Chapter 14 No Rest for the Weary
Chicago April 9, 1929
Ever since they had stumbled out of the sewers of Chicago and into the alley, none of them could think of anything but food. Now that the moon was high and was casting a dark blue hue on the city below. It was time Balto did something about the growling coming from his stomach. He lifted his head up and repeatedly sniffed, trying to find a clue for food. The scents of any food were drastically squelched by the smell of the alley and the surrounding city and caused Balto to caught and gag. Steele and Boris looked on at him and his disagreement with the city air.
"Hey boychik, are you alright?" Boris asked.
"I'm fine, just not used to the air here I guess." Balto said between coughs. Suki saw a tube coming out of the building next to them and read the sign next to it.
"Papi, you were sniffing up a garbage shoot." she said. Balto looked above him and saw the same thing.
"Oh, oops. That kinda makes me look dumb doesn't it?"
"Hey, you finally figured it out." Steele said with a slight laugh.
"You're hilarious." Balto returned sarcastically. "So, what are we gonna do now? Just take in the sights wait for Duke and Jake to find us?"
"I don't know if that is good idea." Boris tossed in his two cents. "We are still lost in city, yes? And this place is so big it makes Moscow look like backwater."
"Whatcha mean Boris?" Steele asked worryingly.
"Well," Boris put out his wings apologetically. "Animal control, streets and cars, and I don't think we have heard the last of your gangster friends. Stella grew up in New York, she can tell you." Boris looked around and noticed her absence. "Hey, wait one minute, were is she? Stella!" Boris shouted. Stella's voice called out from above.
"What is with the shouting flyboy?" She landed on top of a dumpster and hopped down to the ground. "I was only gone for five minutes; anyway, I found something for us to eat."
"Food? Say no more." Balto cut in. "Lead the way." Soon, Stella and Boris were back in the air and the dogs were doing their best not to be seen. The back alleys and side streets of the Chicago Loop were nothing to write home about. Loki stepped in a puddle of what he thought was water but soon found out that it hardy resembled H2O and smelled foul.
"Eah, what is this stuff?" He said smelling his front paw.
"Motor oil." Balto said. "And dirty oil at that. After sticking your head in a plane's engine, one doesn't forget that particular smell."
"Can we tally how many baths we have to take later, like after we eat?" Suki piped up.
"I agree, you'll be fine Loki." Steele told his son.
"Yes papa." They got back on their way and continued to follow Stella through the maze of the city. Within minutes, Balto could now smell the water of the Great Lakes and saw Stella and Boris descend in front of them. They caught up and Balto took a look around. A park was on the other side of the street and the lake was beyond that. Through the midnight fog, he could see the lighthouse blinking in the distance. As well, a street full of cars even though it was till late at night. However he saw no source of food.
"Hey Stella, I thought you said you found food." He said. Stella pointed into the air.
"You need to learn to look up when you are in a city, country dog." Above them was a neon sign.
Vito's Fine Meats and Delicatessen
"Oh, that will do."
"Hey Howler, remember the last time we broke into a butcher shop?" Steele said salivating and licking his chops.
"Do I? I remember discovering sausage, and then getting used as swatting practice by the butcher."
"Worth it." Steele said in return.
"So Stella, you wouldn't happen to have a skeleton key or something would you?" Stella kicked over the empty garbage can she was sitting on, revealing a small hole in the wall.
"Or something."
"Stella, I could kiss you right now." Balto wanted to dive into the butcher shop.
"No thanks, I know where that doggie-tongue has been." Stella said putting a wing around Balto's mouth.
"Hold on bud, not sure if you noticed, but, we can't fit through here." Stella pointed to the hole, which was only a few inches in diameter.
"Well Suki and I can." Loki estimated. "She and I can sneak in and grab some food, then bring it back out."
"Hmm," Balto mulled it over in his head. The place was still closed and the smell of the smoked meat made him drool, no argument. "Alright, just be safe." Both pups charged into the hole and squeezed through.
