Chapter 6

- - - Confrontation - - -

Sawtooth National Park

Five Alphas and one Omega. Six wolves were trekking through the underbrush, following the scent of Claudette and that of a foreign wolf. They came across a large tunnel that bored into the ground and through the earth as far as the eye could see.

"She went down there." Candu stated, as he gestured inside the tunnel.

"Dark… ominous… definitely takes after you more than me." Humphrey said, then Kate gave him an evil eye.

"And I mean that in the best way." He quickly added with a small smile, and Kate turned her gaze towards the inside of the tunnel.

"I'm just saying that nothing would've made me go down there." Humphrey said.

"Unless your mate's ass was down there." Scar snickered.

"Thank you for volunteering to go first, Scar." Kate said, then motioned towards the tunnel.

"What?! Was it because I-?" He started.

"Yes." Kate answered, cutting him off. Scar lowered his ears flat against his head and cautiously entered the tunnel, slowly descending down the slope.

"Looks abandoned." He muttered, once he was deep underground, then turned around to face the others. Claws immediately spotted something inside the tunnel.

"Look out!" She exclaimed, then a tentacle suddenly wrapped itself around Scar's hindleg.

"What the-" He started, then he suddenly fell to the ground and was quickly pulled deeper into the tunnel.

"Scar!" Claws shouted, then started running after him and Kate growled.

"Let's go!" She ordered. The rest of them ran down the tunnel after Claws just as the sun started to rise.


Bill was standing over the map on the picnic table, when Beverly approached him.

"How many times are you going to study that thing? You'll hurt your brain with the amount of concentration you're doing." She asked, then he frowned.

"There's just something nagging at me." He said.

"Like what?" Mike asked, as he approached as well.

"Like we're missing something." Bill answered, then took a sharp breath.

"Mike, what are the chances of there being more than one entity pre-existing?" He asked.

"Next to none. There wasn't anything to even suggest that this one would arrive." Mike answered.

"I don't really care where It came from, I just want to get rid of it once and for all." Richie said, as he approached the table as well.

"And what if another one comes?" Bill asked.

"Then I'll move to Canada. Maybe It doesn't like frozen food." Richie answered.

"Good morning, everyone!" Ben called from the camper door, before he made his way towards them with Maggie in his arms.

"Morning, Dear." Beverly greeted, as her and Ben exchanged a quick kiss, then Beverly grabbed Maggie from his arms.

"And how's my sweet thing this morning?" She asked.

"Good." Maggie answered. Bill and the others took a glance at each other and nodded.

"Um, Ben. Beverly. We think the two of you should stay here with Maggie, where it's relatively safe." Bill stated.

"I agree with that." Mike muttered.

"But you need our help." Beverly said.

"Under no circumstances can anything happen to Maggie, but that should also extend to her parents as well." Bill added.

"And what about you three? You need all the help you can get." Ben pointed out.

"We have a plan." Mike said.


Kate and the others chased Claws further into the tunnel until they lost her in the labyrinth. They could hear her shouting after her mate, but it echoed throughout the tunnels and they couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"I hate to say it, but, uhh… it looks like we can easily get lost down here." Humphrey pointed out.

"We're not leaving until we find our daughter." Kate said, firmly. She immediately spotted something out of the corner of her eye and walked over to investigate. It was a dark red stain on the dirt wall and she sniffed its scent before enlarging her eyes in shock.

"No… It can't be." She muttered, then looked towards Humphrey.

"It's hers." She said, as he came over to her side.

"We don't know what happened, Kate. She could still be alive. Either way, we need to find her soon." Humphrey replied. A scream suddenly pierced the air and the four of them looked down the tunnel it came from.

"That sounded like Scar." Hutch said.

"Let's go check it out." Kate ordered, before starting to head down the tunnel, but Humphrey raised his paw to stop her.

"Wait, Kate. Are we sure we want to go down there?" He asked, then she glared at him.

"Alive or dead, our daughter is down there. I'm going down there and if I find who, or what, did this to her, I'm going to rip them to shreds." Kate said, menacingly.

