say, but knowing the other girl she will eventually find out. The blonde sighs softly and goes in to grab the water before also heading to join the others.
The rest are already gathered around the table and it's quiet as they dig into their meals out of habit rather than from hunger. Quinn beelines toward the coffee machine she had cleaned out yesterday and sets it on the floor by one of the outlets and in a few minutes the smell of coffee is permeating through the air.
"That smells divine," Kurt points out as he moves from his seat to join Quinn on the ground as they watch the coffee drip down.
Quinn nods in agreement and she can't help but think how it's only times like these that people really stop to enjoy the little things in life.
When the coffee is ready, the cups that were left in Rachel's bag are promptly dug out, cleaned, and then passed around.
As Quinn takes her first sip, the coffee is bitter and tastes awful but for some reason she thinks it's the best she has ever had.
"I wish we had some milk," Brittany mentions as she takes in another mouthful. She almost spits it out though when it burns her tongue. "Ow."
"You gotta wait for it to cool down a bit, Britts," Santana tells her. She hands the taller blonde her own cup that she has been blowing on to cool and Brittany smiles at her in thanks before accepting it.
"Perhaps we can find some sugar and powdered cream later. They're not entirely ideal for the health conscious but it will definitely be better than nothing," Rachel suggests as she drinks her own coffee while reading over the packaging.
Puck tries his and shudders at the bitterness. "Yeah, definitely need some sugar at least."
Finn places his own untouched cup down. He never really did like coffee much. "So, what are we going to do today?" he asks instead.
Looks are thrown around before all eyes land on the blonde that is slowly sipping at her coffee and ignoring the rest of the world surrounding her.
Eventually, she feels their gazes on her and she raises an eyebrow as she lowers her cup onto the table.
"We were wondering what our plans will be today, Quinn," Rachel informs her but she gives her an expectant look and the blonde knows that Rachel wants to discuss what they saw last night with the others.
Quinn sighs as she glances over to Santana and Brittany because she's not sure how they're feeling today. She herself feels sluggish and despite the usual energy that Rachel seems to be exuding, the blonde can tell she's only pretending to be okay; she seems to be really good at that for some reason.
"Well…I was thinking we should go get some more uh, stuff, or something," Finn tells them and Quinn stares at him because she already knows what 'stuff' he plans to get.
Rachel immediately gives him a glare because she understands as well and he deflates at her response.
"Before we converse for the proceedings of today, Quinn and I have some rather grim news that we need to inform you all of. Quinn?" the smaller brunette turns to the blonde, leaving the conversation open for her.
The cheer captain taps at her half empty cup distractedly and chances a quick glance at the new watch on her wrist, making a quick note of the time. She doesn't know how to tell them what they found out and she's especially dreading how Santana will react. Despite her fierce personality, she was actually quite close to her parents.
Yup, this was definitely not going to end well.
The blonde clears her throat and decides to just get it over with.
"Okay, well. The other night, I had trouble sleeping so I went outside to check things out and—"
"Wait, you went outside by yourself?" Santana interrupts as she looks at her captain who shrugs.
"Well, yeah. I'm still here so obviously nothing happened—"
"Regardless, that is very careless Quinn! You should have—"
"Okay, I kind of already mentioned this last night Rachel—"
"Yes, but I was upset at the time and now that I've had the chance to recover—"
"Wait, so both you and Rachel went somewhere last night?"
"We had trouble sleeping Finn, and Quinn merely brought me outside to stargaze—"
"Whoa, is that like some kind of secret code for something? That is so hot."
"Noah! That is inappropriate—"
"I've always suspected some kind of tension between you two—"
"Me and San stargaze all the time then."
"Britts—"
"Okay! Stop! All of you!" Quinn shouts out as she slaps her hands on the table for emphasis. The items on the table all rattle slightly and some of Finn's coffee spills onto the wooden surface.
The conversation halts and they all look at the blonde who is shaking her head in frustration. She takes a few breaths to calm down and continues.
"Okay, listen. This—this, whatever that Rachel and I found out? It's serious okay? And I didn't want to tell you guys because—you know, this whole thing we're in and everything…" her voice trails off and Rachel gives her an encouraging look and Quinn shakes her head again before speaking once more.
"The other day I noticed that there's a separate set of lights that's still on in the city—"
"Wait, isn't that a good thing though?" Finn asks, once again interrupting. "Lights mean that there are other people! That means we—Ow!"
Santana withdraws her hand and places it on the table. "Shut up, Finnonence. Let Q talk already."
Quinn gives her a nod in gratitude. "Yeah, technically we should be jumping at the news. Problem is… the major problem here is that those lights? They're coming from the southwest."
Everyone is quiet as they take in the news.
"But—but isn't the southwest…?" Brittany asks, sounding confused.
"Also, it's not confirmed—but Rachel says that the lights are coming from the hospital in that direction."
"Quinn, I know that it's definitely—"
"Wait, wait," Santana holds up a hand as she tries to wrap her head around the words. "The hospital? As in, St. Rita's Hospital? As in, the hospital my parents work at?"
"It's—I'm not sure what it means, S, but yes that hospital—"
"No. No. Clearly you are mistaken," Santana says as she stands up, her voice getting louder as she talks. "There's no way that the lights can be coming from the hospital. They cleared that place out three weeks ago. Shut off all the electricity—all the equipment—everything!"
"I know S, but those lights—"
"No. No. I don't know what you two saw or what Berry claims to have seen, but it's obvious that you two seriously need your eyes checked because there is no freaking way—"
"Santana, I understand that this information is upsetting but—"
"Listen, hobbit, what I'm upset about here is—"
"S, calm down okay? We don't know for sure if it's really coming from—"
"No, you definitely know for sure that it's not coming from the hospital because it's not!"
"When's the last time you contacted your parents, Santana?" Rachel asks her calmly and Santana freezes as she stares hard at the smaller brunette.
"She—she said she talked to them a few days ago, didn't you, San?" Brittany answers for her but she looks away.
"…Your parents aren't the only ones that volunteered, Santana, and there are so many factors and deviations about the truth—"
"No, forget this, I'm not sticking around for this," Santana starts moving away from the table and Quinn stands, reaching out to grab her arm to stop her but she quickly shrugs her off. "Don't, Q, alright? Don't make me hits you."
Quinn lowers her hand and Santana walks back to the sleeping area because there's nowhere else to go. Brittany stands and gives the other blonde a questioning glance before she follows after her.
"Well, that went rather well?" Kurt comments idly as he sets aside his coffee for his canned peaches.
"Extremely," Quinn sighs out as she drops back down into her seat.
