Chapter 5: The Race Finishes
A/N: Any form of constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!
Meanwhile, inside a shop, a young, red-haired girl named Rosy stood along with her two parents and red-furred pet husky, Jenna. She covered her eyes anticipating a surprise prepared for her. The bearded carpenter grabbed a wooden sled from his desk and brought it down to her ground level.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," her father said.
Rosy uncovered her eyes, revealing the new sled in front of her. Her face lit up with glee and became all giddy, hopping with excitement. She ran to the sled, taking a closer gaze at her new gift.
"I love these runners! I love this brush brow! I love this sled!" Rosy exclaimed with delight.
Jenna barked and leaped in excitement, sharing Rosy's enthusiasm. Her parents chuckled at how elated their daughter was.
"Jenna, you're lead dog!" Rosy stated excitedly.
She began to strap her dog to the sleigh's reins. "Okay, just a minute. Come on. Mush!"
Her mother then pulled out something else from inside her coat.
It was a musher's hat.
"Then you'll need this," her mother said, making her daughter gasp.
She placed the quite large, fluffy hat on her head, which concealed her eyes for a moment. Rosy tipped up her new hat with her thumb, wowed by her new headgear.
"A real musher's hat! We're a real sled team now!" Rosy proudly declared before hopping onto her sled. "Mush!"
Rosy rode and Jenna pulled, both sliding the sled out the door.
"Mister Johanssen, the sled is beautiful," her father said, handing his cash payment to the carpenter.
"We're very grateful," her mother added.
Rosy ran back inside to offer another expression of gratitude.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed before running back to her sled outside.
"Rosy's grateful too, huh?" her father continued.
"Yeah, so I gather," the carpenter chuckled.
"Watch this!" Rosy urged, poking her head through the open door again.
"Coming, sweetheart," her mother answered.
Both her parents walked to the doorway and stood close together watching Rosy ride her new sled around the pathway.
"I don't know. I think we should've gotten her the dollhouse," he said hesitantly.
Rosy kept riding her sled out in the open until she paused when another flare shot up in the sky.
"It's the one-mile marker," she gasped, filled with awe.
Rosy continued forward, imagining herself taking part in the race.
"Mush, Jenna, Mush! Let's win this race!" she commanded.
Rosy raised her right arm whooping with joy, well on the way to the finish line. Jenna barked happily along with her.
"I think she'll learn to like it," her mother assured him before giving a kiss on the cheek.
Rosy made a right turn at a corner and slowed down to a more steady pace.
"Jenna. Easy, girl." Rosy ordered her sled puller.
As they passed the crowds of spectators, two female dogs trotted up to Jenna's side. They were her canine friends Dixie and Sylvie. Dixie was a cream purple Pomeranian, while Sylvie was a light brown Afghan Hound.
"Good morning, Jenna," Dixie greeted. "Oughta be a close race, don't you think? Maybe even neck and… neck."
Sylvie rolled her eyes at that pompous statement. "Say something about her collar before she gets whiplash."
"Um, Dixie, what a pretty collar. Is it new?" Jenna asked.
"What, this old thing?" Dixie answered smugly. "Yeah. Do you think, um, Steele will notice?"
Sylvie and Jenna looked at each other for a moment. They rolled their eyes at the thought of Steele noticing someone negligible like her.
"I'm afraid the only way Steele notices anyone is if they're wearing a mirror," Jenna commented.
While Rosy kept riding her sled past the crowd, Balto and Richard were reaching closer to where the finish line would be. It won't be long before the winner arrives there. Richard began to gradually fall behind since his feet couldn't keep up with Balto's greater endurance.
"Could we please slow down?" Richard panted in between breaths. "I don't think I can keep up."
Balto immediately slowed down and walked at a more casual pace. "Yep. We're almost there."
Richard sighed in relief as he took a moment to catch his breath while still following Balto's path. Just as he finished relaxing, he looked behind him and noticed that something was amiss.
Boris was gone!
"Where is Boris?" Richard asked, concerned.
"Don't worry. He'll catch up with us soon enough." Balto replied with certainty.
Richard was puzzled by that statement. Why would Balto be fine with leaving his so-called father behind? Anyway, he would just have to take Balto's word for it.
"Okay, I think the race should be…right there,'' Balto finished, turning his head to the direction where he heard cheering from.
"Finally!" Richard exclaimed happily.
