Voices
-Tundra: Jeff Bridges
-Aniu: Glenn Close (younger voice)
-Tally: Ana Faris
I inhaled the frigid air, letting it settle and chill my inside. This was where I was meant to be. Here, hooked up to my team, and nowhere else. I was the fastest on my team and they knew it. Too bad my musher wasn't as fast.
I barked eagerly as John rushed to hook me up to the front of the team.
“I’m going as fast as I can Tundra” he mumbled, fumbling with the front of my harness. I rolled my eyes. If he got any slower, his fingers might freeze to the harness.
Tally nipped my tail and pulled playfully. She was just as ready to run as I was. I wanted to play too, but I knew better then to tangle the lines. Finally, the lines on my harness pulled taunt; John was on the sled now. Then I heard my favorite thing in the whole world: John yelled to mush. I jumped forward with Tally in stride but the rest of the team was slow to start. I hated when Tally and I dragged a dog forward. It wasn’t a big deal today, since it was only a practice run. But practice runs should be taken just as serious as real races were. Once again, the feeling of being at home filled me as the fresh snow crunched under my feet and the cool wind rushed past my ears. In what had seemed like only a few short minutes, we turned down the final trail that lead back to John's tiny house that was nestled in the outskirts of Fairbanks, Alaska.
John unhooked me and the team walked back to the barn. Tally followed me as soon as she was unharnessed.
“We are so ready to win that race!”
“You’re probably going to be the first dog to win that big of a race in his first try”.
I wagged my tail just thinking about it. “Yea but it’s not just me, it the whole team”
“Yea right” she said knocking me to the ground and running away. I grinned and followed my older sister back into the barn that the whole team shared.
The next morning, I was woken up by the sound of the sled being hooked up. Why did John have the sled out so early? I blinked the sleepiness out of my eyes and stood up. I stretched, yawned then went to investigate. I was the leader after all. John was actually packing things in the sled. The weights used to train us were gone. Canvas packages and small brown-wrapped bundles had replaced them. Then John came out and got us one by one, hooking us to the sled. Was this how we were going to get to the race?! John's call to move forward confirmed it. I jumped forward but John yelled to slow down. Were all humans as crazy?
We traveled farther and farther from the barn. The whole trip was a few days with checkpoints in between. Until one night, when thousands of lights and what looked like giant barns formed on the horizon. From the back of the sled, John called "Welcome to
We halted in an open area, but it was clear that it wasn't going to stay that way. John pitched a tent and while he did that, other humans set up banners, ribbons, tents and mushers settled their dogs. When John was done with his tent, he unhooked us one by one and tied us to the ground. He patted me lovingly on the head and kneeled in front of me.
"You have this race in the bag boy! You can win!"
I barked and wagged my tail since he obviously couldn't understand anything else I said. There wasn't much to do and the race was the next morning, so sleeping the remainder of the day wasn’t a bad idea. I watched John and the other mushers go into one of the big barns a teammate had called a house, as I nestled up with Tally. I was the leader and I had to stay awake but the cold made me drowsy and my eyelids grew increasingly heavy. Before I knew it, I was dreaming about my two younger sisters, Lily and Flicka, running the race with Tally and I.
My dreams turned to steak when suddenly, my eyes flew open. I looked around; something definitely woke me up. Tally was still asleep and so was the rest of the team. Maybe it was just my imagination. I set my head down but a twig broke. My head popped back up. I sniffed the air and didn’t catch anything out of the ordinary but then again, this place had smells I had never smelt before. I lay my head back down on Tally and pretended to sleep. Something moved out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and still pretended to be asleep. The thing stopped. The snowflakes that I had praised earlier started to make the animal disappear. But the thing moved again and to my surprise, it was a dog. This dog was pure white and something about it seemed a bit off. It didn’t exactly smell like a dog, but what else could it be? The flowing white formed turned it's head towards me and it's glowing golden eyes took my breath away. I could tell it was female by smell, and even though she was big, she looked about my age. She continued to look around and sniff everything. Her cautious, flighty steps approached us and I wrapped myself around Tally, hackles starting to rise. She walked past me, but stopped at Tally. I growled loud enough for her to hear me. The white dog jumped and froze.
“Get away from my sister” I growled low in my throat.
Tally woke up, and gasped, noticing the animal in front of her. I stood up, and the dog stepped back.
“Sorry- I didn’t…know…..I wasn’t going to hurt her…”
Her voice was almost musical and not like a dog's. But then what was she?
“What kind of dog are you and what business do you have with us?"
“I’m not a dog" she said cautiously. "Is that what you are? I’m a wolf”
I cocked my head. I’d never heard of a wolf before. Before I could ask any more, one of my teammates woke with a gasp and started to bark at the wolf. The wolf turned tail and ran off into the woods. A part of me wanted to follow but I wasn't meant to run out there, I was a sled dog... right?
The rest of the team was as on edge as I was. They paced at the end of their ropes, staring into the woods where She had disappeared.
"Calm down and get some shut eye" I ordered.
