The windshield wipers were going crazy and Shion was still struggling to see the markers that showed where the road was. "Uh oh." He squinted, then rubbed at his fogging windshield and squinted again. He knew this road well, but he couldn't remember seeing a sign that said—

"Snow Dogs," Shion sighed. It was right there. How had he never noticed? He'd been living here for as long as he could remember and he'd never seen that sign before. It was back from the highway and written on a piece of white board in black paint that had dripped and drizzled at the bottom.

Snow Dogs Trucking

Shion turned down the bulldozed path and kept a careful lookout, his foot resting on the brake. When a mobile office came into view, he tapped the car to a full stop and put on the parking brake. There was a line of semi trucks, some cabs hooked to trailers while others were looking bereft and top-heavy. The bags of sandwiches weighed him down as he struggled to keep them out of the snow. He didn't want to put them down, so Shion ended up slamming his shoulder against the door a few times, as politely as possible. "Sandwiches are here!" he called.

The door was yanked open. "Fuckin finally," Inukashi growled, then stopped and peered at the weather. "Wait, you drove in this?"

"Yes, it wasn't too bad," Shion said. "Your sign was a bit hard to see, but—"

"You got some balls," Inukashi proclaimed, nodding in respect. The huge jacket was off but Shion still wasn't quite sure if he was looking at a boy or a girl. Whoever they were, though, they worked hard. Inukashi was burnt brown from the sun off the snow, and there wasn't an inch of fat anywhere. One sleeve was torn off at the bicep while the other had been torn off above the wrist, and there were marks of frostbite all over Inukashi's hands and arms.

"What're you lookin at?"

Shion looked up into suspicious brown eyes. "Oh, sorry! I was just seeing the, uh, your scars."

"Yeah?" Inukashi looked pleased. "Pretty badass, huh? Hey, check this—" Inukashi tugged up the shorter sleeve and revealed a tattoo of a wolf's paw with the word MOTHER underneath it. "I'm damn proud of this one, it's a tribute to my ma. She taught me everything I needed to know to live up here. I'm a survivor, Sean, and these scars prove it!"

"Shion."

"Eh?"

"My name is Shion, not Sean."

Inukashi put hands on hips, then jerked a thumb at the door behind them. "Yeah, whatever. Get these boys food, they're starting to get on my nerves with their whining."

Shion sighed and hefted the bags again.

"Grub's up, you pack of bitches!" Inukashi yelled, throwing open the door.

Shion stared at the heap of dogs lying in the middle of the room. They all looked back at him, then zeroed in on the bags he was holding. As one, they rose up and leaped. Shion closed his eyes and tried not to let his life flash before his eyes. There were some parts he didn't want to have to see a second time. The wave of dogs hit him and he went down, still trying to forget the time he'd gotten a shameful 97 on a Calculus test.

All he felt were dog tongues licking him enthusiastically. Shion cracked an eye, then started giggling. Some dogs were nosing around in the bags, attacking the sandwiches, but most were leaping around on him and waggling their entire bodies. Shion started trying to pet all of them, laughing with delight. "Hi, puppies!"

He'd met sled dogs before but they were working dogs, never as friendly as these sweet canines. These dogs were all over him, silent apart from happy huffs and the occasional yip of delight.

"What the fuck?"

Shion looked up and felt himself turn completely red. A man with some of the coldest eyes Shion had ever seen was glaring at him over the rim of a truly enormous scarf. After a moment of silence, the man turned. "Hey! Inukashi! Is this kid supposed to be lunch?"

Inukashi cackled from somewhere in the office. "You're gonna have to fight the dogs for this one!"

"Seriously, Inukashi, where's my goddamned food?" The man glared at Shion again but Shion looked away hastily, struggling to push himself out of the heap of dogs. They all seemed so sad to see him go.

"The kid brought sandwiches but I'm tellin ya, ya gotta fight the dogs for em!"

"I brought chips, too," Shion said, reaching into the pocket of his parka. He bit his lip when he realized how sadly flat the bags were. "Um. I think the dogs crushed them, though. Sorry."

