Lokha, Debbie, & Star's new owners are mine. The others belong to their rightful owners. I hope you like it. I like writing interesting stories. ^^ Nuff' said. XD
A Star is Born
By
Carlint
"Lokha, I'm scared…" A young female dog whimpered, cowering next to her mate, under a log that would only shield them for a short time.
"I'm sorry, Debbie, I took us the wrong way. If we perish, & you want to blame someone, blame me."
"It's ok. Right now, we must get the pup to safety? He's the only one we have left."
"What will we do with him? He's six & a half weeks old & there's no one in this foreign terrain I trust, especially with our baby.
"You have to trust someone, there's not much time left." Lokha sighed.
"…I know…you're right…but…who?" Debbie looked out the back of the log.
"We might be seen, but, if we run as fast as we can while their not looking, maybe we can find someplace safe for him."
"Maybe. Ok. On my mark." They turned themselves around, cautious to be quiet.
"Ready…" Lokha whispered. "Now!" With the pup in Debbie's mouth, they leaped forward, disappearing into the forest just as the other dogs turned around. They had seen nothing clear, but, they followed. Debbie & Lokha ran as fast as they could to get through the brush & find an alley, or anyone but those dogs behind them. While they ran, Debbie's vision blurred. And she remembered when they had had her litter of puppies…
"Lokha, look, they're 3 weeks old, now." Debbie said. Lokha looked proudly upon the puppies, all six of them.
"I just hope nothing terrible will ever happen to them…" About three weeks later, they caught a group of dogs, hurting a puppy, not of their own, & tried to stop them, only to be chased back home, where they tried to protect their own. The dogs cornered them & only 1 puppy survived. They had gotten out through a crack when the dogs were eating. They rushed & rushed through the town, but, the dogs followed them, the leader promising himself he'd get the last puppy. When the two dogs could run no longer, they hid behind an alley, & then, under a log, & had the dogs, sniffing & getting closer to them by the second…
Now, here they were, running for the dear life of their last puppy, & willing to give their lives for his. When they finally came to an alley, where at last, they found a friend of theirs.
"Thank goodness." Debbie said.
"What?" the dog asked.
"Listen…" Debbie panted. "We've got dogs chasing us…about 7 or 8 of them…we can't run forever & they want our puppy. Please, please, can you take care of him? We may have to die to save his life. His name is Star…I'm sure he'll grow fond of you as he grows." They heard dogs barking from behind. "Oh, no. We have to go lead them off the trail."
"Ok. I'll take good care of him." the dog said.
"Thank you." Lokha & Debbie ran out from the alley, while the other dog hid behind the dumpster until they passed & continued running. Eventually, they were cornered, & a fight broke out. No dog but any that survived knew how it ended.
About a few months later, the young puppy had grown a little older. He was taller & a little grayer, too. The dog that had taken care of him as a puppy had let him go when he was about a month old. He was trotting through snow in a big snow storm. Then, his right rear leg suddenly sank into the snow, deeply, with a cracking noise. He hadn't seen the ice that was buried under the snow. He tried to pull it out of the snow, getting colder with every movement, only to feel a hard sharp object pierce into his leg. He cried out in pain. He collapsed to the ground, leaving his leg as still as he could, thinking this moment would be his last. He sniffled because the cold air made his nose runny, & after a few minutes, he passed out…
When the young dog woke up, he was in a house, with his leg propped up on a pillow & wrapped up to heal. He managed to lift his aching head & looked around, his vision still a bit blurry. Blinking cleared it. He saw an old man, sitting in a chair, behind him. He soon found he was sitting, or rather, lying on a rug, & there was a warm fireplace in front of him. He lay there, confused. Was it the man who had saved him? His thoughts & silent questions were answered when the man finally spoke up.
"You look like you put quit a fight in your life." he said, "I thought you may have been dead." A young woman walked in, & gasped at the dog's leg.
"What happened to the fellow?" she asked.
"Oh, you wouldn't believe it. I found him, frozen in the snow, unconscious, & his leg was stuck & had been cut badly by a sharp rock & his blood had already froze slightly onto his fur. The poor thing nearly died. I couldn't resist taking him & helping him stay alive."
"Oh…"
"You know the weirdest thing is that when I saw his wound, out in the cold, I felt a strange feeling like he was homeless & someone had risked their life for him before. Like it had gone on all his life & now, without me saving him, he'd probably be dead by now." He paused & chuckled. "Well, I suppose the last part is just common sense."
"Yeah." the woman agreed.
"If you leave someone frozen out in the cold, it's gonna die."
"Yep. So…what do we call him?"
"Well, he had no tag & there's certainly no way I'm taking him to the pound. Hmm…I don't know. I'm not that great with names, but…" Suddenly, when he looked at the dog, he stared back, still with a look of confusion & a cute, nervous smile. Star. It was the first word that popped into his head for some reason. Just at the very thought of naming the dog, the name just seemed to zoom in front of him. He thought it over & said it s few times in his head to see before asking his wife about it. Star. Star…
Every time he looked at the dog & thought the name, it seemed just to fit perfectly, like someone had already named him that, but, there was no one else left, now.
