Invasion: Chapter 8: The Battle for Nome

Mika Kykalisko had just busted off two shots from his rifle, dusting off two of the Soviet extremists that had almost totally destroyed Nome. They continued to look around in a panic, hoping their attacker would reveal himself. Before any of them could react, Mika fired another shot from his hiding post around a building corner. This one also hit an enemy target. One of the invaders finally wised up and through an explosive in one direction, hoping to flush out the hidden threat. It almost did. Mika held his ground and stayed hidden. He did, however, have to dodge falling debris. The only hint to his location was his shadow on a wall of a nearby building that was still standing.

"Who are you?!" one of the extremists called out frantically.

Mika rose up through the smoke, his figure just a silhouette, aiming his gun at the enemy.

"Your worst nightmare!" he answered back. He then fired another two shots that struck an enemy target right in the eyes. The invaders began to fire back, but Mika was off and running. He immediately slung his rifle over his right shoulder and whipped out his revolver, firing back. These shots, however, were far less successful. After one minute of chasing, Mika finally ditched his pursuers. He stopped only to reload his weapons, at which point someone tapped him on the shoulder. Mika was almost thrown into a panic until he saw who it was. It was his coworker at Outdoor Outfitters, David Stoner.

"Mika?" asked David. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Risking my life to save a town I hate for reasons I no longer understand!" Mika replied.

"Why?" David asked again.

"Those invaders practically burnt Wales, the town where I was hospitalized, to the ground," replied Mika. "I overheard what they were planning to do. They're trying to take back Russia's former territorial holdings here in North America! I realized if they held course, they would be coming here. I was the only one left who could stop them."

David was shellshocked.

He had fought in World War 1 - then called the Great War - in Europe for the U.S., so the Russians would have been like teammates to him. Mika did explain that these invaders were independent-acting extremists who were acting completely on their own. These new events caught him completely by surprise.

"Well," said David, "they may have been on my side in the war until they pulled out. But they just made themselves a powerful enemy."

"Me?" asked Mika.

"Well, obviously," David responded. "And as of now, me!"

"David, who's that?" a voice called out.

The voice belonged to David's wife, Jessica. She emerged from around a corner in their house with their son, Michael.

"Oh, hi Mika," she said, surprised to see him. "Surprised to see you back here."

"Surprised to be back here," added Mika.

Suddenly, a series of shots entered the room where they were. All four of them threw themselves to the floor immediately to avoid being hit. David crawled under the line of fire and came back with a twelve-gauge in one hand. He knew all too well that Mika stood no chance of succeeding by himself.

"Jessica," David called to his wife. "Get Michael to the basement. You two will be safe in there. I have to help Mika."

"You be careful out there, you two," Jessica answered back.

"Come on, my Finnish comrade," said David. "Let's send them back where they belong!"

"The USSR?" asked Mika.

"No," answered David. "Hell. And not that township in Michigan you told me about."

"I know what you mean," said Mika.

The duo burst out of their hiding place and fired back at their nemesis. The chase had resumed.

Mika and David were successful at drawing their adversaries out of town. They headed toward the nearby mountains, hoping to gain the high ground and an advantage. If they achieved this objective, they could fire down on the enemy, who couldn't possibly hide.

From his hideout on his boat, Balto watched the chase play out in plain sight. He was stunned cold when he saw what he saw.

"Is that Mika?" he thought. "What is he doing back here?"

Suddenly, the reason struck him hard.

"He must have followed them here from Wales!" he thought.

It was here and now that Balto realized that this was the part of his night terrors in which Mika was in danger. And now it was playing out right in front of him.

"What's going on up here?" Nikki asked as he came out of hiding in the ship's hull.

"You're not gonna believe this!" Balto exclaimed in response. "Mika and David are out there actually fighting off those extremists!"

"No way!" exclaimed Kodi, who had come out to see what was going on. Random talk of disbelief ran amok among the other dogs who were in hiding in the hull of the boat.

"That's the most amazing, that's the most incredible, that's the most astounding!" said Kaltag after coming out to watch and see for himself.

"GO MIKA! GO DAVID!" Star exclaimed. A few other dogs came out to cheer on Nome's new heroes. Both of them were too busy to hear them.

Mika and David had made it to the mountains in roughly 10-15 minutes without getting hit. When they arrived, they were out of ammo in their weapons. They had to stop and reload.

