"...select the fastest dogs for the sled team to fetch the antitoxin." A man called out to the crowd that had formed around the racetrack. "The race will run the length…."
The noise picked up so much here that Camera couldn't record the rest of the man's speech very well. Most of the sled dogs, excluding Steele, lined up excitedly at the starting line of the racetrack. Star even got so excited that he got himself tied up in his own leash. The dogs immediately came to attention – much in the same way that an army stands attention to their General – when Steele walked in front of them, inspecting each sled dog and acting like king of the world. Only if the world was inhabited by only amoebas you idiot! Sorry, couldn't help myself.
"Just look at him." Dixie admired, talking to Jenna from the sidelines. "He's gonna save the entire town, he's positively…'mag-nesium'!"
Neither the team nor the five of us were going to bother to ask her what she meant by that.
"It's not exactly a one-dog show Dixie." Jenna pointed out, smiling. "They're racing to see who's going to be on the dogsled team."
"What's with you Jenna?" Dixie asked. "Steele's a genuine hero, but do you give him a sniff?"
"That's because Jenna's running with Balto." Sylvie smiled slyly, just approaching them.
Dixie let out a noise of disbelief.
"She was seen in the boiler room the other night with Balto," Sylvie continued, causing Dixie to gasp. "And they went in together and they left together. And I heard it all from a very reliable source, and don't bother to deny it."
"Well, then I won't." Jenna said coolly.
Dixie and Sylvie eyes widened as Sylvie gasped.
"I'm speechless." Sylvie said.
Well she literally asked for it! Really!
"All mushers get your dogs ready!" Steele's owner called out. "The race is about to begin!"
Camera followed Steele's owner as he said that, and then noticed Balto, Boris, and the team and the five of us. The team and the five of us were in a little open area between two buildings, and Balto and Boris were on a fence behind us. The only ones not with us were Muk and Luk since they don't like to visit the town very often. Balto, as excited as the sled dogs, paced back and forth on the fence, causing it to wobble.
"Balto, racing is a spectator sport, it requires very little preparation." Boris said quickly as he tried to keep his balance on the fence.
He soon made it to a window and gave a sigh of relief as he rested on the sill.
"You sit, you arrange refreshments. Do you like potato chip?" Boris asked as he brought out a box of chips from the window and took one out.
The only thing was: the chips were white, not yellow. Most of us noticed this right away.
"Uh Boris I don't think…." Fred stopped because Boris already ate the chip he was holding.
"I'm not watching the race, I'm running it." Balto corrected Boris.
As Balto said that a soap bubble burst out of Boris's mouth! Confused, Boris looked at the label on the box and realized that he ate a soap chip! Boris started spitting the taste out of his mouth out of both disgust and shock.
"You said vhat?" Boris cried as he continued spitting the taste out.
"Hey look, I'm gonna help Rosy get better," Balto said. "I can get that medicine through."
Boris, going onto the fence, tried to say something to Balto but Balto leapt over him. Boris turned around and tried again, but Balto leapt over him again. On the third try Boris succeeded.
"First of all get it through your head that they vouldn't put you in a sled team even if you did vin, vhich von't happen, and if it did it vouldn't matter!" Boris said quickly.
"Heh, talk about your old goats." I muttered to most of the team – 'most' because not all of them heard me.
"I think you mean 'old geese-er'." Selena joked, causing most of us to chuckle.
Even Uncle was slightly amused instead of insulted, but then again there was that one time he called himself an old goat so there you go.
"Vhat vas that?" Boris said sternly.
"Nothing." Selena grinned.
"Boris," Balto chuckled. "Did you ever think maybe you're the reason the other geese fly south?"
"If only your feet vere as fast as your mouth." Boris muttered back in a retorting tone.
A whistle suddenly blew, almost cutting our conversation short.
"Dogs to the starting line!" Steele's owner called out.
"Hey! They're starting!" Balto said excitedly. "Wish me luck!"
"Luck?" Boris cried. "I don't vish you luck, I vish you sense!"
But then, just as Balto was out of earshot….
"Good luck kiddo." Boris said to himself; heh, fickle.
