A/N: Hello guys, just wanted to say that I wouldn't mind having a beta to read the chapters for this fic before I update. If anyone is interested, let me know through private messaging here.

Day: 17

Time: 8:47 AM

Her fingers start again, the nails just scraping over my scalp, gentle voice humming a tune I hadn't heard before, and lips pressing softly to my temple. She almost seemed to be in a state of bliss, one I'd yet to see her in before, one I didn't think possible with the way the world was turning to be these days. I was positive that bliss only lived in dreams now, but as I continued to have nightmares night after night, I realized that bliss only existed in those that could be happy with the little things.

Beth's melodic chime of a giggle sounded from outside our tent, the green fabric dirty and worn from use. I wasn't yet accustomed to sleeping outdoors, and I certainly wasn't prepared for what little the woods offered privacy wise, but I was living. And I had Quinn Fabray's fingers dancing through my hair. If I kept my eyes shut, I could fall asleep, I could pass out this very second and possibly sleep the entire day away; but I craved her too deeply. Those hazel eyes called to mine with too great a yell. And her gentle voice called for me, stopping any chance I had at falling back asleep.

Her hair was now longer than it was when we last saw each other, and I relished in the ability to feel how smooth it still was, my drowsy arm moving to tangle in soft blonde hair. "Good morning," she whispered, as if afraid to break the morning bliss with her voice alone. I was positive that such a thing was an impossibility. Even if we were suddenly ambushed, I would be perfectly at peace now that I knew the one girl I fought so hard for all my life was alive and well.

I smiled to her, unable to form words still. It was hard to speak now, after watching what had come of the one man I'd spent so long trusting my life with. It was hard, losing so many people I had believed would stay with me until the very end. Puck had asked every night since they found me to tell him what happened, but I never could. I didn't think I could relive the horrors of Kurt's death, or tell them that Blaine had ended his own life. I was certain they all believed he fought valiantly. I didn't want to take that idea away from them, he deserved that much. Having fought on even without the love of his life was fighting valiantly in my eyes; but I couldn't be sure it was the same for them. "Would you like some breakfast?" Her voice interrupts again, though quieter still now.

"Can we just stay here a little longer?" I ask my throat burning from how little I did speak as I move my fingertips to slip down her shoulder and over her bicep. It's firm, stronger than I'd seen it before. "Can we just...pretend?" Her eyes shine for a moment, and without another word she shifts, pushing herself up from her laying position, placing far too much distance between us.

Instinctively I follow her movements, at which she laughs lightly. "I'm not going anywhere." Her whisper is a promise, both of us clearly aware of that much. Whatever this was this fire that held steady between us both, I couldn't explain. It was so warm, and there were moments, moments when silence fell in the most content of times, where that fire would explode, and something electric happened. I still wasn't one hundred percent sure she felt it as well, which was why I have yet to bring it up, that, and for now I'm perfectly content with the way this is. Peaceful, uncomplicated.

My eyes fall down to her lips, the ones that had yet to touch mine since the basement, the ones I practically yearned for. They're so beautiful, but then all of Quinn was. Her mind, her face, her skin, her eyes, everything. She was the prettiest girl I ever met. Absolutely breathtaking no matter the time of day. "Do you want me to kiss you?" She teases. The sight of her pearly white teeth wake me from my thoughts, and I smile bashfully to her darkening hazel eyes.

"Yes," I breathe, shaking my head with mild embarrassment.

Her body moves again, leaning in closer to my own. Her lips are still curved in her taunting grin, eyes sparkling with a playfulness I saw only when we drank together. She was pretending everything was like it used to be. This was no longer a tent but her dorm room, and my body wasn't steadily falling back to a sleeping bag but her plushy bed that had small text books scattered about it every which way. "Are you nervous?"

The game was clear now, one of Quinn's favorites whenever I was beginning to grow too tipsy. It was the one way I knew she trusted me so fully, allowing me to lose some inhibitions and still touch me, tease me in a way that had me almost begging for it, for her. In college it was simply fun and exciting; in a tent on the verge of the end of the world? It was exhilarating. I could feel every breath she breathed paint my lips with warmth, and her eyes grew darker with each one of my heartbeats. "No."