"All right, now make sure…" Balto began before noticing that Richard went out of sight in an instant.
"to stay close," he muttered in annoyance.
Richard ran straight for the bright opening in the alleyway. He was very eager to finally reach an open space in town. But first, he needed to see who the winner would be just out of curiosity.
As he reached closer to the wide-open area, a red husky pulling a sled abruptly appeared in front of him. Richard yelped in surprise and tried to skid to a halt, but the frozen ground was too slippery to let friction slow him down. His feet got caught on the sled and tripped him over. He landed on top of the sled, knocking the wind out of him. Richard laid there, gritting his teeth from the sharp wave of pain that rushed through his ribs.
The sudden bump startled Rosy, making her quickly leap off her sled. She walked over to take a closer look at what just hit her sled. To her surprise, a young boy was lying smack dab on top of her sled. Rosy looked at him with worry and checked to see if he was hurt.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Richard groaned weakly and responded with a thumbs up, still lying facedown.
"Phew! You scared me back there," Rosy said in relief. "I thought someone smashed my sled."
Richard got up and looked at the spot he just hit. "Sorry for falling on your sled. I hope I didn't break it or anything like that."
Rosy took a close inspection at where her sled was hit and knocked the wood a few times. "Yep, the sled is fine."
Richard looked back at the alleyway and noticed something else.
Balto vanished as well!
Before he could worry, he heard more voices coming from other dogs near him.
"Who's that?" Dixie asked rudely.
"I don't know. Probably some klutz. You never know who you might run into." Sylvie warned.
Richard could tell who they were referring to. He felt tempted to glare back at them, but unfortunately, he couldn't do that since that would give away his new ability.
"Hey, I haven't seen you before," Rosy peered closely at Richard.
"Yeah, it's my first day here," Richard spoke nervously.
"Great! Welcome to Nome. My name's Rosy," she said with her right arm extended.
"I'm Richard," he said, shaking her hand. He looked back and forth between Rosy and Jenna. "There's something funny I just noticed. Looks like you and your dog have matching colors. It's like you both were made for each other."
Rosy giggled at that little observation. "Yes, I know that." She walked over to her red husky and petted her some more. "This here is my wonderful dog, Jenna. Say hi, Jenna."
Rosy heard Jenna barking but what Richard heard was Jenna greeting him with human words, which still felt uncanny.
"What's wrong? You look a little tense," Rosy asked.
Richard gave a little shiver and quickly rubbed his arms to warm them up. "Oh, the weather's just a little too cold here."
"That's okay. You'll get used to it." Rosy said.
Richard's crystal then began to glimmer again, catching Rosy's attention.
"What's that on your neck? It's very pretty," Rosy gasped, her eyes wide with amazement.
"What, this?" Richard looked down at his neck. "Oh, it's just a little birthday present I got recently."
Rosy stared at it for a little while before asking, "May I take a look at it?"
"Um, sure," Richard answered before removing his necklace.
Rosy cupped both of her hands together, and Richard placed it gently on top of them. While Rosy continued to gaze at Richard's little prized possession, he did a little experiment by listening closely to his surroundings. To his dismay, all he could hear was a mixture of barking and noisy chatter around him. It seems that he was right. He really can talk to animals thanks to his crystal.
"They're comin'!" an onlooker shouted.
Rosy gasped after hearing that. She quickly handed him back his crystal and rushed back to the footboards on her sled.
"Sorry, I gotta go! I'll see you later!" Rosy pulled the reins, making Jenna pull the sled again.
Richard waved goodbye as he watched the two disappear in the crowd of people.
Shortly after that, Richard looked around for any sign of Balto. That was until Balto suddenly emerged from the shadows, who Richard was pleased to see.
"Where have you been?" Richard asked.
"I told you to make sure you stay close but you didn't listen," Balto answered.
"Sorry, I got too excited before I could hear that." Richard apologized, feeling slightly abashed.
"It's okay," Balto said calmly before he turned away. "Let's just get going. If not, we're gonna miss the end of the race."
Richard nodded at Balto, and he followed him once more into the cheering crowd. He stuffed his crystal inside his jacket to make sure not to attract any attention from others. They eventually reached a perfect spot and watched from the sidelines. Everyone cheered as the leading team made a final turn reaching closer to the finish line.
"Who's winning?" Richard asked.
"It must be Steele," Balto squinted closely in the distance.
