voice from the woods. He crawled out of his snow nest and wandered towards the voice. He could hear it, but not see the source of it. It sounded almost feminine, smooth and attractive.

“Magnum... you are the American lead dog are you not?”

“Uh yes?”

“I know how you can get ahead of those Russian dogs.”

“Oh really?”

“There is a short cut, take it. Don't go around the valley, that will lead you on a long path. Descend into the valley, there you will find a path to get to the main path, it will save a lot of time.”

“Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Hey what's your name?” There was silence. Nothing but the cold Siberian wind answered.

Chapter 8: Decent into the Valley

The American team was motivated to get to the short cut. They wanted to be there first and not be seen when they take it that way they Russians won't follow. All the dogs were in a full out sprint and left the Russians way behind who were pacing themselves. Kurgan told his team,

“Don't worry! At that pace they will exhaust themselves and we will pass them.”

The American team saw a path off the bridge that seemed to descend into the valley. The temperature seemed to warm up a little as the team descended, which was odd. The air seemed to have a damp feeling. The team kept a moderate pace but also cautious. Paladin commented,

“I say, the atmosphere is here is rather...eerie.”

“Just your mind playing tricks. Keep going!” barked Magnum. The vegetation started to fade, and soon they were in a narrow path of rocks, ice, and snow. The warm damp air was unnatural, it made all the dogs a little nervous. The silence was also unnatural. Not even the dogs could hear a critter scamper across the rocks. The moon was there in the sky as a white light. It was night and the judges fired off their flares. The sled stopped and the musher had took out his gear to set up camp. He let loose all the dogs and let them form their snow nests.

“Crimson, this doesn't feel right. It's autumn in Siberia and it's warm and damp. What's even weirder is the snow is not melting. It doesn't add up.” Balto mentioned.

“I'm sure there's some reason. I wouldn't think about it too hard.” shrugged Crimson. Balto wasn't satisfied. He knew there was a reason, but would he like that reason? Balto went over to Magnum.

“Hey Magnum, why did you go off the path down here? Some kind of short cut.”

“Who told you about this short cut?”

“Well I heard a voice in the woods tell me about it.”

Balto twitched in the shock of stupidity he just heard.

“Why did you listen to a voice you couldn't identify?!”

“I knew it wasn't Russian. She seemed to sound legit.”

She? Balto had a suspicion. It must be Silver Cloud. The only female dog in this race was on the Norwegian team but they are way behind. It had to be that wolf. Balto started asking questions to himself, why would she lead them down to such a creepy place. Balto looked around and an ambush would be easy. Such a thought made him uneasy. Who's side was this wolf on?

Steele was sleeping in his nest and he heard a disturbance. He got out and looked around in the black night. The dead landscape stared at him and it talked with a subtle zephyr. In the corner of his eye he saw something rise over a ridge line. He didn't know what it was, after all, peripheral vision only picks up movement. That's all was Steele saw was movement and it disappeared. Behind him, his mushed approached him,

“Hey boy, what are doing up so late?” Then the musher caught the movement in the corner of his eye.

“Hey what's that?” Humans are curious creatures, sometimes a little brave with their curiosity, especially if they have a pistol. The man took out his pistol and approached the ridge. He got on top and Steele could see his silhouette. You could see him looking around on the ground. Then he raised his pistol and started screaming and firing. Right then, a spear of black matter shot out and impaled the musher with brutal ferocity. The spear threw the musher away. Steele barked madly,

“Everybody wake up! Now! NOW! Our musher just got killed!” The dogs popped out of their nest and smelled blood in the air and something else. It had an unearthly stench that couldn't be described in any language. The dogs whimpered and formed a circle. Balto growled,

“I knew this was a bad place. God knows if we'll make it out of here!” Just then Magnum took off. He was whimpered high tailing it.

“Forget you fellas! I'm leaving!”

“Don't go Magnum! You'll die alone!” barked Drake,

“I'll die if I stay here!” Just as Magnum said that. A two unearthly four legged creatures with dull glowing eyes, with a color that the dogs never thought existed, flanked Magnum. Magnum got up to strike one of them. They quickly knocked him down and started to maul him with their teeth. They heard the screams of refusal coming from the unfortunate Mackenzie. The black masses noticed the group of dogs watching. They gave a deep groan that echoed. The dogs were overcome by the smell and started to see figures pop up around them. Some animal, some humanoid, some with no form at all. Balto talked to his new troops since Magnum was killed.

