thought.

Then she felt a jerk, and was picked up into the air.

She went sideways, and crashed into the sidewalk, sliding into the snow drift alongside it.

The black husky who had just saved her life, rolled clear of the truck, just as it slid past him, missing him by inches.

Events resumed their normal speed then, and the truck spun into another car, parked at the side of the road.

The driver got out of his truck, and started yelling.

Dusty couldn’t hear him, but she was sure by the way he was waving his arms, pointing in her direction, and kicking his truck, that it was probably obscene.

Her heart was beating so hard, Dusty was sure it was going to burst from her chest.

She was breathing hard, and found it hard to focus.

“That was WAY too close!” She thought.

Dusty took a deep breath and stood up, shaking the snow from her back.

The black husky stood as well and trotted over to her.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

Dusty smiled.

“I am now, thank you.”

The husky frowned and looked at Alai, who was cowering on the sidewalk, staring at his mother.

“I’m gonna get it.” the pup thought.

“You should keep a better eye on your kids.” The husky said.

Dusty sighed and nodded.

“I don’t know how he got away from me. What’s your name?”

The husky smiled.

“Ben.”

Dusty returned the smile.

“You saved my life Ben, thank you.”

“Well I couldn’t let such a beautiful creature get hit by that truck,” Ben said, “wouldn’t be much to look at then, would you?”

Dusty smiled, a little embarrassed.

“Well… no, no I suppose not.”

Ben laughed.

“Well that was a bit of a rush.”

Dusty chuckled.

“Yeah…”

She took a deep breath and let it out.

“Yeah, I guess it was.”

She turned to Alai.

“You’re in big trouble mister, you head home right now, and I’ll be home soon. You better not go anywhere, hear me, anywhere.”

Alai sighed.

“Yes Mom.”

“I mean it Alai.” Dusty said, “Nowhere.”

The pup hung his head and slunk off.

“Alright Mom, I’ll be there.”

Dusty watched him walk away, then she turned to Ben.

“Do you have some water or something, I mean, I’m not usually one to impose, but I’m thirsty.”

Ben smiled.

“Almost getting plastered by a truck can do that to you.”

Dusty laughed.

“Yeah.”

Ben led her back to his house.

Dusty stopped walking as the memory ended, and a new one surfaced.

She hadn’t been home soon, as she’d told Alai she would be, in fact, she was gone for two days.

She thought back to why she had done what she had.

“I was alone,” she thought, “I was alone, and I felt… unloved?”

Things hadn’t been so bad when she and Kodi had been on the team together, but since the children were born, she’d had to stay with them, and Kodi had a job to do. She understood that, and yet…. didn’t.

Dusty started to walk again.

“Maybe if he’d been here more, I wouldn’t have…”

Dusty stopped thinking, as she reached a small cabin.

She climbed up the porch steps, and stepped through the doggy door.

A black husky stood up from his place at the fire, and walked over to her.

“Hey Dusty.” Ben said.

He nuzzled her.

“Hello Ben.” Dusty said.

“How’re you feeling tonight?” Ben asked.

“Pretty good.” Dusty said.

Ben licked her cheek.

She smiled, and followed him back over to the fire…

Chapter 2

Kodi woke up early the next morning, he didn’t know why, but he felt something awful was going to happen back home.

He’d gotten sick this morning, that’s how strong this feeling was.

Something was very inexplicably wrong.

Kodi stepped outside.

He hung his head and sighed.

Snow fell harder than he had ever seen from the dark clouds over the city.

Already the snow was reaching the doorsteps of some of the homes, and soon, Kodi and the team would be snowed in, it was only a matter of time.

He sighed again, and walked back into the shed, where he laid down, and was soon once again asleep.

Dusty was running.

Kodi was watching her.

As he watched, she ran right through him.

Kodi looked behind him to see what was chasing her, but all he could hear was barking.

The barking filled him with fear, fear unlike any he’d ever known, and he ran.

He ran after Dusty.

