All The Noise Died Away [1/6]
Title: All The Noise Died Away
Author: only_because3/jeytonbrucasnaley
Word Count: 47,667 (total)
Rating: M
Warnings: Zombies and all that those include (this does include character death). Also, slight non-con warning for something in a future part. I'll make sure to point it out then.
Characters: All of the Glee club members as of Season 2 with the exception of Lauren and Mercedes. Pairings start out as canon and go from there
Spoilers: Up to season 2. It's completely AU from that point on
Summary: Up until today, they’d been safe and that’s the only thing that should have mattered. It is the only thing that matters.
Author's Note: Hello! I've been working on this for quite some time now and was for a big bang. I've tried to make this as in character as possible for everyone and well, I really hope that you all enjoy this. It's the first time I've tried covering nearly everyone in such an indepth manner. I also want to say that I've tried to portray what I believe to be a realistic zombie apocalypse. Huge thanks to my friend Nia, who worked as my zombie advisor for this story and to Az who worked as my beta. Enjoy!
Oh, and because this was part of a big bang, there is a wonderful fanmix created by kcollinson that you can download here
--
She brings a hand to her head, rubbing her temple as Santana continues droning on about Brittany. Normally she wouldn’t care, might even add a word or two, but her head has been killing her all morning and this Math worksheet is kicking her ass for some reason.
“If you were really a good guy,” she says, cutting off Santana and putting her free hand on Sam’s forearm, “you would shut her the hell up.”
Sam grins a little and Santana shoves her before taking the worksheet from in front of her. “Pop a Pamprin and actually be my best friend for once.” Santana fills in the answers easily and while usually Quinn hates how good Santana is at Math because it’s just another thing they try to best each other at, she’s thankful for it today. “What am I supposed to do?”
Quinn runs a hand through her hair, shrugging. “Be a normal person and ask her out on a date? I know you haven’t had a lot of them but I remember a time when you used to make Puck treat you to dinner before you ended up on your back.”
“I can’t just ask her out on a date, Tubbers. That’s not how-”
“Why don’t you actually use the balls you talk so much about,” Sam interjects. “Just last week you said they were bigger than mine but even I can take Mercedes out to dinner at Breadstix.”
Quinn laughs. “He makes a good point.”
“Fuck you both,” Santana grumbles, returning her attention to Quinn’s paper.
“How is Mercedes by the way,” Quinn asks, looking at the group near the back of the classroom. They laugh loudly but the girl with strawberry blonde hair looks pale and though she tries to smile, it falters spectacularly. She shivers in her seat but even Quinn can see the sweat forming on her brow from across the room. “Today’s her first day back right?”
Sam nods, tapping his pencil to a beat she can’t place on his Math book. “She’s good. Nothing a few stitches and a shot couldn’t fix.” He turns to see what she’s looking at and his face scrunches. “She’s not looking too hot.”
Santana looks up just as the girl goes slack, her head falling back as she slumps in her seat. “The fuck?” Mrs. Dial rushes over to the group, one of the guys Quinn vaguely recognizes from the hockey team easing the girl on to the ground. “Aren’t you not supposed to move people if you don’t know what’s wrong with them,” Santana remarks, glaring at the rest of the students who gather around the scene like flies. “Give her some air!”
A few students actually listen to her and return to their seats but most try and get closer. “This is disgusting,” Quinn comments, flicking Sam’s shoulder when she notices him craning his neck to see what’s going on.
“I’m just trying to see if she’s okay.”
Mrs. Dial pushes her way out of the group, telling everyone explicitly not to touch Linda. Someone must try and reach her because Mrs. Dial, who at 64 is usually very passive and docile, yanks the boy by the hood of his sweatshirt and practically screams, “Everyone in their seats right now or I will make sure you’re all given three weeks detention.”
Sam leans forward. “I think Mrs. Dial found your balls.” Santana takes her pen from her hand and it hits Sam directly between the eyes. Quinn quickly snatches it back before the two can start a fight that won’t end.
Mrs. Dial slams the phone down as the door opens, Jacob Ben Israel skirting in to the classroom. It’s the middle of the period but the hallway is full of students running around like the bell is about to ring. Quinn glances at the clock.
8:35.
There’s a bang outside, the unmistakable sound of someone being shoved against lockers, and Santana’s hand curls around her wrist when Jacob turns off the lights before sinking to the floor. “What’s going on,” Santana asks. Jacob spots Linda passed out and his eyes get so large, it’d be comical in any other situation. He keeps muttering under his breath and Quinn can’t hear him at all but he looks even creepier than normal, the way he’s pulling at his hair and shaking his head.
