Chapter Text
December 19th
11:00pm
Quinn stands at the Gateway with a smile and her notebook.
"Hello!" She greets. "Welcome to Heaven! My name's Quinn, and I will be getting you settled here. Feel free to come to me for anything in the future, but for now, how about I just show you around?"
She keeps the book open and her pen at the ready as she turns around to lead you into the safe haven you've only heard rumors of until now.
It's been a rough journey, and you have lived through it all. For the first year, you had to pray and fight just to make it to each next day. You had to hunker down in the only undestroyed house in your home town, living off of the tins you found in the local broken down store and the snow you melted into water in plastic containers.
The second year was easier, the wind slowed and the snow fell less. The only dangers you truly had to worry about then were the empty shells of people that roamed the streets. An old friend of yours came at you with a bat in their hand and blood on their mouth. You had to kill them. You did not like the feeling of killing. But you kept doing it until you were safe.
The third year arrived with a fresh wave of wild animals walking through cities after finding their way out of hibernation, out of forests, out of abandoned zoos. They were hungry and violent, and you oftentimes felt worse about killing them than humans. Doing so gave you proper food, though, food you could use to barter with other survivors. There were no real communities, but there were groups, cliques, families, that set up near you and offered anything they had for meat. Including petrol and a vehicle.
The fourth year was dedicated to travel. You drove through the country, meeting new people and finding new setups. There were makeshift villages and homes, some that you stayed in, some you fled from.
This was the year the snow completely stopped. Winter came, but the snow didn't, even then.
It was also the year you heard of Heaven.
A clothier in Missouri mentioned it to you when you met her. She gave you a fresh pair of socks in exchange for the leg of a wolf you slaughtered, then said a place called Heaven in Washington would likely be her next stop. You questioned it, asked where she heard of that place, what it was like, how it came to be.
She said she heard about it from a trader in Indiana, who heard about it from a carpenter in Kansas, who heard about it from a traveler in New Mexico who had stumbled across Heaven during one of their journeys. They hadn't stayed, apparently, but caught a glimpse and traded for some vegetables there.
They had vegetables. Not in a tin.
It was supposed to be gorgeous. A fully fledged community. Domestic. Upkept. People were happy there, and organised. It seemed too good to be true, but then again, so did surviving the apocalypse.
No one knew how it came to exist. It just exists. It just is. Like a miracle or a lie.
The fifth year you committed to finding Heaven. It took some time. Some people had placed landmark signs around, so you weren't completely lost, but it was still hard to navigate your way through this new world.
It took a couple months, shacking up and butchering and trading as you went, until you arrived at the Gateway.
It was a long hallway in the middle of nowhere with a metal door at the end.
You had your gun out and ready as you walked down it, and aimed it up when a voice from the other side started asking questions. You told them your name and that you're here to visit, then the metal was moved.
A flood of light streamed out of the haven the second it was made visible to you.
Fires and lamps and fairy lights lit the large space, which was filled with wooden shacks and big tents and chatty, smiley people. You lowered your weapon immediately and awed at the sight. Clothing hung on wire, families ran around, the smell of cooked food made the warm air all the more pleasant. It was comfort at once. You felt at home.
A young, blonde woman with a smile and notebook stood right in front of you.
Two people were either side of her with lowered weapons.
She introduced herself as Quinn, and offered to show you around.
Now here you are, following her through this place so remarkable and inviting you can hardly believe it is a staple of the new world rather than a remnant of the old one.
She takes you to the right of the haven first, and gestures to a big metal structure with buckets atop it and large containers of water at it's side.
"This is one of our generators, our first one, actually." She explains. "We have two more in the Core, and are starting work on a fourth soon. Right, Ti?"
A small Indian woman pops up from the other side of the generator, making you startle. She jolts when you jolt, then awkwardly smiles and waves.
"Yup, another one." She agrees. "You're free to help if you want, newbie."
"No work talk yet, they've just got here."
"Well let me know, okay? I need at least 5 other workers on a generator at all times to block out Mina's voice."
"Of course." Quinn chuckles, and 'Ti' does too, before the latter ducks behind the generator again and the former guides you forward. "That's Fatima." Quinn lets you know, falling back a bit to walk next to you. "She runs our power. Impressive woman, you'll love her, everyone does."
