The next morning.
Balto woke to a terrible headache, his stomach was also erupting, and it would soon cause him to throw up. He quickly stood and tried to walk, but his paws didn't obey, and his head began pounding as he fell back down to the floor. When he fell, he managed to knock over a metal pan and made a loud noise, of which echoed in his mind causing it to hurt more. The sound also woke up the others with ease. He looked around, still lying flat on the floor, he saw Kodi, Siku, Saba and… Steele? What in god's name was Steele doing here… Then he looked at where he was sleeping at… This was Steele's house.
"Balto, you're okay!" Siku said, she was still half-asleep, but shook it off and walked over to Balto's side. She nuzzled his neck for a bit before trying to help him stand. Balto got to his feet and stood there, staring at the ground for a second, he was trying to concentrate on making his head stop pounding. It felt like it was going to burst with the pressure. She was happy, but it wore away quickly.
"That… actually happened?" Balto asked desperately.
"Not… Just a dream?" he added. His voice was low, and he was on the verge of collapsing.
"I…It wasn't a dream Balto…" Siku answered, Balto watched a single tear drip down her cheek. Ignoring everything, he reached in and licked it off of her face.
He heard her speak, but didn't want to hear it. He shook his head and tried to find anything to change the subject. After a whole minute passed, he finally spoke.
"You're so damn cute, Siku." Balto said, he was trying desperately to get his mind off of what just happened. Siku just blushed and moved towards Kodi slowly.
"I'm sorry if it's random, just, I've never told you, and… I don't want to think about…" Balto cut himself off.
"Where's Jenna? I don't feel right complimenting another female, especially if Jenna isn't around." Balto asked, he was still trying to say anything to get his mind away from the event.
"Jenna's at the vet's office, she got a concussion, but the vet says she'll be fine in no time." Steele said. Balto had to shake his head when he heard Steele talk. He was full of genuine caring, and didn't sound like he had any hate in his voice at all.
"Steele, not that this is the time for it or anything, but what in the hell are you doing here?" Balto asked, he fought back the urge to growl.
"Well, this is my house after all heh heh, but seriously, Balto, I can't even begin to explain to you everything, and how sorry I am for the way I treated you all these years. You should have left me to die out there in the woods… So why didn't you?" Steele asked as he walked over to Balto, ignoring his obvious attempts at holding himself from growling.
"Are you sure she's safe?" Balto asked, he felt lightheaded again, and almost fell over, but Steele stopped him. Siku walked away now and lay down with Kodi and Saba, who were still sleeping.
"I know she is, but are you safe?" Steele said.
"Do you actually give a damn, Steele? Or are you just wondering when I'm going to die so you can take another try at Jenna." Balto said, he finally snapped and couldn't hold his anger back anymore, remembering that Steele once tried to rape her. He charged at Steele, but something stopped him, he fell to the ground.
"Balto, are you alright?" Steele asked, he seemed to completely ignore Balto's attempt at attacking him, and instead walked over to him to see if he was okay.
"You need to leave Steele, I don't want you around me or my kids, especially Jenna!" Balto yelled, but his head was pounding yet again, and caused him to lose energy in his words.
"Balto I'm not leaving, I need to talk to you. It's important, Aniu told me to-"Steele was cut off by Balto.
"You don't get to say her name..." Balto barked back, he returned to a sitting position. Siku got up and walked over to protect Balto, just in case.
"Balto, please lie back down, you're hurt." Steele said. He was really keeping his calm, he understood Balto's hatred for him, rather than make Steele mad, all it did was make Steele hate himself even more. Still, Balto sensed the caring of his voice. Maybe Steele really did care about Balto's health.
"Alright Steele, I don't know what kind of tricks you're playing, but I'll trust you for now, I don't really have another choice." Balto finally offered. He looked to Siku, and her eyes told him that she trusted Steele too.
"Glad to hear it Balto." Steele walked to him and lie down next to him, this entire thing made Balto cringe up, and he involuntarily moved away slowly.
Steele spent the next 5 minutes explaining everything to Balto, how he was a changed dog, how his conversation with his mother went, and how he looked down and watched as Balto saved him, then thanked Balto one more time.
"Steele, if I had known of what you did a few years ago, I would have killed you myself." Balto said coldly, he did trust Steele, and understood what he was trying to explain, but he couldn't hide his hate for the perverted dog that tried to rape his Mate.
"I think I know what you're talking about. I cannot apologize for that, but I vow to try every chance I get. I look back on my past life and it makes me sick, I would never have tried to force my way onto Jenna, but she didn't make it too hard. She was in heat after all." Steele admitted.
"You son of a bitch! You're trying to turn it around on Jenna someway? I can't believe you, you haven't changed at all!" Balto yelled back, though he was still laying down, he tried to snap at Steele, who just moved away in response.
"Balto, she was in heat. I know that's why she even agreed to go on a date with me in the first place. I was terrible to try and take advantage of that, but I never intended to try and… You know…" Steele said. Balto stopped growling and realized that Steele was right.
"There's one more thing you should know, I really did love Jenna, if I ever got the chance to tell her, I would have treated her like a queen, not like the other girls whom I didn't care about and simply used them. I can't deny the fact that I love her, then and still today. But I can promise you on my own life that I will never try anything. I will willingly accept your teeth to my neck if I broke that promise." Steele genuinely offered.
"I know you won't Steele, if anything you don't have the guts to do it." Balto playfully answered. Steele just laughed quietly in response. Balto was starting to respect this dog; it took a lot of strength to apologize for an entire lifetime of asshole-ery, and even more surprising, it was working. Balto soon accepted Steele and began to allow him to build up trust with him.
"Balto, I know you as much as me want to check on Jenna, do you think you can walk?" Steele asked.
"It doesn't matter; I'll crawl there if I have to." Balto replied.
"Heh, Ol' lobo, such endurance and strength, you won't have to worry about crawling there." Steele said, he laughed at his own usage of "lobo" the very name he used to torment Balto for years.
"Yeah, call me old Lobo Balto." He replied, Steele mentally relaxed as Balto accepted it as a joke, and didn't get offended by it.
"I'll help you walk, Balto!" Siku said out of nowhere, she was acting like she was asleep, but listened to their entire conversation.
"We'll both help to keep you upright Balto." Steele offered.
"Thanks guys."
"I'll wake up Kodi and get him to help." Siku said.
"No, let them rest, they pushed themselves hard to run here all the way from White Mountain… Oh crap, we forgot about Mr. Simpson!" Balto said as he couldn't hide a smile at the mental image of Mr. Simpson scratching his head, while looking at the dog-less garage.
"He'll be fine, you're in no shape, well, none of us are in any shape to run back there." Siku added, but she knew as well as Balto that she wasn't the least bit fatigued.
Balto nodded in agreement as the 3 walked out, Balto being supported by Steele and Siku, they walked towards the vet office to see Jenna. It was a bit cold as Balto looked to his left, down on the other end of the road was where the event of last night unfolded, there was still yellow police tape blocking entry to Jenna's house. He let out a sigh, finally accepting that the event really did happen and that Rosy was gone. He thought about how Jenna would take this, she wouldn't take it well… They turned the corner and began walking towards the vets' office to see if Jenna was awake.
