anyone about what happened here, or they won’t be afraid to shatter innocent lives.” Kaltag whispered.

Doc showed no visible motion and said nothing. He turned away from Kaltag and began to head home. From underneath a stack of crates near Kaltag, a smile appeared. Hal walked up to him and patted him on the back.

“Well my Pup, you’re on your way! Too bad you were coming back to your senses towards the end, we’ll have to fix that today. But don’t worry, even from that old-timer’s little ‘Morse Code’ session, I know exactly what’s going on now. That’s one thing I can thank Brother for,” Hal snickered, “but anyways, let us be off back inside to get plenty of rest, after all, you three are in for a most unpleasant day.”

Kaltag nodded, half in sadness, half in obedience. “Yes Sir.”

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

It had been true. Not a soul had been on that lonely street. Balto’s pace quickened as he slinked closer and closer to her house. Jenna’s home. His thoughts and heart raced faster as he came within a few feet. He swallowed hard and his mouth hung open loosely. His paws made a dull thumping sound as he crept onto the porch. He moved to the window sill and peered through amber eyes into the warm living room. He saw Jenna inside, sleeping soundly and peacefully. A small smile spread itself across Balto’s face as he saw her chest rising and falling slowly, mesmerizing him. The glow from the fire radiated off of every red or white hair on her delicate body. Why was he hesitating? Why wasn’t he rushing in there to share that basket with her? His smile faded and he lowered himself from the window. Balto knew the answer to his questions already. He was afraid to get her into anymore trouble. He wanted to protect her from any harm… Balto shook his head and pushed down the fur on his head. He was going in. If what she was feeling was anywhere close to half of what he had felt, then he was certain that this was for the best. Balto took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before edging towards the pet flap, and eventually through it. The warm atmosphere of the room enveloped his body the moment he set foot into the house. The grandfather clock in the room softly chimed out 1 o’clock. Balto tiptoed towards Jenna silently, not wishing to wake her from her sleep. Aside from tripping over the leg of a chair, he did fairly well. Balto came right to the edge of the basket and took in another deep breath through his nostrils and sighed. Jenna smelled almost like a flowery meadow in springtime. So warm and inviting. That’s it, he knew he was going to kick himself later, but he had to wake her up, just to hear that angelic voice of hers that sang in his ears. He leaned his head down near hers.

“Hey Jen,” he whispered quietly.

Jenna cracked an eye open and yawned. “Not right now Balto, I’m really tired right now…” Shortly after she mentioned his name, her eyes fluttered open and she whirled around to look into his face. “Balto!” she cried with glee, “I-I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again!”

Jenna’s legs shot her straight up, and within seconds she was nuzzling Balto tenderly and crying, but unlike their previous meeting, these were tears of joy. Balto laid a paw on her back and rubbed noses with her, beaming the whole while. Jenna gazed into his amber eyes deeply, and he did the same into her brown ones.

“Balto… Please tell me that you’ll stay here, until you are allowed back. Being without you was so horrible. I felt so miserable and hopeless.”

“I felt the same way too Jen.” Balto thought for a second. It was his duty to keep her happy, so he nodded. “I’ll stay. I promise.”

The red and white husky’s legs began to feel shaky. Balto smiled and licked her cheek.

“C’mon Jen, let’s get to bed.”

He walked her gently over to the basket, both dog’s eyes locked with the others. Jenna laid down on the comfy pillow in the basket, and Balto followed. They snuggled close together and fell asleep, still smiling, their two hearts beating together, as one.