She grips Santana’s hand when Jacob starts to back into the corner of the room. Quinn can’t be the only one in the room thinking what she’s thinking. She can still remember when various TV shows had their own very special episodes concerning things like this and this independent film she caught late at night back when she was pregnant. Of course, it’d happen in some sleepy town like Lima. She glances at Santana and then pulls off her cardigan. It probably won’t help; if they’re targeting specific people, they know what the popular kids look like and it’s not like she has a spare pair of pants so that Santana can get rid of her Cheerio skirt. But she shoves her sweater into Santana’s arms and even though she’s visibly confused, she quickly trades her letterman jacket for Quinn’s cardigan when someone screams in the hallway.
“How many are out there,” Sam asks. Jacob ignores him and tries to keep Mrs. Dial away from Linda. She pushes him off her as Sam stands up. “Did you see their guns?”
Santana’s nails dig into her palm.
“Guns,” Jacob asks, not taking his eyes off Linda who finally looks like she’s coming to. “Why would they have guns?” Linda sits up slowly and Jacob shakes his head, scrambling to the door.
“Are you-” Mrs. Dial’s words are cut off when Linda turns her head and leeches on to their teacher’s neck.
Jacob’s the first one out of the classroom. All she can do is stare as Linda tears away from Mrs. Dial’s throat, gnawing on flesh with a grin as blood runs down her chin and stains her white Titans sweatshirts. Mrs. Dial’s pearls bounce on the floor, some catching in the pool of blood at the woman’s knees. Linda goes back in, and Sam physically pulls her up from her seat while Santana holds open the door.
--
She has absolutely no idea what’s going on.
She pulls her headphones off as she rounds the corner, letting them hang around her neck, and looks around the crowded hallway. Jacob runs into her, sending her sheet music to the floor. She sighs, crouching down to pick up the papers. She suspects the hockey team is armed with slushies again but then somebody grabs her arm, causing her to drop her papers again. “Let go-” She turns in the grasp and finds that Puck is the one grabbing her and pushing her back towards the choir room before pulling them into Mr. Schue’s office. “What on earth are you doing,” Rachel asks, watching as he locks the door. “What’s going on? I have to go get my sheet music before it’s completely ruined.”
She tries to move past him but he shakes his head and grabs her by the shoulders and spins her around. “You’re not going back out there.”
She digs her heels into the ground but it’s a useless move on linoleum when she’s wearing flats. He pushes her gently but firmly and when they get to the doorway into the choir room, she puts her hands on the frame. “I’m not moving another inch until you tell me what’s going on.”
“You wouldn’t believe me so we may as well keep moving.”
The door to the music room is kicked open, completely unnecessarily since it wasn’t even locked, and suddenly Puck is pulling her back. He seems two seconds away from throwing her over his shoulder so she kicks him in the shin to get him to let go. “Noah Puckerman, if you-”
“I will explain while we go, but you’ve got to stop wasting time.” He looks past her and his face pales just before he grabs her hand.
The hallway is a complete madhouse which makes her grip Puck’s hand tighter as they weave through the masses. “Where are we going?”
“My truck,” he answers simply and her eyebrows furrow.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to go past the office?”
He shakes his head. “Too risky.”
“Risky?” She looks at all the other students and though they do look panicked, this doesn’t exactly look like a high risk situation. “What-”
“I was on my way to take my usual nap through Math class but the nurses office was kind of crowded.”
“Crowded how? Is there something contagious going around?” He shrugs and then shoulders the football players out of their way. “Is it even safe for us to leave?”
“I don’t fucking know, Rachel. All I know is that Mercedes bit the medic working on her-”
Her shriek cuts him off and he spins around, eyes frantically searching her for something before studying the people around them. “What happened to Mercedes? Is she okay?” She turns, ready to drag Puck back to the front entrance because, honestly, he should have known better than to mention that Mercedes was ill. She’s worried enough that she hasn’t seen anyone else but if they’re in some sort of danger and Mercedes is carelessly left to… It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that she makes sure her friends are okay.
“She bit the medic! Clearly something isn’t okay.” He yanks her back and pushes them out the double doors. “I’m not sure what’s happening but people are acting fucking weird and we have got to go.”
The cold air hits her cheeks and she reaches into her coat pocket for her hat before realizing she put it in her locker with her gloves when she first got to school. “What about Finn? Are you sure we even can leave? I know you’re fine with ditching, Noah, but I have perfect attendance so far this year and I’d really like to-”
“Does it look like second period is going to start today,” he snaps and she pulls her wrist out of his hand.
“I do not appreciate how you’re speaking to me,” she says and he throws his hands up.
“Are you really doing this now?” She crosses her arms beneath her chest and he sighs, running a hand over his short mohawk. “I’m sorry, okay? But I’m freaking the fuck out and I don’t know how safe it is here and I wouldn’t be able to handle leaving you here. Mike thinks…”
“Mike thinks what?” He digs around in his pocket and then hits a few buttons before tossing her his phone.
Am I the only one getting Left 4 Dead vibes?
