A/N: Okay, this chapter took a bit longer than expected to write and I apologize for that. I had to make sure that things went the way they were supposed to, so as to set things up for the next chapter. Next I will be updating The Snap around the 20th with five chapters, then after that I will be posting one chapter for each of the regular single story fics I have planned, because I didn't get very many votes on the poll. Once they're posted, I'll update them based on popularity, simple as that.
Chapter 5
Trapped
Sawtooth National Park
Ben was driving the truck, as they headed out of Sawtooth National Park, while Beverly was sitting in the passenger seat with their daughter in the backseat.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Beverly asked, worriedly.
"Who?" Ben asked.
"Bill and the others." Beverly explained.
"Oh." Ben replied, then sighed, "I don't know. We've dealt with It twice before, they know what to expect…more or less. I'm sure they'll be alright."
"Yeah…" Beverly muttered, "But we thought that last time as well, didn't we?"
Ben exhaled heavily as the weight of the memory of Eddie's death hit him. They were slowly approaching the exit gates, when Beverly suddenly gasped in shock, as she looked in the mirror towards their daughter. She saw her ex-husband, Tom Rogan, holding a gun to the side of Maggie's head, while she happily hummed to herself, completely unaware of her surroundings.
"Don't leave, Bev." He said, "Bad things will happen if you do."
Beverly turned around to face him, but he wasn't there, only Maggie happily humming to herself. Ben glanced over to his wife with a worrisome expression.
"Something wrong, Bev?" He asked. Beverly caught her breath and calmed herself down, then turned back forwards.
"Nothing." Beverly answered, "I thought I saw-"
"Ahh!" Maggie screamed, then they looked behind them and saw a familiar face holding a knife to Maggie's throat.
"Bowers." Ben muttered, angrily.
"Hello, cottage cheese." Henry said with a smile.
"You're supposed to be dead." Beverly said, then Henry chuckled.
"My physical form may be dead, but I live on…as your fear." He replied with a vicious smile.
"What do you want?!" Ben asked, angrily.
"Absolutely nothing… But do keep your eyes on the road." Henry answered. Ben looked ahead and spotted a lone caribou doe and her fawn crossing the road a few yards in front of them.
"Holy-" Ben exclaimed, then slammed on the brakes, but for an unknown reason, the vehicle went into the ditch and crashed into a large tree. The doe and her fawn ran off in fright into the trees. Ben and Beverly looked behind them into the passenger seat and saw Henry had disappeared. Maggie had a terrified expression on her face, while she gripped her seat in fright.
Beverly opened her door and stepped out onto the grass, then opened the back door and unbuckled her daughter. She immediately jumped into her mother's arms and started sobbing, while Ben climbed out of the driver's side of the vehicle. He walked around and embraced his family.
"I don't think we can leave, Ben." Beverly muttered, "I don't think that was actually Henry."
"No, you're probably right." Ben replied, "But what are we going to do about Maggie?"
"We'll keep her safe." Beverly answered, "At any cost."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Come on you…" Eve muttered, as she watched a fish swim just under the surface of the water. She quickly swiped her claws through the water and caught the fish, but it wriggled out of her grasp and got away.
"Gahhh!" Eve yelled in frustration, then slammed her paw on the water, causing ripples to form.
"Ow…" She muttered, as she held her paw after smacking it on the water, then sighed. She gave up, then turned around and started heading back to the den she had dug last night, but she heard something splash in the water. Eve turned and gasped. Floating in the water was Winston's head staring right at her. She grabbed her mate's head by the ear and pulled it out before placing it on the ground.
"No…" Eve muttered, then she fell to the ground, crying. During her sobs, she happened to glance over towards the lake and saw a clump of fur floating just offshore. Curious, she plucked the fur out of the water and examined it. It was a clump of golden-tan colored fur, but she couldn't get the scent off of it, because it was soaked in water. She looked up towards the lake and gasped in horror. Multiple bodies of wolves were floating in the water that had turned red. She recognized some of the bodies as Humphrey, Garth, Tony, Kate… even Lilly.
"No… This isn't real." Eve muttered, as she shook her head in disbelief.
"Isn't it?" A voice asked from behind her, then she whipped around and snarled fiercely, making It chuckle.
"This is your own doing…or at least it will be." It said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about! I would never murder my family!" Eve growled.
"Wouldn't you?" It asked, then Eve enlarged her eyes.
"Yes, you have before." It said, then chuckled evilly and vanished from plain sight.
