Gloria follows the barking along the creek, realizing Haddock is not just chasing Robert but intends to kill him before other handlers can catch up. As she runs through the water, Gloria decides she is willing to die, shoot a dog, or even shoot a man to save her brother because the law has already failed Robert. A freedom song rises in her mind and steadies her as she moves deeper into the woods.

Gloria finally spots Robert standing in the creek, apparently speaking softly to someone unseen. Before she can call out, Haddock arrives with his bloodhound and then Percy Crutcher, a Black man carrying a rifle. Haddock demands the missing envelope and photos, and Robert openly accuses him of murder, arson, and keeping photographs of abused boys. When Robert tries to expose Haddock to Crutcher, Haddock immediately shoots Crutcher in the chest, killing him.

Shaken but defiant, Robert faces Haddock alone while Haddock threatens to have him torn apart by the dog if he does not return the photographs. Haddock notices the outline of the hidden envelope under Robert’s wet shirt and advances into the creek to take it. Gloria reveals herself and fires a warning shot, ordering Haddock to drop his gun, but Haddock correctly judges that Gloria is frightened and not a strong shot. He fires back at Gloria, forcing her into cover, and tells her he wants her alive long enough to watch Robert die.

Robert, following Blue’s instructions, refuses to move and calls out for Blue at the moment Haddock closes in. The water around Robert suddenly turns freezing cold and fog rises from the creek. The narration shifts into Haddock’s mind, revealing that as a boy he murdered his baby sister Lucy by smothering her and later became haunted by her spirit. Haddock understands too late that Robert freed the trapped ashes into the creek and has lured him into the middle of the haints.

Kendall Sweeting appears before Haddock, joined by the other spirits and seemingly by Lucy as well. The bloodhound Colonel, no longer under Haddock’s control, turns on him as the creek churns violently. Haddock tries to flee and shoot the dog, but Colonel mangles his wrist, brings him down into the water, and tears out his throat. Haddock dies in the creek, destroyed by the ghosts and violence he spent years using against others.