An Acceptable Risk
Nome Alaska, 7:55 am;
Tina ran to the outskirts of Nome completely opposite of Jenna's house, she was panting heavily but she didn't want to risk Balto and Jenna's lives if the Outsider was around. She tried to piece things together. "Ok, I probably forgot because of shock, no surprise there." she said. "The Outsider was caught in the warp too so it should of came back but why can't I feel it anymore? From what I know about the Outsider's durability, the lightning probably didn't kill it but the time stream might have, probably easier for me to survive the trip because of I'm smaller. That could also mean it is still in the time stream and could still make it out, just later than I did, the link will probably reform in that case so that isn't so bad. I might be stuck here but that isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as I'm careful not to mess up history to much, not hard to do that when you're a dog." She thought of something that terrified her. "Ok, worst case scenario; it was sent back and the link was severed by the warp, unlikely considering how the link was designed but still…" She heard someone walking behind her. She snapped around so fast she fell over. Tina let out a sigh of relief, it was just a human walking by. "Well that almost gave me a heart attack, as if I didn't have enough problems."
She walked back to Jenna's house slowly, thinking over her situation more. Once she reached the house, she nudged the door open enough to see through. The humans weren't in the room but Tina could hear their voices in another room, probably having breakfast. Jenna and Balto were lying in front of the fire, Jenna had her head resting on Balto's front paws and appeared to just be waking up, she got to her feet with a yawn. "Did you sleep better?" asks Balto.
"Yes, its easier to sleep knowing you're safe." said Jenna, nuzzling Balto.
"I'm sorry I worry you, this is a nice place but I'm just not an inside dog."
"I know, you'd probably have as much trouble sleeping here as I would sleeping on your boat. We'll find some way to make this work."
"Yeah we will…that's not the only thing on your mind is it?" he knew Jenna better than anyone and he saw something was bothering her.
"Balto, I'm not sure if we should trust Tina." Jenna felt awful for saying that but something about Tina just didn't feel right, same with how much she knew.
"Jenna, I trust your instincts a lot but Tina really looks up to us and she's lost a long way from home, that's probably why she was scared. We can't help her home, New York is just too far away, but we can try to make her feel at home."
Tina understood how Jenna felt, she showed up knowing everything about them and then ran off, she'd be untrusting if the roles reversed. She wasn't scared that she was lost, she didn't have anything to get back. Even if she liked her old life, Damien was dead and the lab had probably been leveled by now in some kind of cover-up. Still she needed them to trust her, if the Outsider had came or was coming back, she couldn't stop it alone and they were the only ones she could turn to, she couldn't speak human. "Ok, the Outsider may be here already or it might show up, if that's true, I'll need their help which means they have got to trust me, that's easier if they know." she told herself, she took a deep breath. "Come on Tina, you can do this, there is no other choice, even if the Outsider doesn't show up, I might be stuck here and its better they find out sooner than later…" she groaned. "Please don't let this destroy the universe." She nudged the door open more and barked, Balto and Jenna looked in her direction and she motioned to them.
"Glad you're alright." said Balto as they walked outside.
"Sorry for running out like that, I just needed some time to think."
"Its fine."
"…Look, I overheard you guys talking."
Jenna looked down at her paws. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't of said that, its just I've had a bad feeling all day and then you showed up and you kind of scared me back there so I wasn't sure what to think." said Jenna, she felt ashamed for what she had said.
"Its ok, you had every right to be cautious, I'm a stranger and I've done nothing to earn your trust."
"You haven't done anything to betray our trust ether." Balto pointed out.
"Yes I have, I've kept something very important from you but I'm not going to keep it a secret anymore."
"What is it?"
Tina suddenly looked very serious. "Balto, I wasn't fooling around earlier, well I was but not about what you thought."
Balto realized what she was talking about and would of thought she was joking again but he saw how serious she was. "You're saying you really are from the future?"
"Wait, what?" asks Jenna.
"Something I told Balto earlier and then told him I may of been joking, I wasn't. I am from the future, Sunday, June 13, 2008, if you wish to be exact."
Jenna and Balto looked shocked. If she had told them that when they first met her, they might of thought she was joking or crazy but not after seeing the things she knew. "I'm sorry Tina, I'm just not sure if I believe you or not." said Balto, confused.
