Chapter 4 - Remembering the Totems
As Boris was being dragged unwillingly through the snow, he was suffering great pain.
"Ow! what is-- wrong with-- you?" Boris asked the dog dragging him through the snow.
"Shut your herringhole, goose!" the voice bellowed.
"Oh-- you will NOT get away with this!" Boris yelled.
"Wanna bet?" The dog then dropped him, face-first, into the snow.
Boris coughed the snow out of his mouth and said, "Why are you trying to kidnap me? What did I do?"
The black-and-white dog opened his mouth to say something, but thought before speaking. He said to Boris, gazing off into the snow, "You know what-- you're-- you're right! Capturing you is no way to get Jenna to fall for me... I need something bigger!" He then kicked some more snow onto Boris and ran off, leaving him there. Boris tried to get up, but his legs hurt too much to move and he was freezing. He laid there, limp, awaiting his fate. "Balto--" he whispered. "Please-- save--" but then his head dropped, and blood came out of his mouth and his eyes closed.
Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Jenna was laying her puppies in the dog bed one by one, trying to get them to go to sleep.
"Balto... it's okay, I'm sure that we'll find him in the morning," Jenna said.
"I can only hope, Jenna-- but-- what if we never find him?"
"Dad, don't talk like that," Aleu piped up. "If you say that, we WON'T find him."
Balto sighed and hopped up onto the bed as Aleu laid down in the corner with Saint.
Jenna's puppies fell asleep right away, so Jenna carefully got out of the dog bed and sat down beside Balto.
"Balto-- please get out of your state of misery," she whispered. "Aleu is back-- what more could you ask for?"
"Boris."
"Yeah, I know you miss him and all, but you were still miserable before he disappeared. And I want to know why."
"Look-- I don't wanna talk about it."
"You never want to talk about it, Balto!" she yelled. Balto looked up at her with sad eyes and she sighed. "Come on, let's go outside and talk this over." She then got up from the bed and Balto followed her outside.
"Okay... Balto, I really want you to tell me what's going on. I'm concerned about you."
"Jenna, I'm--"
"Don't even try to tell me you're fine."
Balto sighed as a tear fell. "Okay, fine... I'll talk."
Jenna half-smiled and looked into Balto's sad eyes.
"I've been having the dreams again... but this time they're about Aleu."
Jenna looked at him understandingly and he continued.
"They're the same every night. Aleu gets-- taken away every time."
"By who?" Jenna asked quickly.
"That's the thing that bothers me the most. I don't know who it is! I can only see his silhouette in the dream. But... he looks vaguely familiar. He looks like..."
"Like who?" Jenna asked.
Balto sighed and said, "Steele."
Jenna looked down sadly and swallowed the lump in her throat. Her ears drooped down and she said, her head still down, "Don't those dreams usually come true?" she then looked into Balto's deep eyes.
Balto frowned and nodded.
Jenna gazed up into the sky and she ran back inside and laid down with her puppies. Balto watched her run inside and another tear fell as he ran inside behind her. He got up onto the bed and gazed at Aleu and Saint laying peacefully together. Aleu's head was resting on Saint's back, her paw was on top of his. They were sound asleep.
Then he remembered how his mother used to keep him warm like that. How his mother used to give him a piece of her caribou every night, to get him used to the taste for when he got older. How his mother used to put him to sleep every night with the story of the Raven, the Fox, the Bear, the Caribou, the Wolverine, and the Wolf. And he remembered it well.
The Fox-- the cunning trickster.
The Caribou -- life.
The Bear-- inner knowing.
The Wolverine-- his fears.
The Wolf--
Then he remembered... there was nothing for the wolf. His mother never mentioned anything about the wolf. But after his long journey to find Aleu, he discovered what the wolf truly meant. The wolf was himself. The wolf was his mother. And now he realized... the wolf was going to be Anaiu.
He fell asleep, having the dream once more. But this time, he saw who the silhouette truly was. It was as if the silhouette had come alive, even though it was already alive. The silhouette was Steele.
He was rescued from his dreams by a loud sound outside of the rusty cabin. It sounded somewhat like a dogfight. Balto rubbed his eyes and rushed outside quickly to see Saint lying limp in the snow. He was breathing heavily and he was bleeding badly, but it was nothing that wasn't curable.
"Saint, can you talk? What happened? Where's Aleu?"
Saint replied, breathing and pausing every once in a while, "Some stranger-- he was-- black and white. He had-- a-- brown collar on-- it looked like a champion's collar--
"What did he do with Aleu?"
"He-- took her away--"
"Which way did he go?"
Saint winced from his injuries and said, "They went-- that-- way." He pointed in the Eastward direction to a mountain.
Then he remembered. Memories started flooding back into his mind. The mountain that Saint was pointing at was the very mountain that Balto traveled to to find the lost sled team three years ago. He had been here before. But the one thing that he didn't see when he crossed this path was the cabin they were staying at.
But there was a snowstorm brewing that night. What were the odds that he would've seen it? There were too many thoughts going through his mind so many years ago to be aware of his surroundings.
But still, somehow, the cabin was there. He didn't know how, but it was there. And somehow, he didn't see it years ago. Maybe it was there before and he didn't see it. Or maybe it wasn't there years ago. To this, he didn't know what to think.
Then Balto knew he must go find his daughter. But first, he needed to say goodbye to his family. And Saint was kind of considered family.
"Saint... are you okay? Come on, I'll help you inside."
"No, Balto. Go. Go rescue Aleu, I'd be lost without her. Besides, it's not even cold right now, I'll be fine."
Balto smiled but said, "No, I'll feel guilty. Come on." He then picked him up and threw him onto his back and dropped him through the doggie door and then went through it himself.
"Jenna, I have to go find Aleu," Balto said.
"But, Balto... how will Saint and I stay here alone? How are we going to eat?"
"Jenna... do you remember the way home?" Balto asked.
Jenna nodded her head yes and said, "Yeah, I do, but... I don't want to leave you."
"Jenna... you have to. And it's too dangerous for you to stay here in a deserted cabin without food. There are no caribou nearby." He then looked at Saint, who was trying his best to get up.
"Saint... when you are well enough, will you go home with Jenna to protect her? she can't go alone, especially with the puppies.
Saint nodded and he finally got on his feet. Even though he was a little wobbly, he was fine.
Balto smiled and hugged him quickly. "Thank you, my brother."
Then Balto walked over to Jenna and their puppies.
"Jenna... make sure you and the kids get home safe." Jenna smiled and a tear fell from her sorrowful eyes.
Jenna then remembered what she did for Balto on his first journey. She took her bandana off and put it around his neck.
"Here," she said. "It's not much, but it will keep you warm." they smiled at each other and they nuzzled as the memories flooded back to them of his first journey. "Please be careful, Balto."
"Hey-- this is my third journey. You know I'll be back," Balto said as he walked to the dog bed where his puppies were laying.
He nuzzled all of them and said goodbye to them and he rushed out the doggie door into the snow.
Balto's journey had begun.
End of Chapter 4