Chapter 7 – Foot Race
Quinn rolled her shoulders back and then stretched her arms. She had been training for several hours, and combined with fighting vampires most of the night, she was getting sore. She grabbed her phone from the bench and looked to see what time it was. She was supposed to meet Rachel soon and she didn't want to be late. The last few days had been busy and she hadn't seen her girlfriend very much other than the moments they had together at school.
"I'll be back after Glee," Quinn stated.
"Take the weekend off," Beiste said, looking over her shoulder. "You've been workin' a lot and nothing's really happening right now. If something changes, I'll let you know."
"Okay," Quinn replied
She wasn't going to question it; she would happily take the weekend off. Of course she knew something would inevitably come up, but she could hope. Even if she had one day, she would be happy. Then, she and Rachel could at least go on a date. Even if it was just dinner and a movie, she would take it. She would love to have a more elaborate dated planned for them, but it was hard to do when something could come up at any moment and ruin her plans.
"I'll see you Monday, then," Quinn said, grabbing her bag.
Quinn quickly left the training room and went in search of Rachel. Rachel said she would either be by her locker, in the choir room, or in the auditorium, so Quinn decided to pass by the brunette's locker first. When she rounded the corner, she saw Rachel toward the other end of the hallway with her back toward Quinn. She smiled as she watched Rachel; she was gesturing wildly while talking to Tina and the other girl was laughing. Quinn remained quiet as she approached, and thankfully, Tina didn't give her away. Silently, she wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist, causing her to jump.
"Hey," Quinn said, kissing Rachel's shoulder.
"You frightened me," Rachel said.
"Sorry, but I couldn't resist," Quinn said with a smile.
"How did your training go?" Rachel asked, turning around.
"Good," Quinn said, pulling her closer, and giving her a quick kiss. "Beiste gave me the weekend off."
"Really?" Rachel asked, her face lighting up.
"Really," Quinn answered. "Something will probably come up, but I was hoping we could do something tomorrow."
"Are you asking me on a date?" Rachel asked with a smile.
"Well, we've been trying to go on one for weeks," Quinn remarked.
"You guys are too cute," Tina said.
"Dudes," Puck said, jogging toward them.
"I believe 'ladies' would be the correct term," Rachel replied.
Puck rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"What's going on, Puck?" Quinn questioned.
"Have you guys heard?" Puck asked.
"I'm guessing no," Quinn replied.
"Someone thinks they saw Bigfoot out in that wooded area near Westwood Lake," Puck said.
"Bigfoot?" Tina asked.
Puck nodded. "That's what they said. Everyone's talking about it."
"Did you just say Bigfoot?" Santana asked, coming up from behind Quinn.
"I've always wanted to meet Bigfoot," Brittany said, looking excited.
"Britt, sweetie, Bigfoot isn't real," Santana said gently.
"How do you know?" Brittany asked. "Most people think vampires aren't real."
"I think Brittany may be right," Rachel chimed in. "I'm not saying it's really Bigfoot, but maybe they did see something. You know, a demon kind of something. I've read about and seen pictures of more than one that greatly resembles what most people think Bigfoot would look like."
"I heard there's some Bigfoot search party that's coming to town," Puck continued. "They go around anytime there's a sighting and they're supposed to be here tonight."
"Do you know who saw it?" Quinn asked.
Puck shrugged. "I just heard it was some hunter out in the woods."
Rachel wondered if the hunter really did see something or if this was all just some hoax. Considering it was Lima, though, she was leaning toward the former. After all, it wouldn't be the first demon she found in the woods. She never believed in things like Bigfoot, and maybe this explained the sightings that happened around the country. Maybe they were all just demons rather than the ape-like creature most thought it to be.
"I wonder if there's anything about it in the newspaper," Rachel said. "If we could find out the hunter's name, maybe we can talk to him and get more details. If it really is something, all those people who are coming could really get hurt out there."
"Even if it is a hoax, people could still get hurt," Quinn noted.
"That's very true," Rachel replied, looking over at Quinn. "Maybe we should see if we can stop them from going out there. What do you think?"
Quinn sighed. "I think our weekend just got ruined."
She knew the wooded area Puck was talking about and it was a huge place. Unless they managed to narrow it down to a certain area, they could be out there for weeks without finding anything. She was going to have to try, though. She didn't figure there was any way to get the Bigfoot enthusiasts to not come, so she was just going to have to find it before they did.
Quinn pulled her car into the gravel lot and parked beside a large van with 'Sasquatch Squad' written on the side. It wasn't the only car in the lot, either; there was a van from a local news station along with several cars and trucks. There was no sign of anyone else around, and she wondered how long they had already been there.
She grabbed her backpack from the passenger seat and opened the front pocket to grab a compass and map. The forest was huge and she didn't want to risk getting lost in it. Her cellphone service was already iffy where she was and she figured if she went very far into the woods, she wouldn't' have a signal at all. Also inside the bag were several weapons—her crossbow and a dagger, a flashlight, and a satchel that Brittany gave her for protection. She had no idea what was going to happen tonight, so she wanted to be prepared for anything. It was hard to do that without looking suspicious, though.
The backpack wasn't very big, so she couldn't bring as much as she wanted. But she didn't want to bring the duffle bag because she thought it would draw more attention to herself. She figured she could just say she was hiking if she happened to run into anyone else, and a backpack wouldn't look so suspicious.
She opened the door, stepped out of her car, and shouldered her backpack. The sun was still up, but would be setting soon, and Quinn wanted to get into the woods before that happened. As least then she would be able to get acquainted with them before it became completely dark. Before she went in, she looked to her right and gazed across the expansive lake. She had never been there before and was surprised at how huge it was.