"Same here." said Jenna, just as confused as her mate.
Tina chuckles. "I didn't expect you to believe me, I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't happening to me. I'll just have to prove it to you." said Tina with a smirk.
"How are you going to do that?" asks Balto, slightly curious.
"I could tell you some things that should happen soon but if I've learned anything from watching Doctor Who, its tell someone too much about their future and the universe might implode…sorry, that hasn't been created yet. I was very close to one of your descendents, so I know every detail of your run. Go ahead, ask me anything you think I shouldn't know about it."
Something instantly came to Balto's mind. "What did I meet when I fell off that cliff that night?"
Tina thought for a second. "I believe you met a white wolf."
Balto and Jenna looked at each other with shock. Jenna was the only one Balto had ever told about that, he hadn't even told Boris. "You're right."
"If you still have doubts about my story, I've got something else to show you. Jenna, do you know what this is?" asks Tina, slipping her bandana off and laying it on the ground in front of Jenna.
Jenna looked it over and sniffed it. After a couple seconds, her eyes grew wide when she realized that she did recognize it. She looks at her own bandana and back to Tina's. They were the same one, except Tina's was torn and faded which would make sense if Tina was from the future. Jenna knew for sure it was the same one, she had only taken hers off once since she got it and that was to give it to Balto that night. "My bandana?" she asks even though she knew the answer.
Tina nodded and slipped it back around her neck. "This was a going away present from your descendant, I'm surprised it looks this good after 83 years. As to why we look alike, I have absolutely no idea. You don't have to believe me but I hope you will." Tina wanted to tell them about the Outsider but she needed to make sure it was there first. Even if she was pretty confident the universe wouldn't implode, she didn't want to scare Balto and Jenna for no reason and she needed time to think up a plan so if it showed up, they had a chance against it.
It was a few minutes before Jenna and Balto could reply, needless to say, they were stunned. "I believe you Tina." said Jenna, it was all she could think to say.
"So do I." said Balto.
"Thanks, you have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that." said Tina.
"You're welcome, you can stay here as long as you need to." said Jenna.
Tina shook her head no. "I'd love to but sorry, I still might get back to the future and if I meet Rosy, I might bond to her like you have and then I'll have a hard time leaving, it will be better if I stay on Balto's boat until I can figure out everything out." That wasn't the only reason, she also didn't want to risk bringing the Outsider into Nome if it showed up, Balto's boat was on the outskirts and Balto himself should be safe considering it doesn't see dogs as targets, except her.
"That's fine with me, its been lonely out there lately but I should warn you, it isn't the most comfortable place to sleep." said Balto, he laughed. Even if she was from the future, he didn't see any reason not to treat Tina like any other friend he had.
"I've probably had worse. Life hasn't been good to me." Tina seemed upset.
"I'm sorry to hear that…but I'm sure things will get better." said Jenna, trying to cheer her new friend up.
"Thanks, I'm hopping it will. Well you'd better go be with Rosy. I think I'll go check out the town. I've seen lots of maps about Nome but I want to see the town for myself. I'll meet up with you later." said Tina, smiling. She wasn't just going to see the town, she had to find proof if the Outsider was in Nome or not. If it was, it wouldn't be that hard to find, there weren't many places in town for it to hide and the fresh snow would make it easy to find footprints if there were any, Tina prayed there wouldn't be.
Balto, Jenna, and Tina walked up to Balto's boat later that night, talking about the day. They all broke out laughing at the part where Tina slapped Steele. "Well see you tomorrow, Tina can you make sure Balto wakes up at the right time?" asks Jenna as Tina jumped up to the deck of the boat. She felt better knowing Balto wasn't alone, especially since it was someone that wasn't afraid of Steele.
"I'll try but I'm ahead of you guys by a few hours." said Tina, she hadn't found any trace of the Outsider so she was in a good mood but she was still cautious.
"Goodnight Jenna, I love you." said Balto.
"I love you too, goodnight." replied Jenna before nuzzling her mate.
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home? You know how Steele is getting."
"Balto, I'll be fine. Steele is probably still off sulking from your fight." said Jenna, despite the fact she was still scared of what Steele might do if he caught her alone.