Jenna. First person.
My mind was racing, having just fell off of the building and hit my pretty little head a bit too hard, but I was still able to stand. I tried to run off after Rosy but couldn't move my feet, they felt glued to the ground, then I fell face first into the snow, my eyes slipped closed and a name seemed to let itself out.
"Rosy…"
I looked around; there was nothing but darkness, darkness everywhere. It was darker than any night I have ever been in, but I could still make out my surroundings. This was in the forest. Panicking, I quickly ran in the direction of Home, but… where was home? I lifted my nose up to sample the air, nothing. No scents of any kind, I tried to yell out for help, but nothing. No sounds made it out of my mouth; In fact, there was no sound at all. I simply wandered around for hours, looking for any sign of… anything. Eventually I could recognize something… It was a ghostly figure out in the distance. The canopy above may have shielded me from snow, but also blocked out any kind of light from above, the horizon was lit though, an ominous light blue glow along the horizon was blocked out by Fog, this fog brought visibility down to a few dozen feet. The figure continued to get closer, and even though there was finally something real in this unreal setting, I hid out of sight of it.
Balto.
Balto was dragging a body in his teeth, the body of Siku… But he didn't look happy that she was dead, he was crying his eyes out. I wanted to comfort him, and get an explanation out of him, but I didn't want to believe if he did kill Siku. So I ran down to meet him, he seemed happy to see me... Very happy. He ran up and began licking my face all over and held me tight, I returned the favor; after all I was just as happy to see him. He said something, but I couldn't make it out, it wasn't his voice… Something was talking for him… Then his face instantly snapped into an aggressive stance. I turned to run but was being held back by something, only when I turned did I see the face of Kodi. I was happy to see my son, so I didn't care how the hell he got out here, I turned around to nuzzle him, but he vanished.
"Kodi is no longer with us, Jenna." A voice said, I looked to Balto, but he just stared back. The voice came from Siku. I walked over to her, and she continued whimpering. She saw me then closed her eyes.
"I thought you were dead" I tried to say, but no sounds escaped my mouth. I tried to ignore what she said; I wouldn't believe Kodi was dead, so I didn't.
"I brought her out here to help you. You have a choice to make." Balto said, but it wasn't his voice, it was a voice of evil, and with it, a wicked smile formed on Balto's face.
"Balto, what are you talking about?" I said, even though I could not hear myself, I knew they could. Siku got up and walked over and sat down next to me. Balto was sitting on my left and Siku on my right. They were staring blankly in front of them, their eyes were not looking though, and they had no pupils. I tried to hide my terrified look at what I saw, they were scary like this.
"What… What are we looking at?" I finally asked.
Balto replied without talking, he just looked into my eyes and told me that way.
"We're waiting for our gift." He said. This was defiantly not Balto talking; it was someone... or something else using his voice to speak. I whimpered in fear softly as I returned to stare ahead too. We stood around for at least five minutes until I saw something fly down from above. A green spirit broke through the canopy above and came to a rest in front of us. Balto got up and slowly walked over next to it, then sat down staring back at me and Siku. The spirit began to take shape, it was Rosy. I barked happily at the sight of Rosy and tried to run to her, but I was being held back by Siku.
"Let me go damnit!" I yelled back, I tried to snap at Siku but I couldn't reach her.
"You must choose between your mate and your human." Siku said in a calm voice. She almost seemed angelic at the sound of it, but it was a demon that did the talking.
"What? I can't choose between them… Siku, please explain, what is this? Why are you doing this?" I was desperate, but she didn't respond. She sat there starring, starring at what? I don't know. It was as-if she was staring at something in-between us. A tear formed and worked its way down my cheek, flowing through my whiskers. But I made my choice, it was a hard choice, but I'd chose it always. I'd follow Balto anywhere, so I walked over slowly to Balto and began crying in his chest, he didn't respond, he didn't change his stance. Just then, I turned to Rosy, who let out a shallow scream, and then I watched as she fell to her knees, then fell flat on her face. A puddle of blood began forming where her head was and I saw it pour out of her ears. Before I could even react, something exploded, all of us were thrown across the forest and the trees broke apart, the entire world crumbled beneath my feet and I was thrown off into the air, but then I felt a lick on my muzzle, I closed my eyes preparing for a bad fall, but then opened them. I was on the floor with Balto looking over me, I looked around and saw that I was knocked out of a box that Rosy dragged me in, and I was at the front porch of my home, lying in the snow. Then I looked back at Balto, he had pure despair on his face as he ignored me and shouted. I could not hear but I yelled out to him.
"Balto! Rosy!" I screamed, remembering that she was being attacked. At the same time I said that, Balto bolted off yelling "No… NO!" I feared for the worst, and turned my head just in time to see Rosy's face one last time before she was killed by the wolf, I watched as Balto tore the wolf apart, but I couldn't do more than watch. I tried to get up but the shock made me fall back down, I started to cry but it didn't last long, I passed back out, unknowing that I suffered damage from the fall. My last thoughts rested on Rosy, how I failed to protect my human, I put all blame in myself, and I never wanted to wake up again.
Balto, Steele and Siku.
Steele and Siku held Balto up as they turned the corner towards the Vets office. Balto almost forgotten how the town looked during the day because, for the past few months, there was nothing but long nights and short bursts of sunlight, and the last time he was here during the day, it was when he left for the mail run… A mistake he still blamed himself for making. He looked down the street and swathe normal humans and dogs that roamed the streets. He wondered if they feared for their lives as Nehalem would have wanted, he knew they had to… Nehalem's pack would soon be upon the town.
A man walked over to pet Balto, and noticed how he could not walk. Balto recognized the man as Rosy's uncle. He had obvious signs of crying, Balto guessed he was as torn apart at losing his brother, his sister in-law and his niece, as he was. Though he could not relate to the man, as Rosy was not family, but he wondered how Jenna would take it.
"Poor Balto, I saw your battle with that… damn wolf last night, it was amazing to watch you tear apart that little bastard that did such a thing… Allow me to help, it's the least I could do." The man said, and then he picked up Balto and walked with him down the road to the vet's office. Siku and Steele followed as they stopped at the door. It was locked; apparently the vet was not there. Balto whimpered a bit, he was worried that the vet left and was not watching over Jenna. The man placed Balto down, and still being unable to walk, Balto simply fell in the snow. The man knocked loudly on the door, and Balto was thankful that he didn't have to do something that made that much noise, he probably wouldn't be able to anyway.
"Huh, maybe the vet is taking a nap." The man replied. Balto got up and tried to walk to the door, but fell again. The man moved Balto to the door and watched as he began to rip it apart.
"You really want to get in there, don't you? There must be someone special inside waiting for you." The man said. He prepared his arm and tackled the door, breaking it off of its hinges. This man did not care that he had just broken into the vet's office, all that mattered was that he helped Balto any way he could..
"There you go, Balto, now, if you'll understand, I must be off now." The man said with a smile, and then ran off, hoping that nobody saw what he just did.
