here?”

            Polaris spun around to see a large black-and-white husky with a leather collar on.

            For a moment, Gizmo’s story crossed Polaris’s mind. She immediately dismissed it, though.

            “What are you doing here?” she said.

            The other dog looked uncomfortable for a moment.

            “I live here,” he said finally.

            Well, that explained the “ghost.” Gizmo must have seen this large stray in the dark and panicked.

            “Sorry to hear that,” Polaris said.

            “I get by,” the other dog said.

            Polaris nodded and turned to leave.

            “Wait,” the other dog said. “You never answered my question.”

            “I’m on vacation,” Polaris said, stopping and turning around.

            “Is that your way of saying you’re a stray?” the other dog said.

            “No!” Polaris said. “It just means I need a break from my team.”

            “I see,” the other dog said.

            “What’s your name?” Polaris asked.

            “Steele,” the other dog said. “I’m a champion sled dog…or, I was.”

            “What happened?” Polaris said.

            “I had a fight with my team,” Steele said. “That’s what I’m doing out here.”

            “Yeah, teams can be the worst,” Polaris said. “That’s why I need a vacation.”

            “So, what position do you run?” Steele asked.

            “I’m the lead!” Polaris said. “And I’m good at it, too.”

            “Win many races?” Steele said.

            “Yeah,” Poalris said, thinking how much she hated to race.

            “I did, too,” Steele said proudly. “I was the best back then!”

            By now, Polaris had noticed that Steele looked well-fed and well-groomed for a stray living in the wilderness. This made her a little suspicious, but why would he lie about being a stray?

            Then she realized he might not have been living out there very long.

            “How long have you been out here?” she asked.

            “A while,” the other dog said.

            Now Polaris was more suspicious.

            “Where are you from?” Polaris asked.

            The other dog hesitated.

            “Where are you from?” he said.

            “You go first,” Polaris said.

            “Nome,” the other dog muttered.

            Polaris wondered why she had never seen him before. Maybe he left before she became a sled dog. Still this dog was raising a few too many questions, so Polaris decided to leave.

            “It was nice meeting you,” she said. “I better be on my way, though.”

            “Wait!” Steele said. “I’d like to come with you.”

            “Why?” Polaris asked, becoming a little uncomfortable.

            “It’s lonely out here,” Steele said.

            Polaris wrinkled her nose in disgust.

            “Are you flirting with me?” Polaris said. “Because that’s never going to happen. I don’t like boys…your age! Nope, no older dogs for me.”

            Polaris felt her face grow hot.

            “First, I don’t look that old,” Steele said. “Second, I’m not flirting. You’d know if I was flirting. I just mean I could use some company.”

            “Oh,” Polaris said. “Well, I guess you could come along.”

            She smiled.

            “If you think you could keep up.”

            “Please!” Steele said. “I was winning races before you were born!”

            “Not old, huh?” Polaris said, still smiling.

            Steele frowned and shrugged.

            The two dogs continued along the base of the mountain, chatting about dog sledding and the challenges of being a team leader.

            “…Anyway, Ginger was the only one who even believed me about smelling a bear. And sure enough, we turn a corner and what’s there? A bear! Luckily, we got away, but it was pretty scary. And it could have all been avoided if they’d just listened to me!”

            Steele nodded.

            “I had the opposite problem,” he said. “No one ever argued with me, and just resented me silently. Finally, things came to a boil…and that’s how I ended up out here.”

            “I’ve been thinking about leaving the kennel for good,” Polaris said.

            “Don’t do that,” Steele said. “Life out here is hard.”

            “I’ve liked it so far,” Polaris said.

            “How long have you been out?” Steele asked.

            “Since yesterday morning,” Polaris said.

            “It gets harder,” Steele said.

            Polaris frowned.

            “I can manage.”

            Steele gave a disbelieving look, which annoyed Polaris.

            “The loneliness is awful,” Steele said. “You don’t get used to it.”

            Polaris was silent.  She turned away from the mountain and headed in Nome’s general direction.

            “Are you going home?” Steele asked.

            “Eventually,” Polaris said. “Ginger needs me. I mean, I’m the only one who notices her.”

            “You’ve said.”

            “Oh,” Polaris said. “So, what about you? What are you going to do when we get back to Nome?”

           

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