"Quinn," Rachel turns to regard the blonde and she's angry and upset that she hadn't defended her. "I know what I saw, I told you that—"
"Rachel," Quinn looks at her tiredly. "I know what you saw, and I know what I saw too. But—there's no use jumping to conclusions—okay? I've been thinking about it and what—what if it just so happens to be another building, that's in the same direction? We don't know for sure it's coming from the hospital."
The smaller brunette stares at her for a second before she shakes her head slowly; she really thought she and Quinn were becoming friends but it's obvious the blonde still doesn't completely trust her.
"I believe you, Rachel," Finn speaks up and she turns to look at her boyfriend, giving him a smile. She can't help but feel the frustration though, because Quinn saying that would have meant so much more.
"Okay," Puck says as he places his food down. "What does this all mean then?"
Quinn shrugs because she doesn't know. She reaches for her coffee and sips absently at the now cooling liquid.
"I think, we should go check it out," Finn suggests as everyone, except Quinn, turns to look at him. "I-I mean, if there's other people there, maybe we should go see and maybe they have like, a way to get out of here!"
"I highly doubt that, Finn," Quinn says as she swishes her coffee around.
"How do you know that, Quinn?" he says angrily. He's tired of her constant insults and her know-it-all attitude. "Rachel says the hospital is still lit up—there has to be survivors there. The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get out of here and away from all this! Who knows what we'll miss if we wait any longer!"
"He has a point, Quinn," the smaller brunette says to the cheer captain. "We need to at least determine what those lights mean. We'll—wait for Brittany to placate Santana and then, and then all of us should go there and—"
"No," Finn interrupts her. "I say that just, me and the guys should go. After what happened yesterday—what you girls all saw, it'd be better for us to go anyways. You should stay here, and—and recover or whatever, get your earrings straightened out or however they say it; it'll be better with a smaller group anyways."
"Finn! Regardless of your obvious chauvinistic comment, you are not suggesting that only you and Puck and Kurt continue on this dangerous endeavor by yourselves! Do you know what happened when our forces were divided? I will not allow you to—"
"Wait, what? You won't allow me to go, Rachel?" the football player looks at her incredulously and she takes a step back as his anger is turned to her. "This-this, everything!" he says frustrated as he throws his hands up. "I wasn't there for you Rachel, yesterday, and there's no way I'm going to place you in danger, not again," he says to her and she shakes her head before turning back to Quinn.
"Quinn, you're the leader—what do you think we should do?"
The blonde looks over to Rachel and then her eyes are on Finn. "Truthfully, I think we should let Santana calm down for right now. I'd give her at least a day—Brittany as well—what happened… it's not something someone can easily brush aside. I agree though that we'll need to check out those lights. It's Finn's choice if he wants to go today—I'd advise against it but ultimately, it's up to him," she tells them.
"Quinn!"
"Puck, man, you in?" Finn asks as he looks to his best friend who shakes his head.
"I say this is a bad idea, but, I can't let you go alone. I got your back, man," the mohawked boy says as he claps Finn on the shoulder.
The football captain turns to look at Kurt.
"Oh? So now you're admitting that I am of the same gender as you, Finn?" he asks, still slightly bitter, and Finn looks at him pleadingly. "Fine," Kurt agrees, because he can never say no to those eyes.
"Alright, let's get ready to head out then," Finn says earnestly as they start gathering their gear.
"Finn!" Rachel shouts at him and he smiles at her.
"Don't worry, Rachel, we'll get out of here soon. I promise," and he kisses her cheek before grabbing for his gun.
"Noah. Kurt," she tries to appeal to the other two and they shake their heads because their decision is already made.
As a last resort she turns back to Quinn but the blonde ignores her and Rachel can only watch as the three finish packing up and slowly start climbing up the ladder.
"Finn," Quinn calls out suddenly and Rachel feels hope that maybe the cheer captain is going to stop them. "Take a walkie-talkie, just in case. The range isn't that far but it's better than nothing," she tells him instead and Finn nods before placing one in his belt and then they're gone.
The smaller brunette stares up at the now closed hatch and only her and Quinn are left in the room.
She waits for a moment and then whirls and faces Quinn.
"Why didn't you stop them?" she asks furiously.
Quinn glances up at her and meets the small brunette's glare with her own.
"And what did you want me to say?" she bites out, just as heatedly. "Finn, no, you shouldn't go, you're going to get yourselves killed. Yeah, like he's going to listen to that. They're not kids, Rachel. They know what they're doing—they—"
"No! No they don't! They still think this is all some kind of video game and—"
"He's your boyfriend now, Rachel! It's not my fault that he wants to play the hero, okay? If anything, the fact that he's even here is your fa—" the blonde cuts herself off abruptly but the damage has already been done.
Rachel looks at her, eyes wide as the guilt stabs her suddenly when she realizes that it is her fault. If Finn and Puck hadn't come looking for her, they wouldn't even be here now. They would be in Indiana, safe and sound with the others. With their family.
"Rachel, I didn't mean to—I'm—" Quinn tries to apologize but the smaller brunette struggles to keep her composure and stops her.
"No, no," she whispers out as she shakes her head. "It-it is my fault, if it wasn't for me…" her voice trails off and Quinn stares at her awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Quinn, but can you—?" she fights back a sob and the blonde feels horrible as she stands up and nods.
"I'll—I need to set the solar lights outside, anyways," she says softly. She quickly grabs her backpack and packs it with the lights and a walkie-talkie before she slings her weapon on and makes her way up the ladder.
Rachel waits until the entrance is closed and Quinn is gone before she takes a seat at the table and quietly sobs into her hands.
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"Hey, you sure about this?" Puck asks as they start their way to the path that leads to the southwest.
There's supposedly a barricade blocking off the area but considering the amount of zombies that have appeared, there's most likely an opening somewhere and that's where they're headed.
"Look, it's time for us to man up. We can't keep letting the girls do everything, alright?" Finn tells him.
"I still think this is a terrible idea," Kurt says to him as he adjusts the gun strap. "I, for one, think we should wait for the others and plan something instead—"
Finn holds out a hand suddenly. "Hey, you guys hear that?"
Puck and Kurt both stop to listen.
"It…it sounds like someone screaming?" Kurt says nervously.
"This way!"
\-\
"San?" Brittany pokes her head into the room and looks over to their shared bed and she sees the other girl petting Charity distractedly. She notices that Santana never really bothers with Lord Tubbington though. They didn't get along for some reason and the taller blonde never understood why.
Santana doesn't say anything but gives her a small smile in acknowledgement.
Brittany waits for a minute before walking over and joining her on the bed.
"Hey," Brittany tries again.
"...Hey."
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"Wow, way to go, Fabray," Quinn mutters to herself as she sits and settles herself onto the roof of the container.
