Through The Dustiest Deserts

Kodi has dreamed of this forever. Lead dog position at last.

Kodi has found his place as lead dog, and now everything has changed for him and his family. He is famous, but now, he is the destined enemy to Steele’s generations. Suddenly things start going bad around Nome. Balto felt it, and he knew, there must have been a disturbance in one of the goddess’ magical life. This disturbance is growing; filling Balto’s every sleeping second with terrible nightmares. Kodi is starting to fall behind as he sees Dusty in a new perspective, and something is growing beside this unearthly power. This is the one story Rodeo isn’t in (he’s mentioned though), but Metel, Steele’s son, is in this one.

Chapter 1: The Arguement

Balto smiled at his son, who was scampering around in play with his friends.  Kodi had grown bigger and sleeker, and his tiny legs were filing out to better fit the rest of his conformation. Balto was proud. Tommorow would be the biggest day in Kodi’s carreer. He would take the annual race to figure out the leader, and hopefully, he would be the leader then.

Kodi smiled up at his father, wagged his tail, and then tackled Kirby. Dusty laughed at the two sparring pals. She splashed across the water and danced about around the friends, almost cheering them on. Kodi stopped sparring, and rubbed his ear. “We better rest. Spending our energy like this won’t help us. Ohh, I wish I hadn’t told you that...” Kodi chuckled to himself. He seemed to have the temperament of Steele slightly, only he wasn’t all that bad.

“Hey, little glory-hound doesn’t want to tell his best friends his hints? Does he want to win too much?” giggled Dusty. She was slightly hyper, and she bounced up and down, scampering in slight ovals.

Kodi smiled. Dusty was always teasing him, but in a friendly way. Dusty’s voice made him very comfortable, almost like a heavenly voice: an angel’s voice. He shuddered all of a sudden.

“Kodi, are you ok?” asked Dusty, while Ralph, Kirby, and the wheel-dog Tiko glanced at him in concern.

Kodi didn’t respond. He knew this had nothing to do with Dusty, and he didn’t want her to get mixed up in this too. He glanced over to his father, who was shivering as well, shivering harder than Kodi. Somehow, only they had felt it. But Kodi bet Dingo and Saba, his siblings, felt it too. Even Aleu must have felt it. It was this... shaking in the earth, no one felt but them. This omen seemed to fill his heart... he didn’t know what it was, but one thing he knew for sure; it wasn’t a good omen. Kodi shook his head, the feeling leaving him. He looked back at his friends. “No. Nothing’s wrong. Just a drift of cold wind.” He smiled and trotted toward Kirby and snapped at his ear, suggesting another sparring match. Kirby and the others simply shrugged, and leapt into the fight all except Dusty who sat outside watching. They were just play-fighting... none really got hurt.

Dusty grinned at Kodi. “Hey, what about your resting plan?”
He didn’t hear her. He just continued to fight and play with his friends. Tiko smiled, jumped out for a breather, then tackled Kodi to aid Kirby. Then Tiko leapt at Ralph and accidentally pushed him out of the fight.

Ralph toppled over and landed under Dusty’s stare.

“Uh.” Said Ralph, smiling dumbly.

Kodi jumped out, but Tiko continued to wrestle with Kirby even if they were in the same fighting team. Kodi growled at Ralph, snapped him, almost seriously. Kodi grinned at Dusty, who simply giggled and winked before flicking her tail. Suddenly a girl’s voice shouted for her to come home. Dusty glanced at Kodi. “Umm, I gotta go, sir Kodi. And I’ll see you at the big win tomorrow... whether it be you, or me.” She grinned softly, flicked her tail under his chin and raced off.

“Flirt.” Kodi said, but he couldn’t help but smile and stare after her as she leapt into her owner’s arms, licking her face. The girl clipped the leash on her and led her away.

Ralph stepped over to Kodi, anger flickering in his eyes. “What was THAT for?”

“Hey, come on. I just talked to her.” Kodi chuckled nervously.
”MORE LIKE PUSHED ME OUT OF THE WAY!” yelled Ralph.

“What, do you like her or something, Ralphie?” teased a random dog from the team.

“No. I... alright, maybe I like her a little bit. But what’s with you, Kodi? Jealousy problems, I bet?”

“Oh, who’s talking?”

They both turned away from each other, and walked away. Tiko and Kirby glanced at each other. Kirby followed Kodi, since they were best friends. Tiko, torn between them, sighed and decided to go his own way. Leaving Ralph alone. Kodi growled at himself before returning home.

Chapter 2: Memories

Kodi sat down and began to think over the past years. He had always despised Ralph. He seemed to get all of Dusty’s attention. But then, Dusty was purebred flirt. Kodi didn’t know why he had reacted to Ralph in such a way. He wasn’t even sure he liked Dusty enough. Anyone could be drawn to her.

