Disclaimer: I don't own Balto or any of it's characters, nor the story or movie Eight Below. I just play with the character's of Balto and was inspired by Eight Below and decided to base this sequel on the movie.

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Where The Heart Survives

The Storm

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In the prequel to this story, Kodi's sled team found a young wolf pup and brought her home to Nome. Complications arose, towns people not ageeing, Steele's thirst for revenge and Shanti's parents wishing to reclaim their lost daughter. In the end, Shanti chose for herself and arose above the complications. She found her home in Nome, with Kodi whom she looked at as her big brother. She was Where Her Heart Had Taken Her.

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This story starts 2 months after Where the Heart Takes You, Shanti is 4 months.

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"Shanti! Please stop, I can't take it anymore!"

Shanti stopped bouncing and turned her head around to look at Kirby. He lay on the ground with his front paws on top of his head. Kirby was not a morning dog. Shanti giggled because of the irony. Most mail was delivered in the mornings.

"What's so funny?" Kirby asked in a low and tired growl.

"Nothing" Shanti answered cheerfully before bouncing away from Kirby.

"Urgh, kids" Kirby growled before closing his eyes at a faint attempt to rest some more.

"Hey, how long before we go?" Shanti asked as she came to a stop before the rest of the team, who were gathered near the sled.

"Just a few more bags" Kodi replied eagerly. Shanti wagged her tail in excitement. It did not go unnoticed.

"Eager for you first run, he?" Dusty stated. Shanti gave an excited bark in answer. The excitement pumping through her gave her the feeling she had to be loud. No sitting still, no being quiet.

"Oh please, be quiet!" Came Kirby's pathetic response a ways of from the team.

"Why, we're not sleeping, right?" Raph asked confused. Dusty rubbed up against him to sooth his worry before answering.

"Ignore Kirby. There is no need to be quiet. Kirby's just being….well Kirby"

"Still, he is much more grumpy than usual" Shanti said.

"It's because of the weather" Kodi answered. "He's not as bad when it's sunny or simply nice weather. He gets like this when it's cloudy and stormy"

"So his mood fits with the weather" Shanti understood.

"Exactly" Kodi responded.

"Okay kids, Line up!" Just the command they were hoping for. Their musher came out of the post office with the last bag.

Everyone rushed to their position in front of the sled, while the musher fastened the last bag on the sled. Kirby peeked an eye open and sighed overdramatically before slowly getting to his feet.

"Hey lazy bones! If you don't hurry I'll just run shotgun with my big brother!" Shanti called to Kirby, who was dragging his feet.

The lead position had always been something everyone fought for, well not everyone. Kodi had always wanted to be the lead dog, but had always been in a double lead. Now with Shanti having joined the sled team, their musher had placed him in the lead and Shanti next to Kirby as the two point dogs. Dusty and Raph weren't that competitive and were placed behind Shanti and Kirby as swing dogs. The last two, closest to the sled, were Sandy and Curly who were the wheel dogs.

Kirby quickened his pace, but his tail remained low. He really didn't feel like running today. He reached his position next to Shanti just as the musher finished with the harness of Dusty.

"Come on, boy" the musher spoke gently as he urged Kirby beside Shanti, in the line.

He placed him in the harness before placing one foot on the main line and stepped over to the other side to place Shanti in her harness. Shanti wagged her tail fast in excitement, but hesitated for a split second when she had to duck her head through the harness.

She didn't know why, she had trained with the team often, yet every time she hesitated a moment. She guessed it was just her instinct warning her of attacks from above her, but the others never showed such concern, as if they didn't have that instinct. But she knew they had.

As always the musher waited patiently for Shanti to make the next step, which she always did. She ducked her head and slowly lifted her front paw to step through the harness. She sighed when it was lowered on her back and started wagging her tail again.

As soon as Kodi was placed in his harness as well, they all began to bark from eagerness, except for Shanti. She howled happily among their barks.

"Mush!" the command was given and the barking and howling stopped. Instead the sound of paws hitting the snow and a sled moving through the snow took its place. They were away, racing through the last part of Nome to the outskirts leading to White Mountain.

Shanti barked as they passed the last house and entered the outskirts. Kodi responded to her bark with one of his own. Her first real run had begun.

#

Shanti had trained a lot to get ready for becoming a sled dog or in her and Kodi's case a sled wolf/dog. Still it was quite different to actually leave town and run across the outskirts. The vast white surrounding went unbroken for miles. Far of in the distance were specks of trees and behind them the town became smaller and smaller.

But none of that bothered her. What did catch her undivided attention, was the smells and sounds. So many things she had never smelled or heard before, because they didn't belong in a town.

Her wolf senses were running wild, especially when she caught track of prey animals. There were so many! Even though she was raised as a dog, her instincts could not be buried completely. Now and then she would hunt for some small prey, if not for hunger than for the thrill of a hunt. If she didn't eat it, she'd bring it back to her musher.

She found out the first time she caught something that her musher was real kind and not at all bothered by her hunting instinct or her other wolf instincts. She had caught a snow hare, but didn't quite get what to do with it. Her musher took it and prepared it somehow, then fed it to all his dogs.

So now, whenever she felt like it, she'd go hunt and either eat it or bring it to her musher.

A short bark from Kodi grabbed her attention back to her job. She realised she had been subconsciously moving out of the line and as the lead dog, Kodi easily felt himself being pulled to the side. Shanti quickly repositioned herself and barked an apology back. A teasing tail wag was the response.

It was of course all new to Shanti and expected that her attention could waver on the first run. Still, having wavered already, Shanti was dead-set on remaining focussed from now on. As if her determination was a challenge, snow started blasting around them.

