before they came to the cage once again.  Before them in the cage was no wolf, but a torn, ragged lump of fur at the floor of the metal bars.  His tail was curled between his legs and his head was not visible under his paws, or whatever parts of those paws that remained intact.  His ears slowly pointed towards the oncoming wolf dogs and a shallow sigh escaped his throat.  “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered in a now raspy and hurtful tone.  “I thought I was going to…well, I guess I am anyways.”

          “No you won’t!” shouted Ember.  “Don’t give up yet!  We still have three days to get you out.  We’ll get you out, just wait and see!”

          The wolf lifted his head to speak, but closed his mouth tight.  He was in no mood to argue, so instead of doing so, he licked his stinging wounds.

          “Well, I’ll see what help I can be right now,” said Balto as he once again looked at the cage and the surrounding area for any possible way to free the unnamed wolf.  As he trotted around, he came upon a piece of lumber most likely torn off from a fence.  He then looked at the lock on the front of the cage and said, “I have an idea.  Ember, help me get this piece of wood over to the lock.”

          Ember padded over to her father and proceeded to lift the piece of wood onto her and her father’s backs.  They then carried it over to the front lock and stood it up a few feet away from the cage.  Balto aimed the wood steadily and carefully, and pushed it down onto the padlock. 

          It came down with a crash loud enough to make one’s heart skip a beat if not weary, yet the lock stood firm and the threesome’s hopes sank low.  Balto shrugged in frustration and lifted the wood back up again.  Once more, he pushed it down and hit his target, but the metal would not snap or break in any way.

          As the second attempt failed miserably, the wolf began to ponder another way to escape, but was soon interrupted by an angry voice coming from inside the hunter’s den.  Both came out and looked upon the two canines outside the cage with flaming eyes.

          One shouted, “Listen ‘ere you two!  Don’t come anywhere near this wolf!  If it gets out that beast will likely rip your bones clean, so get!  C’mon, shoo!”

          Hesitantly, Ember and Balto ran away from the two angry men and went into a small alley not far from the cage.  They peeked around the corner just in time to see the other hunter curse the wolf and kick the cage, throwing their friend around inside and reopening his wounds with a sickening rip.  He lay there motionless until he looked up again and saw Balto frowning upon the hunters’ acts, and Ember nearly brought to tears by their cruelty.

          The wolf began, “Just come back tomorrow.  I’ll be okay until then.”

          “But we can’t just leave you like that!” protested a distraught Ember.  If they come back again-“

          “I said I’ll be okay until the next time you come back,” the wolf interrupted.  “I might think of something by then.  Just…go.”  With that the wolf turned his back to them and lied down to try to get some sleep.

          Ember looked at her father for any other ways to allow them to stay, but he just shook his head.  “He’s right.  The guy needs his rest for now.  Tomorrow, we’ll come back…with some more help.”

Chapter 3

          Ember walked towards the open door of the boiler room, where she had told her two brothers to meet her at around noon.  As she walked inside, she saw the two betting on each other’s bones as usual in various games and races, some of which involved hitting on at least ten girls in one hour.  “Boys will be boys,” she thought.

          The two noticed their sister’s arrival and quickly stored their winnings for later.  As she came up, Riko said, “Okay, we’re here.  What’s up?”

          “Do you remember that wolf that we saw a few days ago up on Dad’s boat?  It’s about him.”

          Riko and Turu looked at each other for a moment, and immediately wiped off their game faces and became serious.  The bones didn’t matter anymore; a life was at risk.

          “So you met him?” asked Turu.  When Ember nodded, he asked, “So, what’s going on with him?”

          Ember squatted down and, to her siblings’ surprise, looked sad.  The only time she was ever sad was every so often when the three were punished as pups.  It took something extremely harsh to get someone like her to be sad; this was one of those situations.

          “Well,” she began, “I met up with him later that day….and at first…we started off on the wrong note.  It must have been because he was so confused.  I saw that he was lightly bandaged on one of his paws, and I think he was shot around there.  Not long after, Dad showed up and asked what his name was, but he didn’t know.”

          “Wha—wait a second there Ember,” said Riko.  “What do you mean he didn’t know?”

          “Well he…he just didn’t know.  I was as surprised as you guys, but when I went behind him, I saw the back of his head was bloody and…just sick.  He must have hit it on something or the hunters hit him.  We think that’s the reason why he’s lost his memory.”

          The two listeners pondered this new information for a few seconds, then Ember began again, “We tried to get him out, but we haven’t been able to make many attempts on anything so far.  Plus, we’re on a time limit.”  She did not wait for her brothers to reply, and continued.  “The hunters are putting him on public display for a few days, to be ridiculed and beaten, then…they’re going to kill him.”

          Riko and Turu seemed to be frozen in time, but the message was clear: they needed to help the wolf out.

          “Do you have any ideas on how to get him out?” asked Turu.

          “Not yet but….wait…”  Ember looked a little bit closer at Turu, and saw something.  “Stay right there for a second, Turu.”  She backed up a ways until she was almost at the door, then she said, “You know, you look almost exactly like him from a distance.  The only difference is your eyes.”

          Turu looked over his brown fur, trying to think of what his sister was conjuring in her mind.  Then he realized it.  “Are you saying you want to use me as bait?”  When Ember nodded, he nearly fainted.  The thought of being chased around Nome by two crazed hunters with guns was a bit overwhelming.

          “Please, Turu?  Do this for him.  All you have to do is get them a little ways away from the cage, let them catch you, and once they realize that you’re not him, they’ll let you go.  By that time, it will have given me and some others enough time to get his cage somewhere else, like Dad’s boat.  What do you say?”

          He pondered for a minute, but then asked, “Who will help you with the cage?”

          “Well, I’m sure Mom and Dad will help, and will you help me Riko?”  He nodded his head eagerly, and Ember continued, “All we need now is you.  Please Turu?”

            He stared at the ceiling weighing his pros and cons: risking his life for a wolf he didn’t even know, but doing the right thing, or letting him die and living a long life.

          He knew his answer.

          “Alright then, I’ll do it!  When are we going to execute our plan?”

          “How about tonight?  He doesn’t have all the time in the world, so sooner is much better than later.”

          The three all agreed to it, and Riko and Turu ran off to find their parents, while Ember went to see to the captured wolf.

*************

          The wolf woke once again from another painful rest, while still searching for the lost remnants of his past.  “Still nothing,” he said to himself.  He had two priorities; escape and regaining his memory, and the combination of the two made his head pound.  One without the other was hard enough to concentrate on.

          He paused for a second to wake up completely and prepare for what would most likely be another