Chapter 2

When you play with fire…

The dogs of Nome were getting all the food they wanted. They would gorge themselves, eating pounds upon pounds of whatever they could find. Steele enforced no rules; except that he was always the first to eat and anyone caught trying to sneak a bite before him was thrashed violently. Still, the dogs of Nome were fat and happy…

- That was two days ago. They were now licking their wounds after a pack of strays snuck in one night. A single guard was left out to protect the entire town. He sat in the middle of the road in the very center of town alone with the decreasing food lighted behind him by a streetlamp. He was beginning to feel his last meal weighing in his belly and was growing very tired. His normal alert diligence was now being replaced with the thoughts of a warm boiler and a soft blanket that would be waiting for him when his shift ended in a few minutes.

He hadn't sensed he danger before it was too late. A shadow moved behind him and a pair of huge jaws latched onto the back of his neck. The only noise from this silent attack was that of a broken neck. The dog that was virtually invisible in the night dropped the body and stepped out into the light showing dark black fur and broad shoulders. Her group was waiting in the shadows of a building and saw their leader, which signified that the threat was neutralized. They were twenty strong and all emerged from the shadows, moving quickly but quietly over to the pile. The black dog twitched her ears and a final dog appeared with a sled. The leader looked over her companions.

"Eat your fill then take the rest," she whispered.

The dogs dove into the pile, stuffing their groaning bellies. The leader padded up to the pile and ducked her head into a bag of jerky.

"Hey!"

The twenty-three looked up in alarm and saw a silhouetted figure in the distance.

"Take him now," the leader commanded.

"On it."

A red husky exploded from the pile, charging in at the silhouette.

The silhouette threw back his head and howled the warning right before he was ripped to pieces. The red husky had forgotten how good fresh blood tasted in his mouth and crunched on some of the crimson snow at his paws then licked his lips. The black husky looked back at her group that was frozen with the fear of not knowing what to do.

"Half of you load the sled and take off; the other half will stick with me; we're gonna have us a little fun." She smiled cruelly.

Steele and his remaining thirteen had been aroused by the howl and scrambled out to the street. A black female stood in the dim yellow light alone; the pile of food that once stood behind her before the opposition arrived was now gone.

"Who the hell are you, and what made you think you could get away with stealing from us," Steele demanded.

The black she dog's eyes rose.

"I'm Berai," the other dogs in her command stepped out into the light behind her, "and you just made the biggest mistake of your life." Berai and her followers charged in, letting off blood curdling battle howls.

Steele's group flew in with the same amount of ferocity and the two forces collided in a torrent of teeth and yelps. Steele and Berai fought each other only, while the others would sometimes one dog in threes. The first body hit the snow and lay limp, then a second. The battle raged on with both sides receiving heavy casualties. Berai knocked Steele down and began to slowly fit her jaws around his throat. Steele closed his eyes in acceptance of his fate, and then a long howl shot out from the trees. Berai shot her head up with her paw pinning Steele's neck to the ground. She turned her attention back to the helpless husky beneath her feet.

"Today's your lucky day." She slapped him across his eye then turned and fled into the woods with her remaining fighters close behind.

One dog gave chase but Steele called him back and rose off the ground. The pursuer slid to a halt and limped back to the group. The final dog disappeared into the trees and happy victorious yelps erupted.

The remaining dogs of Nome looked down at the three they'd lost: two females and a male named Kailif. Steele hung his head and realized that staying was a mistake that put innocent lives at risk, ultimately ending in innocent bloodshed. All of the food was gone, as were three of his best along with his right eye. He lifted his gaze to his silent comrades then hung his head again. What was he going to do now?

There it is. Chapter 6. Please R&R for me. Until later.