Balto Begins
Balto: Kevin Bacon
Champ: Christian Bale
Aniu: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Steele: Jim Cummings
Boris: Bob Hoskins
Muk&Luk: Phil Collins
Jenna: Bridget Fonda
Nikki: Jack Angel
Kaltag: Danny Mann
Star: Robbie Rist
Iron: Gary Busey
Doc: Patrick Stewart
A small brown dog sprinted across the frozen lake. He spun in circles on the slippery ice.
"Balto! Get off of their before you hurt yourself!"
"Aww c'mon mom!"
"Balto you get back here right now!"
Balto sighed. "Coming mom."
"You know how easy it is to break a leg out there! Now go find your brothers!"
"Yes mom."
Balto was the oldest of the five pups. His father had left for some trip. Balto was never told where he went. He was supposed to come home that day.
One of his brothers jumped out from behind a tree. "Balto, want to play tag?"
"Sure. Who's it?"
The dog reached out and tagged him. "You are!"
"Hey that's not fair!" Balto whined.
The other dog sprinted away.
"Okay you asked for it!" Balto sprinted after him. After running around for a while the two headed back home. They lived in a tiny cave on the outskirts of Nenana.
His mother was at the entrance of the cave. "Where have you two been?"
"Sorry mom. We were playing tag!"
Aniu chuckled. "Just be careful okay?"
"Okay mom!" The two padded into the cave.
After eating dinner the five pups waited at the entrance for Champ, their dad.
Aniu howled into the night. Balto heard a familiar padding in the distance.
"Dad!" He ran out of the cave, followed by the rest of the pups.
"Hi Aniu. Sorry I'm late." They nuzzled.
Then he turned to Balto. "Hi son. Did you miss me?"
"Yeah dad!" Balto jumped in the air enthusiastically.
"Where did you go?" Aniu asked.
"Some small town needed us for a mail shipment. Nome."
"Balto go get your father some food." Balto obeyed.
That night Balto went to sleep happy. The next day his life would change forever.
"Champ, watch over the pups. I'm going to go hunting."
Aniu padded out of the cave. Champ watched over the sleeping pups.
Suddenly he heard a gunshot. Balto woke up. "What was that dad?"
"I don't know son. I'll go find out." He padded out of the cave. Balto followed.
Champ gasped. Aniu padded towards them. She had blood all over her chest. She was trying to breath. "Aniu!" Champ sprinted towards her. She was shaking her head.
"No. Get…Balto…out of here."
Two more gunshots rang out. The hunter in the distance watched as the wolf fell to the ground. He smiled. He aimed his sight at another wolf. This one couldn't have been more than a pup. But that didn't matter to the hunter. He was meat. He could sell him to merchants. He smiled again. His finger prepared to pull the trigger."C'mon we gotta go!" It was his partner. "Wolves are powerful in numbers! Lets go!"
"Just a second." The hunter wanted the pup dead.
"No time! C'mon!"
And with that the two hunters ran back to town.
Balto was crying. He looked at his dad. He was crying too.
"Mom! Dad what happened to mom?"
"Balto just go back to your siblings."
"Dad…"
"Just go!"
Balto padded back to the cave. The other pups saw the tears on his eyes. "What happened?" They asked.
"Mom's dead."
Balto was quiet for the next few weeks. So were all the pups. Champ tried to cheer them up as much as he could. Balto could tell he was just as depressed as them. He didn't seem to want to smile anymore. Balto and his dad had been the only ones to actually see Aniu die. They were the most affected.
One day Champ came to Balto.
"Son, I need you to take care of the pups. I'm going on a short trip with the sled team, to Nome. It's only twenty miles from here. I should be back in a few days."
And so Champ went off to Nome, leaving Balto to take care of his siblings.
"Lately they had been acting strange. They were worse than depressed. They seemed sickly.
"Dingo I need you to come with me to hunt."
"Oh Balto, I don't feel too good. Take someone else."
"They all feel sick."
"Well so do I!" Dingo was angry.
"Okay I'll hunt alone."
After looking and failing to catch food, Balto went back home empty handed.
"Balto come quick!" His sister looked alarmed.
"What is it?"
"It's Cleo!"
He entered the room. Cleo, his sister was lying still.
"Sis, are you okay?" No response.
"No! No!"
He felt her pulse. Nothing. He was trying to hold back tears. "Not you too."
She was gone. He buried her that day. He wondered when Champ would come home.
The other dogs had sadness on their faces. They had lost their mother, and now their sister, all in one week.
And now Dingo was coughing violently. He went over to him.
"How are you feeling?"
He tried to talk through the coughing.. "I can't breathe."
After a few hours Dingo's coughing calmed down. Now he seemed very weak.
"Dingo, you okay?" Balto asked.
