Puck said a week. One week would suffice with them living in the Hummel's second house in Zanesville. After that they would be on their way to the Cambridge airport where the rest of the survivors were, where they could travel in a pack.
They had been living in the house for about seven days exactly, luckily enough to not have gotten caught by any zombies. Puck made sure to camouflage them as much as possible as well as keep them all safe when some of them went to fetch food, or in this case now, water. Their water supplies had gradually gotten lower since yesterday which meant it was about time to begin their journey to the airport.
It was obvious how restless they had all become, Quinn looking around at all of the ghostlike faces in the living room as they sat around the radio, their only source of comfort. There was a mixture of tiredness and sorrow etched in each sullen expression. They were a family now and would always be one from this point on, wherever they went.
"We can't sit here all night." Blaine finally said after the endless hours of silence.
"What do suspect we do then, Pretty Face?" Puck asked, looking up with dark eyes, the dark shadows under his eyes now more prominent than ever.
"Get some sleep, Puck. We have to rest up for tomorrow." Blaine replied, his tone more dangerous than before.
"Yeah, whatever. You go ahead and do that. Im going to stay here and actually do something productive." At this, Puck pulled the radio closer to him and continued to adjust the knobs. It had become a piece of him, his only comfort and sanity was in the tattered, green radio in front of him that just barely gave out sound. It had been days since they last heard from the airport.
Without further hesitation, the group of kids made their way down the stairs to the basement, their usual sleeping areas already set up and ready for them to collapse onto. It didn't take long for Quinn's eyes to shut, the activities of the day wearing her as well as everyone else out. Everyday was a constant struggle on all the teenagers but there wasn't much that could be fixed about that. Quickly, she was in a state of dreaming.
Rachel sat a few feet away, her legs crossed and her arms hugging around her body as she leaned against the wall, watching all her friends slowly fall asleep. She couldn't force herself to sleep no matter how much she tried, it usually took about an hour after she would have her nightly panic attack about the whole situation then her brain would wear itself out until the only thing left to do was actually sleep. It wasn't until she felt a warm body next to her that she adjusted her eyes in the darkness at the face.
"Quinn?" Rachel asked, her heart skipping a little at the sight of short blonde hair.
"Sam." The boy corrected her as he scooted in closer. "Quinn's over there." He pointed to a slightly snoring body a few feet away. Squinting her eyes, Rachel laughed at the figure that was curled up in a ball with a small blanket on the carpet next to Tina.
"I see her." Rachel laughed, turning back to Sam whose face was now more clear. "Why are you up? You're usually the first one asleep." She joked, holding her legs more secure against her chest.
"I couldn't sleep." He said, his voice tired. "I've been having really bad nightmares lately about you guys. Last night was you." There was a slight hesitation in his voice when he spoke. Rachel heard the gulp in his throat.
"Well, Im here now, so you don't have to worry." She said, leaning her head against his shoulder. She felt his cover the top of her own head and slowly they tangled their arms together and then their fingers.
Rachel missed this Sam. The Sam she had spent the first part of this whole apocalypse with. He was comforting and helpful and always so warm, but no matter how close they were to each other, especially in this position, they knew that their love for each other was nothing but brother and sisterly. This - whatever this was - had slowly dissolved once they ran into the others and, quite frankly, it made her sad.
"I think I should tell you something." Rachel whispered to the boy whose hand was firmly grasped in her own.
"Whats that?" He asked, his heartbeat the only thing heard throughout Rachel's head.
"It's about Quinn." She said, taking a deep breath and squeezing his hand tighter.
"Is she alright?" He asked, a bit worried.
"Well, I think so. As alright as you can be at this point." She laughed a little humorless.
"Whats up then?"
Picking her head up, Sam moved his and they broke apart. She then stared directly into his eyes, or what she was sure was his eyes. It was too dark to really tell. " I just really need a friend right now. Kurt is too far gone in his own mind and the only one who can really drag him out for a few minutes, if that, is Blaine. I doubt he'll be able to fight it off even for me."
"Im here, Rachel. Don't worry. Im all ears." He said and she could have sworn she saw the corners of his huge guppy lips turn up into the smile she missed so much. Maybe it was her imagination getting the best of her although she hoped not.
"The night we got here, when I went up to take a shower, Quinn came with me, I asked her to." She spoke, quiet so that no one but Sam could hear.
