Chapter 5 – Lights Out
Quinn wrapped her arms more tightly around Rachel's waist and pulled their bodies closer together. The brunette had her arms around Quinn's neck and was on her tiptoes as she continuously captured Quinn's lips with her own. Quinn knew she was late to meet the Watcher's Council, but it was hard to care when Rachel was pressed up against her.
As Rachel's tongue continued to slide against hers, Quinn suppressed a moan. Ever since she kissed Rachel four days ago, she couldn't seem to get enough of it. They were definitely making up for lost time after spending so many months apart. Neither seemed to want to let the other go and Quinn found it hard to care about anything else at the moment. All that mattered to her was that she was with Rachel again and nothing was going to change that this time.
"Didn't you say there was somewhere you needed to be this morning?" Rachel asked when she finally pulled back enough to speak.
"It's not important," Quinn said, brushing her lips against Rachel's.
"I'm sure it's very important if it involves your Slayer duties," Rachel commented.
"It's just—the Council," Quinn said, shaking her head.
Rachel gasped and extracted herself from Quinn's arms. "The Council is here?"
"Yeah," Quinn replied, reaching out from Rachel's hand, so she could pull her back in.
"Quinn!" Rachel said, stomping her foot.
Quinn sighed. She really didn't want to deal with the Council right now. Kissing her girlfriend was much more fun than whatever hoops they would inevitably have her jump through. She didn't know what was in store for her over the next couple of days, but she could guarantee it wouldn't be anything fun.
"I'm only a little late," Quinn defended.
"Be that as it may, you need to go," Rachel stated. "Believe me, I wish we could stay here all day, but I'm fully aware that isn't possible." Rachel huffed. "And why didn't you inform me that the Council was coming?"
"I didn't want you to worry about it," Quinn said with a shrug. "And I kind of wanted to forget it, myself."
Rachel tilted her head and wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck once again. "You are going to do an amazing job at whatever the Council wants you to do. You are a wonderful Slayer and there's no way they won't be able to see that."
Quinn wanted to believe what Rachel was saying, but she had a feeling she was going to mess everything up. She knew the fact that she was late to their first meeting wasn't going to endure her to them—not to mention that her Watcher was going to be angry with her—but the thought of leaving the auditorium was even worse than knowing they would be upset with her. They still had thirty minutes before they were supposed to be in the choir room and Quinn really wanted to put that half-hour to good use.
"I don't want to go," Quinn whispered.
"And I don't want you to go, either, but you have to," Rachel said, giving her lips a soft kiss.
Quinn sighed and said, "I know."
Instead of leaving, though, she leaned in and reclaimed Rachel's lips. She expected the brunette to protest, but instead, she eagerly returned the kiss. Quinn kissed her deeply as she continued to try to re-memorize every inch of Rachel. She hadn't even realized that somewhere along the way, she'd forgotten what Rachel felt like. That she had forgotten what Rachel tasted like and how soft her skin was beneath Quinn's fingertips.
"You should go," Rachel said as Quinn moved her lips to Rachel's neck.
"I know," Quinn mumbled as she moved across the smooth flesh.
"They're not going to be happy," Rachel added.
"I know," Quinn repeated.
Rachel groaned as she put her hands on Quinn's shoulders and pushed her back. "You are really not making this easy, are you?"
Quinn smirked. "I wasn't aware I was supposed to."
"Quinn Fabray, I demand that you go to the training room at once," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Do you really want me to go?" Quinn asked, taking a step toward the brunette.
"You know I don't, but what I want doesn't matter," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I have a duty, and unfortunately that means you need to go. I don't want the Council to blame me for your tardiness and I would rather you not upset them. I don't exactly know what they could do, but it's certainly not good to have the group that looks out for your well-being angry with you. Now, go to the training room."
Quinn sighed. "Fine." She gave Rachel a quick kiss. "I'll see you at the Glee meeting if they actually let me out. I really don't know what they have planned for me this morning."
Rachel nodded. "If not, I'll see you at lunch."
Quinn gave Rachel one last kiss before reluctantly grabbing her bag from the floor and heading for the door. She dreaded what was to come and was already counting down the minutes until the Council members were back on their plane to England.
The moment Quinn opened the training room door, all eyes were on her. There were four people in suits—two men and two women—standing near her Watcher. The only one she recognized was Mr. Walsh, but none of the other three had been there the previous time the Council visited.
"You're late," Beiste stated.
"I know," Quinn said.
"That's it?" Beiste asked.
Quinn shrugged, but didn't give any further explanation. She wasn't going to lie and she didn't think they would find it to be a valid excuse if she said she didn't want to part from her girlfriend. They clearly wanted her to explain because they all continued to stare at her. However, Quinn ignored the looks and set her bag down on the bench as she waited for them to begin.
"Well, let's get started, shall we?" Mr. Walsh said. "These are my associates Mr. Ryan, Miss Campbell, and Miss Roberts. Now that introductions are out of the way, we'll get to it. I'm sure you remember the last time we were here."
"How could I forget?" Quinn mumbled.
"Yes, well, this will be similar," Mr. Walsh continued. "We will be observing you as well as testing you in a variety of ways. We need to make sure you are physically and mentally prepared for the duties you have as a Slayer. You last Watcher wasn't performing up to the standards we expected of her, and as a result, we feel you've fallen behind where we wished you would be. We hope to find that Miss Beiste has bridged this gap. If not—well, we'll discuss when the time comes. I am to understand you must attend class in an hour, so we will—"
"Actually, I only have twenty-five minutes," Quinn interrupted.
"Why is that?" Mr. Walsh asked.
"I have a mandatory Glee meeting before school starts," Quinn answered.
"Well then, I suppose we should hurry," Mr. Walsh said. "We wouldn't want to interfere with your life here."
