her. Dusty slowly turned around and screamed, for there, crawling toward her in a river of his own blood, was Kodi. His eyes held a silent pleading, but she never noticed it, because she couldn’t tear her eyes from the rest of him.

His throat and chest were drenched in blood, which flowed freely from bite wounds up and down his neck. As he neared her, he tried to raise himself up on one paw, but it was far too weak and he collapsed with a yelp of pain. Dusty ran up to him and lay down by his side.

“Oh my God, no! Kodi!” She nuzzled him as tears began to fall from her eyes. “We’ve got to get you to the hospital!” She looked around quickly, but there was no one in sight. “I’ll get Doc.” She stood up and nuzzled him. “Don’t you dare die on me.” With that, she ran back towards Nome, her legs kicking up little puffs of snow as she went.

Meanwhile, a brown female appeared from behind a hill and walked slowly up to Kodi. He looked up at her out of the corner of his eye, still panting, and stammered,

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” Jade grinned and laughed.

“No, but I am going to get your girlfriend before she brings anyone else out here.” She started to walk away, and prepared to burst into a run, but before she could, Kodi was on her, pressing her into the ground with what little strength he had left.

“Don’t you lay a paw on her, or I’ll make sure you never rest in peace.” His voice began to waver. “And if I die, I’ll haunt you…till Judgment Day. I’ll… I’ll…” He moaned and fell off of her, rolling down the hill to come to a stop at the bottom. Jade stood and gazed at him in awe. Feeling the fresh blood, his blood, on her back, she kept looking at him for a long moment, and then she turned and ran into the forest. A few moments later, Dusty arrived with Kaltag and Balto. They lifted Kodi on Balto’s back and turned back toward Nome.

Later, as the sun began to descend in the Artic sky, Balto was walking down the street, on his way back from the hospital. He ran into Kaltag and Nikki, who both asked how his sons are doing. Balto replied that thanks to the doctor’s work and Aniu’s blessing, it looked like they would both live. As the threesome turned into the boiler room, a shadowy figure who had been secretly listening turned and went the other direction, toward the hospital.

A window the nurse had left open for air provided easy access to the operating room, and the doctor and nurse had closed the door to let their patients sleep in peace. Dingo and Kodi each lay on a cot, bandages wrapped around their wounds. The stealthy figure stepped forward and walked in between their cots, her brown fur clean and shimmering in the light. She looked first at Kodi, who looked back at her with no expression on his face. To his surprise, she leaned down and kissed him.

“Thank you, Kodi,” she said sweetly, “You reminded me what love is. I’m sorry you’re so hurt.” She bowed her head. “I couldn’t control my demons, but now they’re gone forever.” She smiled. “Thank you Kodi, for giving me back my life.” Kodi’s head began to nod back and forth, and then it cam to rest on the pillow. He was fast asleep, but Dingo, on whom the morphine had not yet taken effect, looked up at her with fearful eyes when she turned to face him. She smiled at him, leaned down, and nuzzled him. As she did she kissed him gently on the cheek. When she was finished, she bowed her head again. “Dingo, I… I’m terribly sorry for what I did…to you. You probably don’t trust me as far as you can throw me now, and I don’t blame you.” She raised her head and looked at him as tears filled her eyes. “But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find someone to love me as much as you did.” She leaned down and kissed him again. “Thank you. The time we had together was wonderful. I love you.” She put her paws on the window sill and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Bye.” With that, she climbed out of the window and disappeared into the forest.

The next day, both brothers awoke to a joyful crowd around them. Jenna hugged her sons tight and kissed them each on the forehead. Dingo remembered Jade coming, but swore it was a dream. Dingo, however, was certain that what he’d heard and felt were real. Instead of telling his parents, he kept it a secret.

“As far as I’m concerned,” he said, “she’s gone.”

As the weeks went by, both Dingo and Kodi had their bandages removed and eventually healed to their normal conditions. Kodi and Dusty continued to raise their pups happily, and Balto and Jenna did the same. Dingo was beginning to feel depressed when a new family moved into Nome, bringing a beautiful brown and tan Siberian husky. He offered to show her around Nome and a few days later they went on their first date, and the next night, Sylvie and Dixie saw them kiss. There was no question in anyone’s mind that they were in love.

Meanwhile, sled teams spread the news of Jade’s disappearance all over Alaska. At one point, a search team was sent out to find her and bring her back to Nome for a proper trial. After two days, the search was called off. ‘Vanished and presumed dead,’ was Doc’s declaration, and the whole town accepted it. The remains of ‘Bloody Jade’ were never found.

A month later, a female of similar coat color entered Fairbanks and immediately caught the eye of the lead sled dog in town. After kindly offering her a place to stay, he asked her out on a date and she accepted. When he asked her name, after a moment of hesitation she replied,

“Rose.”

The End

Balto, Jenna, Dingo, Kodi, Doc, Star, Nikki, Kaltag, and Rosie are all copyright to Universal Pictures.

‘Bloody Jade’ and this story are the property of Lone Wolf_fanwriter (me). Please do not reproduce, copy, or alter this piece without my explicit permission.