"Right. I wasn't here so Ill just go along." Sam replied, still listening intently.
"I really -" Rachel thought hard about her next sentence. "Sam...she means a lot to me. I've always been so fond of her."
"So you like her?" Sam asked, his brain working hard to comprehend Rachel. "Is that what you're saying?"
"We had sex." Rachel finally said, a little louder than a whisper. Cautiously looking around, Rachel and Sam both made sure everyone was still asleep. When they were confirmed with the steady breathing both turned back to each other.
"So you really like her." Sam asked, getting closer so that they could speak a little more quieter.
"I always have liked her, like I said, Ive always been so fond of her, but I would have never dared said anything for fear of her making my life completely torturous." Rachel said, looking down at her hands that were now shaking. "I'm just...very confused. She's been so nice to me, even before all of this happened, now it's just...I feel like everything is better when she's around."
"Well, maybe she does feel something for you, Rach. I mean, she's been so close to you since you got sick. She carried you to the house and, well, you two had sex. But she's been taking care of you. I've noticed, we all have."
"What if it's just her getting her feelings out, using me, for the loneliness she is feeling?" Rachel was now more concerned than she had been about the situation, her mind over thinking the situation like she did every other thing.
"Then thats a really terrible thing to do. Especially now. But I don't think she is. I think she cares for you...really cares for you. Like I do." Sam said with a smile, holding his hand out to her to hold it again. "Only stronger. Which forms a relationship. A strong love that can never burn out or die. Even through a zombie apocalypse." He said the last part a bit sarcastically.
"Right now, I think the last thing I need is a relationship. Finn and I are hitting our low now." She said, looking down.
"Not that it should matter because of the current situation with our lives on the line, but shouldn't you break things off with him? I mean, since you're not happy and, well, relationships are kind of pointless right now."
"Easier said than done. We're all ticking time bombs, I feel like one wrong move might set him or someone else off."
"Well, I'll be there if you need me." He said with an actual smile towards her before squeezing her hand tightly. She knew he was smiling and that gave her more comfort than anything.
At that moment, they both heard a thumping upstairs followed by a little bit of groaning. The blood in both their bodies turned ice cold as they listened even harder only to hear the door open as a mohawk shadow came down. They both took a relaxed, deep breath and only then realized how tightly they had been squeezing each other's hands until they loosened up.
Without noticing them, he collapsed on the floor, next to Finn. Quickly his snoring filled the room of sleeping breaths, the radio close by him and his sister's cloth wrapped around the handle securely.
"Perhaps we should go to bed." Rachel suggested, her head falling to Sam's shoulder yet again.
"Yeah, probably." Sam agreed, reaching over for Rachel's blanket to cover the both of them, then leaning his head against the wall, their hands never breaking apart. Rachel heard the soft breath of Sam turn steady as he slowly drifted off. Her eyes went to the small heap on the floor that was Quinn, the only thing noticeable was her breathing, up and down, underneath the blanket. Cuddling closer into Sam, Rachel shut her eyes until her own mind relaxed, sending her into unconsciousness.
Waking up was always the worst part for Quinn, there was no comfortable position to sleep in while on a carpet floor. They had all decided that, since only two people would fit on the couch, none of them would sleep there, to be fair. Quinn hated the fact that they all had to sleep on the floor, but it kept them all safe.
She opened her eyes, the feeling similar to the one she had weeks ago at Puckerman's house, when half of them were missing and Mercedes was still with them. She shook the feeling off as she got up and slowly began to shake off the night's rest, rolling her neck to get the knots out. The yelling upstairs almost went unnoticed. Almost.
Looking around, she saw a few of them were still asleep. Blaine, Brittany, Santana, Tina and Puck. The yelling upstairs sounded like Finn and...Rachel? Getting up quickly, she strategically stepped over the sleeping bodies until reaching the steps where she climbed up easily, opening the door and finally watching the scene unravel in front of her.
"I fucking saw you, Rachel! You were sleeping with him! What else have the two of you done?" Finn yelled at the girl whose arms were crossed over her chest, facing away from him. Kurt was rubbing at his temples, his eyes shut in frustration while Sam leaned against the wall, his jaw locked and his eyes set on Finn as if he were waiting for him to make the wrong move.
"What exactly is your point, Finn?" Rachel asked, her voice just as tired as how she looked.
