Chapter 6 – The Scare
Sunshine took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door. She waited for several minutes for her boss to let her in. As she stood there, she wondered why she had been summoned. She hoped it was nothing too bad; thankfully, he usually saved the dirty work for other people. More than likely, he would want her to retrieve something for him or get information.
"Come in," he finally said.
Sunshine opened the door and walked into the room. He was spending almost all his time in there now and she hated it because it meant she had to go inside. She avoided looking at the walls as much as she could, keeping her eyes straight ahead. He had his back turned to her, staring at the podium, where his book rested. He remained silent, so Sunshine stood, trying not to make too much noise. He said it was distracting, so she remained as still and quiet as possible.
"I want you to watch the Slayer," he said as he finally turned to her. "Tonight and for the rest of the weekend. As you know, this weekend is very important to me, and I need her to stay out of my way. She tends to complicate things and I would rather things not be complicated right now."
"Yes, sir," Sunshine said with a nod.
"I'm going to make sure she's occupied," he continued, turning away. "You know the rules—don't let her see you."
"I won't," Sunshine replied.
He still had no idea that Quinn had seen her at the school and she was going to be sure it stayed that way. She was afraid of the consequences if he ever did find out, especially after concealing it from him. If she was very lucky, he would let her go after torturing her for a while, but that was unlikely. She knew what happened to her predecessor and it was a fate much worse than death. She wasn't going to end up like that; she'd fought to survive her whole life and she wasn't going to quit fighting now.
"Oh, and stay off the road," Dustin said, looking over his shoulder. "We wouldn't want you to be the first casualty, now would we?"
"No, sir," Sunshine answered.
"That is all," he said, dismissing her.
Sunshine ducked her head as she turned to hurry out of the room. She wondered what he had planned for the Slayer and how many people were going to die because of it. Part of her wanted to find the Slayer and tell her everything she knew, but at the same time, she was afraid the girl was no match for her boss. She wasn't the type to stick her neck out for other people. That's not how you survive; that's how you get yourself killed.
"Hello," Rachel said the moment Quinn stepped out of her car.
"Hey," Quinn said, smiling, and leaning down to give the brunette a kiss.
"Coffee?" Rachel asked, holding a cup out for her.
"Thanks," Quinn said, gladly accepting it, and taking a sip.
"I figured you had a long night and could use a caffeinated beverage," Rachel said, giving her a smile.
"You're definitely right about that," Quinn replied, trying not to yawn.
"How did patrolling go?" Rachel inquired.
Quinn shrugged. "I killed a couple vampires and then I found a demon trying to break into a crypt. I have no idea what he was after, but he was definitely there for something. Whatever it was, he didn't get it; he came after me the moment he saw me."
"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Rachel asked.
"Just a few bruises," Quinn said, shrugging once again. "But that's nothing unusual."
Rachel frowned. "I really hate your job sometimes."
"That makes two of us," Quinn said, reaching out, and taking Rachel's hand.
"You still owe me a date," Rachel reminded her.
"I know," Quinn said, smiling to herself.
Quinn wanted nothing more than one night to themselves, but something always came up every time they tried. She sincerely hoped they could do something over the weekend. If nothing else, she knew she should have Sunday night free. It was Halloween and her Watcher told her that the supernatural world usually took the night off. She really didn't understand it—it seemed like it should be a big night for them—but she wasn't going to complain.
"Good," Rachel replied. "Just don't forget."
"I could never forget," Quinn said, looking over at Rachel.
The brunette smiled and ducked her head slightly. Quinn led them to the training room, where she knew her Watcher was waiting on her. She didn't know what was going on, but she'd called her that morning to make sure she came by. Usually it was a sign of nothing good, though. It probably meant someone had been found dead or that she had some information from the Council. Either way, it could potentially ruin any plans Quinn had for Sunday.
"Good, you're here," her Watched said the moment she opened the door.
"What's going on?" Quinn asked.
"Someone was killed last night on Old Flemming Road," Beiste stated. "They ain't reporting it yet, but the Council intercepted a call made about it."
"What happened?" Quinn asked.
"We don't really know," Beiste answered. "But we know it ain't nothing normal. The woman's car was stopped in the middle of the road and she was found dead nearby. They said it looked like she was strangled, but that isn't all. The guy who called said she looked funny."
"Funny how?" Rachel asked.
"Don't know," Beiste said. "They didn't say. But the Council thinks it's worth looking into."
"I could begin researching," Rachel stated. "Maybe I can find something that will prepare Quinn for whatever caused the woman's death."
Quinn's Watcher nodded and then looked at her. "I want you to do a sweep of the area tonight. It's near that big ol' farm out there with the huge, red barn."
"Okay," Quinn said, knowing exactly which one she was talking about.
"Make sure you go after dark," Beiste added. "We don't want to attract any attention."
"I will," Quinn replied.
"That's all, then," Beiste said. "I gotta go make sure the football team is still runnin' laps." She shook her head. "I swear they're the laziest group of players I've ever coached."
"So I guess we're not going on our date tonight," Rachel remarked as the Watcher left the room.
Quinn sighed. "It doesn't seem like it." She leaned over and placed a kiss on Rachel's cheek. "I promise we'll get our date one of these days."
"I'm holding you to that," Rachel said before turning toward the bookshelf. "I suppose I should get in a bit of research before first period. Would you like to help?"
"Sure," Quinn said, throwing her bag to the side, and taking another drink of her coffee.
She didn't really want to look through old books, but she did want to spend time with Rachel, so if she was going to be in the training room, then Quinn was going to be there, too. Quinn didn't think there was point in it, really, but she knew Rachel liked to help, and that was her way of helping since Quinn didn't really want her girlfriend to go on patrol with her.
