VOICES:

-Mya: Hillary Swank

-Aleu: Lacy Chabert

-Triton: Sean Murray

-Dash: Patrick Warburton

-Jenna: Briget Fonda

-Balto: Kevin Bacon 

         I paced back and forth, listening to my girl, Kate talk with her parents.

“They’re gone! I called Emily and she said Atka’s gone too! Everyone said that they haven’t seen them either!”

            I new just how she had felt. How could my own two brothers and sisters just abandon me and their families? Danny and Samantha were both devastated; Danny’s father and Danny were both missing dogs from their teams. Atka wasn’t really good at anything but leading, so I knew she was the one responsible for this. She was getting more and more annoying as she grew up and now this! Suddenly, Kate darted past me and out the door. I leapt after her and ran down the street after her. She stopped at Rosie’s house and knocked on the door. Rosy opened the door and let Kate in. My mother, Jenna smiled and wagged her tail and stepped out.

            “Hi Mya” she said licking my forehead. “What’s wrong?”

“Yukon and Nero ran away last night! And I know this is all Atka’s fault!”

            “Don’t talk like that! Atka and Aleu fight enough already! I don’t need another feud!”

“She deserves it” I grumbled.

            “Let’s go talk to your father about this… if anyone knows something about this, he will”

We walked together over to Balto’s abandoned boat while I planned revenge for Atka. Halfway through my plans, I heard my dad greet us.

“Hey daddy!” I said nuzzling him. “Do you know where Yukon, Nero and Atka went?”

Balto nodded solemnly.

            “They came here last night. Atka left and Nero and Yukon stopped to say goodbye later on”

“I knew it!”

            “What?”

“Nothing I grumbled”

I stalked off, angry that I only had one sibling left in Nome. I stormed home, barked to be let in, went straight to my bed and threw myself down.

            The next morning, I was woken up again by my humans. Danny, the only son in our family was rushing around to get ready for his race and Kate was getting ready as well. I watched, amused as Kate’s father stepped on the cat’s tail and Kate’s mother spill something all on the floor. I put my head back down on the bed but Kate called me as she jumped out the door. I hopped up and followed her again. Danny had his little sled ready to go and had no dogs on his team, so he had borrowed three dogs from someone else. They weren’t very good sled dogs. Both gaped at me and didn’t listen to Danny. After some encouragement, Danny was finally able to get the small team to the start line.

They didn’t do well at all. Danny’s team finished the kid’s race in dead last place. More people started to come, as did other dogs, as the bigger race started to get underway. I plopped down on the ground at Kate’s feet, disappointed that I had no one to cheer for. The teams started off and there were three of them today; one was from out of Nome.

            “Jenna? Oh, hi Mya! You know you look just like your mother?”

“Hi Sylvie. Hi Dixie”

The tall hound and little fluffy dog wandered up to watch the race too. They were really my mom’s friends but they talked to me if my mother wasn’t there.

            “Did you know that one of the teams has Steele’s pups on it?”

“No, I didn’t” I murmured. “Who was Steele again?”

            “You don’t want to know!” Dixie piped. “He was horrible!”

                        “Disgusting and brainless”

            “But he did have good looking blue eyes!” Dixiecrooned.

                        “The iciest blue!” Sylvie added with a sigh.

Suddenly, a flare exploded in the air.

            “Oh they’re coming!”

I sighed as the crowd cheered. Another flare burst in the air and I knew that any second, the lead teams or teams were about to turn the corner. The first team to come around was led by a black and white husky with blue eyes, undoubtedly a son of Steele. All the dogs on the team were black and white with blue eyes. Another team was close behind. It wasn’t Danny’s dad’s team. I focused on the leading team. There seemed to be some kind of dispute. The lead dog was practically dragging the second dog and the female behind it looked furious. Suddenly, the female snapped and bit the dog in front of her. Their musher yelled as the second dog yelped, hopped, tangled the lines and fell. The whole team tumbled and the team behind them passed and won with ease. Even Danny’s dad’s team passed them as they struggled to get untangled.

At least they didn’t come in last I thought as Danny’s dad raised his arms in the second place victory. I looked back at Steele’s team which was in chaos. People came in from the sidelines and helped unhook the dogs. The disgruntled musher motioned to let the dogs go. The first four to get unhooked shook off and wandered down the street. They didn’t wait for the fifth dog that was the last to get freed and the one that had caused the pile- up in the first place. He whined when his owner gave him a pat on the head and glanced down the street at his family. He lowered his head and tail and crept away in the opposite direction. I couldn’t help but to feel bad for him. He was even worse then I was at pulling a sled and that was saying something.

            “What a race!” Sylvie breathed.

                        “Yeah!”Dixie chimed in. “Steele’s pups are just like him”

“Come on Mya!” I heard Kate call.

“See you guys later. I’ll tell my mom you said hi”

I turned tail and followed Kate once more as she went to congratulate her dad and tell Danny better luck next time. I sat down next to Kate and waited for her patiently, but I knew it was going to be a while. I wasn’t paying attention until someone cleared their throat behind me. I peered over my shoulder to see the lead dog of Steele’s team standing proudly, trying to get my attention.

“Oh, hello. Nice race”

            “Thanks” the husky said, almost as if he was expecting the compliment.

I wasn’t sure what else to say so I moved a little closer to Kate. The husky seemed shocked that anyone could deny his presence. He moved back in front of me and puffed out his chest.

            “Do you always watch these races? I haven’t seen you here before”

“Yeah, I only stay around Nome with my human’s team”

The husky sized up the team nervously watching the two of us.

            “Then you haven’t seen our kind of racing before. It’s more intense and faster. We almost never lose”

I was starting to get sick of this dog who was obviously very interested in himself. I tried to pay attention to what Kate was saying.

            “Where are my manners!” the stranger said “I’m Dash”

“I’m Mya” I mumbled, wondering if giving my name was a good idea.

Thankfully, before Dash could say anything else, Kate started to walk away.

“I’ll see you”

            “You can count on it” Dash said coolly.

I shivered and hurried after my human. Kate still talked with her dad until they got at the point where he needed to drop off the dogs he borrowed. Kate waved goodbye then broke into a run to Rosie’s house. They seemed to becoming friends since Emily had stopped hanging out with Kate. I was happier since I loved to see my mother and even if Emily had Atka, I hated Atka now.

            “Hi Mya” Jenna said, getting out of her bed and stretching.

“Mom, did you know a dog named Steele?”

Jenna’s smile melted.

            “Why?! Is he back in Nome?!”

“No, no. Dixieand Sylvie were talking about it today, that’s all. Who was Steele?”

            “Hewas the top sled dog. Then he lied and ditched important