"My point is I have no clue who the hell you are anymore! You wont let me touch you, you get all weird when I kiss you and now you're sleeping with other dudes!" He practically yelled at her, his face red. Quinn felt a large lump in her throat at these words. Rachel was sleeping with someone else?
Staying at quiet as possible, she continued to listen from the hall.
"I slept with him. It was actual sleeping, you realize that, right? We were talking last night and we ended up falling asleep together." Rachel said, her tone dangerously calm.
"How the hell am I suppose to believe that?" Finn asked, his eyes now rimmed with tears.
"Finn, will you be quiet?" Kurt finally spoke, his voice the most aggressive thing Quinn had ever heard. " You've been doing nothing but complaining since we got here, you're making things more miserable than they already are. I honestly want to beat you with a shovel every time you begin to talk."
"This has nothing to do with you, Kurt." Finn said, his teeth gritting together.
"That may be so, but there is only so much of your stupidity that I can handle before I must step in." Kurt replied, getting up.
"What's going on?" Quinn asked, finally stepping into the living room. "I heard some shouting. Very loud shouting." She said towards Finn.
"You were just about to witness a formal break up." Rachel said, approaching Finn cautiously.
"Wait - what?" Finn stuttered, looking directly at Rachel. "You're breaking up with me?"
"Oh, does it really matter? Our whole relationship is a joke during this time, Finn, I don't care at this point. You can break up with me for all it matters." Rachel spoke, Sam adjusting his weight slightly.
Suddenly, loud foot steps from the basement broke their conversation as Puck threw the door open, his gun placed firmly in his hand, bag on his back and the ready tied on a strap. "They found us." He said quietly, everyone else from downstairs behind him, their eyes wide and red. "Let's go. Now."
Everyone began rustling around as fast and quiet as they could until they had their things. They were out of the house within two minutes, following Puck out the back and into the woods. Quinn, Rachel, Sam, Finn or Kurt had no idea what was going on until they were deep enough in the woods.
"One of them must have snuck into the small window in the basement." Puck said, his breathing hard. "Santana heard it and sliced it's neck, but others were close behind. We were lucky we got out." Puck was shaking, the radio hanging from his bag. "We'll have to leave to the airport now. No preparation. If we find any food on the way we'll hunt it or...whatever we have to do. Let's just keep our energy full and...have a hopeful mind." Puck said the words as confident as he could.
Quinn's palm was clenched tightly around her knife something she valued far more than her gun. Her other hand was occupied with Rachel's shaking one, the two of them must have connected on the way into the woods because Quinn was unsure how it happened, all she knew was she didn't want to let go. She looked beside her only to see Sam close by Rachel, his hand on her shoulder securely and Finn's eyes staring daggers at him. For the first time in her life, she was actually scared of Finn Hudson.
As they began to make their way to Cambridge, Quinn turned to Rachel, her eyes furrowing at the small girl's expression. "So, you wanna tell me what happened?" She asked, her voice quiet.
"Yes, hold on." Rachel whispered. Slowly they began sinking to the back of the group, their hands tightly tangled together still. Finally they were behind Tina, Finn too concentrated on Sam who was up by Puck and Blaine to focus on the two girls.
Rachel began to explain to Quinn how Finn rudely woke both her and Sam up. He caught the two of them sleeping next to each other. Kurt was already awake, trying to calm him down until they both woke up. She continued to explain how they had to drag him upstairs to ensure he wouldn't wake anyone else up with his loud yelling.
"We were only talking." Rachel explained to Quinn. "He's been there for me since the beginning. I couldn't sleep and neither could he." Quinn shook her head, taking in the information as best she could. After a few minutes, Rachel began chuckling. Furrowing her eyebrows, Quinn went to look at the girl.
"What?" She asked, very confused.
"Finn is worried about me and Sam." She choked out with a smile. Before she knew it, Quinn was grinning as she made a gesture with her hand, pushing it over her head.
"Flew right over his head." She said with a smile. Rachel nodded, looking up at Quinn before rubbing her thumb on the girl's hand. Butterflies flew to the girl's stomach as the increasing feeling to kiss Rachel over took her. Nobody was looking, they were all about two feet in front of them.
Looking around quickly, Quinn pressed her lips against Rachel's where they stayed for about two seconds before pulling away. Rachel gasped slightly before smiling like crazy.
"What was that for?" She asked with a laugh.