"Where do you think we should start?" Rachel asked as she turned to browse the bookshelf. "I think we can assume it is not a vampire, so it must be a demon of some kind. Or I suppose it could be a spell. How about we start with this one." Rachel turned, handing a large book to Quinn. "I can't imagine there are too many demons that kill by strangling their victims; they usually have large claws or sharp teeth for that."
"Yeah," Quinn said absentmindedly.
"It's also a little odd that it happened out there," Rachel continued. "Farms are really the only thing along that road. Maybe I should see if something similar has ever happened there before."
Quinn nodded as she sat down with the book. She opened it to the first page, but it was quickly closed, and Quinn looked up to find Rachel looking down at her.
"On second thought, maybe we should hold off on researching," Rachel said. "The bell will be ringing soon, so we really only have a few minutes."
"I thought you didn't like to waste time," Quinn said, thinking back to all those times Rachel would get in a minute or two of research between classes.
Rachel smiled and sat down in Quinn's lap. "I plan on making full use of the time."
"Yeah?" Quinn asked, her eyebrow rising as a smirk overtook her voice.
Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck, bringing their lips together. Quinn knew they should probably really begin looking into things, but she couldn't bring herself to really care at the moment. She hadn't been alone with Rachel very much that week and it would be nice to have a few minutes to themselves before the school day began.
Quinn walked to the training room, having no doubt that's where she would find Rachel. She had stopped by the cafeteria to grab some food first; she knew if she didn't, Rachel wouldn't eat, and she didn't want that. As she passed by the choir room, she glanced inside just to be sure Rachel wasn't there, but it was empty. So, she walked the rest of the way to the training room. Several Cheerios were in the locker room and Quinn watched from just outside the room until they walked into the shower area. When she was sure they wouldn't see her, she walked to the training room door and quickly slipped inside.
"I knew you would find me here," Rachel said with a smile on her face.
"I brought lunch," Quinn announced.
"Thank you," Rachel said. "I'm sure I would have forgotten to eat."
"I figured," Quinn said, smirking slightly.
She walked over and set the salad and water down next to Rachel before taking a seat. The brunette was looking over the book she'd handed to Quinn earlier. Considering how far she was into it, Quinn wondered if she had been reading it during class. She didn't like the idea of Rachel neglecting school even if it was to help her, but she didn't bring it up. Rachel would only argue with her until she got her way, and Quinn would rather avoid wasting her time.
"Have you found anything?" Quinn asked, biting into her slice of pizza.
"Nothing so far," Rachel answered. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring my laptop with me today and I didn't want to use the computer in the library. The last time I did, the librarian followed me around every time I went in there. I'm sure I will find something soon, though. I just hope I find something by tonight; I would rather you not go out there without knowing what you could potentially be facing."
"I'll be fine," Quinn assured her.
Rachel sighed. "I just worry about you. I know you're the Slayer and you can take care of yourself, but you're also my girlfriend. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."
"Nothing is going to happen to me," Quinn said softly.
"You can't know that," Rachel replied, shaking her head.
"Well, I have no intention of anything happening to me," Quinn joked.
"I think you should let me go with you tonight," Rachel stated.
Quinn shook her head. "No."
"I can help you," Rachel insisted.
"I have no doubt that you could, but I don't want you to get so involved," Quinn replied. "I've put you in danger far too many times and I don't want to do that again. You're not the only one who worries, you know? If something happened to you because of me, I could never forgive myself."
"But I am involved," Rachel said. "I'm involved with you, which means I'm involved with the Slaying. It's such a huge part of your life and I'm not going to miss it simply because it can be dangerous. Just living in the town is dangerous and I have full confidence that you will never let anything happen to me."
"If you've forgotten, I let you get kidnapped," Quinn reminded her.
"That wasn't your fault," Rachel protested.
"It was," Quinn argued.
"Shelby would have found a way to get to me no matter what you did," Rachel replied.
Quinn looked away; Shelby was something they never really discussed. It was probably the first time Rachel had brought her up since they rekindled their relationship. Sometimes Quinn wanted to ask Rachel about how she felt knowing Shelby was her mother and that she killed her, but part of her was afraid to. Deep down, she was afraid that Rachel would eventually resent her for it even though Quinn really didn't have a choice.
"I'm sorry," Rachel quietly said.
"For what?" Quinn asked.
"I shouldn't have brought her up," Rachel answered.
"You can, you know?" Quinn said even if the thought of talking about it made her uneasy.
Rachel sighed and looked down. "Maybe one day I will."
"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have come in here," Quinn said, smiling as she tapped the book in front of the brunette. "I seem to be a distraction."
Rachel laughed lightly. "I can assure you that you are the best kind of distraction."
"Don't forget to eat," Quinn said, nodding to the food.
"Maybe I will take a small break," Rachel replied, setting the book to the side, and picking up the salad. "I really do appreciate that you brought this for me."
Quinn shrugged. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I let you go hungry?"
"Still a wonderful one," Rachel said, smiling at her before looking serious again. "I really think you should let me go with you tonight."
"I'll be fine on my own," Quinn said, shaking her head.
She didn't know why Rachel was so determined to go with her; it's not like she had been going with her lately. Of course, Rachel always wanted to go, but she generally didn't ask more than once. Quinn wondered if there was something she wasn't telling her, but she couldn't imagine what it could be. Plus, they'd promised to never keep anything from one another, and she was trying to trust that Rachel would keep her word about it.
"Fine," Rachel said after several moments of silence. "But I want you to be careful. I just—I have a bad feeling."
"I always am," Quinn replied.
"Alright, guys, if that's everything—"
"Mr. Schue," Kurt said, raising his hand, and interrupting the teacher.
"Yes, Kurt?" Mr. Schue asked. "Do you have something prepared."
"I actually have an announcement," Kurt said as she stood and walked to the middle of the room.
"Well, then, let's listen to what Kurt has to say," Mr. Schue said, stepping to the side of the room, and turning his attention to the boy.
