was something dark perched on the cliff. Balto snapped his head to the side, but by the time he did, nothing was there.

"Hey boss, you okay?" Kaltag asked. "What is it?"

"I thought I… nah, it was nothing," he replied, returning his focus to the road ahead. He tuned his ears and tried to pick something up from up there, but all he heard was the clinking of their harnesses and the crunching of their paws in the snow. Nothing at all was out of the ordinary, so he decided to just brush it off and move on. 'You're okay out here. You've got your friends to back you up so nothing can hurt-'

"WHOA!" Star cried, just as he heard a crack above him. Balto only had a split second to see the falling ice and swerve away from it. However, the narrow pass left little room for their manoeuvre, which meant that when the ice fell, it was close enough that Balto could feel the burst of air as it impacted only a few inches beside him.

"Did youse see that!" Nikki exclaimed.

"That was the most sudden, the most surprising, the most unexpected-"

"It almost squashed Balto!" Star cut in. He was right; had they not swerved, it was very likely the heavy piece of ice would have crushed his back.

"Holy… that was… good eye, Star," Balto gasped, the surge of adrenaline brought about by the near miss making his heart pound in his chest.

"Let's just hope that's the only excitement for today," Kaltag put in, a thought that was unanimously agreed on. Balto took another look up the cliffs, but just as before there was nothing. He turned his focus back to the trail, and urged them forward a little quicker, eager to get out of this valley. Even though it was likely a freak accident, if there was something out there, he sure didn't want to stick around to give it a chance to try again.

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Reaching Tanana was a huge relief for them, and they were glad to hear that none of the other teams faced any incidents like they did. They were still in fourth position, but had closed the gap on the team ahead of them. As long as they kept their pace, they could take the lead by the time the race was over.

One by one the remaining teams came in, with Sonya and Steele coming in shortly after them, having moved up to sixth position. "Yup, just give us a few more days and we'll show you who the real champion will be around here," Steele boasted.

"You mean champions - the whole team gets to share the win you know," Sonya put in.

"Yeah, but you guys wouldn't have gone anywhere near as far as you would have without me," he returned. "Don't worry, there's no need to thank me. I already know how much I've given to this team."

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that," she muttered as he started to trot off to brag about his gains that day. She glanced over at Balto, and he gave a little nod towards Steele, reminding her of his request. Nodding back, she turned and stayed with him, an act that she hoped would be unnecessary as the race went on.

Balto meanwhile, waited near the edge of town, watching the other teams come in. While he'd always had a fascination with watching sled teams and racers come into town, this time, it was more out of practicality. He counted off each team, making sure to have a quick chat too. While on the surface it seemed like he was making small talk, he really wanted to make sure that no one else had any incidents. One by one they came in, each reporting nothing strange. When there was only the last team remaining he started to become anxious. The last team was probably the easiest target, because no one else would pass them. Minutes seemed like hours, which only increased his fear that something else might have happened, but when a dot appeared on the horizon, those fears could finally be put to rest.

The last team came in running full steam and without reporting anything strange. All teams were accounted for, and now Balto felt like they could safely write this off as a one-off incident. He could focus less on looking over his shoulder and more on getting ahead in the race and running his hardest. His mirth pushed him to give the team an enthusiastic pep talk that evening, and the audience even included a few of the rookies who just wanted to hear him talk. The mood was much more jubilant, and it ended with them shutting their eyes, raring to go for tomorrow.

None of them had a care in the world, but when the last dog closed their eyes, there was no one awake to notice the dark shadow creeping behind around, moving as stealthily as a wolf on the hunt.

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Chapter Seven: Another Day, Another Mystery

The ground beneath his feet caved at the mercy of his paws, the land racing by him as the wind blew his fur. He panted from the exertion, but he didn't care. He was running and it made him feel alive. Balto felt more alive than at any other time in his life. This time he had no harness around him, no sled to hold him back - he was truly running free.

He wasn't alone either; there were many dogs running with him, free of their harnesses too. Nikki, Kaltag and Star were there, and so was Sonya and many of the other dogs from the race. All were running with him, and all wanted the prize just as much as he did… but he wasn't going to lose his dream without a fight. His legs surged him forward, his front paws extending until they met the ground, pulling the rest of his body forward until his rear legs caught up and planted themselves in the ground, before springing forward and repeating the cycle again. It was a very graceful and efficient motion, mirrored by all the dogs around him - including the stranger.

To his right was the brown, blue-eyed husky with the golden collar again. He stood out the most because he was the only one whom Balto hadn't seen in the race.

"Who are you?" he asked. The stranger looked towards him, but didn't reply. Instead, he just smiled at him - a warm smile like the one a proud father would give to his son.

Balto wanted to know who this stranger was, but before he could ask again, a cry sounded behind them. He looked back and saw something beyond belief. A form that was unmistakably a wolf's was chasing them, but it looked like nothing more than a shadow. It effortlessly bounded across the land, black as the night with glowing gold eyes. Another cry was heard as the shadow bore down and struck another to the ground with one blow from his fangs. The others started to panic from the shadow's presence, but no matter which way they ran, they couldn't escape it. Balto pushed himself faster, trying to stay ahead of the shadow that was quickly gaining on him. Cry after cry sounded behind him, and soon there was no one left standing except him and the stranger.

He glanced over at the husky, who called to him, "You keep going! I'll hold it off!" right before skidding to a stop and turning to face the shadow.

"No! Don't!" he cried, stopping a dozen yards ahead to watch the stranger face the growing shadow.

"I won't let you hurt him!" the stranger declared, baring his fangs while his eyes burned with blue fire. The shadow regarded him with surprise when he stood up to it, but quickly smirked before charging. The stranger jumped to meet his quarry, but with only a few blows that seemed effortless for the shadow, he too was struck down, leaving only Balto to face this monster.

With no one else to back him up, Balto was overwhelmed with fear. This creature had power that far outmatched its own, and it exuded a dark aura that smothered his courage. As he faced it down, the skies darkened and the air itself started to chill his bones. It was as thought this thing was sucking the life out of the entire world. It let out a deep laugh that resonated in his ears, baring its fangs as it prepared to finish the last of its prey.

"I've been waiting for this moment a long time. You can't run from me any longer," it spoke, its voice as deep as its laugh and carrying a demonic quality. "You got away from me once wolfdog, but not this time." It laughed its cruel laugh once more, but Balto was rooted to the spot out of fear. This creature wanted him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. In a flash the shadow was on him, tearing his life out of his very body as everything went black.

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His whole body jolted up as he let out a cry. His eyes darted left and right, but the only thing he saw around him were the sleeping forms of his teammates, safely nestled in the snow and still dozing in the dim, early morning light. He was back in the real world, but the dream still left him unsettled.

'That one was definitely different,' he thought. 'It had all the racers and the unknown husky… and that shadow. Why did that shadow appear?' He took another deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to recall the dream. Unlike the other dogs, the shadow was less defined, leaving little clue to who it was. He remembered the unknown husky turning to face it down, trying to hold it off for him. 'Why did he do it? I'm nothing more than a stranger to him. Then again, it could just be a case of one dog wanting to look out for another… but it felt like he wanted to protect me above all.'

He shut his eyes and tried to get back to sleep, but his unsettled mind kept him awake. 'I know that all of the dreams before were some message for me, so what kind of message could this be? Could there be something else I have to watch out for? I hope not – whatever that shadow was, it was able to overpower anyone in its path and take