The man rubbed his eyebrows, breathing slowly. "Delightful." He looked down at the dogs now nosing around in the sandwich bags. Shion watched him, still blushing hard. Those eyes… They were such a strange color, like steel, or like the sky just before it snowed. The man squatted down suddenly and smacked a dog on the nose as it was about to take a bite out of a sandwich. The dog yelped.

"Nezumi, you sack of shit, don't hit my fucking dogs!" Inukashi had a powerful pair of lungs for such a small person.

The man named Nezumi chewed his bite of sandwich and swallowed before he answered. "Don't let your fucking dogs get in the way of my lunch. Where'd you find these?"

"They're from the kid's mom's bakery," Inukashi said, fists relaxing slowly.

Nezumi's gaze landed on Shion again and Shion couldn't decide whether he wanted to look away or keep staring back into those chilly, beautiful eyes. In the end, he just blinked a lot.

Nezumi looked back at the sandwich. "It's good."

Shion smiled. "Thanks."

"Well damn, now I want one," Inukashi said, ducking down. The dogs moved aside, leaving one slightly battered—but still whole—sandwich behind. Inukashi bit into it and then shrugged. "S'okay. Could use horseradish."

"Hm." Nezumi had finished his food while Shion wasn't looking and was now walking off. His snow pants were tucked into his boot on the left side but not the right. Maybe mismatched clothing lengths were the mark of this trucking company.

"Hold it," Inukashi said. "What are you planning to do to this one?"

Nezumi paused but didn't turn. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You gonna rip the top off of this one too? Scrape the paint off the whole left side of the trailer? You gonna go all dramatic again and break every single mirror on the cab? You know how much bad luck that was?"

Nezumi looked over his shoulder with an expression of disdain that would put countesses and princesses to shame. "Again, I don't know what you're referring to."

"You're a reckless driver," Inukashi said, voice gravelly. There was a hint of a snarl on that sharp face. "I don't want you messing up the merchandise. This shit's important."

Nezumi shrugged. "Whatever it is you're sending me off with, make sure it's not fragile." He started walking again. "You wouldn't find anyone else willing to drive in these kind of conditions anyway. You need me to help you out. Quit bitching about it."

"I can fire you," Inukashi said. Shion tried to press himself into the wall. All of the dogs were watching this conversation like it was a tennis match.

"You can't replace me though." Nezumi was at the door, hand on the knob.

Inukashi glared. "This fucking kid could do your job, Nezumi, don't think you're hot shit just because you drive like a concussed James Bond."

Nezumi snorted. "Don't make me laugh. He's a delivery boy, Inukashi."

"He drove here in one piece," Inukashi pointed out. "Blizzard conditions."

"Sure he did."

"He did."

Nezumi looked at Shion and Shion looked back. "Did you?"

"Yes? I mean, I grew up here, it's not that difficult—"

"Inukashi seems to think it is difficult," Nezumi said. "I know it's difficult. You ever drive a semi?"

Shion shook his head, trying not to imagine where this conversation could be heading.

"You want to try it?" Nezumi's smile was wide, but his eyes were still frozen pools of mercury.

"I think I should be getting back to the bakery," Shion said, trying to step around Nezumi.

It did not work. Nezumi's arm slammed in front of him, cutting off escape. Shion stared at it, wondering if he should try to limbo under. He decided he liked his dignity right where it was, though, and settled for staring pleadingly at Inukashi.

Inukashi was grinning meanly. "Race?"

"What happens when I win?" Nezumi asked.

"You keep your fucking job," Inukashi laughed, "and I don't set the dogs on you next time I catch you sneaking food."

"Fine."

"If he wins, though, he's the new driver."

Shion looked at Inukashi, then at Nezumi. "…Are you offering me a job?"

"Ayup."

Shion's hand strayed to the empty pockets of his parka. "I don't have a resume with me…"

"A what?" Inukashi laughed. "This isn't Canada, man, this is Alaska! We don't speak French here and I'm offering you the most kickass job there is!"

Shion knew he wasn't going to like the answer, but he asked, "What job is that?"

"Ice road trucker!"