As she was taking in the sight, she thought she saw movement far on the other side, but it was hard to tell. She took a few steps closer and kept her eyes focused on the area. There was movement again, but she couldn't tell if it was just something swaying in the breeze or if it was something else. When something moved again, though, she paused. It definitely looked like there was something there; something dark in color and she had the feeling she was being watched by it.
"Are you here because of the sighting?"
Quinn jumped, startled by the sudden appearance. When she turned around, there was an older man standing behind her with a baseball cap on, khakis, and shirt that read 'Sasquatch Squad'. It left little question why he was there. Before answering, she glanced over her shoulder, but whatever had been there was now gone.
"What sighting?" Quinn asked, playing dumb.
The man chuckled. "You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" Quinn asked. "I was just taking a hike."
"Isn't it awfully late for a young woman to be hiking in the woods?" he asked.
Quinn shrugged. "I can take care of myself."
"Well, you might want to rethink your plans," he stated. "There's been a Bigfoot sighting in these woods."
"Bigfoot?" Quinn asked. "Isn't that just some hoax?"
"I can assure you there have been many sightings around the country," he replied. "And we have confirmed evidence that the sighting here is indeed real."
"What kind of evidence?" Quinn wondered.
"A picture," he answered. "The man that reported it took a picture with his phone."
"And you're here because you want to find it?" Quinn asked.
"Find it and capture it," he replied. "We want to study it and show the world that Bigfoot is real."
"Do you know where it may be?" Quinn inquired, hoping to get some useful information out of the guy.
"It was seen near the west side of the lake," he answered. "We think it may be living in a cave somewhere nearby the area, and we'll search every last square foot until we've found it." He held out his hand. "I'm Jim, by the way."
"Lily," Quinn lied, shaking his hand.
"Well, Lily, I suggest you go home," Jim said. "Unless you would like to join the search party. We take safety very seriously, so you would have someone with you at all times."
"I think I'll pass," Quinn replied.
"Then you should probably be going," he stated. "It's going to be dark soon, after all. You wouldn't want to be out in these woods all alone at night, now would you?"
Quinn gave him a fake smile and said, "No, I sure wouldn't."
He nodded, smiling back. "If you want to join us, the offer stands. If we don't find it tonight, we'll be out here again tomorrow. We meet at 5:30 in this parking lot."
"I'll keep that in mind," Quinn replied.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to make a few calls," he said, giving her another smile before walking toward his van.
Quinn looked over her shoulder and watched him, wondering if she could slip into the woods without him noticing. But that was going to be hard to do with her car in plain sight. So, she walked to the car and got back in. She had noticed on her map that there was another, small parking lot closer to the other side of the lake. It wasn't where he said the sighting had taken place, but it was closer to whatever she had seen standing on the other side, and she had a feeling that was where she should go.
"That movie was—"
"Terrible," Quinn finished for Rachel.
"Well—yes," Rachel replied.
Quinn laughed. "I'm sorry I picked such a terrible movie."
"It doesn't matter," Rachel said, smiling as she shook her head. "As long as I'm with you, nothing else matters."
Quinn smiled. She definitely wished she had picked a better movie for their first date after reconciling, but Rachel was right. As long as they were together, it didn't really matter how bad the movie was. Besides, Quinn wasn't even paying attention during most of it. She was too busy watching Rachel and thinking how wonderful it felt to simply be sitting next to her, holding her hand. It was strange how content she felt around the other girl; she'd never just felt so at peace before and it was nice to finally feel like that.
"So, dinner?" Quinn asked as she stood up.
"Dinner would be lovely," Rachel replied.
Quinn smiled as she offered her hand to Rachel. It was a little early for dinner—they went to matinee showing of the movie—but she needed to go back to the woods that night. She hated that they couldn't have a proper date on a Saturday night like most other couples, but they were doing the best they could. It was rare that she had a night free, and it seemed to be happening less and less lately. She didn't know what it was, but there seemed to be a lot more supernatural activity over the past few months, which made it difficult to have any semblance of a normal life.
As they walked into the lobby of the theater, they saw Mike and Tina waiting in line to buy tickets. Tina gave them a big smile and the two girls waved to their friends. After leaving the building, rather than heading to her car, Quinn led them to the sidewalk. It was a pleasant afternoon—a little chilly, but nothing too bad—and she figured it would be nice if they walked to the restaurant. Plus, it would probably take longer to find a parking spot than it would be to just walk.
"Are you sure you have to go back out there tonight?" Rachel asked, lopping her arm around Quinn's.
"I'm sure," Quinn said with an amused smile.
The previous night had been a complete bust. After finally making her way to the other side of the lake, she found nothing but a few broken twigs. She searched around until a little after midnight before she eventually gave up and went home. She didn't know if she'd have any better luck that night, but she was going to try. The only comforting fact was that she Sasquatch Squad had also come up empty handed according to their blog, which Rachel had found online.
"Can I come with you?" Rachel asked after a few moments.
"You know you can't," Quinn said, sighing.
"Why not?" Rachel asked. "You shouldn't be alone out there."
"You know why not," Quinn answered. "I don't want to put you in anymore danger than you're already in." She kissed the side of Rachel's head. "And I'll be fine."
"What if you're not?" Rachel asked. "What if something happens to you out there?"
"I promise nothing is going to happen to me," Quinn replied.
"I just worry," Rachel said, looking at her in concern. "I would feel a lot better if you let me go with you."
Quinn sighed again. She would love to let Rachel go with her, but she just couldn't do it. She promised herself that she would limit Rachel's involvement as much as she could. She was aware that she would probably need her help sometimes, but this was not one of those times. Not when Quinn had no idea what they were really dealing with at the moment. She knew how much Rachel wanted to go with her—she could see it in her eyes—but she couldn't give in to her.
"Look, I know you want to go, but I'll feel better if I know you're safe at home," Quinn said, stopping, and standing in front of Rachel.