Quinn could tell that something wasn't quite right with Kurt. He's shoulders were a little slumped and he wasn't really looking at anyone. He usually looked confident with his head held high, but that definitely wasn't the case as he stood in front of them. She knew that Rachel had noticed, too, because the brunette gave her a worried glance before looking back at Kurt.
"Today is my last day at McKinley," Kurt announced.
"What!" Mercedes asked loudly.
There was suddenly a lot of commotion in the room and Quinn heard Rachel gasp next to her. Kurt clearly had more to say, but he stood there silently as everyone continued to murmur about his announcement. It was surprising to Quinn that even Mercedes didn't know. She was his best friend, after all, and she didn't know Kurt was capable of keeping a secret.
"What do you mean today is your last day?" Rachel finally asked above everyone else.
"My dad has enrolled me at Dalton Academy," Kurt said, causing everyone to finally quieten down. "After what happened here last week, he doesn't think this school is safe any longer."
Quinn looked over her shoulder at Santana; she wondered if something happened that the vampire hadn't told her, but her friend shrugged as if she knew nothing. Of course, with five people dead—the police had found two more in a closet—Quinn really couldn't blame Burt. The whole town wasn't safe to live in despite Quinn's efforts. For every one she killed, another would just take its place. Demons and vampires would always be drawn to the Hellmouth and there really wasn't anything she could do about it.
"It's a boarding school, so I will be living there through the week, but coming to Lima on weekends," Kurt continued.
"How could you not tell us?" Tina asked.
"He just told me yesterday," Kurt said, shaking his head. "I knew he was freaked out after what happened, but I didn't know he was looking into other schools."
"Are you gonna join those Warblers?" Puck asked.
"I will be trying out of their Glee Club, yes," Kurt answered.
"Dude, you shoulda said something last night," Finn said, frowning. "They aren't gonna make me go, are they?"
"I'm sure that's up to Carole," Kurt replied.
"Well, I can't say this is good news," Mr. Schue said, talking over to Kurt. "But I can say we're all going to miss you. Glee won't be the same without you."
Most people stood and walked over to Kurt, but Quinn remained in her seat. She felt like this was her fault; if she could have saved everyone last week, maybe Kurt wouldn't be leaving. She had enough guilt over it, but this just made it even worse. She wasn't Kurt's biggest fan, but she knew he was Rachel's friend and he was a vital part of the club. Without him, their chances of winning Sectionals just decreased, and she knew how important winning was for Rachel. Not only did she feel like she'd let herself down by not being able to save everyone, but now she felt like she had let Rachel down, which was even worse.
"Can I talk to you?"
Quinn looked to her right and found Finn standing above her, looking down at her. "What about?"
"Alone," Finn said.
Quinn sighed; she had no idea what Finn would want to talk to her about. "Fine."
Finn walked to the other side of the room and Quinn slowly got up. She really didn't know what this was about. The only thing they really had in common was Glee and Rachel, and there was really nothing to talk about with either of those things. Unless he did want to talk about Rachel; she knew he had tried to date her over the summer. He didn't seem very happy when she and Rachel began dating again, but that was nothing new.
"What is it, Finn?" Quinn asked.
"I want to know what happened at the festival," Finn stated.
Quinn faltered for a moment, but then asked, "How would I know?"
"I'm not stupid," Finn said, looking down at her. "You, like, moved that filing cabinet when I couldn't and you're just a girl. And then you jumped out the window and ended up in the hall without dying."
"Maybe I'm just lucky," Quinn answered.
"No," Finn said, shaking his head. "You know what happened and I want to know what's going on. Kurt's leaving and maybe if you tell me, I can stop it."
"Why do you care so much?" Quinn asked.
"He's gonna be my brother," Finn said, shrugging his shoulders. "Burt should trust me to protect him, but I can't do that if I don't know what's going on."
"I can't help you," Quinn stated, turning to walk away.
"You're lying," Finn replied, reaching out, and holding onto her arm.
"Let go of me," Quinn said.
Finn did as he was told, but took a step closer to her. "Look, I just want to be able to help. Weird stuff's going on and I don't like not knowing what to do."
"Hey, man," Puck said, walking up to them. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Finn said, shaking his head.
Puck nodded and then turned to Quinn as Finn began walking away. "He asked you about last weekend, didn't he?"
"How did you know?" Quinn asked.
"He asked me, too," Puck said with a shrug.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Quinn wondered.
"I thought he'd forget about it," Puck replied.
Quinn sighed; she really didn't need this right now. Finn didn't exactly have the greatest attention span, though, so she was just going to have to hope he would eventually forget about it because she certainly wasn't going to tell him the truth.
Quinn pulled her car to the side of the road when she saw the police tape in the distance. She was sure that all evidence was long gone, but at least she now knew the area to look at. Rachel had found nothing about the woman's death online and the Council still didn't have any more information for her, so she had wondered if she would even find the exact place. Thankfully, though, some of the police tape had fallen onto the ground and no one had picked it up or she would have been wondering around for a while.
When she got out of the car, she stood next to the door for a few moments and just listened for any sounds. Thankfully, the skies were clear and the moon was out, so she wasn't completely in the dark. She had a flashlight, but she would rather not use it; she wanted to remain undetected and that was hard to do with a light shining in her hand.
As she stood there, the only thing she could hear was the light breeze and the distant sound of a dog barking. If she was about to be attacked by something, it was doing a good job of being quiet. She ducked down, grabbed her bag from the passenger seat, and closed her door, not shutting it completely. She shouldered the bag and began walking beside the road until she reached the piece of yellow tape. She kneeled down and pulled out a small light—one that hopefully no one would notice—and began looking around the road.
She looked on the side of the road for about twenty yards in both directions, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just some rocks, some broken glass, and quite a bit of trash that people had probably thrown out their windows. She didn't really expect there to be anything, but it probably would have helped. As it was, she had nothing to go on other than the call that said a woman had been strangled. That wasn't much, though, and she really hoped to find something else to help Rachel with her research.
