Chapter Ten: A Victory on the Home Front

And so through the night the dogs waited, waited and waited. Some were kept alert by their anxiety, while others started to doze from the monotony. Balto was part of the former, and while his eyes were close, his ears were carefully trained on Steele to see how he would act. The minutes ticked by, but Steele stayed rooted to the spot, watching and waiting through the dark night. Finally, the morning sun started to rise, and another day began without incident. Going the whole night without any attack was a huge relief. A quick check showed that all of their supplies were accounted for, and for the first time in days, the teams were less on edge. The danger had passed and now they could go back to focusing on what was important - running the race.

"So what do youse think? Did we finally shake whatever was chasin' us?" Nikki asked.

"Unless it decided to take the day off, we might have," Balto replied.

"Or maybe the culprit just knew they were being watched," Kaltag added. "C'mon boss, you have to admit it - the one time nothing happens is the one time you've got the prime suspect under your eye. Doesn't that strike you as fishy at all?"

"Are you sure he was under my eye? After all, it was a long night, and I may have… nodded off," he replied with a wink.

"Wait a minute - youse actually let your guard down around him?" Nikki queried.

"No, but if I was going to catch him doing anything, I had to make him think I was," Balto replied. "It's actually quite easy to pretend to fall asleep; even though my eyes were closed, my ears heard all. I gave Steele the opportunity he would need to pull something off, but he didn't take them. He stayed at his post all night, never making any move against me or anyone else," he explained, turning to Kaltag. "So, what do you think about that?"

"It does weaken my case a bit, doesn't it?" Kaltag admitted. "I don't know… it just seems too easy. He could've seen through your bluff or something like that. I know what you're trying to do, but even if he stayed up every night, I don't think I'd trust him."

"I never said you had to," Balto replied. "All I ask is that you have a little more faith in what I'm saying."

"Okay… at least you tried to see if it was him," he conceded.

"That's right, and for the record, I do not think you're as bad as Steele," Balto added. "At worst, you leap before you think, but that's just because you follow your instincts. There's nothing wrong with that."

Kaltag gave a few glances towards him, but didn't respond. He was torn between his frustration with Steele, and wanting to make amends with Balto. He knew he shouldn't have blown up like he did two nights ago, but he couldn't ignore that he still suspected Steele of wrongdoing. Balto could tell he was still making up his mind, and decided against pushing him further. If Kaltag wanted to apologise, he would let him do it when he was ready.

Still, the truce between them was enough to improve their moods, which was a victory in Balto's book. He needed everyone firing on all cylinders and running as one if they were going to conquer their next challenge. As they got into their harnesses, they saw the mountains looming in the distance - the Nulato Hills. In spite of the name, they were anything but - the mountains towered over them and stretched father than any of them could see to the north and south. They acted as a natural barrier between the Alaskan Interior and the Seward Peninsula, and were known for their fierce storms. Balto himself remembered the storm he had to run through to find the team on the serum run. Once again he would be running through this pass, but now he trusted his wolf senses; they wouldn't get lost this time.

Once they were together, the call was given and they bolted forward. They passed by Steele and Sonya on their way out, with Kaltag glad that they were still ahead of them. To lose again would be one thing, but to lose to his former boss would probably have been too much to handle. Their path took them straight across the flat plain surrounding Nulato towards some foothills. They aimed for a valley, one of many that snaked through the range. It was these valleys that were the hardest challenge of the Derby - they formed a natural maze in the mountains, and one wrong turn would easily send them way off course. They'd heard a story of one team that had become so turned around in the mountains that they emerged too far south of where they supposed to be. What they thought was the land past the mountain range was actually the frozen sea ice of Norton Sound. Fortunately, their path took them back to land - but they ended up in the town of Stebbins instead of Nome, clear on the other side of the sound.

It was here that Balto focused as much as he could, keeping track of their heading like a hawk. They needed to be heading roughly west towards the town of Koyuk without straying too far south or north. For the moment, he was using the scent trails of the two teams ahead of them for guidance, but he knew he couldn't rely on them forever. There was the chance that they could pass them and take the lead, along with the chance that the other teams could stray off the path. He couldn't get caught in a false trail, so it would end up being a game of whether or not to trust the signs in front of him.

There was almost no sound in the mountain pass until about half an hour into their journey, when something caught his ears. "Hold on, what's that?" he said, perking his ears up to catch the sound.

"What is it?" Star asked.

