As the wolf battled against the wind, snow stung his eyes like a thousand tiny needes.

The wind was brisk and harsh, and its moans chilled the bone. Speed's fur was whipping around his face, and his nose was so cold, it was close to falling off.

But he kept going. There was no going back. Not now. Not after what he did. Not after what he'd done.

Over Speed's life, he had been a good pup. Maybe he was a little naughty, but he never meant any harm. All he really wanted was to be the center of attention. He also wanted a close friend.

Speed's pack was okay. His least favourite part of the pack was Nava.

"Humph" Speed grunted, bearly hearing himself over the moan of the wind. "Nava. Well, I'll be glad never to see HIM again."

After all the tricks Nava played on Speed, he lost count. Speed's only companion in the pack was Niju. Niju was pretty nice. He got quite bossy and annoying at times, but he was a good friend. Brave, strong and loyal. You couldn't really imagine the two as friends, they were so different, exept for one thing: they both were picked on by Nava.

Speed's thoughts were interupted when the wind got so strong, that it started to push him to one side.

He gripped his claws into the snow, but it was no use. The wind was aimlessly tossing him around. It pushed him and pushed him. And then, so suddenly, Speed came to a downhill, and started to roll downwards!

Speed toppled over, and over himself. He got so dizzy, he shut his eyes tight so that he couldn't see the roaring landscape. The wind still pushed him, so he kept going. It felt like the downhill would last forever!

When the rolling finally came to a stop, it was not too pleasant. Speed was hurled into a small creek, where he got drenched.

"I'm finally out of that wind!" he cried, looking up at the blizzard above the slope. Speed could now see around him. It was night, quite late, about 1, or 2 o'clock in the morning. As he looked around, he saw lots of brush, and a dark patch a little while away, most likely a forest. Speed was enjoying the sight, looked pretty suburban, and very un-inhabbited. He could get on quite well here.

He started forwards, and collapsed. He forgot about his quick dip. Soaking as he was, his fur would protect him, and all the uncovered parts (like his nose) would be alright, because of the material it was made of. But Speed had forgotton about his paws. His paws had frozen over, and were chilled to the bone. The pads hurt to the touch, and Speed had no way to move.

"At least it can't get any worse," he thought. "Some wolf can hear me, they can come and help"

He was about to howl out for help, hoping some wolves would be around, when he stopped abruptly.

A small town sat not halfway to the horizon. It had lights on, and some noise coming from it, such as dog barks and people calls. They would be sure to hear Speed's howl. And surely come and kill him, for his fur and for 'their safety'.

Speed collasped his head onto the freezing snow. He was defeated. Him. The great Speed, who could get out of any trouble mother nature (or Niju) threw at him. His only weakness was dogs, moose and Nava. But every wolf was the same about that (exept the Nava part). He could outrun charging moose, track and hunt for days without stopping for rest, look on the bright side of anything and jump off cliffs into the ocean and just swim to sure, not even a scratch or bruise on him (almost). Now he was defeated by a creek and some nearby lights.

"This is just sad." he thought. "And I won't even have the full night to grope about it."

As he lay there, thinking over his past, he slowly fell asleep, for what he suspected would be the last sleep he ever had...

Meanwhile, in the town that shone with lights at night, a rust and cream husky sat by a closed curtian.

Saba was as bored as ever, and couldn't get to sleep. Her owners were leaving in the morning, to go someplace for a holiday or something, and Saba was stuck here, where Rosie would come to feed and water her everyday, but she wouldn't get a taste of freedom for over a week!

As she sat and thought about these things, her girl's parents finished last minute packing for the trip.

"Oh, this is so exiting!" cried Mother. "We've been planning this trip to Golovin for ages! Your family have been so patient for us to come, dear!"

"Yes, its going to be a great time!" Father replied happily. "Too bad we can't take Saba with us..." he added, seeing the dog looking up at them, her blue eyes looking sad.