Quinn brings you to a big fireplace, to the side of which is a small selection of DIY stoves and a wooden counter. Some people work behind them, cleaning the surfaces and dampening the flame of the stove.
"This is our kitchen, you'll be acquainted with the talents of our Chefs tomorrow morning. They make the best food."
She hops over a crack in the concrete and you take a careful step over it. You notice that she doesn't even need to look down to know it's there. You wonder how long she must have been here for her to know the place so well.
Soon, you approach a small selection of tents. They're a little less spacious and comfy looking as the ones you saw when you first came in, and it looks like there are lights on in all of them.
"This is our Workspace." She spins around and starts walking backwards, making eye contact with you as she does. She gestures to the tents. "Most jobs don't require any kind of segregated space, but the few that do are here." She flips open the door of one tent and peers in. "Hi Jake!"
"Hello!" A deep voice calls from inside.
You catch a glimpse inside that tent and see three people, one of which you know must be Jake, sitting in a circle and talking on phones. You haven't seen a phone in a very long time.
You ask what they do.
"That's our Communication Sector. Jake is our Lead Communicator, but anyone is free to join him and help, we have three phones so as long as they're always being tended to, we don't mind who's on it."
"Unless it's Mina!" Jake shouts from the tent. Quinn laughs.
"Unless it's Mina!" She shouts back.
She taps on a different tent as you pass it.
"That's our Architecture Sector. Hi Jamie!"
"Quinn!"
She taps on another tent.
"That's Rationing. Hi Opal!"
"Hey!"
She taps on another tent.
"That's our Armory. Hi Dia!"
"Howdy!"
She doesn't tap on the final tent, just grazes it with her fingers.
"And this is our Counsellor's Office, best not to disturb her unless you want a real session. You're entitled to three immediately since you're new, but you usually have to book an appointment if you want to see her." She brings you out of the Workspace and moves into a bigger section of the haven.
It is a long empty space framed by sturdy looking stalls and counters, each displaying different things. Colourful wooden sculptures, stapled together books, bottles of drinks, bags of what look like candy, things you haven't seen in a very long time. People swarm the area, picking things up and exchanging those things with trinkets and food. You know what this place is already, you've seen plenty of places like it.
"This is our Trading Centre, I know this probably isn't new to you, though there are some differences between Heaven trading and Hell trading." She walks through the space and you stick to her as closely as you can. "Firstly, no exchanging of water, medical supplies or food. Treats and snacks are okay, so is homemade pop and alcohol, but substantial food, needed care and necessary fluids are rationed by us and given to the community as required. Secondly, everything traded must be approved by a senior leader like me, Ti, Jake or Shannon, who you'll meet later. But honestly, unless you're trying to trade away an organ or your husband, you'll probably be approved."
You ask if people really try to trade those things.
The look she gives you is answer enough.
As you leave the Trading Center, you notice a stall with two scantily clad survivors standing under a sign that reads 'A Good Time'. They dance and make eyes at you. Quinn gives them a thumbs up, and they return the gesture with wide smiles.
You ask if that's what you think it is.
Quinn nods.
She takes you to a shed next, a big one, the biggest one you've seen. It's in a more secluded section of the haven, which makes sense when you draw closer and catch a whiff of the horrid odor spilling from it. It isn't an unfamiliar smell to you, but it is certainly stronger than you're used to it being.
Quinn grimaces a little when it reaches her, and pauses.
"That's our Butcher's. No one's assigned to butchery, it's a volunteer only job because, well, it's pretty rough. We only suggest experienced butchers do it. The Gatherers kill and collect, they do everything else." She looks over at you. "No part of the animal goes to waste, don't worry, what we don't eat, we use as fertilizer for our garden." A loud chopping sound emits from the shed and Quinn flinches. "Let's go there now."
She rushes you away from the Butcher's and past a few tents, under some clothing wires and around some space heaters to reach the most beautiful space you've seen so far.
The Garden.
A peaceful place with gentle discussion and bustling bodies.
A wide open patch of concrete disrupted by short wooden fences that frame patches of plants. Fruit, vegetables, herbs, all tended to by smiling and focused faces, by gloved and careful hands. It reminds you of a scene from a movie you haven't thought about in half a decade. It takes you somewhere you haven't been since you were innocent.
