Here's chapter three! Please leave a comment!
SPOILER ALERT: This fic contains spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon and Race to the Edge!
SPOILER ALERT: This fic contains spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon and Race to the Edge!
Chapter Three
Treacherous
The
axe never reached Hiccup. He rolled aside, using the rope to hook the handle of
the axe as he did so. As the huge blade embedded itself in the floor, Hiccup
leapt to his feet, slamming the metal of his prosthetic into Alvin’s shin. As
the Outcast stumbled, Hiccup ran. He dashed towards the stairs and lightly
ascended; once on deck he grimaced and blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to
the light. Then he anxiously glanced around, looking for a way to escape…
Hiccup groaned in frustration as he realized there was nowhere to run.
He
turned to check on his pursuer’s progress- then let out a strangled cry as he
was body-slammed from the side. Thrown several feet away, Hiccup landed hard on
his back and instantly curled up in the fetal position, clutching his chest and
gasping for air.
“Oh,
’Iccup……” drawled Alvin’s voice as he slowly made his way towards the fallen
dragon rider. “Ya didn’t really think you could get away, did ya? You should
know better. Ya can’t run forever.”
Hiccup,
finally having regained enough air to rise to an awkward kneeling position,
glared at the huge Outcast. “Maybe not,” he conceded. He squeezed his eyes shut
briefly against a wave of pain, then pressed a hand firmly to his chest, taking
slow, pained gulps of air. Opening his eyes, he smiled grimly. “But I can try.
You may capture me, Alvin, but you will never win. The riders will make
you pay for this.”
Alvin
began to chuckle darkly. “We’ll see, ‘Iccup. We’ll see.” He stepped forward, so
that he was three feet away from the kneeling Viking. Hiccup gingerly pushed
himself to his feet, and stood facing the Outcast. Shivering as he felt cold
fear send chills down his spine, he forced himself to look defiantly into his
old enemy’s eyes.
He
saw the blow coming and couldn’t avoid it. As he felt Alvin’s fist hit his
temple, his last thought was- Oh Thor, why didn’t I tell Astrid about the
bounty?
--
-Back in Berk-
Astrid Hofferson was furious. As her axe
slammed into yet another innocent tree, she let out a feral scream of
frustration. “Why didn’t he tell me?” she raged. “The stupid, prideful,
arrogant, one-legged little--”
“Astrid,
calm down, said Heather, raising both hands. “Killing the trees won’t help
you.”
Astrid
began pacing. “I don’t need help! Hiccup does! You saw that bounty
poster we found; if he’s been captured, he could be anywhere. Anyone could have
him.”
Surprisingly,
Snotlout spoke up. “Astrid, Hiccup’s probably fine. You know him, he’s too
smart to let himself get too hurt. Besides, you remember what happened when he
was kidnapped by Alvin a few years ago. Sassed the big guy into next week.”
“Yeah,”
agreed Ruffnut. “The guy may be skinny and only have one leg, but there’s
enough snappy comebacks in Hiccup’s repertoire to last him weeks.”
Tuff
nodded. “And if all else fails, he can always use Thor’s mighty hammer—”
“Er,
I’d rather skip that particular subject,” mumbled Snotlout, massaging his cheek
absently, recalling an incident involving his very angry cousin and a painful
hit to the face.
“Oh
yeah!” cried Tuff. “Snotlout felt that punch, didn’t he?”
“Shut
up, Tuffnut,” Snotlout muttered.
From
the edge of the gathering, the lithe black form of Toothless stepped forward,
looking up at Astrid with his wide green eyes. As the blonde shield maiden
stared down at her best friend’s dragon, her face softened as she saw the
sadness in the Night Fury’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Toothless,” she murmured, rubbing
the top of the dragon’s head. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll find him.” She
wondered if she was convincing herself or the dragon.
Just
then, a panting, red-faced Fishlegs stumbled into the clearing where the other
five stood. “St-toick,” he gasped. “Asked for us all to come. I- I think we’re
going to search for Hiccup.”
--
The
first thing Hiccup noticed upon waking up was the pain in his head. He moaned
as the stabbing, aching sensation overwhelmed his senses, and he squeezed his
eyes shut. When the first waves of pain receded, he took a moment to register
his situation.
He
couldn’t move his arms or legs at all. As he opened his eyes, he glanced down
at his body and realized his arms were bound tightly at the wrists and elbows
behind his back. In addition, his prosthetic leg was missing, and his legs were
tied together at the knee. A gag had been stuffed in his mouth as well. As far
as he could tell, he was in the stern of a boat; he was sitting propped up
against the side of the wooden craft. He could see about eight Outcasts moving
around the deck, but there was no sign of Alvin.
Where
was he? He remembered the fight with Alvin… had he hit his head? Ah yes. He
noticed the pain in his head was centered around his left temple, where he
vaguely recalled Alvin hitting him.
So
he had been captured yet again. He let out a muffled groan through the gag. Why
hadn’t he told anyone about the bounty? If he had, he might not be in this
mess; however, he knew that he had only done it to protect them. If they got
between him and his enemies, they could get hurt. Hiccup would never take that
chance. At least they were safe.
Normally,
Hiccup wouldn’t be very worried. He would already be planning an escape, and in
the meantime would be sassing his captors. But this was different. This was
Alvin the Treacherous, and Hiccup had learned long ago not to underestimate the
Outcast chief. Alvin would go to greater lengths to get what he wanted, was the
only enemy who’d come even close to getting what he wanted from Hiccup, namely
training his dragons.
And
besides, Alvin knew how slippery he was. The number of times Hiccup had escaped
from the burly Outcast was almost too many to count. Obviously, this time
around he wouldn’t do the same. In plain view of all the occupants of the boat
and bound as thoroughly as he was, there was no point in attempting to escape.
“’E’s
awake!” cried one of the men, and Hiccup jumped, eliciting coarse laugher from
the crew. Instantly he stiffened and scanned the faces of the eight Outcasts
with a cool expression. He wouldn’t show fear in front of them. His eyes landed
on a glaring Savage, and he realized that the henchman wasn’t the only member
of the crew he recognized. All of these men had been under Alvin’s command
during Hiccup’s previous encounters with the Outcasts- and all of them seemed
to recognize him as the one-legged Viking who had dealt them so many
humiliating defeats years before.
And
they didn’t look happy.
--
Uh-oh... looks like Hiccup's in a tough spot...
You're so evil! Why all the cliffhangers?
ReplyDeleteBut, cliffhangers aside, awesome job!
Hi, guys. I tagged you for the Liebster award over at my blog. There's on obligation to do it. Either one of you or both of you or neither of you have to to do it. That's all up to you, but I thought I'd let you know. Have an awesome weekend! <3
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