Invasion: Chapter 4: Finn on the Run

In his dream, Balto saw himself being chased by several dozen mysterious, shadowy figures. He couldn't tell exactly what they were. Fearing they might be a threat to himself, his family, and Nome, he ran as fast as he possibly could back home to warn the town of the impending danger. As the dream unfolded, he frantically tossed and turned about in bed. His legs moved equally frantically as he tried, in vain, to outrun the impending danger. He also kept shouting, "Who are you?! What do you want?!" He was sweating profusely, and in the mad frenzy, he inadvertently kicked Jenna right in the stomach.

"Ow!" she exclaimed. Balto's screaming, however, had already awakened her.

She jumped up, ran around to Balto's backside, facing away from his legs, and tried to nudge him awake.

"What, what's going on?!" Balto said, sounding on edge and very tense.

"You were having a nightmare," replied Jenna.

"Again?" asked Balto. "That's the fifth consecutive night."

"Balto, what's wrong?" asked Jenna, who by this point was both worried and concerned. Seeing the sweat on Balto's fur, she took his old blanket and wiped him dry.

"All I know is," said Balto, pausing briefly to think. "In this nightmare, I'm being chased by several dozen mysterious shadows. I don't know what they are, how many of them are there, or what they want. But I fear they may be a serious threat to Nome. Every time I think that I'm about to find out who they are, the dream ends. I either just wake up on my own or you nudge me awake. I have been trying to figure out who or what they are, every way I know how, but I can't seem to get any closer to the answer. Oh, sorry for kicking you, Jenna."

"Don't worry about it. I'm okay," replied Jenna.

She then went to get an extra pillow for Balto to sleep on. This way, he didn't have to worry about accidently hurting his beloved mate. Jenna hated seeing Balto like this, and he hated being like this.

"You gonna be okay?" Jenna asked.

"I'll be alright, darling," Balto replied, nuzzling Jenna's right cheek. "I'll be right here in the morning."

Balto then lay down on the pillow, which was positioned next to their bed. He was facing away from Jenna, so that if the night terror started again, he would be able to avoid a repeat of what had just happened. Jenna lay down next to Balto, putting her front paws around him.

"I love you, baby," said Jenna.

"I love you, too, sweetheart," said Balto.

"You just sleep now, okay, Balto?" said Jenna reassuringly. "As long as I'm right here, nothing's gonna hurt you."

"Thank you, Jenna," replied Balto as they both drifted off to sleep. Again.

Mika also didn't sleep too well. After pulling off his escape in the dead of night, he managed to cover a lot of ground by daybreak. He did managed to find a rock face to sleep under, but even with his sleeping bag, it wasn't very comfortable. He only got a few hours worth of sleep, and it showed. He was still very tired. The wind was certainly blowing that day. It wasn't strong or cold, but did blow his blonde mullet around. He even had to squint to keep it out of his eyes. And to block out the sun.

As he packed up his gear, he couldn't stop wondering why he had fled Nome, where he would go, and what he would do once he got there.

"Remind me again what I'm doing out here," he said to himself. "I mean, I know I fled Nome in fear of my own safety, but what do I do now?Where do I go? And will anyone even notice or care that I'm gone? Some probably won't even know the difference."

And with that, he picked up his backpack and continued west, hoping to cover some more ground and put the last two days out of sight and out of mind.

Back in Nome, things seemed to have returned to normal for most of the residents. At Outdoor Outfitters, the outdoor supply store where Mika worked, however, John Robertson and David Stoner couldn't help but notice that the only other worker besides them was not on time, as usual. After an hour had passed with no sign of Mika, both of them really got worried.

"Do you suppose something happened to Mika?" David asked John.

"I hope it's nothing bad," replied John. "Did you finish restocking the shelves in the stockroom?"

"Yes, boss," David responded.

"Good," said John. "Since you're free for the moment, could you do me a favor and check by Mika's house and see if he's there?"

"I can do that," replied David.

With that, David grabbed his coat and left.

Kaj was already at Mika's house when David got there.

"Hello, Kaj," said David.

"Oh, hi, David," said Kaj.

"Where's your brother?" David asked.

"I don't know," said Kaj. "That's why I'm here looking."

Kaj opened the front door and they went inside and started calling "Mika! Mika! Where are you?!"

After five minutes of searching, Kaj reached the desk where Mika had left the note he had written last night. After picking it up to read it, and then reading it, he set it down in shock.