Steele kept panting hard and noticed three female dogs swooning over him. He reacted by straightening his neck and giving a proud smile.
While the crowd continued cheering for Steele's victory, Richard noticed that Balto was staring at something. He looked in the direction Balto was facing and to his surprise, he spotted Rosy and Jenna hugging in his view. He couldn't help but smile at her warmhearted nature.
"Come on, Steele!" Rosy shouted.
Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew Rosy's hat away from her grip.
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed.
The musher's hat flew through the air for a short while and landed right in the middle of the racetrack. Rosy and Jenna gasped in shock at the events unfolding in their eyes. Balto glanced back and forth between them and the arriving sled team. This was his one shot for her attention.
"My hat!" Rosy yelled.
She made a few steps before Jenna grabbed her left sleeve to protect her from danger. As the sled team passed by, Balto grinned at his golden opportunity and sprinted straight for the hat. This daring act caught Richard off guard, and he gasped at Balto's path towards danger.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Richard shouted in a panicked voice.
The crowd also began to take notice of his surprise appearance.
"It's that stray dog!"
"He's gonna ruin the race!"
Richard paused for a moment and shook his head in confusion. These people know this dog?
Meanwhile, Boris had finally caught up and squeezed himself tightly through the crowd. He noticed Balto running towards the team and let out a terrified shriek.
Balto continued running, and it didn't take long to catch up neck and neck with Steele. He noticed Balto trying to outrun him and glared angrily.
"Hey! Outta my way, lobo!" he warned.
Balto paid no heed to his warning and kept running, edging closer to the musher's hat. He gradually began to get ahead of the team, and Steele wasn't going to let that slide. He suddenly attempted to bite Balto's leg like he did with the previous sled team. Luckily for Balto, his fast reflexes let him dodge Steele's gaping jaws within an instant.
Rosy and Jenna gasped in suspense as Balto finally grabbed her hat and narrowly avoided the team in the nick of time just moments away from getting trampled.
Richard felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders after finally seeing Balto safe and sound. Although Boris gasped in surprise, he wasn't very proud of Balto's cockiness.
"When will you learn to stay on the sidelines?!" he scolded.
Richard heard his loud voice and found Boris sticking out from the crowd due to his short height. He finally figured out where Boris was at. The sled sped by Boris, splashing him completely with snow. He chuckled amusingly at his snowy-looking shape.
Richard strolled to get to Balto but then stopped dead in his tracks when he heard something peculiar nearby. It sounded like some kind of rhythmic beeping. He spotted some huge lettering on the window next to him and peered through the glass.
"To Juneau Daily Chronicle. Stop. Steele wins first place of season. Stop…" Richard heard from outside.
He could instantly recognize that as morse code judging by the beeping and the telegraph operator reading the message. He finally got a clue for when he must've traveled to, which was at least some time during the last century. He had to get going to meet back with Balto, so he ran again.
Steele and his team continued as the crowd kept on cheering for the winning team. Steele proudly stood in the front while three dogs, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were kissing up to him.
"Congratulations, there, boss, there," Nikki praised highly. "It was a pleasure runnin' behind youse. Of course, the view got monotonous."
Y-you are the most amazing, the most exalted, the most preeminent, the most top-drawer…" Kaltag rambled.
"You won!" Star interrupted, giggling a little.
Kaltag got infuriated at that interjection and bonked him right on the head, making him go "SPLAT" on the snow. Steele walked to his musher and still did his prideful grin while standing straight. The photographer nearby grabbed his camera attached to his tripod and listened to the musher's small talk.
"I don't know. You think maybe Steele's losing his edge?" the musher asked.
"Yeah, looks like just about any other dog could outrun him," the photographer answered.
As soon as they left, Steele snarled in anger and felt his pride gutted. Who are they to say that he's "losing his edge"?
"Balto," Rosy called.
Hearing that name made Steele turn his head sharply in her direction. He saw Balto handing back her hat after his heroic deed.
"What a crazy thing to do just to show off to a pretty girl," Rosy teased.
Balto and Jenna finally met face to face. Balto grinned sheepishly while Jenna was a little bashful and quite speechless. Her eyes looked away, and she smiled too, feeling shy from the close intimacy of their encounter.
Not too long after, Richard arrived, and Rosy was very delighted to see him.
"I didn't expect to see you again so soon," Rosy said.
