Succumbing to the cold.
A grown brown wolf-dog trudged through the snow in the cold wasteland that was known as Alaska. he had made the mistake of trying to find and rescue a missing dog sled team in a last ditch effort to save the town he loved so much, Nome.
In his defence, he had found the team. His downfall however came from when steele, the team's original leader had knocked him over a cliff, along with the life saving box of antitoxin. A rather late blow to the side of his skull had knocked him out about halfway down the cliff and had left him unconscious, tumbling viciously down the cliff side.
And now here he was, limping through the snow, leaving a trail of crimson spots behind him. His life force draining slowly from him.
He had sustained such injuries because of the precious wooden crate that had tumbled down the cliff side with him. He had landed first, on his side which effectively knocked the wind out of him, but what caused the real damage was when the crate had connected with his right hind leg, Shattering both the crate and the bone in the leg instantaneously.
Balto slowly continued his way forward, not having even the slightest of ideas as to where he was going, but he knew that walking and maybe getting somewhere was better than laying down and waiting for death via hypothermia to claim him. So, with no clear goal in sight nor mind he moved forward, hopeless and helpless to the vicious weather beating down upon him.
The small whimpers coming from him were nothing less than pathetic, the sounds of a canine who knew his death was fast approaching, but refusing to accept it just yet.
All of this fight, the resilience he was showing, the determination and will to live. it all stemmed from one factor deep within his being.
Love.
The love he felt for a certain cream and rust coloured husky was the thing driving him, forcing him to move forward, to take every excruciating step after the other, tearing him up and sending pain shooting right through him.
He knew that he couldn't last much longer but in his mind he didn't want to give up, he wasn't ready to leave. He had so much more to do. he had to hug Muk and Luk, he had to say 'goodbye' and 'love you' to Boris, he had to get the antitoxin back to Nome… And most of all…
He had to tell Jenna he loved her. His one dream in life was in fact, not to join the sled team, but to have the one canine he loved in the world be his mate.
Sadly, this would never happen.
As he took one more painstaking step, his back leg came out from under him and he collided with the ground with a grunt, his chest heaving as the feeling of helplessness started to sink in.
The wolf dog slowly looked over his life, he knew his time was up, so he decided to stop fighting it and just let it happen. his thoughts and memories flooded over him, his entire life flashing before his eyes.
His first meeting with Jenna, as painful as it was being mauled by a much larger husky who had also caused this exact incident. His next memory was a little forwards, when he was run out of town by, yet again the same husky.
Skip forward a few cold harsh years and he was in the present, still hated and berated and detested by all those in the town that he loved so much. It all flew by at such speed he didn't even catch most of it, so he just lay there. Cold and alone.
The immense pain in his back leg had started to increase as the freezing snow started to get at him. His fur was thick, but not thick enough for this.
His vision started to blur as tears began to flow openly from his dulling golden and red eyes, the extreme cold freezing said droplets of saline solution only a half minute later.
He slowly attempts to lift himself from the ground by forcing himself to put weight on his back leg and pushing up against it and with a whimper he manages the task.
For some reason he wanted to push himself in this one direction, even though he wanted to give in and lay down, accepting his demise.
"No." He speaks weakly, drawing a sudden surge of strength from Fenrir knows where and begins to limp his way through the snow, his depleting energy matching both his will to live and his blood level.
After what had seemed like an eternity but was in fact a mere 10 minutes of walking, Balto began to tire once more but still his body would not rest, dragging him along for a ride he didn't want to go on. It was almost as though his instincts had been turned against him and he had to standby and watch as his body made the decisions he simply couldn't.
Suddenly something caught the eye of the freezing half-breed. A shape off in the distance moving towards him almost as slow as he was moving towards it.
"Balto!?" He heard the blurry shape yell. His vision had yet to clear so he still couldn't determine the actual look of the thing, but as soon as he heard that beautiful voice he knew exactly who the moving toward him was.
"Balto!?" Called the sweetest voice in all of dog kind once more, by the sounds of it more frantic than the last.
"J-Jenna…" The injured wolf rasped out between rugged, shallow breaths, hypothermia more than likely setting in and making breathing harder for the poor canine.
Slowly the blurry thing entered the field of his vision and he saw a sight that he loved and dreaded at the same time.
Loved because he was seeing the precious female he had loved all of his life.
Dreaded because he thought he had died, because in front of him was an angel. Snow covered and with a panicked face.
Her face changed from one of Panic to relief and from relief almost immediately into dread in seeing the condition Balto had managed to get himself into.
"Balto! What happened!? How did you manage to…. To get like this! Please speak Balto, please! I need to know what happened to be able to help you!" She cried, barely giving the brown canid a chance to answer her frantic questions.
He looked up towards her, his eyes were teary and red although he'd never admit he'd been crying it was painfully obvious that more than a few tears had been shed.
