shirt, with a collar and a pocket where he put her radio. Finally, he wore a conductor’s hat, with two holes where his ears could protrude from. His train Hartwell II no. 1905 was amazing once both Brent and Balto got a chance to take a look at it. The train was a 2-6-0 Mogul, but it seemed different about it. The headlamp was in front of the smoke-stacker, yet the bulb was shaped like a howling wolf. The boiler had small snowflakes painted over the plain black paint. Finally, the cabin had a few things in it that were unusual for that time. A small beach radio hung from the roof of the cabin, and a picture of a train sat on the floor. The cars were a mix of passenger and freight cars and on the end was a dark-red caboose with the KRSR logo on it; a howling wolf insignia with KRSR written over it. He stuck his hand out and replied, ‘’my name’s Rail Wolf.’’

Balto shook his hand warmly, ‘’I’m Balto. And this is my friend Prof. Brent MacWolf.’’ Brent then shook Rail’s hand.

‘’Thanks for the rescue.’’ Brent replied. Rail Wolf put up his hand.

‘’It was my pleasure. You guys looked like you needed a lift anyway.’’ All three chuckled. Brent then remembered the track.

‘’Balto, how’d I end up on the tracks?’’ he asked.

Balto sighed.

‘’You were kidnapped and put there. I was about to save you, when Klondike save you. I kind froze again.’’ Balto admitted. Brent was about to say something, when Balto turned to Rail Wolf and asked, ‘’where the farthest stop you have?’’

Rail Wolf checked his itinerary and answered, ‘’Juneau. Why do you ask?’’

Balto turned to Brent.

‘’Get packed. We’re going to Juneau.’’ He answered solemnly and jumped into a boxcar near the train. Brent gave him a shocked look and questioned, ‘’Balto, what are you thinking? Nome needs you!’’

‘’No, Nome has a new hero now. Klondike. Now get your stuff. And bring Jenna with you too’’ Balto ordered. Brent sighed and limped home to pack.

About five minutes later, Brent came back with one suitcase full of clothes, a few books, and Jenna. He threw it into the boxcar and told Balto he’d ride in the cabin. Balto nodded and closed the door once his wife jumped in. Rail Wolf gave the whistle a long blast and pushed the throttle to 25% power. Utah’s wheels spun for a few seconds, and then the train moved forward and out of Nome. Balto opened the boxcar a crack and watched as his hometown disappeared in the distance.

Meanwhile in a secret underground hideout, Klondike sat in an expensive leather chair. He smiled with satisfaction at the news of Balto running away.

‘’Perfect. My scheme’s going exactly as planned.’’ He snickered. One of his minions gave a small chuckle. Klondike grabbed a rolled-up newspaper and slammed it over his muzzle.

‘’Never laugh when I do!’’ Klondike snarled. The dog nodded and massaged his muzzle. Klondike put the paper down and replied, ‘’now, the next thing we should do is make those pathetic humans not suspect us. We will soon turn this town into rubble, and we’ll use one of the professor’s gadgets to do it.’’

The KRSR railway, near Juneau, Alaska, 4:45 am,

Balto was awakened by the train whistle blasting loudly in the dark Alaskan night. Balto opened the boxcar door a crack and felt the cool night air brushing by his face. Hartwell II was chugging along a cliff side track; and it was about forty feet to the forest below. Balto then looked ahead; he saw a green signal whiz by as if it was a blur. Balto decided to get some air and closed the door. He walked over to a small ladder that led up to the hatch on the roof of the boxcar. Balto opened the hatch, and felt the wind grab it, throwing it into the roof with a clang. Balto got onto the roof and slowly walked over to the cabin. Inside, Rail Wolf kept his eyes ahead, watching the tracks. The professor was fast asleep on the floor. Balto jumped into the cabin and whispered, ‘’how’s it been going?’’

Rail wolf answered without taking his eyes off the track, ‘’good, I guess. You couldn’t sleep?’’

‘’Nope. Darn train whistle woke me up.’’ Balto moaned. Brent then sleepily opened his eyes.

‘’Balto,’’ he mumbled, in a wobbly voice, ‘’what’re you doing up so early?’’

