Chapter 8
Rescue
On the lower levels of Balto's boat – the lowest one in fact, in the bow storage room – where the floor was beginning to rot, a patch about a foot and a half in diameter had started to shift slowly up and down. This kept up for maybe a full minute before the ancient-water soaked wood split with a sound like that of ripping cloth and the head of black and white Malamute burst forth, his forelegs clutching for purchase. Steele breathed heavily, panting as he moved slightly to the side to allow Angel and Star to join him. The malamute blew out a sigh of relief; five or ten seconds away from completely blacking out, they'd finally managed to break through.
"About feakin' t – " he started to say, but the rest of it 'About freakin' time I just about drowned,' faded away as he took in his surroundings. Staring at him, not three feet away, were the pups, all silently stunned. They were quiet…though for how long Steele couldn't be certain. As if conferring his fears, a small golden pup – one of Kaltag's almost certainly – started to yip. "Mr. Steele! You're – "
Star managed to shush him before he could say much else, acting quickly, shaking his head vigorously and mouthing 'Quiet! Quiet! No talking! They'll hear!' at them. They seemed to take his meaning easily enough, for the rest remained utterly silent. After pulling themselves from the wet and freezing water and shaking the chilling stuff from their fur, the pups came closer, all but whining with excitement.
"Star, Angel, Steele!" Whichever one of them was speaking sounded breathless with delight, even though they were all whispering. "Are you here to save us?"
They nodded, and then, looking around Steele spotted Boris and Sylvie in the corner, both groggy, seeming as though they'd just awakened from a heavy sleep. They'd been knocked out alright. But first thing was first; gotta get the pups outta here. 'Well, looks like we won't need the others' help after all, they put them right where we wanted without even knowing they were doing it,' he thought with some satisfaction. This job had just gotten a whole heck of a lot easier and far less dangerous.
"Alright," Steele said, speaking quickly and quietly, striving for calmness, his whole body was shaking slightly. He'd never felt so nervous in his entire life. "I'll go back and tell the others we won't all need to come aboard, that we'll just take the pups out two by two." He smiled. This was gonna' be a snap!
"Great," Angel said, moving toward the pups with Star in tow as Steele – with a grumble about the temperature – slipped back into the water. She explained quickly and simply how they would get out; She and Star would take them out two by two like Noah and his Ark. They should be as quiet as they could, "Otherwise," Star said, "Those bad wolves will hear us and won't let us take you guys home, okay?" They all nodded, lips apparently sealed shut.
The two of them started off, shepherding first Jenner and Marx to the slightly ragged hole and plunging in one at a time, doing it with extra care so as not to injure the pups. They propelled themselves with all of their strength, encouraged by the fact that the pups couldn't hold their breath as long as they themselves could, the two of them having the advantage of being fully-grown. Once out, and after a brief caution for the pups to still remain silent, they speed back again.
On the fourth trip, they judged Sylvie and Boris – whom they'd spared a few minutes to clue into what was happening – ready to go and allowed them to exit in the same manner before they, with their two little ones, followed after. All went well, and everyone seemed to think everything would go as planned, and they would be victorious in taking the pups back to safety of Nome.
That is, everything would've turned out as planned if something hadn't happened as Star and Angel – both almost too exhausted to move much – hadn't been discovered with the pups just before their last return trip…
((()-()))
Aries sat in the hallway leading to the room where those brats were being kept, sighing with boredom that Timber – his companion guard – couldn't help but glance at. Aries himself was a large black wolf with cold yellow eyes – he'd often been compared to El Diablo by his pack-mates, with more than adequate reason – and had a reputation for being utterly merciless, no matter what the circumstances. He could've been Juji's right-hand man if that position hadn't already been filled…
Timber, on the other hand, wasn't particularly interested in the life he'd all but been forced to lead for the past year. He was a large tan Timber – 'Oh ha, ha, ha, look at how stupid his name is! Timber! Timber for Timber wolf! So he won't forget what kind he is!' the others would joke, nastily – wolf, larger than Aries in fact, with green eyes and placed near the bottom of the social structure that governs the Wolf Pack; the Scapegoat in other words. He wasn't a bully, or particularly bad natured either – as a matter of fact, he was sorry their leader had taken the pups prisoner, for he honestly liked them – and disliked attacking anyone without reason or provocation. But all that didn't matter when you were honor-bound to a crazy gray wolf named Juji who'd saved your life and who also just happened to be double your height and weight and was utterly intolerant of insubordination among his followers. Well, such was life…
It was for this reason that Timber, being the nonviolent soul that he was, had dozed off during their shift – he'd even started to snore a little – right around the time Steele and the two others had broken in through the weak spot in the hull. It was also for this reason that Aries, who'd chosen that precise moment to wake him up with a rough shove, the action resulting in a little yelping cry of surprise from the until-then dozing Timber, didn't hear Steele's murmured conversations. Aries growled at the glowering Timber wolf. "Shut your coward's mouth, and stop sleeping on the job."