Eve jolted awake with sweat dripping from her brow, then she gradually calmed herself down once she realized it was just a dream. Tears began forming in her eyes as she thought about her family, whom she may not ever see again, because of her banishment. Eve's stomach suddenly growled, signifying that she was hungry, but she ignored it. It's been too long since she has hunted anything, so she was out of practice and has resorted to fishing, which she was never any good at anyway. Her stomach growled for a second time, which Eve responded with another growl.
"I know you're hungry… And instead of complaining about it, how about you go hunt your own food?!" She growled, then scoffed.
"Great… Now I'm having conversations with my own stomach." Eve muttered to herself. She sighed, then crawled out of her den that she had built the previous night and headed down to the lake. As she walked, she began thinking about her new life.
Maybe it won't be too bad. She thought to herself, as she approached the water's edge.
I could just think of it as being away from home. Like a hermit. She thought, then sighed.
Although, hermits can be quite lonely. Eve thought. She sat down by the lakeshore and watched the little minnows swim about through the water in their schools.
"Want some company?" A voice asked from behind her and she turned around to see her mate approaching.
"Winston? What are you doing here?" Eve asked.
"Didn't I just ask if you wanted some company?" Winston asked with a chuckle, then Eve smiled.
"That would be appreciated." Eve said, then Winston sat down beside his mate.
"You're not sore at Humphrey, are you?" He asked.
"Why would I be sore at him?" Eve asked.
"Well, he did banish you from the pack for something you didn't do." Winston pointed out.
"Oh, yeah." Eve muttered.
"Well?" He persisted.
"Humphrey did what he had to do at the moment. I'm sure you would've wanted him to do the same." She replied.
"That doesn't answer my question." He said.
"Okay… Yes, I would love to tear him apart, but…" Eve started, then suddenly realized something.
"Wait a minute… You're usually sleeping at this time." She said, then let out a low growl and snarled.
"What do you want?!" She growled, then It chuckled.
"You're good, Eve… But not good enough." It said, then Eve enlarged her eyes in a sudden realization.
"You stay away from him!" She snapped.
"Why?" It asked, "You said it yourself. You would love to tear him apart."
It laughed evilly in Winston's voice, then vanished, while Eve pondered what to do.
# # # # # # # # # #
Bill unfurled a map of Sawtooth and placed it on top of a table he had set up a few minutes earlier. He placed a compass by the map and pulled out a red marker.
"Alright. It has made appearances here in our campsite." He said, as he drew an X on the spot where their campground was. Mike and Richie were standing around the table examining the map.
"Mike. Where did that meteor hit?" Bill asked, then Mike pointed to a spot on the map in the middle of the woods.
"Right there. That was also where the first victims disappeared." He answered, then Bill marked the spot with another X.
"Are they really victims though… If they're only animals?" Richie asked.
"It doesn't care what it eats. Human or animal, we're all food to It." Bill said.
"Hm, fair point." Richie replied, then pointed to a spot on the map that a trail, indicated by a dotted line, went through.
"That's also where Mike had blasted It with a shotgun." He said, then a third X marked the spot. The three humans stepped back and examined the map, then Bill sighed.
"I think our best bet is to head here." He said, as he pointed to the X that indicated where the meteor had struck two years ago.
"In the middle of the woods? Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Richie asked.
"We need to destroy It before it takes too many victims. We know It can see our past, so it most likely knows that we've dealt with an entity like it before. It may even be expecting us to come to it." Bill explained.
"So, again… Why are we going after it? The last time we did, we lost Eddie and Stanley." Richie pointed out.
"Are you having second thoughts?" Mike asked.
"No, it's just…" Richie started.
"You're afraid?" Bill asked, then Richie sighed.
"Fine, yes! I'm afraid! I don't want that thing to turn into Pennywise!" Richie snapped.
"It's alright, Rich. We just need…" Bill said, then trailed off as he noticed a familiar truck drive back into the campsite. Mike and Richie turned around just as the truck stopped and the engine was shut off.
"I thought they…" Richie started, then Ben stepped out of the vehicle, while Beverly got out of the other side with Maggie. They approached the trio with solemn expressions.
"I thought you were leaving? Did something happen?" Bill asked.
"We can't leave. It stopped us." Beverly said.
"Well, that's just great!" Richie exclaimed.
"Then there's only one thing we can do." Bill replied, then pointed to the X on the map.
"We head there at first light tomorrow." He said.