"I like that guy." Siku said.
"A bit unorthodox, but it works." Balto replied, his voice was starting to gain back energy and was on normal levels.
The three walked inside with Steele keeping Balto from falling over, and Siku running from room to room searching.
"She's not here! Nobody is here!" Siku said. They made it to the back room and looked around, nothing. Then both Balto and Siku picked something up, they both lifted their noses up and sniffed the air… Wolves.
"What? What are you guys picking up with those impressive Wolf noses of yours?" Steele asked, Balto noted his compliment and figured it was probably the first one he's ever received from the dog.
"Wolves were here… One of them the same as the one from last night…" Balto answered.
"What? That damn wolf from last night was here? Why…"
Balto froze as his brain pieced together the scene… The dog that they came to see was not here… And the scent of evil wolves from last night is all too clear. Balto's legs gave away and he simply fell to the ground, not caring to move.
"Balto what's the matter? We need to get out of here…" Steele said.
Balto didn't respond… His already injured mate was just taken by homicidal (Canicidal? lupicidal?) wolves… He didn't want to move, all that changed was a steady stream of tears rolling down his face.
Balto couldn't… No... Wouldn't take it anymore, he would not cry, he would fight. He got up and stood. The pain in his back legs was fading, replaced by pure adrenaline. Balto ran through the halls and out the broken front door of the Vet's office. He ran all the way past Jenna's house and made it a full 100 meters. But he heard another terrible sound in his back, and fell. Once again, he was pissed off, so pissed off by the fact that his own body couldn't carry him. He wanted to kick his own ass for being such a failure. The pain was exploding throughout his body. Balto managed to pull his Back muscle now… Even with Steele and Siku's aid, he would not be able to hold his body up since his back would no longer support him. He lay in the snow and flipped about for a few seconds, the pain popping like fireworks in different parts of his body. What the hell was going on? Did he pull every muscle in his body all at once? The pain was too much, it was hundreds times worse than the worst pain he ever felt. He closed his eyes and let the pain die away, he blacked out yet again.
Steele and Siku caught up to him, they looked back and admired how far the broken wolf-dog ran in this state.
"What is wrong with him… Why doesn't he realize that he's injured…" Steele said, he knelt down and nudged Balto with his nose.
"What happened?" Siku said as she walked over and looked over Balto's body.
"He's pulled his back muscles now… He's pushing himself farther than any dog or wolf could have, all for what though?" Steele said, he was wondering what could force a dog in Balto's shape to try and run full speed, not caring of the damage he was doing.
"Poor Balto…" As Siku said that she put a paw on Balto's back and watched as it made Balto jump.
Balto's eyes shot open now, but he wasn't moving anything, he didn't say anything. He turned his head and snapped at Siku, who was within range. Siku yipped and jumped back, startled by Balto's attempt to snap at her feet.
"Why Balto?" Siku asked, but he didn't answer, he began growling now, and exposed his teeth. He struggled to get up, struggled to move, and eventually got into a sitting position. His back was arched very uncomfortably, not having muscles to hold it up. Siku and Steele stared at him, astonished at the fact that he was trying, yet again, to stand up. He fell of course, but when he hit the ground, something snapped and he began breathing heavily. Most of the pain left, except for his back legs and back. He looked up at Siku, who was still a bit surprised that he snapped at her.
"Siku… Sorry… Wasn't… me…" Balto said in-between labored breathing.
"What do you mean? You snapped at me you meanie!" Siku said. She smiled a bit at her choice of using such a childish word.
"I know now… The demons tried to take over my body… I fought it off, it was an intense battle, and it took place in my mind. They won at first, but after realizing that my body was useless, they left." Balto explained, his breathing returned to a normal speed.
"Wow, that was crazy, but why did you run off from the vet's in such speed anyway? All you managed to do was injure yourself more." Steele said in a caring voice.
"Steele… Siku… The wolves took Jenna." Balto said, and with his words he returned his paw over his face and began sniffling. But he wasn't crying, he would not cry anymore, he would fight.
"Oh god… They better not touch her… I couldn't live with myself if she …" Steele said, but he wasn't focused, he was staring at the ground and shaking his head, he paced around, he was furious.
"Stop being such a weirdo, Steele, it's not… Steele like of you. We need to gather everyone in the boiler room... Find Doc." Balto said.
"Siku, help Balto, you guys to do that… I'm going to get Jenna back!" Steele said, then ran off.
"Steele! Steele! Get back here damnit! You can't do it alone!" Balto yelled, but Steele didn't stop.
Steele.
The following is a two part series, his part in this didn't seem to fit anywhere else, so I plopped it RIGHT in the middle of this. The second part is of Nehalem.
Steele had no idea where he was going, Jenna's scent had long worn off, and it was quickly turning night. He looked to the north and saw a huge electric storm cloud in the distance, he figured it was over White Mountain. Steele lifted his nose high in the air and tried to pick up her scent again, finally, he did pick something up, it was Jenna, but the smell was tainted with the smell of many, many other wolves. "Oh great, and just what in the hell am I going to do? Walk in and kill them all to save Jenna alone?" Steele thought. He thought back to his time with Aniu, she explained what help she could give him. He had already made a full recovery in less than a few hours. Remarkable. He had super speed running, but he hasn't tried yet. Steele got low on his front paws and raised his tail high in the air, then bolted off. He picked a direction that was free of trees, and ran as fast as he possibly could. That was it, he was running full speed already, he didn't know what else he needed to do. Then he closed his des for a second, but they shot open at the sound that was in his ears. It was the sound of the wind blowing with gale force past his ears, he looked down and noticed his paws were a blur. Then he looked to his side and watched the trees fly by. Steele was running in excess of 80 miles per hour! More than 3 times faster than he's ever ran! He slowed to a stop now, noticing that the trees got a little denser beyond this point. He expected to be exhausted, but realized that he was not the least bit fatigued.
"Wow... I wonder what else I can do?" Steele thought. Just on impulse, he got low and jumped up. He felt himself to at least a meter off of the ground, and prepared for the fall, he hit the ground with a loud, but satisfying, thud. This Ike he trained it, and made an actual target to jump on. He aimed for a higher branch of the tree, about 3 meters up, he jumped, and grabbed onto the branch. After struggling for a while, he accepted that he would not be able to get up, and allowed himself to fall, this time landing correctly.
"This is incredible, but I'm wasting time..." Steele thought, he used his jumps for a better purpose. He jumped to the branches and made his way to the top of the canopy. To his surprise it was still calm above the trees. This time he lifted his head up again and sampled the air, trying desperately to pick up a scent of Jenna. He found her again, and also detected 30 other canines of lupine origin.