Sighing, she began walking toward her car, but stopped when she heard a twig or something snap in the nearby field. She quickly turned off the small flashlight as she looked around for the source of the noise. She slowly began walking to the field, stopping just where it began. The tall plants—she assumed it was a corn field—were dense and it was nearly impossible to see what lie just beyond. Pulling a dagger out of her bag, she slipped into the field, keeping her ears and eyes open for any sign that she wasn't alone in there.
The further she walked, the more uneasy she became. She wondered if she would even be able to find her way back to her car because she felt like she was constantly getting turned around even though she was trying to walk in a straight line. Clouds had appeared in the sky and it was darker now that the moon was no longer illuminating her way. When she heard what sounded like a rustling sound, her heart began to pound as she jumped and looked toward the noise. She couldn't see anything there, but she knew that didn't mean there wasn't something watching her.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief when the stalks began to thin out and she found herself walking toward a small clearing. But as she walked into it, she jumped, and grabbed her flashlight from her bag. When the light landed on the scarecrow, though, Quinn felt a little silly and shook her head at herself. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned the flashlight off and threw it back in her bag. Being out there alone in the dark was definitely making her extra jumpy, and she was staring to wish she'd let Rachel have her way and come along.
Walking toward the middle of the clearing, she looked around as the clouds began to clear again. At first, she thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked to her left, it was only a leaf swaying in the wind. Sighing, she turned around in a slow circle, but there was nothing to see.
"It looks like it's just us," Quinn whispered glancing up at the scarecrow.
She tried to remember which way she came and then walked toward the spot she was fairly certainly she came into the clearing at. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in the field half the night as she tried to make her way back to her car. She began walking in a straight line, still listening for any sign that she wasn't alone. Every time she thought she saw or heard something, though, it turned out to just be the wind.
Just as she could finally see the road through the stalks of corn, her phone began vibrating. When she pulled it out of her pocket and looked down at the screen, she wasn't surprised to see Rachel's name.
"Hey," she said upon answering it.
"Hi," Rachel replied. "How is the search going?"
"No luck," Quinn said with a sigh. "I'm going to look around the road again and then I'm probably going home."
"Will you let me know when you're home?" Rachel asked.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Quinn replied.
"I'll be in bed when I know you're safely home," Rachel remarked.
Quinn laughed lightly. "I'll let you know."
"Thank you," Rachel replied.
"Goodnight," Quinn said, smiling softly to herself.
"Good morning," Rachel greeted Quinn when she stepped out of the car.
"You brought me coffee again," Quinn commented.
Rachel shrugged and said, "Tea, actually. I know you weren't out too late last night."
"How late were you up?" Quinn asked when Rachel yawned.
"I'll admit I was up rather late," Rachel said, smiling guiltily. "I suppose I just lost track of time."
Quinn shook her head; she didn't like the idea of Rachel neglecting sleep just to help her. She wanted Rachel's life to be as normal as possible even if it was going to be difficult considering she was dating the Slayer. Still, she didn't want Rachel's priority to be Slaying. It was Quinn's priority because she had no other choice, but Rachel had one. She could go on to live a completely normal life far from Lima and all the evil the town held.
"Did you sleep at all," Quinn wondered as they began walking to the school.
"A little," Rachel answered. "Certainly enough to make it through the day."
"Come on," Quinn said, holding her hand out, which Rachel took. "Beiste wanted to tell her what I found. Or really, what I didn't find."
"You really didn't find a thing?" Rachel asked.
Quinn sighed. "Nothing."
"That's odd," Rachel said with a frown. "Demons aren't usually known for cleaning up after themselves."
"Maybe the police did," Quinn suggested.
"I suppose that's always a possibility," Rachel replied. "Though, they've never really cleaned up that quickly before."
"True," Quinn agreed. "Maybe this demon is different. It did strangle the woman, after all, which isn't exactly normal behavior."
"I may have a few leads," Rachel remarked. "I was going to run them by your Watcher to see what she thinks."
"See what I think about what?" Beiste asked, suddenly appearing behind them in the hallway.
"The—thing I've been doing research on," Rachel said, glancing around the hall.
Beiste nodded, not saying anything else since there were some Cheerios around who were there for one of Miss Sylvester's infamous Saturday morning practices. The three walked toward the locker room, where Beiste barked at one of the Cheerios to get out. The girl complied, quickly running out of the room, and the Watcher let them into the training room. Quinn closed the door behind them and just as she was about to tell the older woman that she found nothing, her Watcher said, "There's been another killing."
"What?" Rachel asked.
"Where?" Quinn said.
"Same place," Beiste answered. "A driver found a car runnin' in the middle of the road just like last time. They also said the person looked funny."
"Did they say anything else?" Quinn asked.
"They said the person was completely white and looked afraid," Beiste answered.
"Why would two people leave their car running just to get out of the vehicle and die?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know," Beiste replied. "What did you find last night?"
"Nothing," Quinn stated.
"Nothing?" her Watcher repeated.
"There was nothing along the road other than some litter," Quinn said with a shrug. "When I didn't find anything there, I walked into the corn field. I thought I might have heard something a couple of times, but it was just the wind. As far as I know, there was nothing out there. I didn't even see a car pass by while I was out there."
"I don't know if I have anything that will be much more useful," Rachel added. "I find two instances of demons strangling their victims, but since this happened twice in two days, it sounds as if there is a reason for it. And neither description said anything about the victims turning white or looking afraid upon death."
"What are these demons," Beiste asked.
Rachel reached over her shoulder and pulled a notebook from her bag. "One is called a Jharlet and it strangles with its tentacles, but they're usually around water and Old Flemming Road is far from any body of water. The other is a Plyte and the book wasn't very clear on what it did, but it did say the demon wraps itself around its victim's neck."