As he turned his back, Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes since the other four people in the room were still watching her. She didn't believe for a moment that Mr. Walsh cared about interrupted her life; quite the opposite, actually. But Quinn wasn't going to give up everything in her life just because the Council decided to pay her a visit. Those aspects of her life were the things that kept her sane and gave her something worth fighting for—worth living for.
"Miss Roberts, if you will," Mr. Walsh said after a moment of silence.
"Your first test will take place during your lunchtime," Miss Roberts—a redhead who looked to be in her late thirties—said as she stepped forward. "We expect you to promptly meet us in the gymnasium after you've deposited your things for safekeeping. It will be a test of both planning and agility, so you may prepare accordingly."
Quinn had no idea how she was supposed to prepare for it. She had no clue what was to come, and even if she did, there probably wasn't much she could do. She knew she was just going to have to get through this on skill and possibly a little luck. No matter how well she did, though, she had a feeling it would never really be good enough for the Council.
"We would also like to ask you a few questions," Miss Roberts said, motioning to one of the other Council members.
"We are aware that several people know of your identity as the Slayer," Miss Campbell said, pulling out a notebook. "How many people total?"
Quinn glanced at her Watcher, wondering what the other woman had told them. "Six."
"Six?" Mr. Walsh asked.
"Six," Quinn repeated.
"That is two more individuals than the last time it was reported to us," Miss Campbell commented.
"Sylvester is psychotic," Santana said, bursting into the room. "She made us start practice at four. Four! We've been running laps for hours and all because some dumbass freshman girl gained a couple pounds."
"Not now," Quinn said, glancing at the vampire.
"Who are these guys?" Santana asked.
"Members of the Watcher's Council," Quinn said, raising her eyebrow.
"Right," Santana replied. "I'll just be—somewhere else."
The vampire turned and quickly left the room. She'd told Santana that the Council was coming, but it had apparently slipped her mind. Quinn didn't want her friend anywhere near them; it was no telling what they would try to do if they knew who she was. She knew before that they wished to do tests on her, but Quinn wasn't going to let it happen then and she definitely wasn't going to let it happen now. She wasn't going to let her friend be the Council's guinea pig.
"Who was that?" Mr. Walsh asked.
"Just another student," Coach Beiste replied.
"Right," he replied, crossing his arms. "Remember, be at the gymnasium once your lunch bell rings. "We need the full hour and if you're late, you will not pass." He looked back at his three companions. "I believe that's it for now. You may leave."
Quinn nodded and walked to pick up her bag with a sigh. She knew this was going to be a very long day and it had barely even begun.
Quinn walked into the choir room early after going to the auditorium to see if Rachel was still there. Rachel was sitting on a chair on the bottom row and smiled when she looked up.
"I thought you were meeting with the Council," Rachel commented.
"They basically just told me I need to go to the gym during lunch," Quinn said with a shrug.
"What do they want you to go to the gym for?" Rachel asked.
"They're testing me somehow," Quinn said, leaning down to kiss Rachel. "I didn't really ask for any details since I knew they wouldn't give them to me. Wouldn't want to make this easier on me, right?"
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "I know they're supposed to be here to help you, but I really do not like them sometimes."
"I know the feeling," Quinn said as she sat down.
"Were they unhappy with you for being late?" Rachel asked.
"Probably," Quinn replied.
Rachel frowned. "Did they say anything?"
"Not really," Quinn said. "But I'm sure they'll make me pay for it later." She sighed. "Can we talk about something else? I would really like to forget that they're here."
"We can talk about next Saturday," Rachel said with a smile.
"What's next Saturday?" Quinn asked.
"We're going on a date," Rachel stated, her smile growing. "You know—unless you have to save the world from evil. In that case, I'm afraid we'll have to postpone it."
"What did you have in mind?" Quinn asked, smiling back at her girlfriend.
"I'm not certain yet, but I'm sure I will think of something between now and then," Rachel said, looking contemplative.
Quinn really didn't care what they did. As long as she was with Rachel, that was all that mattered. They had barely gotten any time to themselves since rekindling their romance—just a little bit of time here and there—and Quinn would love nothing more than to have an entire evening alone with Rachel. Really, they could spend the evening watching movies at Rachel's house and Quinn would think it was the best date she'd ever been on.
"How long until this meeting is supposed to start?" Quinn asked.
"Around ten minutes," Rachel said, looking at her phone. "Why do you ask?"
Quinn smirked and pulled Rachel out of her chair and onto her lap. The brunette squeaked in surprise, but was quickly silenced when Quinn pressed their lips together. Within moments, Rachel's arms were wrapped around her neck and she was returning Quinn's kiss. Quinn smiled in the kiss, relishing the feeling of Rachel in her arms once again. She didn't want this moment to end and wished they could stay like this for the rest of the day.
"Whoa, sorry."
Quinn groaned when Rachel pulled away and then looked over the brunette's shoulder to see who had interrupted them. It was the new kid, Sam, and his face was red. She noticed that Rachel's arms became a little tighter around her neck before she let go and sat back in the seat she'd previously occupied.
"It's our fault," Rachel said, reaching out for Quinn's hand, and entwining their fingers together.
"I can go if you want," Sam said, pointing over his shoulder.
"No need," Rachel replied. "I'm sure everyone else will be along shortly.
Sam looked hesitant, but he nodded and walked into the room, sitting down far away from Quinn and Rachel. No one in the room said anything, but Rachel continued holding her hand, sometimes drawing circles on the back of Quinn's hand with her thumb. Quinn frowned when she noticed her girlfriend shoot Sam a disgruntled look and raised her eyebrow when Rachel huffed upon turning her head to the front. She couldn't tell if it was jealousy at Sam's crush on her or if it was just annoyance at being interrupted.