# # # # # # # # # #
Claudette yawned as she stood up and stretched after a long night of rest. She looked around and saw her brothers were still sleeping, curled up in a little fluff ball. The golden-tan furred pup stepped out of the Alpha Den and looked around the valley that was illuminated by the sun's rays. A sound to her left got her attention and she turned just in time to the brief glimpse of a brown tail moving behind a bush. Claudette dashed towards it and tackled the light brown furred pup crouched behind it.
"Gotcha." She said, as she stood over him, then he chuckled.
"Alright, you got me." Fleet said, "So, what do you want to do today?"
"I don't know." Claudette replied, as she climbed off of him, "How about we just hang out?"
Fleet smiled, "Sounds good to me." He said, "And I know just the place. Follow me."
Fleet led Claudette in a northerly direction for a few miles until Claudette grew a bit worried.
"Umm, Fleet?" She asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea? We're getting pretty far away from the pack."
"Don't worry, Claudette. We'll be fine." Fleet assured her, "I know where I'm going. I've lived here for the last few days."
"You're taking me to your den?" Claudette asked.
"Well… I wouldn't exactly call it a den." Fleet said.
"Why wouldn't you call…" Claudette started, then trailed off when she saw an entrance to a large tunnel that bored through the earth.
"Wow!" She exclaimed, "I wonder how deep it goes."
There was no answer, then Claudette looked around to find Fleet had disappeared.
"Claudette!" Fleet's voice shouted from inside the tunnel, "Come on down. It's perfectly safe!"
"Fleet? How did you get down there so fast?!" Claudette called down to him.
"I slid down the slope!" Fleet answered, "Come on!"
Claudette stepped onto the dirt slope and started walking down through the tunnel.
"Where are you?!" Claudette called out, as the tunnel got darker the further she went in.
"I'm right here." Fleet said from behind her, but his voice seemed more…sinister. She hesitantly turned around and widened her eyes in horror when she laid them upon the black wolf standing behind her with its fangs bared. It opened its maw, revealing hundreds of sharp, pointy teeth, preparing to bite her.
"Ahh!" Claudette screamed, then bolted away from It mere moments before it slammed It's head down with great force, intended to kill her instantly. She ran deeper into the tunnel where she thought she would be able to lose It. Unfortunately, during the last two years since It arrived, It had dug a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the surface of the earth, which only It knew the exact map of.
Claudette continued running through the tunnels until It suddenly came out of a side tunnel right in front of her. She slid to a stop, then quickly turned around and ran in the opposite direction with It close behind. It was right behind her as it lunged towards her, but Claudette sensed it and bolted into another side tunnel, while It continued on through the same tunnel. Claudette turned another corner and spotted light at the end of the tunnel.
She gasped in relief, then bolted towards the exit, but It lunged out at her from a side tunnel as she passed. It's paw morphed into a razor sharp spear-like object and plunged it into Claudette's side, slicing through the area around her waist. Her blood spattered out onto the tunnel wall as It's "paw" came out her other side. Without a moment's hesitation, It opened it's maw, ready to feast on it's new prey.
"Ahh!" Claudette screamed, just before It bit off her head with an audible crunch.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Ahh!" Kate's ears pricked up when she heard Claudette's scream. Humphrey noticed his mate seemed restless, then he yawned as he stretched.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
"I thought I heard…" Kate started, then looked around and noticed Claudette wasn't in the den. She stood up and went over to Stinky and Runt, who were still curled up in a mass of fur.
"Wake up!" She shouted.
"Ah!" The two brothers screamed in fright, as they jumped awake.
"Do you two know where your sister is?" Kate asked.
"Uhh…" Stinky muttered, then Kate turned towards Runt.
"Runt?" Kate asked, but he only shrugged.
"Figures." She muttered, then turned towards Humphrey, "They're a lot more like you than you know, Humphrey."
Humphrey nervously chuckled as his mate left the den in search of Claudette. He turned towards his two sons, while Runt was trying to playfully stuff his paw inside Stinky's ear.
"Don't do that, son." He said, "You'll scratch your brother's brain."
"Cool!" Runt exclaimed, then continued trying to put his paw in his brother's ear.
"Get off me." Stinky said, as he pushed Runt away, then looked up at his father, "Should we go help Mom?"
"Uhh… I think we should." Humphrey said, then Stinky scoffed.
"Really, Dad?" He asked, "You had to think about that?"
