"Message from the conductor, Mr. Kaasen: the train's about five miles out now," the telegraph operator in the Nenana train station told the musher, seated with his dogs by the stove in the middle of the waiting room.
"Thank you. Let's go, team," Kaasen told his dogs, who slowly started getting to their feet.
"Are you sure you want to go out tonight, Mr. Kaasen?" the telegraph operator asked him worriedly, "Latest readings have it at sixty below out there..."
"The children of Nome need the medicine soon. They're all counting on me to get there as soon as possible. Blackie, Bear, Jet, let's go," Kaasen gently led three of his dogs outside, where snow was blowing hard. "He ought to listen to the guy; sixty below's too cold for me," Nikki mumbled softly by the stove, moving closer to it.
"At least the medicine got through," Kaltag countered, nonetheless shuddering as a blast of wind rattled the train station, "Now we..."
"Attention!" came Steele's bark from the corner, making the other remaining dogs in the room snap to attention. "All right," the lead dog paced in front of them like a drill sergeant, "This is going to be greatest sled dog run ever made. We're going to go for an all-time speed record with this. I want us back in Nome in no more than three days. So just remember, you all have one job on this run: don't make me look bad. Is that understood?"
"Oh yes, your worship..." Nikki muttered sarcastically under his breath.
"What was that!?" Steele glared furiously in his face.
"Um, uh...yes, yes, let's move like a warship?" Nikki said quickly with an innocent grin. Steele glared him down hard, but did not press the matter further as Kaasen returned to lead the other dogs outside to be hitched up. "There are times I can't stand him," Nikki muttered to his colleagues.
"I know. He can be the most insufferable, the most arrogant, the most high-handed..." Kaltag stumbled for the proper words.
"He's a dog star who's no star," Star quipped, prompting Kaltag to scowl and conk him over the head. The three of them came to a stop at the edge of the platform-and shuddered, for dozens of white crosses stood in the field opposite the tracks, like warning signs to then. "Oh my," their master had apparently just noticed them for the first time as well. "Um, sir?" he hailed down a nearby baggage porter, "What happened over there?" he pointed at the crosses.
"They all died in the flu pandemic seven years ago," the baggage porter explained with his own shudder, "It was terrible; half of Nenana was killed, it seemed. And now, it looks like you've got it worse back in Nome right now."
"Yeah. And that's why this run has got to succeed," Kaasen looked grimly at the crosses one more time. He led his dogs to the front of the team, parked at the edge of the platform, and hitched them up, right as a train whistle sounded in the distance. He turned to return to the station once more, only to find Steele had followed him out. "Ready to go, huh, Steele?" he said, impressed, "Well, let's get you set, and we can get underway..."
He hitched the lead dog to the front of the team, right as the train's headlight appeared out of the blowing snow. Soon the rest of the train appeared, bringing awed gasps from some of the dogs on the team that had never seen one before. As it slowed down in front of the station, the conductor leaped off the front boxcar with a large crate in hand. "I have the serum here," he declared out loud, prompting several station employees to rush over.
"Lash it down really good," Kaasen instructed the workers, who rapidly did so, adding a bright lantern on top of the antitoxin crate for illumination. "OK, Steele, let's go," he gave a command to the lead dog, who took off running so fast that he had to grip the handlebars hard. The team tore down the tracks in a blaze and turned onto the trail back to Nome. "How long?" came Blackie's call from the wheel position.
"About fifty miles or so to Tolovana, I think," Kaltag called back, "That's where I think the last roadhouse was on the way here. It's...whoa!" he exclaimed as Steele lurched down the bank towards the Tanana River, "Steele, what are you doing!?"
"It's faster on the ice!" Steele shouted back, "Keep running."
"It's also slipperier!" Star stumbled to keep his footing on the ice, as did some of the other dogs. Steele, though, kept running up the river as fast as he could. Indeed, even the sounds of creaking underneath the dogs did not slow him. "You guys hear that!?" Nikki spoke up to the rest of the team, "That better not be what it sounds like..."
