How far would a man go to protect his family? His brothers, his sisters, parents, best friends, and more recently, a girlfriend. Kodi was happy, it was a happy part of his life, nobody could argue with that. He was chosen every day to be the lead dog on his favorite job in the world. "Pulling the line" as he called it. He had a beautiful girlfriend, or, as he would prefer to use the term "mates" with, considering she was a true wolf. After nearly a year, everyone has come to accept his love for a "wild animal", and Siku now gets along with everyone in town, from dogs to humans. It's just too bad that good things don't tend to last forever.
April 13th, , 1929.
I loved running, loved it so much that being accepted into a job where running was the core principle was possibly the best thing in my life... Well arguably the best thing in my life could be my mate Siku. She's amazing...
We were on the last leg of our near-daily run from White Mountain, a 90 mile journey west into the Alaskan Interior. I could already smell out our hometown, Nome, and as soon as I thought about who was there, waiting for me, the town came into view above the trees. This happened 4-6 times a week, yet every time I see home after the long 8 hour run, I still get a happy feeling in my gut. And so did the next event.
The following is a seemingly un-related back story. As you read on, keep in mind these events because they are important to the rest of the story, though right now they will seem to not make sense.
Nome sweet Nome
A wolf jumped out from the forest to our left, and nobody on the team was the least bit frightened, for they knew exactly who it was.
Siku, as she ran alongside the team, unable to get closer due to a change in the height of the snow, Dusty smiled at this.
"Kodi she does this every day, she really can't wait for you to get home?" Dusty said with a short laugh.
The team was still about 5 miles outside town.
"What can I say? I'd probably be doing the same thing if it were her running on this team."
Dusty smiled on the outside, but couldn't deny thoughts on the inside.
"He never did that when we were together and I ran the mail run... He didn't..." She thought.
About a minute later, Siku met level ground with Kodi and the team, and ran up beside him.
"Hey Siku. Having fun there?"
"It's soooo boring without you here..."
"What about mom, or dad, or Saba, or any of the other dogs in town?"
"Boring, booooring, boooooring!" She answered each name he brought up.
"You're such a pup." Kodi said with a smile.
The team plus Siku soon pulled up in front of the post office, their everyday "finish line" so to speak.
Before Kodi was able to get out of his leads, Siku jumped him, licking him all over and nuzzling his neck.
"Haha, Siku? Siku! A little bit more affectionate today I see?" Kodi said as he was on the floor, pinned down by the small white wolf.
Siku stopped, with her tongue still out slightly, and looked at Dusty and Kirby and the others, then back down to Kodi.
"I don't care. I missed you... And... I saw something scary..." Siku explained, keeping the last part down.
"Oh really? Was it a spider? Because I will kick the spiders ass if that's what you want." Kodi said.
"No... Come on!" She got down on her front paws as she rushed me.
"Haha, just let me say bye to my teammates."
He turned to see Dusty, Ralph, Kirby, Dingo and everyone else already staring at him annoyed.
"Uh... Bye."
"GO!" They all said at the same time.
Kodi jumped a bit at their combined voice, and followed Siku. She ran off and he chased her.
Dusty looked at Kirby as Kodi and Siku turned the corner.
"Ah, they really are cute together, don't you think?" Dusty said.
Kirby nodded in agreement.
Siku and Kodi bolted down a few streets, sprinted down alleyways, passing many dogs and humans along the way.
"Hey there's that wolf pup again. She's being chased by our lead dog it looks like." One of the looking citizens said.
"Heh, reminds me of the old days when our lead dog used to chase that same husky's mom around." Wilson said as he raised his coffee to the running couple.
Kodi barked back to the man, a sort of greeting, but turned and focused on Siku. Where was she taking him?
Eventually they reached the outskirts of the town, and at this point Kodi had a hint as to where she was leading him.
"There!" She said.
It was in the middle of a large patch of land right behind Jenna's house. Kodi remembered his father saying he took this path as a short-cut to reach Jenna's house.
In the center of this field, stood a 20 foot totem pole, a symbol of cooperation between the native Inuit people and the settlers of Nome, erected about 40 years ago. How it still stood to this day lies in mystery to everyone in town.
