Chapter 7: Wolf's Advice

The snow fell to the ground softly in the back alley of Nome. It coated Cole's coat with flecks of white. His ears were tucked back flat against his head which hung low to the ground. He was walking along one of the fences to someone's backyard when he started to whimper. Just the look on Aleu's face...he caused that. He made the love of his life cry in emotional pain, all because of that stupid kiss.

Why did Chloe have to kiss me?! She knew I liked Aleu and threw the thought to the wind! Ugh, what the hell is wrong with me. Aleu was right. I could have pushed her off. I could have stopped this whole scenario from happening! Why didn't I stop her!?

Cole stopped and saw a can in front of him. He let out a pained scream and punched the can as hard as he could, sending it spinning into the night. Do I still have feelings for Chloe? No, no it can't be. That was a long time ago. We did it once an agreed never to do it again. I only wish she could have kept her promi-

"Hello? Is someone there?" a female voice pierced the silent darkness. It sounded like it came from the other side of the fence. Cole could hear the crunching of feet on the snow getting closer and closer. Then a red husky wedged herself between two broken fence posts emerging as the friendly faced Jenna.

"Cole! What a surprise! What are you doing out here? Even a dog built for the cold can catch his death out here," she said shivering.

Oh, great. If it isn't the mom of the girl who's heart I just smashed into pieces. Cole thought.

"Jenna, I don't really want to talk right now," Cole said.

"Is it about Aleu? I saw her running past my house towards Balto's boat. She seemed to be in a hurry and I thought I heard her crying. What happened?" she asked growing curious.

"You might want to ask her that. Though she might exaggerate a bit," Cole commented.

"Exaggerate? On what?" Jenna asked growing nervous.

"Cole! Cole! Where are you, boy!? C'mon out! Simpson is waiting to house you for the night! Cole!" Holland could be heard yelling from the main street.

"I gotta go, Jenna," Cole said walking towards the opening to the street. "Tell Aleu I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Cole? Cole!" Jenna yelled after him. But he was already on the street walking torwards his owner. He barked sadly at the big man yelling.

Holland turned aroud and looked down, "Cole, good to...whoah. You look like hell. What happened boy?"

Cole shook his head in a dismissive motion. "Okay, whatever. C'mon then Rocky Balboa, Simpson is waiting for you," Holland said, motioning for Cole to follow. He did so at a distance, just because he couldn't really stand to be with anyone right now. He was just wondering what Simpson was waiting for and then he realized that he was going to be sharing a room with Kodi.

Oh, crap. I forgot about Kodi...can this night get any worse? Cole thought.

Holland led Cole through the now empty street of Nome, the snow falling heavier and heavier.

"Pretty cold outside, ain't it boy?" Holland broke the silence. Cole nodded his head in a "yes" gesture. "C'mon, Cole. What's the matter with you? Is it your friends?" Holland waited to see Cole's reaction.

Nothing.

"Was it Steele?" He waited again.

Nothing.

"Was it that girl who kissed you during the race?" Holland waited and saw what he was looking for. Cole's head dropped lower to the ground and he stopped in his tracks. "And we have a winner. So what'd you do, boy? You cheat?"

Cole shook his head "yes". "Ah, even dogs make human mistakes, I guess. Must've been really bad. Haven't seen you like this since Chloe got shot. Here's a little advice for you: Tell her how you feel. It'd be good for you and for her. Yeah, she might not want to listen, but trust me, she'll get curious and start to. And there will be yelling and arguing, that's a given

"There will never be that rock solid trust you guys had anymore, that left when the cheating started. But, listen to your heart. If it tells you to go to her and profusely ask for forgiveness, then do that. Or if it tells you to move on, even though that sounds terrible, do it.

"If it is meant to be, it will be. Ah, we're here," Holland finished.

Cole looked up from the white ground and saw the boiler room to the right of him. Mr. Simpson was standing in front of the steel door, grinning at Holland.

"Mr. Holland! How are you doing this fine night? Thought you weren't going to show. Hey, Cole," Simpson said rubbing Cole's head.

"Yeah, Cole's a little depressed so there shouldn't be a lot out of him," Holland said.

"What's the matter?" Simpson asked.

Holland put his hand up to his mouth and whispered, "Girl trouble."

"Oh, okay. Well, my dogs are well behaved. They shouldn't bother him. C'mon, boy, let's go," Simpson said opening the door.

Holland bent low to the ground and pet Cole's head, "See you in the morning boy. I'm leaving tomorrow and I'll be expecting a good bye."

