Chapter Two: Penance
Seaward Peninsula, Alaska (Three Weeks Later)
"I'm bored," Takoma said irritably laying his head between his paws. "Let's go chase something."
"Mom said to stay put until she returns," replied Aurora.
The black and gray wolf pup stuck his tongue out at his sister before focusing his attention to his brother. The brown wolf pup sat anxiously by the entrance of the den, his eyes focused outside for any signs of his mother.
"When do you think she'll be back?" Balto asked sadly.
"I don't know but she better come soon," Takoma said rolling over. "I'm hungry enough to eat an entire elk."
Balto smiled weakly at his brother before focusing his attention back outside, his ears slightly lowered. Aurora's face scrunched up in a frown as she walked over and swatted the back of Takoma's head with her paw.
"Ow, what was that-"
"Apologize," the white pup whispered sternly.
Takoma frowned. "Why? What did I say?"
"You hurt his feelings."
"No I didn't," Takoma said defensively. "He's just sad that mom's gone out again."
"Shh!"
The two wolf pups stared at their brother, but Balto did not seem to be paying attention. His mind was too preoccupied with his mother. Every time she left to go hunt, Balto felt as though it would be the last time he would ever see her; and every time she returned, his heart would leap for joy and he would feel safe again.
"Go make him feel better," Aurora said turning her attention back to Takoma.
"Why?"
"Because I said so," the white pup said swatting Takoma behind the head again. "Now go, before I tell mom that you left the den yesterday during nap time."
The black and gray pup let out a growl and gave his sister an evil look, before rubbing his head and making his way over to the den entrance. He didn't mind apologizing to Balto; he just didn't like be told what to do.
"Hey," Takoma said sitting down next to Balto. "Sorry for sounding rude."
Balto kept looking outside. "It's okay."
"You know she's coming back right? She just went out to go get us food."
"I know…" Balto said letting out a sigh. "I just don't like it when she leaves, that's all."
"Yeah me neither, it's not fair that we have to stay here while she's out hunting," Takoma said putting his head between his paws again.
A smile tugged on Balto's face but he didn't say anything. He simply continued to stare out of the den and waited for their mother to return, Takoma digging into the dirt and amusing himself with a worm. Farther back in the den, Balto could hear his sister fast asleep. After a while, the sky had started to darken and still the white she-wolf had not returned.
"Has she come back yet?" Aurora asked waking up from her nap.
"No," Takoma growled as his stomach let out a rumble. "And my stomach feels like it's on fire."
Balto gave out a soft whimper. "What if she's in trouble?"
"We should go look for her," Takoma said jumping up.
"No," Aurora said walking up to her brothers, her voice confident and stern. "Mom said to stay put until she got back."
"Something's wrong though, she never takes this long to get food. What if she needs our help?"
Takoma rushed out the last part as he saw his sister opening her mouth to speak. The white pup tried to think of something to say but finally sighed and lowered her ears. Takoma then turned his attention to Balto, who lowered his gaze and stared aimlessly at the ground. The black pup took his brother's silence in agreement and walked out of the den with a determined face. Aurora let out another sigh and followed her brother's lead, her head turning back as she saw Balto still sitting on the earthen floor.
"C'mon Balto, we need to stick together."
The brown pup looked up at his sister and nodded, his ears slightly lowered as he followed her outside. He was afraid of what was outside, but he was even more afraid of the thought of their mother being hurt. Outside he saw Aurora staring quietly into the forest, her ears pricked up as she tried to listen for their mother.
"Where's Takoma?"
"Down here," the black wolf pup responded.
Balto looked down and saw his brother waiting for him at the bottom of a small hill. After watching his sister go first, Balto carefully made his way down and walked up beside Takoma, a small smile of triumph on his face. His smile faded however, as he looked around the forest. The sun was already hanging low in the sky, which meant they only had a few minutes before dark.
"Now what?" Balto asked looking around.
"We hunt," Takoma said taking the lead.
Balto gave a confused look to Aurora, who rolled her eyes and followed Takoma. The trio walked around the snowy hill and into the bushes, peeking under rocks and scattered leaves. Every once in a while Takoma would shout and run off suddenly, Aurora and Balto rushing after him to only discover that it was just a small mouse.
While it didn't help them find their mother, Takoma's discoveries helped keep their bodies warm and their stomach's full. Aurora's strength also seemed to be increasing as she no longer trailed behind Balto when they ran. Still, the longer they wandered through the forest, the further they drifted away from the den and into the unknown.