"That? But I've shown you it before... It's just a symbol the natives gave our town back in 1885."
"Not that... Get closer to it, because I am NOT doing that again." Siku said, in a voice that Kodi had come to recognize as fear.
"What? It's just..." As he got closer, he started to hear whispering.
"You hear that?" Kodi said back to Siku.
"Yes..." Siku said. She walked back further from the totem pole.
Kodi couldn't perceive the whispering at first, but quickly realized that it was not in English.
"I... I think it's speaking to me in Inuit" Kodi said.
After he heard that there was not a reply, he turned to see Siku had walked all the way back to Jenna's house, huddling in anticipation fear.
"Huh..." Kodi said. He turned back, and walked closer to the pole, mouth still slightly open. As he neared it, the voices stopped.
He continued walking, and felt an incredible urge, it wanted him to touch noses with the wolf on the bottom of the pole... He gulped, but wanted to try it, and did so, very cautiously.
He neared the Wolfs nose on the totem pole, every inch in between seemed to last an hour... Siku stood, watching from afar. She also had the urge to touch noses with it, but she fought it off... But it looked like Kodi wasn't going to.
"Kodi! Don't do-" Kodi heard her say, but it was too late.
Kodi heard whispering again as the world froze around him and Siku's voice echoed indefinitely.
"The lesser... Lesser...LESSER... Of evils... Evils... Evils..." The voice whispered.
Kodi knew "the lesser of evils" was a term that the Inuit gave to the wolves of Alaska. They were not feared, but instead were worshipped and treated as royalty. Wolves oftentimes entered Inuit camps, and rather than be attacked by the natives, they were fed and groomed. Amazingly, the wolves never once attacked any of the Inuit tribes. The Inuit believed that wolves were "the lesser of evils" because they are still regarded as monstrous killing machines, yet they were peaceful, nice, and operated as a pack, a family group, not much unlike the Inuit people themselves.
A brilliant flash of light pierced his eyes and caused him to holler in pain. He wondered if he was blind now, as he could not see anything but white... He looked around him, first things first, he checked if Siku was still there. She was not... But something else was missing... No… the entire town was missing.
"What the..."
He tried to walk, but found that he was no longer in control of his own body.
"Let us guide you." The voice whispered.
"I allow you to take over my physical form." Kodi said... But it wasn't his words.
"What is happening? Have I gone insane?" Kodi screamed in his mind, unable to speak.
"No you have not, young one. I have simply spoken for you." A new voice said, it was a female voice.
"Wait... Why does that voice sound so familiar" Kodi replied in his mind.
"We have met before Kodiak." Aniu spoke.
A large white wolf formed before Kodi with not much more than a small sparkle.
"Aniu..."
"Correct my child."
"Wait, but my father is your child."
"You are all my children. Wolves, and dogs, and everything in between."
"That's good to know. But… Why can't I move? And where are we? And where is Siku? And Nome? And what was that whispering? And-"
"You ask too much young one, and do not pay attention to the answers you already know." Aniu spoke.
"Great, she's speaking in riddles... How annoying." Kodi thought.
"I speak in riddles because they can unlock hidden thoughts and memories deep within your conscious."
"You can read my mind... I'm sorry I guess..."
Aniu smiled and walked off a bit.
"Hey... Where are you going? I can't walk remember?"
She dissolved into the air leaving Kodi confused. He protested a bit further, but then remembered her words.
"Apparently I should already know those answers..." Kodi thought.
He looked far into where Nome used to be, he recognized a few structures... They were Inuit tents, and... Wolves? Wolves roamed free with the Inuit's...
"Correct Kodiak." Aniu said.
She formed next to him with a smile.
"So this is an Inuit village?"
Aniu nodded and walked forward towards the village.
"Walk with me."
With a small spark in his neck, Kodi felt all feeling return to his legs and body. Feeling this, he then fell to the ground but instantly stood back up, catching himself a bit too late, and hoping nobody saw that.
He scurried to catch up with Aniu; she was already half way to the village.
