An Unexpected
Future
(started
2/27/07 -)
Summary: (Alternate Timeline) What if “Wolf
Quest” began with an event that changes everything that you once knew from the
Balto sequels? Now faced with a new challenge of being a father, can Balto
still live on now that things are suddenly different?
Rating:
PG for
serious situations and death . . . Very dramatic death, indeed. And there’s
blood . . . not from violence, mind you! Perhaps there are some other things,
but I don’t know them quite yet.
Disclaimer: Balto, Balto: Wolf Quest, and all characters from the films are the property of Universal Studios Inc.; any fan-made characters and/or names (such as Denali and Yukon for the unnamed two pups from "Wolf Quest") are the property of the author (Juuchan17) and should not be used without my permission.
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Prologue:
A Dream of Tomorrow
It was
those dreams again that haunted his slumber again that night.
He had
been having them since his mate told him about their future plans. That moment
was implanted inside his memory ever since, replaying with the same feeling of
joy and expectation as the moment it had happened.
It was a mid-April
afternoon when she and her owners emerged from the doctor's office in the
center of Nome. The snow from the previous winter had recently all thawed out
from the ground, but still her mistress’s father still held the burgundy and
ivory husky in his arms as he slowly stepped down the entrance steps of the
building. Beside the tall, brown-haired man was his wife and young daughter of
only about five or six years old. The man was concluding his conversation with
the doctor after he had checked up on both his precious daughter and her best
friend in the entire world – especially since the little girl had just fully
recovered from her sudden illness from over a couple of months ago and the
husky’s attitude was suddenly beginning to change from what it once was ever
since she had been hanging around with a certain mutt from the outside of town.
That male
mutt, as if it knew something wonderful was going to happen today, poked his
head from a nearby street corner. He was scruffy and in need of some grooming,
but it suited his tainted breeding. He was half-wolf, half-husky – his physical
appearance clearly showed the spirit of his much wilder ancestors and
white-colored dam, while his inner intentions of being a sledding dog obviously
came from his lost father. He kept his yellow and red eyes on the three humans,
waiting for them to give him some time with the female alone so that they could
talk about things.
The small
girl turned towards the street corner, noticing the poked-up hairstyle of the
familiar wolf-dog ducking back into the darkness of the alleyway. “Come on out,
Balto,” she called him without fear. “Come here, boy!”
At the
sound of his name being called by the girl, his ears perked up as his fears
lifted off of his shoulders. His coat of grayish-brown shone slightly in the fading
sunlight that was beginning his descent into the horizon. The husky smelt the
male’s presence and also turned towards him, radiantly glowing with happiness
at who she saw. She let out a couple of quick barks, signaling that she wanted
to walk on her own. Agreeing to the dog’s wishes, the man lowered his arms,
allowing the young canine to run towards the hybrid with total joy.
“Balto!”
she barked as she ran towards him.
“Jenna!”
he returned her call with a warm smile as he looked at the delicate purebred,
basking in her sudden happiness. She was as beautiful that evening as she
always was: her coat was well-groomed, shining with a copper-red and white
glow, her fine legs and tiny paws added more elegance to her obvious breeding,
but it was her wide amber-hazel eyes that made the half-breed love her more and
more each passing day.
The four
humans just stood on the white-washed stairs of wood, watching the friendly
gestures of the playful dogs as they romped in a circle stopping when their
noses finally touched. The girl’s father let out a sigh. “So that’s what she’s
been up to lately. I can see why she chose him instantly.”
The
little girl wiped her bangs from her eyes as she turned to the doctor with a
look of worry. “Nothing bad will happen to Jen, right? She’ll be okay when it
comes?”
The
doctor stroked his beard with a smirk. “She’ll be fine, Rosy. Jenna’s got
strong support with Balto on her side. I mean, if he’s as strong-willed as he
was in saving you and all of those other people by getting that serum . . .” He
sighed, remembering how the hybrid let out a long howl, alerting the town of the
saving grace that they had once thought was a lost cause; only days prior to
hearing the sound, a telegram had signaled Nome that the sled team had missed a
crucial checkpoint on their journey home. Thanks to Balto’s quick thinking and
wolf instincts, he rescued the team and led them to a dangerous but quicker
path to Nome. The doctor patted Rosy on the head; the shifting of her silky,
straight auburn locks against her soft skin made her instantly giggle. “Don’t
worry so much about her – she’s in good health so things should go smoothly.”
