Part V

"Oh my God" was the only thing Kurt got to say before turning to the side and emptying what little he had in his stomach on that lovely plant the Jones had next to the back door.

The backyard looked like a scene out of a horror movie; that was quite clear. There was blood, lots of it and the lawn was all messed up, as if there had been a fight or someone had dragged something across it. But mostly, there was blood covering the snow everywhere.

And there was a body lying there, or parts of it.

"Well, I think we can say there was quite a fight here" Puck said, coldly, but with a tremble in his voice that betrayed his true emotions. "This is the first time I see a dead body" the guy said, getting closer and turning the body around.

"I saw some on the way from Westerville" Kurt said, whipping his mouth with some disposable tissues he had with him, courtesy of Blaine who introduced him to the habit. "Who is it, Puck?"

"I don't know, its face is missing" the man said, barely containing the dry heaves.

"It's not Mercedes, is it?" Kurt asked, fearing the answer but completely unable to get closer and look himself.

"No, it's a dude" Puck answered, looking around and expecting to find someone else. "I think it's her father, but I don't really knew the guy so I might be wrong"

"Take a look at his hands; he had a weird skull ring next to his wedding ring" Kurt suggested weakly. On the backyard Puck took one of the man hands in his and examined his fingers.

"Yeah, it's him then…"

"Oh, God… Mercedes" Kurt whispered, taking a hand to his mouth in though. Wherever his friend was she'd be devastated if she knew about this. She was a daddy's girl through and through. He knew perfectly how it felt to lose a parent and he really didn't want that for the girl, for no one he loved, but right now his heart went with Mercedes.

He let his body fell to the side and slide down the door frame.

Puck was by his side a couple minutes later, looking positively white, and really worried. He sat in front of him and took him in his arms, letting him rest and breathe against his neck until Kurt calmed down.

"We should get going" Puck said after a while. "I don't think your girl is anywhere near here, though we could try and leave her a message just in case she comes back"

"Ok. I'm sorry"

"It's ok. I felt like resting a bit too" Puck said, trying to lighten up the mood a little. It wasn't really working, but Kurt appreciated it anyway.

They left a message in the fridge and the notepad besides de phone, which were the obvious places to look for something like that. Puck was ransacking the house in search of batteries and flashlights while Kurt looked for any kind of weapon they could use. He sent a mental sorry to Mercedes about stealing, but he was sure the girl would understand.

It was close to midnight and they were tired, but this was way more important than sleeping, they were almost ready anyway.

"I feel kind of bad about Mr. Jones" Puck said when Kurt went to stand next to him while he threw food to his backpack.

"It's not like we can bury him, Puck" Kurt said, looking uncomfortable.

"We could try to cover him at least. It doesn't feel right to leave his body there, vulnerable to anything that might happen" he added, scratching softly the nape of his neck "You keep doing this and I'll go cover the body with some snow, say a kaddish maybe, leave some kind of sign of where it is… just… dunno, it feels weird to leave the body there, ok?"

"Let's finish this up and I'll go with you. I'd rather say good bye too" Kurt said, his eyes downcast.

They filled the backpack with as much as they could, Kurt having all his pockets full of batteries and candles in his bag. They were in the garage, looking for shovels, when they hear the first sound they had hear in hours.

It freaked them out.

It was a low growl, like that of a dog and it carried through the air with an acrid smell.

Kurt looked at Puck, trying to keep his calm, while the other boy took the gun from his hands and opened the door to the house. They walked silently to the backyard, looking out for any strange thing. For all they knew it must have been a dog, but it was so difficult to really believe that given everything that had happened in the last days that they couldn't help but feel scared.

At least Kurt was sure that Puck was just as scared as he was if the trembling he could feel under his hands was any indication.

The mohawked boy opened the door slowly, as if he really didn't want anyone to hear it creak.

"It's gone" he muttered after looking out for a couple of seconds. "The body is gone; it was dragged away".