Chapter Four:

Empty

All was silent as Star trudged his way up to the front door of his home. He had grown exhausted from running and was more beat than ever. But that was the least of his concerns. He was just relieved that he had managed to get away. His body was still trembling from the whole ordeal.

Slowly and gently, he nudged the dog door open as he slid inside. Again, all was silent, with the only sounds to be heard being the slow tapping of his paws on the floor. The house appeared to be empty tonight. To most dogs, this would seem odd. But not for Star, as he had his own little inkling as to why. Something he had kept to himself throughout everything that was going on.

Soon, he made his way to a room with a medium-sized bed inside. Books lined a shelf on the wall and a wooden toy or two sat on the floor. He couldn't be too sure, as it was very dark all around him. Star hopped up onto the bed and, after a moment of getting comfortable, plopped himself down on the soft mattress. A very somber sigh escaped from him as he began to doze off.

It seemed like everything just felt so empty, but one thing in particular felt emptiest of all.

Star was positioned on one side of the bed. It was where he always settled down to sleep, for the open space beside him was reserved for the young boy he was delighted to call his owner. The son of a single mother and a rather socially awkward sort himself, he and Star were the best of friends. He didn't speak to others much due to his shyness, yet had always yearned for a friend. Star filled in that gap and boy did the loveable husky fill it well. Even before befriending Balto, when Star had no other dog for a friend, he always managed to find comfort in hanging out with his human.

The absolute gleam the kid got in his eyes when he'd come home to be greeted by the excitable little rascal, or when he'd watch his bright, shining Star galloping along with the sled team from the sidelines, certainly was something. However, some of the best moments they'd spend in each other's company was when they would both go to bed together.

When night would fall and all was calm, quiet, and peaceful, the two would lie down together, with Star settling down by the young boy's side in order to get comfortable. In turn, he'd reach over and treat Star to a plethora of pets, rubs, and scratches as they would fall into peaceful slumber. Truth be told, this mutual exchange was what helped the two rest easy. The comfort of knowing the other was there through the soft, tender feeling of a hand combing through scruffy fur always soothed the both of them to sleep every night they were together. It was like a gentle reassurance from both sides, letting the other know they were there for them. They were quite inseparable.

But not tonight.

Not since the young lad had fallen very ill and started showing signs of being sick. Instead of lying safe and sound in bed with Star, he was now in the town hospital with a large number of other children who were also falling victim to the disease. On this night, the mother was staying at the hospital to keep her son company through this dire situation. So as the clock continued to tick on through the night, the house remained silent. Its only occupant being the small, eccentric little sled dog, who now sat tired, anxious, and with a feeling of emptiness in the pit of his heart.

Oh, how he missed the feeling of being scratched behind the ears. Or rolling onto his back to get a fluffy belly rub in return. Or just the simple pleasure of being pet on the back, knowing the softness of his fur was helping his human rest easily. Now they were separated and sleeping felt more of a chore for the both of them.

Regardless, Star still had a race tomorrow and succumbed to the reality that he was going to have to make the most of it and get as much rest as he could. His owner was counting on him. With that thought, he knew he had to try his absolute best. If he wasn't going to let Balto or the town down, there was absolutely no way he would ever let his human down. The one that he loved ever so much.

There was certainly no way he'd let him fall victim to the sickness that ravaged the town around them.

He then thought back to Steele. The vision of that twisted grin of his as he backed Star into the direction of the boiler flashed in his mind. The heat. The intimidation. The claustrophobic feeling he got as the distance between the two dwindled in that moment.

Star was willing to go against all odds to help retrieve the medicine, but with Steele… after what he had just done. Star didn't know how to handle it now. He really didn't know.

Eventually, he thought it best to try and forget about it as much as he could. Tomorrow was the big day after all and, though still shivering occasionally from the lingering fear of his team leader, he would need his rest even more than ever.

With heavy, exhausted eyelids coming down, the weight of the day's events dragging them down like a ship's anchor, Star's eyes gently closed as he fell asleep.

Trying to forget was easier said than done…

As he slept, his dreams were plagued with nothing but that vision of Steele. The more twisted side of him that Star had witnessed first-hand that night. The orange boiler glow was now a fiery red as it flashed along his back and white fur coat. Steele's scathing words about Balto echoed in his mind. Even in the dream, which was now more of a nightmare than anything, Star could feel the heat. The temperature slowly getting higher and higher.

Suddenly, he could feel something on him, but he had no idea what it was. Was it… his sled harness? Just as he realized, he felt himself dragged relentlessly forward and forced to start running. One moment he was in the boiler room. The next, his surroundings dissolved into a huge blizzard with barely any light in sight. Star put every ounce of stamina he had to keep up, but it was no good. That same leader kept on pulling with such force that Star began to lose his footing. In a rare moment, he was out of breath and couldn't run anymore. Icy wind and snow buffeted his face, nearly blinding him. He wanted to shout out a plea to stop as a pain began to grow in his paws, but it was a fruitless effort to make someone like Steele stop.

