Balto was able to enjoy his alone time with Jenna, but afterwards, thoughts of what he had seen and heard flooded his mind, troubling him deeply. He stood staring at the moon out the front window, trying to quiet his mind, if only a little. Jenna walked up to him and nuzzled his cheek, kissing him. “How’s my man?” “Alright. Just need to stop my mind from racing.” He turned toward her, and they shared a kiss. Jenna moved up to him, pressing on the spike wounds, and he grunted with pain. She pulled back, concerned. “What is it, honey?” She saw the wounds, and her eyes widened. “Balto, oh, my word! How did that happen?” “I tripped on the way home and fell into a junk pile. Something got me.” “Oh man, Balto, are you okay?” “Yeah, babe, I’m fine.” “Are you sure? Those look deep.” “Not really. Honey, don’t worry about it. I’m okay, really.” Jenna went to lick the wounds, but as she did, Equinox’s words rang in Balto’s head: “It is a deadly virus…” Balto held Jenna back. “Please don’t, Jenna; they’re a little tender.” “Okay. I’m glad you didn’t get hurt worse.” They walked to their bed and lay down. Balto kissed and licked Jenna’s muzzle. “I really love you, Jenna,” he said. Jenna returned the kiss and nibbled Balto’s ear. “I love you so much, Balto.”

Balto watched Jenna, standing there, both of them surrounded by blasting wind. As Jenna looked at him, smiling, Balto could tell something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what yet. He thought about telling her that he had a bad feeling, but suddenly, a snow bank several yards from them burst in a white shower. A beast appeared from behind it, seeming to materialize out of thin air. It was a muscular, worm-shaped creature with natural armor plating and hideous green skin. Several legs protruded from each side of its body, and it was using them to move at terrific speed. Its head was flattened and wide, and half its teeth stuck out over its lips. Its eyes were empty and lacked pupils or even a definite iris. It growled as it charged…straight for Jenna. Balto instinctively moved to get between her and the creature, but wait…he tried to move, but didn’t succeed. He tried again. No good, his paws seemed stuck to the ground. “Jenna!” he cried out. “Move!” She seemed to be paralyzed as well. Balto was desperate to move, to shove Jenna out of the way. He tried harder and harder; it was no use, there was no stopping it. The monster roared violently. “Please move! It’s going to…NO! JENNA!” It leaped. It bit…

Balto awakened, screaming in terror and kicking the blanket off of him. He tried to breathe, but his throat was so tight he could barely get any air. He whipped his head over to look at Jenna. She was lying there in the bed, not moving. He gasped and leaned over her, trying to hear a breath or feel a pulse. “Oh, please, oh, please, let her be alright, please, please…” Then, there it was. Laying his head on the side of her chest, he heard her heartbeat. He could feel her breathing. He put a paw on her cheek, feeling the warmth. She wasn’t dead, only asleep. The vision flashed in his mind again, and he whimpered with horror, lying back against the pillows. He put a paw over his eyes and began sobbing quietly. It had been tangible; he had felt the snow and the wind, he had heard every noise, he had seen… “It’s not real,” he began gasping, tears streaming down his cheeks, “it’s not real…it’s not real…” Jenna turned over, awakened, to see Balto crying. “Balto? Balto, what’s wrong? Balto!” She laid her body on his, and he took his paw away from his eyes. “Jenna,” he moaned, “Jenna…” “What happened? A nightmare?” Balto nodded and spoke with difficulty through his strangled throat and gasping sobs. “We both were out in the snow. Something came, a monster. It was running right at you. I tried to move, I tried to save you, but…but I couldn’t move, Jenna! I saw its teeth close on you…” He could no longer speak, and broke down into heavy sobs, shaking like a leaf. “It’s not real…it’s not real…” “You’re right, Balto, it’s not real. You’re right. Don’t be afraid.” Balto began hyperventilating, desperate for air. “Balto, no, slow down. Breathe slowly. Come on, now. Easy, my man.” Balto was able to slow his breathing. “Please!” he cried in fright. “Please tell me you’re okay, Jenna, please!” “I’m okay,” Jenna said soothingly. “I’m alright, see? Look at me.” She lifted one of Balto’s paws to her face, and he held it there. She kissed his paw. “I’m okay, love. I’m fine. See me? Hear my voice?” Balto nodded, drawing long, heavy breaths as his adrenaline wore off. “That’s it,” Jenna said, stroking his head. “Calm down. That’s my boy. Don’t be afraid, it wasn’t real. I’m alright.” Balto closed his eyes, and his breathing finally settled back to almost normal. It was still a little fast; his heart was beating with breakneck speed, but it too was slowing down. Jenna’s voice felt like a gentle warmth, bathing and calming it. “Are you alright?” “Yes. I’m alright now.” “Good.” She hugged him tightly. “That must have been some nightmare.” She pulled back, and Balto saw a tear fall from her eye. “Huh? Jenna, why are you crying?” Her voice shook. “You really scared me, sweetheart. That almost seemed like a panic attack.” Balto returned the hug. “I’m sorry,” he said. He lay his head down on a pillow, but Jenna kept hers up. “Balto,” she said, “I’ve been doing the math. Something appeared on that mountain tonight but left, on your way home, you had a conversation with a stranger, you have two unusual-looking injuries, and now, you’ve had a nightmare about monsters. Now, I know I may well be totally wrong on this, but I have a feeling that maybe you didn’t tell me everything.” Balto became very ashamed, and decided it would be best to confess. “You’re right. I didn’t fall into a junk pile. I lied to you, and I’m very sorry. It was wrong for me to take advantage of your trust like that. Please forgive me?” Jenna nodded and smiled reassuringly. “I forgive you, love. Thank you for saying you’re sorry; it lets me know you care about how I feel.” Balto’s ears drooped. “I just…I didn’t want to scare you. I saw something…disturbing. The stranger I met wasn’t a dog.” “I understand, and I forgive you, but I’d like to know what really happened.” “Well, when I was on the way home, I was walking through a back alley, and this…thing stopped me. It was huge and yellow, some kind of creature. It told me its name was Equinox, and that it was a mutant form of this African virus called Ebola. Anyway, it said it had a dire warning. An ‘abomination’ was about to come after me, so he said. He told me I was in the way of some kind of plan it had, and it would do anything to kill me. Thing is, anything included killing…killing you.” Jenna was a little frightened by this. “What is the ‘abomination’?” “He didn’t say anything other than it was like him, only a bacterium instead of a virus. I can’t imagine what it might be.” “Did he say when it would come?” “He said it was already here, and that when I saw it, I would recognize that that’s who it is.” “What are we going to do?” “He said he could give me tools to help me defend myself and you, but that it wouldn’t be nice. I asked that he give them to me, and he just stuck me with these spikes he had on two of his arms. It didn’t do anything; I have no idea what’s going on.” Balto shook his head slowly, feeling exhausted from the emotional drain. Jenna kissed him softly, rubbing his back, and he laid his head down, sighing at the feeling of his tense muscles loosening. After a few minutes, he sat up and hugged Jenna. “Do you want anything, darling?” he said. “No, I’m good,” she said. They snuggled up to each other and went to sleep, dark thoughts briefly kept from their minds by love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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