Six hours and nineteen minutes left of the Annual Purge

Rachel was shaken up after the nights events. She had explained what had happened to Finn, and Kurt and Blaine, when she stopped crying.

They were now trying to find their way back to Blaine and Kurt's apartment, hoping to find safety there.

Finn promised her that Kurt and Blaine could be trusted. Blaine, or was it Kurt? Rachel couldn't remember, had handed her a gun from their black bag before they set off.

She was still scared of them though. They carried a bag of guns on the night of the Purge and so far they hadn't spoken to her. Why would she trust them after everything she had been through that night?

Rachel cuddled into Finn's side as the sound of screaming and shouting outside their home became unbearable. Finn turned up the TV, hoping to drown out the noise. His efforts were fruitless.

The couple could hear their neighbours screaming outside on the street. Finn yearned to be somewhere else, anywhere else, for him and his girlfriend to be safe. Since he had left the army, he knew he could be a target for Purger's, now that he wasn't granted immunity.

More gun shots were fired outside and Rachel jumped at how prominent the sound was. There was a booming knock on their door, as if someone was trying to break it down. Finn slowly stood up from the sofa and tiptoed over to the hallway, where the noise was coming from. Through the embossed glass, Finn could just make out the silhouettes of some men. They were big and from what he could see, dressed all in black. They kicked the door again, making him jump back, and the glass shook.

He ran into the living room, knowing they didn't have a lot of time, and grabbed Rachel's hand. She was shaking like a leaf, tears pooling up in her eyes. Finn pulled her to the bathroom, picking his gun up off of the kitchen table on the way. Once they were inside, he locked the door and waited. They heard when the door finally broke down and Rachel let out a sob.

"Shh, Rach, we'll be okay. We're going to be okay," But even as he whispered the words, he knew they were lies. She leaned into his chest, waiting for their fate.

They could hear the men looking for them, smashing whatever they could. They were in the other half of the house, as far as Rachel could hear.

"I love yo-" Finn whispered, looking deep into Rachel's eyes. But he never got to finish the words as, at that moment, the door was ripped off of it's hinges.

Rachel screamed and Finn fired at gun at the attacker. It hit his chest but the bullet was absorbed by his bullet-proof vest. He stepped back, his face one of disgust.

"How dare you!" He shouted.

"In here!" He shouted a little louder to someone else in the house. Another person, dressed similarly, appeared, his gun raised.

Finn, who was stood protectively in front of Rachel, raised his gun to match the man stood in front of him.

"Come closer and I'll blow your fucking brains out!" Finn growled. The man who broke down the door, who surprisingly didn't have a weapon on him, laughed out loud. He clearly found Finn's threat to be a joke, whilst the over man didn't. He looked like he wanted to run away, to put an end to this night. Finn wondered why.

"Shoot him," The first man said. His partner said nothing but glanced between everyone in the small surroundings.

"SHOOT HIM!" He screamed. Before the shooter could do anything, Finn shot the him twice in the foot, making him drop his gun and fall to the floor, crying out in pain. Finn then pointed his gun at the first man, who now realised that Finn was deadly serious.

"Why are you here?" Finn demanded.

"My boss needs people for his Purge. He told us to wipe out the street." The man didn't sound or look scared but his eyes reflected an emotion Finn couldn't read.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you," Finn said, his voice expressing all the hatred and anger he had inside him. Finn heard Rachel's sharp intake of breath at his words, not expecting him to be so cruel.

In all the commotion with the first man, Finn hadn't been paying attention to the one he shot, who was now on the floor, reaching for his gun.

"Finn, move!" Rachel screamed, just as the man fired. Finn ducked just in time and fired his own gun in numerous directions. Before she knew what was happening, a big group of men were converging on them, dragging them out on the street. Rachel, who was being dragged out by her leg, screamed and kicked, trying to get away. Her nails scraped along the linoleum floor in their house, causing them to bleed.

Once outside, Finn watched in horror as he was thrown down on to the concrete. He was struggling to get away, to save his girlfriend. She continued to kick and scream, grabbing at the hard floor. She was finally let go and, as she tried to stand up, was kicked back down.

"Let her go! Let her go, now!" Finn was screaming over and over again. There was only six men there, but far too many for Finn to handle. He looked up and saw a white van, the doors being opened by one of the men.

"Get them inside, we'll take them to the boss." One of the men said to one of his partners, just loud enough for Finn to hear.

When he looked over at Rachel, she was laying on the floor, someone's foot on her stomach, keeping her down. She was still screaming profanities at him, aggravating him even more.