"We started this place a couple years ago, when the snow started to clear and things started to grow again." Quinn explains, staring out at the Garden with a pleasant smile. "It's the second best thing here."
"What's the best?" You question. She smiles brighter.
"You'll meet her soon." Quinn steps forward. "For now though, you can meet our gardeners." She looks out into the space and beckons someone over. That someone beams and rushes over to her. He grins at you. "This is Sheldon. He used to be our Lead Gatherer, now he runs the Garden. It was actually his idea. He set most of this up."
"I do what I can." Shelden shrugs, though no amount of humbleness could detract from the pride ever visible on his face.
"It's beautiful." You compliment. He nods.
"I think so."
"What do you grow?"
"Whatever we can." Sheldon looks over his shoulder and gestures to different plots. "Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries." He smirks. "Quinn loves a berry." Quinn giggles. Sheldon resumes. "We also got some carrots, potatoes, we're working on some basil too, chives, lemons, for flavour. Just because we can now."
"Where do you get the seeds and stuff?"
"Some we got from canned food, some from trees, some from seed packets we found at a convenience store we used to gather from. Anywhere."
After having the life and times of the Garden recited to you, you spend some time just wandering the ground a little. Quinn and Sheldon talk and laugh behind you, and others have whispered conversations in your vicinity. Some seem to notice you and make remarks, though none seem rude. There are even a few smiles thrown your way, which you gladly return.
It's been a very long time since you've seen fresh fruit, longer still since you've smelled it. You never even realised strawberries had a scent before, but now they're all you smell. It's refreshing and homely. You think you could get used to this place.
You think so even more when you reach a patch of flowers.
Pink and yellow and blue hues fill your sight as a soft lavender and violent scent fills your nose. You have travelled the country, seen fallen landmarks and gorgeous spaces, spoken to some of the most interesting and strong people you have ever had the pleasure of conversing with, but not in all that time have you seen flowers. Floristry is a thing of the past, as is beauty. Yet here this is, something beautiful and growing to be even more beautiful.
A space heater and large light looks over the plants, assisting them in their journey to blossoming.
For a while, you just stand and stare at it all. Until the urge to touch overwhelms you and you lean down to gently caress the petal of a yellow daffodil.
It is soft and silky. You smile.
"Like it?"
"Yes." You respond instinctively. You avert your eyes from the flowers and look up, spotting a new face across the patch from you.
He's crouching down, applying what you assume to be the blood meal made from the butchers' leftovers to a half bloomed lily.
The man is rugged and handsome, with long hair tied into a loose bun and black clothes similar to those worn by the men with guns by the Gateway. He has a gun too, you notice, slung round his back.
"You're new, right?" He asks, and you nod. "Cool, did Quinn explain what this patch is for?" You shake your head. "Okay, so, it's basically a memorial ground, right? We plant a flower for everyone we've lost, before or during the End. Most of these are family members of Heaven inhabitants." He reaches forward and gently touches the sunflower in the middle. "This was the first one we planted a few years ago, for my boyfriend."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Eh, it's chill, shit happens." He shrugs, not quite hiding the little frown teasing his lips at the memory of his loss. "Quite a few of these are for my friends, one for Sheldon's sister, some for Wolfy's family. Our dahlia is for Shauna, our old leader here. She's the reason all this exists."
"She must have been amazing."
"She was."
"Everyone here is." Quinn reemerges behind you, eventually joining your side and crouching next to you. "Heaven is only Heaven thanks to it's angels." She touches the stem of a red rose. "Even it's fallen ones."
"Gayest thing you've said since 'I do'." The man chuckles. Quinn gasps at the slight and flicks some dirt in his face. He laughs.
"Be nice in front of our new friend, Puck."
"Calling something gay isn't nice?" Puck tuts. "Homophobe."
"Idiot."
"Hey! Now, that's mean!"
"Don't you have work to do?"
"This is work."
"Annoying me is work?"
"It is." Puck smirks as he rises to his feet. "Easiest job I've ever had."
"Easier than standing at a door?"
