Chapter 1
The red and white furred wolf-dog's eyes opened and he blew out a long breath. His jaws parted in a yawn, briefly revealing his many gleaming white teeth. Then his jaw clicked shut, and he stretched out his muscles, still stiff from the night, and cricked his neck.
"So this is what it feels like to get old…" Kodi muttered to no-one but himself. He had turned six years old last winter, and though that was only middle age, he felt a lot older than he should have. Part of that was because he had no one or nothing to live for, except for himself.
Despite the fact that Kodi had saved a world, in his world he was an outcast. Nome had gradually abandoned him. His family had all moved away, or died, case in point being his parents. He was the only one of his family now left in the town. Nome was now ruled by a new generation of dogs, and any of those who had been his friends before had forgotten him as well, or they had also moved away. That left him pretty much alone.
Kodi didn't know why he stayed, it was a mystery even to him. But something kept him here. He knew, sooner or later he'd find out what. Kodi hoped it would be sooner, rather than later.
He now lived on his father's boat, now his. Or what was left of it. The thing had deteriorated significantly in the past years, almost like Kodi himself. It was barely a frame now, forgotten and struggling to survive. Feeling hungry, Kodi crawled out from underneath of what little remained of the once proud structure, and padded towards town.
He was grateful that he wasn't hated or teased. It was just as though he was invisible, not seen at all. Even humans now avoided him. Kodi hadn't said a word to anyone in almost three months, and was sure that by now he'd forgotten by now how to socialize.
Pushing the conundrum out of his head for the moment, Kodi concentrated on something basic. How many paw-steps it took to walk to the outskirts of Nome. He already knew the number by heart. It was roughly 170 steps at a walking pace, and 70 steps at a running pace.
Kodi sighed. That just showed how bad it was getting for him. By the time he reached Nome, his number was just about dead on. It took 168 steps for him to reach the town. Upon actually reaching the town, he made sure to stick to the alleys and less-popular paths. He simply wasn't up to anyone talking to him.
It pained him to realize just how bad his condition was getting. But what pained him even more was the literal pain in his shoulder.
"What the heck?" He muttered to no-one but himself. That is, no-one until he saw the two humans closing in on him. Kodi realized what had happened to him as he whipped his head around to look at his shoulder.
Tranquilizer. Kodi felt dizzy, and fell with a half-hearted growl to the ground. What did someone need from him that they couldn't simply show him? Kodi shrugged mentally, since he was unable to actually perform the action. He was effectively paralyzed, though he could still breathe and blink, and look around only slightly.
He half hoped they were taking him to be a sled dog again. He longed to run, though he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to do it anymore that was how out of shape he was. Kodi was only acutely aware of the feelings as the two men lifted him. He finally got a good look at their faces, and was immediately repulsed.
These two looked like the criminal type, the kind that cared about no one but themselves. And the strong smell of alcohol didn't exactly engender good feelings in him, either. Kodi would've struggled, had he been able. But part of him actually wanted to see where these guys were going to take him. It surely had to be a lot more exciting than sitting around bored all day.
So Kodi allowed himself to relax, as the two men smuggled him out of town, and… into the forest? Well, one thing was for sure. This day was about to get a lot more interesting.