"Shut the fuck up!" He screamed, bending down and pressing his gun to her head. She stopped immediately, and turned her head to the side as endless tears rolled down her cheeks. She saw Finn's look of horror, his hands being held behind his back by own of the Purger's. He was still struggling to get away but he was trapped.

A gun shot was fired and he screamed Rachel's name, thinking that the bullet had been fired into her head. But she was fine. His hands fell back to his side and he jumped up. He ran forwards, knocking down the man who was holding Rachel. Finn punched him in the jaw repeatedly, more gun shots being fired around him. He looked up to see that all but one of the Purger's had been shot. But the one still standing was holding Rachel against his chest, a knife at her throat. She was gasping, looking at Finn with fearful eyes. He grabbed a gun from the floor and held it up. He didn't have a plan.

"Let her go!" He said. The man didn't reply, but Rachel gasped and Finn could see the hold on her got tighter. She gasped in pain, not being able to breath properly.

"Let her go!" Finn said again, firing his gun. The man threw Rachel to the ground and dodged the bullet, throwing himself on Finn. He punched him and smashed his head into the ground, knocking Finn unconscious. Rachel, who was pushing herself up off of the ground breathlessly, screamed for her boyfriend.

"Shut up!" The attacker screamed. He grabbed an abandoned gun and looked around. He hadn't seen who had shot his team but all he cared about was what his boss would do.

"Get up!" He shouted a Rachel, still scanning the area.

"Please! Please don't do this!" She begged, tears flooding down her face. For all she knew, her boyfriend was dead. And she didn't have long to live, either.

"GET UP!" He screamed. She flinched away from his voice. The man grabbed Rachel by her hair, pulling her up from the ground. She cried out in pain but didn't have the energy to fight back. He pushed her towards the van and she stumbled over one of the bodies, landing on her hands. She looked around, feeling sick. Just as she was about to get up she noticed a gun, less than a metre away from her. She reached out and grabbed it before the man could realise what she was doing. Rachel fired the gun, hitting her attacker in the back of the head. He was instantly dead.

Rachel wiped the gravel from her skirt and looked down. Her legs were grazed and small amounts of blood seeped from small cuts. Her nails were caked with blood and dirt. Her skirt was ripped and also covered in dirt. She ignored her terrible appearance and ran to the van, opening the doors. Inside contained a small group of her neighbours. They were all tied up, some of them had duct tape over their mouths, and most of them were crying.

She jumped up into the van and, as quick as she could, untied them all. Her hands stung as she fiddled with the rope around their wrists and ankles. Every one thanked her, one woman hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, before they all ran off in different directions.

She climbed out of the van, her knees shaking, and knelt down next to Finn. She lifted his head up into her lap and stroked his hair. Thick red blood covered her fingers from the wound on Finn's head. Rachel was certain he was dead until, ever so gently, she could feel a small pulse in his wrist. She refrained from crying at the sight of him and instead tried to bring him inside, where she could clean him up.

It was hard and took a lot of effort but eventually she got him inside. She somehow managed to lift him up onto the sofa where his legs dangled off the edge. If it was any other situation, Rachel would probably laugh.

She got a wet cloth from the kitchen and gently cleaned up Finn's cut. Small amounts of blood still oozed from the gash. She bit back a sob as she pushed herself up from where she had been kneeling and walked through the empty house towards the bathroom. It gave her chills because of what had just happened and she tried to convince herself she was safe now. She stepped over the bathroom door which was lying in the middle of the hall way.

Once in the bathroom, she opened the toiletries cupboard and took out a bottle of BloodSTOP®. She made her way back to the living room.

Just as she had undone the lid, she could here voices outside. She hadn't shut the front door as she had been too occupied with Finn and so she could hear the voices much more clearly.

"I think she went in here." It was a woman's voice. Rachel could hear two pairs of footsteps on the hard floor.

Two faces appeared in the doorway, one of a young woman with dark brown hair and slightly tanned skin. She was holding a large gun down by her side which looked strange to Rachel. This woman looked like she should be in a magazine not out on the night of the Purge. The man next to her had blonde hair and prominent cheek bones with bright blue eyes.

"What did those men outside want with you?" The woman asked., her eyes narrowing. Rachel stood up awkwardly, her eyes wide with fear.

"I-I don't k-know." Rachel stuttered. The woman looked at Rachel speculatively, and then at Finn's unconscious body, and seemed to make a decision.

