Snowblind

Chapter 1

Nome, 1923

It was just a normal day in the city of Nome, Alaska. Today, however, there was a sled race going on, one that Steele knew he was going to win. It was against his team and a team that had just arrived from Montreal, but was very experienced. At their lead was a husky named Claude, who was just as determined as Steele. As the two dogs were at each other's necks, Steele tried to push Claude off a short but steep cliff nearby.

"I'm not about to let someone beat me!" he yelled to the other dog. Claude pushed him back and replied.

"Think again, imbécile!" Claude returned the push. Unfortunately for both of them, this caused their harnesses to become tangled, and they eventually tore off from their teams and tumbled down the cliff, knocking them both unconscious. Claude woke up the next day, still with a slight headache. They looked around and had no idea where they were, but knew they had to get back in order to win. The snow was really coming down, but not enough to keep them from seeing. Suddenly, in front of them, they saw a dog. That was Steele! He ran to Claude but missed by about 3 inches. What happened? "Wait, wait, stay still. Let me see your eyes."

"No, I'm fine." Steele growled at them. He then rolled his eyes and silently agreed.

"I thought so. Well, Monsieur...?" They asked.

"Steele."

"Claude. Well, Steele, you appear to be snowblind." Steele nearly growled at Claude for saying that. "Hey, don't make me the scapegoat here." Claude sighed. "The girls are not going to like this."

"The girls?"

"My sled team. I'm part of an all-girl sled team. Which means..."

"Wait, you're a..." Steele said, completely oblivious.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Claudette. Though people have called me Claude."