A/N: This is my first Twilight fanfic, so be nice! I'm currently suffering writers block on my LOTR fanfic, and this idea came to me when I watched a documentary on the Iditarod Dog-sled race. I own no characters, except for Katherine and her family. Any racers mentioned are real. This takes place during New Moon. (Also - apologies to Doug Swingley who actually came in 2nd place for the iditarod.)
Chapter one.
I love to race. The snow beating in on my face as my brothers and I fly along the trails, our hair whipping out behind us. We were Alaskan born and bred. Ma was an Athabaskan Native and Da was a trader from Anchorage. Our Grandparents on Da's side – the Kings', were horribly racist, and only ever saw me, because I got Da's pale skin and coppery brown hair. Because of this, when they died, I inherited everything. I sold their house, and split everything between Da and the three of us, much to my brothers' protestations, and Kida put his share towards college. Both Benji and Kida have native features. The impressive cheekbones, slightly coloured skin and dark hair and eyes. I have an exact mix of Ma and Da's eyes. My eyes are the colour of steel, well hidden behind Ma's high cheekbones, and Da's pale, pale skin. Like blue clashed with brown-ish. We grew up with sledding dogs in the family and would travel to Nome to see the finale of the Iditarod for years. Ma died last year. She went to sleep and never woke up. We later found out it could have been an aneurysm, but Ma's family tradition doesn't allow for an autopsy. Kida is determined to be a Doctor, and has aced his schooling from start to finish. Benji just wants to live near civilisation, and somewhere warm, for a change.
I don't really care where I live, a) as long as nature is there (I love the evergreens, and I love the sky and the sea), and b) I get to be a Chef. I am the best cook in our family (especially since Da lost his right hand to frostbite), and I can warm people with my food, both figuratively and literally.
We three told Da that this was the last Spring we would all be together for a while, since Kida has sorted himself out with a Residency in Seattle Hospital, I got a job as a chef at a diner on a reservation in Washington state, (at least it's near Kida), and Benji is enlisting. Da hit the roof at that one, but we can't stop him. I mean, he and Kida are 26 now, so no one can stop him. We decided, that, in honour of saying goodbye to Alaska, and our family time together, we would race the Iditarod. Da was pleased and went about sorting our Sled teams out.
I didn't really care which dogs were on my team. I only wanted to choose my two lead dogs. I had grown up with a myriad of Huskies and Malamutes, but the Malamutes were my favourites. Part wolf, and slightly larger than the huskies, they could pull a heavier load, and because I am lighter than the boys are, it makes for faster dogs, but it's their colourings that are my favourite. One of my lead dogs would be Hunter. He was my largest, he was in his prime and was fast. His lean body, covered in sandy coloured fur, he would be easy to spot in the snow, and he was obedient. My next lead dog would be Kyri. He was also large, but was more long than large. He looks like a large greyhound. This body difference, made him the fastest we had, and I knew Kida and Benji would want him. However, he was my baby. I chose him, from the litter, when Coco had her new litter. He was all grey, with black flecks in his fur on the right side, with a grey patch on his nose. Kyri was my favourite. He comforted me when I was sad, and loved me unconditionally.
I think Da secretly wanted me to win. There had only ever been two female winners of the Iditarod, and a fortnight ago, my brothers and I met our biggest competition; Jeff King. He was the third in the Iditarod this year, and he's good. So; here we are, in bloody February, after eleven weeks of solid runs on the northern trail, we can complete the race in just over 8 days. The three of us had worked our asses off, and Da was coming to the race end to see us cross the line. We'd done a practice run of the trail this week, and were now psyching ourselves up, and making sure our survival skills were up to par.
We were all geared up. The sun was shining, although it makes no difference, it's still freeze-your-ass-off-cold, and the sledders were stepping on the lines to secure their teams to their sleds. Kida had dropped out, to be an on call medic, while Benji and I sorted our dogs out. His two lead dogs were Donner and Blitzen. (I may have had some input into the names a few years back. They were a part of a Christmas litter, and I got a little carried away…)
He gave me the thumbs up, and began securing his supplies to the sled. I made sure my flares were secured alongside my water flask, and packed my food supplies and compass. We were chomping at the bit, and raring to go. Both Kyri and Hunter were snapping at the sled next to mine. I pulled my hood up over my hair, and fastened my goggles over the hood, to keep it up.
"Got your thermals, kid?" asked Kida. I nodded. He offered me a fist bump, and mocked a hand injury due to my many layers. I wore like, three pairs of everything, causing me to look about forty pounds heavier than I was. He nodded. "Do us proud, little one." I smiled and nodded, before wrapping a scarf around the bottom half of my face, and tucking it beneath my hood. Benji pulled up beside me and nodded. I returned the gesture and stood on the tail planks of my sled.