"I just want to help," Rachel stated.
"You do help," Quinn relied. "Not only do you do more research than anyone else, but you give me a reason to fight. I won't let anything happen to me because I want to come home to you."
Rachel smiled softly as she rested her forehead against Quinn's. "Okay, but remember that we agreed to never lie to one another and you just promised nothing would happen, so you have to keep that promise."
"I will," Quinn said before giving Rachel a soft kiss. "I promise."
"Good," Rachel replied, smiling at Quinn. "I'm definitely going to hold you to it."
Quinn laughed as she took Rachel's hand and began walking toward the restaurant again. "You know, most couples choose lighter topics while they're on a date."
"When have we ever been like other couples?" Rachel asked with a shrug.
"I guess that's true," Quinn said, looking over at Rachel, and smiling.
"Do you have a flashlight?" Rachel asked.
"It's in my bag," Quinn answered.
"What about weapons?" Rachel asked. "Do you have enough weapons?"
"I have what I had yesterday," Quinn replied.
"Are you sure that's enough?" Rachel said with a slight frown.
"Rachel, stop worrying," Quinn said, setting her bag down on her bed, and grabbing the brunette's hand.
"I just want to make sure you're prepared," Rachel said, glancing down.
"Why are you so worried?" Quinn asked.
She had no idea why Rachel was so concerned about her lately. Her girlfriend had always been a bit of a worrier, but this was far beyond how she ever was before. She knew part of it was because Rachel couldn't be there with her now, but she had a feeling it was also something else. And judging by the look on Rachel's face, she was right. The brunette was biting on her lip and Quinn could tell she didn't want to answer the question. She became even more curious, though, when a slight blush appeared on Rachel's cheeks and she averted her eyes, avoiding eye contact with Quinn.
"Rach?" Quinn asked.
"I'm simply afraid something will happen to you," Rachel finally answered.
"Because?" Quinn said, knowing there was more to it than that.
"Because I can't imagine you not being in my life," Rachel replied. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. I love you so much and—"
"And what?" Quinn asked when Rachel seemed to be reluctant to say the rest.
"And I—" Rachel sighed. "I'm worried that something will happen to you before we can finally—be together."
Quinn's eyebrows shot up as Rachel looked away again. Her blush was very prominent now and there was no question about whether or not Quinn had misunderstood what she was saying. That wasn't what she thought the brunette was going to say and she really didn't know how to respond. They hadn't talked about it much; it had been alluded to a few times, but the most they'd discussed it was before they had broken up.
"I know it's terrible of me to be worried about that, but I-I can't help but think about it." Rachel cleared her throat. "This is really embarrassing."
"Are you—do you—" Quinn sighed, closing her eyes. "Are you ready for that?"
"I believe I am, yes," Rachel answered. "I know we haven't discussed it in depth, and I always thought I would wait until I was twenty-five and had my first Tony, but now I can't imagine waiting that long. Of course, if you're not ready, I'll wait as long as you need me to. I don't want to rush you in any way, so please don't think that's what I'm trying to do right now. I don't want anything to happen until we're both ready to take that next step."
Before Rachel could say anything else, Quinn leaned forward, bringing their lips together. The brunette's arms wrapped around the back of her neck while Quinn's hands landed on Rachel's waist. Quinn knew they had been getting closer, but she really didn't know the other girl was quite there yet. Hearing her say it made Quinn want Rachel all the more. She still wanted to wait a bit longer—preferably when things slowed down with the Slaying—but now that she knew they were on the same page, it was only a matter of time.
"I should go," Quinn mumbled against Rachel's lips.
"I know," Rachel replied as she tangled her hands in Quinn's hair.
The blonde lifted Rachel up by her waist and walked her back to the bed. Rachel moaned slightly when her back hit the mattress and Quinn crawled on top of her. Quinn pulled away for a moment and looked down at her girlfriend with a smile. Rachel pulled her back down, though, crashing their lips together. Rachel's tongue slid along her bottom lip before she took it between her teeth, giving it a gentle nip. Quinn suppressed a moan of her own and tried to keep her hands still when all she really wanted to do was touch Rachel. But she knew if she did, she wouldn't want to leave, and she needed to go out to the woods tonight.
"You should go," Rachel said, putting her hands on Quinn's cheeks, and pushing her away slightly.
"I know," Quinn replied.
Rachel gave her a few more kisses before sitting up on her elbows. "How late do you think you'll be tonight?"
"I don't know," Quinn replied, giving her another kiss.
"Please be careful," Rachel said as she rubbed her thumb across Quinn's cheek.
Quinn gave her a soft smile. "I will."
The blonde sat up the rest of the way and climbed off the bed. She hated to leave, but this definitely wasn't the time for anything drastic to happen. There was a potential demon running around the woods while at least a dozen people were searching for it. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and she wasn't going to let anyone get hurt just because she was too distracted by her girlfriend.
She grabbed her bag from next to Rachel and double checked that everything was inside before throwing it over her shoulder. When she leaned down to give Rachel another kiss, the brunette pulled her close again, quickly deepening it. As quickly as she did it, though, Rachel ended the kiss and rested their foreheads together.
"I love you," Rachel stated.
Quinn smiled. "I love you, too. And I'll be back before you know it."
"I hope so," Rachel replied.
Quinn gave her one last, quick kiss, and then walked to the door, where she turned around and said, "Soon, okay?"
"I can live with that," Rachel said, smiling back.
As Quinn walked through the woods, she tried to look around while also glancing at the ground. There were a lot of tree roots and she'd already tripped once, but managed to catch herself before she hit the ground. Otherwise, the night had been completely uneventful, and she was beginning to wonder if she should just go home. It was still only a little after ten, though, and she'd told herself she would stay out until at least midnight even if this was her third night out there without finding anything.
