trotted up to them.

"Oh hello Matt." Ralph said sulky.

"For crying out loud, everyone knows it’s just a story!" Matt spoke. Avalanche rolled her eyes. She was now having second thoughts on the whole thing. "No way can a dog bring death. It’s just stupid and pathetic!" Ralph whimpered a bit. Matt gave a smug grin.

"Shut your trap Matt!" Avalanche growled. Matt glared.

"See ya later suckers." Matt said and walked away with his head held high. Ralph sighed.

Avalanche watched Matt leave. "Don’t worry about Bossy Paws, Ralph. Tell me what happened."

Ralph gulped. "Well I saw her!" Avalanche nodded. "She looked alright and then she started growling at me. I said I wasn’t going to hurt her. She still growled and then she said run past me. So I did and when I looked back, no one was there. But when I started walking I heard laughter and that same howl!" Ralph crashed to the ground and covered his ears as if he was hearing it now. He whimpered and whined.

Avalanche nodded. "It’s going to be okay Ralph. You won’t get hurt." She said to reassure him. Ralph nodded.

"Okay." He rose to his feet slowly.

"Come on. Let’s see if we can get the gang into a game of tag." She said hoping to cheer him up. Ralph smiled.

"I’ll ask the team." Ralph said. Avalanche nodded and she headed toward her home to get Shasta. Ralph trotted to the factory shed, knowing Kirby and Kodi would be there. As he walked through the alley he was humming a cheerful song to himself. He looked around him and saw the wood craftsman chiseling away at a sign for a business. Ralph kept walking along and suddenly a surprised yell caught him off guard. Ralph shrunk to the ground as the wood craftsman’s assistant nearly tripped over him. The box the young boy was carrying fell from his arms and the nails and two new chisels rain from the box like spears. Ralph tucked his nose in, just in time to avoid one of the chisels. Nails were scattered everywhere around him and he dared not move. "Don’t move boy." The young boy spoke to Ralph softly as him and the wood craftsman picked up the nails. The gentleman picked up the chisel that would have sliced either Ralph’s snout or eye.

He patted the husky’s head. "You were very lucky my friend. Now go on with your day." Ralph barked happily and walked out of the way and when he was on the street, he ran.

***

Pirate was resting in the backyard in the shade of the fence. Ashley and her mother were baking Halloween cookies for her class and he was not allowed in the kitchen. He sighed. "This is what it means to be bored." He spoke to himself.

"Well I’m sorry." Pirate whipped his head around to see the dog he nicknamed Angel. Her face showed nothing as she walked closer to him. Pirate scrambled to his feet.

"Hi there." He spoke with a cautious tone.

She then smiled. "Pirate right?"

Pirate nodded. "And who are you?"

"I’m Crystal." Dang his name for her wasn’t even close.

"What do you want?" He asked. He was unsure of how this was going.

Crystal’s smile disappeared. "To clear things up."

Pirate’s head cocked to the side. "What?"

"To clear things up. I’ve heard rumors that aren’t true. I thought that since you’re one of the most honest around I best tell it to you."

Pirate just gave her a nod. "Would you like to sit?" Crystal smiled and sat herself down. Pirate sat in front of her and waited.

"They say I killed the mistress’s love. That is true. But it was his dog, Demon that killed my mistress. So now we are even. He used to wander about White Mountain and I stayed here hoping he would never return. I howl whenever the pain that I carry has been too much. I stayed in my mistress's home, as I had no way else to go. But he has return from his dog fighting ways and hoping to have one last fight with me. It seems before he tries to kill me that he’s trying to turn every dog in Nome against me. That is why I hide and try to avoid others."

"Who’s Demon if I may ask?" Pirate questioned. Crystal just gave a small smile.

"You’ve met him. The wolf dog that if bothered will attack human or dog and does not think about the victim." Pirate’s eyes widened as he remembered that night where he met the crooked nose half-breed. "Anyway, for some reason just like his owner, he’s a jinx to everyone that looks at him, smells him, or even hears him."

"So it’s him that’s causing the accident?" Pirate asked and Crystal nodded. "To me it seems as if he was smart enough to start a story about you." Crystal just nodded again.