Her faces scrunches. “I don’t know what this means.” A new message pops up, this one from Sam, and she opens it without hesitation. “ ‘Half way to kids’ school with Q & S. Chick in Math bit Mrs. Dial.’”
“Fuck. C’mon, Rachel.” He grabs her hand again, this time lacing their fingers together.
“Why are people biting each other? It can’t be rabies… It simply can’t spread that fast.” Puck doesn’t say anything but she hears him sigh when he finally spots his truck. Kurt is already in the bed of the truck and Finn has his hands shoved in his pockets, pacing back and forth as he makes sure no one comes close to the car. Kurt spots them first, pointing them out, and it’s amazing how just seeing Finn’s face makes her feel a little bit better.
“Sam text you,” Puck calls out as Finn jogs over to them.
He nods, immediately wrapping his arms around Rachel. “It can’t be true right? This doesn’t happen in real life.”
“What doesn’t,” Rachel asks and Finn looks down at her before looking back at Puck.
“You didn’t tell her?”
“Have you said it out loud yet? Because it sounds fucking retarded in my head, I can only imagine how crazy it seems out loud.”
Kurt jumps out of the truck and she finds herself slightly more grateful for him. She slips out of Finn’s arms and walks over to her best friend. “Are they telling you anything? Puck practically went almost completely Neanderthalic in there.”
He picks at her coat, pulling off a piece of lint before calmly saying, “They think it’s zombies.”
She laughs. Not just a small, that’s a crazy suggestion laugh, but she practically doubles over, maybe even snorts. She laughs so hard. Kurt smiles and she keeps laughing until Puck yells, “Finn,” and she turns around in time to see Puck punching one of the football players away from Finn. The player falls to his knees and she opens her mouth to lecture him about violence when he goes in for another punch, but then the guy grabs Puck’s arm and looks like he’s about to bite it before Finn kicks him square in the face.
“Get in the fucking truck!”
--
They go to his house first only because it’s closest to the school. Brittany tries to stress how much they should go to Artie’s first, just in case this is a situation where they need to grab necessities (she is so much smarter than she lets on) but Artie just shook his head. Even though Mike’s house won’t afford the same accessibility as Artie’s, there’s no point in backtracking, especially given… Artie trailed off after that.
He parks in the driveway, next to his father’s car, and he tries not to think about how this is probably the first time his car has ever been home at this time. Tina reaches over and squeezes his thigh. “Do you want us to go in,” she asks and he glances at Brittany and Artie through the rear-view mirror before shaking his head.
“I’ll go talk to my parents and see if we can find out anything.”
He finds his mother at the dining room table with a cup of tea shaking in her hands. Her hair, which is normally in big waves, is in a bun at the nape of her neck, and she has on her ridiculously oversized glasses instead of her contacts. Her suit jacket is on the chair next to her and her heels lay forgotten at her feet. “Mama?”
She looks up from her cup and then drops it immediately. The china breaks, brown liquid spreading across polished wood, and it would’ve fallen onto her lap if she didn’t get up to hug him. “Michael, I’m so glad you’re here! I was so worried when I couldn’t reach you.”
He pulls his mom close and then asks in Mandarin, “What’s going on? Where’s Dad?”
She takes his hand and leads him to the table, motioning for him to sit down. “He’s calling your grandparents. We need to go get them.” She gets two new cups out of the china cabinet and sets them down in from of him. She runs a hand through his thick hair before pulling him to her again. “Your father isn’t saying much… Just that we should be with one another.”
“Tina, Artie and Brittany are outside.”
His mom sits down next to him, eyes focused on the bay window. “Have they spoken to their parents?”
“I don’t think so… Unless they’re calling now.”
She runs a finger over the handle of the tea cup. “They shouldn’t be outside.”
His father comes in and though he looks more together than his mom, Mike can see the stress written on his normally stoic face. “Michael.” He claps a hand on Mike’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze before letting go. “Now that we’re all here, we can go get your grandparents.”
Mike looks to his mother. “What about my friends?”
“Friends,” his father asks, shaking his head. “We need to be with family now, Michael. We need to protect your mother and grandparents.” He gets up and follows his father into his office. “It’s time for you to become a man. And as a man, your responsibility is to your family. There is nothing more important in this world than family.” He goes to his desk and unlocks the bottom drawer. He pulls out a machete, sets it carefully on his desk, and then pulls out a handgun.
“If I’m a man now, can you tell me what’s going on?”
His father swallows hard. “There was something wrong with one of the new vaccines.” Mike’s eyebrows furrow and his father lets out a breath. “Instead of fixing the problem, it made it worse.”
“What’re you saying, Dad?”
His dad stays silent and then tosses Mike the machete. “We have to go get your grandparents.”
He watches as his dad pockets a box of bullets before checking the chamber of his gun. Satisfied with what he sees, he puts it in his inner breast pocket and then walks over to his closet. He pulls out two jiàns (Mike can remember his mom hiding them in there every morning after his dad left for work. They used to be up in the dining room and his mom hated how it made the room look. After two years of bickering, his dad agreed to put them away) and hands the black and red one to Mike.
