inscription on the golden nameplate. She knew as she did, what she’d find.

The nameplate read: Everest.

“Oh no…”Saba said. “You mean he’s…”

Balto nodded his head and leaned in closer to Jenna, who started crying a little louder.

“… but… but this can’t be.” Saba said, tears starting to come to her own eyes now. “I… I spoke with him not two days ago. He came and talked to me the night he left…”

Saba sighed, and looked at the floor.

“I’m sorry Saba.” Balto said. “I know you two were close.”

Saba nodded, as the true impact of what had happened, and what it all meant, finally started to sink in.

Saba turned, and ran from the room, unable to deal with the emotions that standing there staring at her brother’s torn harness caused.

Dingo started to go after her, but he felt a paw on his shoulder and turned. “Let her go son.” Balto said. “She needs to be alone right now.”

Dingo nodded, and walked back to his other siblings. “Saba seems to be really taking this hard.” Kodi said.

Dingo sighed and nodded. “Yeah, she does.” Dingo turned to his siblings. ‘I want you all to help me watch her. When she comes back she’s going to need us.”

The four children snuggled up close to their mother and father as the family grieved for its lost member.

Saba was running.

She didn’t know where she was running to, and quite frankly, she didn’t really care. She only wanted to get away from Nome, her parents… her brother’s death.

As she ran, her tears blinded her. It was a good thing she was out of town, or she may have just leapt off the sidewalk in front of a car. That’s the way she felt right now.

As Saba was running, she saw a cliff ahead. In the darkness, she really couldn’t tell how far it was to the bottom.

“… but it’s far enough.” Saba thought. “Life’s just not worth living without you Everest. One way or another I’m going to be with you.”

Saba shifted the angle of her run so that she was now sprinting directly at the cliff’s edge.

She knew in her mind that her death would be even more pain for her family and friends to deal with, but her heart had overridden her mind at that point, and her heart was broken.

“… and this is the only way to fix it.” Saba thought. “This is the only way to make the pain go away.”

As she neared the cliff, Saba began to cry a little harder. “I don’t want to die.” She thought. “…but I can’t live without Everest. Life has just… lost it’s meaning.”

Saba could see the edge fast approaching, and she picked up her speed, running until she felt her paws leave the ground. She was scared, more frightened than she had ever been, as she tumbled head over tail down the ravine.

Back in Nome, Jenna and Balto had returned to their homes. Well, at least, they’d returned to Jenna’s home. It would be some time before Jenna’s family actually “adopted” Balto, and for now, he still lived in the old trawler at the edge of town.

Jenna was taking the death of her son very hard. Hard enough in fact, that Balto was worried about her. He’d decided to stay the night with her. She needed him now.

The two of them were sitting on the porch.

Jenna sighed and laid down on the porch, staring at the stairs. Balto looked at her a moment before asking. “Jen, what… what are you staring at?”

Jenna smiled sadly. “I remember, one of the times that I had the pups, they were playing on the porch, and Everest fell down the stairs.” She paused here, and took a deep breath, trying extremely hard not to burst into tears again. Try as she might, Jenna couldn’t hold them back, and she felt warm tears drip down her cheeks. “Everest wouldn’t let me touch him. It was the time when he nearly broke his leg.” She paused and looked up at him. “You remember?”

Balto nodded. He was afraid that if he said anything at this point that he’d start crying as well and the two of them might never stop. “… and that sure wouldn’t do Jenna any good.” Balto thought, and so he remained silent.

Jenna looked back at the porch. “Everest wouldn’t let anyone near him, anyone except Saba. Those two have always been together. They’ve always been close…” Jenna’s voice trailed off, and she stared out at the distant forest for a moment before she turned back to Balto. “Balto, I’m worried about Saba. She seemed to take her brother’s… passing… pretty hard. It’s been a while, and I.. I haven’t seen her. You don’t think she’s gone and…” Jenna struggled to find the right words. “… done something stupid do you?”

Balto leaned close to Jenna. “I don’t think so.” He said, putting his paw across her shoulders. “Saba’s a smart girl, I’m sure she’s fine, she just needs some time. I guess…” Balto sighed. “I guess we all do.”

Jenna sighed. “I… I already miss him Balto.”

Balto laid down beside her. “I know. I do too.”