Sighing, she stopped and looked around the immediate area. She could hear the sound of water and figured she must have rounded back toward the lake. She hadn't meant to, but at least she could figure out where she was now since she'd gotten a little turned around. As she began to make her way through the tree limbs, she heard a splashing sound and stopped in her tracks, immediately switching off her flashlight. She stayed perfectly still as she listened for the noise. As soon as she heard the sound again, she quietly made her way forward and peeked around a tree while hiding behind it.
Near the lake was a tall, hairy creature that certainly looked like it could be Bigfoot. She continued to watch the creature as it used its hand to scoop up handfuls of water to drink. If it had any clue she was there, it wasn't showing any sign of it as it continued to drink from the lake.
Quinn slowly took her backpack off her shoulder and grabbed the dagger from within. The creature didn't look that threatening, but she knew looks could be deceiving. It was definitely big enough to give her some problems; it was well over a foot taller than her and probably weighed three times more. It wasn't the biggest thing she had fought, but it definitely came close, and she didn't want to be unprepared for when that happened.
Just as she began to pull out her crossbow, she took a small step, and something beneath her foot snapped. The creature immediately turned around and made a grunting noise. It was looking right at her and Quinn knew she had been spotted. The creature quickly stood to its full height and Quinn stepped forward to get a clear shot. As she raised the crossbow, though, the creature raised its hands, making another noise that almost sounded like it was trying to speak in some language Quinn didn't understand. She had her finger on the trigger, but she hesitated as she stared at the thing in front of her.
Most demons would have attacked by now, but the creature was still standing there. What struck her the most, though, was that she could see fear in its eyes. Slowly, she lowered her crossbow as she kept her eyes locked on to the creature. She had no idea what it was, but something in her gut told her that it wasn't dangerous. They stood there looking at each other for several seconds as Quinn debated what to do. It definitely wasn't human, but she wasn't going to kill it just because of that. Even if it was a demon, she knew from personal experience that not all of them were bad. Most, but not all. Myk had helped her twice, after all.
"There!" she heard a voice shout from close by.
Both Quinn and the creature turned; she could see people with flashlights coming their way and she knew it must be the people looking for Bigfoot. When she looked back to the creature, it looked even more afraid than before, and Quinn wondered what was going through its mind. Without thinking, she stepped forward and said, "Go."
The creature looked at her for a moment before stalking off into the trees only a few yards away from her. Up close, the thing looked even bigger than she first realized. As she walked further out into the open, she wondered if she had done the right thing or if she had just let a dangerous creature walk away. She knew she could be wrong about it, but she hoped she was right.
"It's just me," Quinn said as the Sasquatch Squad got closer, and Quinn threw her weapons into the nearest bush.
"Who?" a voice shouted out, and as he got closer, she saw that it was the guy, Jim, she met the previous day.
"Lily," she answered.
"What are you doing out here?" Jim asked.
"I was taking a walk around the lake," Quinn lied.
"This late?" he asked.
Quinn shrugged. "I like it out here."
"False alarm, everyone," Jim said, turning back to the two people who were with him, and then looking at Quinn again. "It's dangerous to be out here alone. Rick could have shot you."
"Shot me?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, how do you think we're going to take the thing in?" Jim asked.
"You're going to kill it," Quinn stated.
She thought they were Bigfoot enthusiasts, but she realized she was wrong. She looked at the other guy in the group—she assumed he was Rick—and saw a hunting rifle in his hand. This wasn't just some harmless group that went around trying to prove the existence of Bigfoot; these people were hunting Bigfoot. She came out there to save them from the creature, but now she was beginning to think it was the other way around.
"We thought we saw something over here," Rick said, watching her closely. "Did you see anything?"
"Nope," Quinn lied, never taking her eyes off the man. "Just me."
Quinn entered the dark house and immediately headed for Rachel's room. She knew the brunette would be up—she almost always waited for her to get home—and she needed to talk to her. She wanted Rachel's opinion on what to do next and to help her come up with a plan. She knew Santana would just tell her she was an idiot and she didn't think her Watcher would be very happy with her for letting a potentially dangerous creature go.
She knocked lightly on Rachel's door and it flew open a second later. Rachel looked relieved the moment she saw her and immediately wrapped her arms around Quinn. The blonde hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of Rachel against her. She wished they could stay like that forever, but she really did need to talk to the other girl, so she put her hands on Rachel's forearms and gently moved her back until they were looking at each.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine," Quinn answered as she walked into the room. "I found Bigfoot."
"Did you kill it?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shook her head. "No. I let it go, actually."
"Why would you let it go?" Rachel wondered, furrowing her brows.
"I found it by the lake," Quinn explained. "It was drinking water. I had my crossbow up when it heard me and turned around. It didn't attack me, though. It just looked afraid."
"It was afraid?" Rachel asked.
Quinn nodded. "It even held up its hands like it was begging me not to shoot it."
"What happened then?" Rachel asked.
"The Sasquatch Squad showed up and they're not a friendly group like they appear," Quinn answered. "One of them had a rifle and they plan on killing it, not capturing it. As soon as I heard them, I told the thing to run and it did." She sighed. "I don't know if it's Bigfoot or what, but I don't think it's bad. It didn't look dangerous."
"Well, then, we have to save it," Rachel stated. "If it's harmless, we can't just let it die out there."
"Yeah, but how are we going to do that?" Quinn asked. "It's huge and I don't know if it understood me or if it just knew it should run."
"I'm not sure, but maybe we can relocate it to somewhere they won't find it," Rachel replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "It's too bad we can't get the hunters to leave."
"I don't think that'll happen," Quinn remarked. "It sounded like they're going to be out there until they find it, so it's only a matter of time before they do."
"Well, do you know where we can find Bigfoot again?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shook her head. "It seems to move around a lot, but both times I did see it near the lake."