“I can’t leave my friends.”
His father shakes his head. "This is serious, Michael. We are going to go pick up your grandparents and we will stay together until everything is taken care of."
"What are they supposed to do? I can't just leave them." His father picks up his car keys and pushes past him. "If I'm supposed to be a man now, I need to protect them."
His father stops in the middle of the hallway, turning his heel to stare Mike down. "Would you really choose people you barely know over your family?"
Mike's grip tightens on the sheathed blades in his hands. "They are my family, Dad."
His father rolls his eyes and turns around, muttering under his breath in Mandarin, his voice steadily getting louder. "In two years you won't even remember these people! Tina is just a girl whose parents are much too lenient with her. All that make up and those clothes." His father scoffs. "Who is else out there, hm? Her ex-boyfriend she always seems to hang out with? He'll only hold you back. He can't even walk! And that other dumb girl? Pft." He shakes his head and Mike throws the jiàns his father handed to him to the ground. The noise cuts through his father's words and when his father looks at him again, Mike shakes his head.
"I'm not going to let you bully me. I know that family is important, Dad, I do. And I want nothing more than for all of us to be safe together. But I will not just leave the people I love stranded in front of our house. They need me."
His father doesn't say anything and so he walks outside, surprised to find his mother holding Tina and Brittany close. "Mama, you should be inside."
Her grip tightens on the girls and she presses a kiss to Brittany's head while running a hand through Tina's hair. "I wanted to make sure they were okay." Brittany burrows further into his mom and Tina smiles softly. His mom and Brittany are closer than Tina and his mom but that's okay because he's known Brittany since they were 6. They met in a dance class, the only class he's ever actually taken since his father disapproved, and they've been best friends ever since. She was his first girlfriend and even though his father always hated when she was over, his mom adored Brittany. His mom is trying with Tina but he knows it'll take time for them to get to the same comfort level.
It's really nice though, seeing all his girls like this. "Mama, I'm not going with you to go get Ye Ye and Nai Nai." She stares at him for a moment before nodding slowly.
"I don't want to leave you," she breathes out and then carefully untangles herself from the girls. "Where is your father?" Mike nods to the house behind him, pulling his mom in for another hug. "When we bring your grandparents back, will you meet with us?"
"Of course, Mama."
"Julia." His father shuts the front door and walks up to them, eyeing the girls carefully. "Come on. We have to go."
She nods, taking a deep breath. She hugs the girls tightly and waves to Artie who is still sitting in the back of the van. His father throws a bag into the backseat of his car, along with the jiàns before drumming his fingers impatiently on the roof of the car. "I love you, Mike," his mom says and he leans down so she can kiss him on the forehead. "I love you and I know that you'll protect them with everything you have." She reaches up and fixes his hair with a small smile on her face. "You're such a good boy."
"Julia!"
His mother turns on her heel and she shakes her head. "I am saying goodbye to my son! Do not rush me, Michael!"
"You wouldn't have to be saying goodbye to him if he did the right thing and came with us."
His mother clucks her tongue and motions to Artie's van. "This is honorable! This is the son we raised and I am proud. Now come say goodbye to your son."
"Julia." His father's voice is a bit softer now but she still shakes her head.
"You are not your father. Hug your son." His father sighs and Brittany and Tina climb back into the car as he walks over. He holds out his hand for Mike to shake and his mother slaps his father's hand. "I said hug," she shouts in Mandarin and his father rolls his eyes before stepping forward.
"Be safe," he says, hugging him tightly. It's the closest he'll get to an I love you from his dad and that's okay. It's enough for him.
When they part, his mom hugs him again and he'd almost swear his dad looks at them fondly. "I will call you when we get back okay?"
Mike nods. "Okay."
His dad is about to get back in the car when he pauses and then calls for Mike. “You’ll need this,” his father says, handing him the jiàn he had given him earlier. Mike smiles a little and then steps back as his parents pull out of the driveway.
--
“What the fuck was that,” Santana asks when she decides the car has been quiet for too long. Quinn’s in the backseat, trying to get a hold of Sam’s parents since the school couldn’t contact them, but all she gets are voicemails and Sam’s gripping the steering wheel so tight it looks like he may hulk out.
Oh fuck. Not only is crazy shit like Linda Wilde killing their teacher happening, but she’s referencing comics correctly.
She glances back at Quinn who just stares out the window, cell phone pushed desperately against her ear, and then over to Sam, who opens his mouth before closing it again. “What, Evans?”
He pulls into the parking lot of Lima Elementary, not giving one fuck about parking in a designated space, and when he cuts the engine, he turns to Santana. “Do not laugh, okay?”
“You know I can’t promise that.” Out of her peripheral vision, she sees Quinn nodding as she redials a phone number.
