see how many he could kill before he got caught, because he knew that eventually everyone gets caught. He’d go out in a blaze of glory then. There was no way he was surrendering to anyone! He was too good… and if he wasn’t? He didn’t want to be alive. This was his calling now, he understood that. evil is evil. You can’t change it, better to embrace it. He had finally fought the raging….

He didn’t know how to explain the feelings inside of him…

“Euphoria? That sounded kind of right, he decided. Yes, he had finally fought the euphoria down and was preparing to go to sleep. He might find Balto tomorrow, he’d need to be ready. He nestled down and closed his eyes. He’d had to fight down a very strong urge to go back and kill Jenna tonight, now. But he knew he must wait, after all, “all things come to he who waits, right.”

He slowly drifted off to sleep…

...and heard an incessant scratching on the door. He was a little ticked off,

“but”, he thought, “surely they’ll go away.”

Ten minutes later, Steele was defiantly irritated. The scratching had not stopped, in fact it had intensified. Steele got up and pushed the door open. There was a young looking brown dog on the other side. He couldn’t have been more than a year old. He was obviously freezing, He shivered in the doorway.

“Si….sir…co.. co.. could I come in?”

His teeth were chattering. Steele sighed with distaste, but stepped aside, and let the young pup in.

“So what ya doing?” The pup asked.

“Trying to sleep,” Steele said, “like everyone else but you this late.”

“Oh, sorry,” the pup said, “I was looking for a place to stay and thought since I saw you come in here that you’d let me stay with you? “

“Where are your parents?” Steele said.

“Ah, they’re idiots,” my mom never sees me anymore, and my dad, well I hate him! He said I wouldn’t make it four days on my own, it’s been a week.”

“So what are you doing here, annoying me?” Steele asked.

“I ran away,” the pup said proudly, “made it here all the way from Applewood.”

“Applewood?” Steele asked.

“Yeah,” the pup said. “Well I think I’ll get some sleep.” He yawned, Steele watched him. “Sir?” Steele grinned at him.

“You should have listened to your dad pup,” he said.

“Maybe I should just leave,” the young dog said, sensing the change of temper in the room. Steele shut the door, still grinning.

The pup made a run for it and Steele caught him right in the face with his paw. The pup went flying across the room. He stood up then and growled at Steele. Steele gave him points for bravery, then he attacked.

The pup knew nothing of fighting. It was over really before it began. The pup tried to leap onto Steele, but Steele just side stepped him and bit his neck. He clamped his jaws down hard, feeling blood flow over his muzzle, running to drip on the ground. The pup kicked and squirmed, but Steele just bit down harder. Steele held the young dog in the air until he stopped kicking and sagged under Steele’s hold. Steele’s face was coated in blood. He dropped the young dog to the ground. He laughed and kicked the dead dog in the head.

“Stupid mutt,” he said, finding the whole thing hilarious. He laughed again and walked out of the barn. He’d have to find somewhere else to sleep now.

Chapter IX

Jenna was back in town the next morning. There was nothing for her to do back home, Rosie was still gone. Jenna had decided to go to the old mill and talk to the dogs that congregated there. She was taking a short cut, when she tried to squeeze under a fence… and got stuck.

“You’d think I’d learn not do this,” she thought, as she pulled on the fence, trying to get her bandanna free.

Steele was woken by a clanging sound. At first he was extremely annoyed, but then he saw who was making the racket… Jenna.

The word flooded his mind, took over all reason he may have had left.

“It would be so easy,” he thought,” I can’t wait any longer, besides I’ll hunt down Balto, and when I do I’ll get to see the look on his stupid face when I say her name”. Then he stood up….

Jenna heard someone behind her and turned around, as the bandanna came free.

“It was nothing… probably just a…. her thoughts froze.

“Hello Jenna,” Steele said.

Jenna started shaking.

“Long time no see,” he finished, ”heh, heh”

“Steele,” Jenna said, backing up, “what are you doing here? Y.. You’re not supposed to come into Nome.” “

I came to see you Jenna,” he said as he smiled, “I’ve missed you.” “How’re things going now?”

