with its head only an inch from her shoulder, sniffing her fur carefully. Jenna bit her lip hard, trying to prevent herself from trembling. After a few seconds more of sniffing, the dakaitra leaned back…and turned around, walking to its victims’ bodies, which it sat down to feast on. It took Jenna a few moments to realize she was alright, and a few more to finally relax her stiffened muscles. She took a few cautious steps backward, watching the dakaitra carefully, and then turned around slowly, walking away as quietly as she could. When the beast was out of sight, she stopped, lying down and panting with terror. “I don’t get it,” she thought. “Why didn’t it kill me?” She decided it must have been because since it obviously preyed on the creatures that had attacked her, it would be inclined to eat them instead of a strange animal it had likely never seen before. Calming down was a very difficult task; her heart seemed like it would never stop pounding, but after a few minutes, it finally slowed, and after taking a small drink from a nearby pool, she started walking again.

Balto had guessed from its appearance the night before that the moon would be full this night, and he would finally find out why he of all animals was the one this pack needed to break their curse. Virtually the entire time he had been there he contemplated why it could be him, but the absence of clues left him stumped; he hadn’t known of the existence of this pack before his arrival, he had never met any of the wolves in it, and he had never heard of this “Hushed Well” or the curse that went with it. “I wonder how they even knew about me?” he thought. “If I’ve never seen any of them, how did they know I existed?” He couldn’t decide whether to dread the idea of finding out his role in their plan or to look forward to having his curiosity satisfied. It had been some time since he had given up on the idea of asking Rodama to tell him anything, but he assumed that the twisted elder would reveal what was to happen in due time. As noon passed and evening started to arrive, he began formulating another escape plan. Sentries were everywhere, obviously set up thickly to prevent any chance from him getting away unseen, but Balto thought he might not have to go unseen to escape. He already knew that the wolves had to stay fairly close to the Well in order to avoid being incapacitated by their pain, so he reasoned that even if he were spotted, he would need just enough time to get a short lead on the wolves and outrun them long enough that they would become unable to follow. The best time to make a break for it, he reasoned, would be when everyone was called to dinner; the sentries would come in then, and he could probably find a gap to slip through. He waited for the call, and when it came, Rodama came to escort him to where everyone was eating, as he had expected. “Come along,” he said. “We must eat.” “Alright, but I have to go find a tree first.” “Very well. A sentry will go with you.” Balto nodded, and after Rodama called one of the guards, they both went to the edge of the forest. The sentry eyed Balto suspiciously, and he glared. “Would you at least turn your head?” The sentry huffed and turned away, and a split second later, Balto’s paw smacked his head just under the ear, stunning him.

Rodama heard the sentry cry out, and looked in time to see Balto disappearing into the forest. He shouted to several warriors, and they sprinted after him.

Balto could hear by the voices behind him that he had a good lead. His timing had been absolutely perfect; all that had to be done now was to outlast Rodama and the others. He had been in very good shape before starting to do sled runs because of life on the street and the fact that he had wolf blood, but now, because of the sled runs, he was even more conditioned. He ran very quickly, taking light and very long strides, easily dodging undergrowth and tree trunks without slowing down. He looked back, seeing that a few of the warriors could no longer keep up. Rodama, however, was keeping pace. Balto looked ahead again and ran faster, forcing his muscles to work harder, taking deep, controlled breaths to hold off the burning sensation that accompanies deficient oxygen during strenuous exercise. Soon, he looked back again, and was unnerved to see that not only had Rodama not fallen back, he was now gaining. Balto didn’t know how to make himself move any faster; he was going the maximum possible speed without losing his footing. Slowly, but inexorably, Rodama caught him up, swatting his hind leg in the manner of a cheetah downing a gazelle. Balto slipped and fell, tumbling through the snow, sustaining many cuts and scrapes from rocks and bushes. He finally came to rest, panting hard. Rodama put a paw on his neck to keep him down, forcing Balto to look into his mutilated face. “I am sorry, wolf-dog, but we have plans for you. Thought the Well would stop me, did you?” Balto was indeed shocked that his plan had failed, and Rodama could see it in his eyes. “Since you are the vessel, being near you has a similar effect. It was the only way we could reach you in the first place.” He chuckled. “You must have thought you were so clever. I must admit, it was a good attempt. Now we must return; they are waiting for us.”