"Balto, I feel cold. I feel really cold."
Balto tried to warm him up.
"I'm still cold. So cold." Balto noticed that his eyes seem to be out of focus.
"Dingo, look at me!"
Dingo stared at him. "So…cold."
Suddenly he went still. Balto cried. He had lost another one.
In the next week Balto's two remaining siblings succumbed to the sickness.
And his dad was a week overdue. Balto had buried his siblings on the hill.
He had placed rocks as their headstones. He had lost his mother and four siblings in a time of two weeks.
Balto padded out of the cave. He couldn't stay there. If he was going to survive, he would have to take his chances in the wilderness.
His dad had said that Nome was only twenty miles away. That couldn't be too far. He headed in that direction.
He had traveled for two days. He was padding through the snow when he saw it. A wrecked sled. His dad pulled these.
Balto went over to it. The sled had a roster pinned to it. He saw his fathers name on it. The rope tying the dogs to it had been cut. This was why his dad hadn't been on time. The sled had crashed.
He no longer had the spirit to go on. He collapsed in the snow.
He was half frozen when he saw something approaching. It was white and short. He wondered whether it was a threat or not.
"Vhat is this? A pup! In za middle of za voods!"
Balto could make it out now. It was a snow goose.
"H-h-help. P-please."
"Hang on little boychik."
Balto woke up to unfamiliar surroundings. "W-where am I?"
The goose waddled over to him. "You vere out cold my little friend."
Balto got up and bared his teeth. "Who are you?"
"Hey easy zere boychik. I don't vant to hurt you."
"Where are we?"
"Ve are in Nome."
"Nome? That's were I'm headed." Balto said, his brain a little fuzzy.
"Vell you are zere."
"We're in Nome?"
"Yes, do I have to spell out for you?! Ve are in Nome!"
"Sorry. Hey you wouldn't happen to have any food would you? I'm starving."
"Ah yes. You stay here. I go get food."
Balto examined his surroundings. They were In a fishing boat that had been washed ashore. Balto looked into the distance. There were lights. He could see the town, with the little houses.
The goose came waddling back to the boat. He had some meat in his mouth.
"Dinner's here."
"Where did you get that?"
"Za butcher shop. By za vay, vhat is your name?"
"Balto. What's yours?"
"I am Boris Goosinov, but just call me Boris."
Balto wolfed down the meat. "Well I'll just be on my way then."
"Vait vait! Don't you vant to stay for a vile? You could freeze out zere, a little pup like yourself."
Balto sighed. "Okay."
Balto spent that night in the boat. The next morning he set off for the town.
It was a small town, but it was crowded with dogs and humans. He smelled meat coming from a shop. He padded over to it and stuck his head in the door. He looked to find himself staring into the muzzle of a double barreled shotgun.
"Get out a here wolfie! Shoo before I blow your damn head off!"
Before Balto knew what had happened the man hit him in the head with the shotgun. He yelped in pain, and ran away.
He could feel blood dripping down his face. He bumped into something.
That something turned around. He was a huge muscular dog.
"Watch were ya going pipsqueak!"
The dog lumbered towards him.
"Sorry mister. I didn't mean to."
Balto ran away. He didn't stop running till he had reached the boat.
He realized he was crying. Boris was waiting on the deck.
"Balto, Vhat's wrong? Vhat happened to you."
Balto tried to hold back the tears, but he was in too much pain.
"Some human in town hit me! And then I ran into some dog and he yelled at me! I didn't even do anything bad!"
Boris draped his wing over the pups shoulders. "Not everyone in za vorld vill be nice to you Balto. You just have to deal vith them."
Somehow the goose's words calmed Balto down. He stopped crying.
"Thanks Boris."
"Anytime boychik." He waddled away.
"Boris?"
"Yes Balto?"
"Why do people hate me for being part wolf?"
"Because zey are scared. All you have to do is not give zem anything to be scared of."
Balto padded into town the next morning. A bruise had formed in the area where the man had hit him. He noticed a building near the shore. It was old looking, and it looked deserted. He padded towards it.
He found the entrance. Their was a dog standing next to it. It was the same dog that had yelled at Balto the day before. Balto ducked out of sight, but the dog saw the movement.
"Who's there?!"
He sniffed the air. "Show yourself!"
Balto reluctantly got up from behind his hiding place.
"You? What are you doing here?"
Balto stuttered. "Well I saw this building and I thought it was deserted, so I came here."
The dog looked him up and down. "You look like a wolf. No wolves are allowed in here!"
"No sir I'm only part wolf."
Suddenly a voice came from the inside of the building.
"Iron? What is going on out there?" The voice had a heavy British accent.
"Just some pup!" Iron called back.
"Well he must be cold, let him in!"
