Balto: Faith of the Wolf

Book Two: The Journey

Chapter 1 Mile 42

The two groups crunched through the packed snow with high spirits. It was now nearing midday and the teams had had no trouble with strays or wolves. They had they had traveled around thirty miles and came to a rest for lunch. Balto jumped up on one of the sleds and sorted through the food making the others form a line. Each dog received half a pound of kibbles, two slices of jerky, one slice of bacon, a pint of water, not enough, so the dogs would have to chew ice for more. They were allowed as many freeze-dried fruits as they wanted. Balto was the last to receive his meal. He took out his share and dropped it to the snow beneath him.

Once they all had their fill they loaded back into the harnesses and continued for another twelve miles. At mile forty-two, the stench of rot filled the windless air. Balto halted his team and walked alone toward the scent, knowing well that he probably didn't want to find it. Kodiak broke code and disobeyed orders, appearing at his father's side; Balto had nothing to say. They padded on in silence and soon reached a line of trees. An eerie feeling hung in the air as the pair scanned the tree line and walked forward. What they found would haunt them forever.

Countless graves were dug into the frozen earth; over half of them occupied but uncovered. Bodies were strewn about the entire area. A lone wolf emerged out of one of the uncovered holes with an arm in its mouth. He spotted Kodiak and Balto then turned and disappeared into the woods. Balto felt sick. A town loomed in the distance with smoke rising from somewhere inside. Balto howled the all clear and eight dogs appeared. A five year old grey husky with white socks by the name of Zinlak was appointed guard duty. He turned and headed back toward the sleds and sat down at his post upon arrival. The remaining seven sat in a line behind Balto and his son and looked out at the horrific sight before them. A few couldn't take the sight and vomited. Balto took in a long breath and began making his way toward the town. The others stiffened as they braced themselves for what may lie ahead and followed.

- A half mile later, the first building came into view well enough to see a short but disturbing word painted red on the wall. Balto read it and looked away.

"Hell," said a black backed husky as he read the word aloud. The other dogs could read it as well, but hearing the word made them shift uneasily as they passed by.

The inside of the town was indescribable. Bodies of both humans and animals lay rotting in the streets and hung out of car doors and house windows. Doors were hanging from their hinges and a pile of burned bones and ash lay on the far borders. A red female by the name of Ali sobbed to herself. What Balto found leaning against the fountain in the center of town sank in so deep that it made him shudder. The body of a man with a Bible n his chest and a wooden Crucifix in his left hand; in his right, was the hand of his child that couldn't have been older than twelve. The two had died in each other's arms with the only things left to hang onto in a time of crisis. Family and faith in God.

Balto sat and stared at the two lifeless bodies. The other huskies were becoming restless. Balto rose and turned; scooping away dirt and snow in his paws. He was determined to put these two to rest. He dug out two holes side by side long enough for each, and placed them in. he looked back at his companions who sat in an awed silence then covered the bodies. Once the bodies were properly buried, he turned back to his group.

"Find a flame. We're burning this place to the ground; I don't want any others to have to experience what we just did; but first find some extra harnesses. We may need them later."

The dogs dispersed each taking finding a harness and set them in a pile in front of Balto then took a flame from the burned bones and lighting a house. The town blazed brightly behind them as they made their way back to the sleds.

- Balto arrived back at the trees first with the other seven not far behind. A new scent filled his nostrils. The eight others appeared through the trees and Balto signaled for them to get low. Balto carried on following the scent back to the pile of food. He stopped ten feet away from it concealed behind a bare pine. He peeked his head around the tree and saw Zinlak siting stiffly in front of the two sleds. Balto saw nothing out of the ordinary and turned to go thinking that maybe the town had gotten to him; but then something moved in the corner of his eye. He scanned slowly and his eyes fixed on a new dog crouch-crawling toward Zinlak's back. The dog stopped on his belly and shifted his hind legs, then charged in jumping up and landing on Zinlak's neck.

Zinlak fell forward fell forward and Balto flew in, hitting the new dog on the side with his head. Zinlak stood and looked at the new dog that was regaining his feet. Balto was dashing in again, but Zinlak stepped in front.

"Wait."

Balto skidded to a halt and gazed upon him in confusion.

"I'll handle this," Zinlak said as he turned and faced the new comer.

They growled and circled each other then burst into laughter. They closed in and embraced each other still laughing. Balto stood and gazed on still confused. The two separated.

Zinlak spoke, "How did you find me? I thought you were dead."

The other dog smiled. "I've been following you guys for at least six miles. I knew after we got separated when we were pups that I'd find you again someday."

Balto approached and sat. Zinlak looked over at his leader then at the dog in front of him.

"This is Lartia, my brother."

Lartia bowed his head.

Balto nodded his and spoke, "My name is Balto. I'm leading a small company to the islands off the coast to find my daughter."

Lartia smiled. The nine others appeared from behind the trees with a harness in their mouths.

"Who is this," Kodiak asked, dropping the harness so he could be understood. Lartia bowed again.

"I am Lartia, son of Honna and Dinotay."

The others placed their harnesses on the sled and introduced themselves with a bow of the head.

"I request annexation into your group. I left my town all alone three days ago after my family died from the virus and now have nowhere to go."

Balto looked over Lartia and read his character, then came to a decision.

"Team, we leave in five minutes. You'd better be harnessed and ready to go in five minutes or you will be left behind."

The eight dogs dispersed leaving Balto, Zinlak, and Lartia alone. Balto rose and left with Zinlak following; leaving Lartia by himself. Balto looked back over his shoulder.

"I said harness up," he said in a stern tone that was contradicted by the smile on his face.

Lartia nodded and padded off to catch up with the rest. The group was harnessed and ready. Lartia was placed next to Zinlak in Dakota's team and would be briefed on the rules as they went.

Balto let out the command, "forward," and the two teams wrenched left then right, braking out the sled and slowly dug in, taking up the slack in their harnesses and began slowly moving the sleds off into the distance accelerating every foot until they reached towing speed and disappeared through the thick plume of pines.

- There's the first chapter of book two. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think.