If you don't like birds, I recommend skimming over the ending.


Beca's eyes followed Aubrey as she paced around the living room gnawing at a thumbnail, her formerly perfect manicure ruined. Her other hand clung onto Chippy, dragging him across the floor as though she expected him to walk, his wooden legs clacking against the floor.

Less than an hour had passed since Jessica's shirt had gone missing; Aubrey's search party had returned to the clearing only for Beca, Chloe, Paris, and David to usher everyone inside, latching the heavy wooden door behind them before giving them the news. David and Paris had immediately sunk into the couch, Beca perching herself next to Paris while Chloe had pulled in a chair to sit on Beca's other side. Amy had been wheeled down from the second floor and sat, her face in her hands, between Flo and Stacie in their respective armchairs. Tears silently streamed down Stacie's face while Cynthia-Rose, in the adjacent corner, glared in David's direction malevolently.

Aubrey stopped pacing abruptly and barked at Beca, "Okay, tell me again."

Beca barely kept herself from sighing in exasperation. Forcing herself to remain calm, she said, "We told you already. We found the bloody shirt, Emily and Lilly went missing, and the shirt disappeared."

"Plus the message from Charles," Chloe added. "'Leave now or –'"

"It's not possible," Aubrey snapped, her eyes landing on Chloe beseechingly.

"Yes, it is, Aubrey," Chloe replied, her hands clenching into fists in her lap. "We really need to get out of here before anything else happens."

"Oh my god," Stacie croaked, her puffy eyes moving between Chloe and Aubrey. "What does he want from us?"

"We're getting picked off one by one like dogs," Flo added, looking grim.

Beca leaned back and groaned, "We're screwed."

They were getting slaughtered, and Aubrey wasn't doing anything about it.

"No," Chloe's voice rang out, loud and strong. "We're gonna work together as Bellas to overcome, we're gonna solve it, and we're gonna find the others."

Beca sat up in surprise; there was the co-captain she knew and loved. Despite her fear, she felt a corner of her mouth quirk up.

Aubrey nodded approvingly and, swopping Chippy up into her arms, said, "That's what I like to hear! So now, we'll just come up with a plan –"

"Like the police!" Amy burst suddenly, her expression incredulous.

"Yeah, I'm done with this crazy shit," Cynthia-Rose added, standing from her chair and moving toward the door as if to leave the lodge.

In a flurry of moment, David rose from the couch and stood between Cynthia-Rose and the door, facing them all and barring anyone from exiting.

"Woah, hey –" Amy started to protest, half-rising from her wheelchair.

David raised a hand, cutting her off. "No one leaves," he said commandingly, "at least not until we have a plan. We need to stay together. No more splitting up all the time."

"Listen, you boy scout wannabe –" Beca snarled, half-rising from her chair.

"Beca, don't," Chloe interrupted tiredly.

Beca whipped around to glare at her – no way was Chloe defending that creep – but Chloe continued, ignoring Beca's expression.

"David's right," she said, "We can't keep splitting up. But we absolutely need to go to the police."

Aubrey made a small noise of protest. "I don't know if that's really –"

"Aubrey," Paris spoke for the first time since returning to the lodge, her voice hoarse. "I saw the clothes, too. It's not right. We need the police now."

Flo nodded and said, "It's got to be someone on the outside, right? We were together."

Beca sank slowly back into her chair, her mood worsening as she glared at David. She didn't see how he could have hidden the clothing in the time it took between them leaving the laundry cabin and returning, but he'd still let something take Emily and Lilly.

And she definitely hadn't been imagining that freaky figure in the woods.

Aubrey pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Paris, clearly thinking something through. Beca shifted uncomfortably; she'd been on the receiving end of that glare more than once. Finally, Aubrey sighed, and her shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Fine," she said, squeezing her eyes closed momentarily. "We go to the police."

"Hallelujah," Cynthia-Rose muttered, shoving David out of the way and reaching for the door handle. "Dibs on driving the bus since Amy can't move."

"I fell in a pit!"

"Meh," Stacie shrugged, rising from her chair to follow Cynthia-Rose out the door.

Beca stood up as well, reaching out a hand to pull Chloe to her feet. She felt Paris's eyes on her but refused to look over; the last thing she needed was to turn into a blushing, incoherent mess right after getting Aubrey to change her mind.

