A/N: So, obviously I suck at updating but hey! At least I've not abandoned the story... On a side note, reviews do make me update faster. Occasionally I need that little motivational push to get off my ass and write. Thank to everyone who did review, favorite, follow etc. Sorry that this story started out so dark, but I needed that for what I had in mind later which you'll probably start to notice in this chapter. Which, by the way, should make some people happy :) Sorry for any typo's etc, Enjoy!

CHAPTER 4

Beca was sitting outside the cockpit of the crashed plane clutching an orange box to her chest. The brunette worried the sides of it with her fingers unable to figure out what she should do next. Beca had spotted the first aid kit miraculously still attached to the metal wall when she stumbled away from what she had done. With what little mental fortitude she had left she had wrenched the thing off the wall and taken it with her. She was in shock, or at least that's what her messed up brain was telling her. When she had walked away from Benji, Beca had felt nothing but cold. Her mind had gone numb among other things. She couldn't feel the damp clothes that clung to her or the blood that was still dripping slowly from her ear and as much as she actually wanted to cry no tears would come. Beca just couldn't wrap her mind around what she had done to her friend. Would they blame her for his death? Even though he turned? A tremor ripped thought Beca at the thought. How would she tell Chloe and the other Bella's? Would they think she was a monster? Does Jesse and Emily already think she's a monster?

Benji's face flashed back into the DJ's mind she snapped her eyes closed and held the box even closer, despite the fact that it hurt to do so. Beca drew in a deep breath to calm herself and refocus best she could, unwilling to let recent memories run away with her sanity. Beca wasn't in the best condition at the moment. Hell none of them were, but with each passing moment her body ached more and plane had crashed. Their fucking plane had crashed. Honestly what the fuck? Beca hadn't even seen Steven since she first fell asleep on the flying death trap. Her luck really was total shit. How the hell does someone even get this much bad karma? Beca's dreams were so close to coming true.

The brunette could remember how it felt when she had received that phone call at the airport. She could remember how she felt celebrating later that night with Chloe. She remembered looking into Chloe's' eyes and watching them light up in excitement for her. Chloe had dragged Beca into the living room to dance with her while music had flowed through the Bella house. Bass was rattling the windows and the neighbors were complaining but the girls were celebrating and Chloe wasn't going to let Beca miss a second of it. The two girls had danced for at least an hour before Beca finally dragged Chloe with her to the sofa. She was exhausted, a bit drunk and if she were being honest with her-self a bit confused. Beca and Chloe had danced before, many times actually seeing as Chloe was the only one able to get Beca onto a dance floor but this time was different, more intense. There was more touching, hands wandering and hips grinding. Sure the other Bella's were dancing around them but it felt like it was just her and Chloe in their living room. The way that Chloe looked at her, smoldering eyes and mischievous smirk had twisted something in Beca in an unexpected but pleasant way. Beca wasn't sure what was going on or what she was doing but she had grinned back and turned in the red heads arms to resume their dance. The brunette had pushed her curiosities away when Chloe had turned and grabbed both of Beca's hands on the sofa, her thoughts forgotten.

Chloe had been so proud of Beca; the ginger had proceeded to rain compliments on the little DJ creating a massive blush in the younger girl. Beca had excused herself from Chloe after that unable to handle any more of the attention her friend had no shame in giving her. When she walked out of the room she stopped in the doorway for a moment to watch the Bella's. Most of the girls were still dancing, Fat Amy was hitting Flo with a pillow and Chloe was still on the couch where Beca left her. The ginger was still smiling at Beca, her smile was filled with absolute joy and her eyes were lit up like Christmas lights. Beca swore her heart stopped for a moment and her brain froze. The brunette shook her head lightly and gave a soft smile back before retreating to her room for the night.

Beca's mind returned to the present only to find that she was holding the box tightly now, her knuckles turning white at the memory. Would Chloe still be proud of me now? Would she ever look at me like that again? What even was that anyways?

Beca opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh before releasing her grip on the box and letting it tumble to the dirt. She still had to get to the camp and meet up with Chloe if she wanted an answer to her questions. Beca also owed it to Jesse and Emily to make sure they were safe at Aubrey's. After all, being in L.A. in the first place was her fault. Running a hand through her loose tangled locks she rested her elbows on her knees.

