“Nice shooting Kale!” Balto complimented, firing off the last few shots in his rifle and killing two more, grinding his teeth together as two bullets just missed his face, “Damn… They’re getting better at this…”

“We’ll see about that!” Kaltag said, emptying his rifle as well, missing a few times before finding his mark on a single dog. Kira fired two shots and missed, groaning with frustration. Jenna fired off a single bullet and hit one of the deputies. The dog clutched his throat and fell from his horse.

“Right… Time to play hard…” Steele muttered, pulling out a red stick from his bag and lighting a match. Kale looked out the window and gritted his teeth.

“Move away from the front…” Kale said calmly, getting up and casually walking toward the stairs, “Now!” Everyone quickly scrambled from the front as the porch exploded, shrapnel of wood flying through the windows they’d been at.

“They’re gonna push us back and try to get inside the front!” Balto said, motioning up the stairs, “Let’s get to the top floor and get them from there!”

All five dogs quickly made their way upstairs, Kale and Kira taking the spot in Kale’s bedroom while Balto, Jenna, and Kaltag hid in Balto’s room, both bedrooms at the front of the house. Kale smirked and took the two rifles he’d hidden in the corner of his room and tossed one to Kira.

“Well, here we go again!” he said, grinning from ear to ear, “I love it when things get like this! HEY STEELE! UP HERE!”

As the sheriff looked to the upper floor, Kale jumped up and fired three shots at the evil husky, missing but managing to hit one of the deputies in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Steele emptied his pistol trying to hit Kale, but missed as the outlaw took cover again.

“They’re on the top floor!” he shouted to his men, reloading his revolver, “Keep them distracted and we’ll move in…”

The rest of the dogs continued firing, most of them already dismounted and hiding behind trees and rocks. Samuel clutched his rifle close, loading more bullets into it, praying desperately that Jenna wouldn’t get hit. Frederic fired off the last two rounds in his rifle, propping it against the tree he was behind and pulling out his pistol, aiming it at Kale’s window. Balto and Kaltag sprung up and fired three shots each, half of them missing while the other half hit three of their enemies. Kale looked at Kira and winked at her before walking out of his room toward the storeroom under the stairs, grinning as he picked up a box and reached for his prize.

Steele motioned to one of his deputies, pointing to the front door. He then nodded to three other dogs from Silent Spring and the group of four began to advance on the front door. The three dogs hung back by the damaged porch as the deputy went for the door. No sooner had his hand touched the handle, than a massive gunshot filled the air. The deputy flew backward and rolled a few times before stopping, a huge hole in his chest. The other three dogs looked at one another and tried to run away, but another explosive shot sounded and two of the three fell.

Inside the house, standing right by the front door, Kale grinned as he opened his shotgun and reloaded it, replacing the two shells and locking the barrel back into place. He pumped it and calmly walked toward the window he’d been at before. He fired off both shots, killing another dog and wounding another, who Balto then finished off from above. Kale laughed and tossed the shotgun to the floor, walking back into the storeroom and grabbing a few sticks of TNT. He walked back into his room and lit a stick, tossing it out the window and watching as four more dogs blew up, leaving only Steele, Nikki, Star, Frederic, and Samuel. Frederic turned around to shoot, but Kale was faster and shot the red and white husky before he even knew who he was shooting at.

Frederic groaned and gripped his stomach. He removed his hand and a large red stain had formed on his blue shirt. He groaned once more before falling to the ground. Kira screamed and Kale quickly grabbed her and pulled them both to the ground as they were shot at again. Steele lit another stick of dynamite and tossed it at the house, blowing most of the front wall off. Kale picked a sobbing Kira and quickly led her round to where Balto, Kaltag, and Jenna were.

“We have to get out of here, now!” Kale said, “We’re running short of ammo and Steele’ll blow us to Hell before we can finish them all off! We have to retreat!”

“Where would we go then?” Balto asked, eyes narrowed as he fired a single shot at random, missing completely, “Where would we run to?”

“To River’s Edge!” Kale said, getting a shocked look from Balto, “I know, I know… But we have no choice! Unless you wanna die here and now, we have to go there…” Balto looked at Kaltag who nodded to him before sighing reluctantly.

“Alright… Let’s go…” Balto said, leading them downstairs, then noticing the back door was boarded up, “Great… Now what?”

