A few moments later Alyse stuck her head out of the flap on the doggie door. “Hey Jennn.” She said. “…what are you doing up already?”
Jenna smiled. “I was actually wondering if you wanted to go for a walk and talk or something.”
“…sure.” Alyse said. “I was actually thinking of coming to your house earlier, but I didn’t know if you’d be awake or not.”
Jenna smiled. “I’m usually a pretty early riser.”
“Really?” Alyse said. She stepped out of the house and joined Jenna on the porch. “…that’s cool, me too.” Just then Alyse noticed that Jenna had her left foreleg drawn up close to her side. “…oh my goodness, Jenna, what happened? You’re limping…”
Jenna sighed. “…yeah, my owner’s dad kind of stepped on me in the dark this morning.”
“Wow, that sucks.” Alyse said. “Well do you want me to get Kristen? Maybe she could take a look at it for you?”
Jenna smiled. “Thanks Alyse, but I think it’ll be alright.”
“Okay,” Alyse said. “…just be careful with it.”
Jenna stood up and the two females started to walk down the steps and into the yard. “…but yeah, It’s actually my mate Balto that’s the lazy one.” Jenna said, laughing softly. “He’d sleep from now till Christmas if I’d let him.”
Alyse smiled. “Yeah, my mate was the same way.”
“Oh, you have a mate?” Jenna asked.
Alyse sighed. “…had.” She said. “See he…”
She paused.
The two dogs walked through the gate and turned left toward the north side of town. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Jenna said. “…I’m sorry I brought it up Alyse.”
Alyse sighed and smiled. “No it’s fine… I guess it’d do some good for me to talk to someone.”
Jenna smlied back at her. “…well I’ll deginitely listen Alyse,” she said.
“Thanks,” Alyse said. “Well… I met Trevor in Anchourage when we were just pups… we got along really well and were the best of friends… and then when we got older we got to be more than friends. Eventually… I guess I was about a year and a half old, he asked me to be his mate and of course I accepted… not long after that he got elected Keeper of the Law of Anchourage. I was awful proud of him… and he did his job very well. Somehow he managed to balance the needs of a big city like that and ours pretty well. He was Keeper of the Law for two years… and then.. well about four months ago there was a murder… it was in town, and it was ghastly. He couldn’t get it out of his head… a whole family had been killed. A mother, father and their two pups… right under the owner’s noses… the poor dears didn’t even have their eyes open yet…”
“Wow that’s terrible.” Jenna said. “I can’t believe someone could be so heartless.”
Alyse nodded. “Yeah well they can be I guess… but anyway, this murder consumed him like none ever had before… I don’t know, maybe it was the children that were involved… but he worked night and day for a week to track this dog down… and he finally said that he knew who the murderer was and that he was going to go arrest him. I told him to be careful… he took four other dogs with him, and dissapeared for three days…” Alyse fell silent and a tear dripped out of her eye.
“Alyse, you can stop if you want.” Jenna said.
Alyse shook her head. “…it’s fine Jenna… but… one of my friends found them, all five of them… they were right outside of town, laying across the sidewalk, stacked like cordwood or something…”
Alyse closed her eyes and hung her head. “…not too long after that Kristen decided to move to Nome and brought me with her…”
“I’m so sorry Alyse.” Jenna said.
Alyse nodded. “…thanks Jenna… I haven’t really talked about it. I guess…” some more tears ran out of her eyes and Alyse smiled. “…I guess I’m afraid to cry or something.”
She sniffled and looked at Jenna. “…but it’s alright I guess.” She said. “…I mean… we all know we’re not going to live forever right?”
Jenna nodded and sighed. “…yeah, I guess… but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
Alyse shook her head. “…not really.”
The two dogs kept walking up the sidewalk, heading north.
Jason was sitting in one of the abandoned building that he and Fairbourne had taken up residence in. This one was on the edge of the Outskirts and faced out toward Nome.
He scanned the streets and then did a double take.
He smiled.
Jason stood up and walked over, nudging Fairbourne awake. “Sir, wake up.” He said.
Fairbourne’s yellow eyes snapped open. “What is it kid?” He asked.
Jason smiled. “…they’re here.”
Jenna and Alyse had continued walking and talking and Jenna really wasn’t paying attention to where they were walking. Finally she looked up and gasped.