The team whimpered, but one by one, they drifted off. Tally curled into me, still a little frightened herself, but she too, fell back asleep. Sleep didn't come easy for me. My mind wrestled with the thought of being free, able to taste wind whenever I wanted. But I was a sled dog. A good one at that. I jammed my eyes shut. I needed rest as much as the team did. But I knew that I wasn't going to get it...
John woke us up the next morning. Everything was distracting and chaotic. People ran this way and that; lose dogs scrambled away from frustrated owners. Some people were handing out numbers to mushers. There had to be at least ten other teams. John got the sled ready and surprisingly, he had us hooked up in minutes. I felt like I was lost in a sea of people, some of which stopped to pet me or talk to John. Even some girl dogs stopped to talk to me while Tally rolled her eyes. But as soon as I heard his voice, I remembered what I was born for. As if I were snapped out of a trance, John's call to move slowly forward brought all my thoughts to a close. John made us stop at one point and I waited patiently. Suddenly, a gun fired along with several voices yelling their teams to go. I jumped forward, adrenaline pumping from the thrill of the flare and several other teams trying to pull ahead. And for once, Tally and I didn’t have to drag another dog. I fought the lead away from the two closest teams and left them in the dust. I wanted to keep moving this fast but the dogs closest to the sled tired; way too quickly I thought. John told us to slow down and I unwillingly did so. We ran for a very long time, longer then the short local races we did around our home trails. But just before it got dark, we stopped at the thing John called a checkpoint. He set up the thing we all learned to call a tent and tied us all to the ground again.
Later that night, when the team had fallen asleep, I plopped down on the ground myself and tried to close my eyes. I had never been this sore or tired in all my life. Thoughts of the previous night pushed themselves back into my head. I opened my eyes and when I did, they almost popped out of my head.
The graceful wolf was sniffing the ground for something, no more then twenty feet away. Something in my heart fluttered. I'd never had that feeling before... it felt wonderfully strange. She looked up and saw me looking at her. She froze, not sure whether to run away. I wagged my tail slowly and she walked over keeping an eye on my team. I stepped over Tally, crawled until the rope held me and rolled over on my back, hoping it meant the same thing to wolves as it did to dogs. The wolf came over more confidently.
“Are you still mad at me?” she whispered.
I rolled back over on my stomach.
“Well you said you weren’t going to hurt her” I whispered back, hearing the stupidity of my reply. I had a whole conversation planned in my head, but it dissolved as soon as she had spoken. I forced my brain to process something, anything.
“Do wolves have names?” I blurted, once again realizing how stupid it sounded.
“Of course we do. Mine’s Aniu”
“I’m Tundra”
There was an awkward silence and even though I was usually outgoing, I had to force myself to break the silence.
"Do you live by yourself?"
Aniu's expression turned sour for a moment.
"I do right now..."
Aniu explained how she was angry at her pack and her father, Ataneq. She didn't know how she had gotten here and found all of these people, but she wanted to know more about them. I told her my story: being born at a breeder's, me and Tally being sold to a musher and the race we were in...
"You let them tie you to something?!"
I couldn't help but to smile at Aniu's disgust. My smile melted when I heard sounds inside the tent announcing that my musher was awake. Aniu leapt up, breathing fast.
"I should go..."
Why was she so afraid of people? I always thought that we were smarter then them... But Aniu swiftly flew back into the trees before I could even think about convincing her to stay. I sighed and rested my head on my paws. I started to close my eyes when John's overly cheery voice woke us up.
"Rise an' shine dogs! We got not more n' twenty miles to go!"
For once, I actually grumbled as I forced myself to stand back up. John did his best to hurry hooking us up but another team passed us. As tired as I was, I was determined to get the lead back even if I had to fight them!
John yelled out and I tried to jump forward, but after a night of no sleep, I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as I had been. Tally jumped as far as she’d usually have to stay behind me, as did the team for once in their lives, but Tally landed right on me. Both of us tangled in the lines and fell, causing a pile up.
“Are you okay?” Tally asked.
“Yeah”, I mumbled. “Just a bad night sleep”
John rushed to untangle us before the other team, approaching in the distance caught us. The team didn’t know whether to be shocked or angry at me but I promised myself I’d make it up to them. John righted me and hopped back on the sled. He called to move forward slowly but we eventually built up enough speed to slowly, very slowly close the gap between our team and the one in front of us.
We stopped earlier that night and as I was tied to the ground, I felt my insides bubble with excitement. a few days ago, I would have felt sad about stopping but I was waiting for Aniu this time. Her way of life seemed so much funner…I shook my head. I was and was going to be for the rest of my life, a sled dog. And that was the life I knew I liked!
I threw myself to the ground, frustrated with my own thoughts, but they melted quickly. Aniu’s form peered out of the trees, checking to make sure my team was fast asleep, and then grew as she made her way toward me. I wagged my tail, this time for joy and couldn’t help myself. I sprang up and bounded along like a puppy again. Aniu hesitated but darted forward and batted me playfully. I wanted to talk but I was way too tired. I plopped right down on the ground, as far as my rope would let me. Aniu smiled at me and lay down next to me. I closed my eyes and fell right asleep, my dreams filled with Aniu’s warm smile and soft voice.