Slowly, the rest of the club filed into the room, but it remained relatively quiet. Everyone looked far too tired at having to be there earlier than usual. Quinn was surprised Puck had even come to the meeting, and within a minute of him sitting down, she heard snores coming from the back of the room. Several of the other members of New Directions didn't look like they were fairing much better; Tina had her eyes closed as she rested her head against Mike's shoulder and Mercedes' eyes looked like they were trying to shut.
"Alright, I'm happy to see everyone's here!" Mr. Schue said far too loudly when he walked in.
"Did we have much choice?" Mercedes mumbled.
"As you all know, the Fall Festival is this evening," he stated. "We need this to go well to raise as much money as we can, so I need everyone to be on top of their game. The more tickets we sell, the better off we'll be when we make it to Nationals this year!" He looked around as if he expected cheers, but there was silence. "The festival starts at six, but I need you all to be here by four to help set up. As I previously announced, our normal Glee meeting has been cancelled, so you all can go home, get something to eat, and then be back here to set up. I expect everyone to participate. No exceptions. If you want to be part of this club, you need to do your share of the work. Are there any questions?" He looked around, but no one spoke up. "Okay, if you don't have any questions, we can spend the rest of the time going over the setup for the festival and who will be manning which station."
"This is going to be such a long day," Quinn said, sinking down in her seat when Mr. Schue grabbed a marker and begin drawing on the whiteboard.
"We'll make it through," Rachel said, squeezing her hand, and giving her a smile. "I promise."
"Where's Quinn?" Mercedes asked.
"She had something to do at lunch," Rachel answered.
"And you're not with her?" Mercedes said.
"It's shocking, isn't it," Kurt said with a smirk.
"What's so shocking about it?" Rachel asked.
"Well, you've been sorta inseparable this past week," Mercedes commented.
"We didn't know if you knew how to be apart for more than an hour," Kurt added.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "That is an exaggeration. I admit that we've been spending time together when we get the chance, but not to the extent that you're suggesting."
She wished they hadn't been apart for more than an hour, but with Quinn's Slayer duties, that was hard to do. Really, they hadn't gotten nearly enough time together since Quinn walked into the auditorium four days ago. She still couldn't believe it happened. Couldn't believe that Quinn had forgiven her. Part of her thought this was all a wonderful dream and that she was going to wake up from at any moment. She spent so many months wishing that exact thing would happen, and now that it had, it didn't feel real.
"Sure," Mercedes said, giving Kurt a look.
Rachel ignored her friends; she was too busy worrying about how Quinn was doing. She didn't know why the Council was here—she didn't even know they were coming until Quinn told her—but knew what it was like the last time. Sometimes it seemed to her like they didn't think Quinn was a good enough Slayer, which was ridiculous. Even if she wasn't, they had her until the next was called—until Quinn died. It seemed pointless to constantly put her through tests when there was really nothing they could do. Her only guess was that they liked to appear in control and this was their way of doing that.
"Where are you going?" Kurt asked when Rachel stood.
"I'm going to go practice my vocal exercises," Rachel lied.
Truthfully, she was going to try to sneak into the gym and watch Quinn if it was possible. She knew the doors would probably be locked, but it was worth a try. It was certainly better than sitting there wondering how it was going, anyway.
She deposited her tray on the way out of the cafeteria and made her way to the gymnasium. As she expected the front doors were locked, but there were other ways in. She went to one of the side doors, but was once again barred access, so she took the nearest exit out of the school. She knew there was a door in the hallway at the end of the gym and she hoped they didn't notice it to lock it. She just didn't know which door led to it. The first one she tried went to the art classroom, but the next one was the one she was looking for. And they had forgotten to lock it.
She crept into the gym, quietly shutting the door behind her as to not alert them to her presence. She snuck down the hall and peered around the edge of the bleachers. Most of the gym floor was now taken up by what appeared to be an obstacle course of some kind. It was the kind of thing she imagined the military made their recruits go through. Not only that, but Quinn was stopped at one of the obstacles and it appeared as if she was working a puzzle of some kind.
"What is she doing?"
Rachel jumped at the sound of the sudden voice, but was able to stifle the scream that threatened to come out. "What are you doing here?"
"I followed you," Tina answered. "I was outside on the bleachers with Mike and I saw you walking around. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Who are those people?"
"The Watcher's Council," Rachel whispered.
"The people in England that Beiste works for?" Tina asked.
"Yes," Rachel answered. "They're here testing Quinn at the moment."
"Why?" Tina asked.
"I don't know," Rachel said, shaking her head. "But the last time they came, Coach Sylvester was put on probation for not being a very good Watcher. I just don't understand why they feel as if they need to put Quinn through all of this."
"I know," Tina agreed. "They're sort of stuck with her, aren't they?"
"Precisely," Rachel replied. "Oh, she made it past."
Rachel watched as Quinn scaled the wall in front of her, which had to be at least fifteen feet high, before dropping down on the other side. One of the Council members was standing between her and the next part of the course with a sword in his hands. Regardless of the weapon, Rachel had no doubt Quinn would easily disarm him.
"Ten minutes!"
"That's not long," Tina said.
"She'll make it," Rachel said, confident in her girlfriend's abilities.
She watched as the blonde easily made it past the man with a sword and then gasped when an arrow was shot at her as she proceeded to the next area. Quinn dodged it by rolling forward, but it looked like it barely went over her head.
"Are they trying to kill her!" Rachel said in a frantic whisper.
Quinn dodged two more Council members, who tried blocking her with staves. She disarmed one and used it to knock the other's legs out from underneath her. She threw the staff down, did a flip over a shorter wall, slid under a moving sheet of metal, and then rang a bell.
"Is that it?" Tina asked. "Is she done?"
Rachel smiled proudly. "I knew she could do it. We should probably get out of here before they see us."