“What is it?” Alyse asked. She looked up and noticed that across the street were some burned up buildings, charred and blackened by flames of long ago.
“…I can’t believe how stupid I am.” Jenna said. “…Alyse, this is the Outskirts… and we almost walked right into it.”
“This is it?” Alyse asked. “…it’s awful dark isn’t it?”
Jenna nodded. “It’s creepy… and the dogs in there are not nice at all.”
“…I bet not.” Alyse said. “…someone should do something about this place.”
Jenna sighed. “Yeah, but no Keeper of the Law has been stupid enough to go in there… you’d need an army.”
“Yeah, but still something ought to be done.” Alyse said. “It’s dangerous having them live this close to town… what about your children?”
Jenna sighed. “We warn them not to go in there… luckily ours listened to us… some didn’t… and some never came back.”
“That’s awful.” Alyse said. “I had no idea it was so close.”
Jenna nodded. “…come on, let’s…”
A can overturning in the alley in front of them cut her off and Jenna turned quickly.
“What was that?” Alyse asked.
“I don’t know…” Jenna said. “…but let’s get out of here.”
“I’m with you on that.” Alyse said.
The two dogs turned to leave, then something fell on Jenna, knocking her to the ground. She tried to scream, but the fall had knocked the breath out of her. She rolled over and saw a black wolf… or dog, Jenna couldn’t tell which, sitting on top of Alyse. Jenna looked up just in time to see a paw grow large in her vision as it dropped toward her face… then… blackness consumed her.
Chapter 12:
Aleu stepped onto the streets of Nome and looked around. She hadn’t been here in a long time… “…too long.” She thought. It was a shame that the first time she’d come back in so long she was bearing such dreadful news and couldn’t stay. “I wonder how Kodi is doing?” She thought. Then she pushed that out of her mind. “…I don’t have time to think about things like that right now… I’ve got to find my father…”
Aleu looked around, trying to remember which way her father’s owner’s home was and then took off down the sidewalk, trying to keep to the alley’s to avoid being seen.
It didn’t take Aleu long to reach her father’s new home. Luke was standing on the porch, so Aleu darted under it to avoid being seen. She knew all too well what most humans thought of wolves.
Luke turned around and locked the door, then he walked down the steps and out the gate. He put his hands in his coat and shivered slightly from the cold, then he started walking down the sidewalk, headed for the General Store on Mainstreet a few blocks over.
Aleu waited until he was gone and crept out from under the porch and then up the steps to the door. She didn’t see a doggy door, so she placed her paws on the window cill and looked inside. The house was dark, and she couldn’t see anyone inside… but her breath quickly fogged up the glass, so that wasn’t saying much.
She got down and looked around, then noticed that the window was open on the other side of the wall from the door. Aleu walked over to it and scanned the streets. Then, satisfied that no one was watching her, she jumped inside…
…and promptly slid off of a table and crashed to the floor. Aleu climbed to her paws and shook herself off. “…who puts a table there?” Aleu thought. She checked herself over and satisfied that she wasn’t injured, started exploring the darkened house.
A few minutes later Aleu ran back into the living room. Her father was nowhere to be found, not upstairs not downstairs, not in the yard… not anywhere.”
Aleu stamped her paws on the floor in desperation. “I don’t have time for this.” She said to herself. “Where are you dad?”
Then she stopped. “…maybe he went to Mom’s.” Aleu thought. She ran across the room and leapt up on the table and through the window, landing on the porch. “Ah, that’s why he put the table there.” Aleu thought with a smile.
Again she looked up and down the street, but it was early enough she was still alone. Aleu ran down the steps and took a left through the yard, leaping over the fence and into the next yard over, going under the porch and heading to the next fence.
Her mother’s home was a few blocks away and she had to hurry.
Aleu reached her mother’s home without incident and climbed the steps carefully. She walked up to the door and stuck her muzzle through the doggy door, thankful for no more windows.
The coast looked to be clear and Aleu crept inside. Almost immiediatly Aleu saw her father in front of the fireplace, still asleep.
“…got ya!” Aleu thought. She walked over and nudged him awake.
Balto’s eyes opened slowly and he yawned. “…Jen?”
Aleu smiled.
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