The
girl’s expression was now happier, no longer troubled. “That’s good to hear.”
She too let out a sigh. “She looks just as lovely as her mother, Tasha, after
her time. Just wonderful!” She giggled again as she and her parents bid
farewell to the physician and headed for their own house by the edge of town,
allowing the husky and the half-breed to spend some time together.
“Jenna,”
Balto nuzzled her gently, letting their muzzles slip underneath the other’s
like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. When they released each other from their grasp,
the wolf-dog continued with a smile. “You look like your leg has fully healed
since the last time you had it checked.”
“Oh,
yes,” she replied, answering him in the same gentle tone that she always spoke
with. She lifted her right foreleg, showing Balto her now scar-less ankle.
Jenna had injured it while risking her own life to protect Balto from a grizzly
bear after following his scent into the wilderness when he went off searching
for the lost sled team. “It’s fine now, but that’s not the only reason why I
was checked by the Doc.” She smiled, nudging her face closer to his.
“What’s
wrong, Jen?” Balto asked. His face showed that he was beginning to be scared
for the delicate husky. “You haven’t caught a serious cold or something, have
you?”
“No, it’s
not that,” Jenna shook her head slightly. Her face began to turn from white to
a light shade of pink blush. “It’s about . . . something else. It’s about us.”
“What . .
. what do you mean, Jenna? I don’t understand,” Balto’s confusion made him take
a couple of steps back. He had spoken the words loudly that several other local
dogs began to whine and stare with curiosity. Both of the lovers could feel the
pressure of their nosy eyes glaring on them, focusing on their personal lives.
“Uh,
Balto, is it possible to go someplace . . . private?” The burgundy husky
whispered into his dark brown ears, her face still in a slight flush. “Maybe .
. . someplace with a view of the Northern Lights, perhaps?”
Balto’s
eyelids lowered softly as he gazed into her own eyes. “I know the perfect
place.” He motioned his head towards the boiler room that led to a secret place
that only the two of them knew about.
It was a
safe haven underneath the doctor’s office; although it was grimy and filled
with old cobwebs and dirt, it held one of the most beautiful displays in the
world: the Northern Lights. The first time the two of them saw them together
was the night that Balto couldn’t stop thinking about how magnificent the
purebred looked against the gleam of the make-shift aurora, with its rhythmic
and random flickers formed by colored shards of glass bottles and a lantern’s
candlelight. Jenna once thought it was nothing more than a silly game when he
had first described it as he pushed everything to place. Every time she saw it,
it still made her gaze in awe and wonder that such a beautiful sight could be
made with two normal things.
Once the
two canines were alone underneath the clinic floor, Balto did exactly what
Jenna had requested. “The polar ice caps . . .” he nudged the glass shards
beside him, standing in front of it proudly.
The
still-blushing husky looked up at the floor vent above his head, smiling at the
sight of a bright lantern lighting the opening. “The sun . . .” she spoke
softly, walking towards him almost making their noses touch.
The two
mates looked into each eyes – red and yellow into amber-hazel – each allowing
the other to absorb themselves with their love for each other.
They
spoke the magic words in unison, “And to the North, . . .” They separated in
the opposite direction, allowing the vision of the aurora to appear in front of
them, projecting against a wall.
“Oh, it’s
so beautiful, no matter how many times I see it,” Jenna gasped softly, feeling
Balto’s touch pressing against her red-orange bandanna that gracefully draped
her neck.
“And so
are you, Jenna,” Balto felt Jenna return the gesture against his own chest. At
that moment, it felt as if the purebred was connected to him somehow while she
stroked her muzzle against the spot where his heart was pounding with ecstasy. When
they parted their nuzzling, he cleared his throat and resumed their previous
conversation. “Now, what was it that you wanted to tell me, Jenna? About us?”
“Oh, yes.
I remember now,” she patted a section of ground beside her as she lay in front
of the glistening Northern Lights. “My girl took me to see the doctor . . . It
has something to do with us.” Her face turned a slightly darker shade of pink
as she turned away from his gaze. “You know how the broken bottles and the
lantern come together to make the Northern Lights?”
“Yeah, we
both know that,” Balto chuckled, wondering where Jenna’s sudden mention of the
aurora was leading this discussion. “I told you that when we first came here!”
“Well,
imagine if you were the broken glass and I was the light, we would . . .” She
lowered her muzzle against her chest, staring at her front paws and his larger
tan ones; a short laugh slipped from her lips as she spoke her next words. “We
would be able to pass those big paws of yours to the next generation, at least.”