She grabbed Tina's arm and pulled her toward the door. She didn't think the Council would be happy if they caught us watching and the last thing she wanted to do was get Quinn in trouble. She knew she shouldn't have been worried; Quinn was an excellent Slayer and she was confident her girlfriend would make the Council see that.
"How's it going?" Quinn asked, wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist from behind.
"It would be easier if I had someone to help me," Rachel said, leaning her head back on Quinn's shoulder.
Quinn laughed as she let Rachel go. "Sorry. They wanted to test me in hand to hand combat."
"How did it go?" Rachel asked.
"I think I gave one of them a black eye," Quinn said, cringing slightly. "They told me not to hold back and I didn't."
"I'm sure they were not happy about that," Rachel commented.
Quinn shrugged. "I was only doing what they told me to do."
"How long until you have to go back?" Rachel asked.
"Soon," Quinn replied, reaching out to hold the sign Rachel was trying to put up.
"Thank you," Rachel said as she taped the top, left corner.
"They're giving me a few hours once the festival starts, but then they want to observe me on patrol tonight," Quinn said as she made sure the banner was straight.
She wasn't thrilled about the idea of going on patrol with an entourage—she had no idea how they thought she was going to do her job with four people following her around—but she really didn't have a choice. Luckily, nothing was going on at the moment; just the normal vampire slaying.
"Do you seriously think that's how it goes?" Santana asked, nearly yelling.
Kurt huffed. "Fine, if you think you know how to do it, why don't you?"
"I see that's going well," Quinn said.
"She's already threatened to kill him once," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I don't understand why she's taking it out on Kurt. Mr. Schue was the one who didn't pair her up with Brittany. I'm sure there are people Kurt would have rather been with."
"Yeah, like anyone," Quinn remarked.
Quinn looked around the hallway; their booth was definitely behind as far as being set up. Brittany and Finn were down the hall to their left and Kurt and Santana's booth was set up to their right. The others were scattered down the rest of the hallway while other teams and clubs had theirs set up elsewhere. Rachel and Quinn had the booth that was selling baked goods—courtesy of Leroy's baking skills—but most of the others had different types of game booths.
"What do you need me to do?" Quinn asked.
"Well, you could attempt to fix the table leg," Rachel replied. "I don't know what's wrong with it, but it's making the whole table wobble and I'm afraid everything is going to end up in the floor. I asked Finn, but he couldn't seem to fix it."
Quinn frowned; she didn't like the idea of Rachel asking Finn for anything. "I'll fix it."
She leaned down to inspect the table and saw that it was missing the bottom piece, which made the leg shorter than the other three. Looking around, she saw just the thing she could use. She grabbed the plastic lid from Rachel's bottle of water and slid it under the leg, giving the table a shake to make sure it was stable.
"There," Quinn said, standing. "All fixed."
"That was certainly easier than Finn made it sound," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, well—it's Finn," Quinn replied.
"How do the cakes look," Rachel asked. "Do they make you want to pay money for them?"
"They look amazing," Quinn answered. "Who wouldn't want to eat Rachel Berry's cake?"
"Quinn!" Rachel, huffing.
"What?" Quinn asked with an innocent shrug.
"You don't have to make it sound so dirty," Rachel replied.
Quinn tried to suppress her smirk as she wrapped her arms around Rachel once again. "It's not my fault you took it that way. Maybe you're the one with the dirty mind."
"I will have you know, my mind is very clean," Rachel defended.
Quinn leaned down and placed a kiss on Rachel's cheek. "Whatever you say."
"Quinn!" Coach Beiste's gruff voice called.
The blonde sighed as she looked down the hall at her Watcher, who beckoned her. "I guess my break is over. I'll be back as soon as possible."
She began walking toward the training room, but just as she walked past Sam and Tina's booth, Mr. Schue stepped in front of her and asked, "Where are you going? Attendance to this is mandatory; no exceptions."
"Coach Beiste needs to see me," Quinn stated.
"I don't care," Mr. Schue replied. "You're being selfish to everyone else that's here participating, Quinn. First you were late and now you're taking off again. If you want to be part a part of Glee, you need to act like it. Everyone else here is working hard to raise money and I need to see you working just as hard as them."
Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she really didn't need someone telling her she didn't care or that she didn't work hard enough. Instead of responding, she walked past him and continued on her way to the training room. She had bigger things to worry about than if Mr. Schue thought she was dedicated enough to the Glee Club.
Quinn looked at the time and sighed; she was late for the festival starting even though she'd told Rachel she would be there before it began. The Council wouldn't stop asking her questions and refused to let her leave until they were through them all. And now she had to go deal with kids and whatever high school students that were lucky enough not to have to work the festival. It was already a pretty crappy evening and she had a feeling it was going to get worse. The only upside was that she was going to get to spend the next few hours with Rachel.
"Mr. Schue's looking for you," Brittany said as Quinn walked past her booth.
"Did he say what he wanted?" Quinn asked, stopping.
Brittany shook her head. "I think he noticed you weren't helping Rachel."
"Great," Quinn mumbled.
As Quinn turned, all the lights in the hallway suddenly turned off, plunging them into complete darkness.
"What's going on?" Finn asked from nearby.
Just as Quinn pulled out her phone to use as a light, the emergency lights came on. They weren't nearly as bright as the usual ones, but it at least allowed them to be able to see. It was then that she heard several screams and the exit just in front of her opened. It only took her a moment to realize that the three people entering were actually vampires. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw the door at the end of the hall open and two more vampires walked into the school.
One of the vampires in front of her growled and Quinn instinctively reached for the nearest object she could find. Her fingers wrapped around the small pole Finn and Brittany were using as a fishing reel and she swung it, hitting the nearest vampire in the head. It broke the pole in half, and the other two vampires attacked, sending the piece of wood flying out of her hand. She crashed into the table that was setup nearby and landed on the other side with a thud. She looked up and the two vampires at the end of the were now running in her direction.
