Saba waited until Jess and Luke turned to corner to make her move. After that she tried to find the alley no one was near. That was pretty hard. Practically the entire street was abandoned! But soon enough, she found the alley, and sure enough, there were the three big street dogs. They were fighting with each other, not sleeping.

As soon as Saba stepped one foot in the alley. The dogs stopped fighting at once and looked at her, beginning to growl.

“Ummm…hi.” Saba said quietly.

“GO AWAY!” They all shouted at once.

“No please”-

“Let’s get her!” The biggest one, who Saba noticed as Akil, shouted.

The dogs chased Saba out of the alley. Saba didn’t know what to do now. Should she just keep running to stay alive, or should she risk her life.

Saba knew how much these dogs needed help, but she also knew how dangerous they were, and they needed patience, a lot of patience. She decided to run out of the street and come back the next day.

Saba went back home as if nothing has happened. It was near evening, so there was bound to be some dinner in her bowl. She needed to go to bed early anyway. She had practice the next day.

At practice that next morning, Saba was the first one to arrive. She wondered if her father was coming. Now she didn’t mind if he did, but she didn’t want him talking about her friends anymore. She knew her friends better than Balto did.

Soon everyone arrived, including Nao. And practice begun.

Saba was back to being the average on the team, which was fine for her. Balto arrived moments after a race, and everyone came by to see him. Saba was once again happy, happy that her father got his happiness too.

Right after practice, Saba said goodbye to Nao, but Nao stopped her for a second.

“I need to talk to you.” Nao said calmly.

“It can wait can it? I need to do something right now.”

“But”-

Saba was already leaving. Nao sighed. He knew he could catch up to her, but what was the point if she wasn’t going to listen.

Saba knew the way now, and appeared again in that same alley. There were no dogs in there yet, but she was prepared to wait for them.

It wasn’t until almost an hour until they got back, and sure enough they were growling at her and yelling at her to leave.

“Hey…” Akil stopped growling. “I know you. You’re that mutt Balto’s kid!”

Saba’s teeth showed. “Don’t call my father a mutt!!” Saba tried to calm herself. After all she was chosen to teach them.

“What are you going to do about it?” Akila asked loudly.

Saba thought for a minute, than shook her head.

“C’mon boss! Let’s take her!” Oki shouted.

“You’re right.” He said to his assistant. He looked at Saba with flaring eyes. “You mongrels have no reason to live.” With that, Akil chased her out again, and decided not to come back until the next day.

For the next few days it was the exact same routine. Saba getting up, Carla being worried, eating breakfast, going to practice, going to the alley, being chased out, coming home, eating dinner, and going to sleep.

There would be side conversations with Jess, Kila and…well, not much Nao.

But the 4th day of that week was pretty different.

It went as usual before and during practice, but right after, Nao stopped her again.

“Nao, you been bugging me at the same time every day. I’m telling you I don’t have time for”-

“PLEASE!”

Saba’s head jerked back.

Nao calmed himself. “Please. This is…important.”

Saba rolled her eyes, but no with amusement like usual. “Fine, Nao. What is it?”

“I…I think I like you.”

“I thought you already liked me.”

“No. I mean…I…like you. A lot. You’re nothing like anyone I’ve met. I know we haven’t been friends for very long but”-

“Wait. Are you suggesting we…date?”

“Well…Maybe not DATE, but something a little more than friends.” He said nervously. “I mean…if you want to”-

Saba tacked Nao to the ground. “YES!” She screamed at him.

Nao grinned. “Cool!”

Saba got off of him. “I actually had a crush on you ever since I first saw you.”

“Really?” He said in a flattering way.

“Yeah. So…what do we do now?”

“You can go and do whatever. I just wanted to get that off my chest.”

“Okay…See you at practice tomorrow?”

Nao nodded. “Okay.”

Saba and Nao stood where they were. Now that they knew the truth about each other, should they just leave or what?

It turns out Nao made the first move. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and she smiled, returned it and left.