The dog hesitated, then turned to Balto. "Try anything funny and I'll tear you apart."
Balto padded into then room. There were three dogs inside, warming up next to a furnace. A big hairy dog came padding over to him.
"Hello little one. My name is Doc."
"Hi. My name's Balto."
"Balto, what a beautiful name. I haven't seen you in town. Are you new?"
"Yeah."
"Where are your parents?"
Balto's expression changed. A look of pain spread across his face.
"They're dead."
"Oh I'm sorry. So you are alone?"
"No, a goose named Boris is taking care of me."
Doc sighed. "Well it's good to meet you Balto. Me and the other dogs have a pressing matter to attend to. If you would excuse us?"
Iron led Balto out of the building. Balto decided to go around town while the sun was still up.
He noticed a kid walking in the street. Balto padded over to the kid.
"Hi there little guy!" The kid said. He reached out to pat Balto on the head when his father slapped his hand away.
"Son, he's part wolf, he might bite you!"
The man led the boy away. Balto sighed.
Suddenly he heard a voice from the shadows.
"Well look what the cat dragged in!"
Balto turned. A pup walked out of the shadows. He was black and white.
"Hi. My names Steele. Who're you?""My names Balto."
"Nice to meet you." Steele said sarcastically. He stared at Balto with a look of disgust on his face.
"You ever race?" Steele asked.
"No."
"Well then lets race."
Steele ran. Balto chased after him. After racing around the town Balto was ahead. He was going to win. Maybe Steele would accept him if he won.
Suddenly he felt something sharp dig into his leg. He turned. Steele had bitten him!
Balto stumbled. Steele ran ahead and won.
"Hey you cheated!"
"No I didn't! I bended the rules."
"You can't bend the rules!"
"I just did didn't I?"
Balto growled at him.
"Hey did I ever say I couldn't bend the rules? You know I don't like you very much Balto."
Suddenly he lashed out and hit Balto in the face.
Balto responded by scratching him across the face. His scratch drew blood.
Steele grinned. "Dad! The wolf dog is beating me up!"
Suddenly Iron ran up next to him. "What?!"
Steele suddenly put on a fake look of innocence. "That wolf dog hit me daddy!"
Iron pounded forward. "I'm gonna make you wish you were never born!"
Balto sprinted back to the boat. When he got there he started crying. He tried to stop them but the tears just came. His childhood had been one tragedy after another. He cried himself to sleep.
Two years later, Balto sprinted into town. He had been smiling a lot more lately. And Boris had been smiling a lot less.
He climbed up a ladder onto the roof of the butcher shop. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Suddenly he slipped. He fell to the ground, ten feet below.
He tried to get up.
"Are you okay?" He looked up.
"Oh hi Jenna. Yeah I'm fine."
"That was a nasty spill you took there. Well see you later."
She sprinted off after her girl. Ever since Balto had met her, she had been all he could think about.
He heard a commotion in the center of town. Balto smiled. "The sled race."
By the time he got their the race was over. Steele's team had won.
He saw Balto. "Hey Bingo come join us!"
Balto turned to walk away. Steele came bounding up behind him.
"That wasn't a question."
Reluctantly Balto padded over to Steele, and his three teammates Kaltag, Nikki, and Star.
"Looked at the little wolf dog watching us from the sidelines."
"Nice race Steele." Balto said with as little enthusiasm as possible.
"I don't like your attitude wolf dog. You see me and my friends here were talking, and we realized, we don't want you in our town."
"That's a shame, because I'm not moving."
Steele grinned. "Figured you'd say that. So I thought maybe we should fight, and if you lose you go."
"Thanks, but no thanks."
Suddenly Steele became aggressive. "You know what I found out this week? You're an orphan." Steele laughed. "Maybe your mommy and daddy were so embarrassed by what they got that they killed themselves."
Balto was filled with rage. He lashed out, striking Steele in the chest. Then he hit him again in the face. He couldn't stop himself. Two years of rage was finally unleashing itself. The other dogs and humans were watching with fear in their eyes. Finally his three teammates managed to pull Balto off of him.
Steele was angry too. He had been pummeled by a weak little wolf dog.
He noticed the people all around. They were pointing at Balto in terror.
Balto turned and ran away. Steele yelled after him.
"You're gonna regret that Lobo!"
Balto got back to the boat. He was out of breath.
"Vhat happened zis time?" Boris asked.
"I got into a fight with Steele."
Boris clapped his wings. "You should be happy. You finally showed zat mutt who's boss."
Boris noticed the look on Balto's face. "Vhy are you not happy?"
"Boris, I attacked him in front of the whole town." Balto was sobbing.
"I did exactly what you told me not to do. I gave them a reason to hate me."