"Meat might be good for you four, but me and flyboy here are gonna find something more our speed." Stella said as she and Boris took off towards the park. Loki and Suki made their way into the shop and inside was dog heaven.
"Whoa." Loki scanned the walls and saw every kind of meat imaginable. Suki went to work securing a long chain of linked sausage and Loki tackled a rack of ribs. While they wrangled with the meat, outside the others were watching the cars rumble by. Steele noticed something wrong with Balto as he stared of into the distance.
"Something on that mind of yours?" Balto broke his glassy gaze and turned around.
"What?"
"What is wrong?" Steele knew that he was not all there, everything from his late behavior to the way he walked screamed something was amiss.
"I just haven't been myself lately."
"Gee, thanks Sherlock. Why?"
"When I saw Kodi get shot, I never got to say anything to him, I didn't know if he was going to die or not." Balto deftly covered over a chink in his armor but Steele knew him too well. "I guess I've been a little on edge since."
"Well, I won't disagree with that last bit. But Boris said Kodi will be fine, that isn't what is really under your skin is it?"
"Ya, I've been meaning to apologize for earlier, we almost killed each other."
"No harm done, I know how you feel; I shouldn't have said what I said." Steele felt his pain, reviewing his words, they both sounded like children.
"You did, actually, it kind of brought into light how deadly it is out here. To be honest, I've never been this far from home for so long before."
"Do you want me to tell you something?"
"Sure."
"This doesn't get any easier, I mean, before when we were facing the elements and all up north, we knew what to do. But here, the Urban Jungle is not my kind of forest."
"What's your point?" Balto was confused at Steele's talking in circles.
"My point is, we need to be particularly careful here, one mistake could mean disaster."
"You don't think I didn't figure that out already? Why else would I be so touchy?"
"Well, at least we can agree on something." They heard a rustle behind them, both being on high alert; swiveled their heads around but saw nothing. Considering investigating, Steele took a step forward but heard the children returning through the hole with dinner. Not wanting to worry them, he stopped. The pups came out of the hole with enough meat to sate a lion. The links of sausage and rack of ribs plopped down, followed by a pair of succulent steaks.
"Nice work you two." Steele patted Loki on the head and tore into one of the steaks while Balto bit into a sausage.
"Mmm, I donno, city life isn't too bad." The sausage was filled with spices and vegetables, making it taste like a whole meal. The pups tackled the ribs and after they ripped off the meat, they chewed on the bones, quietly contemplating themselves.
"I don't know who this Vito guy is." Steele said between bites. "But he knows his way around a porterhouse." It was the first time in days they had a chance to stop and rest. The unforgiving city was pounding them into the ground, but for now, it was bearable. Balto began work on his third sausage when the sound of a breaking bottle crashed behind him. He turned again, this time he saw the pinkish tail of what he knew was a rat. He bound up and caught the rat by his tale in one motion.
"Ah! Please don't eat me! I'm not with them!" Steele stood next to Balto and began to interrogate the rat.
"Them who?" A rustle behind the dumpsters began and dozens of large, jet black lumps of fur began spilling out. The rats had come from nowhere and quickly began to surround them, each baring a mouthful of nasty yellow teeth. Their despicable eyes glowered at the four dogs. Balto dropped the rat he was holding and it scurried away and darted around the dark corner.
"Suki, Loki, get behind us!" Balto ordered. He and Steele sized up the rats surrounding them; there were no less than three hundred pairs of the red-eyes staring at them.
"So Howler, what kind of stratagem you have for this one." Steele said with a slight inflection of trepidation in his voice.
"I'll get back to you in five." Balto scanned the rats, looking for a way out of their predicament, but it looked like they were all trapped. A large and fat rat muscled his way through the swarm and Balto saw he had a scar where one of his eyes used to be. The rat opened his mouth and began to speak.
"Dogs, you have invaded our territory, you have violated the Pact, when we send your bodies back to Bismarck and the Pack, he will know better."