"There's something your father told us shortly after they were born. Don't be afraid to lose any of them, it's nature. It's why we wait until they're two months old before we name them." Humphrey stated.

"I remember." Kate replied, then sighed.

"But there's something else that every pup should know that we didn't tell ours. One day, your parents may leave to hunt and never come back. I know you want to go back and not because you've given up on Claudette, but because you don't want Stinky and Runt to be alone." Kate explained.

"You're right. I don't want them to lose us, like how I lost my parents." Humphrey replied.

"You never told me about them." Kate said.

"That's because I don't like talking about it." He replied.

"I'm going to find our daughter. You do what you want." Kate said. Humphrey lowered his paw and she continued down the tunnel with the others.


"So, what is the plan?" Richie asked, as they traveled through the woods towards the destination.

"We kill It. Just like how we did last time. The faster we do, the better for everyone." Bill explained.

"Yeah, like that went so well the last time." Richie replied, sarcastically.

"Do we even know what we're looking for? I mean, an asteroid hits the Earth, it's a rock in the middle of a crater. Why would It decide to live there?" He asked.

"Why does It decide to eat children?" Bill asked.

"I did some research on that." Mike said.

"Why It eats children?" Richie asked.

"No, on the impact site. The surveyors found it, but it was just a massive hole in the ground. It was as if the asteroid had cut through the ground like a hot knife through butter." Mike explained.

"You mean like that?" Bill asked, pointing towards a large tunnel that bored deep into the Earth.

"That's it exactly." Mike answered.

"So, how should we do this? We only have one shotgun between us." Bill said.

"Make that two." Ben said, as he approached them from behind with a shotgun over his shoulder.

"We told you to stay back." Mike said.

"I was going to, but Beverly convinced me otherwise. She believed that you were going to need my skills with a blade." Ben replied, then handed the shotgun to Bill before removing a sheathed sword from his back.

"I am surprised I haven't noticed that before." Richie said.

"I kept it in the truck. Normally, I don't take it out of the house, but Beverly wanted me to bring it, because she had a bad feeling. Now, I only know some basics, but I have been practicing for a few years now." Ben explained.

"So, two shotguns and a… sword between the three of us. What's the plan?" Richie asked.


The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Kate looked down for a brief second, then gasped when she looked back up. They were back at the tunnel entrance, but Humphrey was nowhere to be seen.

"How is this…?" Kate started, but trailed off when she heard pawsteps running up behind them. They turned around to see Claws carrying Scar on her back. Scar was barely conscious and Kate gasped when she saw that his hindlegs were chewed off, flesh dripping with blood hanging from his hips.

"What the hell did that?!" Kate exclaimed in shock.

"I don't know. I just found him like this after he screamed, but I did hear something scuttling away further down the tunnel." Claws explained.

"No sign of my daughter?" Kate asked, then Claws shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Kate." She said.

"Alright, take him back to the pack. We'll stay and find this… thing that lives here." Kate said, then Claws nodded.

She headed for the tunnel exit and screamed as soon as she got to the top. Kate and the others ran up to her and they found themselves inside a massive underground chamber. Scattered across the floor were dismembered body parts ranging from a duck's foot to even a human arm.

"What is this place?" Hutch asked.

"I don't know, but I don't want to be here much longer." Claws said, then turned around to leave, but gasped. The others turned around as well and found the tunnel they came through had disappeared.

"It was right there!" Claws exclaimed, then she gently placed Scar's unconscious form on the ground and started digging.

"We need to find another exit. Get searching, but keep your guard up! We don't know what could be down here." Kate said.

"Yes, Ma'am." Candu replied, before he and Hutch left to scout the area. Kate continued watching Claws frantically dig where the entrance was only moments earlier before she too started digging as well.

"What is happening?" Claws asked, then sniffed.

"I don't know." Kate answered.

And I thought the incident with Amy was strange. Kate thought to herself.

"Oh, no…" Kate heard Hutch mutter from a distance. She started to approach the pair, but they stood up to stop her.

"Trust us, Kate. You don't want to see this." Hutch said.