Her face was flustered as she awaited Balto’s response.
Balto’s
eyes widened, causing him to be silent for a moment as he looked at his
blushing mate. Only after he looked down at the said ‘big paws,’ her words
began to make sense in his head. “Wait a minute! Do you mean that . . .? Are
you . . .? How much longer until . . .?”
After she
responded with a nod of her head, he leaned over and congratulated her,
nuzzling against her face and also returning the grin. “The doctor says that
I’m not due for another five weeks at the latest, but he told Rosy that I was
doing wonderfully.”
“That’s
good news, Jenna!” Balto was now grinning ear-to-ear, excited about the
announcement of becoming a father-to-be. “I’m sure that when they’re born, they’ll
be look just as beautiful as you are.”
“And
you too,” she added. “Don’t forget, you helped make this possible for us as
well!”
“Does
anyone else know yet except for us and Rosy’s family?” The wolf-dog asked,
worried that her popularity would be at stake if anyone else learned about it
before he did. “I wouldn’t want you to lose your town status just because
everyone will know that you’ve messed with a mutt like me.”
“No. At
least, I haven’t told anyone yet except for you,” She reassured him. “I had a
strange feeling about it for a couple of weeks, but I’m not quite showing yet,
so I should be okay for about another week.” She then lowered her eyelids
gracefully, replying to his last comment. “And I don’t think anyone would lower
me due to me carrying your legacy and all. You’re a hero, and any female would
be honored to bear the pups of a hero! I know I am.” She leaned up to his neck
and nuzzled him.
“Well, you’re
the only female I’d ever choose to be with, Jenna, because I love you and no
one else.” He returned the gesture, and then his face had a look of
embarrassment on his face when asking his next question. “Can you feel them
moving yet? I mean, inside you, of course.”
Jenna
laughed airily. “Oh, Balto, they may be only a few weeks old, but they are
moving a little bit as they continue to grow. Do you want to feel them?”
He nodded
with a smile as she motioned his head to her belly as she rolled onto her side.
Her white stomach was now lined with two rows of light pink teats, which would
soon be swelling with the milk of life. However, her belly was only a little
bit larger than usual, but when he leaned his cheek against her coat, he closed
his eyes as if he had reached complete enlightenment. The gentle pulsating rush
nudging against her furry skin, the fetal motions rhythmically fluttering
against the linings of their temporary home inside the husky’s womb, and the overpowering
sound of his mate’s constant breathing and steady heartbeat – each sound that
entered his eardrums filled his heart with serenity and joy, and at that
moment, he felt like the luckiest dog in town . . . or perhaps, in the entire
world.
“I can
feel them!” Balto returned his head back from her body, allowing her to lie
back on her stomach. “I can just tell that they’ll be strong and beautiful – a
perfect mix of the two of us.”
“And we
can finally raise a family that’s full of love . . . together,” Jenna stared
lovingly into her lover’s pools of golden yellow and red. Their noses touched
once more as they rested beside each other for about a half an hour before
emerging their secret sanctuary.
That
memory was one of the best moments that the wolf-dog could remember, for
nothing, not even becoming a hero came close to the unspeakable joy that one
feels when he hears the announcement of learning that he was to become a father
for the first time.
However,
once he closed his eyes and tried to sleep that night and every night
afterward, he could see something with his mind’s eye that made him toss and
turn instead of sleeping peacefully.
He felt
like could see the future that he was awaiting to occur in only a matter of
days. Every dream was the same each time, but every time he awoke panting
rapidly at what he always saw.
Everything
was painted with a shade of pitch-black darkness. The hybrid couldn’t see
anything around him at all. The air was cold, frigidly causing the dog to
shiver. Suddenly, he saw a glowing light in front of him. Instinctively, he ran
towards it, hoping that this light would lead him out of this sudden darkness;
however, the bright radiance was actually shrouding his beloved Jenna as she
rested inside her woven bed. She was surrounded in a warm blanket and her
two-toned tail covered her hind legs. The gray-brown canine slowly but surely
approached the cozy scene that was filled with warmth, hoping that there was a
chance that he could see the tiny bundles of joy that lay underneath the safety
of the purebred’s tail. He first showed a bit hesitation at the joyful sight of
pure tranquility, but once he realized who it was in front of him, he relaxed
with a gentle grin. Jenna, also just noticing her lover’s presence entering the
lit area, lifted her head from her body and began to give him a soft smile that
somehow made him a bit uneasy. Her coat was not as beautiful as he had
remembered when he was awake – it was dull and dark, but since it was enveloped
in that strange, almost heavenly light, it looked clean and more stunning than
usual. The rest of her features were just the same: monotonously lackluster
when seen up close, but angelically gorgeous from only a step’s distance.