I set up a screen in front of us so that we could continue watching after the dogs would run around the corner. Balto managed to sneak into the lineup without anyone noticing him…at least not for long.
"You…Balto what are you nuts?" Kaltag cried as Balto cut in between him and Nikki. "If Steele catches you around here, he's gonna turn you into kibble!"
"Let us let the half-dog run." Nikki smiled as Balto ignored them. "It will be fun making him eat our snow."
"Get set!" Steele's owner said just before he fired the starting gun.
The dogs started racing….
"Balto!" Jenna gasped.
"What does he think he's doing?" Dixie asked, shocked.
Balto at first was in back of Nikki and Kaltag, who had pressed themselves close together in order to keep it that way, but then Balto ran around Nikki and caught up with him.
"Oh Balto come on, come on…." Boris said to himself, trying to contain his excitement; he couldn't. "Balto go!"
The dogs then neared the corner…but just as they rounded it Nikki hit Balto in the chin, causing him to slide down onto the ice surrounding the shore!
"Hey!" Boris protested as the team and the five of us booed and yelled angrily. "That's a foul! Where's the referee, is he blind?"
Balto at first slid on the ice on his paws, and then slipped so that he was lying down on his chest before he finally stopped. Noticing poles in front of him, he clambered on top of one and then jumped across each pole.
"Go Balto go! Jump, Jump, Jump!" Boris cheered. "Thaaaat's my boy!"
"Go Balto!" Jenna cheered from a hole in the fence behind us.
Balto soon made it off the poles, leapt onto a barrel that was sticking out of the ice, and managed to make it back onto land. Instead of making his way back into the racetrack however, he only started running under boats that were docked there.
"Balto where're you going?" Boris asked, even though Balto couldn't hear him. "That's the wrong way!"
Balto then climbed up a ladder onto another boat.
"Balto get back in the race!" Boris said.
Balto then leapt onto another boat, and as he leapt off that boat he caused Nikki to stop in his tracks!
"Huh?" Nikki said just before another dog jumped onto his head and pushed his face into the snow.
"Sorry." The other dog said as Nikki came back up with a mouthful of snow.
"Who's eating whose snow now mutt?" Boris cheered as the team and the five of us laughed.
Balto now was in the lead, and as he and the other dogs rounded another corner so that they were back in our sights. Balto crossed the finish line first!
"Time!" Steele's owner said, clicking his stopwatch just as the other dogs crossed the finish line. "What?" He then said, shaking his watch: it had frozen!
"Did I teach him well!" Boris cheered. "I could kiss that crazy pooch."
The team and the five of us made our way onto the racetrack to congratulate Balto, though Jenna went her own way so that she was on the opposite side. Balto slowed to a walk, catching his breath, and then smiled as he noticed Jenna smiling proudly at him. His smile faded however when Steele walked past him without making any indication of his being there.
"Okay, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, move it, we're strapping up." Steele ordered.
"Hey now just a second here Steele." Balto said sternly. "I was the fastest dog."
"You were the fastest…what?" Steele scoffed. "Do you honestly think any musher would ever put you on his team? You're even more mixed up than I thought."
"Steele, it doesn't matter who's on the team," Jenna said sternly. "So long as the medicine gets through. Stop being such a glory hound!"
"You're a hundred percent right Jenna, I-I…I wasn't thinking about those children." Steele apologized…yeah right. "The important thing here is to get the medicine through, and that's just what I'm gonna do. And when I come back," Steele added aside to Balto. "I'm gonna fold you five ways, and leave you for a cat toy."
That caused Sagwa and her siblings to hiss and us canines to growl.
"Good dog Steele," Steele's owner said, approaching Steele.
Steele suddenly got excited as he greeted his owner like a real friendly dog. This disgusted the team and the five of us.
"Good boy. Now let's take a look at our winner here." Steele's owner added, causing Steele to growl to himself. "Let's take a look at our winner…."
Suddenly, Steele stomped hard onto Balto's paw, causing Balto to give out a growl of pain! And unfortunately, Steele's owner and his photographer friend took it differently.
"Well we can't trust this one," Steele's owner said, disappointed. "He's part wolf, he might turn on me."
"See those teeth?" The photographer added.