Sam rolls his eyes and runs a hand through his hair. “I think a zombie apocalypse is starting.”
Surprisingly, she doesn’t laugh, mainly because Quinn sighs, “Sam,” before she can get the chance to. “This isn’t the time for-”
“I’m being serious, you guys.”
“I don’t see how considering you just said the word zombies,” Santana comments but Sam ignores her and turns to Quinn.
“Do you remember that one zombie movie I made you watch?”
Quinn’s eyebrows scrunch together and she briefly stops her frantic calls. “The one with the Nazis?”
“What,” Santana asks and Sam simply shakes his head.
“The comedy. ‘Shaun of the Dead’.”
Quinn sighs before shrugging. “Sure.”
“Do you remember when the step dad got bit? In the neck?”
Quinn nods and Santana puts her hand up before Sam can say anything really stupid. “Just because it happened in a movie, doesn’t mean you can apply it to real life.”
“How else can you guys explain what happened back there?”
“Um, I don’t know, rabies? Your girlfriend got bit three weeks ago. Clearly it’s not the craziest idea.” Sam shakes his head and gets out of the car without another word, making sure to slam the door. Santana scoffs, watching him go into the school. “Zombies,” she says. “He actually fucking said zombies out loud.”
Quinn lets Sam’s cell phone fall into her lap. “I don’t think this is rabies, S. We have vaccines for that kind of thing. And what happened in Math…” Quinn shakes her head and then leans over the middle console. “That’s not normal.”
Santana arches an eyebrow, turning so she can look at the blonde clearly. “Are you about to tell me you agree with Sam? Because, so help me God, Q-”
“No,” she says softly. “But this is obviously something bigger than rabies.” Santana leans over and turns the car on just enough so that the radio will come on. She turns the dial, finding static and the occasional Billboard hit before Quinn reaches over and presses AM. “Try 89.7”
“Are you fucking eighty? Who the fuck listens to AM,” Santana asks, flipping through the stations.
“My dad used to listen to it all the time.” Santana shuts up after that because that is so not something she wants to deal with right now.
After a brief moment of static, a gravely voice filters through the speakers. “The vaccine was delivered to the following states before it was recalled: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. However, there have only been outbreaks in Massachusetts, Vermont, and West Virginia. There has been no official word from the U.S. government but reports claim that most outbreaks have been contained locally. While the other states are not considered clear, there is no need for evacuation.” Static cuts through the line and Santana turns the car off before the voice comes back through.
It suddenly feels really still around them. She turns to see if Sam is coming but nobody has come out since he went in. Quinn sinks back into the seat and Santana licks her lips. There’s a playground near the edge of the blacktop, the swings swaying in the wind, and Santana feels a shiver run up her back. “Ohio was on the list,” Quinn whispers and Santana blinks. “They said it was a vaccine.”
Santana feels her chest, frowning when she realizes her phone isn’t in her bra anymore. She groans, realizing she must have dropped it shortly before they got into the car, after she replied to Brittany. The blonde had assured her she was okay, that she was with the Asian duo and Wheels, and Santana knows that Mike would take care of Britt for her but it’s been too long for her taste since she last talked to Brittany. She grabs Sam’s phone from Quinn’s lap and her fingers move on their own accord, dialing Brittany’s number like a reflex. “Sam?”
“I lost my phone,” Santana breathes out. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“We’re leaving Mike’s right now.” There’s shuffling on the other end and when Brittany speaks again, it’s barely above a whisper. “What’s going on? Mike has this look on his face… Why is-” Brittany lets out a frustrated huff. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No, baby, I’m okay. I’m not sure what’s going on just yet.” The back door opens and she’s about to yell at Quinn to sit her ass back down, but then she sees the Aryan Evans clan coming out of the school. “Where are you going?”
“I’m not sure,” Brittany answers before her voice drops a little again. “You’ve never called me that before.”
Santana’s eyebrows furrow. “Yes I have.”
“Not outside of bed.”
Her teeth toy with her bottom lip and her blunt nails dig into the arm rest on the door. “I don’t care anymore.”
Brittany squeals excitedly and she wishes she could see the smile Brittany probably has on her face, but Santana knows she wouldn’t have said that today if shit wasn’t going down.
She sighs. Better late than never, right?
“Ask Mike where you’re going.”
There’s a pause and doors open again, the blonde bunch piling in and making her feel like a red headed stepchild. Stacey waves at her shyly while Stevie mainly ignores her and she hears Quinn fussing for both of them to buckle up when Brittany comes back on the phone. “We’re going to Artie’s and maybe to Tina’s.”
“Where are we going,” Sam asks from behind the wheel, and Quinn pushes Stevie’s hair out of his face before telling him to head to her house.
“Meet us at Quinn’s.”
Quinn perks up in the backseat, shaking her head. “Who all is she with?” She looks at Sam. “I can’t house everyone.”