I woke up early like I was supposed to. John was moving pots around inside of his tent and the team was asleep. I looked around to greet Aniu, but only a melted shape in the snow proved she had been there. It was still warm so she must have just left.
Running was easier this morning; much to the delight of my team. Only Tally was able to pick out anything unusual.
“Eww! What’s that awful smell?!”
“It’s not a bad smell at all!” I said, inhaling Aniu’s sweet scent. How did she manage to get in front of us? I thought I was running my hardest…
Subconsciously, I looked into the trees. There was a flash of white and I excitedly darted off the trail. It had to be Aniu.
“Tundra!!” Tally and John’s voices rang out in unison.
I tucked my ears back and moved back onto the trail. I wanted to be done with running today! I wanted to see Aniu…
The team in front of us came closer and closer until our sled was swiftly passing them. I pulled up next to the lead dog. He did a double take. I grinned and nodded my head. The poor husky strained against his harness but it was too much for him. I kept pace easily. I could have run past but I wanted to stay behind a few seconds just to taunt him. John yelled and I let out my strides, passing the poor dog with ease.
“See you at the finish line!” I called over my shoulder.
Even though we were in the lead, John stopped us early. He handed out little slivers of dried meat as he talked to us. He gave me an extra piece and once again lowered himself down to me.
“Think you can win this race boy? We cross the finish tomorrow…I’m counting on you”
He smiled and retired to his tent. Instead of joy, I felt… sad, maybe even shocked… I started to chew on my rope; it let out a little of what I was feeling. I almost didn’t notice Aniu when she got there.
“What’s wrong?”
She had only known me for three days and she could read me like a book.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. John said we’d cross the finish line tomorrow.”
“Then come live with me and my family!”
I dropped the rope in my mouth and looked up at her in disbelief.
“You know I couldn’t do that! I can’t just leave them, I’m their leader! They need me!”
I picked the rope back up aggressively and chewed it harder. Aniu lay gently down next to me. She licked my cheek and I stopped chewing, taken aback. I closed my mouth and the last strings of the rope snapped. The rope fell clear of my mouth. I stared at it in disbelief.
“I broke it.”
“What?” Aniu asked, clearly confused.
“I broke my rope”
I jumped at her and nipped her playfully. She took in the leash and sprang after me. I ran away and she followed right behind and tackled me. I crashed clumsily after her, wishing I could be as quiet as she was. Aniu knew this area better then me and hid among the trees. I followed her scent, realizing it had a kind of new sell, a good smell. Then I saw her, waiting for me to follow. The moonlight almost seemed to make her glow. I ran to her, never wanting to be with anyone else this much as I did right now…
When I woke up, it was still dark and Aniu was still next to me. Panicked, I stood up. Where was I?! Then memory washed back over me. Aniu’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled at me lovingly. My heart melted and I licked her forehead, even though I was flustered.
“I have to go back! I’m going to miss the finish!”
“Go then!” she urged.
I looked at Aniu one last time. She got up, stretched and licked my face.
“I love you. Good Luck”
I nuzzled her, missing her already, then spun around and took off.
John had just started harnessing the team when I ran in.
“Where have you been?” Tally growled.
“Uh… out …I guess”
“And what is that smell!?” she scoffed, smelling my fur.
“Nothing!” I growled back, jerking away.
I couldn’t believe what I had done. I ran away with a wolf no matter how right I thought it had been. And Tally was going to tell the whole team too.
“There you are!” John chuckled, dragging me by my collar to the lead. Suddenly, the team was passed yesterday shot by us. John muttered under his breath and sprinted to the back of the sled. He wasn’t even all the way on when I took off, dragging the entire team behind me. The dogs behind me barked their complaints, but my sled dog bloodlines kicked in and nothing was going to stop me now!
I moved my legs faster, catching up to the team until we were almost even. The lead dog growled at me. I glanced on him, but focused on the approaching city. A flare gun went off and something burst in the air. The other lead dog pushed himself in front of me as we made it to the main street. I could see the finish now. Fatigue started to set in and I fought it bitterly. My lungs burned and my legs felt numb and heavy at the same time. But I wasn’t going to let my team down! I leapt forward and passed the team, then the finish line. The crowd cheered, my team tried to jump on me, happy we had won and John chortled as he and several other humans tried to pet me. I should have been happy. No, I should have been ready to burst. But instead, my heart felt like it was torn in half.
* * *
I opened my eyes and woke up with a start. My heart fluttered. The last time I had woken up this way was three months ago. I got up excitedly, hoping that this wasn’t a dream again. I pushed open the barn door and saw my mate’s pure white form. I smiled from ear to ear and bounded to her and nuzzled her head.
“How did you find me?”
She smiled at me and wagged her tail hard, not answering my question.
“I have something to show you” she crooned.
I realized we weren’t alone. Something moved from under her. I peered under her to see two pairs of golden eyes. Aniu moved back and two pups, one black with a white chest and the other the same color as me with a dusty chest.
“These are our pups, Balto and Buck” she stated proudly.
Tundra, Tally and Buck (c) me
Balto and Aniu (c) Universal