ears. A giant wave of guilt flooded throughout his body until he thought he’d drown in it. Blitz had forgotten them, and now they have forgotten him. There was no mistaking what he felt inside; he would’ve traded the entire crowd, all his pictures, all his fame, and all his popularity for the friendship of those two obnoxious dogs. He had to go find them. Somehow.

“Come on, boy,” Mr. Drago beckoned. “There’s a group of reporters waiting inside.” He started to usher him inside the telegrapher’s office.

Blitz turned to look at him, then barked at him. He turned high tail on him and started running completely in the opposite direction.

“Blitz! Come here, boy! Blitz!”

Blitz burst through the door to the boiler room. “Guys! I’m here!” Where a grey and black and white Husky should of been stood a very confused black cat, sitting patiently all by her lonesome in the deserted room.”

“Mewnlight! Where’s Haywire and Ambyr? I, uh, have to talk to them.”

Mewnlight’s eyes glistened. “But of course you do. But then again...you had all day to talk to them also.”

Blitz growled. “I don’t have time for this!”

“Obviously not.” Suddenly, Mewnlight seemed to disappear, then rematerialize right in front of him. “Since you saved that woman, you never had time for anything now, did you? Not even your two...best...friends.” She waved her tail around, challengingly. “That’s dumber than burning down your own house...wouldn’t you say?”

Blitz sighed. “Look. I have to tell them I’m sorry, okay?”

“Sorry for what?”

“WHO’S APOLOGIZING TO WHO HERE?!”

Mewnlight shrugged. “They went somewhere down to the lake...but I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

“Why not?”

Mewnlight narrowed her eyes. “They told me not to.”

Blitz looked up at her, surprised. He was about to say something, but quickly closed his mouth. Without another word, he exited the boiler room with Mewnlight’s glittering eyes trailing behind him. 

Putting his nose to the ground, Blitz tried vigorously to catch their trail. As he found out, they did lead to the lake, which was now coated with glazed ice. He followed up to the frozen water’s edge, but as quickly as he had caught on, it disappeared. Blitz scanned the lake. All was silent, and still, save for the chilly wind shuffling on its way to foretell of another incoming blizzard. Not a living thing was in sight.

Not even Haywire and Ambyr.

Cautiously, Blitz stepped on the water. He figured he was small and light enough, but he didn’t even want to think about what could’ve happened if Ambyr and Haywire went on the thin side. As he walked, he looked around, perking his ears for any sounds.

“Haywire? Ambyr!” he called.

Only his echo replied.

Blitz looked down at the ice, at his pitiful expression. He wanted to scratch, bite, and slash at his reflection, but knew he couldn’t. “I’m such an idiot,” he said miserably. I got a full days’ fame...and it cost me my life’s friends. How could’ve I just forgotten all about them? I deserve not to find them. I deserve it if I never see them again. I deserve it.” The winds quickly picked up, throwing snow restlessly, and whistling past.

Suddenly, there came a faint sound around him. Blitz snapped his head up and looked around. “Hello? Haywire? Ambyr?” It sounded like a sharp rustling noise, but there was no telling which direction it came from. He started walking around on the ice. “I’m sorry, guys!” he called. “I got carried away. I didn’t mean any of it!”

The sharp noise came again, only louder. Suddenly, Blitz knew where it came from. He looked down at his paws. A large crack was carved in a full circle, around him.

Blitz whined. But no one could hear. With a startled bark, the ice under him shatter, and Blitz found himself in the numbing cold water. He frantically began to paw for the surface. The freezing liquid seeped through his fur, and the pain of a thousand needle sharp pins piercing his body came to. The light from the hole in which he fell was beginning to fade.

Blitz swam faster, but his energy was being consumed quicker with each stroke than it did with a mile of sprinting. He reached the top of the water, hoping to get a gasp of air, but the top of his muzzle only hit solid ice. He saw faint shadows leap across the ice, but their shapes were blurred and irregular.

He tried to push the ice away, but he suddenly found himself lacking in strength. The water and blizzard was so cold, the ice had away and frozen back up in a mere matter of seconds! A loud pounding sound came from the other side. The blizzard must be finishing up sealing him shut in this icy grave.

