Chapter 4: Where am I?

A/N: Sorry for the years of hiatus, but I've finally gotten back to continuing this fanfiction (for now). Just to note, the previous chapters will be rewritten to flesh out some scenes more. Anyways, off to the journey!

BANG!

The flare signaling the three-mile marker had just been shot. Standing on a wooden balcony was a grey half-wolf, half-husky hanging his head over the deck railing. In his mouth held a white-feathered goose that he carried around constantly by its head. That particular goose wasn't his prey though.

"It's the three-mile marker!" the wolf-dog exclaimed.

He lifted his head back behind the railing along with the agitated goose still in his jaws. The goose stood on the railing struggling to pull free from the canine's maw.

"Balto, get your slobbering mouth off me!" the goose loudly muffled with a Russian accent.

He soon broke himself free, nearly slipping off the snowy ledge.

"Come on. Let's go, Boris," Balto responded with excitement. "We can cut around the back and catch the end of the race."

Boris's eyes widened after hearing that and immediately argued against Balto's plan.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Boris winced as he grabbed Balto's tail. "I'm a delicate country bird."

Balto ignored him and kept on walking forward. Boris gripped his tail hard in retaliation.

"I hate going into town," Boris whined.

Balto turned around, faced Boris with a huge grin, and said, "Aw, come on. What's the worst that can happen?"

Boris, still not convinced, shook his finger like a parent disciplining a child. Before he could say another word, Balto sprinted off. He was abruptly yanked away screaming, hanging on to that tail for dear life.

Balto hopped across a few railings, while Boris lost his grip and flew high in the air. He quickly caught the goose by the tail feathers before he fell over the railing. Balto then threw Boris into a pair of trousers hanging on a clothesline. A clothesline pulley system connected the line between two wooden buildings.

Balto leaped off the edge afterward, grabbing onto the clothesline with his teeth. As he swung from side to side in the air, the force exerted pulled them over to the other side. He reached to the other side and landed on top of the roof ledge.

Boris kept panicking while Balto removed him from the trousers and was carried to the top of the roof. He was set free again by his canine pal.

"Why do I let you talk me into these things?" Boris asked while rubbing his behind.

He took another step, slipped on the snow, lost his footing, and slid off the roof. Luckily, a moose antler hanging on a wall caught one of his webbed feet, breaking his fall. He looked to his left, saw a pair of plucked geese hanging upside down, and let out a gasp of horror. Before he could escape, the butcher inside the shop grabbed him from the window nearby.

He was brought on top of a cutting board and had his tail feathers plucked off. Boris slapped the butcher's hand away and placed his tail feathers back on his tail. Boris pointed angrily at the butcher, and he revealed a large meat cleaver, instantly changing his anger to deadly fright. He dashed for the window but was immediately halted by the reflective blade that landed right in front of his face.

Then, he was grabbed by his feet and held to the cutting board. The goose watched as he saw the knife rise along with its shadow, indicating that it was aiming for his neck. He let out a terrified gasp, expecting his impending death. Fortunately, Balto arrived just in time to save him by pulling him away by his head right before the knife struck the wooden surface.

"Bring that back, you thief!" the butcher angrily demanded as Balto reached another roof.

Balto took another glimpse at the racing teams, while Boris made muffled honks and rants.

"You are putting me down, Mr. Golden Retriever?" Boris requested with a nasal-sounding voice.

Balto chuckled in amusement and released the grumpy goose once again.

"Whatever you say, Boris," Balto said.

"Every time there's a race, you run around like you're in it," Boris commented with concern.

Balto was the first to climb down the building, while Boris still stood on the roof.

"Maybe one day I will be," Balto spoke with confidence.

Balto watched as Boris began to get himself down from the roof.

"Heel, boy! Boris Goosinov is no spring chicken…"

Boris had slid down the snowy roof again and this time fell through a skylight and broke open another window below.

"I'm no spring penguin either."

He shook the snow off him and began to flap his wings and fly off. During mid-flight, he shivered and wrapped his arms around for warmth.

"Oy, it's cold!" Boris chattered through his teeth.

He fell from the air and landed on Balto's back. The wolf-dog leaped through another open window, then a second flare was shot. Balto broke open another door nearby and noticed the bright glare flying in the sky.

It was the two-mile mark.

"Come on! We don't want to miss the finish."

"Oh, that would be a tragedy."

Balto ran off again, causing Boris to twirl around like a cone drill, burying himself deep in the snow.

"I was being sarcastic."

As Balto kept running for the race track, he skidded to a halt after noticing something from the corner of his eye. He turned to his right and saw a speck of light appear in an alleyway. It flickered with a bright flash that went up for a short while before shrinking to microscopic proportions. He squinted his eyes trying to take a closer look.