"This is going to be so easy." Steele said to himself sarcastically. Steele used another trick that Aniu taught him. It was a disgusting trick that would make him almost invisible to smell. He stopped for a second, realizing what he had to do, then bit hard into a nearby tree. The sticky sap began to pour down and Steele rubbed it all over himself. This was a terrible feeling... Every time he moved, it pulled on his fur and caused pain. He fought it and stretched every possible way, in order to loosen its hold. Eventually it got to the point where his fur was tangled and knotted all around his body, it being more noticeable on his white chest. The sap worked well to hide any and all smells that would come off of Steele. It would be tough to clean off later, but for now it would save him a lot of trouble. Steele ran in the direction of White Mountain, he followed the scent for 15 miles up the trail and into dense forest. Eventually he reached the source, using his newfound jumping ability, he easily jumped onto a nearby ledge that was at least 10 feet off of the ground. Steele could see everything from here, and when he lay flat, that combined with the smell cloaking sap, he was nearly undetectable. Steele would observe the pack, find out where they were keeping Jenna, then sneak her off later. He laid down on the cool rocks to watch and listen to Nehalem's plans.
Nehalem.
Nehalem stood upon his veritable throne as he looked over his followers; they all stared at him, leaning on his every word. Nehalem loved his power over the pack, even of it was forced. He did this every day, preaching to his followers his own interpretation of Amarok's teachings. In reality, Amarok was not evil, he only punished hunters who did not follow a moral code and killed for the sake of killing. If a hunter killed a moose and used it to feed him or his family, by Amarok's definition, that hunter had did nothing wrong. Nehalem on the other hand, hated humans with a passion, both brainwashed with rage, and due in part because they always tried to kill him. Of course the humans would try to kill him; Nehalem never understood that the humans wouldn't try to kill him if he didn't try to do the same. He thought for a second of what to say, then stood higher to address the group.
"We are the result of millions of years of evolution, our ancestors ruled the north, our brothers to the south ruled all of the Americas. The legacy if the great wolves is a sad one, hunted to extinction by the human menace! Then what do the humans do to finish us off? Then take our ancestors as pets, trained the wolves to protect the humans from their brothers. Eventually the tainted wolves became domesticated, they became dogs! Mere slaves to the human menace, taught to do tricks for their amusement in order to be fed. Dogs if today have lost their great sense of smell, they have lost their primal instinct to hunt, they have lost their abilities to be wolves! They cannot be saved, it is in the best interest for our species to eradicate the fallen wolves, the mere husks of their past. We will do our best for the species; we will not allow our long lost brethren to continue being kept prisoner of their own sad genetic makeup. They are lost, and cannot be recovered; our only way to help them is to make sure they have a safe passage to the spirit world. Their souls will be salvaged by our great Amarok and will be given another chance." Nehalem preached to the group, the whole time he was pacing back and forth and looking at each and every face.
"This guy is insane! So what's the plan?" Steele asked himself. He did have a plan, he would use his newfound abilities to lure off part of the pack and kill them one by one. Simple. But Steele did not know what he was dealing with. He did not know that every wolf he would fight off would be controlled, merely driven by Nehalem himself, as he commanded the demons to attack. These demons would work whatever body it was controlling to the death, working their muscles much harder than any conscience being would. Steele had his plan, now all he had to do was wait fortune pack to split up. He looked to the right and saw two wolves walking off into the forest. Steele watched them until they were out of sight from the pack, and then followed for the kill.
But Steele made a mistake that would risk everything, he accidentally kicked a few rocks off of his ledge, and they were rolling down fast to collide with one poor unsuspecting wolf at the bottom. Steele watched with horror as the 6 inch rock rolled down and hit one right behind the ears with a loud thud. The event knocked the wolf over, but he seemed to ignore it and slowly recover to a sitting position. "Huh, guess its alright" Steele thought, unknowing to him, he would soon learn of the demons. The wolf that he hit did not react to the rock, until the demon allowed it, Steele watched as a green spirit left from the Wolfs' ear and on the instant, the wolf started howling in pain and feeling the area the rock hit, then he looked up to Steele and howled, alerting everyone.
"Oh, sh-" Steele said as he was cut off by Nehalem.
"Intruder! Group 7 and 4 go after him, now back to business." Nehalem then continued telling the rest of the plan to the others as if Steele wasn't there. He knew that the two groups of wolves that totaled 7 in all would take Steele out nice and quickly.
The wolves ran full speed to Steele, he knew that he could easily outrun them, but chose to test out his fighting abilities. If Steele was bad at anything, it was fighting. His endurance, strength and persistence stopped at the sled. He closed his eyes for a second, channeling his power into a fighting form, he felt something tick, and opened his eyes; he knew what he had to do.
Before the wolves closed in on him, he ran to meet them. Getting his speed at nearly 60 miles per hour, he charged at the center one, facing his shoulder at the wolf, and turning his head, he ran into the wolf sending him flying into a nearby tree. It was knocked unconscious instantly. Steele stopped now and looked at his opponents. They actually had an expression on their faces, meaning that no demons were helping them. Steele smiled then ran to another one, ripping into his side with his teeth at lightning speed, then threw him aside as the wolf cried in pain. Two other wolves charged at him, but Steele decided it was enough; he jumped 6 feet over them and took off at normal running speed so that the wolves chased him. He planned to run these wolves to the point where they stopped following him, then he'd run back to Nehalem's pack.
He ran out into a valley, it was steeply sloped and ended at a large canyon. The valley was also filled with wet soggy melting snow. Steele thought this was the perfect place to really test out his speed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them he was already running faster than last time, he looked back and found it hard to make out the wolves, but they were frozen and staring at him in confusion. Steele struggled to turn his head to face I front of him, then found it nearly impossible to keep his eyes open. He covered a mile in less than half a minute, Steele didn't know it, but he was running at 140 miles per hour. His paws were taking long strides instead of taking many quick normal sized ones. His back feet reached all the way in front of his fore paws. He smiled at this incredible speed, but soon found a problem, how was he going to stop? He needed to unless he wanted to crash face first into the other side of a large canyon that sat at the bottom of the valley. He stopped his feet and fell on his chest, the wet snow caused him to shoot down the valley at almost the same speed, he had no way of stopping, and the valley was getting steeper. The canyon was at least 150 feet across, so no way he was going to jump it. Steele panicked and purposefully tipped his boy over and turned this deadly slide into a deadly stumble down the valley. His body did 20 flips every 10 seconds, and he was 5 feet in the air at some points. He was successful in slowing down to about 60 mph, but the valley was coming to a close in less than a mile, and with the valley getting steeper and steeper until it ends, it does not look like Steele will be able to stop in time. Steele looked around for a few seconds, desperately looking for anything, a rock, a tree, just so he could run into it and stop himself. Nothing. His head snapped back at a loud echoing sound behind him.
His disturbing of the snow behind him from earlier caused an avalanche that has since then built up into a colossal killer wave of snow… And it is heading towards the bottom of the valley at twice Steele's speed. With no other options, Steele tries one more trick Aniu taught him…
Siku and Balto, The meeting.
"Steele! Steele! Get back here damnit! You can't do it alone!" Balto yelled, but Steele didn't stop.
"What a nice guy." Siku said. This was the first time she saw him other than when he was being killed by the bear.
"Siku, you don't know the half of it." Balto said. Siku helped him to his feet and they walked off, the whole time, Balto explained to Siku about how Steele used to be.
"Well I trust that he has changed his ways." Siku finally said.