Jesse and Emily were coming back, the crunch of dirt and brush being moved aside alerted Beca to their presence as they walked out of the woods. Emily was using a large branch as a crutch while Jesse had his backpack hung on his shoulders and was holding another one in his hands. Beca watched as Jesse's eyes trailed over her before resting on the axe that lay by her side with dried blood on it. She hadn't even realized she still had it with her. The brunette boy's shoulders squared and his hands clenched into fists before he tossed the bag he was holding onto the ground in front of Beca.

"Found a backpack, and Steven." Jesse huffed and grimaced as he looked anywhere but at the little DJ. Jesse's arm was still bleeding; streams of red ran between the knuckles of his fist and he looked pale.

"Jesse…. He's?" Beca murmured glancing between the two that stood in front of her before her eyes landed on Emily. The younger girl only nodded at Beca before lowering herself to the ground and sliding the orange box next to her.

"You did it then Beca?" Jesse all but whispered as he took a seat next to Emily. Beca nodded her head slowly, this time being the one unable to keep eye contact. The small brunette propped her chin up with her hand and stared off into the forest, unwilling to focus on what she had done again. The sun was high into the sky now; she guessed it was around four or five in the afternoon. The clouds from last night were starting to return and no doubt it would rain again. Beca's navy eyes glanced at the girl in front of her who was struggling to wrap Jesse's arm with a bandage.

"Here, let me-" Beca was cut off by Jesse's sharp glare and mumbled yet resounding no. Beca flinched as if she'd been slapped. Jesse was still glaring at her as she struggled to her feet. I guess he does think I'm a monster now. Solves that question.

"I'm going to see how far the road is…." The DJ trailed off as she began to walk away from her small group, throwing the backpack Jesse had dropped around her shoulders.

When Beca was far enough away to not be seen, she dropped to her knees near the creek that Jesse had found her by. The mud covered backpack she held was heavy, or at least to her tired body it was and she let the bag slide to the ground. Dipping her hands in the clear running water in front of her she brought the liquid up to her face and washed some of the dirt off. Beca continued her bird bath, rinsing her hair, washing her arms, even running her hands over her clothes to get off some of the mud that clung to her.

Taking stock of her injuries, the worst was the damage to the side of her head and the gash that was across her hip. She had some dark bruising on her legs, arms, ribs and well everywhere but she considered it minor compared to what could have happened. And while it was hard to breathe at times and she would occasionally feel nauseous she was alive and moving. Beca pulled up her shirt lightly, examining the damage done. The gash that ran from her pelvic bone up her side to her ribs looked deep and was still bleeding at least a little bit. Beca paled when she realized there was something in it. Taking a deep breath in and holding the object by a corner the DJ grabbed whatever it was and pulled out a small piece of shrapnel. Tears threatened to escape her eyes because of the immense burning sensation but with several more breaths she was able to get herself back under control. The burning had subsided into a dull ache but the wound had resumed its bleeding. "Well this shirt is fucked…" Beca mumbled as she slid the flannel off her shoulders. A large piece was missing from it, it had numerous holes and she wasn't even going to count all the stains. Maybe she could find something in the bag to wrap around her stomach and put on over the fairly gross black t-shirt she still had on.

Pulling the backpack to her side, the small brunette used her hands to wipe the dirtied fabric. Quirking an eyebrow, Beca was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually her bag that she had packed in the hotel. Her heart began to beat faster as she fumbled with the zipper of the bag, a thought entering her mind. The plan of finding a clean shirt was suddenly forgotten.

"Please don't be broken… Please!" Beca whisper yelled to her-self as she pulled a black phone from her bag. The other things she packed had felt fairly dry which gave her hope. The screens not even cracked! The DJ smiled despite the situation as she brushed her thumb across the screen and held the power button down. The phone flickered to life and Beca couldn't hold back her grin.

The brunette's eyes traced over the screen and her smile faded into a light grimace. Twenty seven missed calls and fifteen new text messages from Chloe.

By some miracle Beca had service where they had crashed and as much as Beca wanted to call Chloe, like now, she needed to find out where she was at first. According to google maps she was… Beca gasped as her current location popped onto the screen. No freaking way. Jesse had crashed the plane in Tennessee. Not only had he crashed the plane here in the mountains, they were pretty close to Georgia. This meant they were close to Chloe.