"Just wondering… why does he want you dead?"

"Because he feels as if his master is still living, a tortured spirit. To him, when I die his master will finally be at rest."

Pirate arched a brow. "Sounds to me like someone believes in witchcraft and things like that."

"I hope that has cleared some things up. Now I must go and find him to see what trouble he has conjured up next. I hope it doesn’t deal with your friends." Crystal got to her feet and started walking away. Pirate just blinked his blue eyes. "Until next time Pirate." Crystal said and yet again she was gone. Pirate sat there for a moment, letting his mind process this new information.

"Can I come back here?" Pirate looked to the gate in surprise and spotted white paws under the gate. He got to his feet and nudged the gate open. Shasta was standing there with a smile. "Hello there. Do you want to come play tag?" The end of her tail tip tapped against the dirt.

"Sure." Pirate said and walked closer to her. Shasta rose to her feet and walked next to him. As the two made their way to outside of town where the team waited, Pirate was thinking about Crystal.

"Pirate you okay?" Kodi asked as they drew near. Pirate nodded yes. "Thinking about the white dog?" He asked. Before he could get his answer, Dusty had tackled Kodi. Pirate chuckled.

"I’ll be it!" Kirby barked. Everyone scattered from the tan husky. Kirby laughed and launched himself at Avalanche. She dodged his leap and ran over to where Ralph waited. The game of tag last for a while and ended when Ralph plopped to the ground and gave a groan. Dusty giggled and the friends sat in a circle.

"So has anyone spotted the white dog lately?" Kodi asked. He knew about Dusty’s sighting but not Ralph’s or Pirate’s.

"I saw her and a chisel nearly cut my nose off!" Everyone’s eyes locked on Ralph and listened to what had happened to him earlier that day. After he was finished, discussing between others unfolded. Pirate did not take part in the conversation. His mind wandered back to Crystal.

Matt was strolling through town like always waiting for something to happen. As he neared the outskirts, his eyes spied the group of friends. He smirked. "Probably talking about that white dog."

"Oh you mean Crystal." Matt wheeled around to see a large, black dog. It towered over him and it’s piercing yellow eyes added to its menacing appearance. Matt didn’t show fear to others but this one he felt like a puppy. The canine smiled, showing off his pearl white teeth. "You happened to see her?" He asked. Matt just shook his head no. "You know the rumors have been spreading about her and well they say that sometimes she just goes crazy and will kill any human or dog in her sight. I know Crystal well and it’s about time to put her reign of terror to an end. What do you say? You want to join me?" Matt looked at the large, black dog.

"Who are you?" Matt asked.

The half-breed laughed aloud. "That doesn’t matter now. So what do you say?"

"I’ll join in and maybe then everyone will just shut up about it!" Matt barked. He was getting tired of the superstitious. Matt even though he held himself with self pride, really didn’t like everyone being so foolish.

"That’s the spirit. I’ll get you when the time comes." And just like that the wolf dog disappeared to the shadows. Matt blinked before giving a smile.

***

Pirate couldn’t hide it anymore. He aroused from his sleepless sleep and headed outside. He looked to the sky to see a nearly full moon. Halloween was just in two days and he didn’t like the thought of a canine that would randomly attack anyone, dog or human loose. He sighed. He needed to tell someone and show them Crystal wasn’t who everyone thought she was. Shasta. She would believe him and maybe stubborn Avalanche would come along with it. Shasta was known for her way at looking at a situation from all views. He chuckled. But that doesn’t mean she couldn’t be as fierce as a wolverine. Pirate took to a run toward Emily’s house where the two huskies lived. As he dashed through town, he felt as if Furies were chasing him. His sides began to heave his breath shallow as his paws reached as far as they could across the hard ground. But then instead of turning on Shasta’s street, he turned on his father’s street. He galloped to the house where Kaltag lived and stopped just short of the steps. Pirate took a few breathers to regain his breath. He then raised his head and walked up the steps. The curtains were closed and that meant Pirate couldn’t peer in. The red husky began to scratch at the door. He thought he heard movement from inside and waited. Nothing and Pirate scratched again. He heard the sound he was hoping for,