The hatch is closed and the lights are spread out to the side of the container. Her gun and radio are placed beside her as she stares around the parking lot. She notices that there are a few more zombies around the generator and she watches them for a few minutes before turning away. She still has no idea why they're there, but she has a feeling they'll find out eventually.
Hopefully it won't be too late by then.
Quinn sighs and leans back until she's lying down and facing the sky overhead. It's actually a nice and sunny day with a few clouds hanging in the sky; too nice really, considering everything. She squints slightly at the sunlight but thinks it feels nice to have the warmth on her face. She brings her right arm up and covers her eyes as she soaks in the sun.
Time passes, and just as Quinn is drifting off to sleep, she hears the hatch creak open and she moves her arm slightly, turning her head to see who has joined her. A moment later, Brittany pulls herself up from the entrance and Quinn is slightly disappointed because she had wanted to apologize to Rachel, but it seems like the smaller brunette is still avoiding her.
"Hey, Q," Brittany says to her cheer captain as she closes the opening and moves to sit next to her.
Quinn sits up and rubs at her eyes drowsily before nodding to the other blonde. "Hey, B. What's up?"
Brittany is quiet and pulls her knees up as she stares straight ahead.
"Where's Santana?" Quinn asks instead, because it was rare seeing them not together.
"She's still in bed, sulking," Brittany finally responds as she turns to face the other girl. "Q?"
Quinn looks at her curiously. "Yeah, B?"
"I…I heard you and Rachel arguing earlier…" she tells her and the cheer captain can't help but feel guilty.
"I didn't mean to—"
"Do you really think it's Rachel's fault that Finn and Puck are here?" Brittany asks her instead and the words die from Quinn's mouth as she looks at the taller blonde who clearly seems upset. It takes her a second to realize what she's alluding to and Quinn's immediately shaking her head.
"B, no, I don't think—"
"Because, because…then isn't it my fault you and San are here then?" Brittany says in a small voice as she buries her face in her knees.
'Yeah, way to go, Fabray,' Quinn reprimands herself before she sighs softly. If Santana wasn't downstairs brooding, she would've been up here, ripping her a new one.
"Listen, Britt," the cheer captain tells her seriously and she waits until the taller blonde lifts her head before continuing. "It was my own choice and S's own choice to stay behind with you, you know that right?"
"But—"
"Finn and Puck?" Quinn pushes on, not letting Brittany interrupt. "They're the same. What I said to Rachel, I just—I wasn't thinking clearly. If anything, it's whoever threw Rachel into that dumpster, it's their fault. Whoever thought that during an evacuation is the best time to pull a prank on someone? They're the ones who deserve to be here more than anyone else."
"But—"
"No 'buts' Britt! We're all here because we chose to be, okay? No one forced us to stay here and you know S, Britt, she would never do something unless she wanted to."
Brittany wavers but eventually nods because she knows it's true.
"Come here, B," Quinn says as she holds out her arms. The taller blonde gives her a watery smile and moves until she's leaning into her cheer captain's embrace.
"I'm scared, Q," Brittany confesses quietly as Quinn continues to hold her. "A-after what happened at the mall, a-and what happened to those people…I'm scared…what if, what if that happens to us—and—"
"Stop Britt, it'll be okay, alright?" Quinn comforts her. "You know why no one at McKinley ever messed with us?"
Brittany looks over at her and thinks for a moment before responding. "Because both of you have such good defense mechanisms and if anyone got close enough to hurt us, you or S would make them cry by attacking their weaknesses and pointing out all their flaws?" Pause. "That, or, Coach would have probably done something illegal to them."
Quinn gives Brittany a smile and leans to rest her head on the taller blonde's shoulder.
"Yeah, something like that," she agrees. "These zombies here? They're going to be same; we're gonna find out their weaknesses and we'll get them before they get us. No one, dead or alive, messes with the Cheerios."
"Yeah," Brittany echoes softly and continues to remain in Quinn's reassuring hold. "Q?"
"Uh huh."
"I think you should tell Rachel that, too, and maybe give her a hug. She was still crying earlier, before I came up here," the taller blonde informs her and she can feel Quinn sigh.
"Yeah, I should, shouldn't I?"
"Uh huh," Brittany nods. "Your hugs aren't as nice as mine, but I think Rachel will still like them.
Quinn chuckles lightly because Brittany's comments always amused her to no end.
Their moment is interrupted though, when they hear shouting towards the school and both blondes turn to look.
"Is that Finn?" Brittany asks as moves away from Quinn. "What's he doing?"
Quinn grabs her rifle and uses the scope to zoom in and she can see Finn waving his arms at her, trying to get their attention. "No idea—" she starts to say but then Puck and Kurt finally step into view and Quinn almost drops her gun when she notices that Kurt is covered in blood.
The cheer captain curses under her breath and lowers the rifle. "Britt, go get S and Rachel up here. I don't care if you need to drag her by her hair—get both of them up here. And tell them to bring their guns and all the ammo we have," she orders the taller blonde.
"Q?" Brittany asks fearfully.
"B, go, now," she tells her again and the other cheerleader is quickly throwing open the hatch and descending down into their shelter.
Quinn slings the gun strap over her head and she's practically jumping off the container to meet up with the other three.
\-\
"What happened?" she asks as soon as she's close enough. Finn's shaking his head and keeps looking back behind them so Quinn turns to Puck and Kurt. "Why didn't you use the walkie-talkie?"
"It-it's not my blood," Kurt manages to utter out as Puck tries to guide them all forward.
"Halfway there, we ran into some survivors," Puck explains as they start moving towards the container. "One of them was injured already, and then all these zombies—they freaking came out of nowhere. We tried to save him, and then this, this zombie just—tackles him and it bites his throat open and the blood splattered everywhere and Kurt was the closest and some of it got on him. We had to ditch the walkie-talkie too; blood got on that as well."
They continue their way up the ladder and Quinn is quiet because she can only see the blood that's splattered all around Kurt's face. Around his eyes, his nose, his mouth. They know so little about the infections, about how they're spread and everything…
"Kurt!" Rachel cries out as soon as she steps out from the shelter and Quinn can see her eyes are still red and puffy. "Wh-what happened?" she asks him.
"It's-it's not my blood," he explains once more and Rachel is trembling as she merely stares.
"Okay why the hell—Ay Dios Mio—" Santana interrupts when she notices the blood on Kurt.
"What happe—Oh, no, Kurt!" Brittany gapes at him when she sees him.
Kurt shakes his head and is about to explain again but stops when he feels himself gagging because he can still feel the blood on his face.
"Q! The zombies from the generator—" Santana tells her suddenly and sure enough that small mob is moving towards them.