"Hang on, its-" Balto said, focusing on the noise until it made his stomach jump. It was the barking and yelps of dogs in distress. 'No, it can't be. Please don't let it happen again,' he thought as he dashed forward to follow the noise. "C'mon, it's this way!" he called, taking them down a new pathway. Despite their musher's attempts to get them to turn around, the team refused, charging towards the cries for help. Applying the brakes didn't help, because the dogs just pulled against them. 'Please don't let it be another attack,' Balto pleaded. 'I can handle it if they're just caught in a ditch or got hurt in a fall, but if it's yet another attack… then we're not even safe in the daytime.'

The path gave way to a clearing, surrounded by hills on all sides. Kassen finally stomped on the brake hard enough to wrench them to a halt, but they were now close enough to see the scene before them. On the other side of the depression was another team, and at a glance it looked like two of the dogs were simply fighting with each other. Fights between sled dogs were not unheard of, but a second look revealed that one of the attackers was not a dog at all. It wore no collar, and was much larger than any of the other dogs. It was clearly not one of the team, and even though they were at a distance, they could tell it was a wolf.

After days of chasing, questions and false trails, they finally got a good look at the cause of all their grief over the course of the race. The wolf had jet-black fur, confirming previous descriptions, and was definitely stronger. Balto's theory had been right - this wolf was definitely a loner, it's strong body honed in order to survive without the aid of a pack. It exchanged blows with the dog it was grappling with, the two of them on their hind legs as they locked onto each other with their jaws, each was putting up their best fight. The wolf had the dog's neck locked in its teeth, and the lack of air was starting to weaken it. Soon the dog fell as well, joining another comrade on the ground who had probably been taken out on the first surprise attack.

The rest of the team was still fighting against their harnesses, some trying to charge at the wolf, with others trying to flee. The wolf continued its assault on the dog he'd knocked over, obviously intent on finishing it off, but it didn't count on one thing. The team's musher was still present, and was not about to let his dogs fall if he couldn't do anything about it. The attack had happened so fast, that by the time he'd gotten into his supplies to find something to defend himself with, the second dog had already been felled. Just as the wolf tried to rip out its throat, the human pulled the thick club from the cargo bed. In one motion, he struck a hard blow across its head, knocking it off.

Through all this, Balto and the team were barking their heads off, straining against their harnesses in an attempt to charge forward. They wanted to help the stricken team, but the foot on the brake held them back. The wolf was dazed by the blow, but was quick to recover. Snarling, it turned its attention right on the human. The man reared up for another strike, but that only gave the wolf an opening to lunge and sink its fangs into his forearm. Sharp teeth pierced right through his coat and into his skin, causing him to cry out in pain as the jaws threatened to crush his bones. The wolf had locked onto the arm with the club, rendering the man unable to strike back with it. His only option was to punch at the wolf with his free hand, but that had little effect. The wolf's greater power meant it could pull the man down with it, and soon the two were rolling around the snow, the man trying to get the beast off him.

It was obvious this wolf was much bolder than average, but even when a wolf did turn on a human it was only when provoked. Instead, this wolf was attacking first, making it far more dangerous than expected. The attack on the human finally snapped Kassen out of his daze, and he started to rummage through his own supplies. Despite their wishes, he was not about to let his own dogs loose for fear they might get hurt, or run off and never return. Fortunately, he was a little more prepared than the man with just a club. It took him only a minute to pull out the silver revolver, already loaded, and cock the hammer. The way the wolf and the other man were rolling meant it would be too risky to aim for the wolf, so his first shot was aimed high. It went off into the air, the thunderous crack echoing across the hills around them.

While the wolf obviously had no fear of dogs, men or clubs, it bolted up at the sound of the gunshot, releasing the man from his hold. It's head snapped towards them, and briefly locked gazes with Balto. From the distance, he could tell the wolf was snarling at him, a gesture he returned as Kassen took aim. The gaze lasted only a second, before the wolf turned tail and ran from the gun pointed at it. The second shot just missed it, sending a spray of snow up behind it, but just before it turned a corner, a third shot was fired. This one managed to graze the target, not enough to harm it, but still enough to sting its hindquarters before it disappeared down another valley. The danger had passed, so now their attention could turn to the injured team. The brake was released and Balto trotted forward, wanting to know more behind this latest attack.

"Hey, shouldn't we be trying to track that wolf down?" Kaltag asked. "If we went after it now, we could probably chase it down and end this once and for all."

