couldn’t have known.”

“Even so, I feel guilty. But I think I can make it up to you.”

“Excuse me?” Jenna said, more than a bit confused.

“Your father’s alive.”

Ben’s blunt statement left both Jenna and Balto in shocked silence for a moment.

“W-what?” Jenna said softly, her voice trembling.

“He was living on the outskirts of Fairbanks when we found him, and when we asked around we heard he’d been as far as Juneau. Now he’s being kept under surveillance in Applegate.”

“Surveillance!” Jenna burst out, “Why hasn’t he been arrested yet?”

“We couldn’t arrest him even if we wanted to,” Ben defended.

“Why not? Didn’t Ryan believe you?”

“Oh, he believed me, but my testimony wasn’t enough,” Ben said, shaking his head, “In Applegate, we are required to have two witnesses or concrete evidence to even put someone on trial, and with you gone and nothing left of the shed…”

“But what about Henry’s body?”

“It was never found,” Ben said sadly, “The poor guy; we haven’t found even the slightest trace of him in four years.”

Jenna sighed.

“He’s thought of everything.”

“…Except you,” Ben finished, showing a hint of a smile, “If you were to come back to Applegate and testify to Ryan, we’d have enough to try your father, and likely condemn him.”

Jenna gave a start and cast her eyes down, deep in thought.

Balto leaned closer.

“Jenna…?”

“I’m going,” she said finally.

“Then I’m coming with you,” Balto replied.

“Fantastic,” Ben replied, “My sled team will be heading back within the hour.”

“Then we’ll head out now,” Jenna said, “Just to be sure we’re there when you arrive.”

“A sound plan,” Ben agreed.

All three stood up.

“Then we’ll see you in there,” Balto said with a nod.

Chapter Three- Return to Applegate

By the time Balto and Jenna arrived in Applegate, the sun was sinking below the tops of the trees. Sunset was not far off, but neither of the weary travelers really cared. Before long, they spotted the hospital, and the boiler room beside it. Shaking the snow off their coats, they padded inside and lay down next to the boiler.

“I wonder if Ben’s team is here yet,” Jenna panted, curling up against her loving mate.

“It didn’t look like they were back, but he’ll find us when they get here,” Balto replied, nuzzling Jenna, “For now, let’s just rest and warm up.”

Before long, they fell fast asleep.

Down the street, two dogs stepped up onto the porch next to the general store and it’s little shed. One of them was a black dog with a brown muzzle.

“Felipe, you’ll have the first watch tonight,” he said, “Remember, he’s not to leave the shed after sundown. If he does, you can find me in the boiler room.”

The other dog, a younger grey husky, nodded.

“I won’t let you down, Ryan.”

“I know you won’t, Felipe,” Ryan replied with a smile as he walked away, “I’ll send someone to relieve you around midnight.”

Jenna’s slumber didn’t last very long; her dreams were twisting into nightmares echoing with the screams of her mother and her father’s angry snarl. She woke with a start in a cold sweat and looked around to convince herself that this was the real world and not a dream she was going to wake up from. Her eyes finally rested on Balto.

I hope you know how much I love you, Balto, she thought, nuzzling him gently, I’d be nothing without you… She stood up. But this is something I have to do myself.

With that, she padded out into the town.

As she moved thru the empty streets, she took notice of how little the town had changed in the time she’d been gone. The only difference was the little shed next to the general store had been rebuilt, and the faint glow of the boiler showed from across the street. She hardly realized that she was drawn toward it like a magnet of sorts; even less did she notice the young grey husky asleep on the porch of a home next to the shed. Without a second thought, she padded into the alley and went inside.

A tan husky with a black muzzle lay curled up in the middle of the floor, and his ears perked up at the sound of her paws on the floor.

“Who are you?” he inquired without turning his head, “And why are you here?”

“I’m just here to settle our past, papa,” Jenna replied calmly.

On the other side of town, the sled team was just being un-hitched for the night. One of the lead dogs, sporting a black eye patch over his left eye, quickly said his good-nights to the team and hurried off into town. A few moments later he arrived at his destination: a small home not far from the hospital. Though only the upstairs windows were lit up, he scratched on the door, and few moments later a black husky with a brown muzzle stepped through the flap in the door.

“Ben, what a surprise,” he said, “What brings you here?”

“I found our second witness, Ryan.”

Ryan cocked his head.

“Beg pardon?”

“Do you remember Jenna’s father, Mike?”

Ryan’s eyes widened in understanding.