Steele followed his owner with a smug look and an evil snicker.
"Nikki, Kaltag, Star, let's go!" Steele's owner called.
"Balto I'm sorry…." Jenna said.
"Better not talk to me Jenna." Balto said coldly, very insulted, as he started to leave. "I might turn on you."
"Balto wait, Balto!" Jenna called after him.
No luck, he was gone.
"Balto didn't mean that." Ash said, kneeling down to pet Jenna.
"I know he didn't." Jenna sighed.
Suddenly, Sam M made a snowball and hit Steele's owner with it!
"Prejudice idiot!" She snapped. "Just because Balto is half-wolf doesn't mean that he's bad!"
"Ah what would you know?" Steele's owner snapped back as Steele growled. "Come on Steele."
Unfortunately, Danny was so upset over Balto's mistreatment that he did his 'angry eyes' without even knowing it. Danny's angry eyes are when his eyes glow green in human form…and Steele's owner unluckily noticed! Fortunately, none of the rest of the town seemed to notice.
That night….
Camera flew ahead to where Steele's team was lining up.
"Yep," The telegraph man said as he hung up a lantern. "As long as there's hope for those kids, I'll keep this lit. It'll guide the team back."
Camera flew back to us and noticed Balto sadly watching Steele and the others race after the medicine. Some of the rest of us were there too, including Selena, Danny, and I. Selena and I growled in Steele's direction, while Danny glared at Steele with his angry eyes…this time knowing that he was doing it. He stopped though when Sam M and Tucker comfortingly put their hands on his shoulders.
Later that night….
All of us were asleep, except for a Superwolf Friend who left his compartment and walked away from the boat. Selena and I were sleeping with Balto at the time and the sound of the leaving Superwolf Friend woke Selena up. Seeing that it was Danny walking away she wondered to herself where he was going so she decided to follow him.
"Danny? Where ya headed?" Selena asked.
"To go check up on Rosy." He replied slightly ahead of her.
"Mind if I come along with ya?" She said with a slightly concerned voice.
Danny just nodded.
As they headed off they soon arrived at the hospital and both of them looked through the window where Rosy was sound asleep. Danny sighed heavily and Selena could tell he was deeply concerned. Selena then placed a gentle paw on his shoulder.
"I know Danny, I'm just worried about her as you are." She said in a soft tone.
Danny just continued to stare into the window, not taking his gaze off Rosy, and it looked as if he wanted to cry. Selena's ears slightly went down. Suddenly they heard someone in the distance: Rosy's parents. Luckily, from where they were Selena and Danny slightly managed to hear their conversation.
"…One of the visitors suddenly got glowing green eyes just before he and his friends left." Rosy's dad said as he and Rosy's mother went over to Rosy's bed. "There are rumors going around that he's a poltergeist."
Danny's eyes stung with tears at that.
"Why?" Rosy said, waking up. "Just because he's a ghost why does he have to be a poltergeist? Can't he just be a good ghost?"
"What do you mean dear?" Rosy's mom asked.
"Aren't ghosts just us after we're gone?" Rosy pointed out. "Why do we have to end up bad?"
Weakened by the diphtheria, Rosy fell back asleep after that, but Danny teared again…except this time with a smile. Rosy's parents looked at each other for a moment.
"You know, she actually has a point." Rosy's dad finally said. "I just wish she was more careful with wild animals."
"Maybe she knows something about Balto that we don't." Rosy's mom replied, knowing what he was talking about.
"I'm going out for a walk." Rosy's dad said, obviously needing time alone to think.
Seeing Danny smile again made Selena feel a little better.
"Come on lets go up onto the hill." She said leading him over to it.
Danny looked up to the sky seeing the stars shinning brightly.
"Ain't they beautiful?" Selena asked.
"Yeah they are. As you know I want to become an astronaut when I grow up." He replied.
Selena flicked her tail in the snow as she too saw how bright they were.
"You'd make a wonderful astronaut Danny. Don't ever give up on your dreams." Selena said encouragingly, always one to support her friends.
"Thanks Selena." Danny smiled.
"No problem. That's what friends are for." She grinned.
They stayed on the hill for a while, and then went back to the boat and Rip.