"It's probably its source of water, so it would make sense that it would stay around it," Rachel replied. "I'll see if I can find a detailed map of those woods and see if there's some place it may sleep. Maybe there's a cave or something out there. And I'll also continue to look around for any information on Bigfoot even though I don't know how helpful it'll be."
Quinn nodded. She was grateful that Rachel was there to help and that she didn't think she was crazy for letting it go. The brunette trusted her judgment, and that meant a lot to Quinn. It was just one of the many things she loved about the other girl. She didn't question her like so many other people did.
"I also think we should monitor the Sasquatch Squad," Rachel continued. "It shouldn't be too terrible hard; they always tell their whereabouts on their blog."
"I think I might have an even better idea about that," Quinn said. "They asked if I would like to join them, so maybe I should. Or someone else can."
"Yes, that would probably be a good idea," Rachel agreed. "Then it would look perfectly normal that we're out there."
"We?" Quinn asked.
"Well, I thought I could help you since you know there is no danger," Rachel replied. "Wouldn't it be better if there were two of us out there rather than just one? I'm sure Brittany and Santana would come along as well, and maybe even Tina or Noah if you would like. We can split up and cover more ground, so we'll have a better chance of finding Bigfoot before anyone else does."
Quinn knew Rachel was right—they would be able to cover more ground that way—but she was reluctant to say yes. Just because the creature was probably harmless, it didn't mean there weren't other things out there that were dangerous. Letting Santana go was one thing, but letting the rest come along was a risk. She knew they could handle themselves to a certain extent, but that didn't mean they couldn't get seriously hurt. Brittany was powerful, but she was still human, and the other three had no special powers to speak of. Still, it would make things easier and they would be more likely to find what they were looking for.
"You know I'm right," Rachel said softly.
Quinn sighed. "I know."
"Do you want me to call Tina and Noah, then?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shook her head. "No, but I'll talk to Santana and Brittany at school tomorrow."
"Does that mean I can come along?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, but I don't want you to leave my side," Quinn replied.
"I promise," Rachel said with a wide smile.
"Is something wrong, Mercedes?" Rachel asked.
"I just wish Kurt was here," Mercedes said.
"I'm sure we all wish he could be here," Rachel replied. "Have any of you spoken to him?"
"I talked to him Saturday," Tina answered. "He says he likes it at Dalton, but he misses everyone here."
"Did he tell you about the guy?" Mercedes asked.
"What guy?" Rachel inquired.
"He met some guy his first day," Mercedes answered.
"He says he's a complete dreamboat and he's gay," Tina added.
"Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be interested in Kurt," Mercedes said.
"I told him to give it some time," Tina said. "Just because he isn't interested right now, it doesn't mean he won't be in the future."
"I can't believe he called both of you," Finn said with a frown. "I tried calling him last night and he didn't answer."
"I didn't know you two were that close," Rachel replied.
"Well, we're not, but—" Finn sighed. "Our parents are getting married, okay? They told us at dinner a couple weeks ago."
"Really?" Tina asked. "Kurt didn't say anything."
"He probably didn't want to make a big deal about it," Finn said with a shrug.
"Since when doesn't Kurt want to make a big deal about things?" Tina asked.
"Yeah, that's sort of what he does," Artie said.
Quinn looked forward as she tried to block the other inhabitants of the table out. She was trying to concentrate on her notes, but it was hard to do where she was sitting. She had a quiz in her next class and she wanted to be prepared. She hadn't done so great on the last one because she'd been so busy fighting evil, so she couldn't afford to do badly on this one. It had been a miracle that she'd managed to keep her 4.0 the previous year and she needed to do the same this year if she had any hope of going to a decent college. Of course, even with a perfect GPA, she had no idea if she would ever be able to leave Lima due to her Slayer duties, but she could still dream.
She knew she should give up on that dream and worry about other things, but she couldn't help it. She'd always hoped that she would somehow get out of that town even if she knew it was probably a long shot. People like Rachel were the ones who got out; people like her ended up stuck there the rest of their lives. Regardless, she hoped she could get out eventually. There was evil everyone that needed to be fought, right?
"Would you like me to quiz you?" Rachel whispered.
Quinn shook her head. "I'm okay."
"Well, if you change your mind, just ask," Rachel said, resting her hand on Quinn's thigh, and giving it a gentle squeeze.
Quinn tried to ignore the fact that Rachel's hand was on her thigh, but that was even harder to do than blocking out everyone's loud talking. Their discussion from Saturday night was still fresh on her mind, and as much as she tried to forget about it, it seemed to be all she could think about sometimes.
Shaking her head, she looked down at her notes once again. She just needed to concentrate on trigonometry for the next twenty minutes, and then once the quiz was done, she could think about Rachel all she wanted. It was easier said than done, though. Even without Rachel right beside her, hand on her thigh, she was still all Quinn could seem to think about. She knew she should be worrying about other things—specifically, school and Slaying—but she couldn't help it. She'd wasted so much time being stubborn about things, and now that she had Rachel again, she was actually happy. And she never wanted that to change. So, she often found herself thinking about what kind of future they could have together or if they could even have a future together.
When it became obvious that she wasn't going to get anything done sitting there, she picked up her notebook and stuffed it into her bag. She turned to tell Rachel, but the brunette was in a conversation with her friends and she didn't want to interrupt, so Quinn grabbed her bag, and stood up. She began walking across the cafeteria, but before she was even halfway to the door, she heard Rachel call her name, and looked over her shoulder to find the other girl hurrying across the room.
"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, I'm just going to the training room to study," Quinn said with a shrug. "It's a little loud in here."
"Do you mind if I join you?" Rachel asked. "I promise I'll be quiet. If you need my help going over anything, I'll be right there, but otherwise, I can do a bit of research. Maybe I can figure out where Bigfoot might be tonight."