"Yeah, me neither," Richard responded. He saw Balto and Jenna close together and teasingly said, "Looks like someone here's being all lovey-dovey."
Both dogs blushed from hearing that statement.
"You know Balto too?" Rosy asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Richard replied. "I might have bumped into him not too long ago."
"Well, Balto is a good dog," Rosy petted Balto.
Richard nodded in agreement. He raised his right hand and hovered it above Jenna's head.
"May I?" Richard asked.
"Of course!" Rosy answered.
He crouched down to Jenna's level, and she sniffed his hand. She then put her head down and let him slowly stroke her velvet-colored fur.
"You know, that's a pretty beautiful dog you got there. So bright and vibrant." Richard said.
"That's nice of you," Rosy replied with gratitude.
He then noticed Jenna smiling and heard her say, "Why, thank you."
"You're welcome," he immediately blurted out.
Jenna gasped in surprise, and Richard covered his mouth with both hands, realizing that his mouth slipped.
"What was that?" Rosy asked.
"Oh, nothing," Richard shrugged.
Jenna narrowed her eyes and stared suspiciously at Richard. Did he just communicate with her? Between human and dog?
Rosy dismissed his utterance and said, "Anyway, I'm sure Jenna would love to have you on your team."
Richard watched as Rosy got Balto to wear the sleigh reigns. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, for Rosy's father noticed her interacting with Balto and rushed for her. He hastily grabbed Rosy away and kicked snow at Balto to scare him away.
"Hey! Hey! Rosy! Stay away from him!" Rosy's father demanded.
"Dad!" Rosy whined.
Balto looked back in shame and cowered away with misery in his eyes.
"He might bite you, honey. He's part wolf," he warned.
Hearing that last word made Balto flinch and stare back with a saddened expression.
"Oh, now you hurt his feelings," Rosy said with dismay.
Richard was greatly appalled by how her father treated Balto.
"Hey! What's your problem with him being part wolf?" Richard cried out irritably.
"Nothing, kid," her father explained. "Look, a dog that's half wolf can be a lot more aggressive than a normal dog."
Richard's eyes widened a bit and carefully considered that reasoning.
He hesitantly nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I guess I'll see you some other time."
"Okay, then," Rosy's father grabbed Rosy's sled. "Come on now."
He held her left hand and began walking her back home.
"Huh, strange kid," Rosy's father muttered. "Is he a new friend of yours?"
Rosy furrowed her brow and answered, "Yeah, I just met him today. Said he was a newcomer."
"Okay, I was just curious," her father replied.
Steele chuckled sinisterly and saw this as the perfect opportunity to woo Jenna. He advanced towards her, but Sylvie and Dixie blocked his path almost immediately.
"Congratulations and felicitations, Steele," Dixie commended him.
"Ladies," Steele stepped past them with a suave voice.
Dixie stared down, leading to her shivering and panting erratically. Her limbs sprawled in all directions, and she landed flat on her belly, moaning in pleasure. Steele finally approached Jenna and began his flirtatious conversation. Balto stared back once more in defeat and resumed walking.
"Hi there, Jenna. Enjoyed the race?" Steele said.
"Yeah. Almost as much as you did," Jenna replied while Steele seductively licked his lips.
"Thanks," Steele responded. "Jenna, let's go celebrate. I know where all the bones are buried."
Jenna sighed in annoyance, but Steele leaned closer, making her feel uncomfortable.
"I don't know, Steele. Suddenly I lost my appetite," Jenna said doubtfully.
Jenna passed ahead of him quickly, and he stood there taken aback by her refusal.
"Ohh," Steele said, rolling back his burly shoulders with a crackle. "Well, maybe your taste runs more toward… wolf."
Jenna became flustered and was about to step back towards him when Rosy called her name.
"Jenna! Come on, girl. We're going back home." Rosy called to her.
Jenna gazed at him one last time and stated, "Sorry, Steele. My girl is calling me."
She stepped away, and Steele continued forward, but Dixie got close to Steele the moment Jenna left, standing very close to his legs.
"On the other hand, my girl is away at boarding school," Dixie attempted to persuade him, pawing at his collar.
Steele smiled uncomfortably and stepped past her, making her fall on her back. He then turned back and noticed someone else tagging along with Balto. What was the new boy doing with that freak? He made a sly grin and sneakily followed behind them.
Earlier...