Jenna walks back towards her house as Balto jumps onto the deck of the boat to find Tina staring up at the sky. "I forgot how beautiful the stars are, the last time I saw them was when I was a puppy, kind of ironic considering I won't be born for over 80 years." said Tina, smiling.
"Yeah. Wait, how long has it been since you saw the stars?" asks Balto, confused.
Tina turns her head to show a small, black tag in her ear that Balto hadn't noticed before. "I've been a research animal for a long time. I'm in such good shape cause they trained me so hard. This might sound weird but could you please tear this tag out?"
"Won't that hurt?"
"Yeah, a lot, but if I do get back to future, I don't want them to be able to find me and this tag has too many bad memories anyway. Plus, this thing itches like crazy." Tina scratches her ear with her hind leg. "Just grab it and rip it out but please make it quick."
"No problem, hold still." Tina grits her teeth as Balto bites down on the tag before jolting his head to the side. Tina yelped when the tag was torn out of her skin. "Sorry."
"Don't worry, I've had a lot worse and I'm a fast healer. Thank you." Tina smiled, it had hurt and her ear was bleeding but the whole time she'd had that tag in was a living nightmare, she felt relieved it was gone. Tina looked back up at the night sky, Balto joined her. After a few minutes, Tina looked at Balto. "Do you know what constellations are?"
"No but your going to tell me right?" asks Balto, smiling, he was intrigued.
"You bet. They're shapes humans made out of stars. For example, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the big bear and the little bear." Tina traced the stars with her nose.
"Like Muk and Luk." Balto laughed, he'd have to show them that. He then watched intently as Tina pointed out more constellations. "Is there a wolf?"
"Not that I know of."
Balto looked disappointed by that. "No wolf? Oh well. You sure know a lot."
"Trust me, it wasn't worth what I went through to get this smart."
"I'll take your word for it." Balto yawned "we'd better be getting to sleep." Balto goes to crawl under his blanket but stops and looks back at Tina. He grabs the blanket and puts it over Tina. "You're my guest, you shouldn't have to be cold."
"I appreciate the offer but you need it more."
"No I don't, I'm used to the cold, you're not." before Tina could argue, Balto lays down on opposite side of the deck. Balto didn't say anything but something was bothering him. After few minutes of trying and failing to get to sleep he decided to ask. "Tina…earlier I promised Jenna that I'd never leave her, do I keep that promise?"
Tina didn't know how to respond. "I'm sorry Balto…"
Balto's heart sank when he heard her say that. "Oh…"
"No, its not that, I'm sorry that I can't tell you because I don't know. Jenna's history isn't recorded very well and your descendent didn't get that far before I left so I don't know if ether of you lives longer than the other one." Tina hid her head under the blanket. She was sorry but not for that reason. She knew the answer but she didn't want to tell him too much about his future, some things she knew might of already changed.
"Sorry for asking, I just wanted to know, Jenna means the world to me."
"I know…You think everything I know will happen?" Tina chuckles, causing Balto to shoot her a confused glance. "Think of time like that race you won, well you know except for what Steele did after. The other dogs only knew one path to take…" She drew a curving line in a patch of snow on the deck. "But that path wasn't right for you so…" She draws a line from one of the curves to the end. "You made your own."
Balto smiled, he understood. "Actually I got knocked off the racetrack and had to catch up but I know what you mean. Thanks for telling me that."
"I should really be thanking you just for existing. I started life as a stray and ended up with a cruel man as an owner who made every moment of my life up to this point a living nightmare but I survived thanks to stories about you. If I may quote a close friend of yours; 'Balto, I'd be lost without you.'"
"You're welcome. Goodnight Tina." said Balto, he knew who she was quoting, Rosy had told him that after she was cured by the medicine he and the other dogs brought all that way. He had came through for her when she needed him most and in the process had unknowingly done the same for Tina and knowing that felt wonderful.
"Goodnight Balto." Tina could tell she'd made Balto happy by the sound of his tail wagging and hitting the boards. Once she knew Balto was asleep, Tina got up and put Balto's blanket back on him before going back to her spot and going to sleep…
Hope you enjoyed it. That last part was to give some more on Tina's personilty and end the chapter on a lighter note. See you next time!