Chapter 12: Only a Myth
Under Chicago April 8, 1929
The smell of the tunnel that they had been wandering around in for the last few hours was not particularly pleasant and Balto felt like getting sick. He checked on Suki, who was quietly snoozing on his back. Steele also was carrying Loki in a similar fashion. Boris and Stella brought up the rear.
"So what now" Balto asked "Are we just going to wander around here in stink-vile for the rest of our lives or are we gonna get out of here?"
"These pipes have to go somewhere; it is not like they are infinite." Steele said back.
"Well it feels like it is." Balto grumbled.
"You'll live." Steele kept on walking.
"Balto can we take five?" Stella asked. They came to an intersection and stopped.
"Sounds good, I wish I could sit down." Balto said, noting the grimy bottom of the pipe. Steele nodded in response.
"Me too, this stuff is nasty." he said, flicking some of the gunk off his paw.
"I grew up in the Big Apple." Stella began. "And if this is the type of pipe I think it is, and then I'm not sure I want to tell you all what we are stepping in. Just expect to be taking baths for a week or so when we get home."
"If we get home." Balto stated solemnly.
"Hey, Downer Dog!" Boris chimed in. "Don't start with me on that. We have been in tougher places than this before and we have made it back out again. Why should we give up now?"
"Boris, look around you. We are a thousand miles from home, in a strange city, wandering around in a sewer, and we're being hunted by gangsters, animal control and who knows what else!" He practically yelled. Steele starred at him in disbelief.
"Who are you and what have you done with my friend? Where is the Balto that Saved Nome or the one that rescued Duke and raced to the North Pole? Because you are as sure as hell not him. That guy was a hero, your already surrendering in the middle of the battle, a disgrace!" Balto's eyes flashed red in anger.
"Me, a disgrace? Look at you Steele! You nearly let a town choke on your pride! You put me through hell because your daddy told you to! You are not only a disgrace; you are too weak to protect your children!"
Steele bore his teeth and snarled.
"Don't you dare bring them into this, especially after you let Kodi get shot! Ya Boris told me, you hypocrite." Both looked as if they would kill each other at any moment.
"Stop it!" They immediately ceased their fighting and looked down at the source. In their rage they had not noticed that both Loki and Suki had heard their fill.
"They are right." Boris cut in. "You two have to work together if we are ever going to get home." Boris stepped between them and separated them. Both snapped back to their senses.
"Boris is right, we need to get home." Balto said.
"Right." Steele responded without blinking.
"Good, now we need to find out way out of here." Boris finished. The sound of running water could be heard nearby. "And that could be it." They walked down the tunnel and found the source of the sound. An underground river, the river was not particularly appetizing, but they were not here to quench their thirst. In a tunnel on the other side was the amber glow of a light. The river was slow moving and relatively shallow looking. Suki was perhaps a bit too eager to get out of the sewer. She ran up to the side of the river and saw some flotsam in it.
"We can just go over these logs here." She began to jump over to one of the logs when Balto saw a pair of eyes in the water. He quickly snatched the scruff of Suki's neck and pulled her back away from the side of the river as a pair of massive jaws came in and closed in the space she once occupied.
"What in the world?" Steele asked.
"I thought it was just a myth." Stella said.
"What's a myth?" Loki asked.
"That was a crocodile." Balto answered. "Basically an overgrown lizard with a big mouth. They aren't supposed to be here."
"Does it matter?" Stella asked. "How are we supposed to get around them and out?"
"I have idea." Boris said rubbing his chin with a wing. "But, Stella, you won't be liking it much." He told them all his plan.
"Your right, I don't like it." Stella said as she leveled a glare at Boris. "But I don't see any other way out of this labyrinth so I guess we have no choice. Ready?"
"No, but I am prepared." Boris smirked. Both took off and flapped over the crocodiles.
"Hey lizard lips!" Both of the crocodiles snapped their attention to them and made a disapproving grunt in return. "Ya over here ugly, we taste good!" Stella shouted.
"Perhaps bit too much." Boris whispered. Behind the crocodiles, Balto and Steele seized the initiative; they picked up the pups and slung them onto their backs. They all quickly began to wade across the feted water. The crocodiles turned and saw them but Boris flapped in front of them.
"Hey big boy, what happened when the crocodile walked into the bar?" in response the crocodile snapped at him and nearly had a goose for dinner. "Oh, so I see you have no love for humor!" Boris continued to distract the reptile while not getting eaten. On the far side he could see Balto and Steele had successfully made it to the other side.
"Stella, they are across, let's get out of here!" Boris yelled. Boris and Stella tried to break away from their scaled adversaries but the crocodiles snapped up in the air and blocked their path.
"Hey Boris, did you have a good plan for this." Stella asked.
"Not exactly." The crocodiles continued to snap at them and they had been pressed up against the ceiling, ever while the predators jumped ever higher. From the side of the river of sludge, Balto saw their predicament and decided to do something about it. He found a large plank of wood on his side and picked it up with his mouth. The wood tasted foul, but he was short on options. He stood the plank up on its end and let it fall on the crocodiles with a solid thud. The creatures sank beneath the murky water for just long enough for Boris and Stella to escape before they jumped up again. Boris landed on Balto and hugged him to the point of choking.
"Oh thank you boychik! We thought our goose was cooked."
"Come on Boris, I'm not just going to sit there and let you flap in the breeze."
"I'd hate to rain on your pun parade here Howler, but can we get out of here? I forgot what clean air smells like." Steele said.
"Don't get too excited. This is Chicago after all." Stella returned.
"Who cares, it's oxygen." Loki said as he walked toward the amber glow of the Chicago night. The group had made their way out of the labyrinth of the sewers and into the urban jungle outside.