As Richard watched Steele flirt with Jenna, something about Steele didn't sit right with him. He could tell that Jenna was very hesitant about dating, while Steele kept being insistent on getting her to join him. Compared to how she felt with Steele instead of Balto, she was a lot more comfortable being with the former than the latter. Steele just couldn't give up on trying to get the girl.
He shook his head in disgust and looked back noticing Balto slouching with his head hanging low. It had been a big shock to him finding out how mistreated Balto was this entire time. He ran back to Balto and would try to cheer him up in some way.
"Balto!" Richard called to him.
Balto turned around and saw Richard catching up to him.
"Hey, Richard." Balto greeted unenthusiastically. "I guess you're here to say you don't wanna stay with me anymore. I'm sure Rosy's parents would be more than happy to take you in, unlike someone like me."
"What?! What are you talking about?" Richard asked, flabbergasted. "I don't care what he said about you. At least you don't seem that way to me."
Balto felt a little spark of optimism after hearing that. Someone was finally warming up to him besides Rosy. A few seconds later, Boris popped up from around the corner, finally reaching them. Boris was about to lecture him but noticed Balto's disheartened expression and kept his mouth shut. It pained him to see Balto stuck like this for years on end.
They turned to the alleyway next to them and walked through the many wooden homes surrounding them. As they kept going, Balto stopped when he saw Boris open his beak. He was about to say something but paused for a moment. He tried again but struggled to find the words to get out of his mouth.
A glimmer of hope soon occurred when he heard Jenna's name being called. His ears perked up and listened closely. After a quick realization that it was Rosy's voice, he gasped with joy and sprinted towards the direction of the voice. He happily glanced back at them for a quick moment.
While running through an opening in a fence, he turned his head back and Jenna was close up in front of his eyes! He was barely able to halt and slid close to her, booping their noses together. Jenna was stunned by his unexpected appearance, and Balto, seeing her reaction, stepped back with embarrassment. He chuckled nervously, sitting back on his haunches.
"Jenna, I, uh…" he stammered while smiling bashfully.
Jenna smiled at him too but turned her head away when she heard her name being called by her owners.
"Jenna!" Rosy's father called.
"Jen! Come on!" Rosy also called while hopping.
She looked back and gasped when she noticed that Balto disappeared. All she could see were the pawprints he left behind. Jenna followed the pawprints through the fence and sniffed them. She looked around for him and tried to pick up his scent but heard her name again and left the scene.
What she didn't know was that Balto was watching her from a distance, hiding underneath a wooden boat. He sorrowfully watched as she left and sighed in disappointment. Richard had seen the whole event and was greatly astonished by their closest encounter he's seen by far. While they continued on their way home, he couldn't stop thinking of that brief romantic moment with them being so close to each other. It was a very cute scene that kept repeating in his head.
"Balto, there's some things I can't do for you," Boris lectured.
"Yeah, yeah," Balto rolled his eyes.
"I'm goose, not cupid," Boris continued.
Their conversation was interrupted when Steele and his trio of goons appeared from behind them.
"Didn't make the team, Bingo?" Steele insulted.
"Don't listen to him. Don't look at him. Live a long life," Boris insisted with a worried look on his face.
Balto had enough of his tormenting and glared back at Steele. "My name's Balto."
"But you can call him idiot," Boris muttered to himself as Balto went to confront Steele.
Steele gave a mischievous grin and continued ridiculing him. "I'm sorry. Balto. Balto, the half-breed."
Nikki, Kaltag, and Star followed him from behind, taunting and hooting at him. Boris had his fingers on his forehead, discontent with how Balto reacted. Steele went to Boris and got close to his face, startling him.
"Hey, old goose, you half-breed too, huh? Part turkey?" Steele asked teasingly.
He shoved Boris with his snout, tumbling him onto an old metal grill in the position of a roast turkey, and the top lid closed shut.
"Good wordplay there, boss," Nikki said.
"You are the wittiest, the quickest. You are the drollest, the cleverest, the sharpest, the most hilarious…" Kaltag rambled again.
The other two nodded in agreement, but Star began laughing uncontrollably.
"You crack me up!" Star shouted uproariously.
Kaltag once again got annoyed by his antics. He raised his fist in anger and bonked him on the head again. Star's eyes rolled in circles and fell flat on the ground again.
"And who do we have here? Some foolish human that made a big mistake being with a half-breed?"