"Oh my god," he said, clearly surprised.

"What is it?" asked David.

"I found this note," said Kaj as he held it up. "It doesn't sound good."

David leaned over Kaj's shoulder to read it. When he finished reading it, he too was in shock.

"Well," he said, "this explains why he's late."

"Does your boss know?" asked Kaj.

"No, that's why I'm here," replied David.

They both took the note with them when they left and went straight back to Outdoor Outfitters.

"Hi David," said John. "Oh, hello Kaj," he added seeing him accompany David.

"Hello Mr. Robertson," said Kaj.

"Please, just call me John," said John in response.

"Well," said David dejectedly, "we found this note. You might want to read this."

David handed John the note, which he read.

"I don't believe it," said John. "I don't believe it! Why would he do that?"

"I think it had something to do with that mob outside his house yesterday," said Kaj.

"No kidding," added David. "I also found a broken window, and this rock with another note attached that said 'Get out or die, you freaking foreign SOB!"

The note had "SOB" written out unabbreviated.

"Oh, great!" said Kaj in a sarcastic tone. "First, that mob drives my brother out of town, now they insult our mother! Have they no sense?!" he exclaimed, pounding his fist on the counter in anger and seething.

"Do your parents know?" John asked Kaj.

"I seriously doubt it," Kaj responded. "Come on, we have to go tell them."

"Alright, Kaj, David," said John, "you go and show them that note. I have to stay and watch the store."

David and Kaj went ahead to Kaj's parents house and knocked on the door when they arrived.

"Kaj, where's...Oh, hi David," said Toni.

"Hi, Mr. Kykalisko," said David.

"Kaj, where's your brother?" asked Toni.

"I don't know," replied Kaj, "but I found this note."

Kaj handed the note to his dad, who then read it.

"What does it say?" Erja asked.

"It says he didn't intentionally kill that guy," Toni replied. "It also says that with a few exceptions, he doesn't feel like he's welcome in this town. He's left Nome to find a new place to start over, maybe find a way back to place where's respected."

"Oh no," Erja said, groaning.

"Look at this," added Toni. "His note even has teardrops."

Erja took a quick whiff of the stained areas.

"Vodka teardrops," she finally said, shaking her head in disgust. But it wasn't the smell of alcohol that bothered her. It was the fact that her son had been senselessly driven out of town by an angry mob.

"He must feel so betrayed," said David.

"Well, I'm the only one who knew about those guys planning an attack on me," said Kaj, "so I didn't exactly help matters. I never knew exactly when it might happen."

"What guys?" asked David. "What attack?"

Kaj explained to David what happened to him in the alley after the show on Saturday night and how Mika only acted in defense of his younger brother. David then noticed the bandage on Kaj's throat and it all made sense to him now.

"You mean they're mad at him all because he killed that guy in defense of both of you?" David asked, his voice sounding angrier. "This is unbelievable! What is this town coming to?!"

"I don't know," said Toni. "I don't know."

"Well, Mika and I didn't exactly get along that well," added David, "so I got my own problems. But I can honestly say I was not part of that mob."

"I just hope he's okay," put it Erja.

"Well," added Kaj, "knowing all the time that Mika spends outdoors, I'm sure he'll know how to survive out there."

Outside, Balto overheard everything. He was in shock. Barely able to comprehend what he was hearing.

"Oh my god," he said. "I don't believe it."

He then mad a mad dash over to Mika's house to see for himself. One look at the broken window was all he needed to know the full extent of what had transpired.

Balto was crushed. In his view, what that mob did to Mika was completely uncalled for. Feeling worried, sad and angry, he headed back home.

"How could they do this?" he thought. "He did nothing to deserve this! Even if he did do something, it was only out of self defense. I now see what he meant when he said he doesn't feel welcome here."

On the way to his boat, Balto saw Kodi and his team just playing around on the beach. None of them seemed affected by what had transpired last night. The sight of them carrying on happily did little to cheer him up.

"Hi, Dad," said Kodi upon seeing his father nearby.

"Hi, son," Balto replied, sounding downbeat.

"What's wrong?" Kodi asked.

"Mika's run away," Balto replied.

Dusty, Kirby, and Ralph froze when they heard what Balto had just said.

"What do you mean he's run away?" asked Kodi.