One of her hands comes to rest mid-thigh, her palm warm against my skin, erupting into goosebumps under her touch. She repeats her question, face inching in closer to mine as my back lands fully on the bed below us, head resting on the pillows. "No." My words are firm, refusing to show any sign of apprehension as her fingers tease higher, palm slipping further up until it hits the very bottom of my sleep shorts; ones borrowed from Quinn Fabray herself.

"I always loved seeing you in my clothes," Her voice dropped an octave, sending a soft shiver to shoot through me. "I'm a little possessive, I guess." She giggles, and leans in further though not enough to actually place a kiss to my ever so impatient lips. "You remember that weekend we rented that house next to the lake? The one with the row boat? You were so nervous that it would tip every time I tried to paddle us out." Another soft giggle, another rush of butterflies as I felt every single breathy whispered word fall from her beautiful lips.

"It did."

"Only after you tried to climb out of it and back on the dock," her chuckle was husky, and had me all but squirming under her, ready for contact, any kind of contact. Anything that made Quinn Fabray closer to me. "You got soaked, and I had to get a new phone because of how impatient you got." Without any clue as to where this was going I simply nodded my head, remembering very well the exact date that Quinn spoke of, it was the first time we truly spent a weekend alone, and it was marvelous. I had never felt so comfortable, so at home in all of my life. The cabin was beautiful, surrounded by trees and birds that sang with the sunrise. It was so green, I almost refused to leave.

"I told you that I wanted to stay there forever." I reminded her, the awaiting kiss forgotten now as I relived one of my happiest moments with a dear friend that was so clearly so much more than that. "I said that we should just run away, it was near finals and we were both so stressed out. I hated seeing you locked away in your room with all those books. It was our escape."

"Just ours." Quinn reaffirmed, saying something that I couldn't exactly understand at the moment. I was far too dazzled by her eyes, sparkling with a life I'd only seen on that day, and the others like it. The days where we had only each other and no other worries in the world.

"You guys want breakfast?" Noah's obnoxious voice sounds from outside the tent, his hand beating on the fabric to the best of his abilities. My groan is louder than I would have liked, and as reality slides back into focus so do the questions I hated having. What on Earth was Quinn thinking? What were we? Was this still a game of chicken? Was she simply letting me go back to the comfortable world we lived in before, or was she truly going to kiss me? The insecurities filled the tent, ruining the good mood I'd held.

"I don't think Rachel's all that hungry right now, maybe in a couple minutes." Quinn answered for me, smiling adoringly at my clearly unamused face. She hadn't looked away, despite Noah's persistent questions, wondering if Quinn wanted some, to which she simply replied with 'later'.

Through it all her gaze never left mine, almost as though she were afraid if she looked away, I'd be gone.

I knew the feeling all too well.

"You had a nightmare last night."

I wasn't so sure you could call it a nightmare, really it was more like a horrific memory. Brody's body laying on the kitchen floor in a pool of his blood. They had left him for dead, happy with the fact that he was simply down and with zero chance of living. I remembered the way they simply forgot him, and in my dream it was almost as if the creatures were still people, as if they were actually capable of thoughts and feelings, possibly even communication.

The way they stood over his fading form, how one seemed more in charge than the other, and the way all of them dispersed the moment the first had scoffed and grunted away. There were so many, and every horror film I've ever been forced to watch with Noah had told me they craved flesh like a vampire crave blood, clearly this wasn't factual in the real world.

"I'll be okay, it was nothing." I lied as convincingly as I could, however, Quinn always could see right through me. She had this ability to see me no matter what I tried to hide behind; joy, fear, anger, nothing ever worked against her. Of course, one could debate that no one could best the master of disguise.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her gaze holds mine for a moment, before finding the mess that is my bed head. It almost looks as if it hurts her to look at it, possibly the fact that the last time she'd seen me with it, we didn't have to worry about the other being killed.