Timber, uncharacteristically irritated – for he hated these kinds of jobs, especially this one with its unjustly taken prisoners – shot him a nasty look. "I can't help it if I fall asleep, there's nothing to do!" He blew out a sigh. "This is so pointless! I mean what're a bunch of pups gonna' do against us? Hell, they couldn't even get out the door even if they wanted to! It only opens into the room, and we're guarding the only way out! Plus, we've got it locked!"
This little remark caused Aries to likewise become irritated. He hated the pups, especially when he and Timber and about six others had spent twenty minutes rounding them up and then afterwards, they'd all started crying and calling for their mommies and daddies and been utterly annoying. "Shut up about those brats, I hate to think about them, they're so annoying. If I had the choice, I'd kill them all outright, right here and now so as not to have to listen to anymore of their pitiful woes." he growled. Timber, who – as you should've by now guessed – was inwardly horrified by this bland statement – the words 'I'd kill them all' had come out sounding as natural as 'good morning' or 'hello' – but knew better than to show it on his face.
The two sank into an uneasy truce, one that neither had the guts to break, until Timber got up and walked out with the excuse to need to take a leak to which Aries grumbled a reply. He hoped Juji finished whatever business they had here soon so he could kill Timber and be done with him; he was nothing but a pathetic weakling in his opinion.
Aries lay down, head on paws, nearly drowsing himself, when a sound roused him. Was that a splash he'd heard just now? Surely not…after all, there was no way for the pups to reach the porthole in the wall, even if they stood one-atop-the-other, and he doubted they had the brains for such a feat. He told himself it was just his imagination or better yet, it was that idiot Timber stumbling and falling from the deck and into the water! He liked that the best. Yeah that was what it was. Had to be. Soon Timber would come sulking around the corner and Aries would ask 'So, you enjoy your swim?' and the other would growl 'Stow it, Dog Breathe.' And life would go on.
He settled back down and when he thought about it later – not that there would be much time for him to reflect – he'd decide that yes, okay, maybe he had dozed off. In any case, it took a few more sounds for him to register that, even if Timber was swimming back to the bank, he wouldn't bother to make so much noise, nor would he take so much time between strokes…
He leapt to his feet just as Timber came round the corner, and the tan wolf was completely dry from head to paw. "What's wrong?" Timber asked and just then the two of them heard another splash, this one the loudest yet. And then as if to top it all off they heard a low, feminine voice mutter, "Come on you two! Time to go home!"
"THEY"RE GETTING AWAY, COME ON!" Aries roared and rushed down the hall with Timber following somewhat reluctantly at his heels. Timber himself hoped that whomever it was who'd spoken would manage to get all the pups out before they got there. With a mighty 'CRASH-RATTLE' the black wolf threw himself into the door, causing it to go flying open only to rebound off the wall to come crashing back into Timber, who was struck, sprawling to the floor, head spinning and vision fuzzy.
((()-()))
Kavik could only look at Juji, confusion burning in his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, staring at Juji mistrustfully, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Well," Juji said, lightly. "After you nearly killed me, my goal in life became simply to repay the courtesy, only where you failed, I'd succeed." His eyes flashed again with that dark mirth. "But, after the first few months, I thought to myself, 'Why stop there?' Why be satisfied with just killing you…when I could do SO much more damage by snuffing out everyone you love and care about…" He laughed maniacally again.