“Oh my god, it’s four more people, Quinn.”
“It’s over half the Glee club!”
“What’s Quinn saying,” Brittany asks.
“Nothing. I’ll see you at Quinn’s, Britt.”
There’s silence on the other line and she’s about to hang up when she hears it. “I love you, Santana.”
It’s like a breath of fresh air. “I love you too.” She hangs up and gives Quinn back the phone who looks torn between asking her about that development or yelling at her more. “Why are you freaking out about people going over?”
“Do you not remember the woman I live with?” Quinn shakes her head. “I’m already pushing it with you guys coming over.”
Stacey perks up on the opposite end of the backseat. “Your momma doesn’t like us?”
Quinn slips on the mask she’s seen many times before, but for once, Santana thinks it’s fitting. “Of course she likes you, sweetie. It’s just she usually naps at this time.”
Santana rolls her eyes, tapping Quinn’s knee. “If you won’t let them stay, then I’m leaving with them.”
Quinn frowns, her eyebrows knitting together before she lets out a small breath. “I’ll see what I can do with my mom.” She grabs Santana’s hand for a second, squeezing it lightly before letting it go. Santana nods and turns around in her seat, putting her feet up on the dash.
Sam puts his hand on her shoulder, giving her a wry smile when she looks at him. “So, found your balls, huh?”
--
Puck’s truck sputters to a stop in front of their house and Finn tightens his arms around Rachel, who had to sit on his lap so that they could all fit. Normally, all the squirming Rachel does would totally make him hard but he’s honestly kind of scared shitless right now and he’s just really fucking glad Rachel is this close to him. She leans into his chest and even though her hair is in his face, he kisses her neck three times as Puck turns off the car. “My mom’s freaking out,” he says after he looks at his phone and Finn nods.
“She want to go to Temple?” Puck rolls his eyes while he nods and Finn smiles a little bit. It’s nice that some things are still the same. “So… we’ll call you?”
Puck looks out the windshield and chews on the inside of his cheek before nodding again. Rachel clears her throat, tucking her phone into her pocket. “Who am I going with?”
“I can drop you off at your dads, Rach. My mom’ll understand.”
Rachel’s hands cover Finn’s arm and shakes her head. “They’re out of town. This is the weekend they go antiquing with my aunt in Columbus.”
Kurt looks past them and Finn notices him plucking at where his jeans are bunching at the knee. He always jokes about how he’s gonna wear a hole in his pants when he does that and Kurt never fails to roll his eyes and tell him that he respects his clothing. “I think you should go with Puck,” Finn says carefully. Puck and Rachel turn to look at him simultaneously, Rachel’s nails digging into his skin slightly.
“Are you sure,” she asks, moving a little bit more so she can face him. She cradles his face as he nods and he takes a deep breath, pushing his face into her touch.
“We’ll probably have to talk to Mom and Dad for a while.”
Kurt scoffs. “They’re going to think we’re insane.”
Finn nods and cracks that little smile again that he knows Rachel can’t resist. “Plus Puck’s gonna need you to help him keep his mom from completely melting down.”
She glances back at Puck who shakes his head, holding his phone up. “Yeah, that’s probably not gonna happen.”
Kurt looks at the text message Puck has up and then snatches the phone from him. “You’re not actually going to text that to your mother are you?”
The boys start bickering next to them and he can see the smile begging to be released on her face. He twirls some of her hair around his finger before tugging gently so she’ll look back at him. “Go with Puck. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” he whispers, sighing when she presses her forehead against his.
“I would rather stay with you guys,” she admits, kissing the corner of his mouth as Kurt exclaims that he doesn’t care if Puck always talks to his mother like that, it’s still inappropriate.
“I know, baby, but you and I both know Puck doesn’t do well alone.” She nods a little, nose grazing his before she tucks her head against his neck. “We’re gonna meet back up, okay?”
“Promise?” He feels the question more than he hears it.
He takes a deep breath, completely overwhelmed by everything that Rachel is. She’s all he can see, all he can feel, all he can smell. “I promise, Rachel.” When she pulls back just enough, his lips slide over hers, and he smiles when he tastes her strawberry lip gloss.
“You made me sound like a pussy,” Puck exclaims, causing Rachel to drag herself away from him.
“I made you sound like a decent human being,” Kurt bites back, pushing Puck’s phone to his chest.
“You guys,” Finn says, clapping a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “Come on. We need to go talk to them.”
Rachel opens up the truck door and hops off his lap. She wraps her arms around his waist once he stands, one hand swinging to grab Kurt’s once he’s out too. “Be careful, boys.” Her hand squeezes his hip before she practically spins into Kurt’s arms, laughing at something he whispers into her ear. She hugs his brother tightly before jumping back in Puck’s truck, smiling at them before Puck drives away.