Out of
all of her visible features, only one caused him to tremble, making his heart
sink: the longer he stared at her eyes . . . they were once shining amber and
hazel, but now her eyes were empty and dark . . . almost lifeless compared to
his dramatic and lively ones of red surrounded in yellow.
He tried
to communicate with her – “Jenna?” – but it was to no avail. She only continued
to show that same grin that made him take a few quick steps backwards. He spoke
again – “Jenna? What’s wrong with you?” – with concern for his mate’s safety in
his tone, but the female’s next actions caused even more shock and utter
confusion to the wolf-dog.
She still
spoke not a word, and gestured him to come towards her once more, as if she had
something to show him. He silently agreed, moving closer to the bed cautiously.
Once the male reached her bed, she slowly lifted her tail, as if to reveal the
quietly-whimpering pups that he had been waiting to meet since finding out that
he was to become a father. But when the tail had moved all the way against the
edge of her blanket-covered bed, an even brighter beam of light emanated from
where the pups would have been suckling against their dam’s tiny teats. He
couldn’t tell how many were there using his sight or by their newborn scent,
but he heard a loud howling cry fill the air; it was a din that sounded like it
came from one of his lupine ancestors. The shrill blare pierced his ears,
causing him to shut his eyes tightly and lower his ears as his half-breed body
fell onto the ground.
After it
ended about ten to fifteen seconds later, he rose to his feet, only opening his
eyes after regaining his balance, but what he saw next made him gasp in fright:
his mate with her heavenly light and all, had vanished from his sight, and
nothing else, not even a trace of her elegant scent, could be found. It was as
if . . . as if she was never there in front of him only moments ago. The sounds
of the hybrid’s sudden anguish made him shake almost violently, causing him to
drown inside the intense obscurity of his chronic nightmare.
Whenever
the blackness fully covered him, the grayish-brown wolf-dog suddenly woke up
with a gasp, breathing heavily with his eyes wide open. Each morning was the
same for the next four weeks, each time caused Balto’s gander companion to lecture
on the sudden importance of these repetitive visions that made the wolf-dog
worry about Jenna’s health and well-being. This morning was the same as usual.
“Balto,
the only thing that you should be worried about is your own health and
well-being!” Boris pointed a feathered finger against the dog’s moist nose; his
voice was harsh, but very parental to the soon-to-be father. “That nightmare is
causing you to have a severe lack of good sleep!”
“Boris, I
know that already,” he let out a loud yawn as he lifted his hindquarters and
lowered his forelegs forward, stretching himself awake. “I’m just worried about
Jenna, that’s all. She means everything to me, especially since about four
weeks ago anyway.”
The
gander let out a slight chuckle. “She’s actually been everything to you ever
since early January, Balto. I remember you couldn’t stop sighing and watching
her when that human of hers got sick.”
The
wolf-dog grinned, slightly embarrassed by his guardian’s words of truth. “Yes,
that’s true, but lately, she’s more than just a star in my sky.” He closed his
eyes with his nose to the changing sky that prepared for the upcoming sunrise.
“Jenna is . . . well, she’s my life, my everything, Boris! I really love her,
and I can’t wait for my chance to become the father that I’ve never had.”
The goose
nodded his head, understanding his feelings. “Ah, to love . . . such a
wonderful feeling, yes?”
Balto
returned his head to its normal position and laughed. “Yeah, it really is a
wonderful sensation, but then again, you’ve never truly been in love before,
have you?” The gander’s face turned straight, showing that the hybrid was
indeed correct. “Oh, cheer up, Boris! You’ll feel this way when you fall in
love with the right goose . . . one day, hopefully.” Balto rubbed one of his
front paws on top of the goose’s head, messing up his white-down head.
The sun
was just beginning to fill up the horizon with its bright orange and yellow hue
when Balto placed his large forepaws on the top rail of his boathouse’s deck.
He looked out at the town where his lover was most likely sleeping by her
mistress’s bedside. He took a deep breath and let it out loudly.
“Ah, it’s
feels like another wonderful day! Don’t you think so, Boris?” He turned to his
friend with gladness.