"You're lucky you already know all of this stuff," Quinn commented shaking her head.
"That's only because I worry, so I stay up waiting on you to come home, and there really isn't a lot to do that late," Rachel replied with a smile. "The neighbors complain when I sing any later nine, after all." Rachel held out her hand. "Come on."
"I may take you up on that offer to quiz me," Quinn said as she entwined their fingers together.
"Please do," Rachel replied. "You know I'm always happy to help."
"Alright, it's time to split into teams," Jim said, stopping in a small clearing in the woods. "The new girls will be paired up with one of the veterans. Blondie, you'll go with—"
"Actually, I think it would be better if we stuck together," Rachel interrupted.
"I'm on San's team," Brittany announced.
Jim frowned. "That's not—"
"We're going this way," Santana said before grabbing Brittany's hand and stalking off.
"It would be safer if you were with one of the guys," Jim called after them.
Quinn could see that Brittany was pulling on Santana, stopping her from turning around, and she stifled her laugh. She could imagine exactly what Santana wanted to say to him. And judging by Rachel's huff, the brunette wanted to say a few things, too. They didn't really have time for that, though, and thankfully, Brittany and Santana continued walking.
There were two places they thought Bigfoot may be hiding, and Brittany and Santana were in charge of scoping out one of them while Quinn and Rachel checked out the other. They met the group in the parking lot and Quinn pretended to be taking Jim up on his offer to join them. With so many of them out there, she figured it would only be a matter of time before they ran into each other anyway; this way, they already knew they were out there, so they wouldn't be suspicious.
"Does your friend ever listen?" Jim asked.
"No," Quinn answered.
Jim sighed. "Well, you two girls should split up."
"I don't think so," Quinn replied. "We're going to stay together."
"It could be dangerous out there and you're just girls," he stated.
"I can assure you, we can take care of ourselves," Rachel said.
"Fine," he replied. "If you find anything, use your walkie."
"Of course," Quinn said, giving him a fake smile.
She didn't stick around for him to tell them where to go; instead, she checked her compass and began walking east. Rachel thought there was a cave on the north-east side of the lake and she thought it would be a good place to look for the creature. There was a second cave in the area—one more to the south-east—which is where the other two were headed at the moment. Several other caves littered the area as well, but these were the only two that were probably big enough to house something as large as Bigfoot.
Rachel and Quinn walked silently through the woods. Every little bit they would check their map to make sure they were still going in the right direction, but other than that, they didn't stop. Quinn wanted to put as much distance between them and the group as possible, so she hoped they wouldn't be a problem if they found the creature. But she knew they were talking about staying near the lake tonight, which didn't really bode well for them since they figured that's where the thing stayed. She just hoped they got there first and could somehow communicate with the creature.
"I think it's a little north of that large rock," Rachel said, pointing at section of rocks just off the lake. "I wonder if Santana and Brittany are there yet."
"I wish I knew," Quinn replied.
They had no way of communicating with their friends. They got no cell service in the area and they had no idea the group was going to give them walkie talkies. Rachel had tried to silently communicate to the other two, but Quinn didn't think it worked. They turned it to the channel Rachel tried to tell them, but there was nothing on it. So, instead, they stayed tuned in to the rest of the group in an attempt to keep track of their whereabouts.
"Wait," Quinn said, holding her hand out to stop Rachel from moving forward any further.
"What is it?" Rachel whispered.
"I thought I heard something," Quinn whispered back as she looked around.
The sun was nearly set, so it was becoming increasingly difficult to see anything. She kept her eyes focused toward the forest, where she thought she heard a branch snap. She heard another noise, and when Rachel tensed beside her, she knew she wasn't the only one who had heard it that time.
"Do you remember me?" Quinn asked. "We're not going to hurt you."
"We're here to help," Rachel added.
"Yeah, we're here to help you," Quinn said, taking a few steps forward.
Quinn continued walking and looked over her shoulder to make sure Rachel was a safe distance behind her. Slowly, she moved a few branches aside as she walked through the trees. At first she didn't see it, but then she saw the creature looking between two trees. She looked back to see Rachel looking around and motioned in its direction, which Rachel followed, gasping slightly when her eyes landed on it.
"I don't know if you can understand me, but there are some people here who do want to hurt you," Quinn said.
"Speaking of which, I think they're coming," Rachel whispered, pulling on her hand.
"How did they find us?" Quinn asked.
"Maybe they followed us," Rachel suggested.
"In there!" Jim shouted.
Just as the two men burst through, Bigfoot began running. The second guy—Quinn didn't know his name—raised his gun, aiming right for the retreating creature. Before Quinn could react, though, Rachel threw herself to the side, knocking into the guy, and causing him to fire into a nearby tree.
"What the hell was that!" the man yelled, and Quinn stepped forward in case he tried to put his hands on Rachel. "I had it!"
"I am so sorry!" Rachel said. "I tripped."
"You tripped?!" he said.
"There was a rock," Rachel said, pointing to the ground.
"Come on, AJ," Jim said, putting his hand on the other guy's shoulder. "If we hurry, we can find it."
The two men took off between the trees and Quinn looked at Rachel with an amused look. "You tripped."
"I didn't know what else to say," Rachel said with a coy smile.
"Well, I think our cover is blown," Quinn commented.
"I would say so, yes," Rachel agreed.
Quinn took a sip of her coffee as she glanced at the door. Her Watcher should be there any moment, but she was growing impatient. She knew the woman was out on the football field with the team; she thought about going out there to speak with her, but she didn't want to risk being overheard or piquing Finn's interest even more. So, she would just have to wait even if that wait was killing her. She hated waiting around, especially when she had something that she needed to do.