"Kaj and David found a note inside Mika's house that said he had left town," Balto responded. "I was outside his parent's house when they were shown it and couldn't help but overhear the whole thing. When I went over to his house, I found a broken window. Someone also threw a rock with a 'Get out of town or die!' note attached."

"That is so wrong," said Dusty, shaking her head in disgust.

"Yeah!" added Kodi. "That's disgraceful!"

"Disgusting!" put in Ralph.

"Disturbing!" finished Kirby.

They all agreed. Even if they only knew him as the lead singer for Lapp Attack, this was still an absolute shocker to them.

"Do his band mates know?" asked Kodi.

"If they don't know by now, they probably will by day's end," replied Balto.

He then headed up to his boat, which by now was more like his private retreat, for some time by himself.

Keith, Colin, and Ryan were absolutely mind-blown when they found out about what happened to Kaj in the alley outside the club. Even more so when he showed them the note that Mika left. Now they were without a frontman, and their lead guitarist had suffered some damage to his vocal chords, so he couldn't sing.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Colin, who was every bit as angry as Kaj and David had been.

"We have to go on hiatus for right now," said Ryan. "Possibly find a new singer."

"But who?" asked Keith. "Who could ever replace Mika?"

"I don't know," Colin answered back. "I just don't know."

"I just hope he's okay out there," said Kaj. "Of course, with all the time he spends 

outdoors, I'm sure he'll do fine."

Balto hadn't gotten rid of his night terrors by that night. He still tossed and turned in his sleep, desperately trying to outrun the shadowy nemesis and alert Nome to the impending danger. This time, Mika was also in danger, and Balto was desperate to help his newfound Finnish friend. But as usual, before he found out their identity, the dream came to an abrupt end, as usual. After going back to sleep, another dream began. This one, however, was different. Balto was now getting a message from his late mother, Aniu. The dream was a warning of just how serious the danger these outsiders posed to Nome was. The end result showed Nome as though it had been burned to the ground. This ghastly scenario left Balto extremely terrified, more so than he had ever been before. He woke a few seconds later, but he wasn't in bed. He was all huddled up on the bathroom floor. Jenna had rushed in, hearing his desperate cries for help.

"Again with the nightmares?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Balto replied. "This one's more like a night terror."

"Really?" Jenna asked again, really sounding worried. "This is six nights in a row."

"Yes, I know," Balto responded. "I also got a message from my mother showing what those creeps might do to Nome if they ever get here. All I could see was this town left in ruins as if it had been burned to the ground."

"Burned to the ground?" Jenna asked. "Are you serious?"

"I'm just telling you what I saw," said Balto. "Mika was also in danger this time. I don't know what happened to him in the dream, but I fear if these events prove to be true, he really could be in grave danger."

Balto lowered his head and shook it in discouragement. "I wish I knew what I was dealing with, Jenna," he said. "Then I know that I could do something."

"I'm sure you'll find the answer one way or another," said Jenna reassuringly. "Even if you have to go out and look for it, I'm sure you'll find out. Now come on, let's get you out of the bathroom."

"OK, then," said Balto as he followed Jenna back to their bed.

Mika was still okay so far. He found a cave to spend the night in and slept near the entrance. By morning, he was rested and refreshed, ready to continue his journey.

The ocean view that faced the exit of the cave was amazing. Mika had never seen anything like it.

"Whoa!" he said in an excited manner as he ran toward the coast. "Man, that's incredible. I never got a view like this back home in Kokkola."

Pulling out his Leica camera, he took a few pictures of the panoramic view before continuing.

Balto was also well rested by the time morning came around. He had already been informed that Boris, Stella, Muk and Luk had agreed to join him on his search. Mika's dad would also go looking after making a scheduled supply run to a nearby mine. Before leaving to start his search, he had to say goodbye to Jenna. Just in case he didn't make it back.

"You know," Jenna said as if trying to convince her mate that he didn't have to go through with this, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Look," said Balto, "I know you're worried about me. But I've done this before and have always made it back. I can do it again."

"You be careful out there," said Jenna as she nuzzled Balto's right cheek.

"I will be," said Balto, nuzzling Jenna back and putting his front paws around her in a hug. She eventually did likewise.

"I love you, Jenna," said Balto.

"I love you too, Balto," Jenna said back. They then kissed briefly before Balto took off. Jenna stood there watching until he was out of sight. Then she went back inside her dwelling.

Will Balto catch up to Mika? Will he find what the mysterious shadow threat is? Find out in Chapter 5: The Accident.