They trooped out of the cabin, Flo pushing Amy in her wheelchair over the uneven ground. Beca made sure to walk directly behind David, where she could keep an eye on him. Chloe walked next to her, staying close, their hands brushing occasionally (not that Beca minded). Aubrey brought up the rear, dragging Chippy along behind her. Beca kind of wished Aubrey had grabbed her shotgun instead of the creepy puppet, but then, with the way she'd been acting, maybe her remaining unarmed was a better option.

As they walked as a group to the bus, passing the tangled remnants of their tent, Beca blinked against the cool moisture in the air; it wasn't raining yet, but the mist oozing from the woods was stifling, and a glance toward the steel-colored sky hinted at storms to come. She could practically feel electricity crackling through the air, though maybe that was just her nerves.

"Keys!" Cynthia-Rose barked over her shoulder; Amy dug in her pocket, then tossed the keyring to Cynthia-Rose, who unlocked the double doors of the bus and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Everyone in while she's warming up," Cynthia-Rose commanded.

"Are you really sure –" Aubrey started.

"Yes," Beca cut her off firmly, earning a glare in response. Not that she cared.

"I'm sorry, Bree," Chloe soothed, reaching an arm around Aubrey's shoulders but keeping her distance from Chippy. "It's for the best."

Flo and Stacie boarded the bus while Beca looked around for something they could use as a ramp for Amy's wheelchair. She kept getting distracted by the darkness of the woods, however; it was nearing noon, and yet, no sunlight permeated their trunks. It wasn't right.

A lone crow soared out of the woods to land on the roof of Aubrey's lodge, fixing its beady eyes on them and clacking its beak once.

She wished Cynthia-Rose would hurry up and start the bus.

As soon as the thought formed, she heard the keys jingle, then the unmistakable scrape of them sliding into the ignition. She heard Cynthia-Rose sigh in relief as she turned the key.

Nothing.

Nothing, except a strange clicking noise.

"Uh."

"Try again!" Stacie's voice came from out of sight on the bus.

Cynthia-Rose turned the keys again in the ignition.

Click click click click.

The rapid clicks filled the air, cutting through the mist and into Beca's heart.

Cynthia-Rose swore and tried again, then again, then a third time.

Click click click click.

Beca let her eyes slide closed. She wasn't a car freak by any means, but she still knew what that noise meant.

"What's happening?" Chloe whispered, suddenly close to Beca.

Beca grimaced. "Dead battery," she muttered, forcing her eyes open again to see that a second crow had joined the first on the lodge roof. Beca frowned; there hadn't been any sign of wildlife when they'd first arrived.

"What?" Amy asked loudly from her wheelchair. "That's not possible! We've only been here a day!"

"We – we can just jump it, right?" Flo asked anxiously as she, Stacie, and Cynthia-Rose exited the bus.

David nodded and said, "Yeah, there are cables in the garage. I can go –"

"No," Paris cut him off sharply, her deep blue eyes scanning the woods. "We stick together, remember?"

Amy leaned forward. "You're good with cars, right?" she asked Cynthia-Rose pointedly. "That's a thing?"

Cynthia-Rose snorted and rolled her eyes, but nevertheless made her way around to the back of the bus.

"Where are you going?" Stacie called, her voice a higher pitch than normal.

"The engine's in the back," Cynthia-Rose replied, reaching for a latch on the rear and pulling the engine compartment open with a tug.

"Told you she was good at cars," Amy muttered to no one in particular.

Figuring that she should at least make it look like she was trying to help, Beca wandered around the bus to join her. As she walked, she noticed a third crow, this one in the topmost branches of a nearby tree.

"Uh…"

Cynthia-Rose's confused voice brought Beca's attention back to the engine. Her stomach panged at the sight.

There was a gaping hole where she figured the battery should be.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Cynthia-Rose's loud exclamation drew the rest of the Bellas, plus Paris and David.

"Oh my god."

"Where's the battery?"

"Shit."

"Beca…" soft fingers laced with her own and Beca looked up to meet Chloe's cerulean eyes. She saw her own terror reflected there, and she hated it. She hated seeing Chloe in distress.

With a growl, she tugged her hand free from Chloe's and spun to point between David and Aubrey, both of whom had yet to speak.