They had only gone about 2 more miles, when all of a sudden dread filled her. As she glanced around wildly, she noticed none of the others noticed anything. Kirby glanced at her confused from her sudden anxiety, but Shanti ignored him. Something was wrong, very wrong! She could feel it deep inside. A silent voice screamed in her head of danger.

Without warning she suddenly hit the brakes, something that was her speciality. Abruptly Kirby was halted as well causing his frontlegs to buckle underneath him and his head to bite snow. Kodi was lurched backwards by the sudden weight on the line and the other dogs slammed into Shanti and Kirby.

Within seconds the sled team was standing still and tangled in each other. The musher hung on the side of the sled and quickly picked himself up. He placed the brake on the sled before moving to his dogs. He sorted them all out before moving to Shanti.

A comforting hand on her head caused Shanti to snap out of her thoughts of danger. She looked up into her musher's kind eyes. She whined pitifully, trying to tell him something wasn't right. He didn't understand as he checked her over for any injuries.

"Shanti?" Kodi asked gently turning around to face her. Shanti looked at Kodi with worry and anxiety in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Danger" she answered back simply. Kodi cocked his head slightly as he nuzzled her nose.

"What danger, little sis?" He asked once more.

Shanti's ears perked up for a second before going flat in her neck. She whined again, anxiety and slight fear rolling of her in waves. She was trying to move backwards, but the move was halted by the other sled dogs stationed behind her.

The musher halted her, to which she whined even louder. How could she explain if she herself didn't understand. All she knew was that something was dangerous. Then she realised what she just heard. A cracking sound like something breaking. ICE!

"Kodi! Ice, we're on ice!" Shanti barked suddenly startling the other dogs. Kodi immediately took action, not questioning her. He trusted her and her instincts. They were almost always right.

Kodi barked to gain the musher's attention, then proceeded to pull at his jacket. "Kodi? What's wrong boy?" Before Kodi could bark another warning, a loud cracking noise filled the air. Without second thoughts, the musher took his position behind the sled. "Come Haw!"

Kodi turned left 180 degrees and the team followed smoothly after him. They had just started running in the other direction when they felt the ground rumble and suddenly give way.

"RUN!" Kodi barked loudly. No one needed telling twice.

They had run a good distance when the ground became strong and solid again. They turned around and saw a hole in the middle of the snow. They couldn't fallen into that!

When they saw the ancient old tree nearby the hole, they understood what happened. The tree was stationed near a lake, which in this frigid weather had frozen. The snow had troubled their vision, but not enough to call off the run, but still made the trip that much harder. They had accidentally moved of course and reached the dangerously thin-iced lake. If Shanti hadn't stopped, they would have been in serious trouble.

Once more the musher put the brake on the sled and went to check all the dogs. When he reached Shanti he petted her on the head. "Good girl"

Once everything was checked, they took the right path and continued on their run to White Mountain.

#

"I see it, I see it!" Shanti barked excitedly. The team smiled at the eagerness in the young wolf/dog. They had reached White Mountain, it was just visible in the distance through the snow still blowing around them.

As they entered into town, restlessness gripped them all. Something was wrong here. People were running about on the streets with bags, dogs were whining in anxiety as they followed after their humans and strange red light flickered on and off throughout the town.

"Whoa!" Their musher called and they halted outside the post office of White Mountain. The musher put on the break when someone came outside.

"Oh good you're here! Quickly now, hurry!" The old man spoke urgently as he grabbed one of the post bags and rushed back inside. The musher took two bags and followed after him.

"Kodi? What's going on?" Shanti asked nervously. She felt really uncomfortable.

Kodi was looking around at the people and dogs of the town. They were running from something. "I'm not sure" Kodi responded back to his little sister unsure.

Before more questions could be flung around, the musher returned outside, the old man following behind urgently. "Anymore?" The old man asked as he wrung his hands in anxiety.

"No, that was it. What's going on here?" The musher asked. The old man's head snapped up, startled by the question. It quickly changed to understanding.

"Oh dear, oh dear. Of course, you wouldn't know. You came all that way just now. Oh dear, well we're evacuating to Nome. There is a big storm coming, like real big. It's going to be horrible. Stay here and you'd be buried alive in the snow if you haven't frozen to death already"

That sickening feeling inside her, just turned worse. Shanti glanced at Kodi, fear in her eyes. Kodi's eyes were comforting and confident, even though Shanti knew he was scared too. They had to get out of here, quick.

"When will it hit?" Their musher asked the old man.

"Soon, not sure when, but within less than half a day" The old man answered.

"How are you evacuating?"

"Well, we've contacted Nome and they're sending that guy with the plane over"

"Duke, good, it'll fit plenty more people now that it's rebuild a bit. Are there any sled teams in this town?"

"Hmm, not much. There is the one sled team of Mike, but other than that no. Some people have dogs, but none for sledding"

"Okay, contact Nome and ask for sled teams to get people out as well. They're quick and trained for any weather. There can be several people on one sled. I suggest to take the children and women on the plane"

"Yes, very good, I'll go make the call. You should head home too"

"Yes perhaps, are there any people away from town?"

"Oh well, no I don't think so. Well there are a few houses that stand a ways out of town, they might not have seen the lights"

"Where to?"

"Well just straight from this street, can't miss them, really"

"Good, I'll go warn them, you go make that call, hurry!" The musher said before snapping the break loose. "Mush!" They took off leaving a wave of snow behind from their sudden departure. The old man watched them go in stunned confusion before rushing to make the call to Nome.

Shanti's tail was hung behind her, her ears flat. Many of the rest of the team ran similar. They had a mission, but the threat of the storm was pressing down on them. They would do their job, no matter what job it was, but that didn't mean they weren't afraid.

Steadily they moved out of town, the storm brewing in the distance, inching closer and closer with every minute.


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