swung open. The vet's face produced a smile. He bent over to her. "Hello, Dusty! What are you doing here?" he greeted her with a pat on the head. She backed up and turned to Max, lying motionless on his side covered in red stripes. The vet rushed to him. A flow of relief swept through her head like a mighty tsunami. The vet will take him in and cure him. Thank god. After thoroughly examining him, the vet walked away. "Sorry girl, but I can't help him yet. I've got paying customers waiting. Wait here with him, and I'll get to you as soon as I can." he gently patted her forehead. That was probably the first time she had growled at a human. Thoughts raced through her head again.

They were interrupted by a faint croak. "What did... he... say?" Maxwell griped with fading hope. "He said we'll have to wait until he's finished with his current job." Dusty whispered, not meaning any alarm or panic. He was too weak to panic. "I'll never make it..." he stammered discretely. "What do you mean??" she startled up. "It's no use... I can't hold on much longer..." he groaned. Dusty's eyes narrowed with determination. "If the vet won't help you, I will." she snapped. "Wait- wha-?" he uttered. Before he could finish she had unhinged the door and stormed inside. A strong smell of disinfectant struck her. Row upon row, shelf upon shelf of medicenes, bandages and tools. A large table in the middle of the room beheld a passed out husky who had hurt his legs. The vet lifted his glasses to her. "Dusty? What are you doing?" he pulled a puzzled face. She sniffed at the cupboards. Nutritients...Plaster Casts....Morphine... He could do with some pain killer. she thought to herself. "Oh, you're helping him yourself? That's very chivalric of you. Just take what you need little one, and I'll help when I can." Don't listen to him, he'll put you off. After slinging a leather bag over her shoulder, she wandered round for a few minutes, raiding any cupboards of use to her. She took a look in the bag. Bandages, plasters, pain killer, antiseptic, that's everything. She cautiously darted for the door, rushing quickly enough to not waste any time, but at the same time making sure nothing in the bag broke. She pushed the door open again. The cold air struck her like a rocket. "Dusty... what are you... doing?" She failed to respond. She was too anxious. Using every ounce of strength she could muster, she lifted a powerless body onto a blanket, and, using her jaws, towed him to the kennel, a few blocks away. Within minutes all the medical equipment was ready. She gave him a comfortable amount of morphine to ease the burning pain. His eyes drooped. The pain quickly ceased. It was an awesome feeling. "Dusty... If I don't make it, I want you to know that... every day I've known you, you have made all of life's problems and pains worth suffering for. I'm very lucky to know someone like you..." he insuated, before he went into a trance.

It became a rather gruesome routine. Clean up the incision, bandage it before it bled again, and moving to the next one. It was an indistinct price to pay for the life she would be saving. Her brows grew damp with sweat, her paws ached, her eyelids sagged. Finally, several hours of tense and harsh surgery paid off. She stood back and admired her work.

I can feel you falling away,

No longer the lost, no longer the same

And I can see you starting to break

I'll keep you alive, if you show me the way

Forever and ever, the scars will remain,

I'm falling apart,

Leave me here forever in the dark... 

"Ugh... my head..." he groaned. "Max, I'm so glad you're alright!" Dusty shrieked. They nuzzled. "Honey... you saved my life..." he uttered. "How can I ever thank you?" he rushed. "You can thank me by getting well as soon as you can." she chuckled. "I want to thank you for stopping those dogs. Without you I would've been-" he summoned the strength to lift a paw to her lips. "I know, love. These scars are worth what they paid for." he stammered faintly. "Shh. Try and get some sleep, it'll do you good." she urged as she gently held down his shoulder. His mind drifted off again and he went back to sleep. He just didn't have the strength to do anything else. Dusty cried, but they were tears of happiness. For Max to show his love in such a way really touched her.

Dusty headed for the door on her way to the vet, never taking her eyes off him. To her shock she almost bumped into Balto. "Woah, careful, missy." he advised. "Oh, sorry Balto, I need to get to the vet. Max is running low on pain killer." she chatted. "Okay. How's he doing, anyway? Heard he got some bad scars." Balto asked. Dusty hesitated. "Yeah, his wounds are pretty bad, but they'll be fine in a few days if there's luck." she replied. "Well, tell him his dad said to get well soon." Balto said before he walked off. Dusty stopped as her eyes followed him. 'Dad?' she thought to herself.

* * * * * * * *

"So how'd it go? Did you find the girl?" Valdez mumbled, his face hidden from the moonlight.

"Affirmative, sir." Akiak notified.

"The boy?"

"Given a few bad injuries, yes."

"Good, good." he gave a little chuckle.

"But there was one small problem, sir..." Akiak mumbled, worried about the response. "Oh, really? Anything that would make me angry?" Valdez moaned dryly. "Well, sir, if you would be so merciful, may I report that Phobia is... no longer with... us..?" he stammered, worriedly. Valdez threw himself around. "Phobia is WHAT?" he screeched. Everyone in the cave leapt up. "It appeared that Maxwell is a better defender than we thought, sir." he quickly added. "N-Not to call you under-estimative, your exellency." he said again with nerves. Valdez hummed to himself. "We're gonna need a stronger force next time, with weapons, and better tactics...Yes, and we must attack quickly, while he is weak and injured." "Orders, sir?" Akiak asked somewhat anxiously. "Orders..." he thought. He focused on two of the wolves standing side by side in the corner. "Xavier and Diemos. I want you to take this into the town on Tuesday night." he passed them a razor-sharp knife. He glared into their narrowed unsuspecing eyes.

"And I want you to kill them."

* * * * * * * *