Quinn isn't worried about them however, and she brings up her gun and faces it towards the school. Finn mimics her and they both watch as zombie after zombie after zombie appears from around the corner.
"We have a bigger problem," she tells them as the crowd continues to grow.
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Quinn has them leave the container because the number of zombies are increasing and they need to keep them from blocking the school and trapping them in. They kill the mob from the generator easily before clearing the path to the front of the building and she has them stay around the area by the stairs.
"There's so many of them," Rachel says as she struggles to reload her gun. Her hands are shaking and she can't align the equipment properly.
"It's…it's the smell, or whatever," Quinn tells them as she snipes at the ones in the further back, leaving the closer zombies to the others.
"We kill one, five more replaces it," Santana notes as she continues to shoot through the mob. "Why the hell did you lead them here, Finnept!"
"We weren't just going to leave Kurt!" Finn tells her.
"Well, maybe you should have—"
"Santana!" Rachel stares at Santana who shrugs.
"Is there anything we can do to stop it?" Finn asks instead.
Puck is silent as he continues to hit zombie after zombie and Quinn thinks that his accuracy is almost as good as her own. Maybe those games were good for something after all.
The cheer captain glances over to Kurt. He has managed to wipe the blood from his face but his clothes are stained with red and Quinn watches him for a moment longer before turning back at the mob.
"The blood, they're attracted to the blood," she mutters out and Santana lifts her eyebrow at her.
"I think that's already been established, Q," Santana tells her before she's reloading her own gun just as Rachel finally manages to push the new magazine in.
"We need to—to get the smell away," Quinn tells them. "At this rate, we'll eventually be overwhelmed and they'll just keep coming no matter what we do. We need to get rid of the smell, somehow."
"How would we do that?" Puck grunts out as he stops to reload as Santana steps back in.
Quinn thinks and both she and Rachel come to the same conclusion at the same time.
"Bleach."
"It's what the hospitals use for disinfectant!" the smaller brunette explains. "Hydrogen peroxide can be used as well; it's a lot more environmentally friendly than bleach and—"
"Okay, bleach and hydrogen peroxide," Quinn interrupts because they don't have time to listen to a long rant. "There should still be plenty inside the school."
"The janitor's closet has a bunch!" Brittany informs her. "Whenever me and San go in there we always see them and—"
"Yeah, the janitor's closet," Santana interjects quickly before Brittany embarrasses them even further.
"Hydrogen peroxide, they should have in the nurse's office," Rachel tells her and Quinn nods.
"Yeah, I had to use some to treat Santana scratches the other day. I saw a few bottles in there."
"So we're going to bleach them?" Kurt asks as he shakily fires and misses another shot.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to head into the school and grab all the bleach I can find. Kurt," Quinn turns to him and he stops shooting to look at her. "You need to get rid of your clothes and you need to wash off that blood on you. Wiping it down is not going to work; that smell or whatever is definitely still on you."
"A shower—a shower sounds good," Kurt nods in agreement.
"Puck, go back to the shelter and grab as many of the gallon bottles of water you can and bring them back here. Finn, you're going to follow Kurt and help him wash up—"
"Wait! Help him wash up? Like—Like help him shower? As in he'll be without clothes?" Finn asks in surprise.
Everyone stops firing their guns to stare at him before turning back to the zombies.
"Finn!" Rachel shouts at him angrily.
"What?"
"Okay, we'll disregard your blatant homophobia for now, Finn; Puck, you up to the challenge?" Quinn asks the other football player who shrugs.
"Yeah, as long as I don't gotta join him, it's cool."
"Wow, I feel so loved," Kurt says sarcastically.
"Okay, Puck, go get the water—and some of Kurt's extra clothes and bring it back here. Kurt, you wait for him to show up and then you guys go into the school and wash off in the boys shower."
"Wouldn't it be easier for me to wash off in the shower room inside the shelter?" Kurt points out and Quinn pauses before answering.
"No, in case this doesn't work we don't want them following the smell inside; at least this way they'll go into the school instead and if worse comes to worst we can hide underground."
Kurt seems satisfied with the explanation and he turns back to the task at hand.
"Alright, water," Puck nods but before he can move away Quinn grabs him and pulls him close.
"Listen, I want you to keep an eye on Kurt, just in case," she tells him quietly and he looks at her before glancing to the other boy whose attention is focused on the zombies in front.
Puck keeps his voice low. "You…don't think…?"
"We—don't know for sure, but…" Quinn says and he sighs softly and nods.
"Okay."
"Go get the stuff," she orders him and he takes off running to the shelter, easily dodging around the already dead zombies.
"Alright, the rest of you, keep it up and I'm going to get the bleach—I'll be back as soon as I can. Britt," Quinn looks to the other blonde who glances at her before aiming for another headshot. "You're in charge until I get back."
Finn wants to protest but a glare from Quinn silences him.
" 'Kay," Brittany agrees easily and the cheer captain nods to her before she turns and unlocks the school door with her key. She barely remembers to kick down the doorstop before she's stepping in and sprinting to the janitor's closet.
/-/
"Their numbers are endless—how—I always thought more people evacuated than this," Rachel murmurs out as she reloads her gun. She's getting used to it and her accuracy is increasing as she calms down.
Santana glances at her and she's about to say something when Brittany stops her.
"San, please, not now, okay?" the blonde begs her and she barely manages to hold back her comment.
"And that is why Brittany is in charge," Kurt says from the side as he gives Finn a pointed look.
The football captain grudgingly nods because he knew he would never be able to do that.
\-\
Quinn manages to find around ten bottles in the closet and she places it into the hallway leading to the exit before she quickly swings back and heads over to the cafeteria. She figures there has to be more in there considering the lunch workers need to keep the kitchen clean as well. She manages to find one almost full container and one that's half empty but thinks that it's better than nothing before she places it down besides the other ones.
She's not sure if they have enough though and quickly runs over to the nurse's office to grab the hydrogen peroxide. She doesn't know how safe it is to mix both chemicals but figures the alternative is better than dealing with the never ending zombie mob.
As she's making her way back to the hallway with the bottles in her arms she sees Puck and Kurt heading to the locker room.
"Hey," she calls out to them and they turn to her in surprise.
"You scared me!" Kurt says as he grabs at his chest and Puck immediately lowers his gun. Quinn brushes it off before she hands them two bottles of hydrogen peroxide.
"Dilute this with some of that water and pour it on yourself—as well as on your clothes; we want to make sure the smell is completely gone. Find a bag to dump the clothes in too; I think I saw some in the janitor's closet. We'll bury them later or throw it out somewhere. When you're done, come back out and join us. Hopefully we'll have stopped them by then," she tells them and they nod before splitting up.