"Wait!" Balto yelled "We don't know what you are talking about! We aren't with any Pack, and I've never even met anyone named Bismarck. We're just lost-"
"Shut up! I'm going to personally rip out that lying dog tongue of yours!"
"Please, you have to believe me!" Balto pleaded in vain.
Enough tear them apart!" The rat rallied his army of rats and sent them after the dogs.
"How's about that miracle that is gonna save our skins?" Steele asked.
"Ya, fight for your life!" Balto said as he kicked away a rat. Steele turned and caught a rat attacking him. He picked it up by its neck and tossed it away, trying not to take things too far.
"Die!" The rat shouted.
"Steele, forget about trying not to hurt them! This is do or die." Balto finished off the rat had pinned to the ground. Steele cut loose as well; he let his instincts take over. Both of the large dogs fought off and killed any rat that came near. Loki and Suki had also been forced into the fray. Loki bit into a rat and brought it down. Suki kicked one in the chin and pirouetted over it, then pounced on top of it. Despite their prowess, they were hopelessly outnumbered and the uphill battle looked unwinnable. Before them the ocean of attackers continued to spill out at them. Balto could see Steele was being overrun and he could not hold out much longer. Balto jumped on top of him, acting as an improvised shield. After all of the perils of the north, bears, blizzards, avalanches, and they would lose out to a swarm of vermin, how trite. As they consider surrender, the sound of paws stamping on the ground and barking echoed throughout the brick and concrete. One of the rats shouted over the combat.
"It's the Pack! We need to get out of here!" The rats broke off their campaign and scattered, before departing, the fat rat turned and glared at Balto.
"Next time you won't be so luckily." He then slipped under a fence and disappeared. The sounds grew nearer and seven large dogs appeared around a corner. They joined the fight and made a circle around the four injured comrades. Any rats that had not already ran away, ran for their lives. After the last one vanished, one of the dogs turned to Balto. He was a large black and tan German shepherd with a lean and strong build that exuded a sense of command and respect. He stared into Balto with his yellow eyes.
"Gutentag, I take it you are the ones Martin told me about." The dog said in a slightly accented voice. The rat Balto had by the tail earlier came out from behind him and waved. "I am Bismarck, and you are?"
"Balto, my friend here is Steele. The two pups are Suki and Loki." Boris and Stella had seen the fight from above and came in, landing next to them. "And that is Boris and Stella. Were grateful for the rescue."
"My pleasure, Claudius has been using any excuse to attack us. Come; let's get your wounds taken care of." With the adrenaline wearing off, Balto could feel every nick and bite on him and he felt like had been in front of a driving range at a golf course. He attempted to follow Bismarck and the others but fell and had a hard time getting up. Boris flapped down and began to look him over. Bismarck took notice of Balto's wounds and turned to another of his dogs.
"It isn't safe to stay here, we're going to have to go back home." He whispered, the other dog nodded in agreement and Bismarck began to shout orders like a general.
"Hamey, Katja, get over here and grab him." Another German shepherd and a collie ran up to Balto and kept him on his feet. "I don't like this place, were done here. You two, Boris and Stella, I need you in the air watching for any more of these rats." Both simply nodded and took off. Circling above them, Boris saw nothing dangerous and tipped a wing to Bismarck, who instructed the dogs with him to follow. They all ran down back alleyways and side streets with two other dogs propping up Balto the whole way. Steele and the others had not received as much punishment and could run at a decent pace. Just as they were told, Boris and Stella circled over them and kept good note of anything that came close. Soon the sights and sounds of the city were slowly replaced by the soft and rhythmic sounds of the waves coming off the lake. As they progressed, the ground became more and more rocky. Much to the pity of Balto, who had a hard time on the softer ground. Nearly two hours later, Balto felt like he was home, around him was a hilly woodland with tall and thin trees scatted about with a few homes and cabins. They turned into a dirt road and Balto saw a sign.
Swartz Auto Junkyard
Balto was rushed underneath something and felt being place onto a bed before losing consciousness to exhaustion.