After going back home after their cover had been blown, she and Rachel had come up with a plan. It wasn't a very elaborate plan, but they were going to relocate Bigfoot before it was too late. They just needed to figure out how they were going to do that. Rachel had suggested borrowing Puck's truck, but Quinn was a little afraid they would be seen even if they managed to cover up the creature. It was really all they had, though, so it was probably what they would end up doing. She just wished they had a more solid plan.
When Quinn heard the jingle of keys, she sat up straighter and waited on Coach Beiste to walk through the door. Her Watcher looked up as she entered the room and looked between Rachel and Quinn.
"What are you two already doin' here this early?" Beiste asked.
"We would like to run something by you," Quinn answered.
"What sort of something?" Beiste asked.
"Well, we found Bigfoot," Quinn answered.
"Is he dead, then?" Beiste inquired.
"Not exactly," Quinn replied, glancing over at Rachel.
"We don't believe Bigfoot is bad," Rachel added.
"It's not a demon like we thought," Quinn continued. "I ran into it Sunday night and it was afraid of me. That Sasquatch Squad group is actually a group of hunters and they're after it. They tried to kill it last night, but Rachel stopped them. I think we need to save it before they find it again and we're not there to stop them."
"You're tellin' me Bigfoot's just-what?" Beiste said.
"We don't really know what it is," Quinn admitted. "But I know it hasn't tried to hurt anyone and it easily could have. It just ran away, though."
Beiste sighed. "You're sure about this?"
"Sure enough to try to help it," Quinn replied.
"Well, then, what's your plan?" Beiste asked.
"We thought we would attempt to relocate the creature," Rachel answered. "Right now, the group is only searching that section of the forest because that's where it's been spotted. We believe if we take it to some other forest, it should be safe." Rachel pulled out a map from her bag and handed it to the Watcher. "There is a small lake in the forest just off Highway 83, and judging by the terrain, I believe there are caves in the area, just like where he currently lives."
"So you're going to take it here?" Beiste said, unfolding the map, and looking down at it.
"Yes," Quinn replied.
"How are you going to transport it?" Beiste asked.
"We were thinking of borrowing Puck's truck," Quinn said, looking over at Rachel again. "We know it's not ideal, but it's the only vehicle we can get."
"I have a van," Beiste said as she folded up the map. "You can use it."
"You do?" Rachel asked. "That would be wonderful. I'm sure it will be much more inconspicuous than putting it in the back of Noah's truck."
"Do you have the keys here?" Quinn asked.
"They're at home," Beiste answered. "I can get them after second period."
"Please do," Quinn replied. "I want to go as soon as possible."
"But we have class," Rachel said.
"I know, but I want to go back before the the hunters do," Quinn replied.
"Do you really think they'll go out there early?" Rachel asked.
"I do," Quinn replied. "I think we'll be lucky if they're not out there right now, actually."
"Come here at lunch and I'll have the van for you," Beiste stated.
Quinn nodded and picked up her bag from the floor. "I'll be here."
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, looking at her in concern.
"You don't have to come," Quinn said softly.
"Of course I'm going to go with you," Rachel replied. "I just know you've been having difficulty with school and maybe it's not the best idea for you to miss class."
"Would you rather I wait and risk it dying?" Quinn asked.
"Well-no," Rachel said with a sigh.
"Then I have to go," Quinn said, shrugging slightly.
"Okay, but I'm going to ask Santana to record class," Rachel replied. "She's in your fifth period, right? And I'm sure Mercedes will give us her notes for trig if we ask nicely enough. Santana can also take care of sixth period for us, so hopefully neither of us miss too much."
"What are you doing about fifth period?" Quinn asked.
"Noah is in there," Rachel stated. "He'll just have to pay attention for once and take notes."
"Good luck with that," Quinn said, giving her a wry smile.
"It looks like we're not alone," Quinn said as she pulled into the gravel parking lot.
"Santana isn't going to be happy," Brittany remarked.
"Santana will have to get over it," Quinn retorted.
As soon as they left the training room, they began coming up with ideas and one of them was to have Brittany there as a distraction. She knew several spells that could be useful and hopefully buy them enough time if they needed it. Santana wasn't happy about the plan—she didn't want Brittany going without her—but in the end, Rachel got her way. Santana couldn't exactly go with them—it was daytime, after all—and they needed Brittany. The vampire argued about it, but Brittany was more than ready to help them, and Santana eventually had to relent.
"Come on," Quinn said as she put the van in park.
"Do you know where we're going?" Rachel asked.
"I think it will be near where it was yesterday," Quinn said, opening her door.
"You don't think it will have left?" Rachel asked as she followed Quinn out of the car.
Quinn shook her head. "I think it will stay around where it knows."
Quinn shut her door as she looked around for any sign of the hunters. She hoped they didn't run into them, but she knew it was likely to happen. She figured it was a good sign that their cars were there, though; it meant they hadn't found Bigfoot yet. She figured if they had, they would have moved on already to the next sighting, looking for something else to kill. Rachel had checked their blog earlier in the day, but it hadn't been updated, and Quinn had to wonder if it was because of what happened the other night. Maybe they were being more careful now that they knew she was obviously not who she said she was.
"Do you have your supplies?" Rachel asked.
"Yep," Brittany said, holding up her bag.
Quinn led them just inside the tree line and followed the lake to the north side. It would be easier for them to just walk along the lake, but it would also be easier for them to be spotted, she opted for some cover. They all listened carefully for any sign of the Sasquatch Squad or the creature, but the only thing they saw along the way were some birds and a few squirrels. The closer they got to where they needed to be, the slower Quinn walked. She wanted to be completely alert; the last thing she wanted was to lead the hunters directly to where the creature was hiding.
"Do you see anything?" Rachel whispered.
"Not yet," Quinn said, scanning her surroundings.
"I think the cave is just ahead," Rachel said, pointing to a small mound that was covered in grass and shrubs.
