Rachel was in the floorboard of the police car. She'd watched a truck full of hockey and football players pull into the parking lot and didn't want them to see her. She knew many of their parents were probably involved in the riot taking place, but she'd prayed that none of them would show up. She found her bag and dumped its contents into the seat, searching for her cell phone. She needed to talk to Finn, even if there was nothing he could do.
Finding the phone, she dialed his number. No answer. She didn't leave a voicemail because she honestly didn't know what to say. She rose up and glanced out of the side window. Things were getting worse. More cars were on fire, more people on the ground. She was pretty sure she could hear gun shots in the plant. She tried calling her house but got the answering machine. "Why won't anyone answer the phone?" she said out loud.
Dialing Kurt, she closed her eyes. "Rachel," Kurt whispered into the phone, "I can't really talk right now. I think I'm going to die."
"What are you talking about?' she asked him, whispering as well.
"Blaine and I are trapped in the mall and there's fire everywhere," he told her, coughing softly.
"Oh no, Kurt, are you guys okay?"
"Blaine's arm is hurt, but so far that's it," Kurt told her.
"I'm scared, Kurt," Rachel told him, looking up and out the window again.
"That's sweet Rach, but we're going to be okay."
"No, I mean, I'm scared for me," Rachel told him, unable to stop the small smile his words brought.
"I thought you were at the police station?"
"No, the police officer brought me to the factory. Things are bad here," she told him.
"Why would he do that?" Kurt said furiously. "Are you in the factory?"
Rachel shook her head though he couldn't see it. "No, I'm trapped in the back of the car," she told him. She took a deep breath. "So many other cars are on fire," she said, her voice trembling. "What if this car is next?"
"He left you trapped in a police car?" Kurt scream whispered incredulously. "What was he thinking?"
"He's young and his friends were being shot at," Rachel snapped. "He was scared."
"It's nice of you to take up for him, Little Diva, but he's put you in danger. He left you in the back of a police car, for Christ's sake."
"I know," Rachel said. "I don't know what to do. And Finn isn't answering his cell phone," she said miserably.
"He's with Dad and Carol," Kurt told her. "They're on their way here."
"Oh," Rachel said, her throat working. She wanted Finn to come rescue her. Shadows moved around the car. "I'll call you back," she whispered, ending the call. She made herself as small as she could, praying no one looked in the windows and found her.
"What did she say?" Blaine asked Kurt.
"She said she'd call me back," Kurt told him, staring at his phone. "She sounds really scared."
"I can't believe he left her in a police car," Blaine said.
"How did you hear that?"
Blaine rolled his eyes. "You said it, twice."
"Oh, yeah." Kurt and Blaine had moved to the front of the mall. The fires weren't as bad here, but the smoke was still pretty thick. "I don't like this," he told his boyfriend. "I'm scared."
"We're going to be okay," Blaine told him. He looked around. "We need to try to get out of here."
"And go where?" Kurt asked. "Those idiots have the exits blocked."
"If we stay in here we're in trouble," Blaine told him. "We've got to risk it."
Kurt took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Let me call Dad and tell them what we're doing."
Finn got closer to the mall and pulled out his phone. He wanted to check on Rachel. He saw that she'd called him and quickly called her back. It went straight to voicemail. "Crap," he muttered, closing his phone.
Burt's phone rang and he answered it. "You're going to do what?" he said. "Where are you?" He paused, listening. "We're here, okay?" He nodded. "We'll be there."
"What did he say?" Finn asked when he'd hung up.
"They're going to try to get out of the door closest to the Footlocker," Burt told him.
"Then we'll go to that door and help them," Finn said, driving in that direction.
Finn parked on the sidewalk in front of the door in question. "Mom, you need to stay in the truck," he told Carol. She started to protest. "Someone might try to take it," he said, cutting her off. "You need to stay in so no one does."
"We'll be right back babe," Burt told her, kissing her.
"I love you both," Carol said, trying not to cry. "Be careful."
Finn grabbed his ball bag and pulled out another bat for Burt. Burt took it, nodding. They moved towards the door quickly, not sure what Kurt and Blaine were up against on the inside.
Blaine pulled the top of a wooden shelf off of the wall, handing it to Kurt. "You may need this," he told him.
"Blaine, I would never be able to hit anyone with this," Kurt told him, upset. "I just don't have it in me."
"Then you can hand it to me and I'll do it," Blaine told him. "We're getting out of here, Kurt."