"Happy now?" she spat. "Which one of you did this?"

The stared at her in silence, stunned by her outburst. Instead of calming her down, though, that made her even angrier.

"No, don't give me that!" she half-shouted. "You guys just had to protect your precious camp, and now we can't go for help or even leave this god damn, motherfu –"

"Beca!" Paris cried, jumping between Beca and Aubrey and David, planting a hand on Beca's shoulder. "They didn't do this! They couldn't have! We've been with them all morning!"

"Well, maybe last night!" Beca replied heatedly, but no longer shouting. She didn't want to lash out at Paris.

"Why would they do that, Beca?" Paris pleaded, her eyes wide. "Think! It doesn't make sense. Someone else did this. Not them."

"But –"

"She's right, Bec," Chloe muttered from next to her. "It wasn't them."

Beca exhaled in a noisy puff. She hated to admit it, but Paris and Chloe were probably right. If the bus couldn't move, then they were all trapped. As far as she could tell, Aubrey and David didn't have much to gain by getting murdered with the Bellas.

Soft pressure on her upper arm startled her; she'd forgotten Paris's hand was there. For some reason, with Chloe standing right there, it felt uncomfortable, inappropriate. She leaned away from the touch, trying to make it look casual. Chloe sniffed loudly and Beca glanced up in time to see her struggling to control her expression.

"What do we do, then?" Chloe asked quickly, diverting Beca's attention.

"We can't just sit around and wait to get attacked," Stacie said, looking around the clearing anxiously.

"We have cars," David interjected. "We wouldn't all fit in one, but we could all go separately."

Beca was nodding before David even finished his sentence. She'd take anything at this point, though she was irritated he hadn't mentioned that little tidbit before.

"What are we waiting for?" Cynthia-Rose asked from next to the engine.

"Yeah, let's do that," Flo nodded, looking at David expectantly.

David gestured wordlessly back toward the lodge, and with a glance at the woods (there were now four more crows gathered on the same tree), Beca and the others followed him, Flo again pushing Amy in her wheelchair. Chloe stayed even closer to Beca's side, which Beca appreciated; she liked knowing where Chloe was as much as Chloe seemed to like knowing where she was.

They made their way around the lodge, to the back side facing the lake, which Beca hadn't seen before. She glanced askance at Aubrey, who had yet to say anything, only to stare in shock; Aubrey looked horrible, her face tight and pale, a sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Dude," she blurted, startling Chloe next to her. "You okay?"

"What?" Aubrey snapped, looking up with unfocused eyes. "Yeah, I am fine."

And she returned to staring at the ground as they walked, Chippy dragging along behind her.

Beca glanced at Chloe, her eyebrows raised, but Chloe just frowned and shook her head. He expression said Don't push it.

Shaking her head, Beca returned her attention to where they were going; David was leading them to a garage that had been concealed from view by Aubrey's lodge. It was just as decrepit as the rest of the buildings on the retreat grounds, and just as overrun with thistles and weeds, with some even growing up the car door. Beca again wondered exactly what David was good for, as he obviously failed as a gardener.

At the side door of the garage, David reached for his front pocket, pulling out a ton of rusty-looking keys on a ring. He rifled through them, selected one, and inserted it into the door handle, unlocking it and shoving the door open with a squeal of old hinges. The interior was shrouded in darkness and a damp smell emanated from within, but David and Paris walked in without hesitation.

Flo, Amy, Stacie, and Cynthia-Rose all glanced back nervously, but Beca merely shrugged. She didn't really want to go in either, but she didn't see any choice. Besides, anything go get away from those creepy birds. After a moment, they followed David and Paris into the garage, disappearing into its depths.

Beca glanced at Chloe, who grimaced and shrugged back. With a last deep breath, Beca stepped over the threshold, hoping no spiders were going to fall into her hair. Aubrey and Chippy followed them.

"Don't close the door," Beca whispered at the exact moment Aubrey pulled the door shut behind them.

They were plunged immediately into foul-smelling blackness; there were no windows in the garage.

Beca heard Chloe's breath hitch, then a hand found hers. She squeezed back, hoping it seemed reassuring despite the fact her palm was sweating.