"It couldn't be. Steele knows what he's doing," Bear insisted from behind him.
"But that sounds a lot like...Steele, be careful up there! There might be drum ice here!" Nikki called to him.
"We're perfectly safe!" Steele insisted, not slowing down, "Just keep running!"
"We have to anyway; it's colder than I've ever known it to be," Star shivered hard. "Just watch for thin ice, Steele," he begged to the lead dog.
"I said we're fine..." No sooner were the words out of Steele's mouth than there came a cracking sound from the back of the sled, and half the river underneath Kaasen's runners collapsed, revealing there was indeed drum ice on the river, ice chasms left when the water receded, leaving empty holes behind. "Careful, Steele, careful!" the musher commanded, gripping on tight to the handlebars as the sled bounced off the edge of the hole.
"Steele, let's go back on the shore!" Star protested, "If there's one ice hole, there's bound to be others!"
"And we can pass right over them if we keep going fast, so keep running!" Steele shot him down-right as another drum ice hole cracked right underneath him. He took a flying leap and landed safely on the other side. The other dogs on the team desperately jumped over the hole themselves and just managed to make it. Their sled slammed hard against the side, but the force of the dogs' pulling kept it from going in. "Steele, we can't press our luck like this all night! We can't risk losing our lives or the serum!" Star pleaded again.
"Keep running!" Steele ordered him, increasing his speed instead. The other dogs huffed and puffed in the brutal cold to try and keep up with him. Slowly, the miles dragged on as they made rapid progress down the river. Finally, after several hours, the light of the Tolovana roadhouse came into view in the distance. Only then did Steele leap back up the bank to the trail, rattling the sled and medicine hard again. Indeed, he continued trying to run when Kaasen slammed on the sled's brake with his foot. "Whoa, Steele, whoa, time to stop," he commanded his lead dog, who continued trying to run.
"Steele, we need the rest," an exhausted Kaltag collapsed onto his face, as did most of the other dogs, all looking heavily winded, "That's the fastest we've ever run..."
"Come on, let's go!" Steele wasn't hearing it, still pulling at his harness, "We're way ahead of schedule, let's keep it that way!"
"I can't go another step!" Blackie protested, gasping for air. And any further discussion was mooted when the roadhouse owner ran outside. "You have the serum?" he asked Kaasen.
"Yes, it's right..." Kaasen frowned as he tried to point to it. His hands had frozen to the handlebars during the trip, it had been that cold. "I see. Hold on a minute," the owner ran back inside the roadhouse. He returned a moment later with a pitcher of steaming water, which he dumped over the musher's hands, allowing him to pull them free. "You really took a risk being out when it's sixty below like this," he advised Kaasen, "Come on inside and warm up; it's best to wait until it warms up a little before heading further."
"I agree. Come on, boys," Kaasen told his dogs, starting to unhitch them, "We've all earned a rest after a hard run like that."
"'To Nome: antitoxin team arrived safely ahead of schedule at first checkpoint in Tolovana ten minutes ago, stop. Antitoxin appears in good condition, stop. Will report again when team continues on, likely in the morning.' Well, that's certainly wonderful news, isn't it, Morris?" Nome's telegraph operator happily bent down to rub his own dog on the back, "At this rate, they'll be here with the medicine before we know it."
Morris gave his own happy nod and snuggled down in his basket. "Well, I'd better tell the doctor and mayor the good news," his master stuffed the telegram in his pocket and reached for his coat, "You just stay warm here until I get back. And let me know if any new messages come through while I'm gone."
He exited his office and made his way up the street-not noticing Balto leaning around the corner of the building, listening in. The latter sighed in relief. At least the antitoxin was well on its way. Help was coming, even if it couldn't be from him.