"BALTO!"

Balto instinctively turned around and saw Boris waddling to him with a furious scowl.

"What were you thinking leaving me behind in the cold, huh?!" Boris yelled. "I'm still freezing my feathers out here!"

"Shh," Balto said in a hushed tone.

"Don't shush..." Boris squawked aggressively.

Before they could react, the light expanded into a bright glow, making them turn away to shield their eyes from the blinding glare. They both stood still frozen in fear.

When the light eventually vanished, they slowly turned their heads back and saw...a boy? Balto tilted his head to one side in bewilderment as he stared at this mysterious boy laying on his side. Boris was also petrified yet intrigued by this phenomenon that just occurred in front of their eyes.

After a short while of staring, Balto decided to go take a closer look at the boy out of curiosity. He stepped closer to the boy, while Boris stayed put attempting to get Balto away from him.

"Balto, please! Don't step any closer!" Boris warned.

Balto ignored his commands and took a closer observation of the little kid. The first thing he noticed was the blonde hair color. He had never seen any human with such vibrant hair besides Rosy. The winter clothing the boy wore looked very different from the ones the other humans wore.

Balto then sniffed the boy, noticing that this was a new scent, an odd one. It was unlike any other scent he's ever smelled in his life, like a warm, cozy, fuzzy kind. After a few seconds, he gasped after realizing that the boy's body temperature was still warm, but only for a brief moment before it dropped to a cooler temperature.

Balto looked behind the boy's shoulders and noticed some kind of blue item strapped to his back. Finally, he looked down at the boy's neck and saw a necklace that hung a little, transparent crystal that shone a small glow. He stared at it in awe, wondering where that kid got such a beautiful object.

Balto's mind was no longer focused on the race. All he could do was ponder what this boy was doing here. Boris began to lose his patience and ran to Balto's side.

"Balto, we leave now," Boris said urgently, grabbing his tail again.

"No, we're not. I'm going to check if he's all right," Balto replied, standing his ground.

Boris realized at this point it was no use trying to argue with this stubborn dog. He watched as Balto lightly nudged the boy's cheek with his snout. They both suddenly heard a small groan from the boy. His eyelids briefly twitched, and he turned over, now laying on his back.

Richard felt something touch his cheek and began to stir. He shivered and trembled from the freezing weather. Why did the temperature become quite chilly? It felt like he slept overnight in a freezer.

Richard slightly opened his eyelids, and his peripheral vision was one big blur. In his view were two fuzzy figures that he could barely make out. One of them looked light brown while the other one looked white.

"Is the kid okay?" a voice called. It sounded like it belonged to a grown-up.

Richard assumed it was referring to him and decided to respond.

"Um..yeah, I think so," Richard replied.

The two figures in front of him gasped in astonishment.

"Did you hear that?" another voice said in amazement. It sounded like a Russian accent.

Richard rubbed his eyes, and his vision finally cleared. He expected to see two men and saw...a dog and a goose? He looked left and right trying to locate any adults that the voices probably came from. No one else appeared to be in sight. Richard and the two animals stared at each other, both coming to the same realization.

"You can understand me?" the wolf-dog asked with the same adult voice that had spoken to him earlier.

Richard's eyes widened in shock, realizing where those two voices came from.

"Y-You're talking?! Dogs don't talk!" Richard cried out with a startled tone.

Balto couldn't believe his ears. All his life he had spent knowing that humans can't converse with dogs, yet the one in front of him was able to understand their native tongue. He was as shocked as Richard was.

There had been times when Richard longed to speak to animals, but deep down he knew that would never happen in real life.

"Don't worry, kid. We won't hurt you," the wolf-dog said reassuringly to the boy.

Richard slowly nodded while his body stood frozen in shock.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"R-Richard," the boy answered timidly.

"Well, Richard, it's nice to meet you," Balto replied.

Richard took a closer look at the wolf-dog, noticing something peculiar about his facial features. His facial expressions seemed a bit humanized. There was a sense of compassion in those eyes, which he never saw from any other dog.

It had to be a dream! Or was it?

No, everything felt too vivid to be a dream. The numbing feeling in his hands, the faint breeze sweeping across the land, the sense of amazement and wonder; it all was too real.

The boy took a look at his surroundings, noticing all the wooden structures that surrounded him.

Where did his room go? What was this place? How far was he from home? How did he end up here? Was he even on his planet?

He couldn't believe that the crystal would take his wish to the extreme, like transporting him to an unknown world. Nonetheless, he didn't have time to worry about that. His parents would be worried sick if he didn't return in time.