"Hey, honey, how about Star?"
"Hmm? Why Star?"
"I don't know. It just sort of…came to me. Every time I look at him, that's what my mind addresses to him as. It's what I picture he'd come o without question even before learning it's his name. Like he learned it…before he was even ready to on alone…"
"Roger…I don't know how you feel these strange things…" She gave a long pause & looked at the dog. Then, she felt it, too. She didn't want to say so, so, instead, she said,
"But, Star is a good name…sounds good."
"Ok, then. Looks like we got a new family member!"
"Looks like. I'll go make some food for him. I'm sure after that long journey, he must be hungry…"
Star lapped some water & was still silent since when he was rescued. He looked up at his new owner.
"What's up?" the man asked. Star whined & walked to him. He put his front paws on his legs & pulled himself half-way up. He looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Aww…you're so cute…"
"Honey, what are you doing?" his wife asked, walking in.
"Look at Star…must be his way of thanking us…"
"Or asking for more food…" His wife chuckled. "I'll get a little more." The young man giggled.
"Ok, now, down, boy." he said, putting Star's paws on the ground once again. He laid his head on his paws & sighed. Roger giggled. "Good boy." Then, Star's ears perked up at the sound of Roger's wife, coming in to bring him food.
"Here you go." she said, putting a bowl of dog food down in front of him. He sat up & ate some. "Looks like he got his ear bit." Roger's wife said.
"Oh?" Roger looked at his right ear, which looked slightly torn. "I suppose so. It appears fine, now. Like it's been there for awhile…"
"Yeah." Star looked at Roger, than, at his wife. He smiled & jumped onto Roger's lap again.
"Aren't you cute…" Star licked his hand.
"And sweet." his wife added. Star barked in a sweet tone, some what excitedly.
"I think he knows what's going on, now." Roger's wife said.
"You're probably right, Marie."
About a year later, the family was preparing to move to a new town. Star watched & spun around while Roger & Marie packed & moved their boxes. The garage was open, so, he walked out & sniffed the air & played in the grass. He saw another dog, walking down the street. He barked, excitedly & jumped around, but, was obedient to his owners not to go out of the yard. The other dog was a little poodle, who barked madly at Star until her owner choked her.
"Hmm…weird dog." Star said to himself. He ran over to his owners, who had their last load ready to go. He barked.
"Ok, boy, get in the back seat of the truck." They opened the door & let him in. Then, they got it the front & drove away. Star poked his head & paws out the window & looked around while the car drove.
Around nighttime, while they drove, Star was asleep on the back seat. After a few more hours, they finally made it to town during the day time, right when Star woke up & looked out the window. He barked & pulled his head in. The car drove into a driveway & they got out.
"Wow, a long drive…& yet, still so much to do…" Marie said. Roger opened the door & let Star out. His ears perked up & he sniffed the yard around while the owners unpacked. When Star made it over to the trashcan on the corner of the yard, he sniffed it & pulled away. Then, he kept exploring. He saw some dogs, digging in a trash can across the street & ran over. He wagged his tail, jumped up & barked. The two dogs turned around.
"Who are you?" one asked.
The other one shook his tail, before turning around, splashing snow on Star's nose. Star shook it off.
"Weird, there's white stuff all over the ground." he said.
"Uh…yeah, it's called 'snow'. Maybe you've heard of it." the same dog said.
"No, uh…not really…"
"Nikki!" the other dog shouted, knocking him on the head. "Look! It's so obvious!"
"What?"
"We're out of fish." he said, picking up a fish skeleton.
"Eew…Kaltag that looks like something a cat would eat." He looked at Star. He grabbed the fish from Kaltag & threw it at him. "Here." Star looked both ways, confused.
"Who, me?"
"Yeah, who else?"
"Umm…well, you said a cat would eat it, so, I figured…"
"Oh, right. Yeah, what's it too ya'?" Nikki asked, digging in the dumpster again. Kaltag dumped down.
"Hey, you heard of that wolf-dog, yet?"
"Umm…no…is he dangerous?"
"No." Nikki stated, blankly. "Come on, we'll show you."
"Uh, ok." They ran down the white, snowy road & found a black & white Husky.
"Hey, uh…Steele, this dog here wants to come with us to see Balto."
"Is that so? Fine, then. Let's go." Star was confused, but, he followed. They found a dark & light brown wolf-dog & a goose, in the alley. Star watched, while Steele walked over to him. The goose jumped onto Balto.
"Balto, there is trouble alert." he said.
"Calm down, Boris, it's just Steele." Balto said.
"Oh, yeah…"
"Hi, Balto!" Star said, running up to him with his tail wagging. "These guys told me that you were…"
"Whoa, buddy…" Steele said, pulling him back.
"Do I know you?" Balto asked.
"Oh, uh, this is, uh…" A Steele glared at Star.