"As far as I know, they're extinct," Beiste said.
"Really?" Rachel asked, frowning. "They really should bring out more recent editions of these books."
"So, we're still at square one," Quinn commented.
"It would appear so," Rachel replied.
"I want you to go out again tonight," Beiste said, looking at Quinn.
Quinn nodded. "I'll look around again and go further out into the fields; maybe there will be something to find this time."
"I will continue to research now that we have a little bit more information," Rachel stated.
"I'm gonna contact the Watcher's Council and see if the can find out anything else," Beiste said.
Quinn sighed as her Watcher left the room. "I can't believe someone else died.
"You can't blame yourself," Rachel immediately replied. "You had no way of knowing that anything else would happen."
"Maybe if I had stayed out there longer—"
"Stop," Rachel interrupted, putting her hands on Quinn's hips. "I'm not going to let you think this is your fault. It's not; you do everything you can and many more people would die every single day if it wasn't for you."
Quinn sighed as she leaned her forehead against her girlfriend's. Rachel pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around the blonde and holding her tightly. As Quinn looked into Rachel's eyes, she wanted to believe everything the other girl said, but she still felt as if she could have done something more. She appreciated that Rachel tried to make her feel better, though, even if she didn't really work.
"Why the hell am I here?" Santana asked.
Quinn rolled her eyes; it was the third time she'd answered the same question. "Because maybe you will be able to see something I don't."
"And it had nothing to do with Berry being all worried about her precious girlfriend's safety," Santana retorted with a smirk.
"No," Quinn lied.
It had a little bit to do with it, but it wasn't the sole reason. She did hope Santana would see something she didn't—especially if there was blood around—and it wouldn't hurt to have someone else. She wasn't going to admit it to the vampire, but she didn't like being out in the field alone; it was creepy and she sort of felt like she was being watched. With Santana there, she would at least know if she really did hear something or if it was her imagination.
"Where are we?" Santana asked when Quinn began slowing down.
"This is it," Quinn answered.
"There's nothing here," Santana replied. "How do you even know where it is?"
"The bit of police tape yesterday was a tip off," Quinn retorted, pulling the car to the side of the road.
Quinn turned off the car, grabbed her bag from the back seat, and opened her door. It was cloudier than the previous night, so it was harder to see anything. She pulled out her flashlight, abandoning trying to be inconspicuous. The only way someone would see them was if they drove by—the nearest house was too far away—and, thankfully, the roads were deserted. With Santana there, she wasn't as worried about being attacked; if she was, she at least had someone there to help her.
"These tire marks weren't here yesterday," Quinn said, shining the light on the road. "It looks like someone slammed on their breaks."
"That could be from anyone," Santana replied.
"This isn't exactly a heavily traveled road," Quinn stated. "Do you smell blood anywhere?"
Santana shook her head. "There's nothing like that here."
"Too bad," Quinn replied, hoping it would have given them a little more to go by.
"You said the car was just stopped in the middle of the road?" Santana asked.
"Yeah," Quinn answered.
"What dipshit gets out of the car to let something kill them?" Santana asked.
Quinn shrugged. "Maybe they didn't have a choice. Or maybe they didn't know they were getting out to be killed. Something made them stop, though, and we need to figure out what it was before someone else dies." Quinn sighed and looked toward the field. "There's really only one place for something to hide out here."
"We have to go in there?" Santana asked, scoffing.
"Are you afraid?" Quinn challenged, raising her eyebrow.
"Please, you should know by now that I'm afraid of nothing," Santana said with a roll of her eyes. "I just meant it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack—pointless."
"Or a cornfield," Quinn replied. "Come on."
Quinn walked between the stocks once again and tried to listen carefully, but it was harder when Santana was mumbling under her breath behind her. She didn't know why Santana was complaining so much; Quinn didn't force her to come. She asked her once and then shrugged and agreed to come. Of course, this was Santana; it could have been her idea and she still would have complained about it. And it's not like she really had anything better to do that night. Quinn knew Brittany was training with her grandmother that weekend, so she was out of town.
"I'm going this way," Santana stated.
"Yell if something attacks you," Quinn said, smirking.
"You too," Santana replied. "That way I can come over and watch it kick your ass."
Quinn ignored the comment and continued on a straight path. Unlike the previous night, there was no breeze, so everything was relatively still. It made it easier to know if any movement was the wind or something else, but it also made things a little more unnerving. Plus, even with the flashlight, she couldn't see very far in front of her because of the denseness of the stalks. She began wishing Santana hadn't left her, but she wasn't about to call her over.
The further she walked into the field, the more she was beginning to think it was pointless. As far she could see, there was nothing but corn around; she hadn't seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. She sighed as she stopped and turned in a circle. She wished she could somehow see above the stocks, but they were far above her head. At least then she might be able to tell where she should go. She wondered if Santana could stand on her shoulders to get a better sense of where they were, but just as she was about to call out for the vampire, she heard tires screeching and a horn blaring in the distance.
She began running toward the road or what she hoped was the road. She was a little turned around, but judging by the moon's position, she thought she was going in the right direction. As she was running, she heard someone parallel to her. She wondered if it was Santana or something else, but her question was answered when it sounded like they stumbled and then there was a long string of cursing. When she finally broke through the stocks, she was about twenty feet away from the car that was now stopped in the road.
"Another one?" Santana asked when she stopped beside Quinn.
Quinn hoped not, but as she carefully approached the car, she saw a body in the road. Sighing, she looked down at the body; it was like the other callers had described—bruising around the neck, pale skin, look of fear on her face—and she knew there was no point in checking for a pulse. As she looked around, she knew whatever did it couldn't be far away, but Santana was right. Looking through the field was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Call 911," Quinn instructed as she pulled out her own phone. "I'm going to call Coach Beiste."