"What did you find?" Kate asked, firmly.

"We found your daughter, but you don't want to see it." Candu answered.

"Where is she?!" Kate exclaimed, then tried to push past them, but they stopped her.

"She's dead, Kate. We're very sorry." Hutch explained.

"Let me through! I have to know!" She snapped, then forced her way past them and laid eyes on the mutilated, headless form of a golden-tan furred pup. Most of her body was now skeletal, because of It's feasting, but Kate could tell who it was. A mother could always tell.

"She was too small." A voice suddenly spoke, then Kate looked up to see a black wolf standing on top of a large rock.

"And too stringy." The wolf added, as he used his claw to pick his teeth. Kate's blood boiled and she snarled in rage.

"I'll fucking rip you apart!" She screamed, then launched herself towards the wolf.

The wolf smiled and opened Its mouth to reveal hundreds of tiny teeth. Kate enlarged her eyes in shock as she flew towards it's open maw. A loud gunshot suddenly echoed through the chamber and It's head suddenly blew up. As soon as Kate set foot on the ground, she high-tailed it out of there and ran back towards Hutch and Candu. The three of them spotted a group of four humans entering the chamber.

The Losers Club had found It's chamber and were now surrounding the black wolf's form. Bill and Mike both had their shotguns poised towards It, while Ben and Richie had a sword and a large tree branch, respectively.

Kate, Hutch, and Candu, started creeping back towards where Claws was, but a low moan echoed through the chamber, which made them stop. They looked up towards the black wolf and enlarged their eyes in shock when they saw it changing form. It grew larger and It's fur was replaced by beige clothing, while It stood on two legs. It grew red hair and It's face was all white with red markings.

"Hello…" Pennywise greeted, then cackled maniacally, which made Kate's fur stand on end.

"Hey!" Bill called, then It turned in his direction.

"You know me?! Your cousin killed my brother!" He shouted, then blasted It's face with the shotgun.

"I am the Eater of Worlds!" It growled, as It grew even larger.

"You're more of a clown than your cousin!" Richie shouted, then It shrunk a little bit. Kate and the others couldn't even comprehend what was happening, but they knew that somehow these humans knew what they were doing.

"We should get out of here. Anyone see where those humans came from?" Kate asked, then Hutch pointed towards the other end of the chamber where there was a tunnel entrance.

"Let's go." She said, then they ran towards the exit while getting Claws along the way. The four of them, plus Scar who was being carried by Claws, ran towards the tunnels, but before they could reach the exit, Mike happened to step in their way and they stopped.

"Go back! Go back!" Kate shouted. They suddenly heard a whimper and turned to see It was now quite small and lying on the ground while the four humans cautiously approached It.

"You're weak." Bill said.

"You're a clown." Richie added.

"You're nothing." Mike said. Pennywise's form began to seemingly deflate as Bill crouched down.

"You are just a stupid clown trying to act tough." He said, as he shoved his hand into Its chest and pulled out Its heart. It tried to grab it with small baby hands, but It was too weak.

"No…" It muttered, as the Losers Club held Its heart in their hands. Kate and the others watched in confusion at what the humans were doing.

"I think they're killing that thing." Candu said, then Kate growled.

"Not if I kill it first!" She exclaimed, then ran towards the ledge.

"Wait, Kate don't!" Hutch shouted, but she had already climbed up onto the ledge and was running towards the group of humans. She leaped into the air and snatched It's heart out of their hands and into her jaws.

"Holy fuck!" Richie exclaimed in shock, as he instinctively brought his hand back to his self. Without wasting a moment, Kate crushed It's heart in her jaws and It screamed as the humans watched her in shock. Three bright orbs descended from the ceiling of the chamber and the humans looked away from them. Hutch and Candu noticed and instinctively did the same, while Kate did as well. Claws was too busy focusing on Scar to notice what was happening, but Scar began to wake up and he opened his eyes to see the three orbs of light begin to diminish.

"No…" It moaned, as It's body began to disintegrate.

