After a bizarre and gory murder of three friends, you'd think everyone would go into hiding. What would you do if there was a serial killer on the loose targeting relatively anyone? Age has found Kate in a cave crying far away from Jasper, Winston and Tony are taking care of the crowds, and Humphrey along with Garth think they're on to something but they're really not, sad. Lastly, I'd like to say sorry for the graphic violence and gore in the last chapter, and for what will be in this one too. Dun, dun, duh…

Better Than This

Chapter 5

Under The Water

"Wait, you're Kate? The Kate that Humphrey keeps talking about?" Age asked a distraught Kate. But she seemed to light up at the mention that Humphrey talks about her.

"He…he talks about me?" She said, smiling and sniffing.

"Of course he does. From what I've seen, he loves you more than anything. In fact, so far as I know, he's out there looking for you right now!" Age told Kate about Humphrey's pursuit.

"Oh, that's so sweet of him. I thought he'd never forgive me for running off on him like that." She spoke to the rock beneath her at first, and then she turned to Age. "Do you know where he is right now?" Kate asked him.

"Nope, sorry Miss Kate; all I know is that three wolves have been murdered by some guy who doesn't play around, and Humphrey and Garth are out in the woods unaware of it." Age shook when he told the news to Kate.

"What, there's been a murder and Humphrey's out in the woods with Garth?" She frantically asked him. Age nodded, "We have to go find them! They might be in danger, or worse." She didn't wanna think about what 'or worse' meant. "Let's go…" She said and walked out of the cave in her proud Alpha stance.

"Kate, you don't have to do that around me…I'm from New York, I view everyone the same way, Alpha or Omega." Age said in a snooty tone. Kate just glanced at him and then remembered something big.

"Hey, um…who are you?" She'd been so busy thinking of Humphrey and the sudden murder that she had forgot to ask for this wolf's name.

"Pardon me Miss Kate…" Age said trying to be formal, while still not really showing any signs that he cared she was an Alpha. "My name is Age; I'm new to the park. And I must say, you covered up your scent very well. When I followed it here, I thought I was following my brother's." Age complimented her. Kate didn't know what he was talking about after he said 'covering your scent'.

"Age, what are you talking about? I never covered up my scent. They never taught us how to disguise our smells so they seemed like someone else's." Kate countered to his compliment.

"You didn't hide your scent?" Kate shook her head, "But then how did…" The truth hit Age. The murder must've somehow made their scent lead to her, that way he could strike again on someone, and that someone was probably Humphrey and Garth. Kate saw the truth in Age's eyes, and she knew what he was thinking.

"Well then what are we standing around here for? We have to fine them and fast!" Kate shouted and immediately stuck her nose to the ground and sniffed as hard as she could. Age saw her struggle; clearly she wasn't picking anything up.

"I told you Kate, this wolf, whoever they are means business. If they could disguise their scent, I'm sure they could hide someone else's too. But let me give it a try anyway." Age offered and inhaled deeply into the air and tried to find Humphrey's smell. Kate waited in anticipation, but after a few moments she couldn't take it any longer.

"Please tell me you have something!" She begged. Age just looked at her and smiled.

"Well, I don't know if it's Humphrey's, but I've definitely smelled it before. I can't seem to remember whose it is though." Age explained about the scent he found.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Show me where!" Kate demanded. Age understood why she was in such a rush, the thought of losing her love was probably too much for her to handle, even if it was just a mere thought.

Age just nodded his head, and smelled the air again. Afterwards, he turned his head in a number of direction, and once he was locked firmly in a south-bound direction he dashed off into the woods and away from the cliffs. Kate followed right behind him, but when she did lose him in the brush or because he was moving too fast, she just called out his name and he ran back to her. After a little while the smell was growing stronger, even though they were still far outside of Jasper, the smell was starting to get stronger and stronger. Soon, Kate even started to pick up the smell.

"Hey…" Kate said all of a sudden. "You hear that?" She asked him, and when Age picked up his ears, he heard two voices in the brush, about a hundred yards away he guessed.

"Yeah, I can hear someone talking." Age reassured her with a confirmation of what she asked. But Kate just gave him a very confused look.

"You can hear voices?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow. "All I could hear was a rustle of leaves, and a few patted footsteps." She gave him a strange look again. "You did say you're new to the pack right?" Age shook his head.

"I'm not part of the pack Kate, I'm new to the park, I said." Age said once again. Kate just tilted her head and wondered how he could do such a thing. After a brief glance between the two, Age's ear twitched and heard a noise. He moved in front of Kate and leaned in against the ground, pushing his ear up against it. Kate didn't understand what he was doing. Age then smiled and started wagging his tail, and after that he turned to Kate. "Kate…would you like to see Humphrey again?" Kate's eyes grew, and she nodded yes, while at the same time started to cry.

Age then gestured for her to run next to him, and they ran forward in the brush on the rough forest floor. Kate had dozens of possible apologizes to say and do, she couldn't think of one that seemed good enough for running out on their first official howl. As the leaves and rocks on the ground continued to pass them by they found themselves staring down a deep chasm. Nothing a smooth jump wouldn't fix though, as they landed, Age though he heard a voice call his name from below in it.

Age…

He looked over the side of the ledge to look down, and he saw nothing. Scared and freaked out, he ran some more with Kate until there was no question about it when they heard, "Kate, where are you?" It was Humphrey. Age and Kate looked at one another and smiled, and ran to the voice. When Age ran out of the forest, he found Humphrey and Garth out in the middle of a clearing, with a stream running through; they weren't in Jasper, but it looked a lot like it. Kate came up behind Age, and with tears dripping down her face, she uttered one word.