He glanced around to make sure no one watching before heading off down the street, his destination once again the hospital. He wanted to check in on Rosy again. And as he approached it, he saw Jenna, looking in the window. He paused. Part of him was afraid to face her after coming home from Candle empty-handed. He wanted something to give. But the decision was made moot for him when she now looked up and noticed his reflection in the hospital window. "Balto..." she mused, turning towards him.
"Jenna..." he greeted her, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I..."
"I hadn't seen you in several days," she approached, "I thought maybe you had..."
"Left town? No...well, I had...I went looking for more medicine elsewhere, but...things went wrong," he hung his head, "I'm sorry..."
"I appreciate it that you tried," she nuzzled him, "Everyone in here," she turned worriedly back towards the hospital, "Needs help more than ever now."
"How is Rosy?" Balto had to ask, bracing himself for the worst.
"Not good at all," Jenna shook her head sadly, "She barely got out of bed all day, and her cough's getting worse by the moment. I don't know...how long she can..."
It was her turn to hang her head in grief. "I'm sorry," Balto nuzzled her back, "I wish...I could do more..."
"You've done everything you could, Balto," she absolved him, "It should have been you leading that team. If Steele hadn't pulled his stunt at the end..."
"I know," Balto nodded grimly, "But much as we don't like what he's done, right now we really need to be cheering him and the rest of the team on. And the good news is, they reached their first checkpoint ahead of schedule; I listened in at the telegraph office after I got back. So whatever does get that medicine here as quickly as possible, I'm..."
His ears caught the sound of rapid footsteps racing up the street. He instinctively jumped out sight into the alley next to the hospital. "Move it, dog!" it was the butcher, making him glad to have made this decision. The man, holding a limp figure in his arms, frantically pushed past Jenna and pounded hard on the hospital door. "Open up, please!" he begged loudly.
The door swung open. "Can I help you?" it was Vera McDowell, now wearing a nurse's uniform, that answered.
"Please, help my son! I think he has the diphtheria!" the butcher pleaded, pushing a boy of about seven towards her. Vera looked into the boy's throat, and immediately recoiled, reacting to what was clearly a foul stench, leaving no doubt to Balto the boy was stricken with diphtheria. "Bring him in," she instructed the butcher worriedly, "We'll do what we can for him. Nurse Morgan, another patient," she called into the hospital. "What's his name?" she asked the butcher, leading him inside.
"Timothy."
"We're going to take care of you, Timothy..." Vera comforted the boy as the door closed. Shaking his head, Balto emerged from his hiding place and rejoined Jenna at the window. "It's getting worse by the day," he mused darkly, watching Vera laying Timothy down in one of the few open bed visible. And a hard coughing fit made him turn to the right to see Rosy, flat on her back in bed, shaking hard as she coughed. Fighting back tears, her parents, seated at her bedside, rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. And there was now an agonized sob from Jenna broke the winter air. "I'm so sorry," he nuzzled her again.
"Even since I was a puppy, she's been there for me. She always treated me special, she means the world to me..." Jenna whimpered, barely holding it together.
"I can tell," Balto told her, "I'll keep looking for something to help..."
"What you're doing now's good enough," she briefly flashed a small smile, "Thank you for being here."
"Glad to," he managed a small one of his own, "You can drop by any time if you need someone to talk to."
"I had it, Boris. I had the medicine in hand. And then those wolves just destroyed it all," he lamented to the snow goose back on the boat a half hour later, "It was scary, seeing the hatred in their eyes for humans. Yeah, some humans are as bad as they say, but to want to see them all exterminated..." he let out a low sigh, "I don't know what I can do if both worlds hate someone like me, Boris. That both worlds will go so far to make me feel like an outsider, and make things worse for themselves when they do it."
"You did what you could, Balto," Boris comforted him, patting him on the back, "If those wolves are as blind as the humans, let them be. You're more wolf than they are."
"But I'm no wolf. And no dog," Balto mumbled.
"No, you're you," Boris leaned his neck against his friend's, "And that's what matters."
"And what matters is that medicine getting here soon," Balto turned his gaze to the east, "So come on, Steele, and don't do anything stupid..."