"I trust him too." Balto replied, his voice was still tainted with despair. They walked over to town hall where Doc usually hung around. He was sleeping in front of the main doors like he always did. Siku let Balto lay down and walked up to Doc. She pushed him with her paw but he didn't wake up. She looked back at Balto, who just nodded for her to continue. Then Siku got close and barked loudly in Doc's face, this woke him up.
"What? What?" He jumps up. "Ah, Balto and uh, friend."
"My name is Siku!" She proudly replied. Doc just chuckled deeply.
"Hello, Siku, something I can help you with?" Doc replied. She just nervously walked over to Balto and helped him get up.
"Balto are you okay?" Doc replied, he got up now and walked to meet Balto.
"I'm fine, just pulled both my leg muscles, but that isn't important..." Balto replied.
"Doc, the town is in danger, for both dogs and humans. Siku can explain, but we need to summon the entire town." Balto said. Though he knew doc understood that he meant the entire canine population of the town.
"Very well Balto, I'll put the message out, if it has to do with lest nights event, I'm sure everyone will have no problem showing up." doc explained.
"Doc, Jenna has been taken by them..." Balto said. He shook his head again, trying to stop tears from flowing. He was successful, but his vision was fading, colors were changing, voices ringing, he passed out yet again.
"Poor Balto… Well Siku, I suppose we should help Balto to the boiler room, and hopefully you can explain what Balto can't in his state…" Doc offered.
"I can!" Siku replied
"Heheh, what an energetic fella you are, well get over here and help me lift Balto." Doc replied. Siku helped Doc try and balance Balto on his back, but it wouldn't work. Siku offered another suggestion, she ran around the corner of the building into the side alley, and pulled out with her a flat box. Doc smiled and Siku helped him place Balto on it and drag it towards the boiler room. When they got there, they were greeted by a few gasps from the dogs who were already there seeking warmth.
"What happened to Balto? Ralph finally asked.
"You idiot Ralph, a better question is, what in the hell happened last night?" Kirby playfully cut into Ralph's statement, but he was actually curious.
"Quiet down you two, Siku says she can explain everything, for now let's place Balto infront of the furnace, the poor wolf-dog has been through a lot…" Doc said.
"I know… He's ran his body hard yesterday, we all did, but none of us fought off a wolf too… I think it was obvious who won though." Kirby said with a smile, he saw the remains of Drago at the end of the road, of whom the humans simply put police tape around it for now.
Siku didn't say much, but she walked up to the higher step and sat down. All eyes were on her this time, and she felt nervous again, but almost right on cue more dogs entered. This time it was Saba, Kaltag, Nikki and a few others she didn't know. But only when the last dog walked in did she jump in excitement. Kodi.
"Kodi, you're finally awake!" Siku said excitedly.
"Hey Siku, yeah, last night's race home was pretty tiring." Kodi answered then walked over to Siku. He smiled when Siku nuzzled him, but hesitated for a second before licking Kodi on the chin. She missed him, and he returned her kiss.
"Yeah it was, poor Balto didn't recover from it well." Kirby said as he walked over to the two and nudged over at Balto's sleeping form.
"Dad… I feel so bad for him; he must be beating himself up for last night… He didn't make it in time to…" Kodi cut himself off, but everyone knew what he was going to say.
"It's more than that Kodi…" Siku said with despair.
"Jenna was taken by the wolves from last night…" She finally said, and returned to nuzzle Kodi to comfort him.
"They… took my mom?" Kodi said with his mouth open, he was at a loss for words.
"I'm afraid so, Kodi, now, if we can get on with this, I've called everyone over to hear what you've got to say Siku." Doc interjected.
"Right." Siku said, then returned to her spot. Kodi walked over to sit by her side, full of anger and sadness, he stared at the ground, and when he sat up next to Siku, he blankly stared into the crowd.
"Well, uh, the town is in danger everyone, Balto, Kodi, and anyone else that saw last night's event can confirm it." Siku said.
"There is a pack of wolves hiding in darkness near here, they have one goal. Kill everything that lives in Nome." As Siku said this, the crowd let out a collective gasp. She noted the obvious looks of dogs who did not believe her… Or wanted not to believe her…
"Rosy was killed last night by Drago, he is Nehalem's right hand wolf, and since Balto killed him, he isn't going to be happy." She added.
"How do you know all of this?" A random dog stepped up. The other stared at him with a face of unbelieving. Was this dog really questioning her?
"She knows this because she saw it first hand, you dunce." Kirby barked at him.
"Not first-hand… The dream I explained to some of you earlier has been shared with Balto. It's coming true… First Dusty has gone missing, and now Rosy has been killed. And the wolves in our dreams were real, they were here last night." Siku explained.
"So we're basing this off of a silly little dream?" The dog said. Kirby was starting to show frustration now.
"Hey, I got an idea, how about you shut up before I-" Kirby was cut off while he was acting out strangling the dog with his paws.
"Kirby! Let him speak, he has the right. Yes, dreams, but they're a sign given to us by Aniu herself. She talks to us in the dreams, and she is also Balto's mother." Siku replied, she added the last part quickly.
"Fine, I apologize for challenging you, it's just that… Me and my owners came here to escape dangers, we escaped nearly being killed in another town far from here, and for it to be happening again…" The dog explained.
"Hey, what's your name anyway?" Siku said, she was curious of this dogs story.
"Serif. Nice to meet you, Siku." He replied as he walked up to Siku and bowed to her a bit.
"What happened in the last town you lived in, Serif?" Siku questioned with curiosity in her voice.
"Well. They came… the wolves you were talking about… They killed our neighbors and nearly every dog in town. Only when they killed the only sheriff and his dog did our family decide it was time to run off. We lived in a small settlement in northern Alaska, and we chose Nome because my owner could still do his job here. Fishing!" Serif explained. Siku watched him with amazement, she had similar dreams months ago about his town, and even thought that she recognized the dog, but it wouldn't be possible, for the dog came to Nome before she was even born.
"Well it's happening again. These wolves want to… kill.. everyone." Siku struggled to explain, after all she was basically telling this dog that the place he ran away to was just as dangerous as the place he left.
"I… Have to go." Serif finally said, then he ran out the door towards his house.
"Poor fella… But we need to get back to the topic at hand." Doc said, then turned to Siku.
Siku spent the next 5 minutes re-telling the dream to the crowd, and answering questions, everything from "when are they going to attack?" to "what do they look like?" Siku gladly answered all of these questions. Then business had to be dealt with.
"Now, we all know what we have to do. These wolves will not stop until everyone in Nome is killed. We can't deny the fact. We know the humans won't know it until it's too late. All last night's event did was tell them that there might be a dangerous wolf out there, but it was killed by Balto." Doc explained. He walked up to sit next to Siku and Kodi to address the crowd.
"Jenna has been taken by the wolves too!" Siku added, halfway cutting off Doc.
"Yes, there's that too." Doc said.
"Steele went to save her, he's out there alone, poor guy." Siku added, ignoring Doc.
"Steele? Steele is out there fighting wolves to save someone who isn't himself." Kirby said with doubt.