She skipped all the way to the deadly alley, feeling light as a feather. She never thought that Nao would have a crush on her.

But now she was headed for her possible death. Whoopie…

Saba tiptoed into the alley where she saw Akil, Oki and Pok eating scraps of meat. Once they saw her, the sighed loudly.

“Why can’t you just leave?!” Akil shouted.

“Aren’t you going to chase me out like you always do?”

“I can see that it doesn’t work, since you keep coming BACK!”

“Look, I wasn’t trying to annoy you.”

“Then DON’T try!”

“I just want”-

“WHY do you keep coming back?!”

“WHY don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”

Akil and the others just stared at her.

“Look, I want to get to know you better.” Saba said softly.

“Yeah right!” Oki said.

“No one even likes us! It’s all a trick, Akil!” Pok said to his boss.

Akil was still staring at her.

“Don’t you want to give the orders to kill, boss?” Oki asked.

Akil was still staring when he spoke.

“I remember someone like you…”

Oki and Pok looked at one another in question.

“You’re like that wolf girl that came to us a few years ago. She was the friendliest little thing I’ve ever met.”

“But she abandoned us, remember?!” Pok reminded him.

“No, she was killed by her own father!” Saba argued.

Akil once again stared. “You knew her?”

Saba paused. “In my dreams…And I also know all your life stories.”

“I’ll say it again, yeah right!”

“No, it’s true. Akil was abandoned when he was a puppy, wandered off to some faraway town, came back here, and went crazy! Oki was abused by his parents, and forced to live with his friends, most of them ended up dead by sled dogs. In rage, he killed them and now every sled dog is afraid. Pok was…abducted?”

“NO MORE!!” Pok shouted.

“Okay, you may know a lot about us. Most of the dogs in town do anyway.” Oki said. “I still think it’s some sort of trick.”

Akil turned to Saba. “So you just want to know us better because of some stupid sob story!?”

“It’s BECAUSE of those sob stories that made you the most ferocious dogs who lived in Nome!”

“Exactly. We like the way we live. We can’t change the past. Just get out of here, whoever you are.”

“Please, just give me a chance. I’m here to show you that it’s not so bad to live a life of good. I want to turn your lives around.”

“What for? I just said we like it just the way it is.”

“Oh. So you love the fact that you eat out of garbage cans every day because people don’t want to give you real food? Or that the moment you look at someone you see fear in their eyes? That every time you go out is to hurt the innocent ones that never did anything to you? And they return that hurt by name calling, food throwing, shoving away? Oh yeah, you love it like this!”

“Wh-Why do you even WANT to help us when you should be scared to death of us at this moment?!”

“Because I’m not scared of you. I know how your lives were and I want to help you. No one deserves to be treated like this, even after the horrible things you have done.”

“Horrible? Little pup, we are trying to survive! What choice do we have?!”

“You DO have a choice, Akil! You just take instead of receive! Smuggle, instead of borrow! If you try being nicer to everyone, maybe they would give you what you want and more!”

“I already get what I want!” Akil shouted at her.

“Oh really? Is that why you’re in a dusty old alley with old trash bins to match the high disgusting walls?”

“I MEAN food-wise! Once people look at me they give me food in my honor.”

“Because if they don’t you’ll kill them! They are deeply afraid of you.”

“They know that I am leader. Therefore, they give me what I desire.”

Saba stared at him for about 3 seconds. “Do they respect you, Akil, or do they hate you but can’t do anything about it?” Saba turned away and walked a steady pace to the entrance of the alley. She didn’t look back.

In anger, Akil charged at her, and Saba stood her ground. He swiped at Saba’s eye and she screamed only in pain, NOT fear.

 

 

Saba, in the distance with her good eye, saw Jess and Kila running to her, as afraid as afraid can be. She saw her father and mother, too. And last but not least, Nao. All of them were followed by about 3 dozen other dogs, and each one had the same expression on their face: scared to death!

Jenna got to Saba first and took her away. Balto sneered at Akil.

“Never…do that again to my

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