He laughed and turned to walk to the inn where he and Chloe were staying. Cole watched as his owner walked away and couldn't help but want to run up to him and just lie on the foot of his bed. The past times with Holland had been really great. Lead dog. Nice girl. Holland. But, there was one thing that was missing from the whole picture. Cole couldn't place it but he knew it had something to do with Aleu.

His thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Simpson, "Alright, Cole, make yourself at home. If you need any help or support, Kodi will be more than glad to help. Cole laughed at Simpson, though he must have heard it as whimpers for he said, "It'll be alright Cole. Everyone makes mistakes, especially guys."

Mr. Simpson held out his left arm to the side, gesturing for Cole to walk inside the warm boiler room. He did, but quietly and carefully as not to disturb the sleeping sled dogs inside. Even though Cole would love to see Kodi wake up in the dead of night only to be scared out of his wits, he didn't feel like talking to anyone now. He just wanted to rest.

But the oppurtunity never presented itself, for Cole tripped on a stray bowl and went crashing down onto the floor. He hit his jaw on the hard ground and his body landed with a loud smack. He haerd yawning and feet shuffling.

"Well, who do we have here?" Kodi asked sarcastically.

"Cole, are you alright?" Dusty asked.

"Yeah...I'm fine," Cole said getting up. He started to walk over towards the darkest, coldest corner of the room.

Kodi looked at him with curious eyes, "What are you doing?"

"Going to sleep. What are you doing?" Cole replied.

"Watching a dog pick the worst place to sleep," Kodi commented.

"Kodi," Kirby said.

"No, it's fine. Just like every other dman thing in this world," Cole said plopping on the ground of the cold floor.

"Cole, are you alright?" Dusty asked.

"Yeah...fine," Cole said sleepily.

"You don't look fine. You look like crap and not just because you got beat up," Kodi commented.

"Maybe you guys should get some sleep instead of worrying about me," Cole said.

"Cole-"

"No, Dusty. Get some sleep," Cole interrupted.

The sled dogs did as they were told and huddled near the fiery furnace. The light from the fire danced on the walls creating shadows that came to life. Cole left his eyes open and watched the shadows. He tried to see images in them, though it sounded strange. He just couldn't sleep. All the stuff that has happened to him was his own fault. Everything.

Cole saw human movement in the corner of his eye. He got up and looked around. The sled team was gone, all that was left was Cole, the furnace, and the shadows.

He felt something move it's icy hands on his back. Cole jumped and looked around, but no one was there. He also heard foot steps...human. The shadows were starting to form something.

"Cole," a familiar female voice sounded.

Cole turned and found the lovely face of...

"Mom?" Cole said.

"Yes, Cole. Oh, I missed you so much," the gray husky said.

Cole ran towards his mother and tried to hug her, but she simply disappeared. He heard a puf of air behind him and when he turned around his mother was staring at him. "What the-"

"It's all your fault Cole. All your fault. I didn't want to have to take that bullet for you. But the maternal instinct took over. Poor child. To grow up, thinking I loved you. YOU KILLED ME!" his mom yelled.

"No...no...no," Cole could barely manage to talk.

And in a flash she was gone. Cole was transported to an alley, the mail team, Balto, Jenna, Boris, Jake, Dingo and Saba were talking to each other. But something was wrong. They seemed to be talking but their lips weren't moving. No one was moving anything. The wind was moving and some snow was falling but they stod still.

Cole felt an icy chill and heard something rudh past his head. He trained his eye's on the object and saw a dagger fly through the air. It was heading straight for Kodi.

Go to the beach... a voice sounded.

"Kodi!" Cole yelled after the red husky.

The knife was about to impale the side of his head when Cole woke with a start. Dusty was standing over him with the other dogs staring at him with amazement behind her.

"Cole...are you alright? You were screaming and then you yelled Kodi's name," Dusty said softly as she put her paw on Cole's shoulder.

Cole looked at Kodi and just stared at the dog who had almost been hit with a knife. "What are you looking at?" Kodi asked.

Beach... The word formed in Cole's head. He was supposed to go to the beach.

"Um, I got to go," Cole said as he got up. He walked towards the door and opened it with the mail team staring at him.

"Cole, where are you going?" Kirby asked.

"Get some fresh air," Cole said as he closed the door behind him. He fast walked towards the boat of Aleu's father and came to a stop when he saw movement inside the vessel. It looked like Balto and Aleu were in the captains quarters but there was movement on the deck as well. it looked like Boris and two polar bears. Aleu did say something about a Muk and Luk, maybe they're the bears.