"But…you do have something on the ball." He admitted, "I do want you to come with me in exchange for your precious little playmates back." He cast his scarred eye over the others. "Or…maybe those two bitches could go in your place... It's been a while since my pack's had any…" He stared directly at Tricksey, licking his chops as if with lustful anticipation. "…And I bet their blood tastes delicious…not as good as yours, maybe, but close enough…" he tittered again, that insane little lisp making them all, even his cronies Kavik noticed, shiver.
"You're insane…" Balto said, voice trembling with anger. "I'd never let my wife be violated by a scumbag like you…"
Kaltag's rage seemed too great for words, but his mate suffered no such hamper. "I'd rather DIE…" she retorted and spat in Juji's face.
The effect was immediate, intense and somehow terrifying. Juji's outward look of calm, insane amusement fell off his face as if it'd never been there in the first place. What replaced it was a malicious anger so great that it nearly matched Kavik's own in ferocity and made his eyes bulge slightly. His hackles rose, and he growled deep in his chest, muscles twitching as if eagerly begging himself to rush forward and rip Tricksey's head off and drink of her blood.
"That…can be arranged, very easily…." he said, in a tone that shook with anger and hatred. He took a step toward her, and despite her courageous spirit, Tricksey shrank back, eyes afraid. Balto, Kaltag, and Kavik moved to block her but Juji didn't look like he was very intimidated. Quite the contrary in fact; he looked almost savagely pleased by this show of defiance, as if the thought of a brawl made his heartbeat double with excitement…
The situation would've boiled over at that point – Kavik had reached the end of his restraint and was about to unload all of his considerable fury upon his loathsome adversary and rip him to bloody pieces, wolves or no wolves. But at that moment, a long howl rose into the air; the message carried on the wind to Juji's instantly alert ears…
((()-()))
"Come on you two! Time to go home!" Angel muttered to the two remaining pups, Kodi and Dusty, who came forward willingly. Angel risked a quick glance over to Star who, she saw, was shaking. She didn't blame him. After what'd turned out to be a total of somewhere around eleven or twelve plunges into the sub-zero water, she was drenched to the bone and freezing. The two pups came quickly and joyously, tails wagging, eyes bright with excitement –
A sudden shout of "THEY'RE GETTING AWAY, COME ON!" stopped them all cold and they could only stand, stunned. With a momentous 'BANG' the door was thrown open and a black wolf, at least four times her size leapt into the room. Frightened, Angel and Star seized the youngsters in their jaws and attempted to make their escape before the black lupine could intervene. He was too quick however. With a snarl of "NO YOU DON'T, YOU THEIVIN' !" he launched himself at them with his jaws agape.
Without thinking – pup-preservation automatically asserted itself and her maternal instincts took control – Angel dropped Dusty from her mouth and called to Star "Go! Get them out of here, now!" and turned to face her assailant, growling with all the courage she could muster. Star, unable to abandon his friend, likewise dropped Kodi and sprang to her aid, teeth locking onto the ear of the black wolf that was attempting to pierce Angel's jugular with his great fangs. As Star's own fangs tore the appendage from his head, he immediately released his hold on Angel to yowl in surprised agony, shaking his head from side-to-side, blood flying in spatters from the gouging wound. In the few precious seconds before he was clouted upside the head and knocked out cold, Star saw the look of gratitude in Angel's eyes and thought it to be the most fulfilling of his life. He also he a very brief glance of a tan paw come propelling through the air and opened his mouth to tell Angel to watch out, there were two wolves, but didn't even get past the second word. It struck him (almost gently, he would think later) along the side of his skull, laying him out cold on the floor, eyes large double zeros.
Angel, seeing Star go down, cried his name and rushed to his side, barely glancing at the tan wolf standing over him. When she looked back on it, she would realize that the Timber wolf had never wanted to hurt them at all, and, were it up to him, would've released the pups in an instant. Now, however, she was very briefly torn between two choices: Grab Star and escape, or stay, fight, possibly win and return with the pups. An agonizingly strong but mercifully short battle ensued within her, and in the end, she chose the first option, though it tore her heart to see the look of utter helplessness on the two remaining pups' faces. If they stayed here, she and Star would both very likely end up dead, and that would only add problems to the already problematic situation. They wouldn't help anyone by sacrificing their lives for nothing.