"Oh God yeah, especially when you give a tour, you get all nerdy and grown up about it." He teases, moving his gun to his front and holding it with both hands.
"Well, someone here needs to be an adult."
"Oof, good one." He smiles fondly. Quinn does too. She watches him as he aims the gun at her and pretends to shoot, making a little 'kapow' sound when he does. She giggles and flips him off. He chuckles, then looks at you again. "It was nice to meet you, whoever you are."
"You too."
Puck sticks his tongue out at Quinn before turning around and lightly jogging away in the direction of the Gateway. Quinn rolls her eyes and turns to you.
"That's Puck, he's one of our Soldiers and helps run the garden." She explains. "He came here with me."
"To Heaven?"
"Yep." She nods. She doesn't elaborate, her eyes go dark for a moment before lighting up again, and she stands up. "You can stay here a little longer if you want, but there is somewhere else I'd like to show you. Our final stop."
"Okay." You look around the garden a final time. You know you'll be back here the second you have the chance, but for now, you want to see what else this place has to offer. You stand up next to Quinn, who grins at you and nods forward.
She walks ahead of you, leading you out of the garden and through what you can only describe as a street, made up of small sheds and big tents. Lines of laundry zigzag above you, connecting each makeshift home to the next. You have to lean down a little to avoid headbutting hanging clothes, though Quinn expertly avoids each piece. People walk through the space, passing you or getting in your way, each one apologising for knocking into you if they do. Except one, who Quinn informs you is Mina with a snarl.
Most of these inhabitants wave, smile, greet, some approaching Quinn with requests and questions or small talk. She animatedly converses with everyone, using their names, greeting the children. You didn't know children were even around in the End, it stands to reason that Heaven is the only place they could be.
It feels like a real town, almost. So many people, so many places, so much life.
That feeling doesn't stop when you reach the end of the street.
"This the center of Heaven." Quinn introduces as you both pass the final tent in the line. "Where we eat, where we celebrate, where we do pretty much everything," She pushes a piece of laundry out of the way and beckons you forward. You duck under the clothing and enter, "The Core."
The Core is exactly as promised: the center of Heaven. It's beating heart.
Dozens and dozens of tents and sheds frame the area and branch off it into smaller lanes. Like there were in the Trading Center, there are stalls here too, though they don't seem to be offering anything in return for anything else, just handing out things. Cups of water, rationed snacks, logs of firewood.
There's paint on the concrete, pretty colours and pretty shapes that are awed at and carefully avoided so no damage is caused to the imagery. Some depict animals, small and harmless ones form the before times. Some seem to be paintings of people, maybe those lost. One is a map of the grounds.
Towards the back, just outside the largest tent, there is a big board with paper stuck to it. Inhabitants approach it to put up posters and pictures, some writing something down on the posters and pictures already on it.
There are lamps and fairy lights everywhere, decorating the edges of homes and the feet of many benches, which are placed in a circle around a large fire.
It warms the atmosphere and warms those that sit around it, who talk as they fold clothes, clean dishes and kindle the flame.
It is a hub of activity and exuberance. A welcome reminder that things can get better.
Quinn glances over at you, sees your wide, inspired eyes, and flushes with pride at the sight. She gives you space to step forward and look around, while she does the same. She waves at a few inhabitants, spotting Wolfy with his partner by the tent they share. He gives her a thumbs up as his paramour clings to his arm.
Wolfy and the other Gatherers will be heading off on their monthly scavenge tomorrow, and despite not having a casualty from those trips in years, there is still an air of concern around it.
Which reminds Quinn to look for her own partner. She walks further into the Core and leans towards the snack stall. You notice her doing so.
You also notice her smile grow exponentially when a woman at the stall turns around, sees Quinn, and starts rushing towards her.
"Quinn, I haven't seen you all day!" The woman excites, before embracing the blonde and squeezing her tight. Quinn returns the gesture.
"Sorry, I was preparing with the Gatherers for tomorrow." She explains. "Then we had a newcomer, so I've been showing them around."
"Another Pilgrim?"
"No, just a visitor, or so they say." Quinn pulls back from the girl, but never stops touching her. They keep one arm wrapped around each other as they seperate slightly so Quinn can gesture to you. "This is them."
"Hi! So nice to meet you. I'm Rachel, Quinn's wife." She holds out her hand.