Kurt swallowed, nodding. "Okay."
"Let's go."
The two boys walked out of the clothing store they were in, surprised at the number of people still running around. Men and women were running into stores and grabbing clothes, shoes, books, etc. Even more people were destroying everything they came into contact with. A few people darted in and out of the shadows, looking terrified. Kurt figured that he and Blaine had the same look on their faces.
They walked by a trash can that was on fire and the heat from it startled Kurt. He jerked away quickly, causing him to stumble. "Hey!" someone shouted behind them.
"Run Kurt!" Blaine yelled at him, pushing him forward. Kurt ran toward the door, knowing that once he got there he'd still have to move the mountain of stuff in the way before they could get out.
He looked back to say something to Blaine but didn't find him. Stopping, Kurt turned around to see Blaine being attacked by two boys from their high school. He was on the ground, the other boys stomping on him.
Rage ran through Kurt's body, unlike anything he'd ever known. "Get away from him!" he yelled, running back towards them. Holding the board with both hands, he swung it towards the first bully, hitting him in the back as hard as he could. The boy fell down, screaming.
The second bully looked up at Kurt, sneering. "Hit me, fag," he said, a smile on his face. "Do it."
Kurt swung the board but the bully dodged it, grabbing it and pulling. Kurt staggered forward, not letting go. Seeing that Kurt had a firm hold on the board, the bully pushed it backward, slamming it into Kurt's chest. Kurt dropped to his knees, the breath knocked out of him. Blaine shot up from the ground with a hit to the guys balls, dropping him. Taking the board from him, he hit him in the shoulder.
"Blaine, let's go," Kurt said to the boy as he continued to hit the kid on the ground. "Let's get out of here."
Blaine nodded, breathing hard. "Thanks, Kurt," he said, pulling him in for a hard kiss.
"Well if I'd known I'd get a kiss like that," Kurt mumbled, following his boyfriend to the door.
They began pulling things from the front of the door, finally seeing light. Kurt kept looking behind them, expecting another threat to show up at any moment. "Kurt!" he heard his Dad call.
"Dad?" Kurt said. "Dad!" He began pulling harder at the wooden bench that had been overturned against the door. "We're here!"
He never saw the blow to his head coming. One moment he was pulling on the bench, the next he was lying on the ground staring up at the mall's ceiling. "Burt!" Blaine yelled, struggling with the two bullies they'd just fought off. "Finn, help!"
Finn and Burt heard Blaine's frantic shout and started working harder to get in. A large man tackled Burt from the side, knocking him down. "Get off of him!" Finn yelled, moving away from the door.
"Help Kurt!" Burt said, fighting the man off.
Finn stared at him for a second, then renewed his efforts on getting the door cleared. He glanced over to see Burt hit the man with one of the baseball bats they'd left propped against the side of the mall. Looking back at the door, he could see through enough to see Blaine fighting two guys. He didn't see Kurt at all. "Shit," he said, pushing on a large wooden bench that was in his way.
"Don't drop that!" Blaine screamed through the door. "You'll hit Kurt!"
"Damn," Finn said, looking at Burt.
"Let's push it out of the way," Burt said.
Finn nodded in agreement, though he wasn't sure that was a good idea. They didn't know where Kurt was; they could inadvertently push it over onto him. "One, two, three," Burt said, and together they pushed the bench. It barely moved. "One, two three," Burt said again, refusing to give up. The bench moved a little more. "Now let's push it to the side," Burt said after they got it moved out of the doorway.
Pushing together, they were able to move the bench enough that they could get through the door. Burt charged in, grabbing the boy closest to him. Finn ran back and grabbed the bats, then moved into the mall. "Get back!" he shouted, holding one of the bats up, ready to swing. "Get back or I'll knock your brains out."
The two boys moved back, glaring at Finn. "You'll get yours, Hudson," one of the boys said, spitting.
"Kurt!" Burt yelled, joining Blaine on the floor beside the boy.
"They hit him in the head," Blaine said.
Finn looked at the blood on his brother's head and felt sick. "Move," he said, bending down to pick the other boys up. "Burt, you and Blaine grab the baseball bats." He carried Kurt out of the mall, running for the truck.
"Put him in the back," Burt told him, lowering the tailgate.
"I'll ride back here with him," Blaine said. Finn nodded, sliding his brother gently into the truck. When Blaine jumped in, Finn shut the tailgate.
"I'm awake," Kurt said, trying to sit up.