"Ana!" she yelled. "Keep Rachel safe!"
The three vampires were standing between her and Rachel and she knew she wasn't going to be able to get to her girlfriend. Not without weapons and not when she was about to get attacked from behind by two more vampires. She had to trust that her friend would do what she said and keep Rachel safe.
She kicked one of the vampires that were bearing down on her and flipped to her feet. As she punched a second vampire and flipped him onto his back, she looked down the hall to see Santana grab Rachel and pull her into a nearby room with Kurt right behind him. Quinn threw another punch and then turned, grabbing Brittany and Finn, and pulling them into the open classroom they were standing just outside of. When she shut the door, she put her back to it, trying to hold off the vampires.
"Find something to block the door," Quinn commanded.
"Doesn't it lock?" Finn asked.
"Yes, if you have a key!" Quinn yelled.
Brittany and Finn ran over to the teacher's desk and pushed it toward the door. Once it was in place, Finn tried to move a filing cabinet, but he just looked as if he was going to burst a blood vessel trying. Quinn couldn't just leave the door with only the desk in front of it, so she motioned him over.
"Here," she said when he didn't move. "Hold this in place."
"I don't think you can move that," Finn said, wiping his forehead.
"Just get over here," Quinn growled.
He did as he was told and when he was braced against the desk, she ran over to the cabinet. It was heavy, but not too heavy for her to move. She slid it across the room and tipped it over onto its side so there was no risk of it falling over on one of them. She then quickly ran to a second filing cabinet and put it on top of the other. When she stepped back, she pulled Finn away to see if it was going to hold. She could hear the vampires hitting the door, but it wasn't budging.
"Dude, what's going on?" Finn asked.
Quinn shook her head. "I don't know."
"What are you doing?" Rachel asked.
"Shadow puppets," Santana sarcastically said. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?"
"But people are out there," Rachel stated. "Quinn is out there!"
"Q can take care of herself," Santana replied, not stopping what she was doing.
She was moving whatever she could in front of the door before anything was able to get in. She counted three vampires between her and Brittany, another one in the hall that was perpendicular to the hallway they were in, and at least two coming through an exit from behind. Since Kurt and Rachel stood there like idiots, she had to grab them both and throw them into the room. She didn't know who else was out there—if anyone—and she didn't really care. She knew Quinn had Brittany and that's all she cared about. She wasn't responsible for ensuring everyone's safety and she knew her chances of fighting off that many weren't very good. Hell, even Quinn had done the smart thing and ran for it.
"What was that?" Kurt asked, speaking for the first time.
"I have to make sure Quinn is okay," Rachel said.
"Can you two either shut up or quit being completely useless?" Santana asked as she pulled a filing cabinet toward the door.
"Stop," Rachel said, jumping in front of it.
"Move," Santana demanded.
"I just got Quinn back; I can't lose her already," Rachel said with tears in her eyes.
Santana rounded the cabinet, grabbed Rachel by the shoulders, and pinned her—not too hard because she didn't want Quinn to kill her—against the wall. "Listen, Berry. I know you're scared, but you're not the only one that has someone they love out there. Quinn told me to keep you safe, so I'm not letting you leave this room. If I do and anything happens to you, she'll stake my ass. Now, shut up and help me so we don't all die."
Santana released the brunette and grabbed the cabinet again. She would never tell anyone, but she was just as scared as Rachel was. She wanted to run back out there and do whatever it took to make it to Brittany, but she wasn't completely stupid. She was strong, but she had her limits. She knew that chances were the vampires were after Quinn, and since Brittany was in that room with her, they'd kill her in a heartbeat, too. Thankfully, the hall was fairly silent, so she took that to mean they weren't breaking down any doors just yet.
"Why didn't I have my phone on me?" Rachel asked.
Santana knew hers was in the training room, so she looked at Kurt. "Do you have yours, Lady Hummel?"
Kurt furrowed his brows as he looked at her. "What did you call me?"
"Do you have your phone or not?" Santana asked.
"No," he said, shaking his head.
She really needed to remember to stop saying things like that, but it was hard trying to be someone she wasn't. Of course, who the hell was going to think she was Santana. Santana was dead and buried—and stayed there—as far as everyone knew. They would just look crazy if they ever suggested she was Santana. She could tell by the look on Kurt's face that he thought it, though, and it wasn't the first time she'd seen him look at her like that. She just hoped he kept his mouth shut; she knew she didn't need to draw any attention to herself.
"Can we climb out one of the windows?" Rachel asked.
Santana looked over her shoulder before turning and walking over to look outside. "There's more of them out there."
"Can't we fight them?" Rachel asked.
"With what?" Santana asked, rolling her eyes. "Are you carrying a stake somewhere in that skirt of yours? Because I don't have one."
Rachel sighed. "No. It didn't occur to me that the school would be attacked and I would need one tonight."
"What are you two talking about?" Kurt asked.
"Kurt, would you please look around the room for something wooden?" Rachel asked.
"Why?" Kurt asked, looking confused.
"It's very important," Rachel added. "I can't really explain right now, but I will later."
Kurt threw his hands up and began doing as Rachel asked.
"How are you going to explain this to him later?" Santana asked.
"I don't know," Rachel sighed, "but I hoped it would give me enough time to think of a compelling lie."
"They're patrolling," Santana stated as she watched the vampires outside.
"They don't want anyone to get out," Rachel observed. "But why do they want us trapped in here?"
"I have a few guesses," Santana answered. "None of them are good."
Quinn was staring out the open window as she waited for her moment. One of the vampires was lagging slightly behind the others and she was waiting for his turn to walk by again. As soon as the current vampire had moved past, she was going to jump out and make a run around the side to the nearest door. She estimated that she would have just enough time to get back into the school without being spotted.