As Quinn stared up at her girlfriend's window, she wondered if Rachel was awake or if she had just fallen asleep with the light on. It was awfully late for her to be up, but knowing Rachel, she had probably lost track of time and was still doing research. Quinn had sent Rachel a text several minutes ago, but it went unanswered. She couldn't just ring the doorbell—she didn't want to wake Rachel's father—so she looked around for something to throw.
There were a few small pebbles near the house, so she grabbed them and gently threw one toward Rachel's window. Quinn knew it was a little cliché to be throwing pebbles at her girlfriend's window, but knowing Rachel, she would appreciate the gesture. Within a few seconds, Rachel appeared in the window and looked down. She was frowning at first, but she began to smile when she spotted Quinn standing there.
"What are you doing here?" Rachel whispered as she opened the window.
Quinn shrugged. "I just wanted to see you."
"I'll let you in," Rachel said before disappearing from the window
She really didn't know why she was there. She had no intention of going anywhere except to Brittany's, but then she found herself taking a detour, and the next thing she knew, she was parked in front of Rachel's house. Quinn guessed she just unconsciously sought the brunette out anytime she had a bad night because it wasn't the first time her first instinct was to go to Rachel. It was the first time she made the drive, though.
"Daddy's snoring, so we should be able to sneak upstairs," Rachel whispered when she opened the door and ushered Quinn inside.
Quinn silently followed her up the stairs, carefully avoiding the few steps that she knew squeaked. When she walked into Rachel's room, there were books scattered all over the bed. She wondered if the other girl even realized how late it was or if she just didn't care. It was nearly three, though, and she knew Rachel didn't get much sleep the night before, either.
"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked, watching Quinn.
"Someone else died tonight," Quinn stated.
"That's terrible," Rachel replied, frowning.
"What's worse is I was right there," Quinn said. "Santana and I were looking around the cornfield and then I heard what sounded like someone slamming on their breaks. When I got back to the road, they were dead."
Rachel's frown grew. "That's strange. You didn't see anything?"
"Nothing," Quinn said, shaking her head. "Neither of us did."
"Were you searching the same field as last night?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Quinn answered. "There's nothing on the other side; it's a flat field with nothing in it. If there's something hiding there, it's going to be in the cornfield." She sighed. "I can't believe I let another person die when I was right there."
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault?" Rachel asked, stepping closer to Quinn, and putting her hands on her shoulders. "You couldn't possibly know that anything like this would happen. You're just one person; you can't be everywhere at once. I understand why you feel like you do, but you can't always carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's too much responsibility for one person."
Quinn swallowed thickly and looked away. "I just feel like there should be more I could do. Maybe if I was a better Slayer—"
"No," Rachel interrupted. "You are a wonderful Slayer, Quinn. You patrol every night, you train daily—there's nothing more you can do." Rachel reached up and put her hands on Quinn's cheeks, making the blonde look at her. "Okay?"
Quinn nodded, but avoided Rachel's eyes. The guilt of letting another person die wasn't going away; she heard what Rachel was saying, but she still felt like she could have done something else. If she'd just been closer to the road, maybe she could have saved the woman or at least saw what happened, so she could stop it from happening to anyone else.
"Come on," Rachel said softly as she took Quinn's hand.
"I should probably go," Quinn said, looking toward the door.
"Nonsense," Rachel replied. "You can sleep here tonight."
Quinn's eyebrow rose. "You're not worried about your dad coming in?"
Rachel shrugged her shoulder and smiled. "Some things are worth the risk."
Quinn wasn't going to argue; she would much rather wake up next to Rachel than go home to Brittany's empty house. When she didn't say anything, Rachel's smile widened and she walked over to her dresser. She pulled out some clothes and turned, handing them to Quinn. Rather than go to the bathroom to change, Quinn pulled off her shirt right there. She tried to contain her amused smirk as she watched Rachel try not to look down.
When she slipped Rachel's shirt over her head, she unbuttoned her pants, watching Rachel glance down at the movement. She could see a faint blush to Rachel's cheeks as she pulled the pants down her legs, kicking them away. Rachel quickly turned, facing away from her, and Quinn laughed lightly.
"What is so funny?" Rachel asked.
"Nothing," Quinn said after she pulled on the shorts Rachel gave her.
"Your laugh suggests otherwise," Rachel remarked.
"Let's go to bed," Quinn said, taking Rachel's hand, and turning her around.
"That sounds wonderful," Rachel replied as she stifled a yawn.
"Yes, it does," Quinn agreed in a whisper.
Quinn opened her eyes and glanced around, momentarily forgetting where she was. When she looked over her shoulder, Rachel's eyes were open and she immediately smiled at her. Quinn smiled softly back and rolled over, resting her hand on Rachel's side.
"Did you sleep well?" Rachel asked.
"Better than usual," Quinn said honestly.
"I heard you tossing and turning a lot before you fell asleep," Rachel commented.
Quinn sighed. "I was thinking.
"Thinking about what?" Rachel inquired.
"A plan," Quinn answered.
She knew Rachel wasn't going to like her plan, but she also knew her girlfriend wouldn't stop until she knew what it was. Quinn had to stop whatever was killing people along Old Flemming Road, though. Three people were dead and she wasn't going to let there be a fourth one that night.
"Are you going to tell me this plan?" Rachel asked.
"I'm going to drive along the road and see if something attacks me," Quinn replied.
"What?" Rachel said, and Quinn could see the concern in her eyes.
"Three people have been attacked driving by there at night," Quinn stated. "Considering two of them slammed on their breaks, I think whatever's killing them is jumping out in front of them. And when they stop, it either waits for them to get out of their car or it forces them out. I figure if I drive by, it'll try to do the same to me."
"I don't like the idea of you using yourself as bait," Rachel said, furrowing her brows.
"I knew you wouldn't," Quinn said, laughing lightly.
"There has to be another way," Rachel said, shaking her head.
