Aleu the Sled Dog
Balto raced along the snowy track. White flakes fell upon his coat as the snow began to drop down from the dark cloudy sky. He glanced behind him. His son, Kodi, was trying his best to pull the dogs behind him in line. He looked exhausted and Balto could not blame him. The journey from Nome to White Mountain had been easy enough, but the run back to Nome was proving difficult as snow was falling faster and faster, and the icy sharp wind chilled every sled dog's bones. Balto looked ahead and fixed his gaze on the red horizon. Darkness would fall soon, the sun was setting quickly, and Balto knew that if he and his team did not make it back to Nome before the sun set fully, the going would be even tougher. Yet he pressed on, but the squabbling and yipping of the dogs behind him irritated him.
"Keep in line, boys!" Balto called out to the rest of the team. Kodi tugged at the line which held the dogs together and the team straightened out. Balto smiled. His son was learning so quickly and was becoming a fast dog and a good team player.
Balto focused ahead again. The sky was even darker now, the sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon altogether and there was still no sign of Nome. Balto scowled and sped up. The ground beneath his paws was slippery; the ice was beginning to melt as the weather became warmer. Spring was on its way and the snow was becoming more treacherous than it had been in winter.
Balto found it hard to keep his grip on the track. He could feel the team behind him struggling also, some dogs yapped and yelped as they stumbled and slid. It was not long before Dusty, a young female, slipped and fell head first into the snowy-slush. Balto skidded to a halt and looked round.
"Ah, I'm ok, I'm ok!" Dusty said quickly as she unsteadily got to her feet.
"Come on," Balto said loudly over the wind that was beginning to howl through the forest around them, "we mustn't have far to go now. Nome is just over that horizon!"
But the sun had set and the horizon had turned dark. The snow was falling thicker than ever and the wind was stronger and colder than it had been before. Balto knew he had to lead the team on, but the weather was turning into a storm and as they began to trudge on he could hear Dusty whimpering as she limped along slowly.
"Dad!" Kodi yelled from behind, "It's too dangerous to go on! We've got to find somewhere to shelter!"
Balto nodded and looked around. There were trees, many trees, but none would give a whole sled dog team shelter. He raised his head and sniffed at the air. He snuffed at the ground and thought hard. His mind spun with thoughts of finding the trail and getting back on track again, but the snow was almost blinding him as it tore down from the clouds and he knew that it was a lost cause.
"We'll find shelter and wait until morning!" Balto called to the sled team.
He then struggled forward and moved as quickly as he could through the trees. His amber eyes darted here and there, searching for a form of shelter.
Some time passed, the storm grew more intense, and still Balto could see no sign of shelter. Kodi looked hard too, so did Dusty and the rest of the team. Balto could not give up, not now. Then something caught his eye. Something had moved through the trees.
"Oh no," Balto grumbled, "If it's a wild-eyed grizzly then that's all we need."
"Dad?" Kodi called through the storm, "why have we stopped? We need to find shelter!"
"I…" Balto's breath hitched in his chest. There it was again, that shadow, what ever it was, it had just moved again. Balto slid out from his halter and stepped forwards.
"Dad!" Kodi cried again. "Where are you going?"
"Kodi, stay back, something's out there and I'm going to find out what it is!" Balto replied.
The wind ruffled his coat as Balto stepped forward through the snow storm. In the shadow of the trees something was stirring, something big, not big enough to be a grizzly (which was a great relief to Balto) but something about the same size as Balto. He screwed his eyes up and peered into the darkness through the curtain of snow that fell around him. It was looking at him; its eyes were glinting, staring at Balto through the storm. Suddenly, it sprang.
Balto was knocked back into the snow. He opened his eyes and found he was pinned down. The creature was holding him down. It lifted its head and let out an ear-piercing howl. Balto gritted his teeth and tried to struggle free from the creature's paws. But suddenly, something came to him. An old memory became dislodged from the back of his mind and he knew then who the creature was. Balto looked up and sure enough, the howling figure above him was his daughter.
"Aleu!" He grinned.
The wolf stopped howling and looked down at him.
"Papa? Is that you?"
Balto grinned and Aleu yelped with joy before giving him a thorough face-licking.
"Papa, I can't believe it's you!"
"I can't believe it's you!" Balto chuckled. "But maybe now you know it's me, you could let me up!"
Aleu stepped off Balto's chest and he slowly got to his feet.