"You seemed like you could use it." Quinn said, smiling.
Before any of them were able to comprehend it, a bloodcurdling scream slashed through the silence of the woods causing a few birds to fly off from their spots on the trees above.
"What was that?" Sam asked, his gun pointed in front of him, ready to fire.
"Run." Puck spoke, too calm for comfort. They all looked at each other for a split second before taking off straight. Rachel breathing hard as Quinn's hand was placed in hers firmly. "Run!" Puck yelled louder this time.
Quinn could hear the screaming behind her, far too close for her to turn around. They had to quicken their pace. "Came on, Rachel!" Quinn cried out, looking at the girl next to her who had tears streaming down her tan face. The face that was only moments ago smiling. She heard a large whack on the side of her and saw Tina grabbing at her head then moments later Blaine grabbing at his side.
It was only a matter of time before Quinn's foot caught in a vine causing her to fall to the ground instantly. She quickly let go of Rachel's hand to prevent the girl from falling with her. She looked up at Rachel and screamed at her to keep running. Rachel was in too much of a shock to start so instead Sam came from the side and grabbed her arm, pulling her along side him. The only thing in Quinn's mind were the endless protests and crying from Rachel as it slowly became more and more distant.
She began fumbling with the vines until her foot was free. Only then did she hear the roaring sound behind her grow louder. Jumping up, she shot off in front of her.
"Keep going!" Puck yelled towards them. "Hurry!" He ran out of the woods and towards an old convenient store. He was about ten feet in front of the rest of the group. The door was sealed by an electronic system. Slamming his gun down, he put both fingers inside the cracks of the entrance and, with all his might, pulled them apart, like would be done to a jammed elevator door. The veins in his muscles sticking out dangerously and his screaming filling the area. Sweat trickled on his forehead and tears rushed through his eyes until he finally got it open. He held it there until Kurt, Blaine, Brittany, Santana, Finn and Tina tumbled inside. Sam and Rachel were soon after, falling to the ground instantly.
Blaine fell to the floor, tending to a large gash on the side of his ribcage, Tina grabbing at her head as blood trickled down her temple and Brittany was dry heaving in a corner. Santana, Kurt, Tina and Finn ran to the door, helping Puck to hold it open.
Looking straight, Puck saw Quinn still running, the zombies dangerously close to her. Their foamed, bloody mouths drooling with diseases and their rotting flesh peeling with each step they took. "QUINN!" Puck shouted towards her. "WE CAN'T KEEP IT OPEN!" Tears were filling their eyes even more as the struggle to keep the door open rammed their exhausted bodies. Slowly, each of them had to let go until only Puck and Finn were left holding it open.
"HURRY!" Finn yelled, holding the door open with all his might. Turning back to the group, he could barely see them through his eyes, but he took in the image. Guilt hit his stomach as he then realized...he was being a jerk. Turning back to Quinn, he pushed the doors open more. "WE'RE NOT LEAVING YOU, I PROMISE." Finn cried out, shutting his eyes and holding the door open with all his strength. Finn was done with being the weakest link, he was done complaining. There was only so much Puck could handle and he knew it was his time to step it up, before it was too late and the virus got to all of them. The break up was sort of a...rude awakening for him, but he was glad it happened. Suddenly he was broke from his thoughts as a cry from behind him pierced through the air.
"QUINN!" Rachel cried out, tears filling her eyes. Jumping up from the spot, she ran to the entrance only to be held back by Sam, his hold on her far too strong for her to break away. "QUINN, HURRY!" Rachel screamed, the tears now endless as they rolled down her cheek and on to her chest.
Quinn could feel her heart ramming against her chest. Each step she took harder than the last. She could smell the aroma of rotten eggs and vomit in her nose. The hoarse screeching from the zombies sent shivers down her spine as tears filled her eyes. This would be the last time she was would be no way she was going to make it. Running even faster than before, she turned to look at her hand. She was still clutching the knife. Looking back up, she saw Puck and Finn, slumped against the sliding doors, the thing threatening to shut and crush them in half with the weight. If she didn't make it, she would cut her neck then and there. There would be no way her friends would see her as a monster.
"QUINN!" She heard the cries of Rachel. Santana was yelling for her too, she could hear it. Shutting her eyes, she urged herself forward until she heard a sharp slam and a lock click. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and was met with eighteen pairs of wide eyes staring back at her.
She made it.