Lost in the Wild

Lost in the Wild

The fifth story is the Balto series by silver_balto™

 

March 10th 1952, 5:23 PM,

 

Brent sat at his dinner table with his friends. It was his birthday today, and Brent had turned seventeen. Brent smiled and ate a piece of his cake.

‘’Thanks everyone,’’ he replied, ‘’this couldn’t have been a better birthday.’’

Jenna then passed him a present.

‘’You haven’t opened your gifts yet Brent,’’ she noted, ‘’go ahead, this one’s from me.’’

Brent smiled and unwrapped the present. Inside the box was an orange bandanna. Brent then noticed a small note in the box with it.

Brent,

 

I took this bandanna off my neck to give it to you. I hope you like it.

 

Jenna

 

‘’Thanks Jenna. I’ll treasure it.’’ Brent said happily and tied the bandanna around his neck Kodi then gave Brent his gift.

‘’You’ll like this one buddy.’’ He remarked. Brent tore open the wrapping and smiled at what was inside the box.

‘’A copy of All Dogs Go to Heaven 2™? How’d you know?’’ Brent asked.

‘’I had a feeling.’’ Kodi admitted. Rail Wolf then slid Brent his present.

‘’I believe that you’ll like this gift Brent.’’ He said. Brent opened his gift and pulled out a 1:8 scale model of Hartwell II.

‘’Thanks Rail Wolf.’’ Brent replied. Soon, there were only two gifts left. Ginger gave hers to Brent. He opened the small box and found another small note.

 

Wait until later for your gift.

 

Brent looked at his new girlfriend and she winked at him. Brent blushed and accepted Balto’s gift. He ripped it open and saw something no one but Balto had been expecting. Inside was a bronze statue of Brent and Balto, standing beside each other. It was an exact copy of a photo taken just after the Perfect Dark™ fiasco. Brent turned to Balto and hugged him.

‘’It’s beautiful pal.’’ He said. Balto patted him on the back and answered, ‘’I had it custom made. It’s the only one like it in the world.’’

The rest of the party went on great. But by 11:00 PM, everyone had to leave to get home. Brent closed the door after saying goodbye to his guests and sat down on his couch in the family room. He placed his statue on his living room table and flicked on the television. The Late Late Late Late Late show was on, and they were showing the classic Frankenstein. Brent then noticed Ginger. She stood in the doorway to the living room. She was as beautiful as she was in the game. Ginger sat down beside Brent and leaned on his arm.

‘’Time to give you my gift.’’ She replied and kissed her boyfriend just as the words ’’it’s alive!’’ were heard on the television.

 

March 11th 1952, 10:04 AM,

 

Brent awoke from the couch and saw that he had received mail. Ginger had moved to her bedroom and had left Brent downstairs. He had fallen asleep there. Brent opened the door and checked his mailbox. One letter was all he saw. Brent grabbed it, opened the envelope and read the letter.

 

To Mr. Brent MacWolf,

 

I can’t believe that you are seventeen now! It only seems like yesterday that you were a young German Shepherd. Since you are old enough now to know this, we’ve been living in a small Alaskan hamlet called Chicken for about seven years now. Please come and visit us soon honey.

 

We love you,

 

Signed:

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew MacWolf.

 

Brent’s jaw dropped.

‘’Oh my god,’’ he gasped, ‘’Balto! Balto!’’

 

Brent ran to Jenna’s house and looked in the window. Balto and Jenna were still fast asleep. Brent then made decision he’d regret. Brent wrote Balto a small note and placed it near the ground near him. Brent then walked back to his house.

It took him only a few minutes to pack some clothes, food, a first aid kit, and survival equipment. Brent threw the backpack on his back and took one last look at Ginger.

‘’I love you.’’ He whispered and walked outside, jumping onto his snowmobile and riding away into the distance.

 

Balto awoke only an hour after Brent had left. He got up and stretched. Suddenly, he saw Brent’s note. Balto picked it up and read the small note to himself;

 

Balto

 

You were asleep when I wrote this note, so I didn’t want to disturb you or Jenna. I received a letter from my parents. Yes, you read right, I said my parents. They told me that they lived in a small Alaskan hamlet called Chicken. You ever heard of it? I haven’t, but I’ve gone to find them.