A second later, though, a light flickered on, casting a frail orange glow over the terrified faces of the other Bellas and the neutral expressions of David and Paris. Beca blinked in the sudden light, and saw Aubrey moving away from a light switch on the wall. Beca looked around the garage, first noticing the three cars packed in somewhat haphazardly in the center. Various yard equipment hung around the walls, including hoses, axes, and hacksaws. Beca shuddered, suddenly glad that the garage remained locked. The last thing they needed was for the ghost – or whatever – getting its hands on sharp tools.

Not that ghosts could be stopped by solid walls.

Beca swallowed.

"Oh, thank Jesus," Cynthia-Rose sighed, her eyes on the three cars.

"Okay," Chloe said, relief evident in her tone, "we'll just climb in these and then off we'll go!"

"Wait," David said seriously, moving to what Beca assumed was his car, a black Mustang. "This doesn't look right."

Beca squinted at the front of the car, then saw what he meant; the hood was cracked open.

Her heart sank.

She knew what they'd see even as David reached under the hood, releasing the latch and lifting.

The others gasped and Cynthia-Rose swore when the hood rose to reveal an empty space where the battery should be.

Chloe's grip on her hand tightened.

Paris flew to her own car, a blue Bug, and wrenched the hood up; its battery was also missing.

Beca squeezed Chloe's hand just as firmly.

They all looked to Aubrey next. It felt pointless, but they had to know for sure.

Aubrey walked slowly to her car, every step she took building the terrified anticipation filling Beca's stomach, until she finally stood at the hood of her Corolla. She bent down, and Beca was sure it was a trick of the light, but Chippy's arms dangled so that it almost looked like the doll was helping to lift the hood.

She shuddered at the thought, then flinched when the hood rose.

The battery had been removed.

Flo let out a deep groan and Stacie took several gulping breaths; Beca felt like she'd been clobbered over the head with a shovel. The garage swam dangerously in front of her eyes and she felt herself stumble, only for Chloe's arm to wrap securely around her waist.

"Oh, no, you don't," Chloe said bracingly, bringing her back to her feet. "It's fine, we're fine, okay?"

"We're not fine!" Amy burst out, her voice filling the garage, echoing off the walls and making Cynthia-Rose wince. "How the hell are we supposed to get out now? We can't go to the police, we can't call for anyone, our friends are probably dead –"

"Don't!" shouted Aubrey suddenly. "Think like a team, Bellas! You can figure this out!"

"This isn't a game, Aubrey!" Stacie hissed. "Working together isn't going to change anything, except maybe getting us killed faster!"

"Stop fighting," Chloe pleaded, "it's not helping! Let's just go back to the lodge and –"

"Oh, I'll go to the lodge!" Amy cried hysterically. "I'm not leaving the lodge until we get some help!"

"Can we just walk?" Beca asked, pressing the heel of her free hand into her forehead. "How far is the nearest house?"

She didn't remember seeing any houses – or any sign of life, really – for at least the last 20 minutes of their drive to the retreat the day before, but maybe she'd missed something.

"There's no one around for miles," Paris said, popping the little bubble of hope that had started to form in Beca's chest. "That's why it's perfect for a retreat."

"Yeah, perfect," Cynthia-Rose scoffed angrily.

Flo moved to the garage door. "I'm going back to the lodge and locking the door, before anything else happens."

"Right behind you," Stacie agreed as Flo flung the door open.

They marched out, leaving Cynthia-Rose to push Amy's wheelchair out of the smelly garage and back into the chilly air outside. With a fearful look to Beca, Chloe followed, tugging Beca along with her. As they half-jogged from the garage, Beca looked over her shoulder to see Paris, Aubrey, and Chippy following while David locked the door behind them all.

Looking forward again, Beca watched Stacie and Flo disappeared around the corner of the lodge, clearly headed for the front door at top speed, Cynthia-Rose and Amy following closely. After another second, Cynthia-Rose and Amy rounded the corner and went out of sight as they entered the front yard of the lodge.

"No splitting up," Chloe mumbled, her pull on Beca's hand increasing, urging her forward and around to the front of the lodge to join their friends.

Immediately after rounding the corner, they plowed into Cynthia-Rose's back.

"Why the hell –"

"Shh."

"Wh –"

"Shh."

