they could outrun him. Balto noticed an old door. He slammed it open. The dogs had seen him go in.
It was an old boiler room. Balto couldn’t see any way of escape. Then he noticed a small crawlway. He nervously crawled through it.

He was almost blinded when a spider web caught his face. He brushed it off, then continued. The area was extremely cramped. He could tell he was under a building.

He noticed some light peeking through a hole in the floor. He looked up. There was an office above him. He relaxed.

He lay down. He wasn’t going anywhere soon. He looked over and noticed a group of shattered bottles. They were all different colors.

He shrugged. He might as well keep himself entertained.

He started pawing at the bottles. He grouped them under the light and started fidgeting with them.

A few hours passed. He got up. The dogs must have left by now. He padded away from the bottles.

Suddenly rays of light shot out of the bottles. Balto watched in wonder as the lights danced on the wall.

Not since the time he was with his family had he seen something so beautiful.

“Vhat vas zat about?” Boris asked, sweeping the deck with his broom.

Balto waved his paw. “Oh just some…assault thing.”

Boris dropped the broom. “Balto you realize how serious zat is? Zey could banish you.”

Balto shrugged. “How’ll they make me?”

“Zey’ll kill you.” Boris replied.

Balto sighed. “Look Boris, it wasn’t even my fault. They attacked me. It was self defense.”

Boris crossed his wings. “Really? Vhy do I not see vounds?”

“Well…” Balto couldn’t think up an excuse. His mother had always taught him to be honest.
“They insulted me.”

“So you attacked zem?”

Balto nodded. “They called my mother scum.”

Boris waddled over to him. “And you’re mother is dead. So you attacked him.”

Balto nodded. “I never told you how my mother died.”
“How did she die?” Boris calmly asked.

“She died to protect me. The wolf wasn’t going to kill her. He was going to kill me.” Tears came to Balto’s eyes. “She died because of me.”
Boris shook his head. “Zat is not true. She died for you. Not because of you. Zere is a difference.”

Balto nodded. “Whatever you say.” He wasn’t convinced.

“Besides, do you think your mother vanted you to sit here beating up on yourself? She vanted you to live a good life.”

Balto nodded. “I’m going into town. Thanks for the talk.”

“Anytime boychik.” Boris replied before resuming the sweeping of the deck.

 

Balto padded back into town. He suddenly caught the smell of meat. His mouth watered. He hadn’t eaten a descent meal in weeks.

The smell led him to the town butcher shop. The door was opened a crack. He poked his head in. The smell of meat was strongest here. Suddenly he smelled something else. Metal.

He opened his eyes to find himself staring down the barrels of a shotgun. He looked up to see a man's angry face.

“Damn wolves! You ain’t getting any of my steak!”

Balto stared fearfully up at the man.

“Well get! Shoo!”

Before Balto could leave the man brought up the barrels of the gun and smashed them down on his head. Balto immediately ran away. The man grinned at his handiwork.

Balto began to feel light headed. He didn’t know where he was. He felt the back of his head. It was wet with blood.

“Oh…that's not good.”

Balto fell to the ground unconscious.

 

Balto was half awake. He realized he was being carried. He could faintly make out voices.

“Quick! Get him to the old mill!” A voice commanded.

“Is he breathing?” Another asked.

Balto tried to answer but was too weak. He slipped back into unconsciousness.

 

“Is he awake?”

“Is he dead?”

Balto opened his eyes. There were several dogs surrounding him.

The lead one he recognized as the Saint Bernard he had met earlier. Balto smiled weakly.

“Am I dead?”

The dog shook his head. “Apparently not.”

Balto winced. “What happened?”

Another younger dog padded forward. “Looks like you hit your head on something.”

The Saint Bernard gestured to the younger dog. “This is Togo. He found you unconscious. He brought you here.”

“Thanks.” Balto said to Togo. He got up. His head was still throbbing from the hit. “I’ll be going now.”

The Saint Bernard stepped in his way. “I wouldn’t suggest that.”

“Why not?” Balto asked. He pushed past him. He smashed into the door.

The dogs winced. “That’s why.”

