jumped high, making it through a small hole in an otherwise solid wall of ice, and landed hard. After a few more yards, the path suddenly dropped into a chute-like twisting course that took them downward. Balto ceased trying to run, because it made him slip on the sloping ice. Now, he just kept his feet still and slid, as if he were on skis. They picked up blistering speed by the time they reached the end, which quickly brought them into another bad situation; there was a deep crevasse ahead of them, which was also quite wide. “Go for it!” Jenna shouted. Balto empowered himself with a yell and propelled himself off the ground, flying through the air, still yelling, Jenna clinging to him tightly. They hit the ground, Balto’s paws cracking the ice, and he ran on, getting back up to speed. Coming around another corner, they ended up on a long straight, now devoid of ice crystals on the floor. Balto saw two advance forms up ahead, one on either side of them, who were gradually moving toward each other. With a sudden rush of dread, Balto realized that the advance forms were timing their slowdown so that by the time he and Jenna reached them, they would be lined up to attack on both sides, and he knew he couldn’t attack with both virus arms while holding Jenna. He struggled to think of a plan, and he didn’t relish the one that came into his head. The advance forms were almost beside them now. He looked up at Jenna. “Trust me,” he said. Jenna, having noticed their predicament also, nodded. “Okay,” she said, closing her eyes, her heart fluttering with fear. Just before the advance forms attacked, Balto tossed Jenna high into the air above him. He swung both virus arms, catching the arm of each advance form. He twisted sharply, and they were both flung off balance, falling to the ice. Balto looked up, lowered his speed a little, and caught Jenna as she came back down. After several moments, she opened her tightly closed eyes. “Wow!” she gasped, and Balto could see that she had actually enjoyed it. “Piece of cake,” he said.

They rounded a bend and saw a gaping cave mouth at the end of a long grotto. At long last, their exit was in sight. The ceiling of the grotto was covered with fat ice stalactites, but the floor was fairly clear. “Déjà vu,” Balto said, sprinting faster. Suddenly, he noticed several advance forms perched up on the walls, holding large rocks. Balto was expecting them to throw them at he and Jenna, but instead, they began flinging them at the ceiling ahead. Each rock dislodged one or two stalactites, which became lethal falling missiles. “Now this déjà vu I didn’t want!” Balto cried, dodging frantically, keeping Jenna’s body centered over his to ensure that if something wouldn’t hit him, it would have no chance of hitting her. Quickly, the task of spotting and dodging the stalactites became overwhelming. Balto thought for a moment before getting an idea. He tilted the heads of the virus arms upward. Now, whatever they saw would be transmitted into his brain. This made it easier to dodge, and thankfully so, because the amount of plunging stalactites was increasing rapidly. Balto rolled out of the way of a huge chunk of falling ice, only to have to roll again to avoid a following one. He jumped back and forth, stalactites crashing down on his left and right, desperately keeping Jenna and himself out of harm’s way. However, he didn’t know how much longer that would be possible…until shrieks sounded from the wall. He looked in that direction and saw the advance form’s blackened bodies drop from their perches and crumble like ash as they struck the floor. Abaddon, who had been running along the wall on a ledge the whole way, had slain them with contagion, infecting them with the black plague from a distance. Balto now sprinted faster yet, wanting more than anything to be out of the cavern. At the very end, before Abaddon could stop it, an advance form suddenly threw an icicle across the top of the exit, knocking loose almost every stalactite. Balto yelled and jumped forward, getting out of the way of the now-collapsing ceiling. Abaddon decapitated the advance form and jumped through the torrent of falling rubble, which created an impenetrable ridge of ice behind them.