"Take her back with you. Leave the guy. But don't hurt her." Rachel didn't hear the last part as she started to cry, begging for them to leave her. The blonde stepped forward and took her, none to gently, by the arm and pulled her outside. Rachel had an overwhelming sensation of deja vu and struggled to get away. She continued to scream as the blonde man continued to pull her through the streets. She screamed Finn's name in vain.

The man had been pulling Rachel for five minutes and they were far from her house now. Rachel had been kicking and screaming the whole way, like a child who didn't get their way.

"Please!" She screamed once again, desperate to get back to Finn. He pulled her forward desperately. She clawed at his arm, drawing blood, and dug her heels into the ground.

"Stop! We're trying to help you!" The guy was trying to persuade Rachel, his voice desperate.

"Let go!" Rachel shouted again. She kneed him in the groin, making his hold on her lessen and she pushed him away with all her force. He fell, groaning in pain and tried to call out for her.

Rachel ran as fast as she could, not bothering to look back. All she could think about was Finn. Should she go back for him? What if the woman was still there?

She decided to take the risk and ran as fast as her short legs could take her, tripping and stumbling every so often. She even lost a shoe but didn't bother to stop and pick it up. In less than two minutes she reached the house. She ran inside, ignoring the dead bodies on the street outside. Rachel ran into the living room, holding onto the door frame for support and was filled with horror at what she saw.

Finn was gone.

She looked around the house desperately, up the stairs and in all the rooms. She called out for him several times but heard no reply. The last room she looked in was their bedroom. The bed was made and the curtains closed, the windows boarded over for protection. She shut the door and slid down it, tears pouring down her cheeks. She cried for about twenty minutes straight. In all her life, she had never felt so hopeless.

Wiping her eyes, she stood up and looked in the mirror on her vanity table. She looked terrible, her hair a mess, makeup streaming down her face. Her clothes were ripped and covered in blood and dirt.

"You're so pathetic, Rachel Berry," She muttered in self hatred. She changed her shoes quickly before, once again, leaving the house. She wanted to get as far away from the house as possible; it wasn't home without Finn. Rachel ran, desperate to find her boyfriend. Too many horrifying thoughts were flying through her mind; What if that woman had taken Finn? Had he woken up? Was he even still alive?

She lost track of where she was but she kept running, not trying to find out. She ran around a corner, ending up on a street of shops. The first thing she saw was a big group of angry looking men. Her eyes widened in horror, not knowing what to do. All of a sudden one of the shops on the street burst into flames. The group in front of her were laughing and cheering, high fiving each other. On closer inspection, Rachel noticed that there was three people outside the shop, one of them staring up at the flames from the floor.

The group were shooting at the three people, laughing as they did so. And it appeared that the other people were shooting as well, as a bullet flew past her by an inch. She screamed but tried to cover her mouth before anyone heard her. But someone did and as one of the burley men turned to see where the noise came from, he was shot in the head. His lifeless body fell to the floor.

Rachel turned and ran before anyone else could see her. She could still hear the gunshots and see the rise of smoke from the burning shop.

Five minutes later and Rachel was still running. She needed desperately to stop and catch her breath as it came out in panicky gasps. She saw an opening between two buildings and decided to hide there. She rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the click of a gun. In front of her was a young man, around her age, holding his gun up, ready to fire. She opened her mouth to scream when her vision went black at the edges, her mind going blank.

Rachel could feel a gentle pressure on her head. She was momentarily confused. Why was she on the floor? What time was it? And then she remembered the face of the man who was holding a gun to her head just before she passed out. Her eyes flew open in horror and she saw two unfamiliar faces staring down at her. She tried to get away, shuffling backwards awkwardly.

"Rachel stop! It's me, It's okay," It took her a moment for the words to sink in. She knew that voice. It was Finn's.

She looked to her right where Finn was reaching out for her. Before she knew what she was doing, she lunged at him, throwing her arms around his neck. Rachel was immediately crying, nuzzling her face into his neck. She kissed his neck, his lips, his cheeks and his hands, making sure he was really there.

"I love you," He whispered over and over again.

"I love you too," She replied.

A shudder racked her body as she tried to repress the memories. Finn was a few feet in front of her, looking back every couple of seconds to make sure she was okay. He was walking next to Blaine, whispering quietly.

"Do you think we'll survive this?" Blaine asked. He glanced behind to look at Kurt, who was walking next to Rachel, twisting his wedding ring around and around his finger.

