“I’m almost certain,” Dingo replied.

“I knew it!” Balto exclaimed, also fighting back tears of joy, “He wouldn’t just leave us like that. I knew it!”

He and Jenna nuzzled each other happily.

“Wait, have you told Dusty yet?” Jenna said.

“I was just on my way there.”

“Here, we’ll come with you,” Balto interjected, stepping through the kitchen door. Jenna and Dingo followed suit.

“Oh, she’ll be so happy to hear-”

Just then, the sound of barking dogs reached the ears of the three, and their eyes lit up.

“Come on, it’s them!” Dingo cried, bursting into a run.

Rounding the corner, they saw the sled team stopping at the telegraph office, but were more than happy to run the extra distance. As they neared the team, they saw, standing at the front, a familiar red and cream husky.

“Kodi!” Jenna cried, unable to withhold her emotions any longer.

Kodi turned quickly at the call of his name, and flashed a smile when he saw the three approaching.

“Hey guys,” he said, a moment before Jenna reached him. She nearly knocked him over, wrapping her front paws quickly around his neck and nuzzling him.

“Kodi,” she said, “I’m so happy to see you.”

“So I gathered,” he replied, a bit taken aback at this sudden outburst of affection, “I didn’t think I’d be this missed.” Jenna dropped back to her paws and stood before him, eyes still brimming with tears.

“You don’t understand,” Balto replied, skidding to a halt in front of him, “We all thought you were dead!”

Kodi’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wh-What?”

“I’ll tell you more later, Kodi,” Dingo insisted, “You have to see Dusty. She thinks you’re dead, too.”

Just then, the musher walked up and without a word unhitched Kodi and the rest of the sled team.

“Come on,” Kodi said, “I can’t bear the thought of Dusty like that. I’ve got to set this right.”

A few moments later, Kodi, Dingo, Balto, and Jenna arrived at Dusty’s shed to find the door ajar. Kodi looked in and was stunned to find, not Dusty, but Saba, laying on the floor and playing with the pups.

“Saba?”

Saba’s ears shot up and she looked up at him in shock.

“Kodi? Oh my God, Kodi!”

She leapt to her paws and nuzzled her brother lovingly. When she stepped back, Kodi saw tears in her eyes.

“We all thought you were dead,” she sobbed happily.

“So I’ve heard,” Kodi replied, bending down to nuzzle each of his pups, “Just who put that in your heads?”

Everyone else looked at one another, all undoubtedly thinking the same thing: Who did tell us that? Suddenly, Jenna spoke up.

“I know who it was. Yesterday, this new dog came to town; I think his name was Seth…”

“Never mind that now,” Kodi said, “Sorry, mother, but I have to find Dusty.”

“Why not wait here?” Saba suggested, “She’s sure to come back. She’d never leave her pups for more that a minute or two, even while they’re sleeping.”

“Speaking of which, why were you here?” Kodi inquired.

“Well, I was passing by when I noticed the door was open,” explained Saba, “So I went in, and sure enough, she wasn’t here. Then these three woke up, so I decided to stay and watch them.”

“Alright, thanks for doing that,” Kodi said, lying down near his children, “I’ll take over from here.”

 

 

In the forest north of Nome, Seth looked down at the grey-brown husky who lay slumped at his feet. Dusty had never seen the blow coming from behind. He shook his paw to rid himself of the numbness that had come over it temporarily. Beside him, the same black husky followed his gaze.

“Dog almighty she’s hot,” he said chuckling, “You hit her pretty hard.” He paused, and his eyes flashed with a spark of sick intelligence. “Do you think she’d remember us if we…”

“Don’t even worry your sick little head about it,” Seth replied, “You’re not getting any closer to her.”

“What?” the black husky replied innocently, “I was just saying that… Look, she’s coming out of it.”

Dusty moaned and opened her eyes the slightest bit. The first thing she saw was Seth.

“Who are you?” she murmured groggily.

Seth and the black husky looked at each other in astonishment.

“Dusty, my name is Seth, do you remember me?”

