the lane towards the opposite side of town.

“I think it’s the last house on the right,” she said meekly.

“Alright then, let’s get-” Burt suddenly stopped.

Before them he started to see dogs exiting and entering houses and walking up and down the street. He motioned to his left and they ran to the side of the nearest house, just barely avoiding any eyes seeing them. Hal saw that Star was starting to look most conflicted.

“Uh-uh, I wouldn’t make any drastic moves Friend. I know that there are dogs here that wish to eradicate us as well,” he tutted, wagging a digit.

Any plans that Star had been thinking of were shut down right then. They padded through alleyway after alleyway to the other side of town, the reins of the sled jingling softly as the snow crunched under their touch. The moon was rising much slower than the sun had earlier, and Star could tell as he gazed into it that every inch of it was lit up, a successful full moon. They entered the mouth of an alley and Burt held a paw up, stopping them. They pushed themselves against the wall tightly as two dogs walked past. Hal lifted his ear.

“-heard it was really Doc, just using this whole thing to his advantage. Why do you think he didn’t want anyone to know?”

“Exactly. I say we get another candidate and have a vote to get him out of here. If he did this once, he’s bound to do it again-”

And the rest of the conversation was cut off as they proceeded past the alley. Burt saw their destination directly kitty-corner to their position. He leaned his head out into the main street cautiously and smiled. He pulled ahead slowly, the sled creaking behind them as they made their way across the lane. They walked around to the back of the building and saw a hole in the fenced in backyard, which they entered through. Lilith walked besides Burt and tugged on a series of straps, soon releasing him. Burt stepped onto the back porch and pushed his head through a pet flap.

“Brother Greg? Are you present?”

“Burt? That you?” a voice called back.

“Sure is.”

“Oh! Then come in, come in!”

Burt waved a paw behind him and pushed himself the rest of the way through. He came into a kitchen and another black and white husky walked up to him. Steele gave a wide smile and then noogied Burt.

“So, for what reason have you decided to visit me?”

Burt broke free from his grip and sighed. “I’m afraid that we’re being followed by them. They should be only a few hours behind us.”

“Hm, I suppose that does cause a problem. But I already know exactly what to do.”

As he finished, a purple head poked in through the door, before being shoved in by an impatient Hal. Star rubbed his head as he stood up quickly and saw a husky staring him right in the face.

“St-Steele!” Star stuttered.

He had been expecting to see him again, but he was still shocked nonetheless. Steele smirked at his surprise and just patted Star on the head, causing him to flinch.

“Nice to see you again Old Friend.”

Star gulped quietly as Lilith entered after Hal. Steele looked them over and nodded his head, leading them into the living room. Star saw three small pups by an old set of armchairs. Steele saw then too and spoke.

“Alright you three. I want you where we planned, and I don’t want any dilly-dallying.”

They all jumped up and took up a brisk place as they exited the house in a single file march. Lilith peered around and saw another dog walking towards them.

“Isn’t he supposed to be locked up?” she whispered to Steele.

Steele just grinned at her, “Nonsense, he’s being a good dog now.” He then focused on the other dog. “Alright Nikki, I want to introduce you to the others. This is Hal, Lilith, Burt, and I know you already know Star,” he said as he pointed out each dog.

Nikki seemed rather uninterested until he heard the mention of Star’s name. Star walked up to him quietly and studied him.

“Nikki, is… is that you?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing there.”

Steele quickly interrupted them. “New rule Nikki!” he commanded, “From now on, you are also commanded to listen to my three siblings. No matter what happens tonight, you still have a obligation to them, and will do whatever they say, no matter what, or else they have full permission to do with you as they see fit.”

Nikki nodded, “Yes sir. You’s can count on me.”

Star gave a somewhat shocked look to Nikki. “Are you sure that it’s really you?” he asked with concern.

Nikki tried to smile. “Yeah Star. ‘t’s me.”

“The Nikki I know wouldn’t take orders from someone like him.”

Nikki leaned down and whispered into Star’s ear. “Well, the Nikki you knew had to start behaving to save his own tail.”

Star was about to speak with Steele spoke again.

“Enough of your talking, we must prepare! But first-” he padded over to a half open door, the floor boards sighing under his weight, “I have a little display to show you. Nikki helped me with them,” the chow lowered his head at the mention of this, “I think you’ll find it most… amusing.”

Steele snickered as the others began walking towards him, and a soft whimpering was heard.

Chapter Nine:

The barking grew louder and louder as the sled team raced into Nome. Precious time was lost as Mr. Simpson forced them to the post office and took his time dropping the mail onto the porch. After he finally released them from their reins, the dogs immediately rushed off, leaving Mr. Simpson rubbing his head again as he walked home.

“See if we can get a trail,” Kaltag murmured to the other five.

They nodded in unison as they dropped their noses to the ground and started to take in deep breaths. They heard faint sounds of chiming as multiple clocks signaled the beginning of a new day. The snow crackled under their paws as the moon rose to its halfway position, sending its cool rays down below. Balto was the first to raise his head, his breath coming out in misty puffs.

“I think I got something.”

They in turn followed him down the road, the mist swirling about them. The wound up on the porch of a decrepit old house which was in the most dire need of repair.

“Are they in there?” Kodi asked.

“Only one way to find out,” replied Kaltag.

Balto poked his head through the flap, listening for any sounds, of which he heard none. Balto pulled out and faced the team.

“Alright, Kodi and I will go in first, and if you hear any yells, that’s your cue.”

They nodded as Balto entered into the house followed by Kodi. It was near pitch black inside the building, except for what little light streamed in from the holes in the roof.

“Alright Kodi. I say we split up. Just call me if you find something.”

“Got it.”

Balto stuck his nose to the floor again and walked around in a circle before finding a trail to follow. He walked by a flight of stairs and found a door that was cracked open. He pushed it open with his nose and found that it was another staircase, but this one led down. He took a cautious step and the stair squealed loudly, causing him to pull back in surprise. Balto gulped quietly as he tried again, but this time when the stair creaked, he continued on, ignoring the other noises that the stairs made. He finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs. The floor here was made of heard packed earth, but he could only feel this since now he couldn’t see a thing. He took a few steps forward and bumped into what felt like a broken chair. This made him stop, and he hesitated, not sure whether to continue or not. He took in a deep breath and smelled a familiar scent.

“Jenna,” he whispered.

“Hey Dad! I found something!” he heard Kodi yell from above him.

Without thinking twice, Balto ran back up the stairs, finding out at the top that the other dogs were already entering and heading into another room. Balto followed them and saw Kodi standing near a back door.

“They’ve already left. I caught their scent heading out of the house.”

“And I just found out that they’ve got Jenna with them,” Balto said, a certain sense of grief coloring his voice.

The others now looked very shocked at this discovery.

“Are you positive?” asked Kodi anxiously, “Is Mom alright?”

“If only I knew,” Balto said sadly, but he then spoke with more determination, “but if we don’t find her soon, then I fear for her safety.”

“I say we start following those tracks.”

“Does this feel like a bad idea to anyone else?” one of the dogs asked.

His question was ignored as they started to file out through the back door one by one.

“Fine! Don’t listen to me!”

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The team moved slowly along the trail of scents, and soon they were even able to see paw prints, which made it much easier to track. The passed a lamppost that flickered rapidly, and the tracks ended at the door nearest it. They all looked at the door and knew exactly where they were. This was the boiler room, where they visited on an almost daily basis. The door right now though was tightly shut, and the weren’t able to open it the normal way. Balto hopped onto the door and memories came back to him as he took the door from its hinges. After he finished, he shoved the door