I’ll be fine. Just keep running!”

 

But Dingo was lying. He wasn’t really doing fine. Each step seemed to be more and more painful. He kept going more and more slowly until the team was at a walking pace and had to struggle just to keep the sled going. Dingo was panting heavily and the others on the team were getting worried about him.

 

“Maybe we should stop and rest,” Sam yelled.

 

“No, we have to keep going no matter what,” Dingo shouted back weakly. “Remember?”

 

The dogs kept going at the painfully slow pace for about half an hour. Then Dingo stumbled and almost fell down. Now the dogs were extremely worried.

 

Matt, instead of trying to get Dingo to stop like Sam had, urged him on. “Come on, Dingo!” he called out. “Do it for Liko!”

 

That did it. The mere mention of Liko’s name was too much for Dingo to handle. “I…can’t…do it…” Dingo muttered. Then he stumbled once again and fell.

 

Kodi immediately ran to his brother and worriedly checked to see if he was okay. “He’s out cold,” he said anxiously. “I can’t tell if he’s dead or not, though…”

 

The musher walked up to Dingo and felt for a pulse. “I don’t think he’s dead,” he muttered, mostly to himself because he didn’t know that the dogs understood what he was saying. “Hopefully he’s just unconscious…I should unhook him and let him get some rest anyway.”

 

Then the musher unhooked each of the dogs on the team from the sled. They all ran over to Dingo as soon as they could, but soon they stopped because Kodi told them to keep a few feet away from their leader so he could have room. 

After making sure that everyone was a safe distance away from Dingo, Kodi walked away from the others and buried his face in his paws. ‘This is all my fault,’ he said. ‘I should’ve known that this was going to happen. I guess we all forgot about Dingo’s heart problems…’

 

Kodi felt completely miserable. Dingo was possibly dead, and Kodi could have prevented his death. But, then again, they weren’t sure that Dingo was dead. But Kodi was so depressed that he found it hard to look at the bright side of anything.

 

Things had never looked worse for the sled team than they did now. After getting this close to Nome, everything just fell apart. Would they be able to pick up the pieces and get it together again in time?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 18

 

It was the next day, and the storm had miraculously cleared up completely. Kodi had tried to sleep during the night, but he was too anxious that he stayed awake. Now the sun had just risen, and Kodi was standing over Dingo’s unconscious body.

 

“Please let him be alive…” he muttered, closing his eyes to keep back the tears that he knew would come if he discovered that his brother had died. “Please…”

 

When Kodi opened his eyes, he jumped for joy. Dingo was stirring in his sleep! He was alive! “Guys, wake up!” Kodi yelled, more excited than he had ever been in his life. “Dingo is alive! He’s alive!”

 

Matteo and Sam were the first to get up and run over to the two brothers. Dingo opened his eyes to see his friends leaning over him. “Um…what’s going on?” he asked nervously.

 

Kodi embraced his brother and cried in joy. “You’re alive, Dingo, you’re alive!” he shouted.

 

Dingo gave Kodi a weird look. “Uh…yeah, I’m alive…” he said, sounding puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“You fainted while we were running yesterday,” Sam said. “We were afraid you were dead! But now we know that you’re alive and well, and we couldn’t be happier.” He grinned.

 

The other dogs were glad to see that Dingo was alive, too. After all the excitement was over, Dingo looked around and smiled. “Well, what are we waiting for?” he asked. “Let’s get racing!”

 

Matt’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?” he said. “Maybe you should wait a little longer before you start running again…you might faint again!”

 

Dingo shrugged. “We’ll just have to hope that doesn’t happen,” he said. “Come on, guys, we’re this close to Nome. Don’t you want to get back home?” All of the dogs reluctantly nodded. “Well, let’s get going then!”

 

Sam watched his friend and leader as he was walking away to wake up the musher. Dingo was definitely an amazing dog…he hadn’t let anything stop him, even an incident that almost cost him his life.

 

A few minutes later, all of the dogs on the team were once again hooked up to the sled, and Kodi and the others were beside the team. With Dingo’s recovery and the storm having disappeared, the dogs were more eager and energetic than ever.

 

As they started to run again, Dingo yelled, “We might make it back to Nome today, guys! Just keep that in mind and run at your top speed!”

 

That day was the high point of the entire race for the Nome sled team. Their fearless leader was back in action, and they were only a day away from home. Once again, the team had gone from their lowest point to their highest. And all they had to do now was keep it up until they got back to Nome.

 

The end of their journey was getting closer by the minute…

 

-----

 

Saba was on the city limits of Nome, standing right next to the finish line for the race. She was feeling more anxious than ever, but there was a growing joy and excitement she could also feel inside her. Liko, who had been pacing around the town, also nervous, walked up to her. “What are you doing way out here?” Liko asked. “The storm may be over, but it’s still pretty chilly out here.” She shivered. “Maybe we should go inside the boiler room instead of waiting out here.”

 

Saba smiled but shook her head. “I know it probably sounds weird, but I just have this feeling that the team is going to make it back today. And if they do, I want to be the first one to welcome them back.”

 

Liko shrugged. “I guess I’ll stay out here with you, then,” she said. She sat down next to Saba and stared off into the distance. “I hope this feeling of yours turns out being true. I don’t think I could make it one more day without Dingo…I miss him so much…”

 

Saba put a foreleg around Liko’s shoulders. “I know how you feel,” she said. “Just don’t worry too much about the wait. Just think about how happy you two will be as soon after he gets back.”

 

Liko lay down and sighed. “Who knows how long that will take?”

 

No one knew how long it would take. But all Liko and Saba could do now was wait.

 

-----

 

A few hours later the sun was about to set, and the hope of making it back to Nome that day among the sled dogs was fading with the sun’s last rays. Dingo, however, was still as optimistic as ever. “Don’t give up hope yet, guys,” he shouted back to the rest of the team as he ran. “The day isn’t over yet!”

 

The rest of the team was exhausted from running so hard, but the thought of almost being home kept them going. The sun got lower and lower, but the team pressed on.

 

Finally the sun had set and the whole area around them was covered in twilight. At last Dingo caught site of a town in the distance. “I see something!” he yelled.

 

“Is it Nome?” Sam called back anxiously.

 

Dingo squinted to get a better view of the town, and his heart skipped a beat. “It is!” he screamed. “It’s Nome! I can see Nome!” Then he tilted his head back and howled.

 

-----

 

Liko had fallen asleep by the time Saba saw the sled team in the distance and heard Dingo’s howl. “Liko, look!” she said, nudging her friend awake.

 

Liko groggily opened her eyes and slowly stood up. “What is it?”

 

“It’s a sled team!” Saba said, jumping around and barking excitedly. “I bet it’s Dingo’s team!”

 

A few people in Nome heard Saba barking and stuck their heads out of the open windows and doors of their homes. Many of them gasped when they saw the sled team in the distance. “It’s Dingo and the rest of our team!” one small child shouted from the door of his house.

 

Sandy and Jason walked out of their house and into the street, shivering because they were already in their pajamas. Sandy walked over to Saba and stroked the husky’s fur. “Is it Dingo, girl?” she asked.

 

Soon the team was close enough to Nome that it was easy to tell that the lead dog was Dingo. Now all of the spectators were even more excited, and the number of people that had come out to see what was going on had doubled. As all of the people watching cheered for the team, Jason and Sandy beamed. “That’s our boy,” Jason said

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