Through rivers of rain, over mountains of pain
Do whatever on earth I've gotta do
I'll follow the dream, I'll follow my heart
Girl I've gotta be wherever you are
Wherever you are
Wherever you are
Wherever you are
"Man, that felt good!" Mika thought. Just the feel of strapping the axe (that's musician slang for guitar) was a big relief for him. The recovery was over as far as he was concerned. But now he faced a decision: What should he do? Stay in Wales? Go back to Nome? Go else-where? What? It wasn't gonna be easy. But then he decided to maybe sleep on it tonight after the party and decide in the morning.
Fireworks lit up the night sky that night at the Fourth of July bash. And Mika was having a great time. For the most part, he just watched the fireworks display while drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola. The party atmosphere helped him forget any troubles he might have had still weighing on his mind. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time.
"Now this is a party!" he thought. "This is just what I need after a long recovery from an injury such as what I had."
In the distance, something caught his eye. It was a weird, orange glow. It wasn't the sun, although with the shorter nighttime in the summer, it could have been mistaken for one.
"What's that ominous glow in the distance?" Mika asked himself.
He pulled out his binoculars to see what it was, but he couldn't make out much of a visual image. All he could see was something shoot up from where the glow was, which by the way, was growing brighter and brighter. When the flying object landed, it set off a big explosion that rocked the surrounding area and almost leveled a few buildings. Most of the people watching the fireworks show thought a firecracker had gone off on the ground. They started to panic and flee for their lives. More of these objects landed and more explosions wreaked havoc. Mika also decided to find shelter. If he could find any.
Eventually Mika did find shelter to wait out the madness. He emerged to find the whole town a big, smoldering mess.
"Hello?!" he called out. "Is anyone still alive?! Anyone in here?! I come in peace!"
When he opened the door to a building that was still standing, he was horrified by what he saw. The inside was a mess. Dead bodies lay sprawled all over the floor. In total shock, Mika started shuttering and slowly shut the door behind him. Looking out of town, he could see something that he thought might be the cause. An army of strangers was on the march eastward. Mika drew out his binoculars to see who they were. He saw a familiar emblem on the jacket of one of the strangers.
"Bolsheviks!" he exclaimed to himself. "What the hell are those guys doing here? I thought they were disbanded after Stalin came to power."
These particular Bolsheviks, however, were independent extremists. Curious as to what they were up to, and scared for what might be the result of their plans, Mika snuck up quietly to the outskirts of their camp for the night to listen in. What he heard shocked him beyond comprehension.
"Oh my god!" Mika thought. "They're planning to take back Russia's old territorial holdings here in North America! Oh, you are sick! You guys are so... Wait a minute! If they hold this course, they'll be heading east, which would lead toward...NOME!"
It was at that moment that Mika realized that these extremists were the mystery menace in the night terrors that Balto had told him about. And if the outcome of the dream was true, then the same fate that befell Wales might also befall Nome. There was no time for procrastinating or being a coward. Something had to be done. Someone had to stop them, and Mika was the only one who could. He went back to what was left of Wales to look for his backpack.
He found it, still in the hospital, with all its contents still intact. Luckily for him, his Colt revolver was still operational, and he had plenty of ammo. He also managed to obtain an abandoned hunting rifle that was still working as well as extra ammo. Unfortunately, the invaders had resumed their march eastward by the time Mika reached their camp.
"Blast!" he thought. "How dare they get a head start on me!"
So he decided to set off after them. He knew full well he would have to move fast if he was to keep up with them. But it wasn't their speed that Mika had trouble matching. It was the fact that the invaders got such a head start that left him struggling to keep up.
The first day of the pursuit saw Mika and the invaders make it just shy of the halfway point between Wales and Nome. And Mika was exhausted by the time he stopped for the night. He kept his distance from the enemy in order to avoid detection. Day two saw the Finn awake rested and refreshed, although he couldn't find his backpack. All that remained at his campsite was his new rifle. Realizing how important the contents were, Mika had to temporarily abandon chasing the invaders and search for his gear. He found it ten minutes later. A wolf had gotten hold of it, and was still rummaging through it when Mika got to the scene.