"I thought Steele died." Ralph said jokingly.
"No, he's recovered and he seems to have changed… He was given a second chance to live by the white wolf spirit and in return he had to change his ways and befriend Balto to help him any way he can." Kaltag said as he walked over to them.
"Yes, that's true, and I trust him too." Siku said.
"I wish Steele the best of luck, but there are other things we need to worry about." Doc said with despair.
"We need a fight team, a group to help protect our town from the invasion, well until the Humans catch on and do what they can." Doc explained.
"Hah, those wolves will run their tails back to the forest when the humans shoot their guns at them." Kirby said.
"Yeah, that's if they get the chance to run. They won't even get a chance to be shot at, I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into the leader that got Rosy killed… And took my mother…" Kodi finally said.
They spent the next hour or so making a plan of what they were going to do. They were to setup an alert system, and a few dogs would man a fort at the forest edge, if they so much as smelled wolves they would give out the signal and the whole town would be on alert. Their plan included a rigging a bunch of devices that made loud sounds at hopes of waking up the humans and putting them on alert. Hopefully this would prevent another late night murder…
The plan was set, and the dogs would now disperse and begin to set it up. But before they left, Kodi spoke out…
Kodi. First person.
I woke up to a sound, and turned my head to see Balto struggling to stand up. I didn't get up, or ask what was wrong, I was way too tired. The run from last night did a terrible toll on my body. My legs were pretty numb, and I was thankful that I wouldn't have to run today. Before I could fall back asleep, a voice came from under my paw, Siku. I smiled as I saw her shoot up and walk over to Balto's side. I watched her beautiful coat shine in the low light of this room. She walked over to Balto and nuzzled him, this made me a little bit uneasy, but I ignored it and tried to go back to sleep, but their conversation was very interesting. Balto was unsure that last night was real, or just another dream of his. I wanted desperately to believe it was a dream too.
Last night Rosy died… Me and my mother's owner, and the only human I was able to call my own. I tried not to think about where I was going to live from now on, I figured I'd stay with papa for a while and hope that someone would adopt me. If not, I could always go over to Mr. Simpson and… Oh crap we forgot Mr. Simpson. I smiled at the thought, and looked at Siku as she said "I…It wasn't a dream Balto…". Her voice was full of confidence, and even I needed to hear her say that. It assured me that this was the real world, and not a dream, when dreams now started to feel more and more real. Dusty was gone… And now was Rosy. If the dreams were correct, I might be the next to go. No, I would not think about that, I couldn't think about how I would never see Siku again…
I'm going to tell her I love her today, and I don't care if the entire town disagrees with me, I'd run away with her, we'd live in the forest and she can teach me to hunt. I smiled at this thought, it was a happy thought. I ignored them for the most part, Steele and papa were having some kind of argument, but poor Balto was injured. I guessed that if I tried to move my legs, it would be full of pain, so I laid still. Thinking about Siku, and when I first met her, these thoughts allowed me to sleep easy.
I woke up to Saba nibbling on my back leg; she was growling softly and acting like she was eating it. I ripped my leg out of her teeth and stared at her.
"Sorry, Kodi, just bored. Siku left and nobody is here to play with." She explained. I smiled at my sister's cute explanation.
"It's fine, but where is Siku?" I asked, when I looked around, I also noted that Balto and Steele were also gone, but didn't worry about it.
"Her and Steele helped Balto go visit mom at the vet's office… I hope she's alright." Saba said. She was sad, her face showed it, and she looked to the ground. I moved to her now to comfort her. I was worried about my mother too.
"I'm sure moms alright, she just bumped her head a bit, she'll be fine in no time, watch!" Kodi said optimistically.
"That's what I always love about you Kodi, you always know how to cheer me up when bad things happen. Hey, now that you're finally awake, you think we can go check on her?" Saba asked.
"I suppose so." I got up and tried to walk, my muscles were aching, it didn't hurt much, but it certainly was uncomfortable to walk. I also felt weak, like if I were just 5 pounds heavier I would not be able to walk.
"My paws are killing me…" I heard Saba say.
"You read my mind…" I replied back.
I looked around and noted that we were in Steele's house, then walked out of the doggy door, and Saba followed.
We walked around the first building and crossed the alleyway to the vets office. The whole time I stared at the ground, not caring about where I was walking. I missed Siku already, and she's only been gone for an hour. What a terrible thing love does, and how it prevented me from paying attention to what I was doing…
I walked face first into the side of the building, having tuned the corner a bit too sharp, I fell to the snow and shook my head, Saba was laughing at me, and I couldn't hide my own laughter either. She stopped laughing and helped me up, she seemed to want to ask me something, so I turned to her before she could.
"Kodi, what's wrong with you? You were staring at the ground and then you hit your head. That's not normal, sometimes I wonder if it's good having you as lead dog." Saba smiled at her joke.
I had to tell her something, my sister was always there for me, she wouldn't care about my love of a wolf.
"Saba… I need to tell you something. It's Siku…" I finally managed to say, but Saba shook her head and smiled at me.
"I know, Kodi. And I bet Siku loves you too. You two have been inseparable the past few days, and I recognize love everywhere I see it. After all I was the first one to have to prove to you that you and Dusty were per-…" Saba cut herself off. I didn't blame her, I couldn't hide my sadness, and she caught onto it all too well.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk about Dusty… I'm sorry I did it again, I'll just shut up now." Saba said.
"No, no, it's just… I hope Dusty is alright, I mean, she's been gone for four days now, where the hell could she have run off to? It is my fault, and I won't feel good about it until I make sure she's okay." I explained to Saba, she just stared at me talking the whole time, at full attention.
"Well you love Siku. Any plans on telling her soon? Remember how you almost lost Dusty because you feared she wouldn't love you back?"
"I know… I know…" I said, I know all too well that she was right.
Kodi and Dusty being together is based off, in part, Baltoluver63's Fan fiction, titled "New Found Emotion: A Kodi and Dusty love story!" If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. The loving parts of it give the cutest explanation of Kodi and Dusty's love for each other, and I'm using its history here.
"It was nagging thoughts that kept me from saying it… I couldn't live on if Dusty didn't love me back… And I feel the exact same way now… What if Siku doesn't love me back?" I asked my sister, I was desperate.
"Well, Kodi. I know one thing, I'm sure she loves you too, but there is only one way to find out. You have to go for it, remember?" Saba advised me. I knew she was right though, as I thought back to the time when this seemed all too familiar. Back months ago to when I fell for Dusty. It seems like an eternity ago now.
"I'm going to tell her today, Saba. Thank you." As I said this, I went up to Saba to nuzzle her for a bit. I could always trust her to give the right advice, and she knew me too well to give wrong advice.
"Anytime Kodi, and-" Saba cut off as she saw Balto being carried off by Doc. I on the other hand focused on Siku. My heart melted at the sight of her, and I watched as she walked slowly alongside of Doc and Balto. Her coat bounced slightly with every step, and her tail hovered perfectly over the ground no matter where she went. I snapped out of it and walked after them with Saba. They went around the corner, and before we could get there, someone came from the alley to our left. Kaltag and Nikki.
