A New Kind of Hero: The True Story of Balto

A New Kind of Hero: The True Story of Balto

 

Prologue

 

On freezing cold nights, the moon is always out in one of its forms, you could see by the light a long line moving towards the city. "Nowhere, USA" people used to call it. In fact, they still do.

 

 

That long line is my sled dog team. Me? I'm the leader of the huskies. I've been it for almost a year now. And i've been running ever since i was... eight months old. Every day for the past two and a half years is a different adventure. Even though it's always the same course.

 

 

We bring food and supplies to the miners not far from the city. Then we might stay for a night or less and then pack soem shiny yellow rocks onto our sled and we take it back to Nome.

 

 

Running, yeah it's tiring and sometimes a little painful at times. But in our minds, it's little more than a game. Failure is not an option. We only know how to win. Ot's been chisled into our minds ever since we started this mystical art.

 

 

 

 

Or maybe... maybe it wasn't the training... maybe it was something else. Perhaps when we were born, the Great One christened us creatures modelled for the purpose of running. Were we made to achieve victory solely for the purpose of our own mental pleasure? Well, don't ask me. I'm just a sled dog...

 

 

 

Chapter 1 Running

 

 

"Ha!" Gunnar yelled. Balto turned left and the other dogs followed.

 

 

It was going to be pleasureful to get the load of gold off the sled, Balto thought. It was beginning to strain the dogs' backs. Well, it was almost over, they just had to drop it off at the smelter and then charge back home in a free run. Then Gunnar Kaasan's team would get their well deserved rest and food.

 

 

"Hike! Hike!" Gunnar wanted to go faster and so did Balto, but he knew he couldn't push his team. But it wasonly a few blocks.

 

 

 

Balto tugged a little on the harness. The others got the hint. Balto to a quick glance at the two wheel dogs behind him: Spitz and Rusty. Spitz gave Balto a dirty look. Balto was used to getting similar looks from Spitz before but this one wasn't just the rivalry dislike/hatred. This was a more disbelief look. Rusty, who was Balto's best friend, wasn't too happy either. He groaned before increasing his speed.

 

 

 

Spitz increased his own speed and then thought about what he was doing. Spitz slowed back down to his earlier pace. Rusty pulled as hard as he could to try and match Balto's expectations for the both of them, but he wasn't strong enough. Rusty couldn't get Spitz to move any faster either. But he did keep strangling Jude, the dog behind him.

 

 

 

 

"Agh! Careful, Rust!" Jude yelled.

 

 

 

"Sorry." Rusty shouted back. It was all up to Spitz or Balto now.

 

"Dammit Spitz! Get your tail moving, now!" Balto yelled.

 

 

 

"Come back here and make me, Bucky." Spitz said.

 

 

 

Balto was too mad to hold up a raging arguement with a subordinate. Not to mention it'd be improper and at the moment, improbable. He'd deal with him later. Even though every instinct in his body screamed to turn around and sink his teeth into Spitz's jugular.

 

 

 

He turned back to the road just as Gunnar shouted, "Gee!" -right. Balto turned a corner and avoided a pedestrian in the early morning. He was seemingly unnoticing of the sled team in broad daylight and a musher screaming orders.

 

 

 

Balto pulled onto the harness. Maybe he was stronger than Spitz. If not, then just as. Spitz began to pull back now, at the speed he wanted to go. The tug of war began.

 

 

 

Another left.

 

 

Balto spotted a patch of ice up ahead, Balto used the rest of his strength to jump over the ice and pull Spitz onto it.

 

 

 

The big dog didn't see it coming and just followed his leader's path. Spitz slipped and fell onto the ground sliding for three feet before stopping in the snow. The white husky behind Spitz, Molly, miraculously kept her balance but knocked over the dog behind her, Eskimo, who also slipped after falling.

 

 

 

 

The dead weight stopped Balto from running. He would've gladly pulled Spitz through the snow, but he couldn't afford such a good wheel as Eskimo. Eskimo climbed to his feet but Spitz was tangled in the harness.