He
sighed. “Oy! I suppose so.” He watched as Balto leaped over the wooden railing
and landed on the sand and grassy ground below.
The
wolf-dog looked up at his companion, barking at him. “Hey, Boris! Wanna come
with me into town? I’m going to check up on how Jenna’s doing. She due any day
now, and I just can’t wait to meet my new shining stars in my life.”
Boris
lifted his large hind-end up onto the railing and suddenly dropped onto the
ground, landing on his behind. “I might as well come with you, Balto. I still
suggest that you get some more rest though!”
Each
passing stride that the wolf-dog made towards the quaint and tiny town of Nome
caused his feathered friend to feel even more nervous about Balto’s sudden
anticipation and health.
“Balto,
are you sure you’re all right?” Boris continued to question his adopted canine
son. “I mean, this is serious!”
“I know,
Boris,” Balto stopped at the halfway point between Nome and his land-ridden
boat by the shoreline – a large wooden totem pole that was just recently
commissioned by a group of Inuit natives in honor of Balto’s heroic rescue
earlier that year. “I need more sleep, which I will get as soon as I know
Jenna’s okay.”
However,
Boris had known that ever since the hybrid had found out that he was to be a
father, his routine was the same every morning: after recovering from his
repetitive nightmare, he would travel into town to check up on Jenna’s
condition. He would smile with awe whenever she would rise from her bed,
showing him her growing belly; ever since last week, she was swollen heavy with
pup, almost to the point of not being able to move as easily as she used to.
They usually spent time around Rosy’s house and on occasions, they sat outside,
chatting with local dogs about their growing family. Many of them offered their
congratulations to the purebred and the wolf-dog, for most of them had accepted
Balto’s different breeding; but as with every situation, there were a few
canines that still disliked Balto for being part-wolf and were furious about
the fact that Jenna was carrying pups that would be born with lupine blood in
them. No matter what others said about them, Balto and Jenna had a feeling that
once their children were born, their love for each other would always remain
steady, while their lives would never be the same ever again . . . and somehow,
Boris must have sensed this as well.
The snow
goose slapped a wing over his face. “That’s not what I meant . . . well, I was
thinking that earlier,” The goose remembered his previous worry from earlier
that morning but quickly got back to the point. “But that’s not what is even
more important! What about your dream? Remember?”
Balto let
out a heavy sigh, his head relaxed as he turned to his guardian. “It’s just a
dream . . . no, it was a nightmare.”
Boris,
realizing that this was for the best, sat down beside him, asking, “What
happened in this nightmare that has you so worried? It can’t be all that bad,
right?”
Just when
Balto began to explain his frightening vision, not a single one of them noticed
the faint lining of mist covering the ground underneath their paws, webbed
toes, and the totem’s base. It shrouded the grass and dirt, causing it to
appear faded and almost gray; it seemed as if some higher power was with the
two creatures’ sides at the very moment.
“Oh, my .
. .” Boris muttered after his friend concluded his account of the nightmare. He
consoled him with a hug as he tried to make sense of the severity of the
situation. “I didn’t realize that, Balto. Perhaps this dream is trying to warn
you that something important is going to happen to you soon, but what it is . .
. I can’t understand. The fact that you and Jenna appear in the dream must mean
that it’s something only the two of you would know about –”
The
gander was interrupted by a faint yipping that seemed to come from town limits.
Balto and Boris stood up with their heads erect, wondering who could be
approaching them so suddenly. When the barking noise grew louder and clearer,
the creature was within view. It was a small canine – a silver and gray
terrier, to be exact – bouncing and yipping non-stop with an urgent expression
on his face that made Balto nervous and yet at the same time, he was curious by
the dog’s actions. The tiny dog’s green scarf flapped in the air and against
his long-whiskered muzzle as he finally arrived to his appointed destination in
the nick of time.
“Aye, Balto!
I’ve finally found ye!” He yipped as he spoke in a high-pitched Scottish
accent. His leaping halted when he finally got his audience’s attention. “Come
with me! We haven’t a moment to lose!” He ran behind one of his forelegs and
unsuccessfully attempted to push against the wolf-dog’s tan leg using his head.
“Come on, come on, slowpoke! We must hurry!”
“Why?”
Boris asked, holding his head in confusion of the terrier’s actions and words.
“What’s the big hustle and bustle, eh boichick?”
