Invasion: Chapter 2: Breaking The Ice
The very next morning, Mika Kykalisko stepped out of his house and headed off to his job at an outdoor supply store. A fresh bandage was on his right cheek to ward off a potential infection of the wound, which was still healing. He hadn't forgotten his unpleasant run-in with Balto yesterday, and he didn't really seem like he was in a good mood. And based on how narrow his ice blue eyes were, it was easy to tell he was still mad about yesterday. He also wasn't sure how his boss would react upon seeing him all banged-up. But he knew he couldn't afford to worry about any of that. That was yesterday's news. He had to put it aside today.
Mika stood about 6' tall, weighing roughly 180 lbs. He had an athletic build, with some muscle definition and a set of six-pack abs that would not go unnoticed if you saw him without a shirt on. None of this was even visible under his clothing, but it was there. He sported bleached blonde hair styled in somewhat of a small mullet. (Kinda like the hairdo Duran Duran lead singer Simon LeBon sported in the video for the song "New Moon On Monday", and his facial features were also very similar). His face was also clean shaven. He was wearing a leather jacket with a medium gray sweater underneath. On the right sleeve of Mika's jacket was a patch of a white flag with a blue cross - the flag of his native Finland. Below it, on another patch, was the country's name. His lower body was covered by a pair of dark blue Wrangler jeans (held up by a belt) and a pair of hiking boots. An avid outdoors-man, Mika enjoyed being outside, and it showed. His athletic build was largely a result of all that time spent outdoors. Winter sports, especially ice hockey, were his favorites. Keep in mind, this was in the days before the likes of Paavo Nurmi (the original "Flying Finn"), Eino "The Ox" Oskanen (both are runners), Ari Vatanen, Juha Kankunen, Tommi Makinen, Marcus Gronholm (these four are former WRC (World Rally Championship) champions), Keke Rosberg, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen (these four are Formula 1 drivers, the latter two are still active, the former three have a combined total of four F1 Drivers' titles), and Valtteri Filppula (current NHL player with the Detroit Red Wings). Upon arriving at the outdoor supply store, Mika took off his jacket and hung it up on a coat rack near the stock room. His job here was basically keeping the shelves stocked. Not exactly what someone would consider to be a stellar career, but for him, the pay was enough to get by on. This was, however, the only decent job Mika could get around the time of his arrival in Nome in October 1927. Not to mention he and his boss didn't always see eye to eye. But considering he was fresh out of school at the time he started, and at only 19 years old now, it seemed he was lucky to have even gotten the job. Eventually, he made enough to move out of his parents' house and get his own place. It wasn't too different from most of the houses in Nome at that time. Until you got inside, it looked like any other house, except for a Finnish flag hung outside near the door frame. "Right on time as usual, Mika" said John Robertson, Mika's boss. "Thanks, John" Mika replied. John didn't mind his employees calling him by his first name. "What happened to you?" asked John. "You look like you've been in a bout with Jack Dempsy." "I got tripped up by some dog yesterday while running an errand," said Mika."Knocked over a new window that was supposed to be for a store front, and on top of all that, a piece of a glass bottle that that dog was carrying got stuck in my right cheek. The window carriers got all crazy and started yelling at me, I yelled back, cursed at them a couple times in Finnish, and walked off steamed and lived." "How was he carrying the bottle?" asked John. "It was strapped to his back," said Mika. "At least I think it was a he." "Oh, man" John said. He then asked, "You OK?" "Yeah," said Mika. "I'm OK." This was far different from the response Mika had expected. Normally, John would have just shrugged it off, not believing a word Mika had said. But that wasn't the case this time. John seemed concerned about what had happened to Mika. It was obvious that this was no minor scrape or bruise. This was far more serious. "Look, if anyone asks me what happened to you," said John, "I won't tell them." "That's okay," said Mika. "Alright, come on," said John. "There's a whole stockroom full of equipment to go on the shelf. It won't stock itself." "I know, I know" Mika thought to himself and started moving merchandise. The only other store-worker there, in addition to Mika and John, who also worked the cash register, was David Stoner, another stockroom worker. For the most part, Mika and David kept to themselves, even at work. The exception was when on lunch break, which usually meant meeting up at a nearby saloon for something to eat. Most of the time there was at least one person on hand to watch the store, so their meetings were only held whenever possible. "Alright Mika, hold it steady," said David as the two retrieved a heavy box full of ice axes from atop a shelf. "I got it," Mika responded. Or so he thought he did. Somehow, Mika lost his balance and accidently dropped the box on David's feet. He was about to say "Look out!", but by the time that he did, it was too late. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" David screamed upon the box's impact with his feet. Mika went briefly into panic mode before moving the box. David was not too happy. "What's your problem, man!" David yelled back at Mika. "I told you 'Look out!', David," Mika retorted. "Why didn't you tell me you were off balance? I could've gotten out of the way!" The tone in David's voice was getting harsher. "I did tell you, stupid!" Mika's voice was also sounding angry. "Hey, you two! Cut it out!" John had come back from helping a customer to break up what was on the verge of becoming a fight. "Either stop arguing or I'll have to separate you two." Reluctantly, Mika and David apologized. David was still able to walk normally even after the accident. Being employed for a longer period of time, David viewed himself as the better employee, and sometimes thought Mika was out to upstage him. Mika, however, despised such a notion, saying it was "absolute bull". He shrugged off the incident and went back to work.
Later that day, beyond the outskirts of Nome, Balto was out enjoying a nature walk. He was still in a little bit of discomfort from yesterday, the result of some bruising, but it was barely noticeable. Up ahead, he spotted two familiar bird-like figures. Because of the great distance, even with his good eyes, he still had to strain them in order to see who they were. When he finally did see who they were, his face brightened. "That's Boris and Stella, alright", he thought. It had been a while since Balto last saw the goose who had raised him as a pup, and that was before Boris managed to patch things up with Stella. Since then, it had been rather smooth sailing for both of them. Eager to see them, Balto sprinted over to the lake where Boris and Stella were swimming, which they both really enjoyed doing together. "Boris! Stella!" Balto started calling out about halfway between the point where he first sited them and the lake shore. Trying to see who was calling them, Boris was the first one to start looking. Spotting Balto on the shore, which he finally arrived at, looking slightly winded after sprinting. "Balto!" Boris called out, delighted to see his old friend. Stella was also happy to see him. "How have you been, Boychick?!" asked Boris. "Well, aside from an unpleasant run-in that's left me a little bruised," Balto responded, "I'm OK." "What do you mean?" asked Stella, clearly sounding concerned. "What happened?" "Long story short," said Balto, "yesterday after getting some juice for me and Jenna from the dog restaurant, I got bulldozed by this human, who must have been in a hurry. I tripped him, the juice bottle gets knocked loose, he falls and lands on it. In the process, a piece of the bottle cuts his right cheek, and he inadvertently breaks a window being carried to a store where it was supposed to be installed. They got mad at him, they all start yelling, and eventually, the guy who ran into me storms off angry like you would not believe. Worst of all, he blamed me. Which made some sense, because I forgot to look before exiting the alley." "How angry was he?" asked Stella. "Angrier than you were when you thought Boris was lying to you about flying," said Balto. Both Stella's and Boris's eyes widened upon hearing what Balto had just said. Balto continued, saying, "He must have weighed twice as much as me, so it was a bad hit for me." "Doesn't sound as bad what he got out of it," added Boris. "What was his name?" "Mika," said Balto. "I then saw him walking out of the hospital holding a bag of ice on his right cheek, and it was bandaged up. I really felt terrible. I know Jenna said I shouldn't beat myself up over this, but I still felt bad." "Look, I'm sure it was just an accident," Boris said. "I know it was," replied Balto. "But I even thought to apologize to him." "How are you going to do that?" asked Stella. "I don't know, Stella," Balto responded. "I just don't know." With that, Balto decided to take a dip in the lake himself. It got rather warm in a hurry that afternoon, even to the point where Balto started panting. He decided that this would be a good time and place to cool off for a while. Just then, two big splashes shook the lake surface, literally sweeping Balto, Boris and Stella onto the shore. None other than Muk and Luk had dived in off a rock ledge. The distance wasn't much, but the force of their impact was still strong. "Boy, you

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