Chapter 5: Destroyer 
 

Balto and Jenna headed into town early the next morning, making their way stealthily to Rosy’s house, so they could eat breakfast. As one ate, the other watched for anyone approaching. Balto wasn’t as lucky this time as he had been the first, or as he had been each subsequent day as he came to the house for food. This time, Jenna heard Rosy and her parents enter the house. “Balto, hide!” she whispered. “I’ll distract them!” Balto hid in a cupboard as Jenna ran to the front door. Balto could hear what was happening. “Jenna!” Rosy shouted with joy. “Where’ve you been?” Jenna barked happily, and Rosy spoke again. “Where’s Balto? Dad, I’m worried about him.” “It’s alright, Rosy. I’m sure if Jenna’s here, he’s not far away.” Balto heard several footsteps come into the kitchen. “Look, Rosy,” said Rosy’s mother, “his bowl is empty. I guess we just missed him.” “You’re right. I hope he’ll be back soon. It’s been days since I last saw him.” Rosy and her family went upstairs, and Balto came out of the cupboard. “I wish I could say hi to Rosy,” he said with regret, “but…if anyone sees me like this, it’ll cause nothing but trouble, even after this whole thing is over.” He sighed, and Jenna walked up and nuzzled him. “You know, I didn’t thank you yet. For saving me, and for taking those tools in the first place? So, thank you. Thank you so much, Balto. I love you.” They kissed each other, and Balto smiled. “You sure know how to make me feel better, Jenna.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I do what I can for the man I love.” Balto licked her muzzle, and she kissed him. “Now then,” Balto said, “there’s something I have to do.” “What’s that?” They headed for the door, and Balto spoke. “Check on the others.” Jenna was shocked. “The others? So it isn’t just me? I guess that makes sense.” “Sorrow’s been using them to draw me into one-on-one fights with his advance forms. There were three before this last one.” They went to the boiler room, and everyone that had been attacked was still there. All of them were happy to see Balto still alive, and that he had rescued Jenna. Balto was surprised to see Morse and Doc there. “You haven’t been attacked, have you?” he asked. “No,” said Doc. “Steele came and warned us.” “Can you tell us all something about what’s going on?” asked Morse. “We’re a bit in the dark here.” Balto now gave them all a description of everything that had happened up until he saved Jenna, and it seemed to make them less frightened to know what was happening. “So you have plenty of food and water?” Balto asked when he was finished. “Yes,” said Doc. “We’ll just stay right here until you take care of everything.” “Don’t worry, everyone,” Balto said. “I’m sure you’ll be alright. Just lay low.”

Balto and Jenna left the boiler room, and Balto decided it would be a good idea to check the previous days’ battle scene for anything helpful, considering that Sorrow had actually been there. They went to the spot, and Balto used his virus vision, trying to see if there were any unseen hints. He saw nothing…except a glaring streak of red, leading across part of the ground. He examined it more closely, seeing that it was an ultra-high concentration of inert common cold viruses, posing no danger. He ignited it with the virus cleansing and watched it burn along the ground. Suddenly, when it approached a wall, the streak ended in a circle, which burned much more brightly. Balto switched back to his normal vision as the flame disappeared, and noticed that there was an envelope partially buried in the snow, the intent of which must have been for protection from accidental discovery. Balto picked up the envelope, opened it, and held the letter up so Jenna could read it as well.

Mister Balto,

I don’t know where you snuck off to, but go to the warehouse in the mornings for future clues. As for now, you have succeeded often enough that I have decided to raise the bar. Follow the map on the back of this letter to reach a location where you shall confront your next enemy. I know you may be thinking of ignoring this challenge and simply hiding, but if you do, I swear to you, I will turn this monster loose on the town, and nothing will survive. Mark my words.

Regards,

Sorrow

“Well…” Balto said. “It sounds like he decided to up the ante. No other clue was this serious.” “You must’ve rattled his cage.” “When someone messes with you, I don’t rattle their cage; I tear it apart.” “I tried to tell Sorrow what he was getting himself into, but he wouldn’t listen.” “I can’t make the mistake of underestimating him, though, or judging by this…it could get very costly.” “Still, it means you’re getting somewhere. It means you’re pushing back hard enough to hurt him. I’ll bet he’s feeling it, Balto. That’s why he’s going to make it tougher on you.” “Then if he wants a hard fight, I’ll give him one.”