"I'd love to stand and talk to you," Balto said, "but my team and I are lost in this blizzard. We've been trying to find shelter but we haven't been very successful. We need help."
Aleu smiled and walked back with Balto towards the waiting team.
"Who's that?" Kodi asked quietly as he saw his father return with Aleu.
"It's a wolf…" barked one of the dogs in a shocked voice.
"This," Balto said, "is Aleu, your sister Kodi."
Kodi gasped and the other sled dogs looked on in wonder at the scene unfolding before them.
"Aleu," Kodi whispered, "but, I…I haven't seen you since we were pups!"
"I know," Aleu said quickly, "but we can talk when we get back to Nome, Papa?"
She turned to Balto who stood patiently by her side.
"I can lead you back. The storm is beginning to ease off now and I know a side trail you can take to get back to Nome quickly."
"Then let's get going!" Balto said eagerly. "Aleu, you can lead on!"
Aleu was right when she said the storm was easing, for Balto and his team found it easier to see what was ahead of them. Slowly they wound their way through the trees, Aleu stopping to snuff at the ground every now and then to check if they were going the right way. Eventually, though it took a long time, they made it out of the forest and out onto the open tundra. Aleu looked around her. There was no light from the silver moon that night, or from stars, or even from the Northern Lights, for they were all covered by the thick blanket of cloud that spread across the sky. This made it even harder for Aleu to work out where she was.
"Come on," She said suddenly, "I think I know where I am, it's not far to go now."
"'I think' doesn't reassure me." Dusty grumbled from the back of the team. But the sled dogs had no choice and followed Aleu across the open snowy plains.
The land on either side of the trail was beginning to rise up and the team and Aleu soon found themselves following the track through a mountain pass where the snow became deep and difficult to walk through. The track opened out onto an ice bridge which ran over a deep gorge. The walls of the gorge lead straight down into a fast flowing icy-looking river that sped along below, meandering its way through the pass.
At first the team were very reluctant to cross the bridge, but Aleu lead on bravely, followed by Balto and Kodi who pulled the team along after them. Only Dusty was having trouble crossing the bridge. She yelped suddenly and slipped, tumbling sideways off the narrow ice bridge. Balto dug his claws into the ice and looked behind him.
"Hang on Dusty!" He cried and slowly began edging his way forwards off of the bridge.
"You can do it, Dusty!" Kodi and Aleu both shouted at once. Dusty scrambled back onto the bridge and, followed by the rest of the team, skidded off the bridge and onto the snow on the other side where Aleu, Balto and Kodi waited for them.
"Are you alright, Dusty?" Kodi asked her as soon as she was safely back on the track.
"I'm ok, I'm ok." She replied.
Jenna the husky sat and waited at the edge of Nome, staring quietly out over the open snowy plains. The clouds above were clearing and shafts of silver light shone through from the half-hidden moon.
"Where are they?" She muttered to herself and she tapped her tail impatiently on the ground.
"I am sure Balto shall be back soon." A white snow goose mumbled from behind her.
"Oh, Boris," Jenna said quietly, "you startled me."
The two animals sat together watching and listening for the first signs of Balto and the team. Jenna lay down and rested her head upon her numb paws. Boris stared absent-mindedly at the mountains in the distance. Suddenly, a howl echoed loudly through the air.
"Balto!" Jenna cried excitedly and she leapt forward, knocking Boris into the snow. Jenna raced forward barking wildly but stopped in her tracks when she saw a sight she did not expect. Aleu ran forward and nuzzled Jenna softly.
"Oh, Aleu," sighed Jenna, "I haven't seen you for so long!"
"I know mum." Aleu chuckled and she wagged her tail happily. Balto sped past them and howled to the whole of Nome. He and the team arrived outside the post office with the mail and provisions still in one piece. Many people came out of their homes to welcome back the sled team. Balto wriggled free from the crowds and trotted merrily over to Jenna and Aleu who were walking back to the town together.
"Thank you, Aleu," Balto said proudly, "for leading my team and me back home."
"You lead them back?" Jenna asked Aleu, surprised. Aleu nodded and smiled at Kodi who was watching from the crowds. He grinned back and turned to join the sled team behind him. Aleu had not seen her brother for years, yet she felt more attached to him than she had ever done before.
"Who would have thought it? My wild Aleu, leading back a champion sled dog team." Jenna grinned.
"Just like a real sled dog," Balto smiled, "and I'm sure that if it weren't for you, we'd still be lost out there now."