outside.

Duke groaned, and she turned back, and laid down beside him.

He opened his eyes.

“Oww, I’ve got a headache.”

“I thought you were killed back there,” Jenna said, nuzzling him.

He smiled.

“Me? I plan on living a while yet.”

“Why’d they do that?” Jenna asked. “It looked like they recognized you.”

Duke sighed.

“My… my past has caught up with me.”

“What?” Jenna asked.

Duke sighed again.

“Jenna, do you remember I told you I was in a little trouble?”

She nodded.

Duke looked around.

“Well, this is it.”

Jenna still looked confused.

Duke sighed again.

“Jenna, do you remember I told you my mate ran off with another dog?”

Jenna nodded.

“Well, about two months ago, the same team showed up, with the same lead dog. I know that I lost my temper but… well, he wouldn’t shut up. He kept talking about her, how great she was, and how I’d lost her… and…. I….”

He looked at the ground.

“What?” Jenna asked.

“I… I killed him.” Duke said.

Jenna’s expression changed from one of confusion to one of shock, almost fear.

“Jenna,” Duke said, “please don’t look at me like that… I… I know it was wrong, but… but I just snapped.”

Jenna didn’t say anything for a minute.

“Those are his mushers, huh?” She said.

Duke nodded.

“I… I killed him outside the sled barn, and they saw me… they tried to kill me then, but I got away, and that’s when I came here… I… I hoped they wouldn’t find me, but… I guess they did.”

He sighed.

“Jenna, I’m so sorry for getting you involved with this…”

Jenna smiled, and cut him off.

“It’s okay Duke,” she said, “if we’re going to get closer, we’ve got to face things like this together.”

He smiled.

“So… so you’re not mad, knowing that… that I’m a murderer?”

Jenna shook her head.

“…. he provoked you, and besides…”

She smiled again.

He sounds like a real jerk.”

Duke laughed, then stopped as the door was yanked open, and one of the humans stepped in.

“Look here,” the man said, “the little doggies are awake.”

He walked over to the cage, and opened it, dragging Duke and pulling him out.

Jenna tried to bite him, and actually succeeded in getting out of the cage, but the man’s friend appeared from out of nowhere,

Jenna growled at him, and he swung the bat he held in his hands as hard as he could.

An audible crack sounded, as it hit Jenna in the side of the head, right below her ear.

She dropped.

Jenna’s vision was all blurry, and she could feel blood running down the side of her face.

“Oww!” She thought.

The man walked over.

His arm was bandaged from Jenna’s earlier attack.

He stood over Jenna, and raised the bat high over his head, and then brought crashing down on her side.

Jenna yelped, and rolled over, but found that just brought more pain.

The two men grabbed her, and threw her into the cage, slamming it shut behind her.

It was several hours later when Jenna opened her eyes again.

Her head REALLY hurt now.

The pain came in sudden bursts, but when it was there, it was sharp and persistent.

Jenna wasn’t able to focus very well, her vision not exactly blurry, for she could see clearly, she just felt… dizzy.

She picked her head up a little, and her vision became so blurry she couldn’t even make out the bars in front of her face.

Jenna set her head back down, slowly, and gradually her vision returned to normal.

She sighed.

Though she had tried to appear strong for Duke, she was scared. She didn’t want to die.

She sighed again, as she realized that possibility was pretty good.

As she thought of this, her thoughts drifted for some reason, inexplicably to her, to Balto.

She really didn’t know what to think of him.

She still loved him, she’d realized that when she’d been staring down that barrel.

She found it amazing how much you thought of when one thought she was dead.

Amazingly, though she had thought of her kids first, the second, and last thing was Balto.

She had been angry, and now that she thought about it, though she’d told herself that she had done what her mother had suggested, and thought with her heart, she realized now that her mind had fooled her.

It took thinking she was dead for her to truly think with her heart.

She sighed.

She’d really backed herself into a corner.

She knew now that she wanted to be with Balto, but…

…would he want to be with her?