"Are you ready?" Quinn asked.
Brittany nodded. "I'm ready."
She didn't know if she would need Brittany's help, but if she did, she wanted the blonde to be prepared. There wasn't so much as a wood pencil in the classroom, so Quinn had nothing to dust one of the vampires if she had to fight it. Her greatest weapon at the moment was stealth and she couldn't have vampires lying around without someone noticing. She needed to get to the training room if she had any hope of ridding the school of the vampires and getting to Rachel.
"I'm going," Quinn said as she perched on the windowsill. "Whatever you do, don't leave the room." She glanced at Finn. "And try to keep him safe."
With that, she jumped down. The moment her feet hit the ground, she began running along the wall to the end of the building. There were other doors, but she wanted to enter as close to the training room as possible. She knew that once she was in the hall, it would be harder to move around. If she could just get to the door she was trying to get to, she would be close to the training room and could try to fight the rest of the way to the room.
As she put her hand on the doorknob, she could hear the next vampire coming. Her fear was that the door would be locked, but it turned in her hand and she quietly slipped back into the school. The classroom next to her was open, so she quickly entered in hopes that she wouldn't be seen by the vampires at the other side of the hall. There was a second door in the room, so she walked over and peeked around the corner.
Two vampires were there and seemed to be concentrating on a specific door, and she wondered who—or what—was inside. The locker room was about halfway between her and them, and if she ran quickly enough, she thought she could make before they caught her.
"Find her! Find the Slayer!"
Quinn froze; there was no doubt now that they were looking for her. She figured they were, but now she knew for sure. She wondered how many people had been killed during their search and if any of her friends were among them. At least she knew Rachel was safe. For now, at least. But it was only a matter of time before they broke into each classroom one by one.
She tried to put it out of her mind as she readied herself. As soon as she vampires began pounding on the door again, she took off down the hall. She was halfway to the locker room before either of them realized she was there. She heard one of them shout followed by footsteps, but by that time, she had run into the room.
"It's me!" she said, pounding on the training room door before she had to turn around and block a punch from one of the vampires.
She ducked as the other tried to grab her, kicking him back, causing him to trip over a bench. She traded punches with the female vampire while she tried to find a weapon—any weapon. Thankfully, the door opened behind her and she flipped the male vampire into the room when he ran at her.
Her Watcher tossed her a stake and she dusted the female vampire before she knew what hit her. The remaining vampire jumped to his feet, but Quinn did a roundhouse kick, which sent him crashing into the wall, and Quinn staked him before he could stand again.
"You're not dead," Miss Roberts said.
"Don't sound so surprised," Quinn said, walking to the left wall, where most of the weapons were kept.
She grabbed the duffle bag she kept nearby and began putting in as many weapons as she could fit. Daggers, a sword, stakes, holy water, crosses—she put in everything. She knew there were probably dozens of vampires in the school—and even more outside—and she was going to need everything she could get. Finally, she put a spare stake in her waistband and lifted the crossbow from the wall, checking to make sure she had plenty of arrows for it.
"Where are you doing?" Mr. Walsh asked.
"My job," Quinn answered. "Lock the door behind me. Wouldn't want you to be attacked, would we?"
"You are not going anywhere," he stated, trying to step in her way. "We are going to strategize and—"
"No, we're not," Quinn said, not caring if she was interrupting him. "I'm not going to let people die while I stand around—I'm not going to let my friends die."
"Your friends make you weak," Mr. Walsh said. "The faster you learn that, the quicker you will become a better Slayer."
Quinn shook her head. "You're wrong."
"Be careful," Beiste said.
As she left the training room, she heard the door close behind her. She was definitely on her own.
"Why are we still in here?" Kurt asked.
Santana rolled her eyes. "Would you like us to go out there?"
"Who are those people?" Kurt asked.
"Don't worry about it," Santana repeated for what felt like the tenth time in the past hour.
"Well, I am worrying about it," Kurt said, putting his hands on his hips. "I want to know what is going on and I can tell you know more than you're saying. Both of you. Rachel, are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Rachel didn't know what to say. Santana had been fielding his questions so far, but now he'd turned his attention to her, and she was far too worried about Quinn to come up with any answer. It was taking all of her strength not to begin crying. While she knew Quinn could handle herself, she couldn't help but fear she would lose her after just getting her back. She hated feeling so helpless; she wanted to go out there and fight. She may not be the strongest, but Santana was, and it didn't feel right that they were sitting in a room. Even if Quinn was okay, there were probably other people out there.
"Rachel!" Kurt said, throwing his hands up.
"I don't know what to say, Kurt," Rachel said, shrugging.
"The truth," Kurt demanded.
"The truth is you're being a complete pain in my ass right now!" Santana yelled. "Now, sit down and shut the hell up before I find something to gag you."
"Do you hear that?" Rachel asked, sitting up straighter.
"Hear what?" Santana asked.
"I heard—something," Rachel said, shaking her head. "It sounded like it was coming from down the hall. What if it's Quinn?"
"Or what if it's a va—something else," Santana said, scowling at Kurt.
"Are we just going to wait here to find out?" Rachel asked.
She couldn't take it anymore; she couldn't sit there and do nothing. She didn't care what Santana said or did. Something told her it was Quinn in that hall and she was going to go help her. She stood and walked do there door, where she began moving desks aside, but Santana was there in an instant.
"What the hell are you doing?" the vampire asked.
"I'm going to find Quinn," Rachel stated.
"Like hell you are," Santana retorted. "She told me to keep you safe and that's what I'm doing."
"You're doing nothing!" Rachel yelled.
Santana crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm going to ignore that you just yelled at me."
"What if it was Brittany?" Rachel asked. "What if she was the one out there right now who needed help and someone wouldn't let you go. How would you feel? You wouldn't let anything stop you and I'm not, either."
