Time Tries All
by White Frost
I
It had been ages since breakfast, and Balto was still foraging. Unfortunately there were no scraps to be found in the bins.
Balto sighed, although he was a hero, he still couldn't find an easier way to find food.
As he walked past the telegraphers office, Balto spotted seven strong brown-and-white Eskimo dogs eating ravenously from their bowls of meat. Balto's mouth watered. Maybe they would share their meal with him. He was about to ask when he suddenly heard a sharp crack! He felt a stinging pain on his hind-quarters. Balto yelped and turned round. An angry looking man holding a large whip was glaring sternly at him.
Balto froze.
The man raised his whip and was about to slash at Balto again when somebody cought hold of his wrist. It was the manager of Nome's General Store, who had heard Balto's yelp and run out to see what was happening. Balto sighed with relief. Saved. The manager asked the stranger what was going on.
The man replied roughly: 'That mutt was about to attack my dogs.'Balto felt uncomfortable. He'd realised that everyone in the street was acknowledging the scene.
The manager explained to the man that Balto had never harmed anything or anyone, without good reason, in his life. But the cruel man laughed and said that the next time he saw Balto near his dogs again, he would hit much harder! With that the man left.
Balto looked at the manager, who shrugged.
'Be careful next time, boy,' the man said, taking out a biscuit from his pocket. Balto barked madly as the manager held the food up and tossed it into the air. Balto leapt up and caught his treat, but misjudged his landing and crashed into some nearby bins.
Trash rained down on him. Balto shook off a newspaper that had landed on his head. He looked at the front page of it, and gasped with suprise. Balto dropped the biscuit and stared at the newspaper.
On the front page, printed in black and white, was a picture of his worst enemy. The headline read...
" Steele. Champion Racing Dog. In Need Of Work!"
Balto shivered. Steele, his foe, who had disappeared three years ago, was found! He stood up and thought. He'd wondered what ever happend to Steele since that fight they had, years ago. Shrugging, Balto picked up his meal and hurried away, trampling the newspaper underfoot.
II
Aleu groaned in her dreams...
She dreamed she saw a dog-team, pulling a sled a though a storm. The lead-dog was a dark brown male. Aleu looked at him closely and saw, to her amazement that it was her father. The weather changed in the dream. Snow started to fall lighter, but still swiftly. Aleu's vision became white and all she could see was snow. A loud thundering, clattering sound, that made Aleu's ears ache, was heard. It was like a vast cliff crumbling and collapsing. With it was loud howl. Aleu's heart stopped beating...
'Aleu, wake up! It's nearly an hour past dawn!'
Aleu awoke. She was in her chamber, in the pack's cave. The wolf who awakend her was black she-wolf called Sleath (who was a good friend of hers). Aleu sat up. She'd over-slept!
'Has the hunting party left?' she asked. A plentiful herd of caribou had been living in the pine-tree forests since the beginning of winter. Aleu had announced once to her pack that one day she would lead a large hunting-party there to take down as many caribou, so to feed the pack well enough.
Sleath nodded. 'They left a short while ago, just before the snow stopped,' she informed. Aleu's eyes narrowed.
'Who's leading them?' she asked.
'Thaze.'
Aleu groaned.
Thaze, a dull-witted wolf, was taking control of her pack. He had been stirring up trouble longer than she could remember. Aleu wasn't going to let him take over the hunt while she was still awake. Quickly, she asked Sleath which way they went.
'They went on the south path, through the Rock Valley.'
Aleu's jaw dropped. The Rock Valley, a route between high cliffs which were presently blanketed with heavy snow, was a dangerous way to go. Aleu rarely led hunting parties into it, because any loud noise might cause an avalanche. Why was Thaze leading the hunt there? She nodded to Sleath, and ran out of the cave. Outside, the rest of the pack, those who had not joined the hunt, were up and about, some talking, others were grooming themselves or each other. Aleu walked silently and casually. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary excitement, if any excitement. She tried to look calm, until out of sight, then picked up speed and charged towards Rock Valley.