"Then tell me one," Quinn replied.
Rachel sighed. "I don't know."
"I'll be okay," Quinn promised. "It'll just think I'm some innocent person, but I'll be ready for it."
"Will you let me come with you?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shook her head. "No. Absolutely not."
"Can you at least take Santana with you?" Rachel pleaded.
"If she'll come, I'll take her," Quinn agreed.
She had planned on asking Santana anyway, but if it would make Rachel worry less, she would force the vampire to go whether she wanted to or not. Not that it would be that hard to get her to go; she didn't really have anything else to do since Brittany wouldn't be back until late that night, and all she had to do was offhandedly mention telling Brittany that she let her go all alone.
"Oh no," Rachel said. "I think Daddy's coming up.
Quinn had a moment of panic and wondered where she could hide if she needed to. It's not like anything happened between them—they did nothing more than cuddle a little—but that didn't mean Rachel's father would appreciate her sleeping over. She had actually been avoiding the man since she began dating Rachel again. She had no idea how he felt about her now that he knew the truth about her and the thought of him frightened her a little. Not only was she dating his daughter, but she had routinely put her in danger. She felt like she would be lucky if he didn't completely hate her now.
"Rachel, sweetie," Leroy said, knocking lightly on the door.
"Yes, Daddy?" Rachel called out as she sat up in bed.
"Would you rather pancakes or waffles?" Leroy asked.
"Umm, waffles," Rachel answered.
"Okay," Leroy replied. "What about Quinn?"
Rachel's eyes widened. "What about her, Daddy."
"Her car's in the driveway," Leroy stated. "I know she's in there, so would you like waffles or pancakes, Quinn?"
"Waffles are fine," Quinn said, trying to stifle her laugh.
"If I came in there, I assume you would both be decent," Leroy said.
"Of course, Daddy," Rachel answered.
The door opened and Leroy popped his head into the room. "Just checking."
Rachel huffed and said, "I can't believe you don't trust me."
"I trust you, which is why I didn't burst through the door in the middle of the night when I first saw her car," Leroy replied.
Quinn laughed as Leroy closed the door again; Rachel narrowed her eyes, but Quinn shook her head and continued to laugh as she stood from the bed. She ignored her pouting girlfriend behind her and picked up her clothes from the floor. She momentarily debated on changing into her jeans—Rachel had managed to give her the shortest shorts she owned—but she thought it might look weird if she did. She didn't want Leroy to think she'd slept in her underwear or anything.
"I do not see the humor in this," Rachel said after a few moments, crossing her arms.
"It's a little funny," Quinn commented, looking over her shoulder.
"You're just going to have to park further away from the house the next time," Rachel remarked.
"Well, it's not like I planned on sleeping over this time," Quinn replied. "And next time?"
Rachel blushed slightly as she looked down. "I like you sleeping over."
"I like me sleeping over, too," Quinn said, walking over to the bed, and placing a kiss on Rachel's lips.
"I'm glad we're both in agreement," Rachel said, smiling softly at her. "And maybe next time we won't be quite so tired.
Quinn's eyebrow shot up. "Oh?"
Rachel grinned and threw the covers off without another word. Quinn stared after her, wanting to ask what she meant by that—or if she meant what Quinn thought she meant—but she shook her head, putting the thought out of her mind. That was definitely not what she needed to be thinking of when she was about to have breakfast with Rachel's father.
"Can't you go any faster?" Santana asked.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "We're going fast enough."
"I told Britt I'd be there—"
"I know," Quinn interrupted. "You told Brittany you'd be at her house when she got home. You've told me five times. She isn't going to be back for a few more hours; this isn't going to take that long."
She hoped it didn't, anyway. Even if it did, though, Brittany would understand. She hoped whatever was going to happen would happen the first time they drove by. The road was usually so deserted that she had a theory it would happen to whatever car was the first to drive by after dark. Of course, she could be completely wrong, but she was basing it on the only things she had to go on. She just hoped this worked; they had gotten nowhere with research and there were so few clues to go on that she didn't know if they would ever find anything in the books.
"What the hell makes you think this'll even work?" Santana asked.
"I don't know that it will," Quinn answered honestly. "But do you have a better idea?"
Santana crossed her arms and Quinn took it to mean that she didn't, but she wasn't going to say so. She definitely wished there was another way—she didn't like to be so unsure when she was potentially going to face a demon—but there wasn't. If this didn't work, she didn't know what she was going to do next. And she couldn't just let another person die while she waited to figure it out.
"Are you ready?" Quinn asked.
"Let's get this over with," Santana said, sitting up straighter in her seat.
As they approached the spot, Quinn gripped the wheel more tightly. She had no idea what was about to happen or if anything would happen. Her eyes remained locked on the spot just ahead; she didn't see anything on either side of the road. She even glanced up at the sky in case there was something from above that may attack. There was nothing to see, though, except the usual landscape. Of course, it was impossible to see beyond where the cornstalks began.
Santana looked over at her with a smirk. "I think your plan's—shit!"
Quinn slammed on her breaks when they collided with something. Whatever it was, it didn't sound very big, but they definitely hit something.
"Did you just hit someone?" Santana asked.
"What?" Quinn said, looking at the vampire.
"There's someone in the damn road," Santana said, pointing out the window.
Quinn frowned as she looked to the road just beyond the front of the car. It did look like someone was lying in the middle of the road, but Quinn shook her head. It couldn't be a coincidence; this had to be how people were lured out of their cars. But unlike the other three people, she was prepared for it.
"Get ready," Quinn said, reaching back for her bag.
Quinn opened the door while pulling a medium sized sword from the bag. She had no idea what she was going to have to fight, but she found that a sword killed most things. As she stepped out of the car, the thing in the road didn't move. She looked over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't going to be attacked from behind, but as far as she could tell, they were completely alone. Just as she took a step forward, though, the thing in the road suddenly stood and in one leap, jumped onto her, knocking her to the ground.
