the cabin. “How am I going to tell Kodi?” she thought to herself.

     Kodi remembered that Emily wanted to hang out today, and so he walked toward her place. Laura soon joined him, and they began to chat about Emily. “So you guys are close…” Laura asked. “Hey, Emily’s really nice,” said Kodi. Laura laughed. “Well, someone’s got a crush on someone…” Laura said in a playful tone. Kodi rolled his eyes as Laura continued to laugh. “Emily mentioned that she talked to you” said Kodi. “Yeah, she did,” said Laura in confirmation “she seems nice, a perfect fit for you.” Kodi gave Laura an annoyed look. “Quit that!” said Kodi. Kodi then saw Laura, and tried to say hi to her. Kodi was stopped abruptly by Hunter. “You want something, mutt?” Hunter asked insultingly. Kodi gave Hunter an angry look. “What do you want?” Kodi asked. “You ain’t gonna talk to Emily, today, that’s what!” Hunter growled. “That doesn’t even make any sense” said Laura. Kodi then began to go into an aggressive stance against Hunter. Then he noticed that Emily was staring at him and shaking her head. Kodi nodded in agreement, understanding what she was trying to say. Kodi backed down and walked away. As he left, he looked back and saw that Emily was crying. Kodi couldn’t see Emily like that. He turned his head away, and began to cry as well.

    That night, Kodi hung out with his team. Everyone else was excited for the race tomorrow. But Kodi could only think about Emily. “Hey, kid, why you being so quiet?” Kirby asked. “I…uh…I’m just a bit nervous” Kodi replied. “What, this coming from the guy who said that we’re gonna win the race?” Kirby asked sarcastically. Laura glared at Kirby. “What?” Kirby asked in confusion. “He’s had a rough day” Laura said defensively “leave Kodi alone.” Kirby didn’t answer, and simply walked back to where the rest of the team was chatting. As Kodi continued to think about Emily, he looked behind him and noticed Emily standing at the door into his home. He walked toward her as his team continued to chat about the race. “Hey, Kodi” said Emily. “Hey,” said Kodi in a concerned voice “you okay?” Emily pointed her head toward the outside. Kodi followed Emily behind a pile of wood outside. Kodi was somewhat baffled. “What’s going on?” Kodi asked. “Kodi, listen to me,” Emily said in a serious voice “my master – Carlson – he’s going to sabotage the race tomorrow.” Kodi was stunned by this. “Wait, why would he do that?” Kodi asked. “He doesn’t want to lose the race tomorrow,” Emily continued “he wants your team to lose.” Kodi’s face revealed significant concern. “What should we do?” he asked. Emily thought about the issue for a second. An idea the popped into her head “Is there another sled, one you guys aren’t using?” Emily asked. “Huh?” Kodi asked. “I think Carlson is going to sabotage your sled,” Emily replied “I have an idea to prevent that.”

Chapter 9: Decoy

     As Kodi walked out of the shed and back to his house, Carlson quietly made his way to the shed. As he entered the shed, he saw a sled with “Nome, Alaska” written on the side. Carlson approached the sled as he pulled out a saw. He then proceeded to make a series of cuts alongside the sled’s supports, and then used a knife to weaken the strength of the harnesses. “That should be enough to stop them” Carlson thought to himself. He then left the shed and back to his cabin.

     Kodi and Emily left their hiding spot behind several barrels, and walked back into the shed. “Did it work?” asked Emily. Kodi looked at the sled that Carlson sabotaged, then looked at the blanket that was hiding the sled that Kodi’s team was actually going to use. Kodi then proceeded to remove the blanket and placed it back on the sled Carlson sabotaged. “It worked,” said Kodi as he smiled “Carlson sabotaged our old sled, and our current one is just fine.” Emily smiled back. “You better get back before Hunter become suspicious” said Kodi. “You’re right, I’ll see you tomorrow” said Emily.

Chapter 10: The Race

     Most of the people in town came out to watch the race. As Kodi and his team lined up to the starting line, the people and dogs of the town cheered. Kodi smiled to the rest of his team. Kirby and Laura smiled back, nodding their heads enthusiastically. The people continued to cheer, and the dogs continued to howl and bark with enthusiasm. Kodi may have been nervous before, but he was more than ready for the race now.