"Hey, Takoma!" Balto yelled as he and Aurora raced after their brother. "Wait up!"
The trio had just discovered a series of large wolf-like paw prints in the snow and Takoma was certain that they had been made by their mother. The black pup dove into a small group of bushes and disappeared, Aurora shouting back to Balto to hurry up before vanishing into the shrub. Balto put in a small burst of speed and darted through, hopeful that they had finally found her.
"Is she okay?" Balto asked as he saw Aurora and Takoma on the other side.
The two pups didn't answer but instead looked up, Takoma's tail pointed stiff and Aurora's ears lowered. Balto stared confusedly at his siblings before looking up and gasped, his stomach feeling like it had just dropped out of his body. Standing in front of them, with the barrel of his hunting rifle facing the three pups, was a human.
"Run," Takoma said quietly, his eyes focused on the human.
Balto and Aurora attempted to run back into the bushes but the human saw what they were doing and made a grab for both. Balto squealed as he felt the human's tight grip on his fur, his sister slipping through and darting into the thicket. Takoma growled and bit down on the human's hand, his sharp puppy teeth poking small holes in the human's skin.
The hunter yelled and released the brown pup, shaking his hand and smacking Takoma off. Balto watched in fear as he saw Takoma land roughly in the snow, the hunter lifting up his rifle. Takoma shook his head and looked up, the barrel of the hunting rifle pointing directly at him. The black wolf pup growled defensively and the hunter lowered his eyebrows as he pulled the trigger.
"No!" Balto yelled as he ran in front of his brother.
His eyes closed and Balto cringed as he heard the loud crackle of the gun go off. Balto remained crouched over his brother for a few seconds before realizing that he wasn't dead. Opening his eyes, he saw the human struggling to get up with a large white wolf on top of him, snapping its jaws and trying to reach the human's neck.
"Mom?" Balto asked as he watched the wolf and human struggle.
"C'mon Balto we have to go!" Takoma said pulling his fur.
The two wolf pups ran through the bushes and looked around. The fallen sun had left the entire area shrouded in darkness, dark gray clouds blocking out the moon and the stars. Not only were they lost, but Aurora was nowhere to be found.
"What do we do?" Balto asked fearfully.
"Takoma! Balto!"
Balto looked up and saw another white wolf running towards him, a small white pup following close behind.
"Mom!" the two pups cried out as they rushed towards the she-wolf.
"Are you two hurt?" the she-wolf said worriedly.
Before either one could answer, a loud crackle sounded ripped through the air and the white she-wolf crouched low to the ground, covering her three pups underneath her. Snarls and growls echoed throughout the forest until finally all was still. Balto trembled as his mother slowly rose off him and his siblings. He looked to his left and saw Takoma crouched low in a fighting stance, his tail stiff and erect. Behind him was Aurora, who was trembling just as much as Balto was.
"Aniu," a deep voice growled.
Balto looked up and saw a huge gray wolf standing in front of him, his cold blue eyes focused on the white she-wolf.
"Masca."
"We lost two wolves for saving your pups life," the gray wolf said circling. Balto saw eight or nine wolves come in from the bushes and surround them.
The she-wolf crouched lower to the ground, her eyes flashing from side to side. "I thought you wanted to kill my pups."
"We do," Masca said maliciously. "But we hate humans more than we hate you. Now that we have killed it, we can focus back on your betrayal."
The wolves surrounding the she-wolf growled and moved closer in. Balto looked around and saw that there was no way out. Aniu looked at her pups and then back at her former Alpha.
"The know nothing, can they not just be one of us?"
The wolf gave a look of disgust. "You ask me to help you raise them? To take them in, where they will poison our blood lines and spawn more abominations? Never."
"Then let me raise them," the white she-wolf pleaded. "Let us leave and we will never come near your territory again."
The she-wolf's voice had become increasingly more desperate, the surrounding pack drawing closer to her flanks and her pups. Her ears lowered and she stared at her former Alpha, her eyes full of fear and hopefulness. The female's stare awoke something in Masca that he had not felt for many months, a forgotten memory that he had shared once with her. The memory faded however as he looked down and saw her three pups, a bitter reminder of what was stolen from him.
"Two of my wolves died defending your spawn," Masca said venomously. "I will let you to leave, but at the cost of two of your pups."