"Good morning you two." Saba said to them, I just went up and sat next to her.
"Hello Saba and… Kodi." Kaltag replied, I noticed the obvious change in his voice when he said my name. He must have blamed me for making Dusty run off.
"I know I ask every day, but have either of you gotten any kind of info on Dusty?" Kaltag asked with slight desperation.
"Nothing, though we did just wake up, and last night… Well… happened." Saba answered.
"Kaltag… I miss Dusty, I know it was my fault she ran off, and I'll look for her in a little bit. There's a place in the forest that we used to go sometimes… Maybe I'll check there." I said to Kaltag.
"Well youse do that, Doc's called everyone to the boiler room." Nikki budded in.
"Yeah, thanks Kodi… You guys coming?" Kaltag said as he walked off towards the Boiler room.
"Yes, of course, and hey Kodi, Siku will be there." Saba said as she nudged to me. I laughed embarrassed and hoped that Kaltag didn't hear that.
We entered the Boiler room, but before I walked in, I heard Siku. She was taking control of the whole room as she talked, it was amazing. She was so full of confidence, and the meaning behind her words meant even more. She was again trying to explain to the others about her dream. I walked in after Saba, and saw her sitting on a higher step with Doc, she looked nervous, and I knew she wouldn't be able to talk. She looked to me and her face instantly changed to a happier one. God I loved her smile.
"Kodi, you're finally awake!" She said to me. I was happy to see her, I can't believe how much I would miss her after such a short time. Once again, I caught myself staring at her, I snapped out of it and tried to talk.
"Hey Siku." I said stupidly, but quickly added more to it. "Yeah, last night's race home was pretty tiring." I tried to hide the awkwardness in my voice, so I walked up to her. I froze for a second, not knowing if I could kiss her just yet, but she made the first move. I felt her muzzle brush my chest and she liked my chin. My heart was beating out of my chest and I hoped that Siku couldn't hear it, but I returned the favor with a kiss to her muzzle.
"Yeah it was, poor Balto didn't recover from it well." Kirby said, he kind of budded in and ruined the moment we were sharing, but I knew it wasn't important. I looked over at my father; he was out cold lying down near the furnace. I really felt bad for him, I mean, it wasn't even my dream and I felt bad for Rosy's death having known that it could have been prevented. I imagined that Balto was beating himself up for this… I promised myself that I would talk to him and try to explain to him that it wasn't his fault. After I replied to Kirby, Siku said something to me.
"It's more than that Kodi… Jenna was taken by the wolves from last night…" She said. Whatever happiness I had was taken away now, but Siku helped, she felt my happiness leave, and she nuzzled me in comfort. I loved how she always knew how to make me feel better.
"They… took my mom?" I said, I couldn't keep my mouth closed, my mother was already hurt and then she was taken by killer wolves… I was pissed, and sad at the same time. But I hid it well, Siku needed me to be strong as she returned to the top platform and began speaking to the others. I ignored what she said mostly, it was all repeats and things that we've already experienced. I stood by Siku's side when she got in an argument with a dog, I prepared to jump at him if he didn't shut the hell up. But when I looked at the dog, I saw the pure expression of fear. Couldn't blame him, I was also scared, who knows what would happen in the next days, or even hours. My anger built up as Siku talked about those wolves more. They took my mother, and god damnit, I wasn't going to let them get away with it.
"Yeah, that's if they get the chance to run. They won't even get a chance to be shot at, I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into the leader that got Rosy killed… And took my mother…" I finally contributed to the conversation, Siku looked at me, she noticed the anger in my words, they spat out like dragon fire. Siku walked over to Doc now, and they along with the other dogs formulated a plan. I listened, it'd be important, but I didn't care. I tried to get my mind off of things, but my thoughts always rested on Siku. I might be killed soon, and I wouldn't die without telling Siku I loved her first. The other dogs had formulated their plan and left to build it, I took my chance.
"Siku… Everyone… Before you go, let me say something before everything happens." I couldn't hold out anymore. My words were loud, like I was yelling to the crowd. Siku turned and looked at me when I said her name at first. The other dogs were just as surprised as she was. I was shaking in nervousness, but I carried on.
"I uh…" Was all I could add to it.
Siku, being the kind and thoughtful spirit she was, sensed my nervousness and walked over to comfort me.
"Siku… I might not get the chance to say this later, so whatever time I have left, I want to spend it saying…it" I couldn't say the damn word.
"What is it Kodi?" Siku asked. Her voice was angelic, and smooth, and filled with caring. She pulled the words out of my mind.
"I love you Siku, and I want to say it a million times over. I love you, and I don't want you to ever forget that." My entire body relaxed when I finally said it. I looked at her, but then turned to everyone else. Some looked surprised, like they should be, others, not so much.
"Well duh…" I heard Kirby whisper to Ralph
"Kodi… I" Siku struggled to speak. I knew what she was going to say, and I prepared for the worst. Rejection would probably drive me insane at this point.
I stared into Siku's eyes, and felt my own start to water. Siku was frozen, but her face said it all. She had no idea what to say. I figured it was at least better than rejection, but I wanted her to speak. Only 20 seconds passed, but it seemed like hours, everyone was staring at us now, but I didn't care. I continued staring into her eyes, hoping she would say something… Anything… So that I could kiss her and hold her tight. She wouldn't get the chance to speak, a damn dog had to come out of nowhere and ruin it…
"GUYS, GUYS, They're here! Oh, it's terrible! They… They killed Serif!" Said the dog, I recognized him as one who used to 'pull the line' before our team took over, but he since then retired due to a broken leg.
"What? They're here already? How many are there?" Doc questioned.
"Just two, but they've killed Serif… Poor guy, he was running home at the time but he was caught outside of town…" The dog explained. I looked past him and noticed that it was already dusk, and the sun would soon go down. I returned my gaze on Siku, but she wasn't looking at me. I simply stared at her head as it pointed at the dog, her ears twitching about but aimed directly at the source of the talking. God I love those ears of hers…
"Siku… Just forget about it, we have things to do." I was trying anything to get off of the subject. Siku had not rejected me, but she didn't exactly say she loved me back yet. I would do something crazy to show my love for her… I would fight.
"Kodi…" She said to me, but I didn't hear her. I ran out with the others, Kaltag and Ralph were at my side. We rushed to the point of where the wolves were last seen. They were running away as soon as they saw us, all 8 of us, turn the corner. I ran after them like I never did before, these assholes took my mother, killed Rosy, and now Serif.
"Kodi, wait for me!" Siku yelled out. It pained me, but I ignored her, and pressed on. We chased them deep into the forest, at least 5 miles in before I finally stopped. I looked back to see who kept up with me, nobody. I was alone, no dog thought it worth it to chase wolves into the forest, a setting that wolves dominated in. I picked up their scent again and ran after them. The sun was completely absent now as I closed in on them, they seemed to be slowing down. I stopped to take another sample of the air and noted three different smells, two of which belonged to the wolves, and the 3rd, Siku.