 

 

 

 

"Ah, Geez!" Gunnar jumped from the back of the sled and untangled Spitz. Spitz stood as Gunnar took a strap off that was wrapped around Spitz's leg. Spitz gave Balto another dirty look. A very demonic, wolfish look. Balto shrugged it off and waited for Balto's command.

 

 

 

~*~

 

January 3, 1925 Nome Alaska

 

 

 

Balto heaved a sigh of relief as he watched two workers take the load of gold from the sled.

 

 

 

Spitz stepped up to Balto and said, "Watch your back, Bucky. I might just want a taste of it some time soon."

 

 

 

 

"Oh please, Spit. I wanted to dump this load as much as you did, and if you had hauled that lead tail of yours it would've been done a lot quicker."

 

 

 

 

Spitz gave Balto another look before rolling his eyes and mumbling to himself. Balto laughed to himself and turned back to the road in front of him. Gunnar walked up to Balto and pet his head, "Good boy, Balto! Another good run. Bring the team home now and we can all take a break."

 

 

 

Balto only understood a few words but Gunnar's tone sounded good to him so it must be good, "Alright guys," Balto shouted down the gang line, "let's bring this sled home." Each dog got into their prerun position. All they needed was Gunnar's command and they'd dash forward like a bolt of lightning.

 

 

 

 

Gunnar recieved his pay for the trip and climbed on the back of the sled. He waited and then said, "Hike!"

Balto gunned forward pulling all of the dogs with him.

 

 

 

~*~

 

Gunnar Kaasan was not a rich man. His job at the mining company gave him enough for him and his seven sled dogs to live off of. His home was small and modest on the outside ring of town. It was a two level building, Gunnar lived on the top and the dogs slept on the bottom. Most dog owners had a house similar. Gunnar had also built a garage-type building to house his sled in the night.

 

 

 

 

Balto pulled the sled to the side of the house and then stopped. Gunnar disconnected the gang line from the sled and grabbed Balto by the harness. He pulled Balto out of the way so he could push the sled into the garage.

After the sled was stored away properly, Gunnar unclipped the dog's harnesses from the line and opened the door to let them all inside. Balto walked in first and lowered his head and stepped out of his harness. More dogs entered the room and followed Balto's example.

 

 

 

Kane, the last dog, took off his harness and picked it up with his teeth and handed it to Gunnar. Tje ptjer dpgs followed suit until the harnesses were all put away properly.

 

 

 

"Good job, guys." Gunnar said to the dogs. He walked up stairs to get some food for his hungry athletes.

 

 

 

 

~*~

 

Each husky was well fed and rested. The night waned fast and the full moon shone in all its brilliance. The night lit up like day as the silver moon light reflected against the snow.

 

 

Balto was glad that Gunnar left the door open at night to let the dogs out. This way, Balto could hear the wolves howling at the moon. It was calling him. Balto wanted to be wild like them. He wanted to be out there with them. He wanted more than anything. But something elsewhere was keeping him tied to Gunnar and the sled dog team. They were already his pack. And he was alpha. Balto couldn't abandon them now.

 

 

He lowered his head and let the sounds ring through his head.

 

 

"Balto?" a soft, female voice said.

 

 

 

Balto looked up and saw a white figure against the black sky.

 

 

 

"You stick out like a sore paw." the wolf said.

 

 

 

She was referring to Balto's black fur against the moonlit snow, "From my point of view, so do you."

 

 

 

The wold walked closer, "What's going on, party animal?"

 

"Eh, nothin' much, Deta."

 

 

 

"You know, i'm seeing you a lot now, on full moon days. Why don't you howl? You know you want to."

 

 

 

"I want to but i can't. That's not who I am."

 

 

 

"Not who you are? Then who are you?"

 

 

 

Balto didn't answer.

 

 

 

"A sled dog?"

 

 

 

"No, well, yes. I mean... I don't know."

 

 

 

"Well, if you ever want to come back, call me. Maybe we can make arrangements." Deta climbed back up the snow back she came from, "And bring that cute friend of yours, Ratsy or something."

 

 

 

"Rusty." Balto corrected.

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