Kate had picked up her daughter's scent and followed it to a nearby bush, where she discovered another scent mixed in with hers. She sniffed the ground and determined they went out of the pack area. Whoever they were, Claudette seemed to go with them without a struggle, which meant she knew them. Kate turned around and headed back to the den to find Stinky and Runt play-fighting with Humphrey. She smiled at the scene for a brief moment until she remembered what she was there for.
"Uhh, Humphrey?" She said, getting his attention, then the three gray furred wolves stopped what they were doing and looked over towards Kate.
"Yes, Kate?" Humphrey asked.
"I need Stinky's help." She said, "Come along."
Stinky gulped, then followed his mother out of the den, where she led him to the spot where she found the foreign scent.
"Can you determine who this scent belongs to?" Kate asked, "It smells familiar to me, but I can't place it."
Stinky sniffed around until he came across his sister's scent and the foreign scent mixed in.
"Strange…" Stinky muttered, as he sniffed around, "Interesting… Unexpected…"
"Care to tell me what that means?" Kate asked.
Stinky raised his head from the ground, "It smells a lot like Fleet." He answered.
"Fleet?" Kate asked, "That's impossible. He went with the Northern Pack to somewhere in Alaska. There's no way that he could be here on his own without us knowing."
"Maybe someone has disguised themselves?" Stinky suggested, "Although, I doubt that's even possible…"
Kate sighed, "Thank you, Stinky." She said, "You can go back to the den."
Stinky nodded, then was about to leave until his mother stopped him, "Actually, on second thought…" She said, "Tell your father and Runt to meet in the feeding grounds, got it?"
"Okay." Stinky said, then ran off towards the Alpha Den, while Kate headed to the feeding grounds. When she got there, she raised her muzzle to the sky and let out a long howl to start a pack meeting. Humphrey and their sons approached her from behind, while the rest of the pack slowly gathered in front of her.
"What's wrong, Kate?" Humphrey asked, but she ignored him and raised her paw up to silence the crowd of wolves.
"We believe there's a lone wolf roaming the area around our pack. I believe they have pupnapped my daughter, so I need any Alphas willing to come with me to get her back." Kate announced. Hutch, Candu, Scar, and Claws, each stepped forward, then Kate nodded.
"Umm, Kate?" Humphrey asked, "What's going on?"
Kate turned to her mate, "I found a foreign scent just outside the pack's borders that was mixed with Claudette's." She explained, "Stinky said it smelled a lot like Fleet's, which you and I both know to be impossible."
Humphrey nodded in understanding, "Then I'm coming with you." He said, but Kate shook her head.
"No, Humphrey." She replied, "I need you to stay and watch the pups."
"Your father can watch them." Humphrey said, then he sighed, "Kate, she's my daughter too."
Kate frowned, then sighed, "Alright, Humphrey." She said, then turned towards Stinky and Runt, "Go see your grandfather for a bit. We'll come get you once we come back."
"Okay, Mom." Runt replied, then they ran off to find Winston, as Kate turned to the other four Alphas.
"Let's move out!" She ordered.
# # # # # # # # # #
Mike was examining the map on the table by the light of a small lantern, while Richie was making dinner for the group. Maggie was sitting in Beverly's lap with Bill sitting beside them, as they chatted with Richie. Ben was inside the camper, looking through some old photographs of some of his favorite moments in Derry. He pulled out one of their group of seven shortly after they thought they had defeated It the first time. A loud crash was suddenly heard from inside the bedroom and Ben got up to check it out. He opened the door and saw Maggie standing by a broken picture frame.
"Sorry, Daddy." She said, "I didn't mean to."
Ben walked over to her and picked her up, "It's alright, Sweetie." He replied, "Accidents happen."
Maggie looked down solemnly, "I thought you were with your mother?" He asked, "What'd you come in here for? And how?"
"Ben?" He heard Beverly call out from behind him, "Who are you talking to?"
"Just talking with Maggie, honey." Ben called back.
"No, you're not." Beverly said, "I have Maggie with me."
Ben turned around in confusion and saw Beverly standing there while holding Maggie in her arms.
"Wait…" Ben muttered, then looked at the Maggie in his arms, which smiled, showing lots of sharp, pointy teeth, making him gasp in shock. It opened its mouth, ready to attack, but Ben quickly heaved It out the camper's window. Still in Maggie's form, It crashed into the ground outside and tumbled onto the campfire, where Richie and Bill jumped in surprise.
