Balto 4: SOTW: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Race
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"Where are they?" Kirby asks, waiting for Kodi and Dusty at the starting line,

"Beats me." Vincent says from the other end of the starting line, "Dingo and Dana aren't here yet either."

"We are now!" Kodi says as he, Dusty, Dingo, and Dana run up, and take their positions,

"Sorry we're late." Dusty says, "We had a run-in with one of Kodi's siblings."

"Which one? Saba?" Ralph asks,

"No. Aleu." Kodi says,

"Aleu? Wasn't she leading a wolf pack in southwestern Alaska?" Kirby asks,

"Yes, but now she's back." Kodi says,

"Okay everyone!" an announcer says, "The U.S. mail is loaded on both the sleds! Whoever delivers the mail to White Mountain and returns to Nome with the new bag of mail will be the winner!"

"Here they go." Nunivat says from the sidelines,

"On your mark! Get set!" the announcer says, then he fires his gun and the two sled teams run off,

"There they go!" Aleu says, watching the race from the roof of a small nearby house with Justin,

"How long does it usually take for them to return?" Justin asks,

"About 6 hours." Balto says from the balcony below Aleu and Justin, "We usually do other things while we wait for them to return."

"Well, how about you find us a place to live?" Aleu asks,

"Sure, follow me!" Balto says, then he jumps off the building with Aleu and Justin,

Meanwhile…
"Sure is fun to be doing this together, don't you think Kodi?" Dingo says as he tuns alongside Kodi's team,

"You bet brother!" Kodi says,

"There's the forest up ahead!" Dana says,

Sure enough, the two sled teams enter the forest,

Meanwhile…
"Here we are." Balto says,

"I see this place is still taken care of." Aleu says,

"You can thank Boris for that." Balto says,

Just then, Boris comes around the corner with a mop.

"Whoa!" Boris says in surprise upon seeing Aleu, "It's sure been a while since I've seen you."

"Hey Uncle Boris." Aleu says, "It's been too long."

"And who's the new guy?" Boris asks, noticing Justin,

"The name's Justin." Justin says,

"He's my boyfriend." Aleu says,

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day." Boris says,

"So Dad, this is your idea on where Justin and I can live?" Aleu asks,

"Yeah." Balto says, "I already live with a human part-time. You think I wear this collar to make myself look handsome?"

"Of course not." Aleu laughs, noticing her father's joke,

"Well, feel free to stay here for as long as you like." Balto says, then he leaves,

Meanwhile…
"White Mountain! There it is!" Kodi says, noticing the town with a snow covered mountain in the distance,

"I'm gonna beat you!" Dingo says, then his team speeds past Kodi's,

"Not if we get there first!" Kodi says,

Dingo's team soon reaches White Mountain and stops in front of the post office. Then the musher swaps mail bags and gets back on the track as Kodi's team arrives.

"Here's the bag from Nome." Mr. Simpson says,

"Thanks. Here's the return batch." The manager says,

Mr. Simpson places the new bag on the sled and Kodi's team sets out for Nome. Soon enough, they catch up with Dingo's team.

"Hey bro!" Dingo says to Kodi, "Just to let you know, the manager said that a storm was coming in."

"Another one?" Kodi asks,

"Apparently there's no stop to these things." Dingo says,

"Well, we better get going!" Kodi says,

The two teams soon enter a forest like area as they're eyed by a moose suspiciously, then it begins to snow.

"Looks like the storm's on its way." Kodi says,

"No kidding." Dusty says,

Suddenly…
"Whoa! Ice!" Kirby yells out,

"Brace yourselves!" Kodi yells out as the two teams slide across a frozen pond everyone,

"Everyone keep your balance!" Dingo says,

"We're trying!" Fiona says, suddenly she loses her footing, dragging the others down with her,

"Look out!" Vincent says as he accidentally slides into Dusty, causing her to fall,

Eventually, the sled teams reach the other side crashing into the snow unharmed.

"Is everyone okay?" Kodi asks as he get out of the snow pile he was in,

"I'm okay!" Dusty says, getting back onto her paws,

"No broken bones here!" Kirby says,

"Same for us back here!" Ralph says,

"You Okay?" Dingo asks Dana, who was on top of him,

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dana says, then she gets off of Dingo,

"Kodi, how's your team?" Dingo asks,

"We're fine. What about yours?"

"We're Okay here." Dingo says,

"Good." Kodi says, "We better get going then."

"Hike!" the mushers yell out and the two sled teams continue on their way to Nome, then they reach a pathway alongside a cliff.

"Watch your step everyone!" Dingo says,

Just then, Fiona loses traction.

"Look out!" Fiona says as she slides around, then she slides off the cliff, but her harness prevents her from falling,

"Whoa!" Dingo's musher calls out, bringing the dogs to a stop,

"You okay Fiona?" Dingo asks,

"Yeah, I'm fine." Fiona says as she climbs back onto the cliff with Vincent's assistance,

Later, the two teams run through a dense forest.

"Look out!" Kodi says, nearly crashing into a tree,

"We better slow down, one of us is going to get hurt this way." Dingo's musher says, to Simpson,

"I think you're right." Mr. Simpson says, then he slows his dogs down a bit.

Eventually, the two teams get out of the forest and enter a large clearing.

"We're almost home!" Kodi says,

"You got that right!" Dana says,

"Just a few more miles and we'll win!" Dusty says,

"Not if we get there first!" Dingo says, then his team runs further ahead,

"Hey!" Kodi says,

"Come on! Let's show them who'll really win!" Kirby says,

Then Kodi's team runs faster, chasing after Dingo's team.