chance. He used to come to the races every Friday. I didn’t really know him then, and I’m ashamed to say that I too picked on him. He was just different than any of us, a social outcast. Anyway I’m getting off subject.”

Gemeni laid down on the snow and looked up at him, listening intently as he continued.

“Balto really had a crush on Jenna, and any dog who had a half a brain would,”

“A-hem” Gemeni said,.

Drake remembered who he was talking to.

“Anyway, we all thought he was insane. I mean, well you’ve seen her. You know what I mean. Steele really liked Jenna, and Jenna started out kind of liking him. We all thought that they’d be the perfect couple. The most popular and the most..”

He saw the look that Gemeni gave him and stopped.

“Sorry,” he said, “anyway as she got to know him, she started to like him less and less, see Steele didn’t care about anyone but himself, it didn’t come out much around his friends, but I guess when he was with Jenna it did, anyway she stopped seeing him. That made Steele furious. Oh you should have heard him. Jenna eventually got to know Balto and the two of them hit it off pretty good. They might’ve been a little bit of an odd looking couple… but she was happy, Jenna doesn’t really care what other dogs think of her, not like Dixie or any of those other gossip hounds that hang out at the mill all the time. We all thought Jenna had lost her mind. This made Steele, who already didn’t like Balto remember, incredibly angry. He started really messing with Balto then, even though Jenna and he were still just friends, we could all tell. Anyway, when the opportunity came up for a sled team to go after the anti toxin that those kids needed so much, well he figured out that Rosie, who’s Jenna’s owner, then about five, was one of the ones that was sick. He decided that if he got the meds through, not only would he be a hero, but that Jenna might come back to him. So he set out to bring it back. Well I guess you probably know most of the rest of the story, except maybe what happened out there when Balto found the team.”

“Go on,” Gemeni said”

“Well as you know the team got lost and wrecked the sled. Steele had failed. Balto went to find him, or more specifically the meds. Anyway, when he found them, Steele wouldn’t let him help. He even tried to kill Balto. Then he got away. He came back here and told everyone that Balto had fallen off a cliff trying to take the anti toxin from him. He had Jenna’s bandanna, which she had given to Balto, so everyone believed him, except Jenna. In the mill that night, she was the only one that believed in Balto. Well as you know Balto made it back, he and Jenna did get together, and Steele was banished from the town for what he did out there, endangering those children’s lives because of his pride. Anyway, apparently now he’s back. The penalty for returning after a sentence like his is death. He must have a good reason for being here.”

“Maybe he was looking for Balto,” Gemeni said.

“That could be,” Drake said, “but why would he attack Jenna?”

“Maybe to draw Balto out?” Gemeni said.

Drake nodded, “could be.” He paused for a moment, not knowing how to put what he wanted to say next into words.

“Uh.. Gemeni,” he said.

“Yes,” she said.

The door opened then.

“I… I think Jenna’s done,” he said. He watched her as she walked over to Jenna.

Stupid! He thought to himself, don’t get involved. She’s going to be leaving soon, and you’ll just get hurt.

Then he walked over and joined them.

To say Steele was angry, would’ve been a huge understatement, he was incensed.

“That dog has got to pay,” he told himself. “What was she thinking?”

He, Steele would get what he wanted, which at this time was Jenna’s lifeless body, no matter what it took, no matter how far he had to go, no matter how many other’s had to die. He’d teach her, no one walked out on Steele.

Oh yes, he thought, she’d pay.

Then he heard growling behind him. He turned around and saw a female malamute behind him.

“This is our turf dog,” she said, “get off of it, now.”

“Or what?” Steele said.

“Or we’ll rip you to pieces,” another dog said from his left.

Steele turned and saw that this one was a male.

“He looks like he might know what he’s doing,” Steele thought, “I’ll have to watch that one.”

“Oh, really?” Steele said. He growled.

“If that’s the way you want it stranger,” the male said as he leapt down from the roof he was standing on at Steele. Steele moved out of the way, and the dog landed on the snow. Then they both leapt at each other. They hit each other in mid air and fell to the ground.