Beca opted to skip reading the messages, she wanted, no needed to hear Chloes voice. She needed to make sure Chloe was okay, because if Chloe wasn't okay... Beca didn't know what she would do. Since she first picked up that axe getting to see Chloe again was always in the forefront of her mind pushing away the bad things. Pressing the call button on her phone the brunette rocked back off her knees so she was sitting on her feet. Not even two rings later the call was answered and Beca felt nothing but elation as Chloe's voice filled her head.

"Beca! Oh my god why didn't you pick up your phone before? Where have you been? Are you okay what's going on? It's been like a whole day since we spoke! I thought you were dead Beca! What the hell-" Chloe rambled, obviously relieved that her best friend was calling her but peeved at being worried for so long.

"Chloe…" Beca suddenly didn't know what to say. The brunette was smiling and couldn't begin to describe how she was feeling at just hearing her friend's voice. She felt like she did when Chloe had danced with her, but it was different somehow. Maybe the Bella's knew something she didn't? The girls, well mostly Amy liked to tease her by saying that if Beca wasn't with Jesse she should get with Chloe. That statement was of course always followed by lewd hand gestures but... Even if Beca were into girls Chloe was way out of her league, or at least that's what she always joked back. Not to mention the fact that yes she had a boyfriend. Probably not any more...

Closing her eyes Beca took a deep breath and focused. She's been easily distracted lately and now was not the time to speculate on her relationship with Chloe.

"Hey Chlo' I'm good, we're good, uh… It's good to hear your voice Chloe… We're close, we just, uh…" Beca trailed off as a thought struck her, she also smacked herself internally for her confession to Chloe. The brunette pushed herself to her feet and slung the backpack over her shoulder. Walking towards the hill in front of her Beca began to climb, making her way towards the road she originally set out to find.

"Uh, what? Beca? Seriously are you okay? You don't sound like you're okay. Where are you Beca." Chloe emphasized from her side of the phone. The ginger paced back and forth in her cabin. The Bella's had arrived at camp earlier that day and most of the girls were still unpacking. Chloe cradled the phone with both hands like it was something precious. She had been so worried about Beca and the others after she hadn't heard from them. "I need you to be okay…" Chloe whispered to herself so quietly Beca couldn't hear it.

"Yeah… Yeah I'm fine-" Beca huffed out the last bit, her breathing becoming pained as she climbed the hill that had become ridiculously steeper.

"Did you make it to Aubreys? How are the girls? Was it bad at Barden?" The DJ questioned, pushing branches away from her face.

"Safe and sound Beca, I mean, there were some uh… Hiccups along the way but we're totally fine. Barden wasn't too bad when we left but I don't think it will stay that way… The Trebles came too. Ugh. And before you say anything, Amy told Bumper, naturally, and he told the Trebles but I made sure none of them were sick. Just like you said." Beca chuckled lightly to herself; she could picture Chloe in her head rolling her eyes at describing the whole situation. No doubt the Bella's had created some scene and if-when she got back to them Beca made a mental note to ask about it.

Beca finally made it to the top of the freaking mountain she was climbing and grabbed onto the guardrail blocking her from the road. Hoisting herself onto the metal the brunette let her legs dangle on each side. Despite feeling her spirits lifted after hearing Chloe's voice, the DJ had a frown creep its way back across her face. The road was deserted. They might have crashed near a road at least but it was in the middle of nowhere. Beca hadn't thought to check the map on her phone for the nearest town but from her view of the rundown looking two way road there wasn't one anywhere close.

"Beca?" Chloe questioned quietly. Her friend had been so quiet. Well, she was always quiet but something wasn't right. Chloe might lead most of their conversations but Beca would at least participate in them and laugh when she said something funny. When it came to Beca Mitchell, Chloe was like a connoisseur of the younger woman's emotions. Chloe always knew when something was bothering her and now wasn't any different.

"Fuck!" Beca burst out, dropping off the rail and tossing her bag onto the ground. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!" The DJ thought maybe, just maybe, they could catch a ride, steal a car or something and be able to get to the camp when Jesse had mentioned there was a road. She only had one more option and she didn't know if she could do it, if she could ask it. Beca knew that this was her idea in the first place, steal a plane and get her friends to safety at Aubrey's camp but…. How could she pick between walking miles with an injured Jesse and limping Emily and asking Chloe to come and get them?