"Well… that was unexpected." Bill said. Kate looked up at the humans and turned her ears back in fear.

"Back off." Mike said, then the others took a few steps back and Kate bolted away from them.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Bill said, then the four of them began to leave. Mike stopped and looked back to see Kate approaching Claudette's deceased form.

"Mike? You coming?" Bill called back to him.

"Yeah! I'll be right with you! I just need to check something out first." Mike said, then Bill shrugged and followed the others out. Mike let out a deep breath and cautiously approached the golden-tan she-wolf. She quickly noticed him and let out a light growl in warning, then he stopped and held up his hands.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said, as he slowly crouched down. Kate stopped growling, but continued watching him warily.

"She was your daughter, wasn't she?" Mike asked, then Kate slightly enlarged her eyes in surprise.

"I recognize her. She was at our campsite with her siblings." He added.

"Ooh… those pups will be in so much trouble when I get back." Kate muttered under her breath, but Mike chuckled.

"I take it you told them not to, didn't you?" He asked, then Kate stared at him incredulously.

"You… can understand me?" She asked, then he nodded. Kate quickly pounced on him and growled in his face.

"What are you?! No human can understand wolves!" She growled.

"You think I'm the thing that murdered your daughter. I'm not. I learned how to understand wolves, the same way I would learn another language. It took me over twenty years to learn…" Mike explained, then he slowly sat up as she got off him.

"…but I am human." He finished.

"Alright… if you're human, then you wouldn't know It's origins." Kate said.

"That's not fair. I spent nearly thirty years learning all I could about It, including It's origins." Mike replied.

"Besides, I just helped kill It." He added, then Kate sighed and looked back towards her daughter's remains.

"Could I… get your help?" Kate asked.


Bill stepped out of the tunnel and back onto the surface to find it was already dark. Richie and Ben stepped out behind him, while Bill scanned the area around them with his flashlight.

"Alright, let's get back to the campsite as quickly as possible-" He started, just as they were enveloped in light. Bill turned to see Ranger Denbrough step out of his ATV.

"May I ask what you're all doing out here this late?" He asked.

"Uhh, we just went on an afternoon hike and lost track of time." Bill answered.

"Really? Then why did I get an anonymous tip that three guys with your exact descriptions, sword and all…" Mr. Denbrough explained, gesturing towards Ben.

"…were going around shooting?" He asked, then the three stared at him in disbelief.

"You three are coming with me." He said, then Bill sighed in reluctance.

"Wait, what about Mike?" Richie asked under his breath, so the ranger wouldn't hear him.

"He'll be fine. Let's just get this done with, then we'll head back to the campsite." Bill said, as they followed Mr. Denbrough to his ATV.


Humphrey was wandering through one of the many tunnels, looking for Kate and the others. A light breeze suddenly blew through the tunnel and ruffled Humphrey's fur. Mist crept up behind him inside the tunnel and Humphrey spotted the silhouette of a wolf within.

"Humphrey…" A female voice called, then he gasped.

"Mom?" He asked, then a light gray she-wolf stepped out of the mist with a warm smile.

"Son." She said, then Humphrey ran towards her and tackled her in a hug.

"I thought I lost you. That day when the Rogues attacked and Dad…" He said, then trailed off as he started sniffing her fur. He pulled away and frowned before slowly backing away, causing her to frown.

"What is it, Son?" She asked.

"What are you?" He asked, then she frowned.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She said, as he continued to back away from her.

"You're not my mother." Humphrey said, then she chuckled.

"Of course I am, Sweetie." She replied, then he shook my head.

"Where's my daughter? I could smell her on you." He asked, then she sighed.

"Just forget about that, okay? Come here." She said.

"No." Humphrey replied, firmly. She sighed and clicked her tongue.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way." She said, then smiled, revealing thousands of sharp teeth in a toothy grin.

Her entire body grew larger and gradually morphed into a hideous creature. Humphrey watched It morph into a sludge-like substance, then grew spikes all over It's body and started inching towards him. It suddenly stopped after a short distance, then stood up and screeched, revealing a massive maw of teeth on its underside. Humphrey yelped and bolted out of there with the creature hot on his tail.


