"Now this is a party!" he thought. "This is just what I need after a long recovery from an injury such as what I had."
In the distance, something caught his eye. It was a weird, orange glow. It wasn't the sun, although with the shorter nighttime in the summer, it could have been mistaken for one.
"What's that ominous glow in the distance?" Mika asked himself.
He pulled out his binoculars to see what it was, but he couldn't make out much of a visual image. All he could see was something shoot up from where the glow was, which by the way, was growing brighter and brighter. When the flying object landed, it set off a big explosion that rocked the surrounding area and almost leveled a few buildings. Most of the people watching the fireworks show thought a firecracker had gone off on the ground. They started to panic and flee for their lives. More of these objects landed and more explosions wreaked havoc. Mika also decided to find shelter. If he could find any.
Eventually Mika did find shelter to wait out the madness. He emerged to find the whole town a big, smoldering mess.
"Hello?!" he called out. "Is anyone still alive?! Anyone in here?! I come in peace!"
When he opened the door to a building that was still standing, he was horrified by what he saw. The inside was a mess. Dead bodies lay sprawled all over the floor. In total shock, Mika started shuttering and slowly shut the door behind him. Looking out of town, he could see something that he thought might be the cause. An army of strangers was on the march eastward. Mika drew out his binoculars to see who they were. He saw a familiar emblem on the jacket of one of the strangers.
"Bolsheviks!" he exclaimed to himself. "What the hell are those guys doing here? I thought they were disbanded after Stalin came to power."
These particular Bolsheviks, however, were independent extremists. Curious as to what they were up to, and scared for what might be the result of their plans, Mika snuck up quietly to the outskirts of their camp for the night to listen in. What he heard shocked him beyond comprehension.
"Oh my god!" Mika thought. "They're planning to take back Russia's old territorial holdings here in North America! Oh, you are sick! You guys are so... Wait a minute! If they hold this course, they'll be heading east, which would lead toward...NOME!"
It was at that moment that Mika realized that these extremists were the mystery menace in the night terrors that Balto had told him about. And if the outcome of the dream was true, then the same fate that befell Wales might also befall Nome. There was no time for procrastinating or being a coward. Something had to be done. Someone had to stop them, and Mika was the only one who could. He went back to what was left of Wales to look for his backpack.
He found it, still in the hospital, with all its contents still intact. Luckily for him, his Colt revolver was still operational, and he had plenty of ammo. He also managed to obtain an abandoned hunting rifle that was still working as well as extra ammo. Unfortunately, the invaders had resumed their march eastward by the time Mika reached their camp.
"Blast!" he thought. "How dare they get a head start on me!"
So he decided to set off after them. He knew full well he would have to move fast if he was to keep up with them. But it wasn't their speed that Mika had trouble matching. It was the fact that the invaders got such a head start that left him struggling to keep up.
The first day of the pursuit saw Mika and the invaders make it just shy of the halfway point between Wales and Nome. And Mika was exhausted by the time he stopped for the night. He kept his distance from the enemy in order to avoid detection. Day two saw the Finn awake rested and refreshed, although he couldn't find his backpack. All that remained at his campsite was his new rifle. Realizing how important the contents were, Mika had to temporarily abandon chasing the invaders and search for his gear. He found it ten minutes later. A wolf had gotten hold of it, and was still rummaging through it when Mika got to the scene.
"Hey!" he yelled, rifle in both hands. "Get the hell away from my backpack!" He took aim and pulled the trigger to fire a warning shot and scare the animal away, only to realize he forgot to even load it.
"Ah, crap!" he said. "Then again, I won't really be needing this until later."
The wolf looked at Mika puzzled. It seemed as though it had expected Mika to be hunting for some animal.
"What do you mean you won't be needing it now?" the wolf asked with a female-like voice.
Mika was caught by surprise that this creature had responded to what he just said. Of course, he hadn't spoken with anything other than a human in two months, so he'd kinda forgotten.
"I mean I won't be needing to use it now," Mika responded. "Now do you mind getting away from my backpack?"
"Here you go," said the wolf, who then brought Mika his backpack.
"Say, uh," said Mika, unsure what to say next, "did you see an army of psychotic Soviets pass by here?"
"Yeah, I saw several such beings come this way," the wolf replied. "Why you ask?"
"They
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