"J-Jenna… I…. I'm okay… you don't have to worry about me…. I've lived…. I've lived through so…..so much worse than this situation before… I'll be f-fine…." he managed to rasp through his nigh unbearable pain, trying - and failing to act strong for the husky that had captured his heart so, so many years before now.
Jenna herself looked no better than Balto on the crying remark, her ears were bloodshot and puffy from the copious amounts of saline solution that had flown from her eyes over the loss of the wolfdog in such a terrible storm, paired with the fact her girl, Rosie was on the brink of death to the easily curable disease Diphtheria.
"Balto you are plain as day not okay! You are freezing and you have wood literally skewering your hind leg and you sound like you can barely breathe and, and..!" She barked out, certain almost half of Nome could hear her even though she was a good half an hour run away from the small town. This wasn't true, however, as the howling winds and fierce storm were drowning out her frantic remarks to anyone that was so much as 50 feet away.
Balto, still not wanting to look weak in front of his love interest continued on with his strong facade - even if it was failing fast h wanted to keep at least a shred of his strength in her eyes. Slowly he tried to stand himself up even though it was obvious to both canines he was going to fail.
Jenna, upon seeing him attempt to stand up, quickly ran to his side and pushed herself against him, making sure he didn't fall and further injure himself in the cold harsh wasteland that was Alaska in a snowstorm as they began to push onwards towards Nome. A gentle clinking coming from the bandana around the brown furred halfbreed.
"Jenna…. Please I am fine… you… you have to stop worrying about… m-me…. I…" His sentence was interrupted as he faltered in his step and almost collapsed back into the snow, being caught only by the beautiful husky by his side.
No words were said as they continued forward, just the sounds of Balto shivering, his body asking - no, begging for warmth and Jenna complying to the fullest of her abilities, uncaring that the more she pressed herself against him the more and more her hind leg was stained red by his blood. All she cared about was getting them both back safe and sound.
10 minutes of walking had passed and the pain in Balto's hind leg was getting to dangerous levels, as were his heat levels, his paws had already began to turn blue,matched by his ears and underneath his tail fur, the bushy appendage was faring no better.
Jenna took immediate notice of the blue of his ears and picked up the pace, knowing how much pain he must've been in and the seriousness of the situation hitting her in the chest like a brick made of titanium, this driving her on with a fire in her heart to save the life of the one she knew she truly cared for.
Another five minutes had passed and they were still easily a half hour away from the saviour that was the quaint - and warm little town of Nome.
Balto's word was filled with nothing but pain and the scent of an angel during this entire time, his breathing very heavy, his limp heavier and his heart somehow even heavier in his chest as he couldn't stop the thoughts of this being the end for him dancing around his head.
Words couldn't even come close to describing how much she was worried for the wolf by her side so she didn't even try, knowing that talking would only expend energy she couldn't ask him to waste in this life or death situation. So instead, she walked, and walked, and walked and walked some more, not once stopping to get rest, not once looking back to see where they had come from or the red stained snow being marked by Balto's blood, not once thinking about how much pain Balto was truly in, only caring about focusing on her path back to Nome and the safety and security for the canines that they both needed to survive.
The track of time was lost to both of the homeward bound dogs, the mission of survival taking precedence over everything else in the world. Jenna's head was going crazy with so many questions and depressing thoughts of loss running rife.
A light. A glowing light. Several glowing lights. A large glowing sea of lights filled the eyes of Jenna and her energy returned to her, pushing forward with extra speed to reach their goal all that much quicker.
This was speed Balto simply couldn't handle.
He collapsed maw first into the deep snow and lay there, his breathing forced and rugged, his eyes barely staying open and his leg still leaking the red liquid that kept him alive, draining him of energy more and more by the second.
Jenna quickly whipped around and began to tug at the bandana around his neck, trying her hardest to pull him with her towards the town that was just so, so close now. Whimpering and and her shoulders heaving as she tugged, crying without tears as she just had none left to give.
"Come ON Balto! Please! We are so close just please don't give up! Stay awake! Push yourself further and we can both be safe! Please!" she begged the slowly fading canine, never giving up on tugging at the orange fabric hanging tight from his neck, the clinking of something still audible from the Bandana whenever it moved.
He didn't move, he didn't respond, his eyes barely even open and his chest only just moving enough to indicate his breathing. His vision was blurred, the sounds of the world being distant to him and all feeling having already left his body a long time ago.
Jenna stopped tugging on the bandana and dropped to her belly, her sobbing still plain as day as she didn't try to hide it "Balto… pl-please…. Don't give up on me after coming all this way…." she begged him, willing him to move, to stand up and to push forward as unrealistic as she knew that situation was.
She casted a gaze back to the close glowing lights of the town and growled, turning back to Balto and doing something she had wanted to for so long.
She leaned forward and pressed her muzzle towards his, connecting them in a gentle kiss, knowing it could very well be the dying dog's first and last.
After breaking the short kiss you turned around and sprinted into town, panting and bypassing every single dog and human alike, going straight to the hospital where she knew her owners were, looking after their little dying girl.