Hutch and Candu led the way through the tunnels, while Claws carried Scar on her back. He was fully conscious now and the shock of losing his hindlegs had subsided, so he was now in constant pain. Claws accidentally stepped on a loose rock and slipped, causing Scar to wince in pain from the sudden movement.

"Sorry…" Claws muttered, as she regained her balance and continued following Hutch and Candu. They came to a deadend in the tunnel and Candu sighed.

"You're lost, aren't you?" Hutch asked.

"I'm not lost!" Candu snapped.

"Alright, alright, you're not lost." Hutch said, defensively.

"It's just… I swear this was the way we came in." Candu said. Claws sighed, then very gently placed Scar on the ground before laying down to rest.

"Well, then we go back and retrace our steps." Hutch said.

"We did that. That's how we got here. This is the exit." Candu replied, then they heard pawsteps approaching behind them.

"Oh, no…" Mike muttered, as he stared at the blocked exit. He was carrying Claudette's body, which was wrapped up in his jacket that he had taken off, and holding a flashlight to light the tunnel. Hutch and Candu started growling at him, while Claws positioned herself over Scars protectively.

"Don't worry, he's helping us get out of here." Kate said.

"Unfortunately… I don't think we will be any time soon." Mike said, then the others barked in surprise.

"You… can understand us?" Hutch asked.

"Long story short, yes." Kate answered, as Mike placed his jacket and its contents on the ground.

"This is impossible…" Mike muttered, as he approached the tunnel wall.

"It's a dead end, human." Candu muttered, but Mike shook his head.

"No… we killed It. It's not possible. The deadlights appeared and everything." He muttered.

"Deadlights? Those wouldn't happen to be those three blinding lights, would they?" Scar asked.

"Wait… you saw them?" Mike asked, as he turned to face him, then Scar nodded.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no." Mike muttered, as he raised his hand to his head. A low moan suddenly echoed through the tunnel coming from behind them.

"What is that?" Claws asked. They heard rapid pawsteps approaching, then Hutch, Candu, and Kate stood in defensive positions. Claws stood over Scar protectively and they all heard a panicked scream.

"Wait, that's Humphrey!" Kate exclaimed. Humphrey appeared out of a side tunnel a few hundred metres down, then he frantically changed direction and ran towards them. Mike pulled his shotgun from his back and cocked it before pointing it down the tunnel. Humphrey skidded to a stop and narrowed his eyes at the end of the barrel, but Kate quickly pulled him aside just as the creature sped out of the side tunnel.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Kate exclaimed, then it screeched and revealed its underside covered in teeth.

"Dig a way out of here!" Mike yelled, then Kate nodded towards Hutch and Candu and they started pulling clumps of dirt away from the blocked exit. Mike began blasting It with his shotgun, but It only screeched in annoyance.

"Kate?" Humphrey asked, then Kate turned towards him and saw him staring at Mike's jacket off to the side. She sat down beside him and placed a paw on his back.

"I know." She said, then they leaned against each other and mourned in silence for a brief moment. Mike's shotgun suddenly clicked and he yelled in frustration.

"I'm out!" He shouted, then Kate looked down the tunnel and saw the creature approaching. Kate ran in front of the creature, then bared her fangs and snarled. It stopped briefly before slowly morphing into the black wolf with a sinister smile.

"Cute." It said.

"I'm not afraid of you." Kate growled, then it chuckled which made Kate's fur stand on end.

"Everyone's afraid of something… and I know yours." It replied, then It's face fell apart into tiny black specks and the rest of It's body did as well. The pile of black things writhed and moved, then they suddenly grew larger and thousands of spiders ran from the pile towards the group, crawling up onto the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Kate enlarged her eyes in shock and backed away in fright.

"Okay…" Mike muttered, as he pulled a can of hairspray and a small lighter. He held up the can of hairspray and the lighter in front of it, then he blew a massive wave of fire towards the onslaught of creepy crawlies. They were all instantly incinerated, but more and more kept coming, faster than Mike could burn them.