He shook that thought, and went, in his mind, back in time. He saw, like a little movie, him playing with his wolfish sister Aleu. Aleu was the eldest, but Kodi, he was the runt. No one would know he’d ever be able to last until the annual leader race because of that.

“Hey.” Said Aleu to his brother after he nipped her. “Sorry.” Kodi whimpered, and smiled. Aleu returned the smile and Kodi licked her ear in a brother-sisterly love. Aleu giggled, smiled. Kodi spotted a human ready to buy them. They were sitting in a box that said “free puppies to good homes”. Kodi leaped over Aleu and yipped at the human. The human picked him up. Kodi looked over the human’s back to Aleu. She was waving goodbye. That was the last she’d seen of him, or he’d seen of her. They were best friends, which was odd since they were so different in age. Kodi always asked his dad about where Aleu had raced off too, but he never told. Rumors had it that she had never found a real family, just a place as leader of some wolf pack.

Kodi couldn’t trust these rumors, but they had to be started by someone who knew something about it. Kodi hoped his sister would be ok out there, living a life somewhere where she belonged.

Kodi got up, and looked out his window. The window showed clear view of Balto’s boat. Kodi felt that odd supernatural feeling creep into him as it began to rain. The thunder rolled, and suddenly lightning striked, so close to the window he leaped back and covered his ears and eyes. The lightning had almost broke open the window. He panted, and moved backwards into the far corner of the shed. A voice startled him even more.

“Scared of a little lightning, wolfdog?”

Kodi gained his composure and pulled himself together. He looked straight into icy blue eyes. The lightning striked again, he quivered but was able to see the color of this husky’s fur. Rusty brown. He recognized Steele’s son, Metel.

“Metel.” He growled. Kodi was older than Metel, but Metel made up for that in his cleverness.

“Oh, yes. Going for lead position, aren’t ya. Don’t worry, if you win, I’ll be at the finishline, giving you your official certificate that says you’re the new client for these teeth and claws here.” Metel flashed his claws, and gave him a smile. He snickered. “Father will be so proud.” Metel grinned wider, and then stepped back into the shadows. Kodi heard the doggy door swish as Metel left the room. Kodi settled down on his pillow and closed his eyes.

Back at the boat, Balto was remembering the few flashes of memories that came to him from when he was a pup. A movie started in his head too, the movie of Balto’s separation from his mother. The very untold story no one knew but him and Jenna. Even his best friends like Kaltag (who had become his friend after Steele’s lie), Star (another one of Steele’s comrades who had left him to be friends with Balto), and Dixie (Jenna’s friend) didn’t know about his past.

“BBBBBBBAMMM!”

“Balto! Rodeo! Sarah! RUNNN!” Cried out a pure white wolf.

Rodeo began trembling, frozen to the spot, and Sarah rushed back to get him. Balto was already running, faster, faster, his heart pounding in his chest. He never knew he had such speed, and he was the fastest even though he was the second born. He panted, slowed, and stayed in a cave far away.

The dream skipped to when his mother, obviously still alive from the hunter attack, set him down on the deck of a grounded boat.

“You’ll be safe here.” Whispered the white wolf, and then spotting flashlights, she raced off.

Balto whined. “Mammy... Bye-bye... see you soon...” Balto didn’t know it the but he wouldn’t be seeing his mother for a long time.

A goose rounded the corner, a flashlight in his hooked beak. He walked up the small wood plank that led to the boat. He dropped the flashlight and it rolled away. “Honk honk... HONK?” the bird questioned.

Balto looked up and said in his babyish voice with wrong grammar, “What you say?” He didn’t understand this bird’s language, but the bird seemed to understand his.

The bird came up to him, went to the edge of the boat and pulled out a ripped blanket and lay it over him.

“Honk honk honk. Honk.”

Balto looked up, and enjoyed the warmth of the blanket. He smiled. “You wanna take care of me until Mammy comes back?”

“Honk.” Said the goose, while stretching his wings and nodding his head. He pulled his wings back and brought out a mop, pulled it back and forth with his wings, and dipped it in a bucket, mopping and shining the floor. Balto grinned at his newfound friend, and then he laid his head down and fell asleep.

Balto grew up with his friend, and learned his language.

Balto opened his eyes from his memories, and moved over to his blanket. He sniffed it. He walked over to the door that led onto the deck. “Hey Boris.” He called.

No one answered.

“Boris! Boris?”

He looked around. He didn’t see Boris, but he could hear his honking.

It sounded frightened.

Cliffhanger! What will happen to Boris and what will be