Found again (HTTYD FF)

★12★

Hiccup was just sitting in his cell when he suddenly got a feeling of terrible fear. Something was horribly wrong, his instincts screaming at him to get away. To do anything that would get him miles away from danger, away from this place. Anything. He obeyed them. When his instincts kicked in, it was usually in a state of dire emergency, something really important, because otherwise they seemed pretty dysfunctional.

He stood up so fast his head spun. First from the loss of blood, second from exhaustion and pain in every part of his body. He walked carefully out of the Arena - no one bothered to close it as they hurriedly left. Although he was in a hurry, his curiosity didn't give in and he walked up to the cliff to see what was happening on the docks lit by the midday sun.

The village stood quite a distance from the Arena, so no one could see him from there. He swept his gaze over to the docks. Over ten ships were docked there, and not just any ships, but dragon hunters' ships. Dragon hunters' ships that Hiccup knew all too well.

His gut clenched. Now he had reason to sneak away. He might not be able to get off the island, but he could at least hide somewhere. Wait for them to give up the search and sail away again.

He backed away from the edge of the cliff and ran past the Arena, completely forgetting about the dragons that were trapped there. He gathered all his strength and put it into a frantic run into the forest. He knew very well that he couldn't leave a single trace behind, so as soon as he ran into the trees, he immediately slowed down. He was careful not to step anywhere where his footprint would remain, lest he break the undergrowth and create a path behind him. He had to do everything he could to make them think he was long gone.

Over the years, they had learned to track him when he was on the ground, and now that he had no chance to get away, he had to make sure of his every move. Where should he head? Somewhere they didn't expect him to go. But he didn't know this island, didn't know where he could find such a place. So he headed in a random direction.

He listened to the sounds of the forest, praying he wouldn't hear footsteps behind him or anything else that didn't belong in the forest. He tried to quiet his loud breathing. