!
Puck sat in his room Thursday night, strumming idly on his guitar. He had spent the day with the Berrys and with Tina's family. Tina's mom was taking the disappearance very hard. She told them that she had gone to the school with the extra key to Tina's car, like the police had asked. It hadn't started and the police thought the girls had had car trouble that night. They weren't sure why they hadn't called for help. Tina's mom had searched her daughter's room and had not found her cell phone and was confident that her daughter was carrying it with her. They wondered if maybe the girls had been taken before they'd been able to call for help.
Rachel's dad had told them that the police were still working with the FBI on identifying the tire tracks by the side of the road. Puck decided he would never look at a crime show the same way again. They made things look so easy and fast, but in reality, this shit took forever. The Amber Alert on the girls had started running and the cops had opened a tip line for any information people might have. The press conference at noon that day had given basic descriptions of the girls, shown their picture and given their last known whereabouts. And they still hadn't found them.
He glanced down at his guitar and realized he was strumming Sweet Caroline. He smiled slightly. Stupid song, he had learned it when he first started playing guitar because it was one of his mom's favorites. Turned out to be one of Rachel's favorites as well. She had looked at him in such wonder when he sang that song to her the first time, as if she couldn't believe he was singing it to her. She had blushed slightly, her eyes bright as she'd sung along to the chorus with him.
He chuckled lightly, fingers still strumming the chords. It was such a punk move, he knew, so unlike him. But her reaction had been worth it. She'd looked so beautiful sitting there, smiling at him, and she was the only thing he'd seen at that moment. If she'd just come back, he would play her Sweet Caroline every day until he died.
He was worried. He knew that every day they were gone, every minute, was worse for their case. The cops had no suspects, no evidence other than the tire tracks and not much else to go on. Every day the girls could be getting further and further away. Or something worse.
Puck struggled against the sudden tightness in his chest. No. He wouldn't think that. Couldn't. They were alive. They had to be. And someone was going to know something and call the tip line and they were going to find them. Alive. They had to.
He didn't know what he'd do if they didn't.
!
Rachel brushed back the strands of hair that had come loose in frustration. She glared down at her chemistry book, then at her homework sheet. It didn't make sense. None of her answers were right and she was doing them just like Noah told her to. She glared harder and tried again. Checking her answer against Noah's, she saw it still was not right. She groaned in frustration, picking up her textbook and flinging it across the room. She stopped in shock and looked over at Noah. His lips were pursed like he was going to say something, but he wore a look of shock as well. His startled eyes met hers and he started laughing.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not funny."
He laughed harder. "You threw your chemistry book across the room. It is funny."
She glared at him. "Stop laughing."
He doubled over the table, trying to catch his breath between his laughter.
"I'm going to hit you," she said petulantly, sticking her lower lip out.
He grinned at her as his laughter slowly subsided. "Easy, babe. Didn't get the right answer?"
"None of them! I don't understand! Statistically, I should have gotten at least some of them right!"
He got up from the table and retrieved her chemistry book. He returned the book to its place in front of her. "Try again."
She groaned and put her head down on the table. "It's no use. I'm going to fail chemistry and then my GPA will be shot and Julliard will never want someone that failed chemistry."
He grinned at her dramatics and scooted his chair closer to hers. His thigh brushed hers. "It's not that bad. Let's try it again. Look, you just forgot to transfer some electrons here, you almost had that one. And this one…ok, this one isn't even close, but we'll fix it."
She raised her head from the table and looked at him woefully. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she said seriously.
His eyes glittered. "Good thing you don't have to find out."
They locked eyes and she felt her breath catch in her chest, her heart constrict painfully. He had the most beautiful eyes. She leaned in closer, her gaze moving to his lips. He leaned in and she felt the ghost of his breath on her face. Just a few more inches and…
His phone rang suddenly, starling them both. They jumped apart and he pulled his phone from his pocket. "Mom," he mumbled. "I've gotta head home soon."
Rachel nodded, flustered. "Ok. I think I can do the rest on my own."
He nodded. "Make note of the ones you have problems with and we'll work on them."
She nodded, avoiding his eyes. "Thanks, Noah. See you at school tomorrow."
"Rachel. Rachel, wake up."
She looked at Noah, but his mouth didn't move.
"Rachel, wake up."
Rachel jolted awake and looked up at Tina. The Asian girl looked at her in relief.
"You need to stay awake," Tina said softly. "How's your arm?"
Confused, Rachel sat up, hissing when the burning pain filled her arm. "Still hurts," she said.
"Do you think we should try to wash it out?" Tina asked. "Keep it clean?"
Rachel winced. "I don't know. Maybe just dab it with a wet cloth. I could use a drink, though."
Tina nodded. "Me too. Can you stand?"
Rachel got to her knees, bracing her good arm on the floor. She struggled to her feet, staggering a little when a wave of dizziness hit her. "Whoa," she said, her hand going to her forehead.
Tina grabbed her arm gently. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, just a little dizzy," Rachel said faintly.
Tina frowned. "You've lost a lot of blood. We really need to get out of here."
"Right now I just need some water."
Tina helped her into the bathroom and turned on the sink. Rachel cupped her right hand and brought the water to her mouth, drinking thirstily. The water was cool and refreshing on her parched throat but her empty stomach gurgled and she felt a wave of nausea. She straightened up gingerly. "I think I'm done."
She stood aside while Tina drank, and then watched as her friend carefully wet the blood-soaked towel. "This might hurt," Tina warned. Rachel gritted her teeth and looked away.
Hurt was an understatement. But Rachel bit her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut as Tina bathed the wound as gently as she could.
"I think I'm done," Tina said after a few minutes. "We need something to wrap it with to keep it clean." They searched the small shack but found nothing.
Rachel eyed the curtain separating the two small rooms. "Maybe if we could cut a piece of the curtain…"
Tina fingered the curtain thoughtfully. "It's pretty thin, I might be able to tear it," she said. She gripped the edges tightly and pulled. It tore easily and she tore a large strip off. She wrapped it tightly around Rachel's arm, trying not to notice her friend's pain. "I think that will be good," Tina said, leaning close to inspect her work. "Does it hurt?"
"It's not too bad," Rachel lied. "But I think I need to go sit down." Tina supported her a little more on the walk back and both girls slumped tiredly against the wall again. "What time is it?" Rachel asked dully.
Tina checked her watch. "Almost 11:00pm."
Rachel closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. "We're never getting out of here," she whispered.
Tina looked at her in shock. "Rachel! Yes we are! Someone will find us. We're going to be fine."
Rachel opened her eyes, blinking away tears. "What does he want with us?" she asked. "Why did he take us and why is he keeping us? I don't understand."
Tina felt her own eyes tear up. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "We just have to keep hoping. We're in this together and we're going to be ok."
Rachel nodded, closing her eyes again. "I hope so," she said tiredly. "I really hope so."
!
Tina stayed awake most of the night, keeping watch over her friend. It had scared her when Rachel started giving up. Rachel Berry was a fighter through and through and if she was giving up…well, Tina decided that she was not going to let that happen. They were going to be ok.
She glanced over at Rachel as she shifted in her sleep. Small beads of sweat had started to break out on her forehead and when Tina touched her face gently, she found the skin cold and clammy. She frowned and checked her shoulder wound again but the makeshift bandage was holding and it wasn't bleeding much anymore. Tina rubbed her eyes tiredly. They had to get out of here.
She started thinking about everything she had learned about self defense, about protecting yourself. She thought about all the survivor shows her mother had loved. They needed a plan if they were going to get away. If only they could get the knife away from him, their odds would be greatly improved. He was still much stronger than them, but Tina figured having the knife would give them a vast advantage. If only there was a way to get it…
Glancing over at Rachel's sleeping form again, a plan started to form in her mind. It wasn't much and it was pretty much completely dependent on chance events, but it could work. It was the best she'd come up with so far.
"We're going to get out of here, Rach," Tina whispered to her sleeping friend. "We're going to go home."
!
Rachel opened her eyes slowly when she heard the door creak open. She saw sneaker-clad feet enter the room and fought to focus her eyes. A figure stopped by her head and stooped down.
"Rach," he whispered.
Rachel blinked. She knew that voice. "Noah?" She raised her eyes to his gorgeous hazel ones.
He grinned. "It's me."
She sat up slowly. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to rescue you."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Isn't that a line from Star Wars? Please tell me your rescue will go better than Luke Skywalker's did."
He winked at her. "Of course, babe. It's me."
She rolled her eyes and he reached down to help her up. He pulled her close to him and she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. "I'm so glad you found me," she whispered.
"Me too." His arms tightened around her and she leaned further into the embrace.
"I missed you."
He nuzzled the top of her head. "Of course you did."
She huffed in annoyance and felt his chest rumble beneath her cheek when he laughed. "I missed you too," he admitted. "But I'm here now and we're going home."
"Where's Tina?" Rachel asked, pulling away from him.
He looked at her, confused. "Tina? Tina's not here."
Rachel looked around her but the shack was empty. "Tina," she called.
"Rach, Tina's not here," Noah said.
"Tina!" Rachel called again. "TINA!"
"Tina!" Rachel gasped, opening her eyes, shooting upright.
Tina was by her side instantly. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Rachel looked at her friend in confusion, then at her surroundings. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to calm her beating heart. A dream. It was just a dream. Noah wasn't here, they weren't saved.
"Nothing," she murmured. "Just a bad dream."
Tina looked at her in concern, but nodded. "Ok. Listen, I think I have a new plan. It's not guaranteed to work, it probably won't, but we need to do something."
Rachel's mind was hazy from hunger, exhaustion and pain as Tina started detailing her plan but she forced herself to focus. This was important, this could get them home.
"That might work," Rachel said slowly when Tina had finished. "But do you think he'll be that careless?"
Tina shrugged. "I don't know. It's worth a shot, though, don't you think?"
Rachel shuddered. "Anything's better than spending any more time in here."
Tina nodded solemnly. "I'm with you. We just have to be ready when he comes in. This may be our last shot."