She thought back to the way everyone had treated him, and decided she wouldn’t be surprised if her wasn’t even in Nome anymore. It had been almost two weeks since she’d seen him.

Then there was Duke.

What could she tell him?

She liked him too….

Jenna decided she was caught between a rock and a hard place.

She sighed again, and heard the door squeak open.

She shivered a little, at the thought of the men returning.

Unless they tried to hurt her, she wouldn’t fight them again, it hurt too much.

She hurt too much.

A gray dog peeked through the door.

Jenna’s pulse raced, and her heart jumped into her throat, for the second time that day.

“Jenna!” Balto said.

A smile crossed his face and he ran over to the cage.

“It’s locked.” Jenna said.

Balto jumped up on the table beside the cage.

There was something in his mouth, but she didn’t know what it was.

He dropped it on the table.

It was a ring with a key on it.

“They’re asleep.” Balto said.

He picked the key up in his mouth and stuck it into the lock, then he hit the key with his paw.

The cage door swung open.

Jenna took a step forward, and fell on her face, rolling off the table and hitting the floor.

Balto jumped down beside her.

“Are you okay?” He said.

Then he noticed her head.

“Jenna, you’re… you’re bleeding.”

Jenna tried to laugh, but found it hurt her side.

“Yeah, well that tends to happen when you get hit in the head with a bat.”

Balto sighed.

“Jenna I…”

“Not now Balto,” Jenna said, “they’ve got Duke.”

“The German Shepard?” Balto asked.

Jenna nodded.

“Did you see him?”

Balto nodded.

He’s in another cage, but he looked pretty beat up.

“Well,” Jenna said, “after what they did to me, I’m surprised he’s alive.”

“Let’s go get him and get out of here.” Balto said.

Jenna nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Balto and Jenna walked out of the shed.

Jenna snuck up to the side of the cage.

Balto hung back, watching the sleeping men.

Duke didn’t look good at all.

Apparently the man was very fond of his baseball bat.

He roused around a bit when Jenna scratched on the door.

“Jenna?!” He said.

She nodded.

“What are you doing? How’d you get out of your cage?”

Jenna smiled.

“Balto.” She said.

“He came here for you?”

Jenna nodded, as she inserted the key, and opened the door.

It swung open, and Duke stepped out.

“Maybe things aren’t as bad as you thought.”

Jenna sighed.

“What the…”

A man’s voice said.

“Time to go!” Balto yelled.

The man woke up his friend, and reached for his rifle, the real one.

Jenna and Duke started running, then he stopped.

“Go with him.” Duke said, “I’ll meet you in a minute.”

“What?!” Jenna yelled.

“I’ve got to do something, I’ll be right back, I promise, I’ll meet you by the shed over there.”

A shot sounded, and snow kicked up to Jenna’s right.

“Jenna, NOW!” Balto yelled.

“Alright,” she said, “but hurry.”

He nodded, then turned, and was gone.

Bullets kicked up snow all around her, as the man’s friend joined in the shooting.

Jenna ran to Balto.

The two of them ran to the shed, the bullets growing closer to them with each step.

Finally, they stopped behind the shed.

They were breathing hard.

“Jenna,” Balto said, “I just want you to know, when…”

He sighed and looked at the snow.

“When I thought you were dead, I… I realized that without you I’m nothing, worse than nothing… Jen, I’m lost.”

He looked back up at her.

“I love you so much Jen.”

Jenna didn’t do anything for a minute, but then she nodded.

Balto’s expression brightened visibly.

“Does… does that mean…”

Another shot cut him off, as it thunked into the shed.

Jenna turned to Balto.

“Let’s just worry about surviving this now, we’ll worry about everything else later.”

Balto nodded, and Duke ran around the shed to them.

They heard barking.

Jenna saw about thirty dogs running away from the camp.

“They don’t have a team to mistreat now.”

Jenna smiled.

“Let’s go.” Balto said.

The three dogs ran from the shed.

Shots cracked all around them.

Balto was in front, and was