one hundred miles an hour the surrounding country-side blurred into a mixture of green and blue. Though he could no longer see the details of the stretch of land before him he could still see Jenna every few hundred yards, standing there, watching as he blew past, her scarlet hair blowing in the wind.
    Balto pushed harder on the pedal and the engine growled in response as the old car soared down the highway, more flying now than rolling.
    Balto watched the speedometer climb to one ten, then one twenty. In the blur of the world around him Balto finally remembered a bit about that night a week ago in Nome and Alaska...
    The night he lost the only thing that mattered to him...
   
    Balto was laughing as he picked the shot glasses off the tray the waitress held in front of him. "...thanks." He said.
    He turned to Jenna and sat one of the shot glasses in front of her. "...one for the road." He said.
    Jenna smiled. Her muzzle split wide into a grin that revealed her perfect ivory teeth. "...alright Balto, one more and then we're done." She said. "You're drunk enough as it is, and I'm no better."
    Balto laughed. "Alright Jen, this is it I promise." 
    "...what is it?" She asked.
    "...Vodka." Balto responded.    
    Jenna laughed and picked up the small glass of clear liquid. "Balto, you don't even like Vodka."
    Balto smiled. "...no, but you do." He said. "...'sides, I'm too drunk to notice the difference."
    Jenna laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it." She said.
    "...well it's quite a reason to celebrate." Balto said. "..after this you won't be able to drink till after she's born."
    Jenna smiled. "...yeah, I'll agree to that." She said.
    Balto smiled back at her and picked up his glass. "...to our daughter." He said.
    Jenna smiled and clicked her glass against his. "...to our daughter." She said.
    She killed the drink and sat the glass back on the table. Then she laughed. "Balto, you've got a horrid look on your face."
    Balto sat his glass on the table and smiled. "...guess I was wrong about not being able to tell the difference."
    Jenna laughed. "...come on Balto, let's go."
    Balto nodded and stood. Jenna took his arm and they walked to the door. Jenna pushed it open and they stepped outside. As they walked out to the parking lot Jenna was laughing.
    ...about what he couldn't remember.
    They got to the truck and Jenna opened the door and pulled her purse out of the passenger seat.
    "...well, ready for a refreshing walk?" Jenna asked.   
    Balto smiled and then felt a splash of water on his shoulder.
    He looked up just as the clouds opened up and drenched the two of them in cold rain.
    Balto and Jenna scrambled for the cab of the truck as the rain continued to drench them.
    Finally Balto slammed the door shut and sat in the cool cab. Both he and Jenna were dripping with rainwater.
    Jenna laughed. "...wow, that came out of nowhere." She snuggled up beside him. "...guess we've spent enough cool winter nights together in this truck to spend one more huh?"
    Balto sighed and pulled his keys out of his pocket.
    Jenna sat up. "Balto, what are you doing?" She asked.
    Balto struggled to put the key in the ignition, missing his first three times, scraping the steering column with the sharp teeth of the key.
    "Balto," Jenna said again, more insistent this time, "...what are you doing?"
    Balto finally got the key in the ignition and sat back in the seat. "It's too cold for you and the baby to spend out here."
    A worried look crossed Jenna's face. "Are you sure you're okay to drive?" She asked. "...it's not that bad out here."
    Balto nodded and turned the key. The truck's engine flared to life. "I'm fine." He said. "...it's only a few blocks away."
    Jenna sat back in the seat, a worried look on her face. "...well... I guess... if you're sure you're okay." She said. "You had a lot to drink tonight."
    Balto smiled. "I'm fine Jen." He said. "I just want to take care of you and the baby."
    Jenna smiled and hugged him. "...you're going to be a great father Balto." She said.
    He smiled. "We'll be home before you know it." He said.
    He put the truck in drive.

    "...Balto, you should stop." Jenna said. Her hands gripped the dash and her eyes were wide.
    "I'm fine Jen." He said. "It's... it's the rain is all, I can't see."
    "Balto you're drunk and you should stop." Jenna said. "We'll be alright, we've been through worse nights than this."
    Balto looked at her. "...you really want me to stop."
    Jenna nodded, her eyes wide with fear.
    Balto sighed and nodded. "...alright."
    "...BALTO!"
    Balto turned sharply to look in front of him and saw a tree directly in their path as the truck bumped over the curb...

    Balto opened his eyes.
    His head hurt.
    He groaned and raised his paw to his eye. The fur was matted with blood.
    He coughed and spit blood on the seat of the truck.
    His vision was spinning, whether that was an effect of the alcohol or head trauma he didn't know.
    He looked around and realized that cool rainwater was flowing down his face.
    He reached down and undid his seat belt. Then he turned and looked at the passenger seat. "...Jen?" He asked groggily.
    Jenna wasn't there.
    Balto looked out the window and saw a dark form crumpled against a tree just past the one the truck had slammed into at over sixty miles an hour.
    "...JEN!" He called.
    He opened the door and fell out of the truck, splashing in the mud as he struggled to regain his footing. Finally he stood up and walked down the length of the crumpled hood. He stumbled through the rain to the side of the fallen figure by the tree.
    She was wearing a white blouse and blue jeans.
    Balto fell down and crawled on his hands and knees to her side.
    "Jen?" He called. "Jenna, Jenna are you okay?!"
    He pulled her into his lap.
    Her body was limp, drenched from the rain.
    Balto looked at her face and as a strike of lightning illuminated the scene he saw that her eyes were frozen, open wide, an expression of fear and pain on her face.
    Tears filled Balto's eyes as he realized in that brief second of light what had happened.
    as the light faded and darkness fell upon the scene again, that same darkness wrapped around Balto's soul. It wrapped around it and squeezed it tight.
    He couldn't breathe, couldn't even cry.
    "Jen!" He called.
    Balto pulled her face up to his and held her.
    "No!" He cried. "Jenna!"

    Balto glanced down at the spedometer and saw it was approaching one hundred fifty now.
    He looked beside him and saw her.
    Jenna sat beside him. She smiled.
    Balto's mouth fell open and he turned back to the road. He glanced down again and saw the needle cross one hundred sixty miles an hour.
    He looked back up at her and stuck out his arm as if to touch her.
    The image vanished as his hand touched it.
    Balto stared through the passenger window for a moment, then looked out ahead again...
    ...and slammed on the brakes.
    At over one hundred sixty miles an hour the brakes did little to slow the '69 Charger in the four seconds Balto had before his car shot over a curve, went through a steel guardrail, devastated a small barbed wire fence and slammed head on into a parked tractor sitting at the edge of the field.
   
    Rain began to fall as the car finally stopped rolling.
    The car was demolished, pieces of it were strewn over seven hundred yards of the field. The tires were gone, the axels had snapped, the windshield had exploded, the roof had caved in.
    The rain fell on a cellphone that remarkably hadn't been smashed in the catastrophic crash.
    The wallpaper of the phone showed to young dogs, one dark gray, one scarlet and white, both grinning ear to ear.
    The phone vibrated against the shattered car for a moment and the picture changed to a black screen. White test began to scroll over the black screen. It read: "Balto, I'm worried about you buddy. I know you blame yourself for what happened, and... I really don't know what to say, but I'm worried about you. Call me. - Kaltag.


THE END  
   

Author's note: I know this story was dark. It was designed that way. I hope it drove home a very serious point to you all. It is NOT wrong to drink responsibly. It is NOT wrong to drive, but it IS VERY wrong to do both.

- RTW


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