Another Nightmare Book 3: Facing Nightmares

Chapter 30

'Nice Viking, where Night Fury?'

Hiccup gasped for air as new cries of agonizing grief tried to claw their way out of his throat but failed. For a moment he felt like he was choking. Sharpshot had to shake off tears that watered his small head. The motion shook Hiccup enough to ease his hold of the little dragon and look at him, barely able to see.

'Toothless... He's hurt. They shot him, poisoned him and took him away. Everyone else got taken away. We lost everything.'

If Hiccup's lungs had any air to spare he would have screamed to the sky that was now beyond his reach. Sharpshot was similarly gasping in his arms as the little dragon's claws desperately grasped his arms for comfort and pressed his head against Hiccup's chest. They stayed like that for an unknown amount of time until both could breathe again.

'How can Sharpshot help nice Viking help Night Fury and others?'

'You can't... I can't... everything I have tried to help people has only made things worse.'

Sharpshot stared at Hiccup and tilted his head.

'Nice Viking bring Sharpshot and Night Fury together again.'

'That's not li...'

'Nice Viking free Sharpshot and others from angry Vikings. Sharpshot thought impossible. Changed this Viking nest to help mom Nightmare. Freed Sharp and Shiny from floating nest.' Sharpshot paused for a moment. 'Made Night Fury happy, Sharpshot happy. Made other nice Viking happy with mom Nightmare. What those make worse?'

'All that, all of them, we just lost,' Hiccup insisted. 'And there is nothing little weak me can do without them.'

'Lost many before. Nice Viking always helps. Nice Viking small, but Nice Viking never not help the flock. Sharpshot small too, but Nice Viking never too small to help.'

What the little dragon said to him went far beyond anything Hiccup could express in words. The little dragon had such a confidence in him. Sharpshot couldn't even imagine a world where he couldn't count on Hiccup to help the flock. Hiccup didn't know how to respond or even what to think.

'Sharpshot...'

'So how can Sharpshot help? Nice Viking help others soon? Sharpshot hear other Vikings in forest.'

Hiccup's head snapped up. He stopped breathing for a moment, trying to listen intently. It would have been so much easier with Toothless' ears but even he eventually heard a distant cursing. He raised Sharpshot up so the little dragon could climb on his shoulder and picked up the spear, shield, and saddleback. He moved away using lush summer forest and a bunch of young trees nearby for cover. He had spent plenty of time in forests, sometimes for sad reasons, other times for happy reasons. Either way he knew how not to be noticed by people.

As he sneaked around, he regularly stopped to listen. There were a lot of hunters in several directions, but they were all coming from the side of the island where the village and Hunter fortress were. They were looking for him ever deeper in the forest.

How long could he really avoid them? The island was big but not endless and there was nowhere for him to go. Sharpshot shook on his shoulder, holding onto Hiccup for his life.

Somewhere where they wouldn't get Sharpshot... while Hiccup convinced him to fly away... that was where he should go. Since the Hunters were moving deeper into the forest that meant somewhere near Fjoll was going to be the safest. Hiccup turned to look that way to figure out how to get past the search parties. He stopped, unable to move for a moment. Toothless' last thoughts telling him to run echoed in his head.