And so, with a quick snap of her jaws on the scruff of Star's neck, she leapt clumsily into the hole the three of them – she, Star and Steele – had made. The pair just barely managing to escape certain death by mere inches as the black wolf snarled in fury and took one last swipe at them before they'd disappeared into the dark waters. They didn't escape entirely unharmed however; the hole was ragged and simple, having been literally torn out and open, and she almost yelped in pain as she felt splinters sink into her back and felt Star give a twitch along side her as if he felt the same and sympathized. Once submerged, Angel started to kick for all she was worth for the shore, which meant life, all the while feeling the cold liquid surrounding them seep to her caress her very skin and imagining it to be the fingers of Death himself...
((()-()))
Timber rolled over, staring dazedly at the battle unfolding not five feet away from him. He watched in shock as three small dogs leapt onto three separate Aries and tore off three separate ears. He blinked, and the wold cleared again. He saw Aries, who'd been on the verge of killing one of the rescuers, the female probably, suddenly release his grip and jump away, yowling in pain, his left ear gone. Timber got quickly to his feet, dizziness momentarily making his legs feel like rubber – that smash in the face from the door had really hurt, you bet – but he shook it off and ran to assist his partner…little as he wanted to.
As he entered the fray, he swung his right paw, hitting the small one who'd ripped off Aries' ear with what most would've called a 'love-tap'; it wasn't really hard at all. But the small dog – who really felt like he weighed no more than a feather – went sprawling and Timber felt guilt hit him like a punch in the stomach. He'd never meant to hurt the little guy…
He hoped the dog wasn't hurt and hoped even more that the female saw the look of remorse in his eyes as she called out "STAR!" and then pulled him away with her. She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and vanished into the hole they'd made in the wood. They were fast, but almost didn't make it just the same, as they barely managed to escape Aries' last attempted swipe. Then they were gone, the two pups whining and crying on the floor. Aries, furious, turned and told them to shut up or he'd give them something to cry about and they ceased their sniffling and simply huddled in the corner together, both of them shaking with fear.
Then Aries was in his face, eyes blazing. "Where the HELL were you?" he snarled. Timber almost expected to see twinjets of steam issuing from the black wolf's nostrils.
"The door hit me on the rebound, knocked me almost unconscious, if you wanna know, no thanks to you!" Timber replied, affecting likewise anger. Yet inside he was shouting with joy at the escape of all their little prisoners…well almost all of them. There were still those two in the corner.
"Why didn't you kill them?" Aries asked, as if he hadn't heard Timber's first answer.
Timber sighed. "I was lucky enough to be able to hit one of em'. When I came running in, I was seeing three of everything!"
Aries was pulsing with anger. He threw himself at the hole – though it was clearly too small for such as he – trying and failing to do anything but splash a lot of water everywhere and Timber was finally forced – with a sigh of regret – to pull him up to keep from drowning. Aries' mood was somewhat improved when Timber pointed out that they hadn't lost all their prisoners; they still had the two huddled in the corner. But Aries' mood darkened once again and he started off on a tirade about what Juji was going to do to them when he found out that they'd screwed this up. Timber spared the pups a single glance that said, he hoped, 'I'm sorry you two didn't get a chance to go home too.'
Aries glowered, throwing a dirty look at the pups in the corner. "Yeah…I guess you're right." He said, resignedly, "Having only two out of twelve is better than none at all…" He sighed. "Come on…let's go tell him…" He walked over to the corner and seized both pups in his jaws by the scruffs of their necks – none too gently – and then lifted them up and carried them out the door and to the top deck.
As the two of them stood, Aries with his mouth full of wriggling squirming pups, Timber took a moment to look in the direction of Nome. So peaceful…he wished he could live in a place like that, instead of some unforgiving wolf pack made up of the dirtiest and most dangerous (and not to mention disgusting) wolves on earth. Yet he knew, or thought he did at least, that the dogs wouldn't accept him for his wolf heritage and because of his involvement in whatever plan Juji had concocted… what a shame.