"What the fuck?!" Richie exclaimed, then gasped in shock, as It crawled out of the fire and stood up with its hair on fire.
"Holy shit!" Richie shouted, then a gunshot sounded and It fell to the ground. During the chaos, Mike had grabbed his shotgun and was now aiming it at It. It got back up, then Mike continued blasting it until he ran out of shells. It lay on the ground, unmoving, as the Losers Club slowly approached it. White light suddenly engulfed them, then they turned around to see a ranger's vehicle behind them. Ranger Denbrough stepped out of his ATV and approached the group.
"What is going on here?!" He demanded, then the Losers Club looked back towards It, but It had disappeared without a trace. Beverly stepped out of the camper with Ben behind her.
"A bear had come by while we were cooking our dinner and it scared our daughter here." She explained, "Mike there just scared it off, that was it."
Ranger Denbrough sighed, "Alright." He said, "But if I get just one more complaint from somebody about you, no matter how small, I'll be kicking you out. Got that?"
"Understood, sir." Ben replied, then the ranger got back into his ATV and drove off and Bill let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay, the longer we wait, the more likely we'll be kicked out before we can even do anything about It." He said, "Any suggestions?"
"Sleep." Mike answered, "We'll worry about this in the morning."
"That sounds good, actually." Bill replied, then turned towards Ben and Beverly, "There's snacks in the camper, so help yourself if you're hungry."
Richie looked down towards the campfire and the pot that had tipped over into it, "It ruined dinner." He said, then sighed.
# # # # # # # # # #
Mr. Denbrough parked his ATV by the Ranger's office, then shut off the engine before heading to the door. He stepped inside to find the room empty and dark.
Must've all gone to bed. He thought to himself, as he placed the keys to the ATV on a hook by the door. He went behind the desk, then suddenly heard the door creak open and looked up.
"Who's there?" He asked, then approached the door and opened it, but there was no one there.
"That's strange…" He muttered, "I could've sworn I locked it."
"Hello, Georgie." A voice said from behind him and he whipped around to see a figure sitting behind the Ranger's desk.
"Who are you?" He asked, as he closed the door behind him.
"I have a proposition for you." It said, "I'm sure you're wondering about your childhood."
"Not really." He replied, "Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"I'll leave in due time." It said, "But you've never wondered why you have those voices in your head?"
We all float down here. The voice echoed in his head, then he placed a hand on his head.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"Simple." It explained, "There's a group of campers here who wish to destroy me. I would like you to prevent them from doing that. If you do that, I will reveal your entire past."
"I think I know who you're talking about and I very much doubt that they want to kill anyone." He said, then It chuckled.
"On the contrary…" It said, then stood up and stepped into the light, revealing its face. Bright red hair and red and white makeup with a sinister smile.
"They look forward to it." It finished, then someone suddenly knocked on the door and he looked behind him for a brief second. When he turned back, It was gone. He frowned, then headed to the door and opened it to see two men standing there. One was heavyset and wore dark clothing, while the other was smaller and wore lighter clothing.
"Can I help you with something?" Ranger Denbrough asked.
"We're looking to purchase a hunting license." The larger man said, then he nodded.
"I'll see if we have any tags left." He replied, then went back inside towards the desk while the two men followed him in. He turned on the computer and mumbled to himself as he sifted through a few files.
"Alright, anything you're looking for in particular?" He asked.
"Duck, Goose, maybe a Caribou." The smaller man answered and the ranger nodded before turning back to the computer screen. The printer printed a couple sheets of paper, while he turned around and grabbed a couple leaflets, then folded the pieces of paper and slipped them inside.
"Alright, almost done." He said, "What are your names?"
"Jethro and Griffin." The smaller man answered, then the ranger wrote them on the leaflets and handed them to the two men.
"There you go." He said, "Tags for one duck and goose. If you need anything more, let me know."
"Thank you." Jethro replied, "By the way, what's the wolf status like?"
"There are currently no wolves in the area." Ranger Denbrough answered, "But if you do happen to come across one, self-defense measures only."
"Understood." Jethro said, then the two men left the office, while Mr. Denbrough pondered to himself. He had a feeling that he was going to have to watch those two.
A/N: Now, I'm sure you might be wondering why he said that there were no wolves in the area, despite the fact that he was directly told that a new pack had moved into the area, but if you're familiar with Jethro and Griffin (or even Max in some cases), I'm sure you can guess why he said that.
Till next time,
~Demonwolf102