The white
and gray dog ran a bit ahead of them, stopped, and continued his yapping bark
of alert between phrases. “Aye, it’s terrible! Terrible! The stork has landed,
but we may be too late!” He leaped a few times in the air, stomping the ground
softly when he landed. “Hurry! We must hurry, or we’ll be too late! Arf! Arf!”
Balto’s
eyes widened once the terrier’s words clicked in his head. “Oh no! Jenna!” He
lunged forward, stopping once he caught up with the much smaller canine. “Take
me to her! Quickly!” He ordered him with a serious tone. Obeying the local
hero’s wishes, he barked and ran forward towards the entrance of a alleyway that
led to the doctor’s office.
Boris,
still confused by the terrier’s sudden announcement, scratched his head. “Too
late for what? And what does a stork have to do with Jenna?” His eyes shot open
after speaking those words, realizing what the news was. The gander let out a
gasp, his feathered fingers between his teeth. “Oh dear! This might have to
deal with Balto’s dream and Jenna!” He quickly waddled past the totem pole and
into the town limits, screaming. “I’m coming, Balto! Wait for me!”
The two
dogs hurried through the street corners and shadowy passageways as they panted
and flew down until they reached the safety of the lit-up doctor’s office. The
terrier stopped, sitting down at the base of the first step, allowing Balto
towards the white doors that led into the lobby. The doors were shut tight, so
there was no way he could enter that way. He rushed down the steps and peered
through the brightly-lit glass window, hoping that he would see someone
familiar that would open the door for him. He smiled slightly at the sight of a
familiar young six-year old with long auburn hair, but his expression changed
once he noticed her own face. Her head was slumped, leaning against her
mother’s side, her green eyes lowered and filled with tears. Her mouth was
moving, but her voice was inaudible as she cried.
Boris has
finally arrived to the scene, panting and clutching his feathered breast to
catch his breath. Once he noticed the wolf-dog’s pose of worry, he climbed the
white wooden stairs and wrapped a wing around Balto’s scruffy neck, curious
about what was happening. “What is it, Balto? Where’s Jenna?”
“I . . .
I don’t know, but something doesn’t seem right,” he sniffed as he placed his
paws onto the windowsill, still looking at the family’s actions and getting
more worried with each passing second. “Just stay here, Boris. I need to go
find out what’s happened to Jenna!” He leaped over any obstacles in his way and
turned the corner, heading towards the connecting boiler room, the same one
that he had always taken Jenna to many times before. For the first time in a
couple of years, he was about to enter the passageway solo with Jenna only with
him in his mind.
The
gander let out a quiet breath as he continued his vigil from outside of the
window; the terrier scampered around the steps to join him, his urgency
vanished as he jumped onto a nearby storage cellar and peered into the glass.
The doctor had approached the worried family of three and said something to the
two parents without the little girl being able to hear. The two parents
clutched each other as the doctor kneeled beside the sniffling child, placing
his hand on top of her head after wiping away her thin streams of tears. He
stood back up and allowed the couple into the doctor’s examination room. The
girl reached her tiny hand out, gripping onto her parents’ coats, trying to
stop them from entering the back room without her by their side.
A few
dogs, mainly the gossip hounds and sled dogs that the terrier had just ran to
and spread the critical information based on what he had seen in the past few
minutes, began to gather around the window, watching the girl and her family
follow close behind the physician as they entered the back office together.
They whispered amongst each other, wondering what all of the worry was all
about, but no dog was closer to hearing the severity of the matter than the
hybrid himself.
He had
leaned through wooden boards and planks, dodged cobwebs and everything else
that was always down there before reaching the space that he and Jenna always
spent their romantic moments.
He turned
to his right, quickly smiling at the broken bottles that his mate always made
fun of since the beginning. “The polar ice caps . . .”
To his
upper left was the bright light that stood for the sun. “The sun . . .”
“And to
the North, . . .”
The words
came out like normal routine as he stepped aside and watched the aurora dance
against the wall. As he continued to gaze at the make-shift Northern Lights, he
sniffed the air, the recognizable scent entered his nostrils.
“Jenna .
. .” he closed his eyes, praying that she was alright. “Oh, Jen . . . Please be
okay . . . both you and our pups . . . please be alright . . .” He could hear
the sound of footsteps slowly clacking against the wooden flooring and
recognizing the scents of the local doctor, Rosy and her parents.
The light
suddenly went out, causing the aurora to fade out. The wolf-dog silently
panicked, walking towards the sound of the sniffling young child. He lowered
his ears with worry when he realized that they were inside the same room as
Jenna’s scent, but he could still make out their conversation of words.