"Do you really think I won't be able to stop you, Berry?" Santana asked.
Rachel ignored her and began shifting more desks aside. She had moved two more when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She shrieked and fought against Santana, but the vampire held her tightly. So tightly that nothing she seemed to do had any effect. She kicked her legs and even clawed at the arms around her waist, but the hold on her didn't lessen.
"Put her down!" Kurt yelled.
"Berry, stop being stupid," Santana hissed into her ear.
"Let me go!" Rachel said, losing some of her fight.
"Not if you're going to try to leave this room like a complete moron," Santana stated.
Rachel covered her face with her hands as her tears began to flow. "I can't lose her."
"You won't," Santana replied.
"You don't know that," Rachel said. "She only just forgave me. I wasted so much time with her because of a terrible judgment call and the thought of never seeing her again makes me want to die."
Santana released her, but Rachel only slumped to the floor as she cried. After a minute or so, a pair of arms wrapped around her. At first she thought it was Kurt, but when she looked up, he was standing nearby looking concerned, and she realized it was actually Santana who was holding her. As she sat there, she grew quiet when she heard more noise in the hall. It sounded like fighting and she knew it had to be Quinn out there.
"Please help her," Rachel whispered.
She thought the vampire would refuse, but then Santana's arms were no longer around her and she heard the scrapping of desks being moved.
The vampire turned to dust before it even hit the ground and Quinn was already fighting the next in line. She ducked one punch, but the next connected and she hit the lockers with a grunt of pain. She'd lost count of how many she had killed between the training room and where she was now, but it seemed like there were no less than when she started. They just kept coming, and every time she killed one, another would show up.
She moved just as the vampire kicked out, causing him to hit the locker instead of her. While he was momentarily distracted by it, she plunged the stake into his chest. Just as he exploded, she was grabbed from behind and lifted off her feet with a growl. She swiftly moved her head back, connecting with the vampire's face, which caused him to drop her. She landed easily on her feet and sent her elbow back, hitting the vampire in the nose before staking him.
Two more were already coming down the hall, so she reached in her bag, grabbed her crossbow, and sent an arrow flying. It hit one directly in the chest, stopping her in her tracks, and turning her into dust. She quickly dropped the crossbow in her bag and grabbed a bottle of holy water. She threw it at the other vampire just as it neared, making it smoke everywhere the water touched its skin.
"Quinn!"
The blonde looked to her left, where Brittany's head was now poking out of the room. "Get back inside."
"Have you found San and Rach yet?" she asked, ignoring Quinn's command.
"I'm getting there," Quinn answered, ducking as the vampire tried to punch her. "Barricade the door back."
The other blonde frowned slightly. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"
Quinn could definitely use help, but she was afraid Brittany would get hurt, so she said, "I'm sure."
Quinn grabbed the vampire's arm as he tried to strike her and spun him around into the locker, staking him in the back. Another kicked her from behind and she fell forward, but quickly spun, landing a kick of her own. The vampire attempted to grab her, but Quinn ducked, sweeping the vampire's legs out from underneath her.
"Why are you guys here?" Quinn asked, pinning her to the ground.
"To kill you," the vampire hissed.
"I already know that," Quinn stated. "Why?"
The vampire managed to kick Quinn off and she landed on her back with a thud. She groaned as her the vampire laughed and was slow to get up. She was sore from all the kicks, punches, and throws she had to endure, not to mention the obstacle course the Council put her through.
"I promised him I'd be the one to kill you," the vampire said as she stood above Quinn.
The vampire pulled Quinn up and tried to bite Quinn's neck, but the Slayer put her stake between herself and the vampire. Before the vampire knew what hit her, she exploded into dust. There was only one other vampire in the hallway—a girl that looked no older than her—and when Quinn turned to her, she started backing away before turning and running to the nearest exit.
Quinn leaned over, putting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. As she stood again, she grabbed her side; she'd gotten knocked into a doorknob by one of the vampires and she knew her rib had to at least be bruised. Walking to the classroom she'd originally run into, she knocked.
"It's me," she said.
She heard scraping and after about a minute, the door opened. Quinn looked in the room and then looked at Brittany, wondering how she managed to move everything.
"I used a spell to levitate it," Brittany whispered as if she read Quinn's mind.
"Did Finn see you?" Quinn asked.
Brittany shook her head. "He's been sitting in the corner the whole time."
Together, the two walked to the room Santana had pulled Rachel into. She looked down the hall that was perpendicular to them and was fairly certain she saw a body lying in it, but she looked away, not wanting to draw Brittany's attention to it. Luckily, the hall the Glee members were in was free of anything that suggested one of them had died. There was a small bit of blood on one of the walls, but that didn't necessarily mean the worst.
"San!" Brittany called out as she leaned against the door.
Before Brittany had even said anything, she could already hear movement on the other side of the door. It opened only a few seconds later and Rachel launched herself into Quinn's arm. Quinn held tightly onto the brunette, ignoring the pain that radiated throughout her whole body.
"We were just coming to help you," Rachel said, and Quinn could feel her girlfriend's tears against her neck. "I was so worried."
"I had to physically stop her ass from coming out here," Santana said from nearby.
Quinn smiled as she kissed the side of Rachel's neck and said, "I'm here now. Everything's okay."
After finding the rest of their friends and then pulling everyone else out of the classroom, Quinn, Rachel, Brittany, and Santana made their way to the training room. There were several bodies in the hallways, but none of them were people Quinn recognized. Most of their friends had been in one classroom. Apparently Puck had fought off some of the vampires as he got everyone else safely inside. Mike had attempted to help Puck, but not knowing what he was up against, he got thrown into a locker, hitting his head. Puck and Tina were on their way to the emergency room with him and promised to let Quinn know how he was doing once they knew.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Quinn lied. "Mostly."