You shake it, and give her your name.
She asks for further details, and you give her some. Your age, your journey, your travels. You briefly describe your experience with butchering for trade and see her face shift, intrigue passing behind her eyes along with an emotion you can't pinpoint. She tilts her head and runs her gaze up and down your body in a way that you think shouldn't be as threatening as it is coming from someone so small.
Eventually she straightens up and smiles again.
"You're an interesting one." She observes. "I know you say you're just visiting, but if you change your mind and want to stay, I would be more than happy to welcome you to the Butchering Sector."
"You're a Butcher?"
"Head Butcher." Quinn corrects proudly. "She's done a lot of stuff here though, Security, Gatherer, Soldier. She's kind of our go to trainer for everything."
"Not that I'm bragging." Rachel says.
"No, but I am." Quinn giggles. Rachel does as well.
A few more moments pass, the three of you talking about what it's like to live in Heaven, and whether you might like to stay longer.
You consider it.
You learn about their wedding, which took place here about 2 years ago with Puck officiating. Apparently it was a huge celebration where they sang a duet together and everyone tried to sing along to all the songs they used to know, even though they could only really remember a few choruses, a couple verses and an outro. They had big speakers, and even some alcohol thanks to using the last few years very effectively to ferment some canned fruit. It was like a real wedding. And they deserved it, you can tell.
Eventually, the conversation lulls and Quinn calls someone named Ivory over, and asks her to get you a place to stay. She's a very sweet lady who asks you questions about what kind of housing you would prefer before setting you up in a shed with one other person. You wave goodbye to Quinn and Rachel as you head over to your new place. You desperately need rest, but still find yourself staying up too late to talk to your new roommate, Kai, who's endlessly fascinated by your tales and who endlessly fascinates you with their wooden sculptures. They're a carpenter and a trader, and are very good at being both.
You still miss your family, your dog, your career, the life you had before the world ended. But this feels like a new start, a good one. You feel a hope you have not known in half a decade, and a comfort you may have never known before.
Heaven is truly well named.
11:55pm
Quinn and Rachel wave goodbye to their new visitor before returning their attention to each other, and hugging again.
They waste no more time in the Core. They love this place, but it isn't their place. That's where they want to be.
They enjoy the walk it takes to get there. Their fingers remain linked the whole time and they never stop whispering and giggling to each other. They walk down the street, through the Garden, past the Butchers, the Trading Centre, the Workspace, by the Generator, until they reach the Gateway. They shout a greeting to Puck, who waves back before returning to his conversation with the other Soldier on duty.
Then they reach their place.
Not their home, their place. Somewhere they can get away from everywhere else and just be together. It's where they went for their hour long honeymoon, where they had their first time, where they return to for every significant anniversary.
Which is, of course, why they're here now.
Rachel takes the first step, then grabs Quinn's hand to hoist her up. Quinn stumbles a little, sending both of them into fits of laughter, but eventually regains her balance and meets Rachel. Their hands stay connected as they climb up and up, until they finally reach the top and sit down.
From their seats at the top of the half built wall that surrounds Heaven, they can look upon their home. The twinkly, rainbow lights, the gentle orange glow of the fires, the bustling bodies that work and play. It gets a little bigger every time they look at it from up here, a little happier, a little nicer.
Rachel sighs contentedly at the view and rests her head on Quinn's shoulder. Quinn wraps an arm around her and pulls her in close.
They watch their world beneath them as it lives and breathes, smiling. Then they look up to the clear night sky.
Not a cloud in sight.
Not a flake of snow.
Not a fear in their hearts, not any more.
They are safe and the world is rebuilding, much of it by their own hands.
They see their friends' faces in the stars, sparkling in the dark, and imagine that they are looking back.
Finn, Mercedes, Sam, Brittany, Santana, Kurt.
Everyone.
Forever remembered, no loss in vain.
Rachel removes her head from Quinn's shoulder and turns it. Quinn turns hers too, their eyes meeting. They smile at each other.
"I love you." Rachel whispers. Quinn blushes, and presses her forehead to her wife's.
"I love you." Quinn whispers back.
Their lips meet as a new day begins.
December 20th
12:00am
Life goes on.