her!

                                               ********

"Uum, Balto. We still haven't found Dixie, and I really think we should try going to Applegate, is that ok?" Balto looked up from chewing on a bone.

"Jenna, why are you searching for her anyway? Two nights ago you hated her to bits! You said she was a snob."

"Balto, deep down, she's still a friend. I'm worried about her, and besides, I need to sort out this out between us....what's the real reason you don't want me to go?" Balto stared at her innocently. Jenna raised her eyebrows. Balto knew the game was up and grinned micheviously-" I should have known you could see right through me. The real reason is- well I'm worried about you, Jen. Applegate is the last place that...Steele was sighted." Jenna felt the air grow cold. She laughed shakily. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, I've got Sylvie to protect me! Well, I'd better go down to the post office, I said I'd meet her there. If you get scared Kodi will look after you!" Before Balto could say anything she was out of the door.

Jenna leaned against the wall, her breaths short and raspy. Steele?? What was he doing around here?? Her brain had turned to ice and all her thoughts were numbed by terror. She could feel her old memories coming back to her, her old fears. Black. White. Blue eyes. Steele.

"Jenna? Are you alright?" Sylvie was walking towards her, ready for their trip to Applegate. Jenna faked a smile.

"Oh no, it's nothing. Are you ready?" Sylvie nodded and the two set off.

"Where am I?" Dixie thought. All around her was darkness, and a terrible smell. She tried to gain vision, but all around her was a smudgy blur. Her head rolled dizzily and flopped forward, but to her surprise it collided with a wire mesh. A cage. She was in a cage. She scrabbled at the wires, trying to escape, but it was of no use. Sighing, she got up and sniffed around, and found the bounderies of her cage. It wasn't very big at all, half of the space taken up by an old blue towel. Was she expected to sleep on this rag? Dixie stared at it in horror- it was torn and covered in dog hairs and grungy dirt, and reeked of things she didn't wan't to mention. She eyed it squeamishly, and walked over to the other side of the cage to sit down. Why was she trapped here? She whimpered bitterly to herself, she was trapped in this awful cage and she could do nothing about it. She stared gloomily into the darkness outside her cage- and found a pair of yellow eyes staring right back at her! She yelped and jumped backwards in fright, and it took her a few seconds to recover properly. Eventually she found the courage to walk back over.

"Uum, do you have a name?" She asked cautiously. The eyes blinked at her.

"What's one of those?" A little pup's voice asked. "Is it food?" The eyes shone with glee. Dixie was baffled. He didn't even know what a name was, let alone have one of his own!

"Well, my name's Dixie."She said finally.The pup peered at her.

"I can't see it! You haven't got anything!" He said indignantly. Dixie sighed. How could she explain this?

"Surely someone has called you something before?" The puppy shrugged.

"Well, when a human gives you your own special word which they call you and you only, then that is your name. And you should treasure it when you get one." The pup smiled in understanding.

"I can't wait till I get a name, I can't wait to be adopted!" He cried.

"What?"

"I think that's what happens. We get taken away from Mom and Dad and then humans come and adopt us."

"What am I doing here?" Dixie cried out loud, without meaning to. "I've alread got an owner, why am I here?!?"

"Don't you know?" a weak voice mumbled from  a cage opposite Dixie's. "Well, you'll find out soon enough."

"What do you mean?" Dixie yelled desperately. "I need to know! Why am I here?" The voice didn't answer.

                                          *********

They had finally reached Applegate. They were wandering through the lonley strreets, sniffing and searching for any sign of Dixie. Jenna heard a group of dogs burst into laughter and shuddered.

"Do you think we should head back at the end of the day?" She said.

"Nonsense, Jen! We can sleep out here, it's only little old Applegate! It's no different from Nome really, apart from..."

"Apart from we're surrounded by strange dogs and people we don't know." Jenna snapped. Sylvie stopped and eyed Jenna cautiously.

"Since when did you get so paranoid about it?" She asked. Jenna's breath caught in her throat. She sighed and looked away.

