Wanted Part Three

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!



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...

Comments

  1. You're so evil! Why all the cliffhangers?
    But, cliffhangers aside, awesome job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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

    ReplyDelete

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