This is it for me. I’m going down in this lake and die on the very day I was being celebrated for saving someone’s life.

...This is what Blitz SHOULD’VE been thinking as he struggled to break the ice, but instead, he still found himself thinking about Haywire and Ambyr.

I’m sorry!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! I really wish I could’ve apologized to them first before I got stuck down here.

The poundings continued, but their sound seemed be more and more distant. Blitz was falling down a dark world from which he knew he would never return. The numbness bit down on all his limbs until he felt paralyzed with cold. Summoning up every ounce of strength within him, he shoved at the ice once more. There came another pound, and the glaze coat finally buckled. Shards of ice exploded down into the water, and for a few seconds, Blitz could see the grey sky.

...But only for a few seconds.

At that moment, Blitz had run out of energy, and his body began to limply drift through the water. He fell into a world of darkness from which he knew there would be no escape or return.

Then, Blitz’s body broke the surface, and he felt himself being dragged out of the hole. But not by a pair of hands...more like two pairs of teeth. He tried to breath for air, but his chest heaved only a little, allowing for only a small portion to enter. A muffled voice called his name, but he couldn’t answer.

“Blitz? Answer me, Blitz! Oh, jeez, he’s frozen stiff! Come on, we have to get him to town.”

This was the last thing Blitz heard before his hearing also faded, and before long, the whistling of the wind, the numbing cold, and the voices all came to a dead stop.

...

...

...

...

“Is he going to be okay, doctor?”

A hushed voice replied. “He’s got frostbite on his tail, underbelly, and the tips of his paws. His lungs nearly collapsed, and it’ll be a few weeks before he’ll finally be able to gain control of his body again...It’s miraculous. If he’d gotten here a few minutes later, I don’t think he would’ve made it.

Silence. “Will he...?”

There came a sigh. “It’ll take some time...but he’s going to be okay.”

“...Just okay?”

...

...

...

...

A wave of warmth glided across his body. Slowly, Blitz felt his senses fall back to familiar sounds and smells. His eyes fluttered open. He was in a hospital room, lying on a bed on his side. He could not have asked for a better greeting. Haywire was inches away from his face, grinning obnoxiously from ear to ear. “Hiya, Blitz!! Welcome back!!” He turned his head and barked loudly. Some nurses rushed to Blitz’s side.

“He’s awake, doctor. Should we let the other dogs leave now?”

“Well, if the other dogs are what made him wake up...heavens, no!”

The nurses frowned, and looked down at a clipboard. Taking one final glance at Blitz, they jotted something down, then quickly strode off.

Suddenly, Ambyr’s head popped up on his bedside. “Blitz!! Oh, thank goodness, I was so worried!” She licked at Blitz’s face.

Blitz smiled wryly. “Thanks,” he croaked. “Listen, about what happened –“

Ambyr smiled warmly at him and held up her paw. “It’s alright, Blitz. We’re ALL sorry. I guess I just got a little jealous, and I regret making you feel the way you did.”

Haywire perked at Ambyr. “I knew it!! Hahaha!! ...OW!!”

She had stomped on his paw.

Blitz coughed. He tried to move, but his body refused to budge. “I...I can’t feel my legs.”

Haywire’s expression fell. “Blitz...I’m sorry, but...they had to amputate to save you.”

Blitz’s eyes widened. “WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!”

“HAYWIRE, YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO NOT HAVE ANY LEGS, YOU KEEP TALKING!!!” Ambyr roared at him, and whacked him upside the head with her paw. Haywire tucked his tail between his legs and whined. Her voice softened as she turned to Blitz. “You have frostbite. It’s going to take a while for you to fully recover.”

“But...the race! The Iditarod race...”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s still a month away, so you have plenty of time to get better and practice like heck.” She grinned.

“...H-How did you know?”

Ambyr looked off to the side. “We were...sorta hiding, and heard you right before you fell in. He rushed to get you out, but the ice had already frozen over.”

“So how’d you get me out?”

Haywire rubbed his head and barked happily. “That was all