No matter how fast he ran, he could not catch up to her. He soon realized that whatever had been chasing the two of them was gone, now instead, Dusty was running from him.

“Why would she run from me?” Kodi thought. “Doesn’t she know I love her?”

Kodi kept running, hoping to catch her, to ask her what was wrong, he now had so many questions.

The answers were never meant to be however, for as Kodi looked on in horror, Dusty darted across the street without looking.

“Dusty!” Kodi thought.

“NO!” He yelled, as he slid to a stop at the edge of the road.

Dusty didn’t, couldn’t have seen the truck.

She stopped, and looked back at Kodi, as he yelled her name.

“DUSTY!”

She never knew what hit her.

The truck’s grill caught her in the side of the head, and Kodi saw it explode in a shower of red and gray..

He started to run out to her, when she was drug underneath the truck, which bounced, as the tires hit her side.

As soon as it went over her, the truck disappeared.

“That’s odd…” Kodi thought as he slid to a stop beside Dusty…

...or what was left of her anyway.

Kodi was blinded by tears as he looked on at her, at what the truck had done to her, at the tread marks on her shoulders, at…

Kodi threw up then, unable to stand the horrible sight, yet unable to look away.

Kodi woke suddenly.

“It was all a dream…” He thought.

Kodi stood up and walked out of the barn.

The snow was up to the middle of his legs now.

He looked back at the shed where his team was still asleep.

He was now sure that something was dreadfully wrong back home.

“I need to be there, NOW!”

Kodi looked once more at the barn.

“…but the team…”

Kodi shook his head.

‘Forget the team.” He thought. “Your family is more important.”

“Dusty is more important.” He said aloud.

Then with one last glance at the shed, he turned and started the journey home.

Dusty felt horrible.

She didn’t know what it was, but she felt sick.

She stood up from her bed, and stumbled to the door.

Dusty walked outside and saw her owner’s son outside playing ball.

She started over to him, but stopped half-way, and threw up on the ground.

“My head hurts…” She thought. Then she threw up again.

The boy rushed over to her.

“Wow, Dusty you look sick, we better take you to see Doc.”

“Great,” Dusty thought. “That’s all I need…”

“Well how is she Doc?” The boy asked.

The doctor put down the stethoscope he had in his hand and smiled.

“She’s gonna be alright.” The doctor said. “Just a bit of morning sickness.”

“Morning sickness?” Dusty thought.

The doctor laughed.

“Looks like Dusty here enjoyed being a mother so much she wanted to do it again.”

“WHAT!” Dusty’s mind screamed at her. “This… this can’t happen…. Oh…. Oh God… Kodi…”

The boy rubbed her in between the ears.

“You hear that girl, more puppies!”

“Oh no….” Dusty thought.

It was later that afternoon, as Dusty made her way to the small cabin at the edge of town.

“What am I going to tell him?” Dusty thought. “What am I going to tell both of them?”

She stopped walking.

“I wonder how Kodi’s going to take this.”

She winced, and a single tear ran down her face.

She could guess.

“What was I thinking? God… I’m…. I’m so sorry Kodi… please forgive me.”

She looked back, back at her stomach, where deep within her, young dogs were beginning to grow, and with their growth, her relationship with Kodi would end, she knew it, comprehended it, yet refused to accept it.

“Maybe we can get through this, together.” she thought.

She hung her head and sprinted the rest of the way to Ben’s home.

It was getting late by the time that Dusty managed to get there. She’d run in circles, trying to put off the inevitable, trying to put off the confrontation, but it was time.

She walked up the steps, tears streaming down her face,

She ducked through the door, and as usual, Ben was sitting by the fire.

She didn’t walk over to him, instead he walked to her.

He looked concerned.

“Dusty, what’s wrong?”

“Everything!” Dusty managed to choke out, before collapsing into a ball on the floor, her sorrow, overwhelming her.

Ben laid down beside her.

“Can I help Dusty?”

Dusty put her paws over her eyes and shook her head.

“No, no one can help me.”

Ben sighed, now completely confused.

“Dusty what’s