Jenna started crying again, and Balto leaned forward, letting Jenna rest her head on his shoulder.

Balto sighed. It was going to be a very long night.

Saba finally opened her eyes. The cliff hadn’t been high enough to do the job right, but it had been sufficient to probably break her leg. A hot fire raced up and down her right leg. She sighed. “Why can’t I just get away from this… I can’t take it!” She yelled to the trees. “I…” She stopped and started to sob. “I love him…”

Saba struggled to her feet, and thought she had a pretty good limp, she found she was able to walk. As she turned to start heading back towards town, she realized where she was. There was a pond in the clearing below.

Saba walked slowly down to it, almost as if in a trance. As she neared the frozen water, sounds from the past rushed back to her. Almost as if ghosts inhabited the pond. She saw she and Everest standing by the pond, less than two years ago, clear as day.

“I bet I can go farther out on the ice than you can Everest.”

“No, Saba it’s too dangerous. You know what Papa said.”

“What are you chicken?”

“No, fine, go ahead. Let’s see how far you get.”

The next sounds that flooded her mind were the sounds of ice breaking, and a splash.

“SABA!”

Saba remembered how cold she’d felt, how instantly the blood in her veins had seemed to thicken and slow as her small body froze to death. She remembered clawing at the ice, but she couldn’t get out.

The fear filled her again, as if she were back in that pond. She felt the closeness of death. Saba had tried to climb out and had sank at least three times, when she finally found that she’d worn herself out. There wouldn’t be a fourth time. There would be no more time at all for Saba. The last thing she’d heard was a splash, and then she’d drifted away, feeling herself sinking to the pond’s inky black depths.

She’d woken in the doc’s office, Everest beside her. He’d jumped in the pond to save her, and in the process, almost sacrificed himself for his sister. Everest barely pulled through that time. What with jumping in the pond in the first place, and then carrying his sister back to town… it had almost been enough to do the young pup in.

Saba had been by his bedside every second of every day he was down, once she’d been able to get up herself that is. It was then, during the long talks that the two had, that Saba realized she loved Everest, not just as a brother, but as something much more.

Saba sighed. She was at the pond’s edge now. “God I miss you Everest.” She said. Saba tilted her head toward the stars. “How could you do this to me!” She yelled. “How could you leave me here alone!” Saba felt tears streaming down her face. “You said you’d always be there for me, that you’d always take care of me!” Saba looked down at the snow and sighed again. “Who’s going to take care of me now?” She asked herself.

Saba looked back at the pond and shuddered. It had been very close that day. Close to both she and her brother’s death.

Saba stood by the pond a few moments more, and then she turned and limped slowly away, headed home.

Chapter 2

Four years later…

“Hey Girl,” Kelly yelled. “Want to fetch the stick? Huh, want to?”

Saba was panting. Sure,” She thought. “I’ll go get the stick, even though this has to be the hundredth time today.”

She barked, and Kelly threw the stick. She had quite an arm for a ten year old girl, and the stick arced over Saba’s head, coming to rest about fifty yards away.

Saba took off after it, running for all she was worth, her paws struggling to find purchase in the wet snow. “Geez,” She thought. “Did you really have to throw it that far?”

Saba reached the stick, and, after picking it up in her mouth, turned, running back to Kelly.

She stopped in front of the girl, and dropped the stick at her feet.

Kelly bent down and picked up the stick. “Want it girl?” She asked, waving the stick.

“Again?” Saba thought. “Not really.”

Kelly raised her arm to throw the stick again, but her mother’s voice stopped her.

“Kelly?” Her mother called. “Honey come here for a minute.”

Kelly turned her head toward her mother and father, who were sitting on a hill about a hundred yards behind her. “Coming mother.” She knelt down beside her dog, and patted her on the head. “I’ll be back in a little bit girl. You stay here alright?”

Saba barked, and Kelly turned, running over to her parents.

“Finally,” Saba thought. “I get a rest.”

The small family had come out here, just a little ways outside of Nome, for the afternoon. Saba had been playing fetch the stick for about an hour now.

Saba looked around, and saw a small stream just down the hill to her right.

“I’ll be right back.” She thought. “I’m just going to go get a drink, that looks so good.”

Saba looked behind her to see Kelly talking to her parents. She was