“This,” Kale stated and lit another stick of TNT, tossing it at the back door, “Get back a bit!” The back door exploded and the five dogs ran through the smoke.

The five horses stood tied up to a stile out back. They untied their horses and began to ride out the south exit to the valley. Kale tossed yet another stick of dynamite behind them, using the smoke and dust it kicked up as a cover for them to flee. In a matter of minutes, the five were safely out of the valley and riding south to the town of River’s Edge.

            The ride down south to River’s Edge took a long eight hours. The five dogs entered, tired and in slight shock from their fierce battle. Kale gave a quick glance to Kira before looking at Balto and Kaltag.

“I still have connections here guys… I’ll be able to find shelter for Kira and me… Will you guys be alright?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, we’ll be alright…” Balto said and Kaltag nodded in agreement, “Take care pal…”

Kale turned down another road and led Kira away from Balto, Jenna, and Kaltag. The couple rode for a few minutes until they arrived at a decent sized two-floor house. Kale nodded to Kira and dismounted, slowly leading her up to the front door. He knocked twice on the door and waited. A moment later, the door opened and a pure-blood wolf opened the door, giving Kale a surprised look.

“Kale?! Kale McGovern?!” the wolf asked, staring at him for a few moments, “God, it’s been so long! You know I could have you arrested right here and now just for being in my sight!”

“Bill Inago, I know you should be shooting me right now, but please hear me out… I know you’re the sheriff of River’s Edge, but I need a favor…” Kale said calmly, “Bill, I’m in big trouble, and I mean BIG trouble…”

“I’ll say you’re in big trouble!” Bill exclaimed, “You’re wanted dead or alive in two states and you’ve got more posters of you out in towns than newspapers! What could you possibly have done now? Gotten her pregnant?!” Kale exchanged a look with Kira and she blushed slightly. “Oh Kale, you didn’t…”

“Look, things are different Bill! I know you think I’m a crooked, good-for-nothing outlaw and you’re probably right, but right now I need ask a huge favor of you…” Kale said, staring into his friend’s eyes, “I just need you to hide us for a few days, then I’ll be out of your life for good…” Bill sighed and shook his head.

“Look Kale, I can’t do that!” replied Bill, “I’d love to, but it’s against the law! We were friends and all, but-”

“But that’s just it! We were good friends… If that ever meant anything to you, please show me this one mercy…” Kale begged, a pleading look in his blue eyes, “Please…” Bill swallowed slightly and thought for a moment.

“Only for a few days… After that, I’ll be back to hunting you down…” he explained.

“Got it… Thank you so much, Bill…” Kale thanked, leading Kira inside his friend’s house. He remembered the layout of Bill’s house and took Kira upstairs to the guest bedroom, watching as she sat down on the bed and faced away from him. Kale sighed heavily and closed the door, sitting down beside her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Kira? Are you going to talk to me?”

“Why should I?” Kira asked, trembling again, “How could you, Kale? You promised me you wouldn’t kill my Dad and you did! You did! Now he’s gone… How could you?”

Kira began to sob once more, tears cutting through her midnight-black pelt from her sorrow-filled orange eyes. Kale wrapped his arms around her and held her close, slowly rocking back and forth with her. She buried her face in his chest, his shirt quickly turning wet underneath her endless tears.

“Shh, it’s okay Kira… It’s okay…” Kale whispered, “I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to… It just happened… I’m sorry… Please don’t cry…”

“Why?” Kira choked out between sobs, “Why did this have… have to happen?”

“Shh… Everything’s going to be alright, Kira… I’m here, you’re safe…” Kale whispered softly into her ears, “Nothing’s going to happen anymore… Not so long as I breathe… I promise…” Kira looked up at him and he gave her a warm smile. He gently wiped the tears from her face and kissed her gently. Kira threw her arms around the husky, and held him tightly.

“I love you, Kale… Thank you…” Kira whispered as Kale carefully lay her down on the bed, “So… what are we going to do now?”

“Just try to get some sleep for now… I’ll figure something out…” replied Kale in a hushed tone, gently stroking her cheek, “Get some rest… We’ll find a way out of this… I know we will…”

Kira gave Kale a small smile, her fiery-orange eyes beginning to close. As soon