The terrible hunger in her stomach, the pain running through her legs and feet, the searing, throbbing agony of her wounds, the awful fatigue that made every step feel like dragging a large stone…Jenna wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on. She had allowed herself little rest that day, having been unable to conclude the direction she was headed, reduced to guessing based on backtracking a short way. With nothing to eat in the dead forest, the toll the journey was taking on her was becoming unbearable. It had come down to a matter of just concentrating on making it through the next step, but eventually that ceased to be helpful, and all that was now keeping her going was a constant focus on Balto, his face so clear in her mind’s eye from her tenacious focus that she could almost see him in front of her, which wasn’t difficult since her head was swimming so much and her vision was distorted. She knew she urgently needed someone to help, but she had not seen any more living creatures since the dakaitra had frightened away her attackers. This was a blessing and a misfortune at the same time; not meeting anyone else meant there was no chance of being waylaid by a hostile creature, but it also meant that whatever happened to her, she was on her own. She forced all thoughts out of her mind except Balto, clinging relentlessly to her focus on him. Yet even that soon seemed to be of no use; the going felt harder with every step, and at last, her body refused to go any farther, and she collapsed. For a moment, she lay there, vaguely aware of how heavy her breathing was. So many muscles were sore she could no longer tell exactly what was hurting; the pain was ubiquitous and utterly overwhelming. The dreadful emptiness in her stomach had not felt any worse after a certain point, but now that she was off her feet, she could feel it more acutely. Her mind was still refusing to stop, driving her to continue. “Get up! What are you doing? This is the last time you want to be stopping! You’re almost there; get up!” She tried hard, putting a valiant effort into it, but her legs refused to obey; she didn’t even get to full height before falling again. She started trying to crawl, dragging herself with her front legs, feeling earth and pebbles scratching against her stomach. Soon, however, her last reserves of energy gave out, and she stopped, lying still, trying to get enough air with each breath. Another voice in her head came to her, a voice she had not yet heard. “What’s the use?” she thought. “I tried, I didn’t quit, and now I’ve failed. Why should I keep torturing myself like this?” She covered her face with her paws, bitter tears beginning to drip down her cheeks. “Balto could have done it, if our places were switched. He’d be able to save me without something like this happening. And here I am, not able to do the same for him, when he needs me…I’m just not strong enough…” She began sobbing, her shoulders heaving violently. “I’m so sorry, Balto!” she cried to the air, her voice broken. “I can’t do it…I can’t go on…I’m sorry I let you down…” “Just look at me!” she thought furiously. “Balto’s counting on me, and I’m lying here in the dirt when time’s almost up! I don’t even deserve to see him again…” For all Jenna knew, these wolves intended to kill Balto at the full moon, and she would have to spend the rest of her life without him, knowing that if she had been able to get there in time, she might have been able to save him. For the longest time, she lay there, weeping with misery, feeling like every last bit of fight had gone out of her.

But then, another voice began speaking, and it helped drive away the anguish.

“It’s not over yet. There’s still time left. You can make it! You’ve come this far, after all. If you’ve managed to do that already, there’s no reason you can’t make it the rest of the way. It does hurt, and it’s hard to take, but think of whom you’re taking it for.” Jenna thought of Balto again, and could hear him telling her how much he loved her. “Nothing on this earth can stand between you and Balto. Not with how much we care for each other. You’re right; if your places were switched, he would save you. But you were wrong about not being able to do the same. It doesn’t matter what you have to do to save Balto; the point is, someone needs to come for him, and you’re the only one who can right now. He needs you, and you haven’t let him down yet…”

“And I vow I never will!”

She cried this last statement aloud, coming back into her senses and finding that she was standing. “As long as you’re waiting for me, I’m coming!” She began walking again, ignoring the stiffness and pain and weariness of her body, knowing