But something else caught Cole's attention. A dog's figure sitting on the beach looking up at the cresent moon. The dog looked lonely but something drew Cole to it. He walked carefully over to the figure, careful not to make his presence known.

"So you did hear me call for you," the dog said.

"Chev?" Cole asked.

"What's up, kid?" the old wolf asked.

"What are you...you called me here?" Cole spoke unsteadily.

"Yes, didn't you hear the word beach?" Chev asked.

"Yeah...but how?" Cole curioiusly asked.

"That isn't important, but what is important is the situation that you're in. I saw Aleu run to her fathers boat, crying really hard. What happened?" Chev asked.

"I...I kissed Chloe in an alley and Aleu saw us. But...but, I didn't try and stop Chloe," Cole said. "I didn't even try. She threw me to the ground and was on top of me and then she kissed me. i din't fight back...I didn't try to not kiss her. I mean I don't like her anymore. Or do I-"

"Cole, stop. Calm down," Chev said in a serious, even tone.

Cole stopped rambling and looked at the old wolf. He was still looking up at the stars when Chev turned and looked Cole dead in the eye. There was something about his eyes that reminded him of his father. All wolf eyes look the same but, there was some quality in Chev's that looked like his dead dad's.

"Dad?" Cole let the word slip out of his mouth.

Chev let out a heartily laugh, "No, Cole, I am not your father. I did, however, know your father before he and your mother had you. But, Cole...can we please stay on one subject for a little bit?"

"Um, sure," Cole said.

"Thank you. Okay, here's some advice, take it or leave it: What is natural to the flesh when we have been hurt or abused or insulted is to strike back, to plot revenge, or to simmer in bitterness. Denial is merely a delusion. Flimsy, fake, and shallow. Forgiveness is real. Robust and solid and deep. It is not an avoiding of the truth, but a dealing with it squarely, however painful."

"Chev...how do you know all of this?" Cole asked mystified.

"Just some things I have collected over the years. Oh, there goes Aleu and her father," Chev said.

Cole looked behind him towards the boat and sure enough there was Balto and Aleu. They were leaving the boat and looked to be heading towards Jenna's house.

"Follow the river, Cole," Chev said from behind.

Cole whirled around but the old wolf was gone, disappeared into the wind. "Follow the river? What's that supposed to mean?" Cole asked himself. He looked up at the stars to find an answer. All he saw was the shining moon and the glowing stars. He stayed there staring at the sky for about ten minutes before he decided to head back.

The walk back to the town was easier than the walk out. Cole's limp was almost gone completly, and his talk with Chev boosted his spirits just a little. But that little bit is better than nothing. It was good, until he heard a loud bang behind him. Cole turned and saw Jenna's angry face. She looked at Cole with daggers in her eyes.

Oh no...

"Cole! What the hell were you thinking?!" she yelled.

"Um, Jenna. Look, I didn't-" Cole started to back away, while Jenna came lumbering towards him.

"Oh, you didn't want to? Well that's not what Aleu said! She said that you didn't even try to get Chloe off of you, you horny, son of a-"

"Jenna, you need to calm down," Cole said sternly. He quickly saw the error in saying that to an enraged mother.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! I'LL BE THE ONE TO TELL YOU TO CALM DOWN!" Jenna reached Cole and put her face right up to his.

"Uh-"

"'Uh'? Is that it?! Aleu is in there crying her eyes out and all you can say is 'uh'?!" Jenna yelled some more.

"She's in there? Is Balto with her?" Cole asked half hoping he was to comfort her, and half wishing he wasn't so he wouldn't be killed.

"If you're worried about Balto kicking your ass, he'll have to wait his turn!" Jenna backed Cole up into an alley where he tripped on some trash. He was lying on his back, his heart in his throat. She brought her head nose-to-nose with his. "If I ever see you again. On the street. With my daughter. With anyone. I will come over there and smack those cheating lips off your face."

"Jenna? Jenna, are you alright?" Balto called from the house.

"Get out of here Cole. Now!" Jenna said.

Cole quickly go to his feet and ran as best as he could towards the boiler room. He saw Balto glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. After about a minute of painful running, he was at the boiler room's doors. Cole put his paw on the door, but quickly took it off.

Jenna was obviously going to tell Kodi about what happened and he wouldn't mind kicking Cole's ass. Better to find a nice alley to sleep in tonight, than get my faced caved in my Aleu's family. Cole concluded.