"I don't know,"

"It helps, you know, talking about it. I know that's probably hilarious coming from me, but it does." Her hand found its way back to my hair, a finger twirling a single strand as she simply stared at me, waiting for me to say something, anything. There's no pressure under her gaze, only care and adoration, two looks I'd grown so used to in the months that followed our departure from McKinley.

With a heavy breath, I drop my gaze from her own, attempting to find the strength to truly revisit these memories. Kurt's was the worse loss I felt, and oddly Brody was almost like watching a stranger be murdered. I didn't recognize who he was by the end of it all, but I still remembered who he used to be. I remembered what he once was capable of being. A great Broadway star that would shine with the best of them. Unfortunately, neither of us would find such endings. "Maybe later? I just woke up, I don't want to...I'm going to have another nightmare tonight, may as well talk about it then instead of starting my day off with those memories." I attempted a smile, but was certain it looked more sad than encouraging or apologetic.

Quinn returned it, hers just as sad and sympathetic. Clearly she understood, but I couldn't imagine with who she had felt that with. Puck had survived, and so had Beth, and somehow I simply couldn't see Santana Lopez not surviving in a zombie apocalypse. Actually, I imagined her leading the hoard of zombies, finding a way to control them and making their first objective to destroy my clothing back home.

The sun was high in the sky when we finally decided to step out and eat something, and I was immediately bombarded by Beth, tackling my legs as Quinn and I moved in to see what was left to munch on. Our base was nothing more than a well hidden camp site, the woods proved to be a much better hiding place than the old folks home Brody and I stayed in. There were berries that grew here, and water was decently easy to find if you knew how to; Puck was still training me on that front. As far as weapons went, I knew little to nothing, a novice from the very start surrounded by a group of people that seemed to have fighting down to a routine.

Tina seemed the most offended by that, rolling her eyes and mumbling something about how typical it was for men to want the women to run and hide. I was elated to see her feminist ways hadn't vanished in all of this. It kept things normal, or as normal as they could be.

Quinn placed a plate in front of me, the main dish of beans and the side corn. It wasn't much, but I knew she was at least trying to keep me on my vegan diet. She had been since we hid out here, scavenging for berries instead of letting Puck cook me farm grown eggs and store bought hot dogs. I doubted they were still fresh, but he swore they were fine for a few days. Of course, not even Quinn let Beth eat them, which told me far more about the truth than I wanted to know.

The day passed on, Puck hunted for some dinner meat, Quinn demanding he find me some fresh berries or at the very least catch me a fish. The idea hadn't completely appalled me, though I wasn't overly comfortable with the idea.

Tina played with Beth, showing her what a Gameboy Color was, apparently having kept it with her all these years. I hadn't thought about that, keeping things to entertain myself for when the silence and lack of objectives became almost impossible to handle. I was so used to it, being protected by Brody to a degree that truly had me worse off than he thought. Now it seemed everyone wanted me as prepared as possible, for the sake of potentially not being in the benefit of having someone at my guard. I looked to Quinn at that thought, who was enamored by Beth and Tina, watching as her little girl played her first video game in the new world.

By the time the moon was shining above us, and Beth was tucked away and well fed, Noah was already hounding me for answers, more interested in the stories than the fact that I, the equivalent of his little sister as he'd put it, had been witness to these atrocities. Either way, he was on the edge of his seat, scruff noticeable in the flickering light of the fire. It hardly seemed bright, all the campfire was was a homing beacon for the animals to find us, or worse, those looking for supplies and ready to kill whoever stood in their way for them. Something told me these three had seen as much already, noted by their routine parameter checks. "Come on, please? We need a good horror story to share around the fire." His excited self bounced as he sat on the grass, tossing a thin twig into the fire.

"She doesn't have to do anything she's not comfortable with." Quinn's stern voice spoke from behind me, back from her turn to check the area. As she sat, she placed a comforting hand to my back, the other over Beth's thin shoulder. Since finding her, Quinn didn't touch Beth much, and I couldn't be sure, but I felt it was out of fear. Not wanting to grow attached because if she was ever lost, it would completely destroy her. Though, she did take a few small steps forward; tossing a rock with Beth as a form of catch.