Kurt fixes his hair, turning in his boots to look at the house. “Do you have your keys on you?” Finn shoves his hands into his pants and comes up empty. “How on earth did you lose your keys? It’s not like you carry a bunch of things to school.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Finn says, reaching over the top of the fence to release the latch. “Maybe it was when I had to kick someone in the face because they were trying to chew on my best friend’s arm like it was a piece of chicken.” They round the corner of the house and the screen door is open, something that’s not uncommon, because it seems like more often than not, the only one to close it, is his mom. But the actual door is open too and Kurt grabs his elbow before he can go up to the door.
“Should we really just walk in,” he asks. Finn looks at the doorway, noticing that nothing seems out of place. The laundry room looks fine. The soap he knocked over this morning is still there which is kind of weird since he told his mom that it spilled and she usually cleans stuff like that pretty fast. His mom was exhausted today seeing as she closed and opened for the store, so her not cleaning it up isn’t a big deal. There’s a crash just past the laundry room and Kurt squeezes his arm, trying to pull him back a little. “Finn, I don’t really think…” Finn takes a step forward, peering around the corner so he can see the entire laundry room, the old wooden shelves, the jacket Kurt stained last week laying on a drying rack, his football gear shoved next to the cabinets, and he thinks he sees something move in the kitchen that is definitely not his mom or dad.
“Uh, yeah,” he whispers, pushing Kurt back towards the garage. “C’mon. We can grab like, a shovel or something.”
“A shovel?”
The door to the garage creeks open, the wood splitting at the bottom and Finn really has to shove it to get the door to open wide enough for them to get through. “What do you expect us to find in here? Unless Burt has some guns I don’t know about, a shovel is probably the best thing we’re going to find.” There’s a cup of coffee sitting on the hood of the old pickup their dad’s been working on, right next to the sports section of the paper. Xavier won last night, 74 to 63.
“He is always leaving his cup in here,” Kurt complains, folding his arms closer to his body.
Finn shrugs (he totally forgets stuff in here too when he helps Burt out) and walks around the truck to the small collection of garden tools they have. Neither his mom or him have a green thumb so he’s not exactly sure what he’s looking at past the shovel and rake. Kurt saddles up next to him. “Shouldn’t we use a power tool of sorts?”
“If you want to get that close to them, be my guest and take the power saw.” Finn pulls the shovel out of the bin, testing the metal to make sure it won’t fall off. He hands it off to Kurt who holds it almost loosely and Finn rubs the back of his neck. Kurt has some strength, especially in his legs thanks to dance, but if they’re actually going up against zombies (God, Finn wishes he could take back that time freshman year when he told Puck a zombie apocalypse would be kind of cool), upper body strength is needed. “Can you jab with that?” Kurt looks at him like he’s crazy and Finn sighs heavily. “If you don’t think you could lift that up and shove it through someone, we need to give you another one of these things.”
“Can’t we just… Knock them out,” Kurt asks, miming hitting someone over the head and Finn can see the way Kurt struggles vaguely with the motion. Finn moves the rake to the side, no point in using that, and pulls out… Well, he really has no idea what it is but the way it’s shaped probably won’t be helpful in destroying brains.
“You can’t knock zombies out,” Finn explains, pulling out a pretty lightweight pitchfork. “Why do you guys even have this?”
They trade garden tools and all ready the pitchfork is a much better suit for Kurt. “My mom and I used to garden,” Kurt answers simply and Finn nods.
“Come on. Better go see what’s going on.” Kurt grips the pitchfork with two hands, turning to walk out of the garage when Finn notices he still has his book bag on his shoulder. “I’d leave that here,” he says, tugging lightly on the black leather strap.
“This is Marc Jacobs! I’m not leaving it in here with the dirt and grease and-”
“Dude, if there’s someone in there that isn’t Mom or Dad, they can grab you by that.” Kurt stares at him for a minute before shaking his head and tightening the strap on his shoulder. “I’m not letting you go in there with that on.”
“Well you’re not going in there alone,” Kurt counters. He knows he should hold his ground but his focus is completely on his mom right now and they don’t have the time to argue about this.
Once they’re out of the garage, Kurt lets him go in front. There’s nothing but quiet coming from the house now, a good sign he hopes, and when he starts on the steps, the old wood Burt’s been meaning to replace creaks loudly, stopping him in his tracks. Kurt’s breathing is already labored but Finn holds his breath until he’s sure that nothing is going to pop out from around the corner. They get into the laundry room without any other hesitations. His palms sweat around the wood of the shovel and he takes a few deep breaths when he feels his heart pounding mercilessly against his chest. He can hear something now, low and quiet, but he’s not sure what it is. What he can see of the kitchen still looks normal. The side of the table he and Kurt sit on has been wiped down, their cereal bowls removed and drying on the dish rack next to the sink. There’s still a frying pan on the stove, his mom’s coffee cup (the one he got her for mother’s day when he was 8. Mrs. Puckerman was the one who helped him pick it out) on the counter next to the stove.