Then, Star noticed something. There was a second harness attached to the hook on his collar, branching out to the left ahead of him. Something was different about this one though. It moved rather rhythmically, swaying up and down in a more proper manner compared to Steele's, which was firmly tugged and stretched in a straight line as he dragged poor Star behind him. Through the fierce winds and snow, he could make out another figure on the other end of the second harness. Star had to force his eyes open for at least a few seconds to see who it was, despite the hundreds of icy snowflakes that pelted his face like bullets, and was shocked to see none other than Balto.

Almost immediately, Star began to lunge violently to the left. He wanted to break the harness that held him firmly behind Steele. More than anything, he wanted to break away from Steele entirely and follow Balto. With every ounce of strength he had, he hurled his body away from the brute that continued to tug him all the while. He couldn't stand being pulled, or pushed, around any longer. Harder and harder, he fought against the tight sled harness now branching off to his right, but it was no use. It just wouldn't snap or come loose. No matter how hard he tried to keep pace and follow Balto, he couldn't break free. He was trapped in Steele's grasp and was beginning to grow weaker and weaker. The pain in his paws began to spread to his thrashing legs and before he knew it, Star was beginning to lose his footing fast. It all felt too real.

Suddenly, a massive tree loomed ahead. Both canines ahead of him veered in separate directions. With all the remaining energy he had, Star forced himself to the left to keep behind Balto but just as he almost had it, Steele's harness tightened and yanked Star back in the middle, right in the path of the oncoming tree. As the tree grew closer and closer, Star was being tugged from both sides now. Steele was just far too strong. The poor little husky in the middle shut his eyes as they neared the tree, his paws in excruciating pain and lacking the strength and energy to break away. It was no good.

He was stuck with Steele, and it was painful.

He began to toss and turn in his spot on the bed, wanting desperately for it to end. When he finally forced his eyes back open and shook his head, all was finally calm again.

He looked around. It was still dark out and, upon looking at the clock on the wall, not much time had gone past. Star audibly groaned as he rolled over and looked towards the door leading out of the room.

He needed a drink. Maybe even some food to munch on. Something, anything to get his mind off what had just transpired in the boiler room, along with the rather horrible dream he'd just gone through.

Star gently hopped off the bed and made his way to the small kitchen. His food bowl and water dish sat on the floor at the corner of the kitchen counter. Both were still full since he hadn't touched them for the entire day. He slowly munched on the kibble in the bowl, which had pieces of leftover chicken from that afternoon sprinkled in. He always loved the little additions he'd receive in his meals in the form of little pieces of meat. Star did have to admit, he felt a slight bit better. He really did have a good family. One that he was going to have to work extremely hard to help save.

As he had a short drink from the silver dish beside the bowl, his mind went back to the boat. Back to Balto. He remembered how Balto, without hesitation, lent him some of his own water. How nice, cool, and refreshing it was too. He missed the wolf-dog's hospitality and wished more than anything to go see him again.

But then he thought about Steele… Star couldn't go out to see Balto again. Not as long as that... well, Star couldn't exactly think of any adjectives to give the huge husky. Not like Kaltag could. All he knew was that he couldn't risk being found out by Steele again. Feeling defeated, his chipped little ears dropped low on his head as he sighed. He then turned to the small living room area. The moonlight shone through the window and onto the couch sitting in its path.

Without much thought, Star sluggishly walked over, jumped up onto the couch, and settled down to finally get some rest. Perhaps he'd finally get his mind off Steele. There were no guarantees any sweet dreams would cross his mind tonight. Especially after the first, but Star knew he couldn't let them stand in the way of his rest before the big day. As the ticks of the clock grew closer to midnight, Star, slowly and somberly, drifted off into deep sleep.

Author's Notes: So, how about that? Star lore. One of the few things I expected to make a part of this story, but I got the idea as I began writing the chapter and I'm very glad I did. If I was going to continue this story after that last chapter, I had to think of something that I felt would work and expanding on what Star's home life and giving him even more of a reason to be anxious and lonely, with the reason being his owner being a kid stuck in hospital because of the spreading sickness, felt like the best direction for the story. Making Star feel more of a sympathetic character more so than before. The idea of delving into what Star's home would be like was inspired by another fanfic centered around Star that actually dives not only into his, but the other sled dogs' lives as well. Very well written it was, I must say, and is one of my favorites out of the few fanfics about Star out there. The little dream bit I wrote in stemmed from an idea in a review mentioning how the follow-up to "No Time Like The Present" could focus on Star wanting to break away from Steele and follow Balto. This actually ended up inspiring a huge chunk of the story, but I mention it here as I wrote the dream as a bit of a visual representation of the idea too, as it really does sum up Star's predicament. Being stuck between the two. One willingly and the other unwillingly, but is forced to stay by the latter's side, with the very idea inspiring the name of this entire story as well. You may notice I also chose not to give Star's owners (the little boy and his mother) names. That's partially me trying to keep it in line with how the movie left most of the humans nameless (aside from Rosy, of course) and just me preferring to keep it subtle like that. Kinda let the readers make their own conclusions on what they may look like, who they are, etc. Up for interpretation is probably the best way to put it. Either way, I'm very proud of this chapter and I do hope anyone who's reading this is enjoying it too. Would love to hear thoughts on it, as this is my first time ever actually expanding into the family aspect of a character who we never see the family of (probably one of the few times I really will if I'm being honest). Then again, that's to be expected as this is only the second fanfic I've ever written anyways XD