"We might not be able to with a fully loaded sled behind us," Bato replied. "We'd need to be out of the harness to have any hope of chasing it. Right now we should focus on the hurt. They need the help more than we need to catch this wolf," he explained as they came up alongside the team. The dog whom had grappled with the wolf was slowly getting up while his teammates tried to rouse the other one who'd been knocked out in the attack.

"Here, let me help you out there," Gunnar said as he got off the sled and extended his arm to the other man.

"Thanks. It's good thing you came otherwise I don't know what would've happened," the man said, cradling his injured arm.

"You can thank Balto for that one - I guess he heard your dogs and decided to come to the rescue," Gunnar said, patting Balto's head. "Yeah, that's a good boy."

"And not a moment too soon. It all happened so quickly. One second we're running along the trail, and then bam! It jumps right on top of my team and tears through them before I can react. The dogs are one thing, but coming after me? I just hope that thing isn't rabid!"

"Well here, let me look at your arm," Gunnar offered, and the man pulled up his sleeve to examine the wound. "It's not too deep, and I'm not seeing any foam or anything else. It looks like your coat took most of the teeth," he said, noting how the sleeve was now in tatters. "Having something that strong bite ya is sure to smart for a while, but it could have been a lot worse. Still, I'm no professional, so you probably should get that looked after by a doc."

"I know… the team needs some care too… so much for the race."

"Hey, just be glad you got out of here with your life," Kassen offered him, "There's always next year."

The man nodded in agreement, before starting to look over his team. While the men had been talking, Balto was quick to ask the dogs what they saw, which turned out to be nothing more than what their musher did. The wolf came from nowhere and was able to dispatch them quickly before being scared off. They were beaten, but not broken; however they would still have to turn back to get medical attention for their human. It wasn't as bad as other attacks, but it still meant that there was another team that had to pull out of the race because of them.

As they started to limp home, Balto's attention could now turn back to the race. Their musher didn't know everything they knew, so his main concern was getting back on the road and making up for the time they lost. The order was given and they bolted forward, their energy hiding the fact that they were all troubled by the attack. Along the road, Balto could smell faint traces of blood, which came from the small red dots in the snow. The trail gave him a boost; they now had an easy way to track the assailant and find it. He wasn't going to let another attack happen again. The team felt his pull through the harness and joined in, each eager to end the threat to their fellow sled dogs.

However, the wishes of his dogs went unnoticed by their musher. He knew the path he wanted to follow, but that path would not be the one the assailant took. That fact would become evident when they stopped at a fork in the road, and Balto took a sniff. "C'mon, Haw boy!" he called, ordering them to the left. The scent however went to the right, and at this Balto whined, facing that way. "C'mon, get on by that, and haw!" he yelled again, more insistent this time. Despite his doubts, Balto knew better than to disobey the directions of their musher. So, they took the left, losing the trail, but that only strengthened Balto's resolve to find it again.

"He's gettin' bolder that's for sure," Nikki said. "I mean, attackin' in broad daylight isn't exactly subtle."

"And going after a human too – this guy obviously has no fear," Star added.

"He's definitely stepping up his attacks, but if there's any silver lining from today, it's this," Balto continued. "We now have a clearer picture of what's doing this, and I got his scent off the blood from his wound. If he shows up again, not only will we know, but if the wind is with us we'd have some advance warning for when that wolf comes."

"So I guess it's official, huh?" Kaltag added. "It's not Steele, or any of the dogs doing this - it's that wolf and it always was."

"That's right," Balto affirmed. Kaltag was quiet as he shuffled his paws, before he started to say what he knew had to be said.

"Look, uh, I'm sorry if I got a little snappy with you earlier," he apologised. "It's just… I suppose it was just having Steele around and it opened up some old wounds-"

"No need to say anymore," Balto cut in. "I know that you and Steele didn't have the best relationship before, and if I was I your position, I might've thought the same."

"But I took it out on you when you were just trying to be careful," he said. "I wanted so badly to turn things around on him, but that just made me lose focus, didn't it?"

"Maybe, but truth be told, I'd rather have you share your concerns with me than keep them bottled up. I'm glad you felt secure enough to tell me your thoughts. I may not have agreed entirely, but I was listening to you. I just didn't think the action you wanted was the right one," he replied. "And the same goes for everyone else here, too."