He tilts the shovel so that the pointed tip is protecting him and he doesn’t notice the small trail of blood dripping from the sink until he rounds the corner. There is absolutely no doubt they’re dealing with zombies anymore. The man biting off Burt’s ear is missing the skin on his forearm, revealing straining muscles and a bit of bone near his wrist, and his skin lacks color. “Dad,” Kurt whispers and Finn can feel him backing away from him. The other zombie, a woman Finn realizes, is staring at them with cloudy eyes, her head cocked to the side and it reminds Finn of that one raptor in Jurassic Park. There’s something in her hand, something half eaten, hollow, and bloody. Burt’s torso is almost completely empty and the woman’s other hand is clutching on to what little is left in their dad, practically holding Burt up against the fridge.
He suddenly feels like he’s back in biology sophomore year. Quinn had barely started to show, he remembers her complaining that morning about her pants not buttoning, but her nausea was still in full force. He was going to have to do the entire dissection while she just took notes since she was barely allowed to be in the same room as the animals and he was not looking forward to it. A lot of the guys found dissections cool but it honestly freaked him out (he imagined the animals coming back to haunt him) and he remembers being so fucking thankful that Quinn threw up the minute she got to their rabbit because they both got exempt from the lab.
He distinctly remembers the rabbit being pinned against the tray, its skin and fur pulled back to reveal the ribs and organs. The mouth hung open slightly, much like Burt’s is now, and that albinism stuff they used smelled like spoiled milk.
He barely realizes the woman is quickly crawling towards them until Kurt shrieks. She’s missing a foot and she has a hole in her chest so serious that there’s not even bone there, and her dirty hands reach out for him when he’s close enough. He fights the instinct to go back, instead lurching forward and jabbing the shovel right through the woman’s dead eyes. “Oh my god,” rushes out of Kurt’s mouth when the other zombie stops eating their dad, his mangled, lifeless body dropping to the floor with a wet pop and rushes them.
The zombie slips in the blood covering the linoleum, giving Finn enough time to pull the shovel from the woman’s skull (it takes four tugs and he has to push off her chest with his foot on the last one before it releases) but the zombie barrels into him anyway. He pushes against the zombie’s shoulders to keep him from biting him but the dead guy is freaky strong and practically drooling on top of him. Finn wants to yell at Kurt to stab the guy but that brings a risk of getting the spit in his mouth which could totally turn him into one of the undead. Thankfully, Kurt doesn’t pass out like Finn thought he might and stabs the zombie in the back. His head jerks to look at Kurt and Kurt just stabs him again, this time in the side. Kurt starts backing up when the pitchfork gets stuck but it’s okay because the zombie is distracted enough for Finn to shove him off. “You can’t just poke them,” he yells, grabbing the shovel and Finn misses the eyes of the guy but the metal rips through his mouth with the force that he comes at Finn, effectively lodging the shovel into his head.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Kurt says in a rush, kneeling down next to Finn once he lets the body land next to him. Kurt pulls his sleeve over his hand and wipes away the bits of spit that landed on Finn’s cheeks before pulling him into a hug. “I didn’t know what to do and I just… I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Kurt.” He gives his brother a tight squeeze before pulling away. “It has to be a head shot. Destroy the brain and you’re good.” Kurt nods and stands back up, helping Finn up too. Finn tries to get the shovel out of the dead guy but it’s no use. It’s lodged in too far and he’s too tired from fending the thing off to try again. He settles for taking the pitchfork out of his side, twirling it in his hands easily. A trail of blood leads from the kitchen and out towards the living room. He knows he’s not very smart but he already know what he’s going to find once he crosses the threshold. “Go get a few knives, okay? I’m going to see what’s in there.”
Kurt awkwardly side steps the bodies, muttering something underneath his breath that Finn can’t make out. Finn swallows hard as he approaches the doorway and he stops in his tracks once he sees his mother’s hand next to the coffee table but not the rest of her. “What is it,” Kurt asks. He feels choked and it gets worse when the only thing Kurt says once he sees it too is, “I love you.”
There’s a groan coming from behind the couch, a man who looks an awful lot like Mr. Karofsky popping up from behind the cushions, his body covered in what Finn can only assume is his mother’s blood.
He kind of blacks out because the next thing he knows he’s behind the couch too, Mr. Karofsky pinned to the wall behind it, the pitchfork keeping him there through the eyes. He’s sweating a lot and he can’t catch his breath. His vision is a little fuzzy too and it’s not until he looks to his left that he realizes it’s tears.
Her entire face is gone and so is a lot of her, but that’s his mom lying there.
It was easier when it was Burt. That man was a father to him but this is his mom and he turns to his right, hunching over as he throws up all over his mom’s carpet.
Through his tears he can make out Kurt sitting in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, cradling his head in his hands before Finn has to throw up again.
Part 2