Kida stepped back, and allowed the MC to step up as the 85 racers took their places.
"Good luck, Mushers. It's a long journey, and a straining one." He shouted into the megaphone. We all straightened up, gripping the handles tightly. My blood pumped in my ears, as the wind whipped freshly falling snowflakes around us in swirls. "See you at the other side. Stay safe, and race well. On your marks, get set, Go!"
We all commanded our hounds to mush, and within seconds, we were off. All Mushers had 9 – 12 dogs hooked up to their sleds, and we went as far as the first checkpoint. We were to stop there, to determine positions, and then the dogs would be flown to Wasilla. We'd start again the next morning from Wasilla.
Doug bloody Swingley and the Seavey family were the first ones to reach the checkpoint. Benji and I arrived a good two hours later along with Jeff King and a few others.
"Shit." Benji muttered, as we were settling into our little two-man cabin at Wasilla. "Hey, what's wrong Benj?" I asked.
"Nothing, Kitty, it's fine. I just wanted a real shot at winning." He murmured.
"Aw, c'mon Benj, this is our last Iditarod. We just need to cross the finish line. That's all." I comforted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know, Kit, it would have just been nice to win, before flying out anywhere. You know what you're doing for your job and everything, right?" he asked. I nodded as I cuddled up to my big brother.
"I do. I bought a small house for me and Da, and it's down the street from my new boss. This nice woman, Sue Clearwater, gave me a phone interview, because of how important this tradition is to us. We fly out as soon as we can get from Nome back to Anchorage." I said, turning my steely eyes to his brown ones. He gave me a small smile and nodded.
"You sure you don't want to go to college?" he asked, prodding me in the ribs a little. I giggled and shook my head.
"Who'll look after Da, and make sure he won't starve?" I joked. He smiled and nodded in agreement, laughing his gruff laugh. "Just don't scratch out. I don't care when you do Benj, just cross that line." I demanded. He nodded. "Same to you Kit. Now, get some sleep."
The next morning, we had to wait our turn to start out, but when we did (within half an hour of each other – with me in front, of course), it was almost like flying. Hunter and Kyri, accompanied by another 12 dogs, including Da's old lead dog, Rosa – a fine, pedigree bitch, pounded through the snow, almost like a genuine machine. This March, was one of the coldest. The nights were painful, almost. It was so dark, the night pressed in heavily, and visibility was problematic. I had to send up a flare as Sawatski injured himself on a tree branch.
Nine days, I spent – chasing snow. Chasing sled tracks. I passed a few. Then it was just three of us. By the last stretch, I was a couple of hours behind Jeff King (no relation to us), and Doug Swingley was almost riding my ass. The last checkpoint we passed, I had to lose two dogs – Rosa looked like she would die, if I pushed her too much farther, and Bear – an ailing old Husky, had hurt his shoulder the day before.
We closed in on Nome, and I could hear the crowds who had gathered cheer. Obviously, I hadn't won, King was a bloody machine, and those dogs of his were incredible. I pulled in, my time coming in behind Jeff Kings' 09d 11h 11m 36s, with 09d 15h 15m 22s. I came second. I yanked off my goggles and hood, allowing my long coppery chestnut curls to come free and fall from my shoulders. I searched the crowd and found Kida. Smiling, I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him.
"Well done, Kitty." Kida smiled, before making me shrug off my snow-logged coat, and wrapped a foil blanket around me. I rolled my eyes and grinned. "Are we waiting for Benji?" I asked, and my smile faded when I saw my brothers' face. "What happened?" I demanded. He sighed. "He dislocated his shoulder. He scratched out about seven hours ago. He is fine though. He said he'd come visit your new home when you guys get settled, and he's out of the hospital. C'mon Kit, we need to get you back to Anchorage, to Da, and then you guys can go."
"It's like four a.m. Kida, I want to sleep." I whined.
"Sleep on the plane." He said seriously. I nodded, knowing that his overprotectiveness was going to be nothing compared to Da's. Kida was right in his nagging. I felt refreshed when I clambered off the little plane a few hours later. Da was quick to scoop me up, and hug me. "You did me proud, my girl. Who'd have thought that my baby girl would finish the Iditarod, let alone in second place?!" he beamed and I smiled. "Got your luggage, Da?" I asked, tiredly. He nodded.
"C'mon, sweet. It's a 3 hour flight, Kida'll bring the dogs in a couple of days, along with the truck and the stuff we couldn't ship. You can sleep on the flight." He gestured to the terminal and I nodded. We navigated the different terminals to find our flight, my suitcase and Da's already checked in, before we were seated in our somewhat cramped seats. We both nodded to each other, and I closed my eyes.