Help!”

He saw a figure stop, spin around, and sprint down the alley towards him. It was a black and white husky, with brown eyes. He skid to a halt in front of Star.

“What is it?” he panted, “I came as soon as I heard you.”

“Look at this,” Star said, still a little unsettled by the whole thing.

The husky looked down and acted as if he were about to lose his lunch. Before him were two huskies that were also black and white. They looked like they had been lying there for awhile, but the snow had kept them very well preserved. But that didn’t make it any less gruesome. 

“We have to tell someone, or everyone for that matter,” the husky said before looking at Star, “name’s Henry by the way. Did you just find out about this?”

Star nodded his head solemnly. Henry shook his head before turning away.

“C’mon, we better get going. I imagine that this isn’t going to be pretty with everyone else.”

He padded away towards the exit of the alley and Star quickly jogged up beside him. The smaller dog shivered slightly as the image of what he had just witnessed danced vividly in his mind.

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

Doc was once again staring out of his window into the real world. Things were even more shaky than the last time he had checked. Instead of the anger and distrust he had witnessed before, what he saw now only disheartened even more. There was a fear running rampant among the dogs. It was clear as day. What he would give to be able to bring hope back into their lives. But how could he do such a thing when he himself had little hope to even make himself feel any better? No one would even want to see him he guessed. What if he had just came out and told the masses to be more careful? Then maybe things wouldn’t have gone this far. But it didn’t matter. He had made one small mistake, and it had been completely blown out of proportion and turned against him. He was starting to lose the hope that he would ever mean anything to anyone ever again. 

“Well old boy,” he whispered to himself, “looks like you won’t be of any use any longer. Might as well accept that fact.”

He lowered himself off his window seat easily and padded over to his place in front of the fireplace. He had just laid down when he heard his pet flap flop open. He turned his head lazily and saw Star staring at him. Doc patted to a spot beside him and Star walked over.

“Hey Doc, you won’t believe this, but we just found some bodies in an alley!” Star squeaked.

Doc sighed and turned away. “It doesn’t matter. I already knew about that.”

Star cocked his head to the side, “You mean… you knew?”

“Star, since you obviously haven’t heard all of what has gone down lately, I wouldn’t expect you to know, but you have no real point in being here since I might as well be suspended.. Go find some other dog that can even be some use to you.”

“But, Doc..”

“But, Doc nothing,” the St. Bernard cut in, “I’ve had about enough of hoping. I’ve been trying to stay optimistic that things would get better, only to be smacked in the face by reality. I’d rather just be left here by my lonesome.”

He turned his head back to Star and heaved out another sigh. He patted Star on the back and forced a smile.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“It’s okay Doc, I understand.”

Star gave a weak smile before he exited the house. Doc laid his head back down and groaned.

“Way to go Doc. You probably just angered one dog who might have actually believed you. Nice,” he whispered to himself.

Chapter Twelve:

Ritchie laid down near Duchess. The grandfather clock that sat in a far corner ticked off the seconds as the two dogs continued to stare at nothing in particular. Ritchie gave a loud yawn and scooted closer to Duchess. She looked at him and smiled sympathetically before pushing him away with a paw.

“You need to learn restraint,” she simply said.

“Aww, c’mon Dear. You’ve been ‘restraining’ me ever since we got back home,” Ritchie whined.

Duchess stood up and patted Ritchie on the head gently, shaking her head from side to side as if she were teaching a small pup. “Well, this is a lesson. Next time someone says that I fell down a well, please, do remember that it’s the middle of Winter, there aren‘t any open wells in this town that I‘m aware of, and that you should go for help. Instead of charging valiantly into some strange house only to get caught by Greg and his puppy minions.”

“Hey, at least my intentions were pure.”

“If only your thinking was as logical as your motives are ‘pure’.”

Just then, there was a scratching on their door before a dog poked her head through. It was Dipsy, still not having finished her lunch from the look of jerky still in her mouth.

“Oh, Dipsy. What brings you here?” Duchess asked.

“Well, it’s been a few days,” she swallowed, “and we’re gonna do that voting thing. Everyone has to be in the boiler room as soon as they can.”

Without another word she vanished from sight, most likely to tell everyone else. Duchess began walking towards the door with Ritchie following close behind her.

“It’s really a shame, that such a thing had to happen to Doc.”

“How are we voting then Honey?”

“For once, I don’t know. I’m split. From what you said, he looked really shocked when he saw how Lucy and her mate looked, but we can’t know if he was acting or not. And the decision he made after that was just not the way to go… I guess it’ll just depend on who else there is to choose from.”

He silently nodded as the two exited from their home. The trip to the boiler room took longer than they would have liked, no thanks to the way they had been bandaged, which stiffened their walking. The sun was already rising, and soon would be at the very center of the sky. They guessed that the meeting was to take place at this time so everyone wouldn’t be scared witless to exit their homes. A gentle breeze carried the scents of many other dogs before they entered the boiler room. As soon as they did, they saw Doc, and another dog standing to their left. From the looks of it, this other dog was Doc’s competition. The other dog turned his head away from one conversation and back to the main door, only to jump in surprise as he saw Duchess and Ritchie.

“Oh, ugh, hi there. I’m.. ugh.. Henry! Nice to meet you!” he stammered.

Ritchie bowed to Henry, and Duchess just nodded. The two walked away and sat down amongst the growing crowd of dogs. Duchess turned to Ritchie, a most puzzled look on her face.

“Is it just me, or did that dog-”

“smell familiar?” Ritchie cut in, “Yeah, he did. But-”

“it’s probably nothing. You’re right. We shouldn’t worry about it unless there’s reason to.”

Ritchie nodded his head and Duchess faced the front. He casually looked back at the entrance and saw Balto, Jenna, and Boris enter. He saw Henry almost stumble when Jenna came through, but he suddenly shot to attention as Balto followed in after her. He thought nothing of it. The three sat down beside Ritchie and Duchess, and the started a conversation to pass the time. Minutes later, the talking began to die down as a dog stepped up before them.

“Thank you all for coming here today. Now that a certain mess was cleaned up, we can finally go on with this issue that is most important. The following two candidates will now step forward and present to you the reasons of why they should be looked up to, to take care of our town. Afterwards, you shall all vote, a rare thing indeed, on the candidate which you believe is most suited for the position. While the speeches are in process though, I ask that you refrain from loud conversation, or catcalling. That will be all… Will the two candidates please step forward?”

The dog left the front, and the two other dogs came on. The St. Bernard stepped forward and cleared his throat. He looked out to the crowd wearily and began.

“Good afternoon. My name is Doc, in case you did not know. I have been the leader and judge of this town since before I, or some of you, can remember, and I must say it has been an honor to do so.” He paused briefly and coughed quietly. “I have given my heart and soul to protect you all over these long years, and I dare say that I haven’t done as bad of job as I could have. 

“But recently, I made a mistake. There was a murder of a most ghastly nature, and I, regrettably, did nothing to let the populous know before it was too late. At the time, I thought that it was the best course of action that I could take. I wanted to prevent fear and mistrust from rearing their ugly heads, but I see now, that in trying to prevent such things, I have only worsened what could have been. Even though I was asked by a few dogs to come out with the truth, I refused to listen as I was too clouded by my own thinking to listen to others. And for causing all this trouble, I give you my deepest of apologies.

“Although I am sorry for this, I do not believe that this warrants my removal. Everyone makes mistakes, including the ones that are in charge. I have made very few of these mistakes over the past few years, of course, I am not saying that I haven’t made them, just not as frequently as I could