Rachel awoke with a groan as her senses returned. The pounding in her head got stronger and stronger as everything came back in full force and it felt like her mind was tearing itself apart. She had hoped that when the blackness had overrun her the day before, she wouldn't be waking up again but she'd never been very lucky in life. It was no surprise that death wouldn't allow her any more comfort. Uncaring for her mental and physical faculties anymore, she pushed through the extreme pain to ward off her room again feeling the light drip of blood from her nose as her power was forced outward. Standing up from her bed, she wiped the blood with her sleeve and began to stumble towards the bathroom only to see an envelope addressed to her on the floor.

Picking up the note, the brunette opened it and read Quinn's words as a few drops of blood stained the paper. She should have expected it, but her heart still sunk after she finished reading everything. She let the note flutter to the ground and shuffled to the bathroom weakly. Her body was uncooperative. The lack of food and real sleep, along with her constant use of power was taking its toll. The blonde's note had cemented all of the things the visions had told her though. Quinn had left and though Rachel knew it was for the other girl's own good, she felt responsible. If anyone should have been forced to go, it should have been her. The only reason she had stayed was because Quinn had asked her so brokenly. Now she had no reason left and she'd break no promise in going.

Noting the black rings under her eyes and the blood dripping from her nose, she quickly washed her face and gathered a few things. Every movement hurt, but to her it was punishment for everything she had done. Rachel changed as quickly as she could, leaving the bloodied shirt on her bed. She picked up the duffle bag gingerly, stumbling slightly but finding purchase on the wall. Opening her door slowly, she stepped out into the hallway still warding people away but knowing most were in classes. She used the lockers and walls to help her travel to the stairs with the goal of getting off campus to push herself to the limit.

The pain was almost unbearable, but she was nothing if not determined. Leaning against the railing, she made it down the stairwell and to the first floor. She could feel tears well up in her eyes, but she pushed onward and moved towards the front doors. There were a couple of students, but none made a move to attempt to approach her. Actually, they seemed to stare at her strangely. She figured she looked like crap, slumped over and hauling a bag with tears running down her face. She brought her fingers up to wipe away the liquid from her cheeks, but it felt more viscous than normal. Looking down at her hand she saw dark red coating her fingers and released a short, maniacal laugh. It figures that she'd be crying tears of blood. Her mind and body were slowly giving out.

It didn't matter anymore. She had a goal. If her body could just keep it together until she got past the gates then she'd be granted a short reprieve. Rachel knew where she was headed. She would pay for everything finally. She was heading home. She'd confess to the families of the boys she'd murdered and let them decide her punishment. She couldn't turn herself in. Conventional prisons would do nothing for someone like her. No...she'd confess, let them dole out their punishment and if she was still alive once they'd sated themselves, she'd find somewhere to live alone for the rest of her cursed life.

She just needed to make it beyond the gates. She could feel herself limping and staggering as she walked. Her vision was blurring, but she continued to push. The fresh air was sobering for a moment, but her body was so run down that it had only offered a brief reprieve. The distance to the front gate seemed like an ocean and the brunette desperately wanted to release her power, but she didn't want to be stopped. This promise to herself was all she had left...

Puck was heading back from the stables. He liked to sit and think, hiding out in his horse's stall, and he had a lot of thinking to do. He briefly actually considered talking to Apache about it... then he decided to start acting like a normal human being and go talk to an actual person... Not about his problems, of course, but he'd promised Quinn he'd check on Rachel.

He didn't need to make it all the way back to the main building, before he found the girl. She looked worse than he felt, and that was saying a lot. Was she bleeding from her eyes?

"Rachel?"

Rachel heard someone call her, but kept pushing onwards registering that it was Puck. "Leave me alone..." she said, pushing on towards the exit. She was almost there and then she could rest for a while. The brunette figured she could find a bus station and start on her journey home. At least where her home had been when she was a child.

"Rachel, no. You're hurt..." He shook his head, catching up to her, as she kept going. "Rachel... stop!" He grabbed her wrist, not knowing how else to keep her where she was.

Rachel tensed when Puck touched her and turned to face him, pushing into his mind. She was almost ready to tear through his memories, but she stopped herself pulling back and realizing that he was a friend. The boy had never hurt her. He'd only ever tried to help and she couldn't be a monster to him, even if she knew she was. She skimmed the surface of his memories, seeing his affection for Quinn and the time they'd recently shared. It almost made her sick thinking about how she'd screwed that up for them. "I'm so sorry..." she said in a whisper before forcing him away with her mind.

She stumbled away towards the gate, feeling even worse. Now Rachel knew she'd made the right decision in going back home. This was the only way she'd ever be able to live, or die, absolved of her mistakes.

Puck froze when he felt Rachel inside his mind. It felt more invasive than when Doc did it, even though he could tell - only from the look on her face - that she was holding back a great deal.

Then she was pushing him away with her power and he was forced to let go of her, as he stumbled back and fell to the ground. He already felt drained as it was, having held back his own power that had been pushing against his resistance, all day. He'd been afraid to slip into invisibility, for fear of never regaining control.

"Rachel. Come back!" He managed to yell after her, before his energy finally left him, and he couldn't keep the darkness from advancing upon his consciousness any longer. Just like that, he faded, powerless to stop it.

Rachel saw Puck drop and fade out. She didn't have much energy left, but she couldn't leave him the way he was. Dipping into her final reserves, feeling like her blood was almost boiling, she dipped inside his mind and forced his brain to reset. At least while he was unconscious he would be visible. The strain made her falter for a moment and dizziness passed over her.

She made her way out of the front gate, finally releasing her power as her body bowed from the force. She quickly rushed over to the sewer grating on the street to be sick, seeing blood mixed in with bile. Her body and mind weren't happy and she knew that rest was what she needed, but sleep would be hard to come by. She figured once she got to the bus terminal and purchased her ticket, she could at least stop for a while. Dragging herself onward, the brunette said goodbye to the possibility of a new start and greeted her cursed fate.