Quinn slowly led them over to where Rachel had pointed and walked around the mound until they were at the entrance to the cave. She wondered if it would be better to announce their presence or just walk in; she didn't want to startle the creature and risk it attacking them, but she also didn't want to let anyone else know they were there if anyone else was around.
"What are you doing?" Rachel asked as Quinn bent down.
"Trying not to make too much noise," Quinn said as she picked up a few rocks, and tossed them into the side of the cave.
Within moments, she heard a low growling sound. Brittany and Rachel both quickly backed away, but Quinn remained where she was, hand on the dagger in her waistband. She didn't want to hurt the creature, but if it attacked, she would do what she had to do.
"Hello?" Quinn said in a loud whisper.
"Oh my," Rachel said as Bigfoot came into view. "Is that—"
"I think Bigfoot's a mommy," Brittany said.
There was small creature alongside the larger one, and Quinn could only assume it was its child. It was still quite large—well over four foot tall—but it was small compared to the adult one.
"Is there a daddy, too?" Brittany asked.
"I don't know," Quinn replied.
"Quinn," Rachel said, putting her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I think someone's coming."
"Brittany," Quinn said, looking at their companion.
"I'm on it," Brittany said, pulling her bag off her shoulder, and pulling out some of its contents.
"We're here to help," Quinn said, standing up, and walking to the mouth of the cave. "We're going to take you somewhere safe."
She had no idea if either of them could understand her, but she hoped they could. Otherwise, this was probably going to be a lot harder. Behind her, Brittany was chanting while looking at a piece of paper and lighting some candles on the ground. Quinn knew they were only going to have so much time to get the two creatures out; she just hoped it was enough time.
The moment Brittany lit the final candle, something whooshed past them and into the words. Brittany had sent a large, dark figure through the trees. She could hear some shouting in the distance and knew it must have worked. She had no idea how long they would follow it before they realized they were after the wrong thing or even how long the spell would last, so Quinn quickly turned around to usher the two creatures out. She needed to get them to the van before the hunters realized what was going on.
"Please follow us," Quinn begged. "We're going to take you somewhere you'll be safe."
The larger creature didn't move, but the younger one took a step forward. The mother bared its teeth for a moment in warning to Quinn, but the blonde took a step forward. When she looked to her right, Rachel was next to her, holding her hand out toward the two creatures. The smaller creature continued forward until it was just in front of them, and when it reached out for Rachel's hand, the adult one rushed forward. Just as Quinn was about to pull out her dagger, it stopped. The smaller one had its hand in Rachel's, and it looked back at the other, making a low rumbling noise. Quinn had no idea what they were saying, but they went back and forth several times as if they were communicating.
"We need to hurry," Quinn stated, looking at the adult Bigfoot, hoping it would get the message and hear the urgency in her voice.
"It's up there to the right," Rachel said, pointing ahead.
"I see it," Quinn replied, seeing the edge of the lake through the trees.
She looked over her shoulder to make sure their two companions were following them. Getting them to the new location hadn't been quite as hard as she thought, but it had still taken several hours. Thankfully, the smaller creature seemed to be quite taken with Rachel and easily followed her around. The other was the problem; it was so big that it was hard for it to get in the back of the van once they finally convinced it to get in. Quinn guessed it'd had a run in with a car before because the moment it saw the vehicles in the parking lot, it became quite vocal and tried to flee. It took some coaxing, but they eventually got it back to the parking lot and slowly got it into the van.
"I hope they do okay out here," Rachel said, looking around.
"I'm sure they will," Quinn replied. "It's further away from town, so hopefully no one comes out here and runs across them." She back again. "I wonder how long they'll keep looking before giving up."
"It's hard to say," Rachel said. "I looked over their archives and they once stayed at a park near Olympia, Washington for over a month."
Quinn smirked. "I hope they stay here that long."
"It would certainly distract them from moving on and trying to kill another innocent creature," Rachel commented.
Quinn moved a branch aside, holding it for everyone. When she finally followed them through, she found herself standing at the edge of the lake. It was quite a bit smaller than the other, but still fairly large. It would at least provide them with water. And she didn't know if they ate fish, but if they did, she saw some swimming around the shallow edge.
"I think there should be some caves close by," Rachel said as she walked along.
Quinn followed her, but the two creatures stayed behind a little to drink some water from the lake. She smiled as the big one playfully splashed some water at its child and knew they had done the right thing. These two were completely harmless and it would have been a shame if the Sasquatch Squad—which she thought was an incredibly stupid name—had managed to kill either of them. She had a feeling they would be safe here, though, and she would definitely keep an eye out for any news of a new sighting in case she needed to intervene again.
"These are a lot bigger than the others," Rachel said, stopping next to one of the caves, looking inside, and then smiling back at Quinn. "I think they'll be happy here, don't you?"
"Yeah," Quinn said, looking around some more.
When the two creatures caught up to them, the smaller one ran into the cave while the other remained near the entrance with Quinn and Rachel.
"This is it," the brunette said. "You should be safe here."
Bigfoot looked at them for a moment and it locked eyes with Quinn. For a moment, she thought she saw a slight smile on its face, but then it turned around and was walking into the cave. She and Rachel stood there for a few minutes before Quinn reached over and took her girlfriend's hand.
"I think our work is done," Quinn said with a smile.
"This must be a first," Rachel commented as they began walking back.
"What is?" Quinn asked.
"You didn't have to slay anything," Rachel said, giving Quinn a smile.
Quinn laughed lightly. "Well, there was that ghost, but you're right. It's too bad it can't end like this more. It's nice being able to help without having to kill anything."
"What do you want to do for the rest of the evening?" Rachel asked.
"I thought maybe we would just watch a movie at home," Quinn suggested.
Rachel smiled. "That sounds perfect."