“Rip his ears off Mike,” the female yelled.

Steele rolled over on top of the dog, but he only got one good hit in before the dog flipped him over on his back. He hit the snow rather hard.

The dog stood up and walked over to Steele, who wasn’t moving.

“You give up stranger,” he said, “I don’t want any trouble.”

“I do,” Steele said, “I’ll leave.”

“Thank you stranger,” the dog said. Then he turned and began to walk away.

“Stupid mongrel,” Steele thought as he snarled and leapt at the dog, “Steele doesn’t give up to anyone.”

He landed in front of the dog, who was incredibly surprised at the turn of events.

“What?” The dog said. Steele wasted no time. He went for the throat and succeeded. He bit down and jerked his head sideways. The dog didn’t make a sound as he fell to the ground, he kicked a few times and then was still. A puddle of blood quickly formed under him.

“Mike?” the female said.

She turned and started to run. Steele grinned as he gave chase.

“You can’t outrun me!” He thought.

He was catching up to her now. He jumped and landed on her back. His weight drove her face into the snow. He came up on top of her. He tore into the back of her neck. She started screaming. Steel felt blood squirt up on his face. He felt his teeth close around bone. He bit down on it and twisted his head, as if he were going to look behind him. He heard a loud popping noise and the female’s scream was suddenly silenced. Her head sagged and he dropped it on the ground.

“Can I pass now?” He laughed and looked at the dead dog. This was becoming easier and easer. He walked over to one of the abandoned houses and saw a broken mirror on the porch. He climbed up the steps and looked at himself. He looked like death itself. His face chest and most of his front legs were blood spattered.

“I can’t go back into town looking like this,” he thought. He licked off what he could, and rolled in the snow. “I’ve got to look nice when I see Jenna and her friend again,” he thought. He smiled.

Jenna, Drake and Gemeni were walking to the shed that Gemeni was staying in.

“I think I should walk you home,” Drake said.

“No,” Jenna said for the tenth time, “it’s too far, I’ll be fine.”

“Jenna..” Drake started.

“Thank you for the offer,” Jenna said, “but I’ll be fine, no is no.”

“Whatever,” Drake said, not at all giving up the argument, just tabling it for now.

“Hey uh..Gemeni,” Drake said. He was about to say something else, when a dark gray dog ran up to him.

“Drake, Drake, come quick, oh it’s horrible!” The distressed dog said.

“Slow down,” Drake said, what? What’s horrible?”

“Follow me,” the dog said. It took off down the street.

“Well.. well wait!” Drake yelled as he took off after the dog.

The three of them followed, Jenna at a somewhat reduced pace, until the dog stopped at an abandoned barn. The dog stopped as it started to enter the door.

“The girls might not want to see this,” he said quietly.

Gemeni was about to make a comment about being called a “girl,” but when she saw the serious look on the dogs face, she refrained. Drake looked at the both of them.

“I’ll stay out here,” Jenna said.

“I’m going in,” Gemeni said, she’d seen her share of fights, being leader of a sled team, you couldn’t help it.

“We’ll be right back,” Drake told Jenna. Then he walked into the shed. Nothing could’ve prepared Gemeni for what she saw in there.

“Oh Shieza, ” she said.

She threw up on the floor, she couldn’t help it. Drake looked back at her.

“Sorry,” she said. Drake said nothing and looked back at the scene in front of him. It was a young dog.

“Probably less than a year,” Drake thought.

The dog’s coat had been brown, but now it was sticky with bright red blood, it was everywhere, on the floor, on the walls, on the dog…

….everywhere. He sniffed around, he couldn’t catch the scent of whoever had done this.

“How could he attack a defenseless pup?” Gemeni said.

“Tells you what kind of a dog we’re dealing with, huh?” Drake said to her. He looked at the floor and shook his head. “Thanks for reporting it,” he said to the gray dog, “I don’t recognize him, probably a stray. I’ll get someone to come and take care of it.”

The gray dog ran off.

“Let’s go,” Gemeni said. She and Drake walked out of the shed, back out to where Jenna was waiting.

“What was