     Kodi and Laura then noticed that their entire family had come to watch. “Go get ‘em son!” Balto and Jenna shouted from the sidelines. Kodi and Laura’s siblings howled in support. Laura noticed Red, who smiled at her. Laura smiled back and nodded. “You can do this, Laura!” Red cheered. Kodi smiled at his parents, who smiled back. “Let’s do this, guys!” Kodi shouted to his teammates.

     The rival team was already waiting at the starting line. Kodi saw Emily in the reigns, and smiled at her. Emily looked back and smiled as well. Kodi then stared at Hunter. “I’m gonna beat him” Kodi thought to himself. As Kodi’s team reached the start line, the announcer pulled out a gun to signal the start of the race.

     “On your mark!”

     “Get set!”

     “Go!”

     The announcer then fired his revolver into the air, and there was a loud “BANG”.

     “Let’s go, boys!” Kirby screamed to his teammates as they started to run. The two teams started up slowly, and then within seconds they were off. Kodi watched as his team pulled ahead of Hunter’s team almost immediately. “Ha, ha, Look at us go!” Dusty screamed. Laura stuck her tongue out at Hunter and laughed. “Stay focused, guys!” Kodi shouted excitedly. Laura smiled as she began to pick up pace, and watched as Hunter’s team got smaller and smaller. “We got this!” Ralph shouted.

     Suddenly Hunter’s team began to catch up to Kodi’s team. “Uh, they’re not getting smaller anymore!” Ralph exclaimed. Kodi then looked Ralph. “Don’t worry about them! Just keep running!” Kodi’s team sped up even more until the two sled teams were moving at the same speed. “We just need to keep our pace! Don’t let up!” Kodi shouted. Soon the teams passed the first checkpoint, with Kodi’s team still in front.

     The teams gradually entered the forested area just outside of Nome. “Alright, guys, keep on your toes!” Kirby screamed. The team knew that the forest was especially hard to navigate through. John then gave them the command to stay close together. “You heard the man, don’t get too far apart!” Kirby shouted. Kodi then noticed that there was a tree in the middle of the trail. “Tree!” Kodi shouted. Fortunately, John noticed the tree as well, and gave the team the command to turn. Kodi’s team evaded the tree with ease. “Nice!” Laura shouted enthusiastically. Dusty looked behind her and noticed that Hunter’s team was nowhere in sight. “Too bad for those guys!” Dusty cheered. Suddenly Hunter’s team came out of the tree line and ended up next to Kodi’s team. “You had to open your mouth!” Kirby shouted. “I didn’t ask you!” Dusty shouted back. “Focus!” Kodi shouted. Laura looked at the rest of the team. “You heard my brother!” she shouted. By this time Laura had really gotten into the race, and had become more or less focused and quiet. The forest slowly thinned out, and the two teams passed the second checkpoint neck and neck.

     The last stretch of the race was mostly open space except for a series of rocky outcroppings. “We’re reaching the last checkpoint before the finish line, watch for the rocks!” Kirby shouted. “Got it!” the rest of the team said in unison. Hunter’s team was still right next to them. “We gotta get ahead of them!” Laura shouted. “We know how to deal with the rocks,” Kirby shouted “they don’t. As long as we avoid the rocks, we’ll be fine!” As the two teams gradually made it into the field of outcroppings, they began to dodge the many rocks that littered the path. Suddenly Kodi noticed that Laura was about to run into a rock. “Laura!” Kodi screamed. The moment Kodi screamed the warning Laura jumped over the rock and bounded off. “Got it” Laura shouted calmly. Kodi breathed a sigh of relief.

     Carlson realized that the sled being used by Kodi’s team wasn’t broken. He thought about what to do as an alternate means of ensuring his victory. He then noticed two of the larger outcroppings, both of which were covered with jagged edges. Carlson then looked at Kodi’s team, and realized he could nudge Kodi’s team into hitting one of the