"You almost out?!" Mike shouted, then Hutch climbed out of the small tunnel he and Candu had dug, while Candu continued digging.

"We need more time." He said, before he climbed back into the tunnel.

"Shit." Mike muttered, as he continued throwing fire at the spiders. The can suddenly stopped and Mike shook it, but nothing happened after he tried to spray it.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, as he desperately tried to get it working again.

"Maggie must've played with it while she was in the camper." He muttered. The spiders formed back together, then roots suddenly burst out the wall and wrapped around Scar before they pulled him into the wall and he disappeared. Claws turned around to see where he was moments before, then more roots suddenly wrapped around her hindleg and she was quickly pulled away.

"Claws!" Kate shouted, but it was too late. Scar appeared out of the wall beside It, wrapped up in roots, while It held Claws up with It's paw. It opened It's maw filled with sharp teeth, then clamped It's jaw on Claws' chest, while grabbing her lower torso with It's other paw and quickly ripped her apart. Her head and other body parts splattered all over the tunnel walls and ground, while the roots in Scar's mouth muffled his scream. It turned towards him and slammed down, feasting on him. The sound of flesh ripping and bones crunching echoed through the tunnel, while his Scar's screams drowned everything else out.

"No!" Kate screamed, while Mike just looked on in disbelief, then she noticed Humphrey was approaching It and she ran over to stop him.

"Humphrey, don't!" She screamed, then she tried to stop him by grabbing his tail in her jaws.

"Everyone was right, Kate. There was a reason Alphas and Omegas weren't allowed to be together. Simply put, I could not protect our daughter." He said.

"No! That wasn't your fault! Don't blame yourself for that!" Kate exclaimed, then he turned to face her and held her face in his paw.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Stinky or Runt, or especially you. I love you, Kate, and I always will." He said, then ran towards It.

"No, Humphrey!" Kate screamed, as It grew larger until It was standing on top of a dark mass. A giant tentacle shot out of the dark mass and headed straight for Humphrye, but he managed to quickly dodge it. More quickly came at him, but he continued to dodge them until he reached a large root sticking out of the wall. He grabbed it in his jaws and pulled with all his might, pulling it out of the wall and bringing large clumps of dirt with it. Kate immediately figured out what he was doing, as she watched the root come out closer to the ceiling every time Humphrey pulled at it.

"Humphrey, don't!" She screamed, but he jumped at the root in the ceiling and brought it down with his weight. Dirt started falling from the ceiling and gradually larger and larger clumps fell until the ceiling began falling apart. Kate watched Humphrey smile at her from the other side of the falling dirt and rocks, before It growled and smacked him to the side.

"No!" Kate screamed, then the rest of the ceiling fell and separated them.

"We're through!" Candu's voice shouted from the small tunnel behind them. Mike picked up his jacket and Claudette's body inside, then stuffed it up the tunnel, where Hutch and Candu pulled it up. He ran over to Kate, who was still staring at the wall in shock, while they could hear It trying to get through to them, and he picked her up and pushed her into the tunnel, before he hoisted himself up through to the surface.


A/N: Well, it's been six months since I posted a chapter for this story and I really apologize for that, but either there's been too much going on or I didn't have the motivation to write because I haven't written in so long. Again, I'm sorry, but I do plan to finish this story with twenty chapters and have them finished by the end of next week (December 20th, 2021, at the very latest).

Also, as a fair note, I did have up to Chapter 10 finished, but I wasn't posting, because I was going in a direction I wasn't sure was going to work and it didn't, so I had to rewrite what I had written. Not all of it has to be rewritten, just some important/key parts, though that's still the majority of the chapters.

From now on, as soon as a chapter is finished, I'll post it. Should be once a day, maybe twice a day, depending on how much I can get done. Tomorrow, I have yet another appointment, which I have to be at for eight in the morning (which I have to be leaving by at least six to make it, because of where I live. Ugh…), so because I'm going to be tired, I might not get much written.

I hope everyone else is doing alright and stay healthy!

Till next time,

~Demonwolf102