 

I’ll miss you pal. I’ll always treasure our friendship and remember you as long as I live.

 

Brent Edward MacWolf

 

Balto dropped the note and jumped out the open window, speeding toward Brent’s house as soon as he landed.

 

Balto knocked loudly on Brent’s front door. Ginger slowly opened it.

‘’Balto, what’re you doing here?’’ she asked between yawns. Balto caught his breath and explained Brent’s note.

‘’Brent’s gone to Chicken,’’ Balto gasped, ‘’he’s gone to look for his parents!’’

Ginger shook her head.

‘’He’s so irrational! Why does he always do things without thinking?’’ she said sadly. Balto sighed.

‘’Ginger, we should wait a bit,’’ he replied, ‘’I know this sounds a bit passive, but it may just have been a prank letter, and Brent finds that out. He’ll come back, I know it. He’s not the one to stay on something too long.’’ he assured Ginger. She sighed deeply and shook her head again.

‘’I hope you’re right Balto. I hope you’re right.’’

 

March 14th 1952, 11:04 PM,

 

Brent sped toward his next checkpoint to pick up gas. He was exactly 841 miles from Nome, and 392 miles from the next town. Suddenly, a tree seemed to pop up in front of the snowmobile. Brent didn’t have enough time to turn. The snowmobile smashed right into the tree, sending fragments of it everywhere. Brent was thrown from his seat and down a hill. He landed in a pile of leaves and snowmobile parts. Brent felt his leg. It was numb, and Brent had a bad feeling he knew what had happened. He had either broken or sprained his leg. Brent guessed that he had broken it. Luckily, he had taken a first aid course back in 2025. Brent pulled out his first aid kit and made himself a spleen out of two strong tree branches and some medical tape. Finally, Brent grabbed a piece of beef jerky and started to munch on it. He just hoped someone would find him before he became a part of the landscape himself.

 

A few hours later…

 

Back in Nome, everyone gathered around the communications building. The operator was playing a recent news broadcast, and everyone listened intently. Balto and Ginger were even there.

‘’Just a few hours ago, a snowmobile was discovered near a ravine. The snowmobile was barely recognisable, and the rider was no where to be seen. Experts assume that the rider was thrown from the snowmobile and is presumed dead. There is no further information at this time.’’

Ginger started to cry. Both she and Balto knew who the rider was. But Balto knew better. He turned to Ginger and replied, ‘’get some stuff packed. We’re going to save Brent.’’

 

Balto and Ginger left about ten minutes later.

 

Back in the ravine, Brent had managed to get onto his feet. Thankfully, his leg was only sprained. But it still hurt badly to walk, and on every step Brent winced in pain. Brent suddenly stumbled across a tree stump. It was hollowed out and provided a good shelter. Brent set up a small fire and sat down, trying his best to stay as warm as he could in this frigate wilderness.

 

The Alaskan North, 11:36 PM,

 

Balto and Ginger walked through the knee-high snow. Ginger had lived on a farm before she was traumatised by her family’s murders. Walking through this high of snow was almost a routine for her. They had gotten most snow than this on her family farm. Balto too was used to this much snowfall. After all, he lived in Nome. Both dogs had managed to walk for about ten or so hours. Ginger turned and squinted.

‘’Uhh, Balto,’’ she replied and pointed back the way they came, ‘’check this out.’’

Balto turned and squinted. They could still barely see Nome, though the fine details weren’t easy to make out. Balto sat down onto the snow and sighed.

‘’This is hopeless!’’ he spluttered. Ginger was shocked.

‘’Balto, you saved hundreds of lives, you proved your courage, and now you say you can’t even save your best friend? I’m appalled!’’

Ginger then walked ahead of the wolf dog, not turning her head to look. Balto looked up to the sky and got to his feet. He caught up to Ginger and replied, ‘’well, the least we could do is make camp tonight and wake up before daybreak to continue on.’’

Ginger nodded and found an overgrowth of trees. She stretched and laid down. Balto turned to her and said, ‘’you get some sleep Ginger, I’ve got an idea.’’

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