"Humphrey…" He somehow heard it, and when he turned around he saw Kate and Age. Humphrey ran to her calling her name and feeling so warm and happy on the inside. She collided with him on the ground and it wasn't long before they were licking one another nonstop. "Oh Humphrey, I'm so sorry for running away, I was just…" Humphrey stopped licking her, pulled her into a kiss, after which Kate looked like she was dazed.

"I don't care Kate, I'm just glad that you're safe. I've been so worried about you, please don't do that again." Humphrey confessed his feeling out to her. She helped him up and put her paw on his.

"I promise Humphrey, in fact, one of the reasons I was so upset was because I knew I made you sad. Which quite frankly was worse of a feeling than why I was really crying; still I'm so glad to see you!" She said again and hugged Humphrey very tight.

He had a hard time breathing but he didn't care, he just returned the affection, Age watched this, and then after a smiled and a sarcastic shaking of his head he walked over to Garth. "Not even been here a full day, and you're already making miracles." Garth said with gratitude on his face.

"Don't think about, I know what that kind of love feels like. I met someone today…" Age responded and started thinking about Hayley.

After Kate and Humphrey were done cuddling and licking, for now anyway, she ran over to Age with Humphrey. "Thank you so much Age! Without your nose, I never would've found him!" Humphrey got curious as to why she said this.

"Uh Kate, you're an Alpha? Couldn't you find me on your own?" Humphrey asked. Kate shook her head. "Huh, looks like Age still has the sharpest senses of all of us still. Good going…bro." Humphrey called Age. Age was thankful, but he aroused suspicion with his next statement.

"Thanks Humphrey, and to think I never even found that scent I was tracking." He said and laughed. Kate and Garth both looked at him funny.

"Wait…what? You were following a smell, and that smell wasn't Humphrey's or Garth's?" Kate asked with confusion and shock in her face.

"Nope, not at all, the smell I got was way different than theirs. In fact, it almost smelled watery, like it was trapped in water." Age laughed again thinking nothing of it, but Garth was beginning to worry.

"Age…" Garth said to him in a stern voice, "Take us to that scent, right now." Garth commanded him. Age shook with fright a little and then simply sniffed the air again, and then told them which way to go.

He led them up the stream a little bit, but while walking, Age felt a strange presence. It was a feeling like someone was watching him. After a point he turned his head to a few sides, and he thought he caught glimpse of a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at him from behind the brush, but he turned away out of fear and kept walking. "Okay, it should be right up here." Age said and turned a corner near a mountain side, but when he turned and saw the section of the stream, he froze in place. When the others saw it too, they understood why. All over the part of the creek was wolf bodies, at least half a dozen. Two were hanging from overhead pine trees, dangling into the water and slowly washing their red blood downstream. Another was torn into four pieces, one caught on a rock in the water, the other three resting on land and being scavenged on by flies and maggots. Age though was going to throw up, but as he and the others moved through the area looking over the carcasses and the hung corpses, he noticed a deeper section of the stream. Four bodies total, somehow weighed down and being tormented at the bottom. The current moved some of them further than other, but one body stood out to Garth. In was late at night, and despite the redness of the blood from other bodies flowing down the creek and obscuring his view, it was no question a body of pure white. Upon a closer look, his heart stopped.

"LILY!" And he dove into the water and grabbed her and pulled her out. Age and the other two heard his cry, and Kate began crying over her sister's seemingly drowned body. Garth wasn't crying, he didn't know what to do. Age knelt down to Lily's damp and soaked figure and held out his ear to her heart. And after this, he pulled Kate away, and smiled warmly.

"It's okay, she's alive. Barely, but her being underwater for that long made her unconscious, she's probably in nothing more than a coma." Kate still cried, how could she not? Nothing could be done for Lily at the moment; at least she could breath, which alone would be enough for now.

Later into the night, after the gang had decided to get some sleep, and cold wind blew through the section of the stream, it blew through the hanging bodies and gored remained of carcasses that scattered the ground and polluted the water. Age woke from an exceptionally strong breeze and at the same time, he heard the same ghostly voice from before call him name.

Age…

As terrified as he was, he followed the sound to the nearby mountain side. The wind sharply blew up the side and forced Age to follow the path up the mountain. It was early in the morning, the thin line of red and orange was appearing on the horizon, which Age could see clearly from where he was. As he turned around and looked up on a rock, there stood he. The very same ghostly yellows eyes that he saw staring at him in the woods. Age wasn't mistaken, they were glowing, and he was shaking horribly with fear. The killer stood his ground and smiled, his maw and fore paws covered in loose blood and chunks of fresh flesh. His teeth dripped of blood, and he licked it up and seemed to enjoy it, his fur was a dark red color, Age guessed it was stained from all the wolves he's kill. Age regained his focus and stood the killer right in his glowing yellow eyes, and when the blood red wolf spoke, the whole mountain quivered with fear.

"At last, we meet…"

A lot less gory than the three wolves before, but still pretty bad. Don't worry, Lily isn't dead, she's just in a coma. For those who care, the next chapter will be the talk between Age and the killer, seems like something he wouldn't do. Again, sorry for the gore, but this story isn't just rated M for the blood, it's also or the love, that come soon enough, wait and see.