Jenna kept backing up.

“What do you want?” She asked.

She knew what he wanted, or at least she thought she did. Steele just smiled again and kept advancing. Jenna began to get scared as her tail brushed the fence, There was nowhere for her to go. Steele enjoyed the look of panic in those large brown eyes of hers, as she searched for a way out.

Suddenly she tried to dart around him. He stepped in her way and knocked her legs out from under her. She fell face first into the snow. Jenna closed her eyes and waited for him to leap on her, nothing happened. She opened her eyes. Steele was standing over her. He was smiling. Then he did the last thing Jenna expected him to do…

…he hit her, hard. The blow connected with her muzzle and she felt his claws dig into her skin. It picked her up and slammed her into the wall a few feet away. She fell to the ground. She could feel blood run down off of her muzzle.

“Wow,” she thought, “that hurt!”

She tried to stand, but the world was still spinning and she fell, this time managing to get her front legs underneath her before she fell.

“This is too easy,” Steele thought, as he walked over to her and hit her again, right in the nose.

She stumbled backward and tasted blood as it gushed into her mouth. Steele leapt on top of her then. Jenna just knew what was coming next, but instead of what she was expecting…

….Steele went for her neck! She twisted away and he tore into her shoulder. She screamed then, as she realized he meant to kill her. She continued to back away, limping now. She could feel blood pouring out of her shoulder and running down her leg. She knew the wound was deep.

Suddenly Steele advanced, catching her off guard. He hit three times in the face, the last one caught her right on the left eye. It spun her around and she fell to the snow again. She was done, she knew it. There was no way for her to get away. She hung her head and hoped Steele would make it quick, somehow she doubted it.

Then she heard a yell and someone slammed into Steele, knocking him off of her. Steele jumped to his feet, ready to kill whoever had interrupted him. It was a fluffy looking, golden haired dog, a female; she wore a leather racing harness.

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” she yelled.

Steele grinned at her.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” he thought; already he could picture the beautiful dog’s coat matted in blood…

“Like you?” He asked.

“No, like us,” the dog said.

Steel turned and looked behind him. There were at least ten or twelve dogs there. They all wore the same harness, and they were growling. Steele knew there was no way he’d be able to take all of them. He snarled.

“I’ll get you,” he said to Jenna, who had managed to stand. “This is just the beginning." Then he ran off down the alley.

“Hey team,” yelled the golden dog,” go on back to the shed. I’ll be there in a little while.”

“Alright Gemeni,” one of the gray ones said, “let’s go guys.” The dog’s all left.

“Who was that?” Gemeni asked Jenna.

“A.. an old.. enemy,” Jenna mumbled, trying to talk with her busted mouth.

“He sure did a number on you,” Gemeni said.

“Thanks,” Jena said, “for rescuing me I mean.”

“Oh you’re welcome,” Gemeni said, “I can’t stand it when males beat up on us. My own mother was beat by my dad all the time, and me too.”

“Oh,” said Jenna, “I’m sorry. How did you deal with that as a pup?”

“I killed him.”

“Oh,” Jenna answered, “well..”

“After he killed my mother,” Gemeni said. “

“So,” said Jenna, eager to change the subject. “What kind of dog are you?”

Gemeni smiled.

“I’m a husky slash wolf, slash Samoyed,” she said proudly.

Jenna looked confused.

“I know,” Gemeni said, “that’s a lot of breeds in there vying for control, huh?”

“Not really,” answered Jenna, “I’m half husky, half Malamute, and my mate Balto is half wolf, and… half something else, but Samoyed, that’s kinda rare. I didn’t know there were any left in Alaska.”

“Well a third of me is anyway,” Gemeni said, “I got the samoyed coat, the husky’s knack for pulling a sled, and the wolf’s ability to fight. I don’t know where I got this color from.”

“Well it’s beautiful,” Jenna said, are you new in town?