“Oh, the
poor dear. She’s just so young!” Rosy’s mother.
“This is
truly a shame. Is there anything you can do for her now, doctor?” Rosy’s
father.
“I’m
afraid not, Sir. She’s fading fast and I fear . . .” the doctor let out a deep
sigh before continuing. “I fear that we’ve lost her.”
At those
words, Balto ran from the under-floor area and out of the boiler room. He
couldn’t stop the flow of tears from drowning his emotions. The hybrid turned
the corner and saw the now-large crowd of local canines awaiting him by the
windows and the stairs of the office. They spoke no words for the gray-brown
half-wolf’s tears and sullen expressions told them everything that they wanted
answers for. In respect, they lowered their ears and dropped their heads in
mourning as Balto’s ears pricked up a bit at the sound of the door opening;
Rosy, still wiping tears away from her eyes, stood in the bright light of the
waiting room, gesturing her hand to the wolf-dog without speaking a word. The
gathering of canines stepped aside, creating a clear path for Balto to pass
through; without expression, he slowly climbed the stairs and entered the
doorway, hearing the forlorn howl of a couple of deep-voiced canines from
behind him. Balto didn’t look back as he remained by Rosy’s side, walking
through the waiting room and through the entrance that contained a sad sight
that made Balto’s heart almost feel like stopping.
On an
examination table, a bloody sheet lay underneath the burgundy and white husky.
Her body looked frail and beaten, for dried splatters of blood covered her
hindquarters and the upper parts of her hind legs. She was on her side, her
sides were barely able to rise and fall, but her belly was thinner again. She
must have given birth already, the wolf-dog thought to himself, but the
pups were nowhere to be found. Her trademark bandanna had disappeared as well,
but that sparkle that she always had in her amber-hazel eyes was still there
when he stood up and looked at her face. She could barely speak, but she still
had enough strength to greet her mate.
“B –
Balto . . .”
The
chilling weakness in her whimpering made Rosy break down, collapsing onto the
floor as teardrops stained her clothes and the wood floor beneath her. Balto,
also was moved to tears, placed his paw on top of hers.
“Don’t
speak, Jen.” He hushed the fragile purebred, still not giving up hope that she
could still be saved. “What happened? Where are the pups?”
She had
enough strength to give him an everlasting smile before answering in a soft
voice, groaning a little bit when she tried to move her nose closer to her mate.
“I love you, Balto . . . Doc took them all away . . . problems during the birth
. . . Please –” A sudden choking sound came from her throat, causing Rosy to
leap from the floor to her pet’s side.
Balto’s
eyes were open and filled with tears. “Jen! Jenna! I love you! Please don’t
leave me!” He placed his paws on her side, attempting to shake her awake again.
“Remember our dream to raise a family? I need you, Jen! Please come back!” Once
the doctor flew the door open, Balto heard her final words spoken in a deathly
murmur . . .
“Balto .
. . Make our family full of love . . . Always remain my hero . . .”
He
watched her eyes roll slowly backwards, her eyelids of faded white closed for
the last time as her muzzle gently fell onto the sheet. The doctor closed his
eyes in silence, turning to the wolf-dog, and finally placed another white
sheet on top of the lifeless husky’s body. Afterwards, he led Balto out of the
room where Rosy, her family, and the crowd of dogs outside of the windows
awaited the news. Just a silent shake of his head told them everything, causing
the family to embrace each other in sorrow and the canines to have a moment of
silence for their lost local beauty while the gander outside the window’s light
honked a quiet version of “Taps” in the background.
No one in
the world felt worst at that moment than the wolf-dog. Only less than an hour
ago, he was eagerly awaiting the birth of his first litter and making sure that
his mate was okay; now, his mate had died before his eyes, moments after just
giving birth, and he was unsure that the pups were even alive themselves. Tears
of loss stained his brown and tan markings into dark as he felt a pat against
his head. It was the doctor, who had a straight look of sadness in his dark
eyes.
“Come on,
Balto. I thought you should see this as well.” He led Balto into the next room
near the one that Jenna had just lost her life.
It
couldn’t be any worse than me seeing my one and only love die in front of me .
. . The wolf-dog
thought as he walked, not realizing what scene awaited him beyond the wooden
door.
Inside
the room was more bloody sheets, most of them covering tiny lumps on the room’s
examination table. Rosy and her parents had just calmed down and entered the
room, only to be moved to tears once more.