Stacie shushed them the second time; she and Flo had stopped directly in front of Cynthia-Rose.

Beca looked past them all and into the clearing in front of the lodge.

She nearly screamed.

Birds. There were birds everywhere.

Crows. Huge, filthy, black crows. More than Beca had ever seen in her life. Crows, everywhere.

On the roof of Aubrey's lodge, on the windowsills and stairs and railings, on every branch in the trees, on the roof of the bus, on the mirrors of the bus, on the collapsed pile of canvas that was their tent from the night before, even on the ground. A sea of birds, coating everything like black ink.

And all of their eyes and beaks were pointed directly at the Bellas.

Beca froze and held her breath. Chloe's hand twitched in hers.

Pounding feet behind her made her jump, but she didn't dare shout out; instead, she braced for collision. A second later, Paris, Aubrey, and David ran into them, shoving both her and Chloe forward as they'd run into Cynthia-Rose.

"Shh!" Beca hissed before they could even ask. She was pretty sure Chippy's shoe was digging into her spine.

She felt them freeze behind her, could almost feel the terror crash over them as they realized.

A heartbeat passed, or maybe it was an hour. She wasn't sure, could only think about the hundreds – if not thousands – of birds watching them.

"What do we do?" Chloe breathed.

"I don't know," Beca replied, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"We have to move eventually," Cynthia-Rose muttered.

"Like hell," Paris whispered.

Another long moment dragged by. A crow clacked its beak from near Beca's foot and she winced.

Her eyes swiveled, looking for any way out and seeing only black feathers and sharp beaks. Would the birds let them back away? Or would the movement be too much?

"Um, no one be alarmed," Amy's soft voice permeated the air, "but I think I'm allergic to crows."

"What?" David whispered, confused.

"Well…" Amy's voice trailed off.

Oh no.

Beca closed her eyes, dread dropping into her stomach like a brick. She knew where this was headed.

Chloe didn't seem to have a clue. "Amy, what –" she started to whisper, only to stop abruptly at the sound of Amy's tight breathing.

"Ahh, ahh…" Amy panted, then – she sneezed.

It was quite possibly the loudest, most explosive noise Beca had ever heard. It made them all flinch violently; Stacie even let out a small shriek.

"Well, fuck," Beca managed.

Then the birds were on them.

They had no chance; wings and beaks and eyes were everywhere, filling her vision, stealing the air from her lungs. Beca dragged Chloe forward, searching blindly for the cabin. It was a total free-for-all, the shrieks and yells of the others surrounding her, lost in the cacophony of caws and clacking and beating wings overriding her every sense. Beca squeezed her eyes closed and flung her free hand over her head, desperate to protect her face even as she felt the sting of claws and beaks tearing at her arms and legs, though not as painfully as she'd expected.

Chloe's loud scream jerked her eyes open reflexively; there was a crow tangled in her red locks. Beca dropped Chloe's hand and swatted at the bird, forcing it away from Chloe. She looked around frantically for the others, wanting to help while also defending herself. She caught a glimpse of Aubrey pushing Amy's wheelchair to the lodge, birds flapping around their heads; Flo and Cynthia-Rose cowering on the ground, overrun; David and Paris swinging at the birds with their hands, fending them off as well as they could.

A bird flew directly at Beca's face and she lashed out reflexively, backhanding it. It veered away, and in its place she thought she saw Chippy through the window of Aubrey's lodge, perched in the windowsill almost as if watching the scene from the safety of the indoors, but then another loud scream tore her attention away.

Stacie was sprinting away from the clearing, a huge cloud of birds breaking away to chase her. She screamed again, panicking as the birds dive-bombed her.

She was running directly toward the empty pool.

"Stacie, don't!" Beca yelled, sure she wouldn't be heard over the sound of the birds. She tried to break free, to chase after Stacie, only to be tripped by a crow and fall flat on her stomach. She looked up, hoping someone else could get to Stacie, but Chloe was fending off her own legion of birds while Flo, Cynthia-Rose, and Paris ducked and weaved around scores of birds.