Dusty opened her eyes a little wider and studied his face. She slowly shook her head.

“I don’t remember seeing you before in my life.”

“Well, you ought to,” Seth said in a mock concerned tone, “I’m your mate.”

 

 

Chapter Three

 

Kodi looked up and smiled when he saw Dusty at the door, but as she approached him, his smile faded.

"Dusty," he said, "What's the matter? You look..." Before he could finish his sentence, he was sent to the floor by the force of her blow. Dusty shook her paw for a moment to renew the blood flow.

"Angry? Do I look angry to you? 'Cause you haven't seen me angry!" Kodi ignored the taste of blood in his mouth and looked up at her.

"What are you doing, Dusty? It's me, Kodi."

"I know it's you, you back-stabbing traitor!" Kodi felt as though he'd been shot.

"What?" he said, his confusion evident in his tone, "Dusty, what are you talking about?" She just glared at him. “What’s going on here?"

“You’re going to regret what you did to me,” Dusty growled, “You’re lucky I didn’t get pregnant, or I’d have to kill you.”

“Dusty, what are you talking about?” Kodi demanded padding toward her, “What’s gotten into you? It’s like you don’t know me!” Just then, he noticed a bruise on the back of her head. “What happened to you? You’ve got a bruise here.”

He reached out to examine the bruise, but Dusty swatted his paw away and snapped at him.

“You would know, you traitor, you’re the one who hit me!”

Kodi stepped back and thought long and hard. Suddenly, the answer hit him: Dusty’s strange behavior and the bump on her head were connected.

“Dusty, you’ve lost your memory, you must have,” he insisted.

"I haven’t, I guarantee you."

"Then who are my parents?"

"Balto and Jenna."

"What did I say when I ran into you for the first time?"

"That you loved me."

Kodi grinned.

"Wrong. I was too embarrassed to speak." Dusty stopped glaring, and he could hear her muttering,

"Wait, no...That’s...that's not right...wait..." Just then, she fell against the door frame as every one of her implanted memories fell out of place. Nothing made sense to her, so her conscious erased the fragments. She cried out, covering her eyes with her paws. Alarmed, Kodi ran up to her.

"Dusty, are you alright?" She looked back at him in stark terror.

"Who are you?' she said, "Get away from me!" Kodi jumped back in surprise as she got to her paws. He took a hesitant step forward, but she quickly stepped back into the street.

"Dusty, it's me, Kodi."

"I don't know you, get away. Get away from me." Kodi could only watch in disbelief. He had never seen Dusty like this. She looked completely terrified of him and everything around her.

"Dusty..."

"Stay back!" she screamed, turning and running flat out down the street, "Get away from me!"

Kodi stood in shock of what had just happened for a moment, but it was only a moment. A moment after that, he sprinted after her.

As they ran through Nome, Kodi did his best to ignore the stares of passing dog citizens. Turning his attention back toward Dusty’s fleeing form and found to his dismay that, little by little, she was pulling away from him.

This is what happens when you run flat out coming into town, you lummox, Kodi reprimanded himself, Put those flimsy legs of yours to work! You did it before; do it again! Kodi’s legs pumped harder than ever as he struggled to close the distance between Dusty and himself. Slowly, his efforts began to pay off. Up ahead, Dusty’s paws began to slow, kicking up smaller and smaller puffs of snow. Just like always, Kodi thought with a smile, she’ll beat me in a short sprint, but after a minute or so, her legs give out.

Dusty looked back toward him, and her eyes widened as he drew ever closer. In desperation, she tried to coax her legs into full sprint again, but the attempt only sapped away more of her energy, and she slowed further. By now, her tail was within Kodi’s reach.

“Dusty!” he huffed, “You have…to listen to me!”

“Get away from me!” she panted, her breaths becoming quick short gasps.

Just then, she spotted an old trawler beached long ago on a hill overlooking the ocean. She saw a place of refuge inside, and turned toward it. As she bounded up the creaky plank, she heard and felt the rotting planks creak and finally snap just as she stepped onto the deck. Kodi skidded to a halt below, looked up at her, and began circling the

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