Quinn quickly moves and transports the rest of the bleach to the front exit and then she's pulling the door open and checking out the situation.
"How's the mob?" she asks as she looks at the alarming amount of dead zombies gathered around them.
"They're not stopping," Brittany tells her as she moves to reload.
"Ammo?"
"Still good, but we'll need to restock when we're done," Santana replies.
"Okay," she nods slowly. "I managed to find 11 and a half bottles of bleach and hopefully that's enough. Rachel," she turns to the smaller brunette and watches as she fires another shot, hitting a zombie center in the forehead before she turns to the blonde.
"Yes, Quinn?" there's detachment in her voice and Quinn's only glad that Rachel is willing to put aside their argument for the time being.
Quinn shakes her head. "Okay, you're a pretty good shot, but regardless, I need you to take like two or three bottles and pour them around the perimeter of the container and around the top; we need to make sure they aren't attracted to the shelter for sure."
"Okay," Rachel nods quickly and shoulders her gun before she takes two bottles and runs to the container.
"Everyone else, we're gonna slowly move out and I'm going to pour the bleach as far from the school as possible; we want to cut them off from whatever's bringing them here and make sure that they don't completely bottleneck us to trap us in here."
"Lead the way, Q," Santana says as she grabs one of the extra guns and exchanges her current one for it; the other one kept sticking and she doesn't want to deal with that during a crucial time.
"Britt, you're on sniping duties so we'll trade guns for now," Quinn tells the other blonde and they switch off. "Finn, help me carry the rest of the bottles," she orders him as she grabs four and he easily carries the remaining six, including the half filled one, in his arms.
"Okay, S, B, clear the way for us."
"Way ahead of you, Q," Santana states and she and Brittany unload their bullets into zombie after zombie as they continue to step haphazardly around the prone bodies.
"Uh, are they really dead?" Finn asks anxiously as he steps over another twitching zombie; the further they go the more the floor is littered with them and it's getting harder to find empty areas for them to walk on.
"Hopefully," Quinn tells him and he gulps in fear before following quickly behind her.
A hand suddenly grabs at Quinn's leg and she almost trips headfirst into a pile of zombies but she barely manages to regain her footing and then there's a gunshot sounding behind them as Brittany easily takes him out.
She needs to remember to thank the taller blonde later.
They step around more carefully and there are a few more attempts for a quick bite from some not so dead zombies before Quinn finally thinks that they're far enough and she stops them.
"Okay, you guys make sure none of the zombies get past this area and I'll pour the bleach. I'm going to start here and we're going to make our way back to the school. Cross your fingers and hope this works," she tells them as she uncaps the first bottle and starts pouring.
/-/
Kurt is glad that he's used to showering in the locker rooms otherwise he's pretty sure this would be extremely awkward as he strips off his clothes in front of Puck.
"Time to start washing, Hummel," Puck tells him as he twists off the lid to the water and gestures to it.
"Okay, okay, no need to be pushy," Kurt says as he grabs one of the half empty bottles of peroxide and opens it. "Pour some in here; it needs to be diluted first before I use it on myself."
Puck complies and Kurt mixes it around before he pours the bottle in his hair and makes sure to wash his face with the blend. He quickly signals to the football player to pour the water on him and they quickly go through one gallon of water as he rinses the remains of the hydrogen peroxide off his body.
"Ugh, I have a feeling it's definitely going to lighten my hair," Kurt says as he shivers at the chill of the water and when he opens his eyes he sees Puck staring at him.
"What? Did I miss a spot?"
The mohawked boy shakes his head and discards the empty bottle before reaching for another one.
"Quinn thinks that maybe you've been infected," he informs him and Kurt freezes.
"Is…is that why she had you follow me?" he asks quietly and Puck shrugs.
"That's one the reasons but I'm pretty sure she was just making sure you weren't by yourself and you definitely need help with your shower anyways."
Kurt is silent as he nods and he reaches for some soap they had found in his locker.
"I'm sorry man," Puck tells him softly and Kurt shakes his head before he gestures for the football player to pour some water.
"It's…it's fine," he sighs out and they finish the rest of the shower in silence.
\-\
The smell of bleach is strong and by the time Quinn is pouring the fourth bottle she feels like the smell is permanently infused inside her nose.
"That—is so strong," Finn coughs out as he fires another shot.
"That's the whole point, Finnept," Santana says irately as she stops to reload once more.
Rachel has finished her own job and has already rejoined them. She pauses in between shots to take a deep breath through her shirt that is pulled up to cover her mouth and nose to try and filter out the fumes.
"Gross, it feels like my mouth tastes like bleach," Brittany complains as she makes a disgusted face before aiming for another zombie.
"Yeah," Quinn agrees as she throws the now empty bottle to the side and quickly opens another one. "Does it seem like it's working though?" she asks because she's too busy pouring to check out their situation.
"Hey—yeah! I think it's working," Finn says enthusiastically as he uses his scope to look further down the path. The amount of zombies seems to be tapering off and there aren't as many ambling towards them.
"Good," the cheer captain sighs in relief but regrets it when she's coughing almost immediately after.
"Hey, how's it looking?" Puck asks when he and the freshly washed and dressed Kurt reunite with the group.
Kurt waves his hand in the air trying to push the smell away. "Wow, that stinks."
"Yeah, but it's working," Quinn informs them and the two move to join in the line of defense as they slowly move back, towards the school.
By the time they reach the front steps of the building, the smell of bleach is everywhere but thankfully the zombies have finally stopped appearing and the only ones remaining are the ones lying on the ground.
"Ugh, I'm definitely getting light headed," Quinn says as she takes a seat on the top step right beside the untouched bottles of hydrogen peroxide.
She figures they'll just save it in case they need it later. They will definitely need to stock up on more bleach though, even though Quinn hopes they won't need to use it again.
"We should head to a better ventilated area," Rachel tells them anxiously. "Inhalation of the fumes could lead to serious repercussions and—"
"The school is probably okay," Quinn interrupts her as she pulls herself up and opens the door.
The rest follow her and step inside. They make sure to lock the door behind them and then they're walking into the quiet building. A sigh relief is released when they can finally breathe and the smell of bleach is a faint memory.
Before they can move further in, Quinn stops them and turns to Kurt.
"Kurt," she looks to him and he nods miserably.
"Puck told me," he says as he twists his hands nervously and Quinn sighs.
"Wait, what's wrong?" Finn asks as he looks over to them.
"Quinn—thinks that I might be infected," Kurt tells them and Rachel gasps.
"No! Kurt—Quinn, how—how do you know for sure?" the smaller brunette questions immediately.