Quinn yelled in surprise as she found herself looking up at the scarecrow she found in the field the first night. The thing wrapped its hands around her neck as the slits in its burlap face began glowing red. She tried to feel around for the sword, which she lost when she fell, but she couldn't feel it anywhere. She tried to call out for Santana, but she couldn't seem to speak. The grip on her throat was too tight for her to utter more than a few gasping noises. She flailed, trying to knock the scarecrow off of her, but it did nothing. The scarecrow was too unnaturally strong and completely immovable.
Before she knew what had happened, she found herself looking up at Santana when the scarecrow's head was cut off, but it didn't stop the rest of it. Its hands were still around her throat, but she realized she didn't feel as strange as she did the moment before. She watched as the vampire swung the sword, cutting one of the arms off at the shoulder, but the arm's grip didn't lessen.
"Shit!" Santana said, still staring down at her for a moment before disappearing.
Quinn tried to watch where Santana was going, but it was becoming harder to see. There were dark splotches clouding her vision and a buzzing in her ears. She could hear the faint sound of running on the road before everything began to glow. The scarecrow let out a piercing shriek and finally let go of her, falling to the side. As Quinn began to gasp for air, she looked to her left and saw that the creature was on fire, which was quickly spreading along its straw body.
"You're welcome," Santana said, dropping a lighter.
"Not that I'm not grateful, but why do you have that?" Quinn asked, her voice rougher than usual.
Santana shrugged and said, "Brittany's always losing hers, so I have one in case she needs it to light a candle or whatever."
Quinn didn't say anything else as she rubbed her sore neck; she just nodded and stood up, mentally thanking Rachel for making her bring the vampire along.
For the second time in two nights, Quinn found herself outside of Rachel's house, looking up at her window. It wasn't nearly as late as the previous night, so she had no doubt the other girl was still awake. Plus, she knew there was no way Rachel would go to sleep without knowing she was okay.
Just as Quinn pulled out her phone to let Rachel know she was outside, she saw a shadow pass by the window and then Rachel appeared. She glanced down at the blonde before disappearing, and Quinn walked over to the door to wait. She wondered if Leroy was going to find her there again in the middle of the night, but she really didn't care at the moment. She was tired, sore, and just wanted to see Rachel. She would deal with Rachel's father in the morning.
When the door opened, Rachel immediately reached out and pulled Quinn into the house and all the way up to her room. Quinn wanted to ask if she was okay, but she could very well do it while trying to sneak up to Rachel's room. So, she waited until the door was closed, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Rachel launched herself into Quinn's arms. Her mouth quickly closed as the brunette captured her lips in a lingering kiss.
"I was so worried about you," Rachel said when she finally broke the kiss.
"Don't be," Quinn husked.
"Quinn!" Rachel said when she pulled back and looked at the blonde. "What happened?"
Rachel reached out, gently touching her neck, and Quinn tried not to flinch. Her voice still didn't sound quite normal and her whole neck throbbed. She hadn't looked at it, but considering the grip the scarecrow had on her, she imagined it had also left a nasty bruise.
"It was the scarecrow," Quinn said, clearing her throat.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"There was a scarecrow in the field and it was what killed everyone," Quinn explained. "I saw it the first night I went out there, but I didn't think anything about it at the time. As we drove past the farm, it jumped in front of the car or something, so it looked like we hit a person. When I got out, it jumped on me and started strangling me. I think the only reason I'm not dead right now is because Santana lit it on fire."
"Remind me to properly thank her," Rachel remarked. "Maybe I'll make her a batch of my 'thank you' cookies."
"Did you get many trick or treaters?" Quinn asked, wanting to forget about her night.
"Quite a few," Rachel answered, dropping her hand from Quinn's neck, and turning toward the bed. "I'm surprised anyone in this town would ever let their children out at night." Rachel shook her head. "Sometimes I don't understand how everyone doesn't see what's going on."
"People ignore what they don't want to see," Quinn commented.
"I suppose," Rachel said, glancing at Quinn. "Are you going to stay the night again?"
"Do you want me to?" Quinn asked.
"I always want you to," Rachel said, smiling the barest bit.
"Okay," Quinn answered. "It's not like Brittany will miss me; I'm sure she'll be with Santana doing things that I really don't want to think about."
Rachel laughed as she walked toward her dresser. "That's probably true. And I'm sure you've had a long night, so there's really no sense in you driving across town." She turned, handing Quinn some fresh clothes. "Is there anything I can get you to help with your neck."
Quinn shook her head. "It'll be fine."
She began changing clothes, feeling Rachel's eyes on her the whole time. She wondered if she had other bruises from the fall, but when she glanced up, the look on Rachel's face wasn't concern. Looking down again, she grabbed her discarded clothes from the floor, and set them on the back of the chair.
"I've been thinking," Rachel said, clearing her throat, and pausing for a moment. "I think you should move back in."
Quinn frowned slightly as she looked at Rachel. "Do you really think Leroy would let me do that? I mean, he knows about us now. Not only that, but he knows I'm the Slayer, which means lots of bad things are after me, and if they ever found out where I live—"
"He already said yes," Rachel interrupted. "He knows I worry about you and would feel much better if you were here. I think he would feel a little better, too. You may not know it, but he cares about you."
Quinn didn't know what to say; she wanted to ask if Rachel's father was crazy, but she didn't. She hadn't really thought about moving back in very much because she never thought it would be an option. As much as she liked Brittany's family, it still didn't really feel like home. Really, the only place she'd ever felt at home was when she lived there.
"Okay," Quinn said, making up her mind.
"Okay?" Rachel asked, her smiling growing.
Quinn nodded and smiled back. "Yeah."
Rachel threw herself into Quinn's arms for the second time that night. Quinn held her tightly and placed a kiss on Rachel's neck as she smiled to herself.