He exposed his gnarly teeth and lunged forward, snapping his jaws at Richard. He jumped back and screamed in terror, trembling with fear. His face turned paler than a sheet as white as snow.
"Haha! We got a scaredy-cat here!" Steele snickered along with his chuckling trio.
"I-I'm not a scaredy-cat!" Richard retorted, his voice quivering.
The gang gasped in surprise after realizing that Richard understood what Steele meant.
Steele was nearly in disbelief and answered, "Then you must be half breed too, being able to understand humans and dogs. Which means you're a freak like your friend over there."
Balto walked in between and defended them, being fed up with Steele.
"Steele! Leave them out of this," he demanded.
"Oh, Balto," Steele grinned evilly.
He whacked Balto twice with his bushy tail.
"I got a message for your mother," he announced.
He and his trio grouped in a circle, and Steele began howling mockingly. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star laughed at this and began howling together with him.
That was the final straw! Balto shot back a deadly glare and bared his sharp wolf teeth. Balto growled menacingly, and the gang, unfazed by his rage, kept on mockingly howling.
"Hi, mom!" Nikki jeered mockingly.
"Hey, Balto, translate this for me," Kaltag added.
"What's wolf for 'go chase your tail'?" Star shouted.
Richard noticed Balto's rage and began to get concerned. He looked like he was about to rip their faces open. He began to consider that maybe Rosy's father was right. A half wolf can be a lot more aggressive than other dogs.
Boris opened the dome lid from the grill and bit his lip hard when he saw Balto advancing towards them. He grabbed Balto's tail and tried to tug him back. It wasn't effective at all, and he trudged through the snow along with him. He pleaded Balto to stop.
Richard bit his lip too as he looked nervously at whatever fate was in their paws. He had to quickly decide if it was still safe to be with Balto. If he tore them to shreds, he would surely without a doubt stick with Rosy's family instead.
As Balto reached closer to them, they finally noticed his presence and stopped howling.
"Uh-oh," one of them muttered.
Steele, not even intimidated by Balto's threat, ordered, "Get him."
The three dogs guarded him and started barking back at him.
Steele stood there in the center, his head high above Balto, and warned, "Get out of here, wolf-dog. You better get back to your pack!"
During that last syllable, he spat on Balto's snout, but he shook it off shortly after that. Boris finally intervened and pushed back Balto's face to try to tame him. Balto's face went from rage to woe, and Boris became wide-eyed after seeing his change of expression.
"Maybe it's the unrelenting fear talking, but I'm seeing wisdom in this advice. Maybe we go now, huh? Now!" Boris hurriedly demanded as he pushed Balto away from them.
Richard was relieved to see Balto back to his usual self but remained skeptical. He then decided that he would continue with Balto since he realized that Balto had the heart to even let him come with them. He couldn't bear to leave Balto behind with that sad look on his face. Especially after what he had just seen Balto go through. He stayed close to Balto and continued to console him as they walked away.
Steele and the gang turned around and started kicking mounds of snow at them. The snow splashed on them, and they kept walking away, feeling humiliated.
"I'm thinking Balto's friends got their feathers ruffled," Kaltag joked.
"Goose! Ha! I get it!" Star loudly cackled.
One of the dogs kicked a stone hidden in the snow, and as they scurried away, it hit Balto in the head. He screamed in pain and crashed into a pile of lumber.
"Oh, my gosh! We gotta get out of here!" Richard exclaimed when he saw Balto's injury.
They ran faster and quickly went out of sight.
"Half-wolf in the side pocket there," Nikki said.
"That was the most dead-center, the most on-target, the most down-the-middle…" Kaltag rambled once more.
"Ya hit him!" Star interrupted.
He saw Kaltag's annoyed expression and ducked and covered. He peeked through and sighed in relief when Kaltag did nothing. He suddenly did a sucker punch, a swift uppercut to his chin. He knocked out a tooth, and Star fell on the snow. Steele chuckled sinisterly and left through another opening in the wooden fence. That was the moment when the trio revealed their true colors.
"That son of a…" Nikki said secretly to Kaltag.
"He is the most malicious, the most disgusting, the most obnoxious, the most revolting, the most repulsive..." Kaltag confessed.
"He's no lap dog," Star commented.
Kaltag raised his fist for the umpteenth time, and Star shook his head in refusal. He raised his own fist and bonked himself in the head, knocking himself out.