Aries' growled and nudged him. 'Hurry it up' that growl said, and it brought him back to earth, and he pointed his nose to the sky and let out a long, piercing howl that carried to their leader across the snow…and Juji heard it. Heard it loud and clear…
((()-()))
Juji's eyes widened, but with shock instead of anger. Balto was furiously glad to see it. Juji was furious, you could see it in his body language, the way his muscles jumped and twitched. Kavik was also glad to see it, only his joy lit up his soul and spread a calm sort of clarity throughout his being, and he was able to push back his anger just enough to assemble coherent thought again.
"Something the matter?" He asked, a hint of mocking triumph in his voice.
"Oh clever you're a clever boy, you are, very clever indeed." Juji retorted, his own smile returning, and that made Kavik a little uneasy. Hell, let's be honest, it made him very uneasy…if all the pups were safe and sound, then just what the heck did Juji have to smile about? The question blazed in the foreground of his mind, like a big warning sign written not with paint, but with the bright neo-red glow of a woodstove.
"I have to admit, you're a lot smarter than I expected," Juji said, shooting a grin to Balto and Kaltag. "I'm afraid, despite my best efforts, you've been successful in your little 'rescue attempt...I really must comend you and your little friends..." He sneered at them.
"In your ugly face…" Jenna growled proud triumph shining in her eyes.
Juji turned his attention to her and his grim smile was still as prominent as before. "Well," he said, as if considering some trivial piece of information not worth the trouble of bothering with, "…I shouldn't say that; you weren't entirely successful…" His grin, so large it looked as though it would chop his head in two, spread across his face.
"What're you…?" Tricksey started, but at that moment, two wolves approached from Juji's right…and one of them, the black one, held Kodi and Dusty by the scruffs of their necks. The pups saw their parents and cried out to them, their tears starting up again, and their parents responded, promising them everything would be alright, that they would be together again, soon. The whole pathetic scene made Juji want to puke his guts out. Yet he turned to Aries, who looked scared – and yes, he should look scared, he had every right to look scared. Right now, he was lucky that Juji didn't merely tear his throat open for his foul-up. Never had been so angry…yet he kept his cool, even smiled a bit.
"Dusty…" Tricksey said, tears streaming down her face. "Honey, don't worry, Mommy's here! We'll – "
"You ain't gonna' do a God. . Thing…" Juji interrupted smoothly, in a dangerously soothing tone of his own. "Not unless you wanna see you precious little children back alive and in one piece that is," he added, smiling as though just daring them to try it.
"You sick …" Kavik said, making Balto and the rest start; they'd almost never heard Kavik come right out and curse before, not once before today. If nothing else, the action only served to underline the dire tone of their current situation "I'm gonna' tear you limb from limb for this…" His body shook with anger and Juji looked if anything else, delighted by it.
"Oh don't worry, nothing will happen to them," he said, coolly. He shifted his gaze to the two wolves, the other – the one not holding the pups – was a Timber wolf, Balto now saw, and he was almost shocked stupid by the look of utter guilt the tan wolf shot him, his green eyes heavy with regret. On some sort of signal, the black wolf and the Timber wolf began to trot away, taking Kodi and Dusty with them.
Jenna and Tricksey made identical moves as if to follow them, but Kavik stopped them with a single "NO! Don't!" and they stopped, realizing his meaning at once; if they tried to follow now, they would do nothing but ensure the death of the two pups. And looking at their sad faces, ones that were pleading for help, almost begging for it, Kavik promised himself that he would get them back…no matter what the cost.
Juji and his followers turned to go, but the large gray wolf stopped as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh, one more thing," he said, turning his head to look towards them. "Try to follow us now, and I'll break their little necks and use them for chew toys…" he finished darkly. "Of course," he went on, "don't let that stop you from coming after us later, if you like. It's been far too long since any of us has had a good challenge…give us a good show, won't you…?" he turned and started away again.
"YOU COWARD!" Jenna yelled in a choked voice, tears pouring down her face.
"You won't get away with this!" Balto called to Juji's rapidly retreating back.