“This is it. A fight to the death. You saw what they did to Magnum. That's what happens when you do this alone. We are now a pack. Packs are one unit; fight like it. Now we're going to run in pairs and try to get out of this valley. If you have to kill, do it in pairs. NOW GO!”

The pack of dogs ran down the valley abandoning their sled. CJ and Paladin were running. Then a black boar confronted them. Paladin stared it down while CJ jump around and flanked its neck. The boar roard in pain and shook off CJ. CJ grunted as he was slammed to the ground, then the last thing he saw saw were those tusks mulling his helpless body. Paladin retreated but then was picked up by a swarm of spiders that smothered him. He died peacefully as the countless bites became numb. Balto witnessed that CJ and Paladin were killed. There is almost no match here; a fight means death.

The sky then showed enormous bats. The bats swooped in. Most ducked, but Drake got picked up and taken to worlds unknown. Another tried Steele. Steele jumped for the neck and the bat went down with him and they tumbled in a violent fight. The bat ceased to move, Steele shook himself off and kept running.

Nobody knew what they were up against. All they knew was to keep running, but they were dropping like flies. Ricky confronted a skeletal creature with razors for arms. The swung and him but he dodged the fatal blows. Ricky then jumped off the wall and took the skull in his jaws. He removed the head but the body still chased him, Ricky then decided fighting wasn't a good idea.

The pack of dogs then came to a cave. Out of the cave, more of these things came out. From behind where was more. There wasn't anything out of this. But dawn broke! The creatures faded away and ceased to exist. The sun was their deus ex machina.

The dogs broke down in exhaustion and sorrow. Their master, Magnum, CJ, Paladin, and Drake were gone forever. So many feelings of discouragement flowed through. They're lost, tired, and being hunted by unknown creatures. There was not a single reason to not be afraid.

Chapter 9: Dawn in the Valley

The pack of 8 dogs wandered the foothills of the valley. They looked for water and food. The water was the snow and food was nowhere to be found. Many of them thought that they will die in the valley. But another thought haunted them. They knew at dusk, those things would come back to kill them all. Balto excused himself from the group.

“Excuse me, but I need to think.”

Balto wandered into a field of large boulders and rested next to one. What is he going to do? How is he going to get these dogs out to safety? They need food and water. They need to survive against these killers and fighting them would be folly. There seemed to be no way out. Just then, a familiar face peered around the corner, Silver Cloud.

Balto growled in rage and tackled her. He drooled for revenge, because five lives were lost and she was suspect.

“Why did you lead us into this God forsaken valley?! We're all going to die in the next two days or even perhaps tonight because Magnum listened to you!”

“What?!”

“Don't play innocent. You condemned us, so I'll return the favor before I go!”

Silver kicked off Balto and gave him a swipe with her paw, knocking Balto down. Balto grabbed her shoulder and wrestled her down.

“I'll make sure you'll pay for the 5 lives that were lost tonight!”

“Balto! Just let me explain!”

“Explain what? Explain why I saw Magnum mauled to pieces? Explain why Paladin was eaten by spiders? Explain every damn thing!” Balto kept his hold on Silver. Silver started to tell,

“I know the things that are killing you. They killed my pack too.”

Balto let go and stepped away in shock.

“So what are they?”

“The Kalak; evil spirits that'll take any form to cause death, decay, and destruction. My pack wandered into that valley and they were slaughtered.”

“How did you survive?” asked Balto. Silver turned her head away and resisted to say it.

“They made me their servant. That's why I told you to down there. They take my body and I say anything they want me too. I'm cursed Balto! I had to watch your friends die too. I've seen many others die before you because they want things to feed on. I'm sorry.” Balto nuzzled Silver to comfort her.

“Is there anything we can do to save ourselves maybe even help you?” Balto asked anxiously. Silver shook her head.

“There is one thing but it's near impossible.”

“Challenge the Kalak lord, one-on-one, in a fight to the death. If you lose, you will be assimilated into the Kalaks. You'll lose all goodness in your heart and will lose your free will. The flesh will be numb and will feel like death for eternity. My