With that final sentiment, Balto, Kale, and Kaltag fell asleep for the last night of their lives. The eight deputies continued playing for another half an hour before Steele came walking in. The eight dogs stopped and stared at their sheriff, wondering why he was here. He motioned to Nikki and Star.

“C’mon, we need to go get the gallows ready for tomorrow…” Steele said darkly, grinning maliciously.

Nikki and Star stood up and followed Steele out and into the night. Outside, two figures dressed in black watched as the three dogs walked away before silently sneaking around to the front and hiding beside the door. One knocked on the door and the other drew a pistol, crouching in wait.

“Damn it, who could that be at this time?” one of the deputies asked, slamming his cards on the table and rising to his feet, walking toward the door.

The second the door opened, the armed figure grabbed the dog and held his hands behind his back. The deputy whimpered in fear as he was restrained and the barrel of a pistol was pressed against his forehead.

“Don’t make a sound or else you’re dead…” the hidden dog whispered, pulling the hammer of the pistol back, “I’d hate for the town to have a funeral tomorrow…”

“Open the door. Do it slowly…” the other figure commanded. The deputy obeyed and the three of them slowly slipped inside.

“Who was there, Joe?” one of the dogs at the table asked, quickly standing when he saw the other two dogs, “Who’re you two?”

“Nobody move or he’s dead!” the one holding Bill shouted, the other figure pulling out their own pistol and pointing it at the seven deputies.

“All of you, get out now!” the dog ordered, “Unless you want your friend’s blood on your hands!” None of the deputies moved until the figure fired a shot at the ceiling. “Out now!”

The deputies didn’t need to be told twice. The quickly ran out the Jailhouse without a second thought. The figure holding the deputy knocked him out while the other grabbed the keys and led the way to the cells in the back. They stared at the three sleeping outlaws, smiling at one another. The one with the keys took one off the ring and walked to the cell Kale was in while the other went to Balto’s. They both unlocked the cells and silently slipped inside, kneeling in front of the two dogs on the floor. The dog lifted the hat up on Kale and stared into the sleeping husky’s face, leaning forward until their lips met.

“Kira…” Kale whispered in his sleep, slowly opening his eyes to see the face of, “Kira! What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Rescuing you, silly!” Kira explained, grinning at him, “Jenna and I are here to bust you guys out!”

“Kira, you’re an angel…” Kale replied, kissing her quickly before rising to his feet, “Let’s get out of here!”

Jenna smiled as she watched Balto sleep. The young outlaw seemed so calm when he was deep in slumber. She gently stroked his cheek before kissing him slowly. Balto’s gold-brown eyes slowly fluttered open and he saw the crimson and cream colored husky before him.

“Jenna?” he asked softly, “Is that you? Why are you here?”

“I’m here with Kira… We’re getting you and your friends out of here as soon as possible…” she said, “We couldn’t bear to watch you guys die… Now hurry, let’s go.”

Balto stood up and took the key to Kaltag’s cell. He walked out and smiled as he saw Kale grabbing their bandoliers. Balto opened the door and roused Kaltag, leading the tan husky out of his cell as Kale handed them their weapons. The trio quickly loaded their pistols and turned toward the front door just as the deputies were coming back in.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” one asked. Kale was the first to react, drawing one of his revolvers with lightning-fast speed, pulling the hammer back, and firing in one motion as he raised it. Kira was the second, killing the other dog who had entered. The two dogs dropped dead and their colleagues began to enter. Kira’s face went pale as she realized what she’d done, looking at the smoking gun in her hands.

“Ah jeez, didn’t mean to do that,” Kale said, motioning toward the back door, “Nice shot Kira… C’mon, let’s go!”

The five dogs ran to the back door. Kira grabbed the handle and rattled it only to find it locked. She growled softly and turned to Jenna.

“Jen, do you still have the ke-” Kira started asking, but stopped when Kale simply kicked the door down, “Ok, that works too…”

“Let’s get moving!” Balto shouted, letting the other four leave before firing off three shots down the hall to get their pursuers to back off a bit. He then followed them outside as Kaltag and Kale untied five of the deputies’ horses.

“Balto, we still need to grab out stuff from our horses,” Kale stated, “Kaltag and I can get the stuff. Lead Jenna and Kira back to our house, ok?”