"Mmm, thats true. But Duke is being so kind by taking us their. We wouldn't have any room for her, and you know that your Sister is allergic to animal fur!"

The conversation went on like that for quite a while, and Saba got so agitated that she jumped up and ran out into the kitchen, and out the doggie door.

When the blast of wind hit her face, she stopped short, and just sat down on the porch.

When she heard Mother and Father go to bed, she still sat there. She sat there for over two full hours, and by then, Nome was deserted, no sound, no movement, every one in bed.

Most of the lights were out, exept one set. As Saba sat and watched the Northern Lights, she heard a long, sad howl.

Sitting up straight, her ears pricked up.

"Wolves!" she thought. "A wolf pack is closing in on Nome?"

Jumping off the porch, she paced back and forth on the snow, her ears pricked and her nose sniffing.

Another howl came out. It was a lone, single howl. It was only one wolf.

Spinning around to the north, Saba ran to the sound, hoping to find the animal, and if it was hurt, or Nome was going to be...

When Speed woke up, he didn't know why. It was early morning, a few hours after he fell asleep. As he looked around, there was still no movement, but the lights and the noise in the town were gone.

Puzzled about what had woken him up, he heard the crunch of a stick nearby. All his senses tingled, and he was fully aware of the situation. There was something nearby, and it was not friendly.

Not letting the stalker know that he had sensed him, he yawned and casually glanced around. Looking carefully over every bush with his eyes, one of the ones seemed odd. It had a sort of red shape crouching behind it, like a red silhouett.

Speed was about to pounce on the shape when he remembered he was still paralized, as his paws had started to infect his legs.

"Great!" he thought. "I'm stuck, now what am I going to do?"

So after a moment of thought, he called out "Who are you?"

The red shape didn't respond, but instead took a few steps backwards. Speed didn't know if it was backing off, or if it was about to pounce.

"Wait!" he cried, not knowing if it was to stop it pouncing or getting away. "I asked you a question," he kept going "Who are you?"

The red shape cleared its throat nervously "Why do you need to know?" it asked.

Speed was taken aback. This was not a dangerous intruder, it was a female dog!

"Well, I have the right to know whomever is stalking me." Speed shot back.

The female dog sighed. "My name is Saba, and I am NOT stalking you! Who are you?" she said curtly.

"I'm Speed, and I would like to know why you are here, in the middle of the night."

"Well, I heard you howl, so I came over. I didn't know if you were hurt or if Nome was going to get attacked by wolves. I came to help you. And it isn't the middle of the night, its very early in the morning!" Saba said.

Speed watched as Saba crept out from behind the bush. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open slightly, but only for a split second, as he composed himself just as fast as he lost it.

'She's quite pretty.' he thought.

"What seems to be the problem?" Saba asked him.

Sheepishly, he told her of how he fell into the creek and that his paws paraliyzed his legs. He did not tell her HOW he fell into the creek, though. Saba walked over to him, and he showed her his paws. They were a red/blue colour.

Saba examined them for a moment, and then she nodded. "You have frostbite." she said simply.

"Frostbite?" Speed asked. "Oh, I've heard of frostbite. How do I fix it?"

"You warm it up with hot water." Saba replied.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for your help." Speed said pointly.

But Saba didn't leave, instead she smiled.

"You can't move, can you?" she grinned.

Speed blushed, and then smiled too. "No, I can't move," he admitted. "But I wouldn't mind some help."

So, that is how Speed pulled himself onto Saba, and Saba half dragged, half carried him to Nome.                          When they got there, Speed was automatically sucpicious, and kept his eyes and ears alert. Saba took him to her home, and when they got to the porch, she couldn't fit him through the doggie door.

"Wait here." she instructed, indicating the porch. Without any choice, as he couldn't move, Speed waited where Saba had (basically) dropped him. He watched as she dissapeared through the doggie door, praying that she could find some hot water, as his paws and legs had began to chill over...

As Saba plodded through her house, she thought of what was happening. One second you're sitting on your porch, the next you're