The blonde shakes her head. "I'm just—this is just a guess on my part okay?" she tells everyone as she glances around. "There's not much we know about the zombies—is it caused by bacteria? A virus? Only thing we're sure about it is that it's not an airborne illness, otherwise we'd have all been zombies by now," she explains and Brittany looks at Kurt sadly and he gives her a small smile.
"Yeah—but in those movies, the games, it's only if you're bitten that you become a zombie," Finn adds in.
"Listen, those movies and stuff? Yeah, sure, you can believe them but this is not a movie, Finn," she says as she motions around them. "If it's some kind of virus or something, it could be spread by—by a number of things. The fact that they told us that our water might be contaminated? What exactly is it contaminated with? Is the disease spreading through the water? Did a zombie fall into the water source or something?"
No one knows and they remain quiet as they look over to Kurt who tries to look unaffected.
"All I know is that the blood that got on Kurt—the person was already injured right?" Quinn asks them and they nod. "Was he bitten?"
"Yeah, a zombie had taken a good chunk of his leg before he had escaped earlier," Puck answers her.
"He was already bitten by a zombie, and if his blood was already infected—there are some sicknesses that can be spread through contact with the eyes, the nose, the mouth—and unfortunately that blood was all over Kurt's face. It's true—I'm only speculating and there's maybe a 50% chance that Kurt isn't infected—but we have to make sure, just in case. I don't know how long until whatever happens but—"
"It takes around two days," Santana speaks up as she ignores everyone's questioning glances. "My dad was one of the first to encounter one of the initial patients in the area—it's why they wanted him to volunteer for the evacuation."
Quinn looks at her, thankful for the information. "S, did your dad mention how the disease is spread or anything?"
Santana shakes her head. "No, he only mentioned it 'cause the infected changed so fast—he only told me to be careful."
Quinn nods. "Okay, we have 48 hours then," she tells them quietly. "A little bit less than 48, actually, since a few hours have already passed," she says as she glances at the watch on her wrist. "I'm sorry Kurt, but we're going to need to quarantine you until we're sure you're okay."
Kurt tries to shrug it off as Finn looks at him guiltily.
"This is all my fault—if I hadn't dragged him along this never would have happened," he says.
"Wow, Captain Obvious, is there anything else you'd like to tell us?" Santana asks him mockingly. "Maybe something about how gay Kurt is, or how short Berry is? Even better, maybe you—"
"Hey, maybe if you weren't too busy moping around—"
"Santana! Finn! There are more important matters at hand rather than playing the blaming game!" Rachel shouts out to them.
"That doesn't sound like a fun game," Brittany comments uneasily.
The smaller brunette chooses to ignore her and continues on. "I hope you don't plan on locking him in some room by himself, Quinn, to serve as a means of quarantine," she asks the blonde who shakes her head.
"No, I was just thinking we can keep Kurt up on the school roof. There's enough space there to accommodate one of the cots, and the nights are still kind of cold, but with the moon and stuff he won't feel as confined compared to if he was just placed in one of the classrooms," she tells them and Kurt is relieved because that sounded a lot better than just being shoved into a room.
"That's a splendid idea, Quinn!" Rachel agrees. "I also propose that we establish shifts to keep Kurt company. I know that we should be concentrating on finding a means to escape from here, but it's not his fault that this happened, and I can't imagine how it would feel like to face this all alone."
Kurt looks at her, touched by the sentiment.
"All in favor of taking turns to keep Kurt company?" Quinn asks but she doesn't need to count the votes; it's unanimous.
/-/
"Okay, so me and Rachel should be a team and—"
"And what would be the basis of that decision, Finn?" Rachel asks him as she places her hands on her hips and glares at him.
"Uh, well, I figured since, you know, we haven't had a chance to really spend time together and—"
"Really? And exactly why do you think we haven't, really?"
"Uh..."
Quinn yawns into her freshly washed hands and everyone else sighs as they stand around waiting for Finn and Rachel to finish their argument on who should team up. When Rachel wanted to team up with Finn earlier, he didn't want to team up with her, and now that he wants to team up with her, she doesn't want to team up with him.
They are a frustrating couple, that's for sure.
"Alrights, old ladies, enough of your bickering already," Santana cuts in because she's tired of listening to them. "We'll just use the same teams we had yesterday, simple as that."
"Wait, but—"
"Nuh uh, Finessa! You already lost your chance with this, so suck it up and shut it up already. You don't gets to say anything 'bout this, alright? Who do you thinks to blame for this happening to Kurt anyway?"
Rachel shifts uncomfortably when she hears Santana's accusing words and Quinn knows that she needs to apologize the first chance she gets.
With that it's finally settled and they decide to split the shifts for the first day in six hour increments. Finn and Puck take the first, Santana and Brittany are next for the evening shift and Quinn and Rachel have the early morning shift. The watches Quinn found yesterday are distributed to everyone as a means to keep track of the time and they all set their alarms to their respective time slots.
Everyone helps with the setup on the roof and Kurt's cot, blankets and pillow are carried up and Quinn places a few solar lamps around for use as a night light later.
When they're done, they all gather and sit on the floor of the roof in a circle as they eat their lunch together. Everything feels like a normal meal, except for the gun resting cautiously besides Quinn; in reach just in case.
Despite the circumstances though, Kurt can't help but smile because he never would have figured that all these people would have cared enough about him.
"Thank you," he tells them as tears gather in his eyes.
"Oh, Kurt," Rachel looks at him and it's obvious that she wants to hug him but a hand from Quinn stops her. She merely settles for giving him a smile and he understands.
"It's too bad we couldn't have done this, before, you know," Brittany says as she leans into Santana.
"Yeah," Quinn agrees. "Something about eating on the roof is nice. Freeing, even."
"All that's missing is a good song," Puck says regretfully as he thinks about his discarded guitar in his room. He knows there are still instruments in the school but it doesn't really matter because it's not like they can afford to make much noise anyways.
"We would have been competing in Sectionals soon," Rachel notes wistfully.
"We would have won it, easily," Finn adds in.
Santana scoffs. "Oh please, Finnept, with you and smurfette over there leading the team? We would have crashed faster than you during your driver's ed test."
"Hey, I think—"
"Okay, okay," Quinn interrupts because this is not how they should be spending Kurt's possible last moments.
She finishes off her carrots and places the container down. Everyone else is also done with their food and they all seem reluctant to leave. Quinn looks over to Finn and Puck.
"You guys ready for your shift?" she asks them.
"Yeah," Finn says to her while Puck nods.
"Okay, those of us that have the later shift should get some rest; don't worry, we'll all have our time with Kurt," she tells them.
"Yup, there's enough Kurt Hummel to go around for all!" he jokes and everyone smiles, even Santana, although Brittany and Rachel look like they're about to cry right after.