After she had reached the building, she ran inside and straight to the figure she knew as thomas, barking loudly to grab his attention and yanking at his trouser leg to try to get him to follow.
"Not now girl…. We can't play I am sorry…." he said, his voice weary and almost slurred, making it obvious he had not been sleeping. Jenna didn't care and she continued to bark at and tug at him.
"Girl…. Not no-..." he sighed and gave in, knowing that him staying there would only further depress him. He turned to his wife, Evelyn. Giving her a soft look and speaking, "Stay here, look after our little girl, I will be back quickly, after I find out what she wants…. Maybe jessie fell down a well…." he joked, trying vainly to pick up the mood before he left the building, jogging with the dog as they exited the town and headed towards where she last saw the dying wolfdog.
Thomas was worried as they progressed further into the storm, wondering where his trusted companion was leading him.
And then he saw it.
Balto's cold, still form laying in the snow, some of the white powdery substance building up on him, his chest still moving, causing a breath to leave the man, one he hadn't even realised he was holding.
He looked at his dog as she ran over and curled by him, trying to restore some of his warmth through nuzzles.
He walked to the wolf's shivering form and leaned down, picking him up and turning to slowly trudge back to town, knowing the canine was basically dead and he could do nothing for him unless he got him to the vets quickly… which he didn't have the heart to do.
Jenna followed him solemnly, her shoulders still heaving as she knew just as well as thomas did that Balto was more than likely going to die.
A few soft crunches of snow were just barely audible in the storm as the bandana around Balto's neck loosened and the secret object he had tucked against his neck fell to the snow.
Thomas looked down by his feet, his eyes half lidded and weary becoming as wide as saucers as he saw what lay in the snow beside his feet.
5 vials of antitoxin to the diphtheria virus lay, cold and undamaged in the white powder.
His eyes looked from the dying canine to the vials and back to the dog over and over again before he rapidly picked up the vials and began to bolt back to town, his will restored completely to save the dog who had more than likely saved his little girl.
Jenna barked ecstatically and followed in his footsteps, running at her top speed into town to clear the way for the human carrying the interest of her heart.
Thomas got into town and made a straight Beeline to the door to the veterinarian building, almost kicking the door in an yelling to the vet in a hurried and exhausted voice, holding up the vials and showing off his bloodstained cloths due to the dogs bleeding.
"This dog just saved our children! Quickly! Repay him the favour he is dying!"
The vet lept into action, running over to and taking the dog from Thomas, who instantaneously bolted back out of the door and towards the hospital.
Jenna watched as the vet and his wife were in an absolute flurry, rushing to get everything set and taking notes of all of his afflictions, looking grimly towards the large, sharp wooden plank that resembled a spike, piercing through his leg in an excruciating manner, before they quickly rushed through a set of double doors into a room in the back and began their work, trying their best to save the life of the dog who had saved so many more.
Jenna stretched out over the wooden floor of the vets building, her sobbing having stopped but the worry embedded in her heart being far from over.
Whether the canine in the room lived…...or passed on…. She was happy that the last thing she could do for him was give him her love, the love he had deserved for so long now.
Her eyes slowly began to droop closed as the exhaustion of her activities began to catch up with her. She felt horrible for going to sleep during such a serious moment, but when she awoke, whether or not Balto was alive she would be there for him, in any way she physically possibly could be.
As she drifted off into the land of dreams, she felt her chest light up, a feeling she had felt but kept suppressed for so long finally surfacing and telling her that she had done everything she could, telling her that he would be okay and that they would be together. It filled her dreams and made them sweet and happy, her and Balto resting together under a tree, laughing and nuzzling, curled up with one another, intertwining tails and looking into eachothers eyes, leaning forward to connect muzzles in a passionate kiss.
The dream was vivid, almost scarily real for the rust coloured husky.
This wasn't to say she didn't absolutely love it. When Balto awoke…. If he woke up she would make sure to reenact every single little yet amazing detail with him.
This whole incident only serving to finally bring the two destined lovers together, and as much as she may have hated to admit it, as she dreamed she forgot all about her little Rosie.
Her mind plagued by the image of a certain dashing brown wolfdog, giving a signature grin and whispering three words into her ear.
"I love you."
A/N Hey everyone… I left this one rather open ended with how it could play out, not including a scene of Balto being alive or dead, that is up to you guys and your imaginations…... it's been quite a while hasn't it? I truly am sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long and hate to leave you with just this little story to tide you over until the next chapter of Past and Present drops, but my life has been incredulously busy and i'm afraid that i haven't even started work on it, I am barely even 2,000 words into it…I promise you i will try and update it as soon as is physically possible, just a lot came up within my life and it made it hard to find inspiration to do anything, let alone write stories. I will start work on the next chapter soon. PM's are always welcome as is criticism as long as it is constructive! I hope you guys all enjoyed this little short story, and until next time!~
The Lone Wolf, Out.