"Wait, where am I?" Richard asked in desperation.

"You're in Nome, Alaska," Balto replied.

Richard's jaws gaped open after hearing that. He was thousands of miles away from home. It looked like all hope of returning was lost.

Richard's heart sank with despair, shaken and uncertain about his fate. His eyes began watering up to the verge of tears. He wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face between them, sniffling.

"No...Mom...Dad. I miss home," Richard choked, his face remaining buried between his knees.

Balto stared at the boy with a look of pity and decided to make a quick decision.

"Would you like to stay at my place?" Balto asked with a comforting tone.

Richard involuntarily popped right back up from his position, smiled with gratitude, and nodded.

"No, no, no!" the goose yelled. "We are not taking him with us! I have too much to babysit!"

The boy's smile faded away and felt even more unbearable pain after hearing that. His tears flowed more frequently, and he sobbed harder, afflicted with hopelessness.

"Boris," Balto whispered, nudging him towards the direction of the miserable boy. "Look at him. A lonely boy that can talk to animals. His scent tells me he's not from around here. He's got nowhere to go, and I can't bear to leave a young boy out in the cold."

Boris realized the boy's pain, and his face softened feeling sympathetic for the lost boy. He looked helpless out in this town. This event began to remind him of something from years ago. This was almost like when he first met Balto as a pup and raised him as his lifelong son. It looked so helpless and lost, so he decided to adopt him and had since then built a strong bond with one another for years on end. He had a change of heart and decided to take back his refusal.

Boris sighed in defeat and said, "Okay, the boy can stay with us."

Richard sat up, smiled in relief, beamed with joy, and wiped his tears. That was until he looked at Balto's neck.

"Wait, aren't you a stray dog?" Richard asked hesitantly.

Balto paused for a moment before letting out a nervous chuckle, realizing the confusion that he made.

"Um, I do have a home," Balto clarified. "It's not what you think it is. There's an abandoned boat sitting outside that town, which is where I live."

Richard nodded in understanding. He looked at the wolf-dog, noticing that something was off. He looked like a dog, but some of his physical characteristics didn't look like a dog to him.

"What kind of a dog are you?" Richard asked with a confused look on his face.

Balto hung his head in shame after being reminded about the particular type of mixed-breed he was.

Balto, much to his chagrin, replied, "I'm a half-breed."

Richard still sat there with the same confused look. Balto stared back at him awkwardly.

"You know, like, part husky, part wolf? A wolf-dog?" Balto explained hesitantly.

"Oh, I get it. You still look cute whether you look like a dog or a wolf," Richard complimented.

"Thanks," Balto smiled softly, pleasantly surprised by his remark.

"I forgot to ask. What is your name?" Richard asked.

"My name is Balto," the wolf-dog answered.

Richard thought that was an interesting name. He got to his feet and stood up straight. He looked down at Balto, noticing that his height reached up to his waist. Balto looked slightly bigger than Richard would've imagined a usual dog to be.

He couldn't help but give Balto a nice big pat on the head.

"Good boy, Balto," Richard spoke softly, rubbing his furry head with his right palm.

"You too, Richard," Balto replied. "We'll find a way to get you home."

"Ahem!" Boris interjected with his arms crossed.

They both turned to the goose, realizing that they forgot about his presence during their conversation.

"Um, that's my father, Boris," Balto said sheepishly.

"Huh? Father?" Richard asked, perplexed by that thought.

"It's a long story," Balto said, "I'll explain that later."

Richard suddenly heard a loud bang followed by a loud whistling sound which startled him.

"W-What was that?!" Richard exclaimed shakily, as he saw a bright flare rise to the blue sky.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Balto said. "That's the one-mile marker for the dog sled race."

"There's a race?" Richard questioned inquisitively.

"Yeah, and I'm running late to catch the end of the race," Balto answered frantically.

Balto's ears perked up as he heard the sled teams getting closer and closer to the finish line.

"I'll take you to my place after the race," Balto said. "Just follow my lead, and make sure to keep up with my pace."

"Okay," the boy nodded. "I wouldn't mind seeing who wins the race."

Balto crouched down to his running position and asked, "You ready?"

Richard gave a nod of approval, and Balto sprinted straight away while Richard followed suit. He nearly slipped at first but was eventually able to stay caught up with Balto. Meanwhile, Boris ran through the same path albeit at a much slower pace.

Richard had no idea how he could get home, but it seems that these two were the only hope he's got. At least they offered him someplace to stay. They seemed to be mutual friends he can trust for now, especially when he can communicate with them. Maybe he can find a clue in this town on how to return home.