"In that case, then can we do something about Kal's snoring - it's starting to give me nightmares," Star quipped, causing everyone to burst out laughing. Kaltag just gave him a playful shove, but the collective mirth helped break the hold of what had been a very stressful few days. Balto was glad that no matter what, he, Kaltag and the team were always able to pull through together. The Chinook had practically become his right hand dog over the past couple of years, after Steele had been exiled from Nome. This was not the first time they had butted heads, and it probably wouldn't be the last, but Balto was secure in the knowledge that they would always be able to work it out in the end.

"It's too bad we couldn't follow the trail," Kaltag added after the laughter died down. "He's still out there and could be anywhere by now."

"Yeah, he could even be… right here!" Nikki added, leaning in and nipping Star, causing the smaller husky to yelp in fright. There was another round of laughter from the team, proving that things were finally started to go back to normal between them.

Their progress through the mountain range would be slowed by the ascent, so sled teams often made camp in the bush, getting some rest before continuing to Koyuk the second day. Their owner was quick to build a fire and was now snoozing nearby, with one hand planted underneath his pillow. They knew that under his head, his hand was clutched around the revolver that had been used earlier, cocked and loaded. At the slightest sign of trouble, they wouldn't be caught defenseless. While the rest of the team started to settle for the night, Balto was at attention, scanning the dark bushes for sign of any trouble, occasionally sniffing to catch any odd scents. His ears were tuned as well, listening for anything coming towards them, or for the cries of any other nearby teams that might be in distress. Kaltag noticed his attention, and went to his side.

"Anything?"

"Nope, and I hope it stays that way," he replied.

"Yeah. It's scary, but it's a bit of a relief too, knowing what we're dealing with. Then again, I suppose you knew what it was all along; this was just the proof you needed."

"It's too bad another team had to attacked to get it," he mused. "It's strange though, a wolf - even a loner - doing something like this is almost unheard of. It's pursuing us and taking us out one by one, but why? This is really bizarre, and that's why I don't like it… there's something more to this and we have to find it out before the wolf strikes again."

"Yeah, but if we do, we can't do it without any sleep," Kaltag added. "C'mon boss, it's been a long day. You need some rest."

"Yeah, I know," he conceded, reluctant to break his watch. "Thanks."

"Hey, that's what teammates do – we look out for each other."

Balto nodded, but didn't reveal that there was something else troubling him. 'I can't shake this feeling that something about that scent was familiar. It's like I know who it is, but I can't remember. The attacks seem like something I've seen before too, but can't put a pin on it. There's something else I'm missing here.'

The grand race, the thrill of competing, the joy of being first, all shattered by the shadow. Relentlessly pursuing them, hunting them down one by one. Balto and the stranger raced to stay ahead, but even he fell, leaving him alone with the monster once more. 'No, not again! This can't happen again! I'm so close!' Balto thought as he faced down the shadow, his fear consuming him.

"It's just you and me now… there's no escape this time." The shadow reared up to pounce, but a cry came from above, catching both off guard. The shadow shrank in fear as the raven swooped in, striking from above. The shadow tried to snap back, but on the next pass, the raven became a wolf surrounded by blazing white light. The wolf lunged, and with one strike, it beat the shadow back, the light causing it to fade into the ether. The blazing light faded, revealing a wolf that was all too familiar to him.

This was his mother, Aniu. Balto had been separated from her when he was just a pup, but she'd always been watching over him, as a spirit guide bound to the world. He had a feeling that she was behind these dreams, using them to try to convey some sort of message to him, but he hadn't quite figured out what they were yet. However, instead of turning to him, she turned towards the stranger, standing over his body with a sort of reverence. Balto joined her, and was surprised to find tears in her eyes and down her muzzle. It was obvious the death of this husky moved her, but he didn't know why.

"Mother?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"He always was so brave," she whispered.

"Who? Who was he… how do you know him?"

"His name was Amak," she answered. "As for how I knew him… that story will have to wait until the time is right," she finished, before starting to turn away.

"Wait, come back! I need your help! Sled dogs are getting hurt, but I don't know how to stop it," Balto pleaded. "Please, I need your help."

"My son, the greatest challenges you have faced you have always surmounted without my direct help," she said. "Besides, as a guide I cannot interfere directly. I can only advise you by telling you this: when the enemy reveals itself again, you must make sure that the past does not leave you without allies. Only when your rival can move on from his defeat will you prevail over this dark terror."

"Wait… what?" he asked, but she just let out a howl, before fading into the wind. "No! Come back! Who's doing this to us? What can I do? Who's Amak?"

"When we meet next, after you have lived your dream, I will tell you everything. Once I fulfil your father's last wish, then I will be at peace… and my time on this world will come to an end."