Wolf Sled

Ch. 5 The Starting Line

Walking onto the race grounds they felt a chilling breeze coming from the open snowy white plains in front of them, which they were normally sheltered from by surrounding trees. All the eight teams were lined up on the start line and the staff began to hand out maps to the racers. Misha looked to her left and spotted the woman who had helped the boys father capture them. She had a team of her own of five dogs. The lead dog had felt her stare and began to glare at her. So Misha looked the other way. That direction she spotted an odd team of wolves that stood out of the crowd, more than just because they were wolves. The lead wolf looked very young with a jet black coat and a scar across his nose, another's ear was ripped and had a brand "S" on her thigh, similar to Alcanerian's "A". Another had two tails. She blinked at them several times, thinking what she was seeing was a dream. She turned to whisper to Hanovi, "Do you see a wolf with two tails over there?...or is it just me." Hanovi quickly glanced over. "I think your seeing things because your nervous, just focus on whats in front of you." She barked, positioning Misha towards the bright white land.
Soon after all the humans had been handed a map, a gun shot went off. Misha, Hanovi, and Alexi jumped out of their fur. All the other dog sled teams began moving. "I think that means we should go." Alexi barked. "MUSH!" The boy yelled. So they bolted forward in attempt to catch up to the other teams. Luckily the wind was in their favor, but it didn't help them by much since they were slower than most the teams with five dogs.

Eventually it got to the point they couldn't see any of the other teams. Fog was getting in the way. "Hey guys, the boys' asleep." Alexi barked. Everyone looked back, he had somehow fallen asleep standing up. "So what do we do Misha? He had the map. Do you know where your going?" "...I dont know." Misha faintly barked while staying focused. The air began getting colder and the trees were starting to seem slanted. Misha tilted her head. "I think we are going uphill..." "Is that what we are supposed to be doing?" Alexi questioned. "I dont know but we might be able to see where everyone is at the top." Alexi let out a large sigh. Hanovi snapped at her. "Have more faith in her." "Tsk You think im concerned about being lost? I wish she would stop so i can tear this leash off." "Let her enjoy her race and then we can go home." Alexi let out a small growl. Misha kept running, pretending she couldnt hear them.
When they got to the top Misha went to an edge and tried to look down to spot other teams, but the fog had gotten worse. "Ya know hun, your not gunna be able to see any better by squinting, you'll just strain your eyes." Alexi barked. Hanovi sighed, then took a glance at the boy. She noticed there was a dark shadow behind him. She tried to get closer to see what it was. Then they heard a growl. "BEAR!" Hanovi barked. The bear reached its arms through the fog to grab the boy. "GO!" Hanovi barked at Misha and nudged her hard, then she realized that was a mistake, Misha slipped over the edge of an ice cliff. She tried to paw at the ice to get back up and began panicking when it failed. "Stop fidgeting!" Alexi barked trying to pull her back up. Hanovi was pulling also but focused on the boy. When she saw the chance, Hanovi reached back, scratched the bears face and grabbed the boy. He woke up and punched her in the nose. She slipped slightly. "HANOVI! DONT LOOSE BALANCE!" Alexi yelled. "IM TRYING!" She grabbed the boy and struggled to keep him still as he was throwing a tantrum. She eventually figured out how to knock him out. "ALEXI BEHIND YOU!" Alexi looked back and just barely dodged the bear as it was about to strike, her paws almost slipped over.
After having to hang there for a while Misha had the courage to look down. "Both of you let yourself fall. Trust me!" Misha barked. They both looked at each other then jumped. They fell for a moment but then the ice went out into a smooth slope that worked like a slide then eventually plummeted them into the snow. The impact from the fall broke their lead ropes, but the boys expensive sled somehow managed to stay in tact. They pulled themselves out of the snow out of breath, Hanovi pulled the boy out of the snow and dusted him off. Alexi looked at her confused. "Why did you save him?? If you hadn't this would of been all over and we could of gotten away." Hanovi gave her a serious and meaningful look. "Everyone deserves to live." Her words sounded like it came from some kind of past experience. Just as Alexi was about to ask about it Hanovi added, "Besides, he'll learn" "ha! Humans never learn. If they are stupid they stay stupid." Alexi barked back then tried to escape, but something pulled on her lead. It was the only lead still attached to the sled, which was stuck in the snow. "Of corse..." she barked, rolling her eyes before she plopped down in the snow. The boy awoke again. Confused, he shook his head then got up. Quickly he tied the lead ropes back together with a few knot tricks then dug the sled out of the snow. "He recovered fast..." Alexi mumbled. He got on the sled. "MUSH!"