One by one they all stand and the four girls wave to Kurt before they head down the stairs and back into the school.
"This…this is so messed up," Santana says angrily as they walk through the empty hallways.
No one knows how to respond but they all agree. The situation is definitely spiraling out of their control and it's not the first time that Quinn wishes she wasn't leader.
They make their way out towards the back and step around the bodies as they walk towards the container. Quinn notices that there are no new zombies by the generator and she wonders if the bleach drove them away for good.
Probably not.
Thankfully the back area is still rather empty but Quinn thinks the amount of zombies on the floor in the front is problematic; they'll need to do something about them later. It would be pretty bad if they had to make a run for it and they end up tripping over the dead zombies.
She's just glad it's not summer because she has a feeling that that smell would be worse than the bleach that is still lingering in the air.
Quinn is the last one down the ladder and she closes the hatch before starting her descent. Even with the entrance closed, the walkie-talkies still work from the school roof to inside the shelter, giving them a way of communication in case something happens.
The cheer captain yawns as soon as she finishes her slide down the ladder and the exhaustion hits her head on.
"I'm going to get some sleep for tonight," she tells Santana and Brittany who have settled down at the table with the cats sitting nearby.
They nod and she drags herself into the sleeping area. When she enters, the light is on and Rachel is in the midst of changing into her pajamas and Quinn pauses before stepping further in. She makes her way to the shelf that has her own clothes and with her back to Rachel she changes out of her army uniform and into shorts and a loose shirt.
When Quinn's done she walks over to her bed and she just wants to collapse into it and sleep, but her guilty conscience stops her.
Rachel finishes buttoning her shirt and they both stand there awkwardly, not knowing what to say and how the sleeping arrangement should be especially after their argument. The smaller brunette has been eyeing the broken cot besides Finn's but she doesn't want to sleep there, because—it wouldn't be the same.
Just as she's about to move over to the cot though, Quinn's voice stops her.
"I'm sorry," Quinn says softly as she looks at Rachel who stares back at her. She presses on. "I didn't mean what I said earlier, okay? Saying it's your fault—it—I wasn't thinking and was caught up in the moment. We all chose to be here—but the only one who didn't really have a choice was you. You didn't deserve to be thrown in that dumpster—and—and…a lot of the stuff done to you, you didn't deserve that either. I'm really sorry, Rachel."
The smaller brunette opens and closes her mouth a few times because for once in her life she's truly speechless. No one has ever apologized to her—for anything really, and it's obvious that Quinn is apologizing for a lot more than what she said this afternoon.
"I—I…"
Quinn gives her a small smile. "Rachel Berry, having trouble with words? Truly today is one of many firsts."
Rachel looks at her before she quickly looks down and struggles to keep her composure. It's just like this morning and Quinn's making her cry again but for different reasons. The blonde sighs softly and walks across the room and places her arm around Rachel's shoulder before gently guiding her to their bed. The brunette slips in and Quinn grabs the phone from the floor and steps over to turn off the lights. She flips the switch and turns on her makeshift flashlight and almost runs into one of the cots before finally slipping into their shared bed. She feels arms encircle her waist almost immediately as Rachel buries her head into Quinn's shoulder.
Quinn pats her back clumsily and she doesn't even mind that much when her shirt is soaked within minutes.
Eventually, the crying stops and they both fall into a tired sleep.
\-\
"Hey, Kurt," Finn says as he rubs at his neck nervously.
The boy in question has his back towards him and is staring at the view from the roof. From this height they can see the various barricades littered around the area and the many zombies lying down below; evidence of their close encounter with the true nightmare they are facing. He waits a moment before turning to look at his what seems like so long ago, high school crush.
"Yes, Finn?" Kurt asks and he can't help but think how if this was two weeks ago, or even four days ago, he'd be jumping up and down in excitement because Finn Hudson was talking to him, alone. Puck was there of course, standing to the side, but he was being quiet enough to just be part of the background at this moment.
"I'm sorry, man. It—if we had waited for Santana and Brittany this wouldn't have happened and—"
Kurt shakes his head and leans onto the small wall that's the only thing standing between him and an almost fifty foot drop.
"What's done is done, Finn. No use crying over spilled milk," he tells him.
Finn looks at him with his usually confused expression and Kurt chuckles because he still thinks it makes him look adorable.
"So there's a good amount of time before the shift change, what would you like to talk about?" Kurt asks instead.
"Uh," Finn looks at Puck who shrugs. "Whatever you want to talk about."
Kurt smiles and motions to Finn and Puck come closer. "You'll learn that you should never tell that to a gay man with a penchant for dramatics, but since you insist. Gentlemen, be prepared to be enlightened of the world of musicals!"
/-/
The hours easily pass, and Quinn and Rachel are still asleep by the time it's Santana's and Brittany's turn to watch over Kurt.
Puck and Finn drop down into the shelter and they notice it's quiet with no trace of the other two girls. They both head over to the sleeping area to grab a change of clothes and Puck flips on the light and they freeze.
"Whoa, awesome," the football player blurts out as he takes in the view of Rachel wrapped securely around Quinn.
The blonde stirs at the sound and she opens her eyes and squints at the bright light.
"Ugh, what time is it?" she asks as she blinks blearily.
"Stargazing time?" Puck chuckles out and though she's still not fully awake Quinn levels him with a glare and he steps back instinctively.
Finn is still just staring at them and he's torn between feeling turned on or being extremely jealous that Rachel seems so content clutching onto Quinn so closely.
The cheer captain sits up and shakes the other girl awake.
"Rachel, wake up. Rachel. Berry," Quinn says exasperatedly when the girl merely holds her tighter and doesn't move.
"No…" she whines and Quinn reaches over to pinch her nose close and the brunette's eyes suddenly snap open as if she had sensed the danger.
"Whoa," Quinn is surprised and moves her hand away as Rachel blinks at her before sitting up.
"What time is it?" the singer asks as she yawns, feeling amazingly refreshed. She notices Finn and Puck in the room and gives them a smile. "Finn, I see your shift is over and—"
"What were you doing?" Finn asks when the jealousy finally wins out over the mailman.
She stares at him and glances over to Quinn who's straightening her clothes and trying to fix her bed head.
"Sleeping, Finn. It's what one does when they're tired and want to—"
"No, I mean, why were you sharing a bed with Quinn?"
"Okay, that's my cue to leave," Puck says as he disregards his change of clothes and moves back to the Main Room.
"Well, Quinn and I are sharing the bed because it was what was decided on the first day, Finn. You were the one who asked her to share with me."
Quinn knows this conversation is going to reach extreme levels of absurdity and stands to leave the room.