"Balto, you must stop allowing Steele to make you do zese things. He vants to see you self destruct, and you are doing it."
"Boris, I can't help it. He has a way of provoking me."
Boris sighed. "I can't help you here boychik."
Suddenly Balto's ears perked up. "I think you're In trouble Boris."
"Vhy do you say zat?"
"I smell herring."
"Oh god!" Suddenly Boris was on alert.
"Boris!" Two giant polar bears came towards the boat.
"Balto you have got to help me! Zose bears are driving me crazy!"
"Nah. What other entertainment do I get around here?"
"Balto!" Boris was scooped up by Luk the larger bear of the two.
He made several inaudible sounds as he cradled Boris in his arms.
"Are you glad to see us Boris?"
"Let go! Can't you see I vas trying to have conversation!"
Balto chuckled. "Okay guys, let him go."
Luk dropped Boris on the floor.
Muk and Luk had shown up in Nome one year ago. They had been brought in by Boris. This was a great mistake for Boris.
Balto had to owe it to them for helping him pull through two depressing years.
That night Balto padded into town. He wanted to see if the hype from the afternoon had died down. He wondered if he could ever show his face in this town again.
He padded through an alley. Suddenly he heard a rustling behind him. Suddenly he felt three sets of paws grab him. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star.
"Hold him still!" It was Steele.
The huge black and white dog padded towards him. He couldn't move. The other dogs were holding him in place.
"I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget, wolf dog!"
And with that the beating began. Balto was pinned down so he couldn't fight back. He took each hit without crying.
"I'm not scared of you Steele." He said weakly.
"Oh, well then. I say we hit you until you are scared. What do you say boys?!"
The dogs nodded in unison.
"Good."
More hits. Balto was in intense pain. Suddenly he heard a voice.
"Steele, what are you doing?"
"Ah Jenna! Sorry, just teaching the half breed some manners."
Jenna gasped. "Steele let him go!"
Steele turned, shocked. "What do you have feelings for the Lobo?"
Jenna blushed. "No! But what you're doing Is cruel! Let him go!"
Steele sighed. "Okay. For you Jenna." He turned to Balto.
"Tomorrow, center of town. If I win, you get out of town."
Balto spit at him. "Bite me!"
Steele reared back for another punch.
"Steele!"
"Oh sorry Jenna."
Balto limped back home. He could taste blood in his mouth.
"Tomorrow, center of town. Alright asshole. I'll fight."
"Balto, this is foolishness! Steele vill rip you apart like…like wolf dog!"
"Boris, I have to show him that I am serious. Then maybe he'll leave me alone."
"Balto, no matter vhat, Steele vill never stop coming. He is predator, and he von't stop until you're out of zis town, or dead!"
"Then I have to show that I'm a predator too."
"Balto perhaps you should show him zat you are good. Fighting fire vith fire never vorks."
"Perhaps. But either way, I have to fight him."
He ran to the town. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice.
"Balto."
"Oh hi Jenna. Thanks for last night. You saved my life."
"It was nothing. But why are you doing this? You barely survived that fight with Steele yesterday! He could kill you!"
"I know. But I can't get him to leave me alone any other way. I'll see you."
Jenna nodded. Balto could see concern in her eyes. As he padded away, he grinned. "At least I'll die knowing somebody like's me."
"So look who decided to show up!" Steele grinned. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star guarded him.
"What's the matter Steele? Can't fight without your cronies?"
Steele growled. "Nikki, Kaltag, Star. Would you please excuse us?"
The other dogs padded away.
Steele lunged at Balto. He hit him in face with his back leg, knocking him back. Steele bit him around the neck and hurled him at some trash cans.
"This is easier than I thought! Goodbye Bingo!"
He hurled himself at Balto. Balto stepped out of the way. Steele banged headfirst into the trashcans. A crowd of dogs had gathered to watch. They were cheering Steele on. Normally this would have hurt Balto, but he didn't hear them now.
"You think you can just step aside!" Steele growled.
He got up and charged Balto again. Balto moved aside again. Steele smashed headfirst into the wall.
"Listen to them Balto! They hate you! They love ME! Why don't you leave town while you still have some dignity?"
He charged at Balto again. Balto jumped at the last second. Steele crashed into the same garbage cans again.
He was bleeding profusely from the head. He had been weakened. He looked like he was having trouble standing.
"C'mon you coward half breed! Just hit me! Hit me!"
"No Steele. I'm not you." He turned to leave.
"Were are you going?! I'm not finished wolf dog!" Steele tried to stand up but stumbled.
"Why don't you go home Steele? While you still have some dignity." And with that Balto sprinted home. One day this wolf dog would save the children of Nome from a terrible disease, and he would be a hero. But today he was an outcast. And for the first time in nearly two years, He was happy.