Balto nodded. “Maybe you’re right.” He collapsed to the ground.

“If you want I could go get your family to pick you up.” Togo offered.

Balto shook his head. “I don’t have a family.”

“Really. What happened to them?” Togo asked.

“You don’t want to know.” Balto replied.

The Saint Bernard eyed him curiously. “Where are you from?”

Balto shrugged. “No idea. I was born in a cave. We were near some town. That was far away from here.”

“So how did you get here?”

“Again, you don’t want to know.”

The Saint Bernard nodded. “I’m Doc by the way.”

Balto nodded. “I should probably get going.”

“Do you have a place to stay?” Doc asked.

“Yeah, I got a place on the outskirts.”

Doc nodded. “Goodbye then.”

Balto stumbled back to the boat. He could barely see. His head was still throbbing from the hit.

Boris was already asleep. Good. He wouldn’t have to explain his head wound.

Balto collapsed on the deck and fell asleep.

 

 

Chapter 6

 

　

After a brief explanation to Boris, Balto padded back into the town. He still had a lot of the town to explore.

He noticed that there was a lot of commotion in the town. He padded in to see what it was. There were humans everywhere. They were cheering loudly.Suddenly Balto saw a sight that he would never forget.

Dogs tied to sleds, racing each other down a narrow road. The two sled dog teams were neck and neck. Balto watched, entranced, as the teams crossed the finish line.

Balto failed to notice that the lead dog for the losing team was the same he had bitten.

“I tell ya it’s that freakin wolf! He bit me! That’s why we lost!”

The other dog rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever you say. No part of it is that you suck.”

The dog scanned the crowd. He grinned when he saw the wolf dog.

“There’s the little prick. Come with me.”

Balto was still watching as the medal was given to the winning team. Suddenly he was hit in the face. He felt someone grab him by the scruff of the neck. He was being dragged away.

“Let go!” He shouted.

“Say please.” The dog taunted.

Balto sighed. “Please!”

The dog dropped him to the ground. “I lost a race today. You know why?”

“You’re a bad runner?” Balto offered.

The dog smacked him across the face. “What are you a freakin comedian?”
Balto groaned. The dog held up his bandaged leg. “This is why I lost the race!”

“Really? A pup messed up your leg?” Balto chuckled. “I’m good.”

The dog grinned. “You are a little prick aren’t ya?”

Balto winced as he tried to get up. The dog pushed him back down. “You know I heard your mother died.” The dog sneered. “Maybe she couldn’t believe she’d created such a little prick so she killed herself.”

Balto resisted the urge to punch him across the face. “Shut up.”

“What was that?” The dog hissed.

“I SAID SHUT UP!!” Balto snarled.

The dog backed off, startled by his prey’s outburst.

Balto took this opportunity to run off. He was out of sight before the dogs realized what had happened.

 

Balto padded deeper into the town. He didn’t see anymore dogs. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe for now.

Suddenly he heard a clicking. He turned to see a man. He was holding a 44. Magnum in his hands.

“What do we have here?”

The man lowered the gun. “Just a pup.” He kneeled down next to Balto.

“You look hungry, little guy.” He said softly. “I know where to get some good food for you.”

The man picked him up. Balto was unsure whether or not to resist. The man seemed friendly enough. But Balto was still suspicious.

The man brought him to a large farm. It had animals everywhere. He placed Balto on the ground.
“Wait here. I’ll see if we have anything for you to eat.”

The man walked into one of the buildings. Balto’s ears perked up. He looked around. “Who’s there?”

“What are you supposed to be?” A voice called. A pup came out from behind a bunch of trash cans. He was black and white.

“I don’t recall wolves being on the farm.”

Balto rolled his eyes. “Wolf DOG. Not just wolf.”

The dog grinned. “You’re a hybrid.”
“A what?”

“A hybrid. You know two things. A freak.”

Balto nodded. “Thanks.”

The man came back with a steak. He noticed the other pup.
“Ah I see you’ve met Steele. I hope you two are getting along.”

Steele grinned devilishly at Balto. Balto was too hungry to notice. He began devouring the meat at a fast rate. Steele glared at him as he

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