He went to one of the back alleys behind the boiler room and found a nice open box. Cole crawled in and shut his eyes the best he could. After about thrity minutes of thinking about the ways Jenna could kill him, Cole was fast asleep.

{{_}}

Cole woke to a cloudless blue sky, the mid-morning sun blinding his vision for a few seconds. He almost forgot about the night before, but it all came back in a flash of depression. Aleu, Chev, Jenna...but there was something else. He was forgetting something...something important, but he couldn't remember.

What he did remember was what his next move was going to be. But first he had to wt out of town without being seen by the locals. I really don't feel like being beat up today, Cole thought.

He crawled out of his box and stretched out his legs. His back cracked and he rubbed the spot with his aching bones. Cole let out a yawn and started a slow walk out onto the street. Even though the street wasn't the safest place, it was the only way for him to find his way.

He heard people laughing and joking, apparently the race was going to start in an hour, or so Cole heard from one of the people in the crowd.

"Cole!" he heard an angry voice. He looked to his left and saw Kodi and the mail team surrounding Aleu, giving her reassuring pats on the shoulder. Kodi had an I'm-going-to-kill-you look, and he probably would have if Aleu wasn't there.

"Cole! Get over here!" he yelled.

He almost wanted to turn and keep walking, but his curiosity got the best of him. He cautiously walked over to the awaiting dogs and found Aleu looking up. Their eyes met, Cole's heart started to pound, even when she was sad, she was the most beutiful thing on the earth.

Kodi quickly stepped in between them to interrupt the moment. "Did you cheat on my sister?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Cole sighed, "Yes. And if I could take it back, I would. But I can't."

"You are so going to get it, Cole," Kodi said steping towards him.

"Kodi," Dusty said. He stopped and looked back at his team mate. "Not in front of her," Dusty whispered.

"Fine. But I want you out of here," Kodi said turning back to Cole.

Cole looked over Kodi and made eye contact with Aleu. "Is that how you feel?" he asked, softly.

She dropped her head and brought it to the side, "I already told you how I feel."

"Okay. Okay, I get it. Bye, Aleu. I still love you, no matter what you think," and with that he was running towards the edge of town.

He made it as the announcer was calling the sled teams to the starting line. Cole looked back at the town of Nome, the place where he and Aleu had their first kiss, the place he met her distasteful brother, the place he saw Steele for the second time.

But that life is behind him, now he is running again, trying to get over the life he almost had. And the lives he so selfishly destroyed.

Author's After Thoughts

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, there is going to be a lot of new information about Cole's past in the next chapter, so I hope you stick around to read that. This chapter was fairly short compared to the others, and for that, I'm sorry.

I was thinking about this and I asked around, I might (and probably will) make a sequel to this story. I want your opinion on this, yes? No? Maybe? Never? Tell me, because that will affect this fic a lot. Memebers: you can PM me or just put it in the review, whatever suits you. Guests: I value your opinion just as much as the people who are apart of this website. Put your opinion in the reviews.


Before I go I just want to get serious and to say, my thoughts and prayers go out for the kids and families in Connecticut. Most of you have heard what happened and I hope you take the time out of your busy lives to be with your family. Tell them you love them, trust me they will appreciate it greatly. My teacher was telling us a very touching story of his kid and how much it meant to him that his teenager said "Love you dad."

The story of the massacre is gruesome and disturbing. I only wish those kids were still with us. I wish the teachers were stil with us. I wish that the psrents aren't spending their Christmas alone. But wishes aren't reality. And let me say one more thing:

Scars never go away. They are with you for the rest of your life. I can say from personal experiece that that is 100% true. But, it is what we do with those scars that matters. You can let it consume your life until you die. Or, you can get up and admit it happened. Once you admit that it happened, it is like a weight being lifted off of your chest (or that's what it was like for me). And I'm not saying go to everyone you know and tell them what happened. When I say "admit that it happened" I mean to admit to yourself that it happened.

Don't be ashamed. Living in fear is just as bad as getting into a car crash and all of your limbs breaking. I still know what happened to me, it is always in the back of my mind, but I use that to tell others and to help them if they are struggling. I actually had the privelage of helping a near suicidal kid to not kill himself. Now, he is the happiest kid you would know. I'm not trying to brag of my accomplishments but to say that there is a way to turn a really bad thing into a good thing that can be used to help others. I hope you found the time to read my thoughts on the subject.

This is my personal experience and thoughts, you don't have to take them as facts.


Thank you guys for reviewing, I really appreciate it. The more reviews, the faster I write, haha. But, until next time. Have a Happy Holidays and hope you all are with your families.