"Hey!" he yelled, rifle in both hands. "Get the hell away from my backpack!" He took aim and pulled the trigger to fire a warning shot and scare the animal away, only to realize he forgot to even load it.
"Ah, crap!" he said. "Then again, I won't really be needing this until later."
The wolf looked at Mika puzzled. It seemed as though it had expected Mika to be hunting for some animal.
"What do you mean you won't be needing it now?" the wolf asked with a female-like voice.
Mika was caught by surprise that this creature had responded to what he just said. Of course, he hadn't spoken with anything other than a human in two months, so he'd kinda forgotten.
"I mean I won't be needing to use it now," Mika responded. "Now do you mind getting away from my backpack?"
"Here you go," said the wolf, who then brought Mika his backpack.
"Say, uh," said Mika, unsure what to say next, "did you see an army of psychotic Soviets pass by here?"
"Yeah, I saw several such beings come this way," the wolf replied. "Why you ask?"
"They destroyed the town of Wales at the western tip of the Seward Peninsula. I survived the onslaught. I hear they plan on taking back their country's old holdings here in North America. I've been pursuing them for the last 24 hours. I'm trying to get to Nome, where my parents and younger brother live before those kooks do, or I fear what might happen."
"Nome? That's where my parents live!" the wolf said, sounding shocked. "And my brothers and sisters! My pack and I have been trailing these invaders, too. Right now, they're waiting for me to come back with some food."
"And you went searching through my backpack to find anything?" asked Mika.
"I smelled something from in it," replied the wolf. "And unless you know anything about tracking, you're not gonna easily catch them."
"And you know about tracking?" asked Mika.
"Duh!" replied the wolf, raising her voice in the process. "I have to in order to survive."
Tell you what," said Mika. "We'll get something to eat, you're getting your own food. Then we continue to pursue those Soviets."
"Cool with me," said the wolf in response. "Name's Aleu, by the way."
"I'm Mika Kykalisko," replied Mika.
Mika met up with Aleu and her pack after breakfast, which for him consisted of a few pieces of beef jerky. It wasn't a satisfying breakfast, but at least it was a filling one. At that point, the pursuit continued. Mika left the tracking work to Aleu and her pack, as they were the experts in that field. The decision paid off. They stayed right on the trail left by the extremists, and never lost it. Mika stayed back behind the pack to avoid messing up the scent trail. This move further helped the efficiency of the plan. All the while, Mika loaded his rifle and revolver, ready for a possible battle.
By the time they got close to Nome, however the enemy forces were still well ahead of them. They eventually got close enough to see Nome early the next day, only to find that the enemy's assault was already underway.
In town, most of the residents either had taken cover, or were scrambling to find it. The town's dog residents found shelter in the hull of the abandoned boat that Balto had once called the only home he had. It was by this point that he realized that the foreign invaders attacking his town were the mystery menace that had haunted him for at least the last two months.
"So this is who the shadow menace was!" he thought. "Argh, why didn't I see that coming?"
Meanwhile, Mika, along with Aleu and her pack had a plan in action. Mika would go in and draw the invaders out of town, and lure them to the outskirts, where Aleu and company would set up an ambush. Mika's first stop was the back door of his house to drop off his guitar inside. From there he would sneak into town and execute the plan. The assault had calmed down for now and enemy was regrouping to discuss the next course of action. Mika hid behind a building in a sniper-like position with his rifle in hand, ready to fire at just the right time. He had his sights squarely on taking out the leader of the group.
"Okay, steady," he thought. "Ready, aim, FIRE!"
With that, and without hesitation, Mika pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the leader of the extremists square in the forehead. Within five seconds, he fell over, down in one shot. The others looked around frantically trying to see who fired the shot.
"Where are you?!" one of them exclaimed.
Mika didn't say a word. He just let them get more on edge before busting another shot off and dusting off another one of them.
The battle was on.
Will Nome be saved from its dangerous seizers? Find out in Chapter 8: The Battle for Nome.
Wherever You Are originally performed by Jack Ingram.