"Beca, seriously you're freaking me out. What is wrong? Tell me. Please." Chloe practically begged. The older girl felt helpless. Dropping ungracefully onto the mattress behind her the ginger ran a hand through her hair. Even from this distance she could feel the gears in Becas head grinding away.

"I don't know what to do Chloe… I… On one hand I need to keep you safe... But we also need some help. After all the decisions I've made recently, I can't make this one Chlo'." Beca sighed in defeat; she had to let Chloe make this decision. The brunette knew deep down that this was her best chance at saving Jesse and Emily. Beca just wasn't so sure that she deserved to be saved.

"Whatever you need Beca, you know I'll do it." Chloe hummed, relieved that Beca had finally mentioned at least a little bit of what was bothering her.

"Chloe, I don't… Ugh. Just let this be your decision and think about it. I don't want anyone else getting hurt-". Beca cut herself off, flinching as her actions earlier that day flashed through her mind.

"Anyone else getting hurt? Beca, what's real-" Beca cut her friends sentence short.

"Chloe, I'm going to send you a text with our location. We're… Kinda stuck on the side of the road and need a ride but if it's too far or if things are too bad turn back. I don't want you to risk it okay? Please Chlo'? And if you don't want to leave jus-" it was Chloe's turn to interrupt Beca.

"Are you freaking kidding me? Like do you honestly think so poorly of me that I would just leave you out there? Jesus Beca. Why didn't you just say this to begin with you know I would have driven all the way to L.A if I had to. Send me your location." Chloe huffed out in exasperation. Beca could be so freaking stubborn sometimes.

The DJ didn't respond for a moment, surprised at how disgruntled Chloe managed to sound with her while still sounding like she wasn't that upset with her.

"Now Beca. I'm already on my way out to the van." Chloe huffed before hanging up the phone.

With shaky hands Beca sent her location to Chloe in a text message. Please stay safe Chloe.

Beca: Mile marker 34, Kings Highway TN

Chloe: Love you Beca, see you in a few hours.

Beca: You too Chloe, be careful and remember what I said.

Chloe: Yes mom. xo

Beca stuffed her phone back into the backpack that had been discarded onto the pavement. That girl is going to be the death of me the brunette mumbled to herself. She loved Chloe, she did, but the ginger had literally no concern for her own safety. It got so bad once that when Chloe thought her nodes were coming back she refused to go to the doctors and Beca literally had to drag her away from practice and drive her there. When they got to the hospital Chloe had still refused to go inside. It wasn't until one of the nurses came out and helped escort her inside that Chloe complied. It turned out that it wasn't nodes, just a sore throat but still.

After speaking with Chloe on the phone, Beca had changed her clothes and wrapping a shirt around her waist before slowly making her way back to the crashed plane. Beca shared her good news with Jesse first who had nodded his head at Beca and began to collect their things. He still refused to make eye contact. Emily seemed to be a little more grateful; hope filled her eyes as she gave Beca a light smile and a muttered thank you.

The trio of singers had made it to the road just as the sun was setting. It was a difficult task; both Jesse and Beca had to help Emily up the steep hill. It required some team work and was the only time Jesse spoke with Beca on somewhat friendly terms since he found her after the crash. Beca was thirsty as all hell and her stomach hadn't stopped grumbling since they had finally had a chance to rest, she could imagine the others felt the same. The little bit of water she drank after the crash was all they had left and none of the Barden students had had anything to eat since the plane ride to L.A. Emily asked about drinking the water from the creek on the way to the road but Jesse explained to her that it wouldn't be a good idea unless it was boiled first.

Beca sighed from where she was propped up against the guardrail. It was dark now and had been lightly raining for the past hour. Thank god it was warm out or they would have frozen to death by now. Beca was exhausted, more so than she's ever been in her life. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the metal behind her. The brunette wanted so badly to sleep but every time she came close to it the horror of the past few days would flash through her mind jerking her back into consciousness. Between that and Chloe texting Beca every half hour to give updates there was no resting for the brunette.