"I don't know," Finn said, his voice as hard and cold as stone. They were now passing through their neighbourhood, where the sounds of gunshots grew louder. Blaine's idea of finding safety at the apartment now seemed like a stupid one.

Rachel glanced at Kurt through the corner of her eyes and noticed him fiddling with a ring.

"He's married?" She wondered. She glanced at Blaine, and back to Kurt, and wondered if they were a couple. If they were, they really shouldn't be outside.

"RELEASE THE BEAST!" The group of four all jumped and looked around, in different directions, for where the voices came from. The shout came again and this time the group all raised their guns. Rachel's hand gun was the smallest but she held it as if it was the heaviest. Her heart felt as if it was going to beat right out of her chest. Little did she know, everyone felt that way.

"RELEASE THE BEAST!" It came again, this time it was closer. It was shouted over and over, closer and closer, sounding more like a chant.

And then, coming directly down the street, was the biggest group of Purger's Finn had ever seen. He turned, with Kurt at his side whilst Blaine and Rachel guarded the other direction, and prepared to shoot.

"Wait!" Kurt said to Finn.

"What!" Finn exclaimed. Kurt squinted, wondering to himself why he had told Finn to stop.

"What is it, Kurt?" Blaine asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I think-" Kurt paused, not knowing if he was correct. "I think it's Santana."

"Who the fuck is Santana?" Finn demanded.

"Our neighbour. It's a long story." Kurt said, glancing up at Finn angrily. He didn't appreciate being sworn at.

Finn and Kurt watched as the group grew closer, praying to god that is was Santana.

The woman in front was definitely Santana, Kurt recognised the hair and her extremely high heels. She looked strange holding a rifle.

"Kurt?" She called, stopping. The group behind her stopped as well.

"Yeah," He said lamely. Finn glanced down at him questioningly. He shrugged, not knowing what to do. He heard Blaine chuckle behind him and hissed at him to 'shut up'. Blaine lowered his gun, turning to take Kurt's hand. Rachel moved uneasily to stand beside Finn.

"I must say, I really didn't expect to see you out here," She was walking towards him, a welcoming smile on her face. Rachel was horrified when she realised this was the woman that was in her living room less than an hour ago.

"It wasn't exactly planned," Kurt said.

"You seem pretty well stocked up," She nodded at the bag on Blaine's shoulder.

"Yeah, some friends helped us out," Blaine said. Santana looked at Finn and Rachel and wondered why she recognised them. Then it clicked.

"You!" She shouted, pointing at Rachel. Her heels clicked along the concrete as she stomped towards the younger girl.

"I was trying to help you out and you attacked one of my guys! I shot all of those assholes who were going to kill you and you're freakishly tall friend over here!" Santana said, looking at Finn. He looked just as confused as Kurt and Blaine.

"That's the woman I told you about," Rachel whispered, too quiet for anyone but Finn to hear. He looked up angrily at Santana.

"Why should we believe you? It doesn't seem very likely that you would help us, you have no reason to." Finn stated.

"Can you believe this guy?" She looked at Kurt and Blaine, astonished. The two said nothing, just glanced at each other briefly.

"We were going back to ours. It's been pretty rough so far and we'd like to get off the streets." Blaine said.

"I wouldn't go back there if I were you. Come with me," Santana smiled and turned back around, where her big group of 'friends' were watching curiously.

"Where?" Blaine asked, following her.

"We've been staying in a park not too far from here. It sounds lame but wait until you get there," She winked. Santana walked further forward, re-joining her group of Purger's.

Kurt moved to follow her when Finn grabbed his arm and asked,"Can you trust her?"

"Yes," Kurt said angrily, pushing Finn away.

"Really?" Finn pressed on.

"I've known Santana for almost a year now. I've known you for a couple of hours, but I trusted you!" Kurt glared at Finn, annoyed at the turn in his attitude. Finn looked off into the distance, his jaw clenched.

"You don't have to come," Blaine said. "You don't owe us anything."

Finn looked as if he wanted to say something but bit his tongue and started walking. Rachel was right next to him, almost jogging to catch up with him. Kurt and Blaine weren't far behind them, clutching each other's hands.

They soon caught up with Santana at the front of the group, who's eyes were gleaming in determination.

"Killed anyone tonight?" She asked as if it excited her.

"Maybe," Kurt whispered, not wanting to admit the terrible truth.

"They deserve it," She looked at him with no emotion before turning around to her group and screamed, "FUCK THE PURGE!"

The group chanted the words, punching the air with their hands.