"Aniu I know I'm not supposed to ask questions, but where is Siku? My family? Are they okay?"
"Of course they are. They noted your absence; and Siku is currently running back to Balto and Jenna to tell them about your mysterious disappearance. No matter. I'll prevent anyone from being worried."
Kodi stood confused for a sec, but then Aniu began to mutter something.
Another form began to materialize in front of Kodi, this time it was a small white wolf, running with tears in her eyes.
A faint pop and she honed them in this new world, still running, as she collided with the ground and flipped over a few times as a result of running full speed, then finding herself with zero momentum.
"Oops, still working on preserving inertia..." Aniu said.
Siku stayed still on her back for a few seconds, all four legs sticking up, as she shook the dirt from her head. It took not even a second for her to notice Kodi, and of course caused her to jump up and collide with him, once again licking him all over his face.
"Where are we? It was so weird... You just... Disappeared into thin air!" Siku said as she stood above Kodi.
"This is an Inuit village, circa 1885 before the settlers came in from the east." Kodi explained.
"Indeed." Aniu said.
The voice startled Siku, because Aniu had not yet shown herself since Siku arrived.
"Wait... Aniu!" Siku said.
As confused as Kodi was that she already knew the mysterious white wolf spirit, even more so when she ran up and hugged her, and again even more when Aniu hugged her back.
"It's great to see you again! I've missed you so..." Siku said.
"And it is great to see my little prodigy again." Aniu patted Siku's head with a paw.
"How do you two know each other?" Kodi asked.
"That's a long story for another time, Kodiak." Aniu said.
Kodi stood there with a confused look as he watched the two wolves walk off towards the village. Once they were about 15 feet ahead of Kodi, he shook his head and thought about it for a second.
"Okay seriously! How do you two know each other!" Kodi yelled ahead.
"She's my mom." Siku said as joke without turning her head.
"What the..." Kodi replied.
"Haha, that isn't entirely accurate." Aniu said back.
"Good enough for me..." Kodi said softly as he caught up with the two.
"So why did you summon us oh great one?" Siku joked, mocking her by calling her the 'great one'.
"I have brought you to your hometown, before it was called Nome." Aniu explained to both of them.
"Why?" Kodi asked.
"To show you what is hidden. I have been granted special permissions to show you the true story behind the founding of Nome. The spirit world does not allow these kinds of journeys lightly." Aniu explained.
"But... Why?" Kodi asked again.
"Shut up Kodi!" Siku snapped back.
Aniu chuckled deeply and walked ahead further; leaving the two behind, then she vanished.
"Watch for yourselves. You are not present in this world, you can only see, but cannot be seen." Her voice echoed in their heads.
Kodi and Siku looked at each other in confusion, and then walked further.
Within a minute, they were in the heart of this Inuit village. To the right Kodi noted out many similarities in the construction of the Inuit tents. They used everything from straw to walrus blubber to build them. As he sniffed a few of them out, it became obvious that most were built from Bison husk.
Kodi examined the village people, they were simple-folk, going about their daily lives. He watched one young couple as they helped bring a large bucket of water to the village. Two people, who were sitting down quite comfortably, jumped up and ran to the couple to help bring the water in.
Cooperation. As a sled-dog, Kodi loved how they worked together towards a common goal.
Siku looked to her left, noted out a few features herself. The town had a large central fire that she could only guess was used as a place for worship. Watching the fire, a small family walked up to it, and threw some seeds into the fire. They gave off small sparkles to which the children jumped in happiness. The same family then revealed a large chunk of meat on a thick branch. The man and woman of the family helped to place the food above the large open flame, but were struggling, so three men from a nearby tent came to help them out.
While Kodi watched the villagers as they worked, to the left, Siku watched the village children as they played. She smiled at the young children as they'd chased each other around in circles, throwing rocks at each other... Siku shook her head at that. It could easily be dangerous.
She then looked back at the fire at an old man. He seemed to be praying to the Inuit gods.
"These people are so nice to each other..." Kodi said.
"And these kids play nicely..." Siku added somewhat sarcastically.