David, however, managed to throw off the birds surrounding him; with a burst of speed and a primal yell, he sprinted forward after Stacie, trying to reach her before she got to the pool, but she had too much of a head start.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Even as Stacie and David ran toward the empty pool, a huge figure climbed out of it. He wore a singed-looking maintenance suit, black boots, and black gloves. His head was misshapen, concealed under a brown burlap sack that had holes for eyes and was sewn with a horrible, stitched-on mouth in the shape of a black smile. He was carrying a massive chef's knife.

Stacie, blinded by the birds and her own panic, ran directly into his waiting arms.

Beca heard herself scream and she crawled forward, only to fall again under the weight of birds.

David didn't slow down. He rammed into the figure, pulling at Stacie, trying to shove himself between her and the masked maintenance man. The figure stumbled, his boot slipping over the edge of the pool. He reached out to grab both Stacie and David, and all three of them toppled backward into the pool and out of sight.

"NO!" Beca screamed, her voice tearing as she lashed out at the birds, needing to get to the pool, needing to save Stacie, needing to see what had happened.

Just like that, the onslaught lifted. Without warning, the torrent of birds broke, dispersing into the trees and fleeing as suddenly as they'd attacked.

Beca lay motionless on the ground for an instant, stunned at the unexpected retreat. She looked to Chloe first, who was already staring down at her, shallow scratches on her arms and one on her cheek. Seeing she was okay, Beca hauled herself up to her feet.

"Stacie!" she yelled, sprinting to the empty pool, ignoring the sting of the scratches on her arms and legs.

There was no answer.

From behind her, she heard the others following, Paris calling for David as she ran.

Beca made it to the pool first, peering down into its depths, expecting to see a tangle of limbs as Stacie and David fought their attacker.

There was nothing.

"No, no, no…" Beca chanted under her breath, scanning for any sign of them, but they were gone. Vanished, like Ashley and Jessica and Emily and Lilly, gone without a trace.

Chloe appeared next to her, then Paris on her other side, both having sprinted to join her. Chloe gaped down into the empty pool, shock and disbelief filling her features, while Paris screamed and turned away in frustration.

"Where are they?!" Paris shrieked, startling Flo and Cynthia-Rose, who were limping over to join them.

"You mean –?" Flo started to ask.

"Gone," Chloe whispered, turning her back on the pool. "All of them."

Cynthia-Rose pointed a shaking finger toward them. "You saw him, right? That guy with the sack head?"

Beca nodded, her skin crawling at the memory of his blank stare and the long knife he held – which, she suddenly realized, had to be the missing chef's knife in the kitchen.

"Nope," Cynthia-Rose said, shaking her head and backing away. "Nope, I'm out, I'm done, I'm not getting murdered by some electrocuted ghost freak –"

"What happened?"

Beca looked up to see Aubrey jogging toward them, her face frightened. Reaching them, she continued, "The birds attacked so I wheeled Amy inside to keep her safe. Did someone fall in?" she asked, her eyes flicking to the pool.

Paris rounded on her instantly. "Some freak in a mask jumped out and grabbed David and Stacie and pulled them in! Aubrey, it was him, it was Charles!"

Aubrey dew up short, her brow creasing. "What? Are they still down there? We need to get them!"

"No kidding," Beca fired sarcastically. "We looked, and they're just gone. Poof. Nada. No dice."

She gestured grandly, hearing the strain in her own voice but not caring. She expected Aubrey to ask more questions, or to look into the pool for herself, insisting that they just weren't searching properly.

She didn't expect Aubrey's face to pale even further. "Get inside," she whispered, eyes bouncing between them all.

No one moved.

"But," Chloe started, "if we look for them –"

"Now!" Aubrey barked, making Chloe flinch. "You are all my responsibility, and I'm not losing anyone else to this creep. Move!"

Flo and Cynthia-Rose reacted instantly, jogging to the lodge, heads swiveling toward the woods, as if afraid something was going to jump out. Beca didn't blame them.

Under Aubrey's fierce glare, Beca, Chloe, and Paris followed Flo and Cynthia-Rose to the cabin, moving quickly and keeping an eye on the woods. Halfway to the lodge, the sound of wings fluttering jolted Beca's heart. She raised her hands automatically to defend herself, only to see the birds rising from the trees.

A fat drop of rain hit the ground in front of her, then another, until it became clear that the downpour she'd been searching for earlier was about to break. She ran for the cabin then, desperate for shelter as the cloud of birds ascended to the sky.