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

Lilith rose from the cold, hard-packed earth. Something felt different. She looked down and could barely make out that the ground was much closer to her than normal. She wagged her tail and realized how short and stubby it was. Where was she? Her eyes blinked a few times and soon the darkness that had surrounded her began to clear. She saw her black and white fur swirl on her shoulders and that the speckles of white on her back were missing. Who was she? The floorboards above her sighed and she chose not to stay a moment longer. She bolted to the nearest exit and found herself in an alley. A flake fell onto her nose, but didn’t melt. Lilith shook her head and sent the flake flying. She took in a deep breath through her nostrils, crinkling her nose soon afterward. There was a curious odor that hung heavily in the air. It almost made her sneeze. She glanced up into the dark, cloudy sky. There was a ominous glow on the horizon, and she could see black powder falling through the clouds. It began to gather heavily on the ground, and turned what white fur she had black. Without warning, she gave a loud sneeze and her eyes watered. It had to be soot that was ruining her fur. Her ears twitched back and forth, and she could here a loud crackling and the sounds of yelling and screaming. She tilted her head back down and was about to head back inside when something caught her eye. Two dark figures raced down the street before, and disappeared down the opposite alley. Being curious, Lilith chased after them, until she reached the entrance of that alley. She saw that the alley ended abruptly with another building, and that shadows were at the far end, but she couldn’t make out the figures easily. She heard the larger one yelling at the smaller one, and he seemed to be angry. In one sudden movement, the larger of the two latched onto the scruff of the smaller one. He threw the smaller figure into the wall hard, and Lilith found herself screaming out in distress and objection.

~-~-

“Noo!”

Lilith’s eyes snapped open as her shriek from her dream carried on into reality. As soon as she realized that she was screaming, she immediately clamped her mouth shut tightly. She scanned around the dark room hurriedly and sighed in relief when she saw the other dogs still fast asleep. But then she felt a sudden pricking on the back of her neck. She swallowed hard and dared herself not to look back. Please tell her that it was just in her imagination…

“You are alright I presume… Right, Sister Dear?” she heard a familiar voice ask.

Her ears lowered against her head and she turned around slowly. A set of wild blue eyes glared down at her merrily. He licked around his painted lips and yellowing teeth before shivering.

Lilith closed her eyes, scrambling for a response. “Just… peachy,” she replied.

Hal tutted. “What a shame. Lying to your own sibling. And what if I were to punish you for something like that. No one can protect you.” Lilith‘s eyes widened slightly. “Lucy isn’t here. Steele isn’t here. Burt is gone. And Mother’s not here either. They’re all dead…”

Lilith stood up and stared at Hal, not sure whether to show anger or plain unhappiness in her expression. “Don’t talk about them like that. Especially Mom.”

“And why not? She’s gone. A bullet through her head proved that. Oh but wait,” Hal gasped mockingly, “is it because of this pathetic ribbon she gave you?” he grinned toothily and stuck a claw in one of the loops, “This thing that you fret over daily. It amazes me. What would happen if it were to… come undone?” 

Hal laughed quietly and began to tug the loops tauntingly. Lilith felt a low, deep growl resonate from her chest, her eyes shrinking to slits, and her teeth baring.

“You untie that ribbon, and I’ll tear you apart…” she snarled.

Hal took his paw away from the red ribbon and went on to pat Lilith on the head, leaving her dumbfounded.

“I’m proud of you Sister Dear… You’re on your way…” Hal smirked.

Her mouth hung open as his words sank in. Darn it! Why was she falling so easily to his influence?! Lilith lowered her head and mumbled under her breath. She suddenly felt an uncomfortable sensation and began to scratch at her collar. Hal gave a crooked smile and twirled around, flicking his bushy, white tail in her face. He walked casually beside each sled dog, bringing an iron, unforgiving paw down on each of their skulls, rudely awakening them.

“Alright Pups. If you thought the past set of sunrises and sunsets were torture, than after today, you will think of them as picnics… Prepare for the worst.” 

Hal gave a merry chuckle while he ran a claw through Star’s headfur. He could see the pups also waking from the corner of his eye. He bowed his head and sweetly whispered into Star’s ear.

“You’re first…”

Hal inhaled the smaller dog’s scent, both eyes and grin widening as he did so. He clenched his scruff tightly and tossed the small dog like a rag doll through the air. Star landed roughly on his head. His body tensed in pain as he yowled. Oh yes… it was going to be a lovely day.

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

Maurice snored loudly into the sleeves of his shirt. His curled, black mustache rose and fell with each