Invasion: Chapter 7: Red Dawn

As the weeks passed, the so-called "alleyway altercation" seemed to get out of the minds of Nome's residents, and life was apparently returning to normal. That wasn't the case for everyone. Balto was still haunted by his recurring night terrors. Further frustrating him was the fact that he wasn't getting any closer to finding out who or what the mysterious enemy was. Nothing got him an answer. Even seeking council from Doc didn't help much. However, it was better than no help at all. "I wish I knew why I keep having these terrifying dreams, Doc," said Balto one night. "All I know about them is some mysterious threat from the outside poses a serious threat to Nome. One time I had them, Mika was also in danger. Another time I had them, the end result was Nome left in ruins while the enemy continued on its destructive path." He yawned before continuing. "I've lost a lot of sleep because of this. And it's not just me who's been losing sleep. Jenna's been woken up on more than one occasion because of these night terrors. It's even become a pain in the petela for her just to sleep with me. Most of time I'm tossing and turning about and failing around like a fish out of water. Twice I've inadvertently kicked Jenna, one time in the stomach, another time in the jaw." Balto sighed and shook his head before continuing. "I even went on a search for an answer, but came up empty-handed. The only thing I accomplished was saving Mika's life after his nasty fall off a cliff." "Well," said Doc, "at least some good came out of your search. At least you managed to save a life while out there. But don't worry so much about solving the mystery behind your night terrors. I'm sure you'll find the answer in one way or another. By the way, how is Mika doing? Did you hear anything new from him?" "Last I heard was a week ago," Balto replied. "He's still going to be in the hospital recovering for a few more weeks. He still isn't sure what he's gonna do afterwards. I just hope the murder accusations against him get dropped. I know he didn't kill that guy intentionally." "We all know he didn't, Balto," said Doc. "I certainly believe he didn't do it on purpose." Doc then yawned and said, "Well, time for me to turn in for the night. You go on home and sleep well. And don't worry if you don't find the answer this time. Each time you have that dream, you get closer and closer to finding out its meaning." "Thanks for your help, Doc," said Balto as he started for home. "Anytime, Balto," said Doc in response. "Anytime."
Meanwhile, in Wales, Mika Kykalisko continued his recovery from that nasty fall off a mountain cliff. His left leg was less severely damaged than his right leg, so he was able to start putting some weight on it when he walked, still aided by crutches. His bruising was almost gone within one month, but the head trauma still lingered, and at times he was a little ill-coordinated when moving around. But for the most part, he was glad to be back up and able to move around. The alleyway altercation still weighed heavily on his mind. Mika still had no intention of ever returning to Nome. It wasn't all bad news for him. So far, all evidence gathered from the incident favored the claim that he acted out of defense for himself and his brother Kaj. Still, a sense of distrust prevented him from even considering going back. In his free time, Mika had been working on some song lyrics for Lapp Attack. He didn't have a guitar with him, so he couldn't write his usual rhythm guitar parts in addition to whatever lyrics he might have. When he did write guitar parts, he wrote them tab-style, with the lowest-pitched string on the bottom of a six-line staff, and each higher-pitched string above it in that order. A note was indicated by what string it was played on and what fret the string was held down at. He didn't worry about finding work, as he was still preoccupied with recovering from his injuries. And he wasn't even sure what he would do once he had recovered. In other Lapp Attack news, Nick Jones, a local guitarist and singer based out of Nome, had been picked as a potential front man for Lapp Attack just in case Mika didn't come back. Mika had even okayed the decision to have Nick come aboard in his absence. Meanwhile, Mika also tried to figure out what these night terrors were that Balto had told him about. Based on the descriptions given to him, Mika tried to imagine these terrifying dreams as close to the exact description that Balto had given him. But like Balto, Mika's luck was no better at finding out what the meaning was or what the shadow enemy was, either. The parts where he was supposedly in danger really scared him witless. Sometimes he'd wake up at night, all sweaty, gasping for air. Not that he needed to, but the terrifying nature of the dreams left him trying to catch his breath whenever he woke up from them. "What could they mean?" Mika thought one night after waking up from those said night terrors. "I too can't seem to figure out what this shadowy menace is that Balto was talking about. Whatever it is, it sure is mysterious." He finally decided not to worry so much about them and just have his mindset on something else. That was partially a doctor's recommendation, as his occasional screams kept disturbing the other patients who had to stay overnight. Fortunately, most of them were there for no more than a few days at the max.
Three weeks later, Mika was out of the casts and off the crutches. It was a big relief for him to finally be able to walk around on his own two feet. It was early July by now, and he was even hoping to get back to training. Tonight, Wales was having a Fourth of July bash, and Mika was really looking forward to it. He hadn't been to one since he lived in Michigan. During his time in Wales, Mika came to the realization that he had, in fact, let the hard times get him down. Everything he ever hated seemed to get in the way. By now, he had gotten tired of living in the dark. He wanted to find his way back to the light, back to those who cared. He was starting to miss somethings about Nome. His workouts on the beach, shooting pucks at a net behind his house (in the summer, anyway, he'd find a frozen pond to skate on in the winter), performing with his band, among a myriad of other things. During the past few weeks, Mika requested his Kramer Striker electric guitar be flown in - the same one he frequently used for Lapp Attack's live shows - and started working on some guitar tabs for his new songs. The day of the Fourth of July party, Mika took his guitar with him on a walk past the outskirts of Wales, where no one could hear him. Once out there, he put his backpack down, pulled out his guitar, one of his tabs and lyrics sheets, and looked over it. Once done with that, he strapped on his guitar, and started playing what was on there. And this was it:
Wherever You Are
This desert wind is burning my face again God I'm missing you Been running blind, under a broken sky With regrets I'm sorting through But lesson learned, baby I've made the turn
Wherever you are, no matter how far Girl I'm gonna find my way to you Through rivers of rain, over mountains of pain Do whatever on earth I've gotta do I'll follow the dream, I'll follow my heart Girl I've gotta be wherever you are
So many miles to where we said goodbye To the street of shattered dreams I'm praying hard you didn't start a life With someone who's not me And if you're just gone, girl I'll be moving on
Wherever you are, no matter how far Girl I'm gonna find my way to you Through rivers of rain, over mountains of pain Do whatever on earth I've gotta do I'll follow the dream, I'll follow my heart Girl I've gotta be wherever you are
Let the sunrise find me searching Let the west wind carry my plea Give this changed man one more last chance Open your arms to me!
Wherever you are (hold last note) Through rivers of rain, over mountains of pain Do whatever on earth I've gotta do I'll follow the dream, I'll follow my heart Girl I've gotta be wherever you are Wherever you are Wherever you are
Wherever you are

"Man, that felt good!" Mika thought. Just the feel of strapping the axe (that's musician slang for guitar) was a big relief for him. The recovery was over as far as he was concerned. But now he faced a decision: What should he do? Stay in Wales? Go back to Nome? Go else-where? What? It wasn't gonna be easy. But then he decided to maybe sleep on it tonight after the party and decide in the morning.
Fireworks lit up the night sky that night at the Fourth of July bash. And Mika was having a great time. For the most part, he just watched the fireworks display while drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola. The party atmosphere helped him forget any troubles he might have had still weighing on his mind. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

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