town," Balto responded. "I was outside his parent's house when they were shown it and couldn't help but overhear the whole thing. When I went over to his house, I found a broken window. Someone also threw a rock with a 'Get out of town or die!' note attached." "That is so wrong," said Dusty, shaking her head in disgust. "Yeah!" added Kodi. "That's disgraceful!" "Disgusting!" put in Ralph. "Disturbing!" finished Kirby. They all agreed. Even if they only knew him as the lead singer for Lapp Attack, this was still an absolute shocker to them. "Do his band mates know?" asked Kodi. "If they don't know by now, they probably will by day's end," replied Balto. He then headed up to his boat, which by now was more like his private retreat, for some time by himself.
Keith, Colin, and Ryan were absolutely mind-blown when they found out about what happened to Kaj in the alley outside the club. Even more so when he showed them the note that Mika left. Now they were without a frontman, and their lead guitarist had suffered some damage to his vocal chords, so he couldn't sing. "What are we going to do now?" asked Colin, who was every bit as angry as Kaj and David had been. "We have to go on hiatus for right now," said Ryan. "Possibly find a new singer." "But who?" asked Keith. "Who could ever replace Mika?" "I don't know," Colin answered back. "I just don't know." "I just hope he's okay out there," said Kaj. "Of course, with all the time he spends  outdoors, I'm sure he'll do fine."
Balto hadn't gotten rid of his night terrors by that night. He still tossed and turned in his sleep, desperately trying to outrun the shadowy nemesis and alert Nome to the impending danger. This time, Mika was also in danger, and Balto was desperate to help his newfound Finnish friend. But as usual, before he found out their identity, the dream came to an abrupt end, as usual. After going back to sleep, another dream began. This one, however, was different. Balto was now getting a message from his late mother, Aniu. The dream was a warning of just how serious the danger these outsiders posed to Nome was. The end result showed Nome as though it had been burned to the ground. This ghastly scenario left Balto extremely terrified, more so than he had ever been before. He woke a few seconds later, but he wasn't in bed. He was all huddled up on the bathroom floor. Jenna had rushed in, hearing his desperate cries for help. "Again with the nightmares?" she asked. "Unfortunately, yes," Balto replied. "This one's more like a night terror." "Really?" Jenna asked again, really sounding worried. "This is six nights in a row." "Yes, I know," Balto responded. "I also got a message from my mother showing what those creeps might do to Nome if they ever get here. All I could see was this town left in ruins as if it had been burned to the ground." "Burned to the ground?" Jenna asked. "Are you serious?" "I'm just telling you what I saw," said Balto. "Mika was also in danger this time. I don't know what happened to him in the dream, but I fear if these events prove to be true, he really could be in grave danger." Balto lowered his head and shook it in discouragement. "I wish I knew what I was dealing with, Jenna," he said. "Then I know that I could do something." "I'm sure you'll find the answer one way or another," said Jenna reassuringly. "Even if you have to go out and look for it, I'm sure you'll find out. Now come on, let's get you out of the bathroom." "OK, then," said Balto as he followed Jenna back to their bed.
Mika was still okay so far. He found a cave to spend the night in and slept near the entrance. By morning, he was rested and refreshed, ready to continue his journey. The ocean view that faced the exit of the cave was amazing. Mika had never seen anything like it. "Whoa!" he said in an excited manner as he ran toward the coast. "Man, that's incredible. I never got a view like this back home in Kokkola." Pulling out his Leica camera, he took a few pictures of the panoramic view before continuing.
Balto was also well rested by the time morning came around. He had already been informed that Boris, Stella, Muk and Luk had agreed to join him on his search. Mika's dad would also go looking after making a scheduled supply run to a nearby mine. Before leaving to start his search, he had to say goodbye to Jenna. Just in case he didn't make it back. "You know," Jenna said as if trying to convince her mate that he didn't have to go through with this, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to." "Look," said Balto, "I know you're worried about me. But I've done this before and have always made it back. I can do it again." "You be careful out there," said Jenna as she nuzzled Balto's right cheek. "I will be," said Balto, nuzzling Jenna back and putting his front paws around her in a hug. She eventually did likewise. "I love you, Jenna," said Balto. "I love you too, Balto," Jenna said back. They then kissed briefly before Balto took off. Jenna stood there watching until he was out of sight. Then she went back inside her dwelling.
Will Balto catch up to Mika? Will he find what the mysterious shadow threat is? Find out in Chapter 5: The Accident.

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