Aleu and her pack were on standby, ready to assist when needed. As the extremists crept closer, they got ready to strike. This may not be normal for a wolf of normal health to do. But Aleu's old neighborhood was under siege. Something had to be done.

The invaders had also run out of ammo during the run across the open ground to the mountains, so they too had to stop and reload. Once that was done, most of them attempted to climb up the mountain that Mika and David had taken as a vantage point. Their objective was to either take that post or capture a higher point so that they could fire down on Mika and David.

For the most part, the new dynamic duo were successful at defending their outpost. However, some of the extremists reached their level on the mountain, although the majority were cut down either then or well before.

One shot from the invaders went up into the barrel of David's gun, jamming it. David had no choice but to resort to hand-to-hand combat, wielding his weapon like a staff, which he was very good at. Mika's gun was still working, so hand-to-hand combat was not of immediate necessity to him. David eventually got his twelve-gauge unjammed and was back to using it immediately.

Several invaders reached Mika and David's position, forcing Aleu and her pack to jump into action. Their entry into the battle caught the extremists completely off guard, as they were virtually overwhelmed. Roughly two hundred extremists came over for the mission. Only half were left by midday. While Aleu and her pack kept the enemy forces busy, Mika and David would move in to finish them off. The strategy was starting to pay off.

But it wouldn't last long. The extremists began to get more ruthless and started firing back at their attackers. One broke free and charged at David, bayonet pointed square at him. David stuck the barrel of his gun in the way, stopping the bayonet in its tracks. Hand-to-hand combat ensued between the two combatants, both using their guns like staffs.

Mika was too tied up with three other attackers to come to his comrade's rescue.

David was having his hands full with his adversary, and vice versa. They both made advances, but neither was able to land a blow. David would lash out first, the enemy would block, and then the attacker/defender roles would switch. David launched another offensive, but it was blocked. He again attacked, but to no avail. Now the Soviet lashed out. David blocked it, and then shoved his opponent backward, almost knocking him completely off balance. Seeing an opportunity, he lunged forward.

Mika, who had finished off two more extremists, caught a glimpse of David's duel.

"Come on, David," he thought. "Finish him off! You can do it!"

The Soviet blocked the lunge, plus the next two, and then slammed the stock of his rifle against David's face. David staggered backward, slightly dazed from the unexpected blow to his head. The extremist, seeing his chance, grinned in triumph. Pulling a counter-clockwise spin move, he pointed his bayonet forward and struck David through the chest - right where the heart would be. Mika just happened to look up at the moment of impact.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the Finn screamed in horror as David crumpled to the ground. His scream was loud enough to be heard in town. All the dogs watching from Balto's boat heard it, too. They also heard the next words from Mika, who by now was overrun with anger over what he just saw.

"YOU BASTARD!!" he exclaimed, the rage clearly present in his voice. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!!"

Mika quickly whipped out his revolver and fired three shots, all of them hitting the extremist who struck down David square in the face. Two hit him in the eyes, the third in the forehead. But he didn't go down instantly. He stood up for about five seconds, during which Mika started wailing on him with both fists. He grabbed the enemy's gun just as he fell over. He then faced a ten-man onslaught, which with a little help from his wolf allies, he was able to suppress.

Catching a break, Mika ran over to David lie motionless to see if he was okay. Quickly, he grabbed a gauze bandage from his backpack and put it over the puncture wound on David chest to stop the bleeding. It didn't work. He had to use every such bandage he had at his disposal.

"Come on, buddy, don't die on me now," Mika said frantically.

Suddenly, an ominous sound rang out at close range. Mika looked up, only to see dozens of guns pointed directly at him. He tried every single gun he had at his dispense. All of them were out of ammo.

"Oh, shit," he said to himself. "This is not good."

Aleu and her own pack were still tied up with the rest of the remaining invaders and unable to come to Mika's rescue.

Sensing that his Finnish friend was in trouble, Balto managed to round up about two dozen dogs to go with him and assist Mika. But by the time they got to the battle scene, Mika was being tied up and hauled away by the extremists.

One thing they couldn't miss was the sight of David lying motionless on the ground nearby, blood leaking from his chest. Some of the dogs that followed Balto up to the battleground were left feeling somewhat nauseated by what they saw. Balto ran over to check on David, hoping to find at least one sign of life. They couldn't do anything right then and there to help him. If David was to have even a slight chance of survival, he would have to be taken to the hospital immediately.

"Is he alive?" asked Dusty, sounding very worried.