"I knew it, you just wanted Finn to carry you," Blaine joked, tears falling down his face.
"My head hurts," Kurt said, wincing.
"We'll get you to a hospital," Burt said.
Kurt's phone rang. "That's Rachel's ringtone," Finn said. "Let me see your phone."
Kurt searched for the phone. "Finn, Rachel isn't at the police station," he told the other boy. "She's at the factory, trapped in a police car."
The entire world stopped. "What?"
He found the phone, handing it to Finn. "She tried to call you earlier. She's scared."
"We need to go get her," Blaine said.
Finn answered the phone. "Rach?"
"Finn!" Rachel said, her voice scared. "They're moving around the car!"
"Who is?" he asked her.
"I don't know," Rachel said, crying softly. "I can't hear what they're saying and I'm afraid to look."
"Don't move, Rachel," he told her. "I'm coming."
"Please come get me, Finn," she said. "I don't like this." Rachel saw large shadows cover the windows. What were they doing?
Finn was saying something but she wasn't listening. The car started rocking. Rachel gasped. What was this? Soon the car started bouncing. "Finn," she said into the phone, cutting off what ever he was saying, "I think they're trying to tip the car over!"
Finn jumped in his truck, motioning for the others to get in quickly. "Rach, let them know you're in there."
"No!" she whispered. "I don't want them to know I'm here!"
The fear in her voice broke his heart. "Rach, if they tip it over you could be hurt."
"If they know I'm in here they'll make sure I'm hurt," she said.
"What's going on?" Burt asked Blaine through the back truck window as Finn sped out of the mall parking lot. Blaine told him what was happening to Rachel.
The car bounced higher and higher, throwing Rachel against the car door. Crying harder, she didn't know what to do. With a collective push, the men outside the car managed to push it all the way over and it rolled onto its top. Rachel fell hard against the roof of the car, crying out as she hit her head.
"Did you hear that?" a man outside the car said. Several of them bent down and looked inside the car. "Well I'll be damned," one of them said, grinning. "That's Berry."
"Finn, they see me," Rachel said, though she didn't know where her phone was. The men rose, using their shoes to kick the back windows of the car out. "Leave me alone!" she screamed. "Get away from me!"
Finn tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I'm coming Rachel!" he yelled into his phone. "I'm coming!"
A large boot busted through the glass, throwing pieces of it onto Rachel. "Stop!" she yelled at him. "Go away!"
Clearing the rest of the glass out of the window with his boot, the man leaned down and grinned at her. "Hey, Rachel, remember me?"
The blood drained from Rachel's face. Of all people to be at the factory, Josh Stevens was the one she most dreaded seeing. She'd known his dad worked at the factory, but she'd prayed he would be somewhere- anywhere- else. "Stay away from me," Rachel told him, moving as far away from him as possible. "Don't you come near me!"
"Now that ain't no way to be," the boy told her, smiling.
Finn recognized Josh's voice over the phone. "Don't you fucking touch her!" he screamed, almost hitting a parked car.
"Finn," Burt said, "you won't do her any good if you wreck before you get there."
Josh reached into the car, grabbing at Rachel's ankle. Rachel kicked his hand, jamming one of his fingers. "You bitch!" he yelled. "You'll pay for that." Getting on his knees, he crawled through the glass until he was partially in the car, grabbing at her with both hands.
Rachel screamed as loud as she could. She screamed and kicked at his hands, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. The boy clasped onto one of her ankles, using it to pull her closer to him. Rachel fought him, twisting and kicking, trying to yank her foot out of his grasp. "Bitch," the boys said again as she connected with his arm. He kept pulling, no matter what she did.
Rachel screamed more, praying that someone would hear her and come help. She couldn't let Josh take her. She grabbed the passenger seat armrest, determined to not let go. "Someone get me a knife," Josh yelled behind him. He looked back at Rachel and smiled. "Let's see if you can hold on to that while I dig a knife into that pretty little leg."
Finn almost passed out from the combination of rage and fear Josh's words brought. "I'm going to kill him," Finn said to no one. "I'm going to kill him."
Carol sat in the passenger seat, crying. Burt put his arm around her and looked at Finn. "Just get us there, son. Just get us there."
Someone behind Josh handed him a knife. "No," Rachel pleaded. "Don't do this."
Josh pulled the blade out, smiling at her. "You want to come with me?" Rachel shook her head, sobbing.
Finn heard her scream and knew that the boy cut her.