Steele faces his own.

The Festivities continued. Steele could hear the laughter and shouts of praise through the thick walls of the furnace house. He shivered. Not only did his paws and fur hurt from the ice, but also his pride. He was crushed. Everyone had left, no, not just that, they had deserted him. He was, for the first time in his life, he was alone. He felt like he had been broken in two by a sharp shard of glass, and his edges were still frozen. He was hurt, but he didn't know what hurt more. The fact that he was once again alone, or the fact that he had to start all over. Suddenly, there was a rattling at the door that woke up the deep-sleeping husky. Steele shook himself awake and shivered. Two men walked in, the opened door revealed the gentle light of dawn.

     “Hey, Mud. Check this out.” Said one of the men, as he squatted down in front of the big husky.

     “Well, look there! It's that racing husky.” The other said as he walked over and rubbed Steele's head, who thumped his tail thankfully.

     “Yea, you're right!” The other said. Steele smiled. He loved the attention more then anything. “What was his name again?” Steele froze. He was in shock. It was just yesterday that he was the town's hero. Now, these men didn't even know his name. Steele slowly rose, his muscles still sore from the trek. The man leaned over to pet him, but Steel's temper rose and he had had enough with these men. He snapped at the man's hand, and growled deeply. The man jumped back and landed on his haunches. The other yelled something at Steele and gave him a swift kick in his hind-quarters. Steele howled in pain and surprise, and took a few steps forward. He whined at the men, not knowing what had happened. The man that Steele had snapped at stood and walked over to the dog, and yelled at him, while raising a leg to kick the dog again. Steele was actually scared of the pain, and quivered. Just then, there was a fierce yelling at the door and a shot rang out, startling both man and the dog. They all looked at the door. A hunched figure stood in the door, his figure almost filling up the entire door frame.

     “Whad you no goodies thank your doin' with ma' mutt?!?” the figure yelled, his voice filling up the entire room. Steele stood, his muscles locked stiff in terror. The men stayed quiet, so the stranger walked over to them. “Move!” He growled to them. The two men backed up, and the other walked over to Steele. Steele lowered his head, and deeply growled. “Ah shud up!” the man yelled at the husky as he grabbed Steele's collar. The man, shotgun in hand, drug Steele away.

Steele slowly walked in circle. He had been drug back to his old house.

      “Haven't been here in awhile.” he grumbled. There was a reason to. Steele looked around the small room, and growled at the several stuffed game heads hanging on the wall. Though Steele's owner was wealthy-due to his husky's great racing skills- the room was very simple, and unornamented. The man spent most of the money on special dietary things for his dogs, but what was left went to betting or booze. This place forced Steele to revisit his past. He was bred to race, and bought by this man at a very young age. Steele had hated him from the beginning, when the man attacked the young Steele in a drunken rage, after Steele had lost a race against other pups that were all double his size. Since then, Steele was pushed into a life of ruthless and unending training and conditioning. The pup was forced to run very early in the morning, in the afternoon, and again at night. As a precaution against Steele getting hurt, the man never let him play with other pups. As he grew, so did his training. Now, the young husky was forced to sleep outside in the bitter cold come winter, and train in the heat of the afternoon come summer. When the man did take Steele into the town of Nome, the people were all in awe of the powerful young dog. Steele was stronger than any other of the puppies, and he was constantly praised for his strength, speed, and endurance. Steele never got praise growing up, and the sudden flood of it got to his head. If he didn't like someone, he would race them. And Steele never lost. He didn't know that is was the man that was the reason for his speed, and etc.. Steele became a very prideful dog, and the other dogs of Nome always looked up to him. And Steele liked it that way.

Steele's chance of a lifetime came when it was time for the annual sled races. Everyone(both dog and human) was buzzing about how they new Steele would make the team. It was Steele's first official race, and he was pumped. This was the time that the true race in a dog came out, and Steele was ready to make them all eat his tread. Everyone knew that Steele would win, but there were some in the town whose tempers flared when the subject of the big, black and white husky came up. They were angry that this new dog that came out of nowhere could seize the spot light so effortlessly. Steele, though, knew he could win, and welcomed any challenges.

Race day came, and Steele was excited, and wanted to go. He wanted to get this silly race over with. Steele's “friends”, 3 huskies named Nikki, Kaltag, and Star, all supported Steele, but also planned on doing their best in the race. The gun fired and Steele pulled away form the starting point with ease. He ran, and ran, and ran. He knew he was going to win, so he had a thought. Maybe he should add to the drama a bit. So Steele slowed down his pace enough, hoping another dog would see the opportunity and try to catch up, but then Steele would plow past them, leaving them mortified. But, all didn't go that well. Yes, another dog caught up, but when Steele tried to pass him, the dog kept pace. Steele ran harder, but the dog still kept up. Steele was furious, and he was not going to let this dog beet him. Steele snapped at the dog in anger, but the dog dodged his attack, though Steele did succeed in breaking his foe's pace, and Steele seized the opportunity and pulled away, and crossed the finish line. He was first, he had won. But, something didn't feel right. As Steele tried to approach the dog that he had attacked, he was surrounded by a frenzy of people and dogs alike, praising him. Though Steele still wanted to find the other dog, he never got the chance. The old man grabbed his fur and drug him away. The man drug his dog to an alley, and Steele resisted him. Steele felt like he had out grown the old man, and wanted the man to leave him alone. The man slapped Steele upside his head a few times until the husky stopped growling, which he did. The man then squatted down in front of the dog and buckled something around Steele's firm neck. It was a beautiful leather collar, with Steele's name engrained in a golden plaque on it. The man released the dog and stood. Steele stood and shook, which made him realized the collar was there. Steele walked over to a small lake of ice that was in the alley, and looked down at his reflection. He turned his neck, looking the thing over. He liked it. He had never seen anyone wearing a collar as nice as his. Steele looked up at the man. Neither of them had any compassion in there eyes. But, for a moment, Steele came to the realization that the man deserved his thanks, and the man realized that he had trained a beautiful winner. Unfortunately, the rare kindness stopped there, and the man and dog parted ways. The man, off to go drink, and the dog off to go do the only thing that he cherished, winning. So they stayed, Steele won race after race, the man made lots of money on his dog, and the two never bothered each other. Until today, when the great race dog Steele had failed, and the man had come to take his winner home.