The map led Balto and Jenna to a cave some distance from Nome. The cave penetrated deep into the bedrock of a low mountain, but its full length could not be seen, as there was a bend before long. The map didn’t actually lead them very far in; it merely took them into an enormous cavern in the left wall. Balto had brought Jenna along because he was too worried by the prospect of leaving her alone, and she kept close to him as they entered the cavern. It was actually quite bright inside; there were holes in the ceiling, much of which was made of ice anyway, so there wasn’t much to block out the light. Large ice stalagmites sat on the floor, and many, many ice stalactites hung from the ceiling. The walls were rock, and a few rock pillars reached up from the floor to the ceiling. In approximately the center of the room, Sorrow was standing on a rock, and two groups of advance forms were lined up facing each other. Balto and Jenna walked up to one end of these lines and stopped, and two advance forms got between them and the exit, though they kept their distance from the pair. “Hello again, Balto,” Sorrow said. “And hello again, Jenna. Excellent trick to get her back, wolf-dog. But let us not have any pleasantries. It’s my great pleasure to introduce you both to a friend of mine.” He gestured towards the end of the advance forms’ lines opposite from Balto and Jenna, and the advance forms moved back hastily as the newest foe came into view, walking between the two lines toward the pair. The beast had a somewhat elongated, mat-black body, with a dark purple tint in many places. It had six legs, with three clawed toes evenly diverged around each foot. It had a tail, a rather short and flat one. On its back were four long, skinny, rough tentacles, each having a thick, four-inch long stabbing weapon on the end that tapered down from the base to the tip. It had two heads, each on a slightly stretched neck, and its two pairs of eyes glowed a pale blue-white. There were two rows of three curved teeth in each mouth. It was highly muscular on the whole, and appeared totally calm, lacking any of the tension normally present in the other beasts he had encountered. It walked toward them surrounded by a violet cloud of airborne bacteria, coming from its mouth and even out of its skin, leaving a trail of it as it went, the end of which was constantly burning away. Balto could see with his virus vision that the creature was absolutely full of whatever pathogen it embodied. “This is a great honor for you, Balto and Jenna,” said Sorrow. “Before you stands the most infamous disease in history. Meet Abaddon. Yersinia Pestis. The Black Death.”

The dogs immediately shrank back in fear, but Abaddon didn’t do anything. He simply…nodded, sucking the bacteria into his body and burning the rest of the trail, eliminating the danger of any infection. “So, this is the famous Balto. It’s a pleasure.” “Ah…the same,” said Balto. “I knew Sorrow had dangerous players here, but I never would have expected to see the bubonic plague.” Sorrow spoke up. “Abaddon mutated from one of the original plague bacteria from Europe. He is the only Black Death advance form that has ever existed.” Abaddon nodded. “No non-virus entity has ever seen me and lived. You may be the first.” “Well, Ebola didn’t kill a third of Europe in the Middle Ages.” “We have had our time. We no longer wreak havoc or spread fear, at least not the way we used to. Humans have found ways to fight my brethren, but Ebola clings still, even in the future, and no one knows how to defeat it. Besides, Sorrow is powerful enough to command me, and you’ve made him out to be a complete idiot. How is that, anyway? How do you succeed, over and over?” “I suppose it’s because I know what I’m fighting for.” “I knew it would be love. It is a great asset for you now. Anyway, I think we should discuss our business here.” The two were circling slowly. “Now, I am only telling you this because I sincerely believe it. You must know that even if you defeat me today, eventually Sorrow will kill you, or your Jenna. I am offering to kill you both together right now. Do consider it; you no longer postpone death, it will be painless, and you will pass on together.” “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that. My first priority is Jenna’s safety, then mine if at all possible. If there’s any chance of her survival, I need to take the path that allows it.” “Very well. It’s a shame.” “What is?” “That one of us must kill the other. You seem a noble soul.” “I wish I didn’t have to fight, either, but I have a responsibility.” “Yes. Oh, well. The battle awaits. Skill against skill; brute strength requires too much luck.” Abaddon and Balto raised their tools, moving slowly back and forth…before erupting into furious combat. Abaddon started only using two of his four weapons, but Balto found even those extremely difficult to deal with; the advance form was as quick as he was skilled. Abaddon exploited a hole in Balto’s desperate defense to whip him in the face. He wasn’t using the point of the spikes, just the blunt side, but it bit nastily all