“Oh . . .
The pups . . .” Rosy gasped and suddenly got choked up. She couldn’t finish her
thought as she leaned onto Balto’s neck and let his fur soak her tears.
The
doctor nodded. “I’m truly sorry that this had to happen to Jenna, Rosy. I guess
the stress on her young body during her delivery was just too great on her.”
“What
about the pups, Doc?” Rosy’s father asked, holding his grieving wife in his
arms. Balto pricked his ears up too, for he had a promise to keep. It was
Jenna’s dying wish.
“Make
our family full of love . . .”
“She
delivered six pups . . . All of them died at their moment of birth . . .” The
doctor’s words struck the wolf-dog like knives stabbing him in the heart. Six
pups . . . dead? Balto’s tears were like waterfalls, uncontrollable and
unstable, just like his emotions. I have nothing left of her . . . nothing
left of my beloved Jenna . . . Oh, why must God take away all that I truly
love? All that I care about? All that I hoped for my future to become? Is there
even a God at all?
He was
about to leave the room with his head slumped down from his neck when the
physician’s next words made him turn around and lift his ears up slightly.
“But,”
The doctor reached for a bottle of warming milk on a nearby counter and a
folded red-orange piece of fabric that looked so proverbial to the humans and
made Balto whine in confusion and sadness, still with tears in his eyes. “But,
we were able to successfully revive one . . .” He opened the bandanna,
revealing the blind and deaf newborn to the human owners. “The others weren’t
as lucky – they were pretty much lost when they emerged from the womb – but
this one, . . . this one is a true blessing.”
One
survived . . . only one was spared, while the others were touched by death far
too soon . . . He
looked again at the remaining five bundles of blood-stained white cloths in
which laid the children that he was destined to never know. Balto was still not
fully happy, especially with his sorrowful farewell as he watched his mate
dying in front of him only a couple of minutes ago, but knowing that he still
had someone to carry on Jenna’s legacy made him feel both proud and slightly
guilty.
“Oh,
darling, it’s a miracle.” Rosy’s mother, still with tears of sadness in her
eyes, began to spill tears of joy from her eyes. She leaned towards her
husband’s face and kissed him on the lips. The doctor handed the warm bottle of
milk to the taller man afterwards, who quickly held it gently in his palms.
“Yes, a
little wonderful miracle,” The father also started to tear up with a bit of
happiness.
Rosy
wiped tears from her eyes after standing on her tiptoes to peer at the
surviving quarter-wolf puppy. “Oh, Balto. You’re a father now . . .” She was
still crying over the loss of her pet of four years, but she hugged Balto tight
as she thought about the new life that her previous husky had left behind. “And
we’ll raise the puppy together . . . for Jenna.”
Balto
returned the gesture, licking her cheek in a slightly happier mood. He let out
a sigh and he turned back to the doctor and the living pup that remained in his
hand, covered by his lover’s trademark neck gear. Oh, Jenna, watch over me
from the next world, he prayed to his beloved purebred’s spirit, wherever
she was now. Stay beside our only child and all of us . . . so that I can
still remain as your hero . . .
Protect
our other five children . . . I’m sure they’ve joined you by now. Raise them
for me and I await the day when I will join you all again . . .
The Doc
kneeled over to the wolf-dog and slowly opened the folded piece of fabric,
allowing him to see his only child for the first time.
And I’ll
raise this little one . . . for you . . .
(Prologue
finished 3/3/07)
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Author’s
Note:
Wow. This
has to be one of the most difficult storylines that I think I’ve ever thought
up . . . and perhaps one of the hardest and most emotionally-draining plotlines
to plan and write.
Really, I
think I’m starting to hate getting new ideas for stories when I have plenty of
other fan-fictions in need of completion!
The good
thing is that the six names of each of the pups remained the same (including
the ones that I use for the two officially unnamed ones), but their
personalities have changed, due to the lack of their maternal guardian and
other difficulties that come up in their new storylines. Balto is the character
to watch out for the most – mainly because he’s lost the only thing that kept
him sane and now he has to deal with the challenges of raising a child on his
own.
Look out
for this one – this may be my best fic ever. Enjoy . . . and be sure to keep
your Kleenex tissues handy! I mean it – this will make you cry . . . and if it
doesn’t, you must not have a soul. XD
Seriously,
you must be crazy if you’re not bawling. Or else, completely heartless.
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