The Night Rider

Chapter 10: We Were Warned

ASTRIDS POV.

"They'll kill you all! Please you have to believe me!"The Night Riders screams were getting quieter and quieter as the two walked down the stairs from Goathy's hut into the mid day crowd that wandered through the streets. "Do you think he's right." Astrid said looking up at the chief. "Do you think his dragon will kill us all."

Stoick turned to her and spoke quickly and sternly. "I think that if those beasts come looking for a fight Berk will give them one!" He continued away from Goathy's hut and called over his brother Spitelout. "Spitelout I want extra ammunition for the catapults and fuel for the torches to be ready at all time." Spitelout replied with certainty in his voice.

"You don't have to worry about us chief we're on it." Spitelout called over Vikings and gave them orders Astrid could not hear from her position. "Gobber I want that forge working 24/7! I want weapons and bola's at the ready!" Stoick yelled passing the old blacksmith who was already hammering away.

Gobber rolled his eyes when he was out of the chiefs eye and ear shot. "Like I'm ever not making weapons and bola's." He said sarcastically. The thought of a mass scale attack of dragons on her home gave her mixed emotions. She was exited about the possibility to kill dragons.

She was always exited about the possibility to kill dragons but even more so since Hiccups death. The thought of her old friend brought her sadness. If she could even call herself his friend. She remembered how awful she had been to the boy.

All those times in dragon training and the hundreds before that when he had just been trying to be kind and she rejected him and his kind words. Her sadness for the boy was overcome with the feeling of hatred for the dragon that had killed him, and for all dragons of that matter, including anyone who helped them! Like the Night Rider!

"Astrid get your head out of the clouds and come here!" Stoicks stern voice pulled her back to reality. He was down in the town square giving out orders to confused Vikings who were wondering why he was preparing them for a raid of incredible size. As Astrid walked up to Stoick she could hear Vikings walking away saying "A raid that size could never be."

The words of the Night Rider still looping in her head. "They'll kill you all! You have to listen to me!" Astrid bumped into the chief who glared down at her. "Do your day dreaming on your own time, right know we have preparations to do." Astrid shook her head in understanding.

"What would you like me to do?" She asked standing up staring trying not to provoke the almost always angry chief anymore. "Go and find the other teens and prepare them for the coming attack." Astrid walked away in search for the other teens.

How could she find them? Well Snotlout would be the easiest, he was always following Astrid around. "Oh Snotlout I've finally givin in and I'm ready to marry you." She said in a dreamy voice around different places in Berk until about ten minutes later when the Viking ran to her.

"Astrid I knew you would come around my love!" He said with his hands outstretched in front of him and his lips already puckering to kiss her. Astrids face registered disgust as she knocked him onto the floors. "Yeah, that's never going to happpen." She said looking down to the Viking who was confused out of his mind.

5 Hours Later

"Ugh come on you two or I'll kill you and tell Stoick I couldn't find you." Astrid threatened the twins who looked unfazed by the threat. "Umm i don't know A, wouldn't Stoick just make you come back out here and look for us." Tuffnut said as he and his sister refused to get off the ground.

Astrid had been out looking for them for hours when she had found Snotlout and Fishlegs within an hour. And it was becoming dark know! "Yeah Astrid, I think your gonna have to come up with a better plan." The female twin replied snickering. Astrid who just blew out her last nerve grabbed the each of them by the ear and started dragging them through the forest towards Berk.

As the twins yelled in pain Snotlout and Fishlegs who had both accompanied her in her search grimaced. Astrid wouldn't let it show but inside she was pleased at the fact that all her friends feared the moves she could preform.

"Please stop! We'll go willingly we'll go willingly!" Tuffnut cried out gripping his ear in pain and rolling on the ground once she had released them. Ruffnut stood up and looked Astrid in the eyes. "Jokes on you! I lost feeling in my ears years ago!" She said dragon her brother by the arm back towards Berk who was curled up in a ball silently sobbing.

Astrid rolled her eyes. 'Lost feeling Thors butt.' She thought thinking about the events that just transpired. They were forty minutes into there walk when Berks warning horn could be heard echoing through the trees. The five Viking teens exchanged nervous looks because they had all memorized Berks warning system.

One long horn sounding meant a small dragon flock was seen. Two long horn soundings meant a flock was seen approaching Berk. And three horn soundings meant emergency and to get ready for a fight. What they heard where none of those. They were all short horn blows and there had been about six of them so far, something none of them had ever heard before.

"We have to get back to Berk!" Fishlegs yelped. "No kidding Fishface!" Snotlout joked back but they could all hear the concern and fear in his voice as the horns still blew. The five of them ran through the forest towards Berk the horn still blaring until it stopped suddenly.

They could hear screams and roars of what sounded like dozens of dragons. "What's that smell?" Fishlegs tried to say through his panting. "It's fire! If you looked up you'd know that to!" Snotlout yelled. He was right. If you looked up over the tops of the trees you could see black billows of smoke as they blotted out the starry sky.

They could see the glow of fire through the tree's minuets before they even reached Berk. As they burst through the tree line they all froze in fear. So had about every other Viking that wasn't in imminent danger. In the sky was what had to have been about one hundred and fifty dragons.

Some she could identify easily like Deadly Nadders, Groncles, and Hiddeous Zipplbacks and even about two dozen Monstrous Nightmares. And then there were the dragons she could identify. Many of these dragons were not even in the book of dragons. 'Could this be the end of Berk?' She wondered.

"All of you go help were you can." Her voice quivered with fear as she spoke. Before any could reply she was running through the town. Dozens of houses were a flame but no one bothered to do anything to try and extinguish them because the dragons would simply relight them with a single blast. The horn used for alerting the village for incoming attacks laid on its side.

She ran to Stoick who was fending off a Monstrous Nightmare. She hurled her axe and with its momentum it hit the dragon causing it to fly off. "Thanks for that." He said moving onto another dragon. "What are we to do?" She asked. He didn't respond.

"Stoick please what do we do?" She pleaded hoping he had some plan but when he responded his voice with the slight hint of fear her hopes dwindled. "I don't know! No one had even see anything like this before!" He hurled his axe towards a dragon she had never seen before but it easily dodged the incoming object.

Something clicked in her head. "The Night Rider! He's seen something like this! There his dragons, he can save us." Stoick turned to her. "This Night Rider will only command his dragons to kill us faster, he stays where he is!" He commanded. "But Stoick I think-." He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Don't think just do what your told!" He yelled shoving her away and running to get a new weapon. Astrid looked around at the dragons and then up to Goathy's hut where the Night Rider still laid. 'Could he save us?' She wondered.

Her time to think was over when a Nadder flew past Goathys hut blasting its roof sending it into flames. Astrid ran towards the hut and began to go up the stairs when she stopped herself. 'Was she really going to disobey her chief? Was she really going to rely on the Night Rider, the Thief of the Vikings to save them?' She looked around at the screaming Vikings and it made her decision easy. Yes she was.