Jesse had perched himself on the railing a few yards from Beca while Emily was laying down next to her with her head propped up on Jesse's back pack. Not a single car had passed by them in the few hours that they had been sitting by the road. Not that Beca suspected one would in the first place but it was still creepy. Chloe's first few texts had mentioned that there was literally no one on the roads and how weird it was driving through whole towns that looked abandoned.

Speaking of… Beca heard a dinging sound come from next to her. She hunched forward and pulled the phone out of the bag that was proving to be pretty water proof. Using her body and hair as an umbrella she clicked on her new messages.

Chloe: Almost there Bec's! Is it raining where you're at?

Beca: Unfortunately Yes.

Beca: Quit texting and driving Chlo

Chloe: I'm not driving don't worry ;)

Beca: Chloe. Who's driving?

Beca's phone started to ring just then, she didn't want to pick it up because she was getting low on batteries, aka why she told Chloe after her first phone call to text but… She said she was close so. Beca clicked on the answer button, unable to help herself despite the dying phone.

"WAZZZ UP BITCHESSSS!-" Fat Amy screamed in Beca's ear, causing the brunette to pull the phone away from the one good ear she still had. The other one had been ringing recently.

"AMY GIVE ME THE PHONE BACK YOU. ARE. DRIVING." Chloe could be heard screaming in the background, followed by Amy's laughter.

"You worry more than a pregnant koala riding a croc. Here. You've been driving me nuts this whole time with all your worry-" "Amy put your hands back on the wheel or so help me" Chloe cut in sounding exasperated. "Yeah yeah…." Amy deadpanned back to Chloe, apparently sad that her fun was over.

"Beca! So sorry about that. Uh. Yeah I'm going to hang up now AMY took the phone from me when I was trying to text you back" Chloe complained, smacking the Australian in the arm.

"What? It's not my fault. You've been staring at the damn thing since we left. I was just trying to help a sister out. How was I supposed to know you were texting the whole time unless I took the phone from you? I've been driving after all." Amy explained, winking at Chloe like she knew something. Chloe rolled her eyes, clicking the end call button on her phone.

The ginger felt heat rise to her cheeks despite herself and was thankful that Beca only heard the conversation and couldn't see them. While Beca was on the receiving end of some teasing about their friendship, the Bella's were relentless when it came to Chloe. Beca wasn't aware that this happened or Chloe thought for sure she would die of embarrassment. Thankfully Beca could be kind of oblivious and Chloe used that to her advantage best she could. Besides, Beca was with Jesse. Why did the Bella's always ignore that?

After the odd phone call Beca put the device back in her lap and raised her eyebrows at it. Glad they're still the same old weirdo's at least.

Chloe: Sorry about that.

Beca: Don't worry about it. Anyone else come with you?

Chloe: Nope, Aubrey thought it would be safer if we didn't take a lot of people.

Before Beca could reply a set of headlights caught her attention. They were a little ways down the road still but even through the rain she could definitely tell a car was coming towards them.

Beca: I think I see you?

The DJ pushed on Emily's shoulder causing the younger girl to sit up and look at her questioningly. Beca pointed in the direction of the car driving down the road. Jesse had seen it too and had walked over to the two girls from where he was perched. Beca shoved the phone into the front pocket of her wet hoodie before struggling to her feet. The brunette used the guardrail to steady herself on as she pulled the back pack onto her shoulders.

Jesse began to wave his arms above his head as a van came closer to them. The white van slowed to a stop and the doors on the side opened slowly with a whining noise. Sitting in the driver's seat at the top of the steps was Fat Amy grinning down at them.

"Well come on you wet biscuits get on!" she yelled at them over the sound of the rain hitting the blacktop. Beca didn't see Chloe at first; she was too busy being in shock that the van was in front of her. Emily was the first to climb on board with some help from Jesse, who followed behind her. While they were slowly climbing the stairs together Beca caught a dash of red out of the corner of her eye as she waited her turn. Looking up she could see Chloe at one of the windows with her palm pressed against it smiling down at Beca. The DJ couldn't contain, or explain, how thrilled she was to see Chloe. Just Chloe's smile made it feel like just maybe everything would be alright now. A smile made its way across Beca's too face as she stared up at her friend, light blue eyes meeting navy.

In that moment Beca wished that Emily could go up the stairs just a little faster.