“Right,” Balto said, mounting one of the horses and waiting for everyone else to get ready before turning to the girls, “Alright ladies, follow me!”

Balto spurred his horse toward the gates of town, leading Jenna and Kira out into the arid desert. Kale and Kaltag rode off toward the saloon. Once they arrived, they left the newly captured horses and took their old ones, hitching Balto’s horse to the saddle of Kaltag’s.

“Alright Kal, let’s get outta here!” Kale said urgently just as a few shots ripped the air near them. Down the road, two deputies began to take aim again. Kale and Kaltag fired at them, missing a couple of times before their bullets found their marks.

The two dogs dropped to the dusty ground and the outlaws smirked. They then spurred their horses and rode toward the gates of Silent Spring. A group of deputies ran out into the streets behind them and noticed the two retreating dogs. They raised their pistols and fired a hailstorm of rounds after them. Kale laughed as the bullets missed every shot- until one struck him in the shoulder.

Kale groaned as a sharp pain ran through his left shoulder and sparked through his whole body. He almost fell off of his horse, but he held the reigns tightly and pulled himself back into the proper riding position. Blood trailed down his back, staining his white shirt a deep red, but he kept on riding beside Kaltag out into the cold, dark desert night.

“Steele’s not gonna be happy about this…” Nikki muttered, watching the two figures fade off into the night.

            It took Balto, Jenna, and Kira exactly two hours to ride south of Silent Spring to reach their house deep in a valley. A river ran nearby it and soft grass and trees grew in the valley. Above, the stars shone brightly in the pitch-black sky. Balto sat on the porch, Jenna beside him with her head on his shoulder. Kira was standing out on the grass, looking up the north pass into the valley, orange eyes scanning for the other two dogs.

“Kira, relax… I’m sure Kale and Kaltag are fine…” Jenna said, trying to reassure her friend.

“Don’t worry. I know Kale. He’s skilled at what he does, I’m positive he’s still alive!” Balto stated, giving the black wolfdog a warm smile. Kira only glanced back at them before looking back toward the north.

Just then, two figures could be seen riding toward them. Kira gasped and smiled widely. As the two riders got closer, they became more distinguishable and were none other than Kaltag and Kale. Kira watched as the two outlaws rode up to the house and dismounted, Kale groaning in pain as he clutched his left shoulder, stumbling forward before falling to the ground.

“Kale!” Balto and Kira shouted up, everyone running up around him. Balto inspected his wound and shook his head.

“Damn it Kale, what the hell did you do?” Balto asked, looking at the front of Kale and pulling off his friend’s shirt, “Luckily for you, the bullet only pierced muscle and went straight through…”

“So I’m bleeding out and you say I’m lucky?” Kale asked, gritting his teeth, “All I need is iodine and a bandage…”

“I’ll get it,” Kira said quickly, dashing into the house. Balto smirked as he watched Kira disappear, and then looked back to Kale.

“You’re lucky to have Kira…” Balto said, pulling out his canteen and pouring out the water onto the bullet wound to clear it of blood. Kale winced slightly as the water washed the red viscous liquid away from his injury.

“Yeah… I know, Balto…” he replied softly. Kira came back out with an amber bottle and a roll of linen bandages. Balto took them and pulled the top off of the bottle.

“This is really gonna hurt, Kale…” Balto explained, pouring the iodine on the wound. Kale cried out in pain and spasmed slightly on the ground as a sharp pain tore through his body. Balto then quickly wrapped up the wound in bandages and tied it securely to prevent anymore profuse bleeding. “How the hell did you go two hours with that wound, Kale?”

“Barely… But I did it…” Kale answered, grinning weakly and chuckled softly, “I’m strong that way… Better not do that again though, huh?”

“No… It’s only 9PM though… You should get something to eat then get to bed…” Balto said, getting a nod from Kale.

“Sounds good to me… Help me up, would ya pal?” he asked and Balto helped him to his feet. Kale smiled weakly and walked up the porch and into the house. Kira followed him into the house, worried about him.

“Well, I think we should all turn in,” Kaltag suggested, “Today’s been the most eventful, the most fast-paced, the most dangerous-” Balto bopped Kaltag on his head and shut the husky up.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan, Kal…” Balto said, placing an arm around Jenna’s shoulders, “we could all do with a good rest… Then tomorrow, we can