"I told you, it's nothing." She said through gritted teeeth. "Let's just continue and forget about it." Sylvie shrugged and the two of them continued their search. They passed gangs of dogs hanging in the alley ways, many of them gave them suspicious glares or amused grins. The two of them held their heads high and tried to look as dignified as possible as they sniffed crates or inspected pawprints. Suddenly Sylvie's face lit up and she scampered towards a small snow-white poodle.

"Gina! How are you?" Sylvie cried and greeted her old friend.

"Fine thanks Sylvie. You and your friend come with me and we can get some good gossiping done...there's so much I've been meaning to tell you about certain people..." Jenna glanced despairingly at Sylive, who quickly blurted out-

"Err, sorry, Gina. No can do today.  We're on a mission."

"Ooh! Tell me!" Gina squealed, her eyes gleaming. Jenna felt defeated. They'd have to let this blabber-mouth in on the secret, or else they wouldn't be able to get the imformation they needed. After Sylvie had briefly explained, Gina nodded slowly. "Well, I haven't seen this Dixie, but a truck pulled through here a couple of days ago....no-one knows where it went...apart from that there's been no sign of anything." The two of them beamed their thanks, now at least they had something to go on. Gina made to leave, but then turned round again. "Are you sure you couldn't stay for just a tiny chat?"

"No!" The two of them cried together. Gina shrugged and walked off. After that, Jenna and Sylvie decided to split up. They would cover more ground that way.

Jenna was wandering through the streets, thinking deeply. Had Dixie really left because of her? That was a terrible thought. Who knew where she could be at this moment. Suddenly Jenna jumped as she realised she was  wandering into an side alley she'd never seen before. She peered through the musky half-light, her eyes straining to see something in the darkness. Her heart began to thud in her ribs, but she didn't know why.

"Hello?" She called into the dim dark, trying to make her voice sound more confident than it actually was. "Anybody there?" Nothing. Nobody answered. She waited for a few seconds then turned to leave, but heard something.

A wet, rasping sound.

Like a tongue against the metal of a tin can.

Jennna stepped up again. She raised her head and called again- "Anybody there?" The rasping stopped. Jenna felt her body tense. The first thing she noticed was a light flickering through the hazy darkness. A blue light. The shadows infront of her were moving. Then suddenly, the sillouete of broad, muscular shoulders formed infront of her, and suddenly there stood a large malumute. His black-rimmed eyes blinked at her. She stared back into them, her huge brown eyes wide  with disbelief.

"J-Jenna?" He asked in surprise. "...Is that really you?" There was no mistaking it, that deep, husky voice. It echoed through her memories, striking her  like a splash of ice cold water. Jenna, Jenna, Jenna..... The same word, that same voice, repeated itself over and over in her mind. Yes, it was him. Steele. Thinner, scruffier, but Steele. She felt herself tremble.

The shocked look had left his face. He leaned against the wall, smirking silently at her. He almost looked like his old self. "Well, well, well, it is you. Long time no see." He swished his tail casually. "What brings you around these parts, then?"

Somehow Jenna found her voice. "Dixie's been missing for a couple of days and no-one's seen any sign of her. We've come to Applegate as a last resort, but we don't know many dogs here. You've been here for quite some time now and we wondered if you could help us find her." She tried to stay on top of the conversation. Steele wasn't the dominant of her anymore, and she had to keep tellling herself that.

Steele hesitated before saying-"I mi-i-ght be able to help you, I know the area around here like the back of my paw. It just so happens that I have got some valuable information, too...."

Jenna was overcome with ecstasy.

"Oh Steele, thankyou..."

"Woah!" Steele raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't come too close now Jenna, I don't want to catch any dirty hybrid fleas....." he laughed. She had the urge to smack him right in his arrogant face. But she had to keep her cool- she exhaled slowly and looked straight into his eys. And it was then that a brilliant thought struck her.

She  walked right up to him.

"Oh no, Steele. I don't think you mind it at all." She said in a soft, silky voice. The remark seemed to surprise him, and he took a step away from her. "Oh no you don't...." Jenna giggled and wrapped her tail around his leg to stop him retreating."Face it Steele, deep down you can't help yourself. It's your weakness....." she whsipered huskily. His mental