hitting one of the rocks. “That should do it” Carlson thought to himself.

     As Kodi’s team concentrated on getting through the field safely, they suddenly felt a heavy bump hit from the side. Kodi looked to Hunter’s team and realized that the latter was trying to nudge Kodi and his team into striking one of the large, jagged boulders ahead. “Kirby!” Kodi shouted. “I know, I know!” Kirby shouted back. Kodi’s team did everything to get out of the way, but to no avail. Carlson continued to nudge Kodi’s team off the path and into the fast-approaching rocks.

     Emily looked on as Kodi and his team struggled in vain to get away from Carlson. Emily tried to think of a solution. She then realized that there was only one thing she could do, even though she might get injured. Without hesitation, she pretended to trip, sending the rest of her team crashing.

     Kodi’s face dropped as he saw Emily trip and halt the rest of her team. He looked back at Emily’s team as his team rushed forward. “Kodi!” Laura shouted, knowing that Kodi was concerned. Just then, Emily slowly got back up as the rest of her team struggled to untangle themselves from a mess of harnesses and sled parts. Emily smiled and nodded to Kodi. Kodi then realized that Emily had stopped her team to save his. Kodi nodded back and looked forward as his team hit the third checkpoint. For a brief moment, Emily sighed in relief. She then looked at Carlson and Hunter, and realized that they had noticed her stunt. Emily’s ears dropped, knowing that this wasn’t going to end well for her. “At least Kodi’s okay…” Emily thought to herself.

Chapter 11: Victory At A Cost

     As Kodi’s team rushed into Nome, the spectators cheered his team on. With Carlson no longer trying to take them down, Kodi and his team passed the finish line and came to a graceful stop. The spectators ran to Kodi and his team to congratulate them. Kodi looked to his teammates with a positive look on his face, and they smiled back, with victory evident in their faces. Kodi’s family then came over to congratulate him and his sister. Kodi then went to his parents and nuzzled them both. As his family continued to cheer for him, Kodi became worried about Emily. He knew Emily was fine, but then realized that Carlson and Hunter would change that quickly.

     That night, Kodi’s team celebrated their victory. “Good job, guys” Kirby cheered. The rest of the team howled in unison in celebration. But Kodi didn’t join in. Laura noticed that Kodi’s face was filled with dread rather than cheer. Laura walked over and gave Kodi a reassuring look. “You’re worried about Emily, aren’t you?” Laura asked with a concerned voice. Kodi nodded silently. “It’s okay, I’ll cover for you” said Laura. Kodi gave a half-smile to Laura. “Thanks, sis” Kodi said as he left to find Emily. Kodi knew that Emily survived the crash, and he saw her come in after the race along with the rest of her team. But even then, Kodi knew that Hunter and Carlson would probably punish Emily; a prospect that made Kodi more than a bit concerned.

     As he approached Carlson’s cabin, Kodi slowly walked toward the edge of the doorway and peeked into the building. Kodi could hear Carlson, and he didn’t sound happy. Kodi looked into the Cabin, and saw that Emily was huddled into a Corner, wounds clearly visible on her face and chest. He then noticed that Hunter had small blood stains on his paws, and saw that Carlson was loading a shotgun. Kodi was confused for only a second when he realized what Carlson was about to do to Emily. “Oh, no,” Kodi thought to himself “I have to stop him.”

Chapter 12: Sacrifice

     “You stupid mutt!” Carlson screamed at Emily. “You cost us the race! You worthless dog!” Carlson continued to shout. Emily looked at her owner as she shook in pain. Hunter had already scratched and bit her, and she knew that her punishment was far from over. Hunter was still glaring angrily at Emily, his eyes filled with rage. Tears began to fall from her face as Carlson continued to insult her. She then opened her eyes, and froze in fear as Carlson slowly raised his shotgun. “Well, if you’re so useless,” Carlson said calmly but ominously “then I have no reason to deal with you further.”