"Yes, but—but why were you sharing with her, right now? I mean, what about that extra cot I found for you!"
Rachel frowns at him, not understanding why he seems so angry. "Besides the fact that the cot is broken, Finn, I don't see why you're so upset about this—Quinn and I have been sharing a bed for the past few days already."
"Yes—but I mean, there's so many open beds here, couldn't you have just slept in the other ones?" he asks as he gestures to the empty ones besides them.
Quinn quickly grabs her jacket and pulls it on as she leaves the room. Before she can walk further away she can hear Rachel's response and she wants to roll her eyes.
"Are you—are you jealous, Finn?"
The blonde walks into the Main Room and stifles a yawn.
"Looking good there, Fabray," Puck leers at her from the table. He grins at the clear view he has of her legs and she narrows her eyes at him.
"Back off, Puckerman," she says as she glances around the room randomly.
She notes that the solar lights that were still charging earlier on the roof are now placed in a small pile on floor by the useless video games and are glowing lightly. Quinn wonders where the cats are because she notices that they're missing but she disregards it; they had to be in one of the other rooms, there aren't that many places they can hide in anyways.
There's nothing else to do so Quinn takes a seat across from Puck and they sit there quietly as they continue to listen as Rachel and Finn argue from the room nearby.
"So…"
"You, me, shower room. We can finish before they're d—Hey!"
He quickly dodges the spoon she throws at him, but she's smug when the next one hits him on the forehead.
"Ow!"
\-\
"How are you feeling, Kurt?" Brittany asks him as she settles onto the ledge of the roof.
The sun has set and it's dark all around them. The only lights they can see are from the moon, the solar lights that Quinn had set aside, and the faint light coming from the southwest. Santana deliberately ignores that and stands with her back to it while keeping a steady hand on the blonde's her arm, just in case.
Kurt shrugs because he doesn't know how he should feel. Regret? Sadness? Denial? So many emotions keep overwhelming him and at this moment he just feels kind of…blah.
Santana understands that he obviously doesn't want to talk about it and she veers the conversation to something else.
"So, Hummel…" she starts off because she doesn't know how to begin.
"So, Lopez…" he responds.
"So, Pierce…" Brittany says, not understanding what they were doing.
Santana can't help but smile at the blonde and this manages to break the ice.
"How…how was it like, you know? Growing up… uh, knowing you were…gay?" Santana whispers the end of the question but he manages to hear it and looks at her in surprise.
He's wondering if she's making fun of him somehow, but he notices her nervous fidgeting and it suddenly dawns on him.
He always suspected but…
"Well," he says as he gives her a smile. "It…it wasn't always easy… but…"
/-/
When it's finally time for Quinn and Rachel's shift, the blonde is extremely glad to get out of the whatever that had developed in the shelter after Finn and Rachel's weird confrontation in the sleeping area.
Quinn doesn't even know how she was thrown in the crossfire but when the two had emerged from the room, Finn had kept glaring at her and she had eventually snapped at him and then no one was talking to each other because Puck was smart enough to keep to himself.
When the alarm beeps on Quinn's watch she practically shoots out from her seat, already dressed in her uniform, and is grabbing her gun and climbing up and out of the shelter before Rachel can even move.
Santana gives her a questioning look when she sees how eager the cheer captain seems to be taking her shift and Quinn shrugs her shoulders because she doesn't feel like explaining.
They say their goodnights to Kurt, and Santana gives him an appreciative smile which causes Quinn to raise her eyebrow at her but the brunette shrugs as well and then they are disappearing into the school.
"Welcome back to my Hummel abode, ladies," Kurt tells them when it's just the three of them remaining on the roof.
"How are you feeling, Kurt?" Rachel asks him worriedly and Quinn is glad to note that the smaller brunette seems to have left that whatever back at the shelter with Finn.
In the faint light they can see Kurt smile. "I'm feeling that everyone is definitely asking me that question too much," he tells her and Rachel looks at him sheepishly.
"Truthfully though? I don't think it's hitting me yet, not really. Just you wait, tomorrow I'll definitely be panicking, but for now I'm kind of, I guess in a weird limbo. In between the black and white; the second movie before the last in the trilogy, so to speak."
The singer looks at him regretfully. "I'm sorry Kurt, that we were never as close as we could have been. My fathers would have loved to have met you and—"
"No, Rachel," he shakes his head at her. "If anything, I'm the one that should apologize. The reasons we were never that close despite our similar interests are mostly my own fault. I was—I still am, jealous of your incredible talent and I could never put my own green monster aside to pursue what could have been an amazing friendship," he tells her.
Rachel tearfully smiles at him and Quinn remains awkwardly at the side, not sure what she should be doing because she feels like she's intruding in their moment.
"Regardless of what happens though, right now I can tell you that I am feeling rather tired, so I will leave you two to your guarding duties and retire for the night. A lady needs at least 7 hours of sleep for healthy looking skin after all!" he says to them both and moves over to his cot.
"Goodnight Kurt," Quinn and Rachel both tell him.
"Goodnight, Quinn, Rachel," he says to them and then his blankets are pulled around him as he readies for sleep. "Oh, and don't worry about talking amongst yourselves; I can sleep through almost anything but alarm clocks. Those are my only nemesis on my quest for perfect skin. That, and chocolate, but alas, what can you do about that?" he sighs out and then he's quiet.
Quinn shakes her head in amusement as she leans against the ledge wall and then she turns her attention above her. No matter how much she has already stared at it, she still feels like she can get lost in the beauty of the night.
Rachel settles in right besides her and Quinn debates momentarily, wondering if she should try and hold a conversation with the other girl, otherwise it's going to be a long six hour shift.
"So, Rachel, uhm, you mentioned before you used to stargaze a lot?" the blonde whispers to her and she can hear the brunette shift lightly.
"Yes, Quinn, I did," she answers her softly.
"So, you'd consider yourself to be like, a pro at identifying the constellations or something?"
Rachel regards her for a moment, as if she's determining whether or not Quinn is sincerely asking her. Just as the blonde is about to tell her to forget it, Rachel gives her a smile and moves closer so that their elbows are almost touching.
She lifts her arm and points to a random part of the sky. "You see those three stars aligned over there? That one is called Orion's belt."
Quinn tries to follow where she's referring to and points to the sky. "Those ones?"
"No, Quinn!" Rachel immediately scolds her and grabs the blonde's arm, pulling her down a bit so that they're both at the same eye level. "Follow where my arm is pointing, and—"
"There?"
"No, are you even paying attention?"
"If that's just his belt, where's the rest of him then?"
"Oh, well, the three stars for his belt are used as reference points since they're the easiest to identify and those stars over there…"
Time left: 33 hours.