When Aleu reached the top of the stoney canyon, with a terrible feeling, she found the hunting party had already entered. No wolf was in sight. She sniffed the ground. The South path was freshly dotted with paw-prints. Very slowly, Aleu walked along the pathway. She looked up at the the cliffs either side of her. They were tall, and the snow atop them was so thick, about one-and-a-half metres deep. Aleu stopped and looked around. Everything was quite. She went on.
Suddenly she heard a loud yelp, and cringing, saw little bits of snow fall from above her. Aleu darted forward, and soon she spotted the hunting party, huddled up together, looking anxiously at two male wolves, one being the slow-minded, brown-furred Thaze, the other an older, dark red wolf, named Hanler. They were facing each other, snapping at eachother's shoulders. More snow fell and thudded to the ground around them.
Quickly Aleu ran forwards. She took no notice of the gasps of relief from the wolves behind her but leapt skillfully and pinned Thaze to the ground. Hanler backed away. Aleu gave Thaze an unrestrainable snarl,
'Do you want to kill yourselves? What do you think your doing?' she hissed. Thaze just stared at her. Alue turned to the others, 'What happend here?' she asked. A she-wolf came up to her.
'Thaze wanted us to pass through the valley. Hanler tried to talk him out of it. We got this far, then Thaze attacked Hanler.'
CRUNCH!
Aleu glanced upwards. The snow on the cliff tops was starting to slip in great quantities into the valley! She let go of Thaze. 'Move!' she called to the group. They turned tail and ran back the way they had come from, Aleu in the lead. The drifts were cascading down now, hitting the valley floor, and a gradually growing wave was following the retreating wolves. Aleu gasped as she looked back at them. It wouldn't be long before the snow would be on top of them.
'Faster!' she panted to her group, then she looked back again and saw to her horror that Hanler was slowing down. He had been wounded badly; Thaze had obviously dealt him a blow to a leg, causing him to limp. She hadn't realised he was hurt. Aleu stopped running, causing the grey she-wolf to bump into her. Quickly, Aleu pushed the she-wolf infront of her and yelled, 'Lead the pack out! Now!', before running back back to help Hanler. The snow was coursing down the Rock Valley.
Hanler shook his head feebly as Alue approached. 'No, get back!' he said. She grabbed his scruff and began hauling him along. The avalanche was now less than sixteen metres away. Hanler, slowly rised up and murmered in Aleu's ear.
'You've shown great courage since you joined us. May the pack agree with me.'With those words, he let himself drop to the ground.
'No!' cried Aleu, trying to grasp his neck-fur again.'Hanler, get up!'
He looked at her with sad eyes.'Go.'
'But..'
'Go!'
Grief-stricken, Aleu spun around and bounded towards the enterance of Rock Valley. As she neared it, the others were already there, and they scattered when they saw the avalanche coming. Aleu made a final leap, out of Rock Valley. Behind her, the avalanche rolled to a loud stop. Then stopped and rested.
The pack ran to where Aleu lay gasping, whining anxiously.
'Are you alright?'
'Phew! That was a close one.'
'Lucky you made it in time!'
Aleu hardly heard them. Feebly she got up and staggered over to the huge pile of snow potruding from the valley enterance. The Rock Valley was blocked up completely. Every wolf mourned for Hanler sadly, every wolf except Thaze, who stood with an unreadable expression in his face. Aleu, shaking her head, walked up to the obstructed ravine. Hanler could not have survived this. Aleu stared up at the sky.
'Hanler!' She cried. The wind blew coldly, and swirled snow-flakes into the air. Aleu heard it, and it moaned like the howl of a lonely, lost wolf.
III
Dipsy and Mel, were huddling next to the boat. Dipsy was digging into a sack full of biscuits, while Mel was lying down, paws on top of his head, muttering out-loud.
'What I'm I going tell him!' he muttered. Dipsy didn't answer, 'What am I going to tell Balto?'
'Tell me what?'
Mel looked about and gasped, 'Balto!' he cried.
Dipsy pulled her head out of the bag as Mel ran over to where Balto, Jenna and Boris were standing. 'There's been a report from Anchorage!' he gasped.'The humans are setting up a Trail Run for the end of this season! It's to be held next week!'
Balto and Jenna looked at each other. Boris rubbed his head with his wing, thoughtfully. 'Ay, yes. So what?' he enquired.
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next page |