"I guess I'm just not sure what there is to say. Kurt got sick," Immediately I saw the image of the open sores on his skin, wincing at the memory, I struggled to continue. "He looked awful, and he got so angry. It wasn't- I'd never seen him so hostile. Not just to me but Blaine, and anyone that tried to see him." His screech rang through my ears, and I had to swallow down the lump in my throat before I sobbed at the sound. Warmth surrounded my form soon after, Quinn's secure arm holding tightly to my body as I tried very hard not to let the memories affect me so horribly.

"Blaine lasted a few days after that. He protected me the most, and I think it was because of Kurt. I think he felt he owed it to him to protect his best friend but..." I hadn't shared this information yet, and I was petrified of doing so. I didn't want them to think little of him, I didn't want them to blame him for me being left with Brody, and I certainly didn't want to hear them call my best friends lover weak. "He loved Kurt. I've only seen my fathers hold that much love for someone, I thought it was rare and maybe it still is, but he loved him so much. I couldn't imagine having to survive in this world, knowing what Kurt turned into. Having watched it before his very eyes...and the nightmares. There wasn't a night that went by where Blaine wasn't screaming for Kurt, and then beating himself up about it whenever he thought they would come for us.

"Brody and I woke up to a gunshot one morning, and we were so sure that we were being attacked. But I ran to Blaine's room, having gotten so used to hiding behind him it was my first instinct." I paused to see the faces around me, Puck's solemn one changing some, almost as if he were ashamed, Tina's eyes tearing up as she undoubtedly remembered all of her old friends. Quinn was the most perplexing, eyes lost somewhere in the fire, face hidden behind her mask she hadn't used in years. I was so used to her walls being down around me that I wasn't sure how to continue. I didn't know how not to focus on her, clearly she was in pain, but I couldn't figure out why. I couldn't figure out what I'd said that hurt her so, and Puck was quick to encourage me to continue.

My eyes never left hers as I continued, worried as to what she might be thinking. "When I saw him, he had a pool of blood around his head, and his face was almost unrecognizable. He'd shot himself in the side of the head."

I chose not to relive Shelby's death, what with Beth so close by, and Quinn still refusing to acknowledge her anger over the one woman that promised to protect her child failing to do so. But the silence that followed was almost unbearable, and I silently begged someone to say something. I just couldn't handle it, the silence let all of the fears creep in, and then I'd never get to sleep tonight. "Why wouldn't they let anyone out or in New York?"

Puck's face was now angry, his fists twisting in each other as he fought to stay in control. I'd noticed lately there were times where it got out of hand, and I wasn't sure if I should be worried or relieved that he at least found an outlet for the fury. "I guess they didn't want the disease to spread, they never really told us." His only reply was a scoff, but he stopped his questions there, opting for silence instead.

"We were being told that they were lining up people and shooting them point blank, and that anyone that so much as sniffled was killed. I really thought..." I took Quinn's hand in my own before she could finish speaking, relishing in the fact that I was capable of being the few to see her so vulnerable. I knew this was nothing, she'd show me more in the tent when we returned to it. She'd show me everything that she'd been fighting off for so long, and I'd be the lucky girl that got to comfort her..

"I'm here," I whispered to her, fingers drawing small figures on her back. "I'm not going anywhere." She chuckles slightly, and suddenly her eyes are darkening once more. I could only imagine she remembered our game in the tent, how close we had come to kissing, really kissing. One we couldn't blame on alcohol or a fun night out or truth or dare.

I shuddered under their gaze, remembering every intimate moment I shared with the blonde.

"Do you want to go to bed?" She asked, those eyes seeing nothing else but me. Somewhere there's the sound of Puck's whistling, a cat-call in the midst of the apocalypse. Only Noah Puckerman.

"Would talking be involved?"

"If you want to talk about something, I will always listen."

"Lame." Noah grumbled, hoisting himself off the grass and towards Beth. He'd taken it upon himself to keep Beth in his tent, not minding the early mornings as he used them to hunt the most. Tina followed suit, flashing me a happy smile before hugging us both goodnight.

Quinn and I were left to put out the fire, but somehow, as I stared into her gorgeous eyes, I felt as if we would only manage to ignite it further.