“Of course! We could never prove your claim,” he said, “And his time under surveillance is almost up. But who is the second witness?”

“Jenna herself,” Ben replied with a smile, “C’mon, I’ll take you to where I’m sure they’ll be.”

A short while later, Balto woke to the sound of voices drawing near, and sat up just as Ben, accompanied by a black husky with a brown muzzle, walked into the boiler room. He hardly noticed them, though; he was more concerned with who wasn’t there than who was.

“Balto,” said Ben, finally stopping to glance around, “Where’s Jenna?”

Balto felt his heart sink as he shook his head.

“Ben, what’s going on?” asked the black and brown husky.

“Ryan, meet Balto,” Ben replied.

“Balto? You mean the Balto? The one who saved all those kids out in Nome?”

“That’s me,” Balto replied, “Ben, the shed that burned down, did they rebuild it?”

“Yes, but what does that… That’s where Mike is being held.”

“Then that’s where she’ll be headed,” Balto exclaimed, bolting out the door with Ben and Ryan close behind, “Your second witness is walking right into a murderer’s lap!”

“You know, I wasn’t sure what I’d think when I saw you again,” Jenna said, eyeing her father closely, “But I’ve never forgotten what you did.”

Her father stood and padded a few steps toward her.

“Well, it’s good to see you again, too,” he said sarcastically, “My how you’ve grown.”

Jenna said nothing, only fixed her cold stare at him.

“Look Jenna, your mother…”

“My mother was innocent; as pure and untainted as the snow,” Jenna snapped, “And though you beat her every night, for the longest time she still loved you. Do you understand me? She still loved you!”

The next instant, Mike belted her hard across the face, barely missing her eye with his claws.

“You don’t know a thing about love!” he snapped, padding dangerously close. “But by tonight’s end, you will know respect for your father, one way or another.”

His next blow knocked her off her paws. As she lay curled up on the floor, he padded over to her and forced her to look him in the eyes.

“Why did you come back here?” he inquired. “What do you think of me?”

Jenna squirmed in his grasp.

“I think you’re a b******,” she growled, “A b****** and a murderer. You took my mother away from me.”

She spat in his face.

He hit her hard on the muzzle, snapping her head to the side and drawing blood. When Jenna responded by striking back, he held her down and pressed his other paw down on her throat. Jenna tried in vain to push him off as she gasped for air that was slowly being denied her.

Mike shook his head and gave a sort of smirk, but just then, the sound of approaching paws and growing voices reached his ears. He shot a glance over his shoulder and then looked back at her in rage.

“Who have you told?” he snarled.

Jenna barely heard him, and could much less respond as her vision swirled in and out of focus. She choked and gasped as he held his paw down on her throat.

Her father bared his teeth and heaved her against the wall in frustration.

She crumpled to the floor and lay still.

Just as the voices were nearly on top of him, Mike bucked onto his forelegs and kicked the door shut.

He smiled as he heard the voices rise in frustration outside and turned toward Jenna…

Balto felt the cold night air burning in his throat, drying it and making it hard for him to breath, but he kept running as though not only Jenna’s life, but his own life depended on it. And in a sense it did. Without Jenna, what would he be?

Oh, Mother, he prayed feverishly, if you’re really watching over me, hear my prayer. Protect Jenna.

Up ahead, he spotted the faint glow of light.

“That’s it!” Ben shouted.

“He’s in there,” Ryan added, “But why the hell didn’t the watch see Jenna go past?”

Balto wheeled left into the alley, passing a sleeping grey husky on the porch of the house next door.

“Your watch is asleep!” he yelled angrily.

Suddenly, as he came within a stone’s throw of the shed, the door swung shut with a bang. Balto reared onto his hind legs to keep from crashing into it and cursed violently under his breath as Ryan, Ben, and the now wide-awake watch skidded to a halt behind him.

“Is that the only way in?”

Ryan nodded grimly as he stepped up to the door.

“Mike, we know you’re in there,” he shouted, “Open the door!”

“No, I don’t think I will right now,” Mike replied, “You’ll just have to wait.”

“D*** you Mike,” Ben yelled, “Don’t you touch Jenna!”

Before Mike could respond, if perchance he wanted to, Balto cried out in frustration and rammed into the door. Though it shook from the blow, it held firm. And it withstood a second blow, and then a third. Balto reared back and rammed the door a fourth time, only to watch it rattle tauntingly on its hinges. He growled and nursed his already-aching shoulder as he angrily surveyed the only thing keeping him from Jenna.

Then