She was limping slightly and had her arm around Rachel's shoulder. She tried not to lean against her girlfriend, but she was so sore that it hurt to walk. There was no way Rachel didn't notice that she was leaning on her a bit, but she was nice enough not to mention it. When they walked into the locker room, though, she removed her arm from around Rachel. She didn't want the Council to know she was hurting because she felt like they would only use it against her.
Instead of knocking, Santana pulled out her key and let them all in. The Council members were all standing around, but her Watcher was holding a stake and sword, clearly prepared to fight if she needed to.
"You're back," Miss Campbell said, sounding surprised.
"The vampires are gone," Quinn stated. "There are three bodies in the halls. One inside the cafeteria, one near the home ec room, and another in the main hall. As far as we know, everyone is out of the school now."
"You disobeyed us," Mr. Walsh stated.
"And?" Quinn asked. "I wasn't going to waste time waiting on you to tell me what to do. I'm the Slayer and I'm supposed to help people—to keep them safe and to fight evil. The longer those vampires were out there, the more people they would have killed. You told me my friends make me weak, but you were wrong. They make me strong because my only thought was that I had to get to them and make sure they were okay. Without them—" Quinn threw her hands up, "what would I have worth living for?"
Mr. Walsh smiled and grabbed his leather briefcase. "I think we've seen enough here." He looked at Coach Beiste. "You've done a wonderful job with her. And you, Miss Fabray—keep up the good work."
The rest of the Council members looked perplexed, but followed Mr. Walsh out of the room. Quinn furrowed her brows as she watched them go, and then turned to her Watcher.
"Are they going back to England?" Rachel asked, sounding as confused as Rachel felt.
"Good riddance," Santana said.
"What just happened?" Quinn asked, looking at Rachel.
"I think you passed," Brittany answered.
"I don't know if their test was the kind you pass or fail," Rachel replied.
"Well, whatever their reasonin', you should be proud," Beiste said. "You took out a batch of vampires and lived to tell about it."
"Does this mean she can have the night off?" Rachel asked.
Beiste smiled. "Have fun, youngins."
"Come on," Rachel said, putting her arm around Quinn's waist. "I'm taking you home with me, where I'm going to draw you a warm bath and cook you a nice meal. I know you skipped lunch and dinner."
"You really don't—"
"I know I don't have to, but I want to," Rachel said. "Then maybe we can watch a movie if you're up to it."
Quinn took a deep breath and smiled. "That sounds nice."
"I thought it might," Rachel said, smiling back.
"Yeah, don't mind us," Santana said, rolling her eyes.
"We won't," Quinn replied.
"Leave them alone, San," Brittany said before Santana could respond. "Have I told you my parents are out of town? And now that Quinn's going to be at Rach's—"
"Move," Santana said, pushing past them, pulling Brittany along.
Quinn began to laugh, but was quickly reminded her ribs were bruised. "Ouch."
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing a bath and food won't fix," Quinn replied, smiling at Rachel even though her side felt like it was on fire.
"Okay, let's get you home," Rachel said.
Quinn groaned slightly as they began moving again. As much as she hurt and really just wanted to sleep, a night of movies with Rachel sounded even more enticing. Sleeping could wait until later.
As she walked toward her boss, she had a growing sense of dread. She knew he wasn't going to be happy when he received the news and she hoped he didn't take it out on her. It wasn't her fault, after all, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill the messenger—or at least hurt the messenger. She didn't want to knock on the door, but she knew she had no choice, and it was better to get it over with than wait.
"Sir," she said, knocking lightly on the door.
"Come in," he called.
She opened the door and stepped inside. He was facing away, looking down at the pedestal with his book atop. She stood quietly, waiting to be addressed again; she knew how much he hated to be interrupted. She'd made that mistake once and would never make it again. She rubbed the scar on her arm just thinking about it.
"They failed, didn't they?" Dustin asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"They don't make vampires like they used. How else could one Slayer take on so many?" He sighed and turned around. "I don't know if it's pure luck or if she's better than the other Slayers I've had killed. I never anticipated her surviving the bounty I put on her head last. I made her the only human in a town full of demons; I virtually handed her to them. But somehow she's still alive. Well, since she isn't dead, I suppose I will just have to keep her occupied next weekend. We wouldn't want her interrupting the second ritual, now would we?"
"No, sir," she replied.
"Did any of the vampires survive?" he asked.
"A few," she answered. "I saw them fleeing the school as I left."
"As you ran," he stated.
It was true; the moment the Slayer saw her, she turned and ran. She saw what the girl could do to vampires and she wasn't about to stick around to see what she could do to her. She was nothing special, after all, and she wasn't stupid enough to fight someone with supernaturally strong powers. Not when she really had no reason to be in this fight. Her boss was the one that wanted the Slayer dead; she was only going along with it because that's what he requested of her and she didn't want to anger him.
"No matter," he said when she didn't answer. "But find me those vampires. I had a deal with them; they bring me the Slayer's body or they die trying. I'm going to make sure they keep up their end of the deal."
"Yes, sir," she said with a nod.
"And, Sunshine," he said, pausing.
She held her breath as she waited for him to say whatever he was going to saw. She closed her eyes for a moment as she thought of the things she had seen him do to others that had failed him. She knew she was valuable to him, but not indispensable. Especially now that the Slayer had seen her. She wasn't going to tell him that, though; she knew how angry he would be. She would just have to be careful not to be spotted again as she watched the Slayer.
"Find them quickly," he finally said.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she nodded. "Right away, sir."
"You can go," he said, dismissing her.
She turned and got out of the room as fast as possible. She hated being in there, but he seemed to be spending more and more time in it. She knew he was preparing for something big, but she was afraid to know how big. All she knew was that he really wanted the Slayer out of the way.