idea.’’

Ginger nodded sleepily and turned over. Balto took a deep breath and howled into the night. After only a few seconds, a return call came from somewhere in the dark forest. Balto howled again, and yet another return call came. Finally, about six wolves walked into the moonlight. Balto smiled.

‘’Rapatior, long time, no see.’’ He said. The wolf named Rapatior was a large timber wolf-the alpha male of the pack- that had grey fur and stone eyes. He had numerous scars, which proved his alpha status.

‘’The same to you Balto,’’ he replied and shook Balto’s hand, ‘’it’s been a while. What can we do for you?’’

Balto then explained his situation. Rapatior nodded.

‘’I see. One of your friends is lost in the wilderness, and you need to find him before the carnivores do. I’ll inform the other packs in the area to be on the lookout, and my pack will be willing to help you at any time. All you have to do is howl.’’ He said. Balto smiled.

‘’Thank you old friend.’’

‘’Anytime Balto. Anytime.’’ Rapatior answered and walked back into the darkness, his pack following close behind. Balto waited until they had all disappeared to get under the overgrowth and fall asleep himself. Unaware to the two dogs, a weasel watched in the forest. He grinned and sneaked back his camp.  

The next morning, 5:02 AM,

Balto awoke to see that the sun hadn’t risen yet. He got up and stretched. Ginger then woke up. Last night for her was a long one. She had awoken sharply to the sound of a lynx somewhere in the forest behind her head. Balto then howled calling in his friend Rapatior and his pack. Sure enough, Rapatior arrived with his pack of six.

‘’Good morning Balto.’’ Rapatior replied. Balto nodded.

‘’Same to you, good friend.’’

‘’So, what is it that you want us to do?’’ Rapatior questioned. Balto grinned.

‘’I sure hope you guys can run.’’ He said.

‘’We’re the fastest runners in this part of the northern forest. Why?’’ Rapatior asked in a puzzled tone.

‘’Because there’s only one way to go fast across this wilderness. By dog-sled.’’

Rapatior then realised what Balto meant.

‘’Oh, I get you now. My pack and I will pull a sled while you and that collie ride on it.’’

‘’Bingo.’’ Balto answered. Rapatior then turned to his pack.

‘’Well everyone, it looks like we’ll be doing a bit of running. Until we find this Brent character, you are to obey all orders from Balto. This is a personal favour I am doing for one of my old friends. If any of you have a problem with this, report to me. Okay everyone, get ready to mush!’’

Balto had spied an old dog sled somewhere in the bush. He brushed it off and brought it into view. The dog tethers were still in good condition, and the sled itself wasn’t half-bad either. But Balto knew they’d have to replace them eventually, so they’d stop in the next town to get some replacement parts. Balto attached his friends to the sled, with Rapatior in front. Balto and Ginger loaded their supplies onto the sled and jumped on themselves. Balto then pointed his finger ahead and yelled, ‘’mush!’’

The sled flew forward across the deep snow like greased lightning.

March 14th 1952, 12:02 PM,

Balto and his team were making good time. Rapatior and his wolf pack knew all sorts of helpful shortcuts and such that cut a total of three hours off their run time. But soon, they had reached their very limits.

‘’Balto,’’ Rapatior gasped for breath, ‘’we can’t keep this up. We have to rest.’’

Balto, who was still determined to save his friend, reluctantly agreed. The sled slowed down and stopped near a riverbank. All of Rapatior’s pack laid down and rested their paws. Balto walked off to the riverbank and sat down on a rock. He watched as the water flowed by, and a trout jumped into the air, landing back in the current. Balto sighed, he’d wished his friend was here with him.

Brent too wished Balto was with him. Last night he was cold, hunger and wet. His fire had been blown out by a midnight gust, and he had shivered all night. Brent awoke and gathered up his supplies. He had to find some food, and fast. Luckily, there was a bush of wild blackberries near his camp. But Brent knew better. He had brought a small book that told which kinds of forest foliage was poisonous and which were not. He flipped through the book and found that his suspicion was confirmed. They were poisonous. Brent sighed and walked on. Suddenly, he heard a train horn in the distance. He ran toward the sound and saw a train rushing by through the trees. Brent watched as the large freight train travelling into the distance, leaving the forest silent. Brent walked out onto the tracks and decided to walk down them, hopefully he’d be able to find a town. So he walked, looking behind his back.