The she-wolf felt her heart shatter and looked down at her pups. A tear rolled down her face as she looked at each one's faces, their eyes so full of fear and confusion. How could she possibly pick two of her pup's to die?
"I cannot make that decision," she said finally.
"Then I will make it for you," Masca said crouching low.
All the other wolves crouched low and waited for the signal, their bodies' tense and their jaws slightly opened. The Alpha wolf stopped suddenly and sniffed the air, his tail erect and his ears pointed up. Balto and his siblings looked around as the other wolves began to sniff the air. Thunder crackled and the great Masca fell to his side, blood trickling out of the large bullet hole in his neck. Howls went up and chaos took place as dogs charged into the clearing and rushed the startled wolf pack.
The wolf pack panicked at the sight of their fallen leader and attacked the dogs, biting and rolling around in the clearing. A loud crackle echoed through the woods and another wolf fell to the floor. The sound of the second gunshot brought Aniu back to her senses and she lowered herself onto her pups, her eyes frantically looking for a way out.
Balto trembled as he heard the wolves and dogs fighting all around him. Every now and then, a gunshot would go off and Balto would cringe at the sound, half-expecting to feel the bullet impale itself into him.
"Go! Now!" his mother yelled getting up.
Takoma was the first to get to his feet, and he chased after his mother with Aurora following close behind. Balto tried to get up but was too terrified to move. Takoma saw his brother lying in the middle of the fighting and rushed towards him, dashing in between wolves and dogs alike.
"Get up Balto!" he yelled pulling him to his feet.
Balto's legs finally began working and the two struggled to get out of the fighting. One dog had managed to grab hold of a wolf's neck, and rolled over to his side causing the bone to break. Balto and Takoma froze as the dog turned around and spotted the two pups, his lips curled back revealing blood-stained teeth. The dog slowly approached the two pups before being knocked over by a white she-wolf.
"Go!" Aniu said slashing her claws. "Find you sister!"
"This way!" Takoma yelled, pulling Balto away from the fighting and out of the clearing.
The sound of dogs and wolves fighting along with the occasional gunshot echoed throughout the forest. Takoma led his brother further and further away from the fighting, the barks and snarls growing softer. Balto didn't know where he was running or where his sister was, but he knew where his mother was and that was what worried him the most.
"Aurora!" Takoma called out. "Aurora where are you?"
"I'm here," a small voice cried out. The two pups stopped running and searched around for the source of the voice. Balto stuck his nose in the air and sniffed, the scent of his sister strong in the air. He quickly followed it to an upturned pine tree, where he found her hiding under the roots.
"I was so scared," she said trembling. "After Takoma went back to find you, mom put me in here and ran off."
"She helped me and Balto escape," Takoma said sitting down. "She fought off this big dog that tried to kill us."
The three pups huddled close under the tree and waited, the sound of fighting dogs and wolves still faintly echoing through the air. Slowly the fighting faded into silence and the forest slipped back into its frozen state. Balto looked earnestly for their mother to come running towards them, his eyes searching frantically through the dark.
Minutes went by...then hours...and still the three pups hid under the dead tree.
"What's taking her so long?" Aurora said weakly.
"I don't...I don't know," Takoma began pacing back and forth. "I don't know what to do."
"What if she doesn't come back?"
"Of course she's coming back!" Takoma yelled facing his sister. "She has too!"
"Takoma, we've been waiting for hours. Mom would have come back by now unless-"
"Shut up!"
The gray colored pup rammed into his sister's side and knocked her over, his teeth bared as he stood over her. Aurora gave out a yelp and kicked out her feet, Takoma growling as he stumbled back off her. The two quickly got up to their feet and faced each other, Takoma's fur standing up as he growled.
"Stop it!"
Both pups froze and looked at their brother, tears running down his face as he sat in the corner.
"Please stop fighting," Balto whimpered.
Aurora was the first to walk up and comfort her brother, her eyes closed as she tried desperately not to cry. She looked up at Takoma, who was pacing back and forth with his head held down. His teeth were pulled back into a snarl as a thin line of tears rolled down his face.
"This is all my fault," he said angrily.
"No Takoma," Aurora said standing up. "I went out too. It's my fault too."
"I got us lost though. I led us right into the human and almost got us all killed."
The gray pup laid on the ground and placed his paws over his face, his body trembling from the cold snow. Aurora walked over and laid down next to Tacoma, pressing her body next to his to keep him warm. Balto followed his sister's lead and laid on the other side of Aurora; three miserable pups waiting desperately for their mother to return.