"Star?"
"Right, Star. Yeah, uh…"
"I just moved from California."
"Right. Anyway, now you know each other, blah, blah, blah…so, Balto, I have a question." Star walked back over to Nikki & Kaltag.
"What's that, Steele?" Balto asked.
"Yeah, what is it, doggy?" Boris asked. Then, he fell off of Balto & into the snow. "AAAHHHAAA!" He landed & popped up, covered in snow. "I am white goose, no?"
"Boris, you're already a white goose." Balto said.
"Oh, right."
"Hey, Balto, can you scratch my ear?" Star asked. Kaltag whacked him on the head. Nikki laughed.
"That was funny! Do it again!"
"I will when I need to." Kaltag replied.
"Oh…" Star mumbled on the ground.
Star had been hanging with them for awhile. He walked next to Steele.
"You know, Balto seems like a nice friend of yours. Why doesn't he ever hang out with you guys?"
"He's not…our friend." Steele replied. Star's ears went down. "He's half-wolf. And we don't hang with low-lives."
"But…Balto's not a low-life…" Steele spun around & growled. Star's ears went down low, & he turned & ran. Steele chased after him.
"Don't you run from me!" he growled. Star ended up cornered in an alley. It all seemed familiar to him for some reason, but, he couldn't recall anything he remembered. For a minute, a vision flashed of two dogs, cornered by a group of dogs, about to be attacked, then, before the attack, it faded & he opened his eyes to find Steele right in his face. He tucked his tail under his legs & his ears went down as low as they went. He felt the snow beneath him move & realized he was trembling.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"If I see you hanging with that wolf-dog, I'll turn you into kibble." Steele replied. He grabbed his neck. "Got it?" Star swallowed hard, or at least, tried to swallow.
"Got it." he choked out.
"Good." Steele dropped him & walked off. Star sank to the ground & sat there for a little moment. Balto walked by the alley & Boris tugged at his tail.
Please don't see me, please don't see me… Star thought.
"Hey, Balto, there is a chicken sale down the street. Want to go, eh?" Boris said.
"Wait…" Balto replied, stepping into the alley. He walked up to Star.
"You ok?" he asked.
"Who, me? Uh…yeah, yeah, of course. I uh…have to go, now."
"Why?" Balto hopped in front of him.
"No reason…umm…gotta catch the big chicken sale…"
"Something's wrong with you."
"What? No. what makes you think something's wrong?"
"Your tail is tucked under your legs…"
"Right…uh…" Then, he saw Steele, walking by the alley. Star zipped behind Balto.
"What's wrong?" Balto asked.
"Hey, wolf-dog!" Steele called. Balto turned his head. "Go find your own alley!"
"Since when do you hang here?"
Well, I…" He paused & saw Star's unmistakable tail, shivering out from Balto's paw. "…Who's hiding behind you?"
"Not sure." He turned around.
"Balto, no." Star whispered.
"Hey, dog, what did I just tell you about hanging with that wolf-dog?" Balto beamed & Star whimpered.
"Hey, he can talk to me if he wants." Balto said.
"Only if he wants to get hurt."
"Whose rule is this? Another rule of the pedigree?" Steele had no better comeback, so he just growled. He walked over to Balto & Balto's ears went down. Star crept past them & tried to get out of the alley, unnoticed. Steele whirled around & kicked a rock at him. It hit him the head & he stumbled sideways, hitting the wall. Yelping, he stumbled to balance & run away. Steele forgot about Balto & followed. Balto knew it would lead to trouble, so, he followed, too. Boris struggled to follow Balto. After what seemed like hours, Balto & Boris crashed into Steele, trying to stop.
"Balto, why do you run so fast?" Boris asked, out of breath.
"Get off me, wolf-dog!" Steele said. He kicked Balto & Boris off of him. Boris was under Balto when they landed.
"Balto…you can get off me, now…" he said.
"Oh, sorry, Boris." Balto said, getting on his feet. He heard Steele, growling.
"Whoa, Steele, I seriously didn't know you hated Balto." Star said.
"So, Steele, this is about me…again, isn't it?" Balto asked.
"Stay out of it, wolf-dog."
"How can I stay out of something that should involve me?"
"I said back off!"
"Hey, if it's about me, fight with me, not him."
"Do you even know what I'm fighting about?"
"I have a pretty good idea…" Steele then ignored him & raised a paw to scratch Star. Balto, seeing he couldn't word Star out of the fight, jumped onto Steele & bit down on his back, not too hard, but, enough to make him jump. Steele spun around, trying to bite Balto. Balto dodged over & over, knowing that if Steele got a hold of him, he would bite down hard. Star watched & then, ran away. When he was out of sight, Balto carefully leaped off of Steele & ran off in the other direction, followed by Boris. Instead of following them, Steele looked around. No sign of anyone. He huffed.
"I'll get that wolf-dog, yet." he said. He turned toward the direction Star had gone. "And that little wimp, too…"
To Be Continued…