     Just as Carlson opened fire, Kodi rushed in and jumped in front of Carlson. Kodi yelped in pain as he hit the floor and skidded to a halt. Emily’s face dropped as she looked at Kodi, who was now in a crumpled heap and was bleeding profusely from his shoulder. “Kodi…” Emily thought in horror. Suddenly Kodi slowly tried to regain his footing, only to fall back to the floor. “Looks like I get to get rid of two problems today” said Carlson as he prepared to finish Kodi off. Emily then rushed to Kodi’s side and began to growl at Carlson. “If you’re going to kill Kodi, you have to kill me first” Emily thought to herself, aware that her actions were suicidal.

     As Carlson began to fire a second shot, Michael, Red’s owner and Sheriff of Nome, rushed in along with John and tackled Carlson. Red came in moments later. As Carlson tried to get up, Michael drew out a pistol, and commanded Red to keep Carlson from getting up and escaping. Knowing that the situation was not going in his favor, Hunter ran away. Red tried to give chase. “Don’t worry about him boy!” Michael reassured Red. “You’re under arrest, Carlson!” Michael screamed with force. Michael ordered his dog to pin Carlson down as he and John rushed to Kodi and Emily. “Oh god…” Michael thought to himself as he observed Kodi’s injuries. “Kodi!” John shouted. At this point, Kodi was barely conscious, and his blood was forming small puddles around his leg and chest. John held Kodi’s head in his lap in an effort to comfort the wounded dog. “It’s gonna be okay, boy” he said as he slowly patted Kodi on the head. Emily looked on, her heart filled with guilt. “What have I done?” Emily thought to herself.

     Soon the local doctors came in to put Kodi on a stretcher and whisk him away to heal his wounds. Balto and Jenna were walking along the streets when they noticed the doctors passing by. They both recognized the body being carried in the Stretcher. “Kodi!” Jenna barked in horror. Both of Kodi’s parents rushed to his side and followed him and the doctors into the local clinic. “My baby!” Jenna shouted as tears flowed down from her face. Balto began crying as well as he nuzzled Jenna in an effort calm her down. Meanwhile, Emily stared from the hallway. “I’m sorry, Kodi,” she thought to herself “I never meant for this to happen...”

Chapter 13: Guilt

     The next day, the doctors were still tending to Kodi’s wounds. Kodi was still unconscious, and the only sign that he was still alive was the occasional movement of his ears. Jenna and Balto had been rushed out the night before so that the doctors could start operating on him. Kodi’s parents were now back in the room, hoping desperately that their son was okay. Jenna turned her head away from Kodi. “I can’t see him like this…” she quietly whispered to Balto. Balto put his head over Jenna’s as he looked at his son, who was now covered in bandages. Balto managed to save Nome’s children from an epidemic, and managed to rescue Duke from the harsh wilderness of Alaska. But now his own son was hurt, and there was nothing he could do about it. “My own son, and I can’t even help him…” Balto thought to himself.

     Emily slowly walked into the doctor’s office to visit Kodi. When Carlson was arrested, Hunter had escaped, and the rest of her team was being held in a kennel until they could be taken back to Anchorage. But Emily had managed to sneak out of the kennel to see Kodi. As Emily slowly approached the room where Kodi was being healed, she peeked into the room, and saw Kodi. “No…” she thought to herself as she witnessed the shape Kodi was in. She then noticed that Kodi’s parents were in the room. She realized that they probably wouldn’t want her to be around, and she turned away.

     Just then, Balto saw Emily from where he was standing. “Who’s there?” Balto said gently. Emily froze in fear, knowing that Kodi’s friends and relatives would probably scream at anyone who was on Carlson’s team. She realized that she couldn’t just walk away. She cared about Kodi, and she was more than willing to explain herself to Kodi’s family. She slowly walked in, her head low to the ground. “Hey, Emily” said Balto. Emily looked to the ground, afraid of looking Balto in the eye. Balto realized that Emily was afraid of him at this point. Balto then approached Emily in a friendly manner. “It’s okay,” Balto said in a calm tone. Tears began to form from her eyes. “I…I’m so sorry” said Emily as she struggled to hold back her tears. “Kodi…your son was so nice to me” Emily said as she began to explain herself. “He’s the first dog to treat me like that in a long time. My teammates…my owner, they abused me for