Balto was grateful for the chance to stop, and he put Jenna down. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Yeah, I’m alright,” she replied. They hugged each other, and when they finished, Balto turned to Abaddon. “Thank you.” Abaddon nodded. “Um…why did you help us?” “My loyalty is with Equinox. I did not realize when I first went that Sorrow was opposing him. When I found out, I couldn’t very well go against him, so I am now on your side. How may I help?” “Our friends need protection. I’m sure you know who?” “Yes.” “I’ll come and introduce you to them in the boiler room tonight. I want you to keep them safe.” “Very well. It will probably be clear of our foes for now.” When evening came, Balto took Abaddon to the boiler room, introducing everyone personally and making sure they knew he was a friend. After this was done, he went outside with Abaddon to speak with him alone. “Jenna told me where the hideout Sorrow’s using now is. Do you know if he has any others?” “Yes. There is a third, an emergency backup location. I don’t know where it is; I’m not sure if he told anyone else.” “His other minions know it’s out there; Jenna told me he mentioned a ‘staging hideout’.” “That’s it. He uses it for that purpose now.” “Knowing that might come in handy eventually.” “So I am to stay here. What is your current plan?” “I guess I’ll just keep playing Sorrow’s game. Eventually, something’s going to have to change; he won’t be able to keep this up forever.” “Agreed. So for now, you are returning to your new hiding place?” “Yes,” he said, drawing a map in the snow to reveal the location to Abaddon. “We’re just going to stay there as long as we can. I don’t know how Sorrow could possibly find us there.” “Nor I. I believe you will be safe. Until we meet again.”

It was pitch black inside the hunting shack later that night. Balto and Jenna slept soundly, snuggling up to each other. One of the virus arms opened its eyes and uttered a very low growl. Balto awakened, his senses sharpening with the realization of why the arm had alerted him; there had been a very tiny noise in the next room. Balto didn’t move, and he didn’t move the arms, pretending he was still asleep. He used his virus vision and looked through the wall. There it was, another rabies advance form, which suddenly charged into the room with a roar. Jenna awakened with a startled shout, and Balto leaped out of the bed at the attacking virus. There was a wet stabbing sound, and agonized groans penetrated the blackness. “Balto!” Jenna screamed. “Balto!” She turned on a generator, flooding the room with light. Balto was unhurt; he was standing there with one of his virus arms shoved clean through the advance form’s chest, purple blood spilling out from its ruptured heart. It gagged, trying to breathe with blood pouring from its mouth, and finally went limp. Balto withdrew the virus arm, and the monster’s body collapsed. He went over and held Jenna comfortingly. “Are you okay?” she gasped. “I’m fine, Jenna. Don’t worry. It’s alright.” When they were done embracing, Balto looked at the advance form’s body. “It must have tracked us here from the garbage lot; my blood would’ve left a strong scent trail for them. At least I can make sure they can’t do it again.” He shook his head. “You know,” he said, “Sorrow is just going to keep chasing us as long as he has reason to be here. He’s never going to stop.” “What are we going to do?” Balto sighed. “I think there’s only one option.” He looked at Jenna. “I have to make it so there’s no reason for him to be here. I have to destroy whatever it is he’s looking for. Did you ever hear anything about where it is?” “He mentioned something to one of his advance forms about accidentally causing an avalanche when he was climbing a mountain on some kind of search. He said it was the mountain nearest the one he landed on when he came.” “I think I know which one he means. We’ll have to go there and see if we can find anything.” “Do you have any idea of what it is?” “No, but knowing Sorrow, it’s going to be something ugly.”

Balto and Jenna walked up a very steep slope, making their way further and further up the mountain that Sorrow had been searching on. The avalanche had made the snow rough and more difficult to navigate, but as they climbed higher, it became smoother. “If we reach the top of the avalanche site,” said Balto, “we’ll be right near where Sorrow…” “Balto,” Jenna interrupted, her voice disturbed. He turned and saw that she was staring at something. When he looked in the same direction, all he could do was stare as well. In the side of the mountain, there was a foreboding eight-foot-tall stone door. Balto and Jenna approached it, studying it. It appeared to open by splitting in the middle and sliding into the wall to either side. On the front, there was an etching of a silhouette of Alaska, in the midst of which was etched a bacillus silhouette. There was writing on the lintel of the door in large letters, and smaller writing around the upper part of the jamb. Balto looked at the large-lettered writing first. “Mycobacterium leprae,” he said. “It’s the name of leprosy bacilli. The tools gave me a lot of knowledge about this kind of thing.” He proceeded to read the rest of the writing. “All besides the master who enter…walk to their death. The power beyond…shall be claimed only by him.” Balto looked back down at the etching on the door, determination in his face. “I’m not afraid,” he said, and extended the tongues of the virus arms into some spaces between the doors. Slowly, he drew them open, and he and Jenna were suddenly bombarded with a terrible stench as green smoky vapor spilled from the door. They stepped back, coughing. “What is that?” Jenna asked. “Is it leprosy?” “No,” Balto replied,