‘’Couldn’t sleep. Jenna still out though. She’ll sleep through anything.’’ Balto joked. All three laughed. Brent fell back to sleep, seeing that he couldn’t possibly climb into the boxcar with his ankle. Balto watched as the headlamp projected the image of a howling wolf into the darkness ahead. From somewhere in the forest blow, a lone wolf howled. The sound gave Balto both the creeps and a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Suddenly, Rail Wolf saw something ahead. He slammed the brakes on as hard as they would go. The wheels stopped and screeched loudly as they rubbed against the tracks. Brent and Jenna were awoken from a deep sleep. Jenna raced to the cabin as Hartwell II came to a stop. All four friends looked out the cabin windows. On the track stood a black dog; although none of the friends could make out any finer details than that. It then turned and revealed it’s most ghastly features. The dog had two eyes that glowed blood red. It gave the train one final look, and then vanished.

‘’What the hell was that?’’ Brent exclaimed. Rail Wolf whimpered and replied, ‘’Black Shook.’’

‘’Who?’’ Balto asked. Rail Wolf grabbed a small book from behind the picture of the train. Inside was a picture of a horrible demon dog with red eyes.

‘’Black Shook is a demon dog that only appears on certain nights, and in certain places. Seeing Black Shook could mean doom and disaster. My Auntie Marie in Britain saw Black Shook, and the next day she was found dead in her rocking chair. It’s an omen; we’re all doomed!’’ Rail Wolf whimpered. Balto patted her on the back and said, ‘’everything will probably be fine. Don’t you worry.’’

Rail Wolf nodded and slowly pushed the throttle forward as Hartwell II started up again.

Two hours later,

The sun still hadn’t risen yet, but there was a small hint of sunlight in the sky. Rail Wolf was listening to her pocket radio as he watched the tracks. Soon, the sun began to rise. The sky was filled with reds, oranges, yellows, and purples as the sun slowly moved above the horizon. Rail Wolf grabbed some sunglasses and placed them on his muzzle. Balto and Brent saw it too. Hartwell II had managed to make it off the cliff side tracks, and now was on a long stretch of track that led to Juneau. Just then, Hartwell II’s steam gauge started to go up. Rail Wolf did a double take when he saw that the boiler pressure was up to 65%.

‘’What’s going on?’’ Balto asked.

‘’The boiler pressure is above what it should be. If the pressure gets too high, the boiler will explode!’’ Rail Wolf exclaimed. Brent was up at the controls in a flash.

‘’What’s he doing?’’ Rail Wolf questioned.

‘’He know what he’s doing. Let him work.’’ Balto replied ads Brent reached in his pockets. He pulled out a small gadget he called the “Ice Pistol.” Brent aimed the pistol, and used his crutches to support his weight as he did so. Brent fired the ice beam right into the boiler, cooling it down and putting out the fire. The steam gauge went down about five percent, but then rose above 80%.

‘’You moron! You just increased the amount of steam in the boiler!’’ Rail Wolf exclaimed. Brent answered him in the exact tone of voice.

‘’How was I supposed to know?’’ he spluttered. Balto gave a short blast of the train whistle.

‘’Quiet! Both of you stop it! We can still solve this problem; we just have a lot less time to do so. I suggest stiffening the steam out of the boiler.’’

‘’But how?’’ Brent asked. Rail Wolf applied the brakes and made Hartwell II come to a full stop. He then hopped out of the cabin and walked up to the side of the train. Turning a small wheel on the side, he opened a small porthole-sized vent and watched as the hot steam rushed out of the boiler and created fog upon contact with the cool morning air.

‘’This is how we stiffen if out.’’ He replied. Balto and Brent nodded and got out of the cabin. Balto helped Rail Wolf open the vents on his side, while Brent opened the vents on the opposite side. Soon, all the hot steam had made a dense fog that surrounded Hartwell II. Rail Wolf and Balto jumped into the cabin, but Brent was still on the ground.

‘’Balto? Rail Wolf? Where the heck are you?’’ he called.

‘’Brent?’’ Balto called back.

‘’Balto? Where are you? This darn fog’s too thick.’’ Brent shouted.

‘’He must still be outside!’’ Rail Wolf exclaimed. Balto pulled on the whistle. Brent was standing right near the train when the whistle blasted. Brent held his ears.

‘’Well, at least I know where the train is.’’ Brent thought, though it was mostly