"I can't tell," replied Balto. "Listen, Dusty, Kodi, Ralph, Kirby. Take David to the hospital now. I'll take the rest of the team and go rescue Mika."

No one bothered arguing with that. Kirby, Ralph, Kodi, and Dusty had already started carrying David into town. Meanwhile, Balto took the rest of the team to pursue the extremists and rescue Mika. Eventually they caught up, only to see the Finn facing the edge of a cliff with roughly a dozen guns pointed at him. The extremists were planning to execute him, firing squad-style.

"This looks bad," said Nikki, who was among the dogs that came along on the rescue attempt.

"Oh, yes indeed," added Kaltag, who was virtually out of words to describe what he was seeing.

After assessing the situation, Balto and company devised a battle plan. Each one would pick one of the invaders, attack that particular invader, and keep them busy long enough for Mika to finish them off. Once explained and agreed upon, the plan was immediately put into action.

The sudden assault from behind caught the extremists completely by surprise. So, too, was Mika. Sensing his chance, he reloaded his guns and joined the attack. Whenever he was approached by an enemy, he was able to quickly dispose of that target and move on to the next one.

However, it didn't take long before the enemy caught on and started fighting back. The plan was already starting to collapse, as most of the rescue team had been cut down within the first five minutes. Balto, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, and Steele were still left, and they were faring better than their teammates. Steele, however, had to abandon the fight after getting thrown off the back of one of the Soviets and landing at a crooked angle on one leg.

"Aaaaahhhh!" he screamed in pain. "Dog down! Left rear leg in major pain! Ah!"

"Get out while you can, Steele," Balto ordered to him. "You can't do any good in your current condition!"

"Sorry!" Steele responded as he limped away. None of the extremists went after him. One almost did but was told to let him go.

Mika was still able to carry out his part of the battle plan. He even went so far as to dispose of an enemy target while Balto and his team still had it distracted. It was working, however.

But once again, the enemy was catching on. Eventually, Mika, Balto, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were cornered at the ledge with the enemy's guns pointed right at them. There was still a good deal of distance between them, however. Still, they all knew that this could very well be how it ends.

Suddenly, one of them heard what sounded like an engine and propeller blades rotating.

"Look!" said Balto.

A squadron of airplanes was approaching. Mika drew out his binoculars to see who they were.

"They're U.S. fighter planes!" he exclaimed.

Word of what happened in Wales - and a few other towns - had reached the Lower 48. Eventually, the Army and the National Guard were called in to stop the foreign attackers.

Immediately, the Soviet extremists started firing back. Their efforts, however were in vain. Even the group that was still tangling with Aleu and her pack were being mowed down easily. Sensing their chance, Mika and company rejoined the battle. When their reinforcements couldn't stop the enemy, Mika and his canine comrades did. In the midst of all the chaos, one extremists decided to take out Mika. Seeing what might happen, Balto attacked. While he was busy saving Mika, another invader took action to save his comrade, knocking Balto off his back and then firing to keep him away. One of those shots, however, struck Balto right in the ribs on his right side. He howled in pain before staggering around and falling over a short distance down the mountainside. He landed on the same side in which he was shot.

"Balto, NO!" Mika screamed upon seeing what had just happened. He then busted off two shots from his revolver, both of which dusted off the invaders who tried to kill him and had shot Balto.

Quickly, the remaining extremists were finished off. Mika, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, and about half of Aleu's pack were still standing. The Army and National Guard troops that had quelled the battle went to check on the survivors.

"Are you alright, sir?" one of them asked Mika.

"Yes," Mika replied. "Wish I could say the same for everybody on our side."

Having dropped David off at the hospital, Kodi, Dusty, Kirby, and Ralph returned to the battlefield, only to find that the battle was over. On their way up, they passed the spot where Balto lie unconscious.

"Dad!" Kodi exclaimed seeing his father nearly dead and checking for vital signs. Balto was still breathing, although barely.

"Come on," said Dusty. "We have to get him to the vet immediately."

As they were about to do so, Mika and two Army Rangers reached the scene.

"Is he alright?" asked one of the two rangers who was with Mika at the time.

"I don't know," Mika responded. "I don't know. Come on, let's get him to the vet now."

With that, Mika took Balto in both of his arms and ran as fast as he could into town, knowing full well that the life of Nome's canine hero was at stake. As was the life of his Outdoor Outfitters coworker, David Stoner.

Will Balto and David survive their respective battle injuries? Will Nome recover from the destructive onslaught? Find out in Chapter 9: Tense Moments.