Balto and Ginger heard the horn too. Balto’s hope perked up. He knew Brent loved trains, which meant that he might walk towards the sound. Balto turned to Rapatior and asked, ‘’is there any train tracks around here?’’

Rapatior nodded.

‘’Yeah, there’s a single set just east of here.’’

‘’Then let’s head east,’’ Balto said as he and Ginger jumped onto the sled and held on, ‘’I’m sure Brent’s gone toward those tracks!’’

Rapatior howled and ran forward, as did his team. Balto gripped the sled and thought, ‘’hang on pal. We’ll find you.’’

Brent stopped walking and wiped the sweat from his head. He had been walking for hours now, and still there was no sign of a station. Suddenly, he happened to turn and saw three bright lights heading his way. It was either his common sense or his fear that drove him to turn around and run. The train was gaining on him, and Brent knew he couldn’t outrun it. So he jumped off the tracks. The train burst by the post where just seconds before, Professor Brent MacWolf had been running for his life. Brent lay on the ground, holding his leg in pain as the train passed. He gritted his teeth and looked at the train. Rail Wolf poked his head out from the train and looked back.

‘’Is that,’’ he then shook his head, ‘’nah. It couldn’t be him.’’

Brent slowly got to his feet and continued down the tracks, limping as he went.

Rapatior stopped at a switch track just a ninety miles from where Brent MacWolf was almost killed. Suddenly, they heard a train horn blast three times. They looked down the tracks and saw a huge diesel locomotive coming to a stop. Rail Wolf poked his head out from the cab and jumped to the ground. Balto shook his head.

‘’Having fun, are we?’’ he asked. Rail Wolf nodded energetically.

‘’Yup. I got ‘er yesterday. Old Hartwell II’s in for repairs. This baby is quite powerful, but she’s not the same.’’

‘’Rail Wolf,’’ Ginger asked, ‘’have your seen my boyfriend?’’

‘’Brent? Nope, can’t say I have.’’ Rail Wolf answered. But then he dug into his memory.

‘’But, I did happen to come across a dog down the tracks. I nearly turned him into a rail pizza, but he managed to jump off the tracks ahead of time.’’

‘’Where was this?’’ Balto questioned. Rail Wolf pointed behind his train.

‘’About ninety miles or so back that way. I’d help, but I have to get this freight to Juneau by tomorrow. I have to go guys.’’

Balto shook Rail Wolf’s hand and watched as his friend jumped back into the diesel. He gave the horn one long blast and waved to his friends. The locomotive groaned and rolled forward, speeding up and rushing off into the distance. Balto held on as Rapatior and his pack ran the sled down the tracks. Balto turned around and watched Rail Wolf’s train disappear into the distance.

Brent sat back against a tree and munched a piece of beef jerky. He hadn’t had a decent meal for an entire day now. Good thing this jerky could last. He could space out his food, provided it wasn’t eaten first. Brent then heard a noise behind him. Turning to look, he is seized by a pair of weasel hands and pulled into the bush. Brent struggled, but was knocked unconscious when he got hit square over the head by the butt end of a scimitar.

‘’Hey kid,’’ a voice questioned, as if from afar, ‘’kid, you okay? Wake up.’’

Brent opened his eyes slowly and came face to face with a giant male grizzly. The big bear had a friendly face to him, yellow eyes and a mellow personality.

‘’Where am I?’’ Brent asked in a warbled tone. The grizzly shook his head.

‘’Kid, you’re in trouble.’’ He replied. Brent’s vision had cleared up, and he finally noticed what the bear had meant. Both were trapped in a cage made of a thick compound of bones and wood.

‘’I’m locked in a cage.’’ Brent said in shock. The bear nodded grimly.

‘’Afraid so, little buddy. And even I’m not strong enough to break this