And Juji called back, his voice all but lost in the distance already separating them; "An old line, and a good one too, but it's wasted…you're too late, you stupid mutt...in case you haven't noticed, I already have…". And then, even his smell was gone, lost among the mixture of scents in crowding the wind and covered by the sweeter smell of pinesap…
((()-())))
Several hours later, Balto and Kavik met in Rosy's yard wearing identical looks fury and utter hopeless. The two of them sat, side-by-side on the porch looking out towards the Forest with the air of dogs who know they are only rubbing salt into the wounds but unable to do otherwise. Jenna was inside, comforting her pups, and Kaltag and Tricksey had likewise gone home and were doing the same. It hurt Kavik to see Jenna trying to smile and act happy around them. It pierced him like nothing he'd felt before, even a bullet, save for the deaths of his family and his love...
"I'm sorry Balto…" he said at last. It was the first thing either of them had said in hours. "I should've done something...anything…I should've protected them…"
"You couldn't do anything…" Balto replied, gaze flicking to Kavik. "None of us could. We all saw the look on his face; Juji meant what he said, and we both know it…"
"That's no excuse," Kavik said, but with little conviction. He could see the point Balto was trying to make, and knew it would do no good to argue when he knew his friend was right.
Silence descended upon them again. Finally after a period of perhaps another fifteen minutes, Balto asked, almost tentatively, "So…I'm guessing you tried to kill him because…he took Lakota away?"
"Yes…" Kavik said, upper lip curling slightly as if at the very memory of it. "That monster killed her, like she was nothing more than trash…and I tried to do the same to him…" He sighed.
Thinking about Lakota suddenly got Balto thinking about Kavik's earlier as-yet unfinished story, the one about his family…and that led to Kavik's mother. He couldn't figure out what was so strange about it. Kavik had said his mother was a wolf. A white wolf yes… 'But that doesn't mean anything…' Balto thought, he knew he was being silly. It was probably just a coincidence…
But a white wolf…with golden eyes?
'So…' Balto reasoned, 'there are a lot of female wolves with golden eyes…'
A white wolf with golden eyes that'd taught him the Wolf's Code of Honor…? Who'd talked to him of Pride…? It almost sounded like…But no, that was impossible! It just couldn't be! We're talking foolishness here, utter lunacy for crying out loud! It's like something out of a child's bedtime story! Yet…
"Your Mother…" Balto asked, feeling for any remote sign from Kavik that he was uncomfortable with the subject. He didn't want to upset him anymore than he already was..."Was her name…" he couldn't bring himself to say it.
With a great breath and all the courage he could muster, he asked. "Your Mother…was her name…" he had to swallow before the words would come out. He willed himself to speak the name. Kavik was looking at him now, eyes gleaming with curiosity and a slightly puzzled look on his face.
"Was her name…" Say it! Say it, for the love of God and for your children, just spit it out!' his mind mentally raged and frothed. He found he could say the name, but when he did, it came out as a whisper of guilt, embarrassment, respect, and – oddest of all – a strange sense of...hope?
"…Aniu...?"
Kavik's faded blue eyes widened with shock, and for a terrible moment, Balto though the white hybrid was going to faint. "H-how…?" he asked, and then took a second or two to clear his throat. "How do…you know…?" His gaze was one of shocked wonder, his mouth hanging open as if on a hinge. He looked as if someone had just awoken him in the wee hours of the morning by throwing a bucket of subzero water in his face. "…I…I never told anyone my Mother's name…except Lakota, and I only told her once…And even after that, I swore her to secrecy…. So how?"
"I know…" Balto said, trying not to show that he was just as shocked if not more than Kavik was. "I know," he repeated in a slightly trembling voice. "…Because…that was…my Mother's name as well…she...she took me away from the rest of us...I remember now...when I was very little... God..." he intoned, nearly fainting at all the implications evoked in light of this latest revalation...
"I guess…" Kavik said, though lips that left as if they'd been rubbed with ice. "I guess that makes you, me and Kemo…all brothers…" He stopped, as if considering something else as well. "…And that would make me…an Uncle…huh, imagine that." His eyes slipped shut and fainted dead away.