Then were the wolves. No doubt the Inuit people kept wolves at their camps as working dogs, but what shocked both, especially Siku, was that they seemed to like it here. And why wouldn't they? They were cared for, respected, fed, groomed, and played with by the entire village folk. The Inuit regarded wolves as the "sons of the great spirit" as their texts translated to, and kept them around as a sign of good luck. As long as the wolves were happy, then the spirits were happy. As a result, the wolves roamed free around the village, welcome to come and go as they pleased.
Siku's heart warmed as a tiny child, most likely no older than 4, ran up to a full grown wolf. This wolf could have eaten the child in one bite, yet it got down on its belly to allow the child to pet him. The wolf even wagged his tail like a dog, earning a safe feeling for the mother of that child as she watched from in front of her tent.
Both Kodi and Siku looked ahead, down the trail they were walking, at one thing that did not fit well with the setting… A horse-drawn coach, with many people who did not even look like they were from the same planet.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Kodi said.
"Why? You don't like horse-"
Both Kodi and Siku jumped as gunshots tore through the peaceful air. Screams of agony came from all directions as the families were torn apart instantly. A few white men jumped out of the carriage, guns drawn, and attack dogs ready, they tore apart the peaceful village quickly. A few jumped out now, and had sticks set on fire, and the rest of them were shooting others with their guns.
Kodi and Siku broke down in tears as the men set tents on fire, because they had to watch as the same family ran out on fire, screaming in agony, then finally falling to the ground motionless just feet from the tent entrance as they were burnt alive…
Siku had involuntarily yelled out to another family, knowing they could not hear her, as the tent they were in also caught fire.
These men did use fire as their main weapon, though not only. Kodi and Siku were forever scarred that moment, as they watched the men light the children of the village on fire with kerosene oil, then sat back and laughed as they ran and struggled to put it out, wishing death as their only way out at this point. The same child that Siku watched pet the wolf, was picked up, and thrown into a large fire by two of the attacking men...
"I can't watch! Please let us-"
Siku was cut off by a wolf howl. Everyone, from the white men, to whoever was left of the village, looked towards the west, as a pack of wolves came running, teeth barred, ready to rip apart the invaders. Siku read their howl, Kodi being unable to do so.
"Attack the new humans. They threaten the innocent, punishable by The Almighty Aniu." Siku relayed this to Kodi, who was still huddled in fear.
Siku crawled under Kodi's frozen form as he watched in horror at the scene before them. She felt safe under his chest, and poked her head out from his legs as he sat there motionless.
The wolves hit, and they hit hard. Killing off the white men one by one, in the most brutal fashion they could think of. The Inuit villagers cheered them on, throwing treats, beef jerky and caribou slices out to the lupine heroes.
Within minutes, the battle was done. Wolves had successfully protected what was left of the village from the attacking settlers.
The wolves whimpered in shared sorrow for the lost lives of the village, Siku watched one wolf walk to, and place his huge head on the lap of a grieving woman. She was traumatized, having seen her child thrown into a fire by the settlers. Regardless, she pet the wolf, thanking him for saving the village. The wolf licked her hand in response, but had to leave with his pack soon after.
One wolf slowly walked into the town, and, again while Kodi was oblivious to it, Siku sensed it and involuntarily lowered her ears, head and tail in submission. She recognized the wolf as the alpha of the pack.
It was rare for even the packs alpha to join in a fight, but the pack has a longstanding mutual relationship with this village, and he was prepared to die if it came to that in order to save them.
He howled to his group, which Siku once again had to relay to Kodi.
"Everyone regroup. These humans are done but there will be more who threaten the innocent tribe." The pack alpha addressed to the fighting wolves.
Kodi and Siku continued to sit there, stunned, as sounds of crying women and the anger of men could be heard. The few tents that remained standing were falling themselves, and the fires blazed on into the night. This battle alone wiped out 70% of the small population, most of them, unfortunately being the children of the village.
Siku looked to Kodi, he was still shaking... Never before in his life had he seen death come so quick and swift for anyone, let alone children...
I deleted a huge chunk of the battle because this chapter is long already lol. Stay tuned for chapter 2, as we pry further into the real origins of the settlement of Nome, Alaska.