I ran towards the source and stopped to hide behind a tree. Luckily, the wind was still blowing fiercely from the earlier blizzard, and I was upwind from it. I hid behind a large fir tree, and watched… They had captured Siku and were dragging her body with them… I nearly collapsed at the sight, but a tiny whimper from Siku said that she was alive. They had knocked her out-cold.
Rage turned into adrenaline once again as I roared and jumped from hiding. One of them turned to face me, while the other continued off with Siku. The one that took the right side, had a particularly shiny coat that was tainted with dirt, but it didn't matter, he was going to die. I ran to him, but he dodged me… What was I doing? I'm no fighter… But I would try my best. I focused on him for right now, figured I'd end his life at least. I jumped to him again, and caught his ear, and I quickly, and happily tore it off. This was a short-lived victory, as he retaliated and sunk his teeth into my front leg. I couldn't hold back a scream of pain as his teeth sunk deeper into my leg, scraping bone now. I let his ear go, and bit his arm too, equal punishment, but all I got was a mouth full of fur. I stepped back now, and was a bit proud of the fact that my leg didn't even hurt that much, and that I was walking on it, while the wolf on the other hand seemed to be dying in pain at the loss of his ear. I charged back at him, knocking him on his back, and ripped into his leg again, this time my bite was satisfied with the taste of blood, and with it, my inner-wolf instincts began to come out of its shell.
I returned to a kill mode stance and growled at the wolf as it got up. I let him stand, because I wanted him to at least hold a tiny bit of dignity before I ended his life. We circled around eachother for a second before he charged at me, this time he caught onto my face and nearly ripped my whole muzzle off. He succeeded in tearing off my left lip. No matter, all it would do is get in the way of my teeth. The pain was terrible, but I fought it, and returned a bite to the wolf's back. I sunk my teeth deep into his spine, and I could swear that I heard bones crack. This bite made the wolf fall to the ground, hollering in pain. But he wasn't finished, he caught the top of my right leg and bit into it, he ripped a chunk out of my chest and fore-arm, and blood quickly began to shoot out. Ouch. I started to lose my vision and I knew I would soon black out, but with my vision replaced by pain, I looked over and noticed that Siku had waken up now. She jumped on the wolf that was dragging her, and I watched for a few seconds as she battled the wolf. It was amazing, but I had something a bit important to deal with. I looked down at the wolf that was still trying to snap at me, but he could not get up, he was in far too much pain.
"Here, let me help you out a bit" I said shaking, it didn't even sound like my words, but I said them.
In a split second, I followed my instincts and went in for the kill. Everything was black, I was taken over by my wolven genetics, and bit down into his neck, I didn't like where I bit, so I took another snap at him. He whimpered and barked in pain, but they got higher and higher in pitch until they stopped. It was a satisfying sound, the sound of a life slipping away. Blood filled my mouth as I severed his jugular vein and prevented his life blood from reaching his brain. Such event would kill him in about 15 seconds. His blood tasted like Copper, and I liked it. I shook my head at the thought; I was dealing with a genuine blood-lust, as I wanted to kill each and every wolf that dared harm my family or friends. I let the wolf go now, having been reminded that Siku was also fighting, by the loud sounds of her tiny growling. I sat down and watched now, with the pain, I couldn't walk to her, but she didn't need my help anyway. I watched as she jumped on the wolf's back and bit down into his neck, and instantly, the wolf fell to the ground. Siku was a natural-born killer, and I loved it, she was just the kind of girl I wanted in my life, one that could share my newfound blood-lust for these assholes.
"Siku that was amazing…" I said, but struggled to speak. Adrenaline was wearing off now and the pain was growing fast. Blood was steadily dripping out of my chest and I would faint soon, but having Siku here made me fight to stay conscious.
"Kodi, I'm so glad you're here… I followed you, but they caught me by surprise and hit me…" I heard her say, she was frightened, and I could only imagine how scared she must have been.
"Was it this guy who hit you?" I asked as I hinted to the wolf that I killed.
"Yeah… Why?" She asked, but I ignored it and struggled to walk over to the wolf. Each step was filled with pain as it caused my wounded chest to move about. When I got to the dead wolf I picked up my paw and slammed it down hard onto the wolf's face, making blood shoot out of his nose. I might have even fractured his skull, but it didn't cause a problem to him, now wouldn't it?
"Kodi stop, that's… bad." Siku said, but I noticed her smile, and it made me feel better.
"Siku, we don't have much time, I might not be able to walk back to town, I'm losing too much blood… I…" But I didn't say it. She had already failed at responding to me earlier, and I wasn't going to try and say it now, where she would seem forced to say it. I couldn't do that to her so I finished my sentence.
"I… couldn't believe you killed that wolf without even getting a scratch." I noticed her relax as I said that.
"Kodi…" She said again, it was a carbon copy of what she said earlier in the boiler room. She caught onto my failed attempt at changing the subject.
"All of this is new to me, I mean, I was all alone for my whole life up until 5 days ago. But Kodi… I..." She continued talking, but I prepared for the worst, I felt the loss of blood starting to take its toll on me and I fell to the ground and closed my eyes, I couldn't do anything else as my senses began to be overridden by pain, but the pain was starting to slowly fade out...
"Kodi? Kodi you can't die on me now…" Siku said, she started crying again, as she seemingly realized that I might not survive this.
"Listen to me, I.. I love you too Kodi. Kodi? Kodi… I love you, always remember that, I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier... Please don't leave me… I need you to be alive, I need you by my side…" She buried her face into my chest now and I felt it get wet with her tears.
"Kodi, don't leave me... Don't go..."
All sounds were drowned out, the leaves above brushing in the wind, the occasional break of the canopy above that dropped snow onto the ground, the distant sounds of thunder from the blizzard, the birds that chirped above, and Siku's crying, all vanished. It was absent, but her words stuck with me for the eternity that my mind took to shut down. It started playing tricks on me, seemingly to tease me, tease me with things I could never have. It began showing images of me and Siku running free through a sunny field near Nome. We would fall on top of each other like we did the first time, and I would lean down to kiss her again. She would return it, and my mind would fill with happiness. I would tell her I loved her, and I watched her mouth make out the words "I love you too." These thoughts continued to fade away, and began to fill with eternal darkness…
Holy moly cliffhanger. I'm terrible for doing this, but again, this chapter is long as hell already. Like I said, this entire story will be long. I'm hoping to break the 100,000 word level with this one. Doesn't look like it'll be much of a problem, we're 6 chapters in and I have barely began to scratch the surface of this story.
Expect more of a delay this time, the first 6 chapters were thoroughly planned out in my head and went over multiple times, but as you read here, it was obvious that I was starting to run dry. All I have now are ideas and a plotline for what will happen next. I know what will happen; now I need the juices to fill in the gaps. Also expect more first person points of view, and fewer dreams that mean stuff, unless you guys like that sort of stuff.
I thank you all for reading; I do this for myself mostly, for the entertainment of my imagination, and to help get through an emotional time (nothing serious). I don't beg for your reviews. The fact that someone, somewhere out there read a story that I wrote is good enough for me.
Chapter 7 coming June 2015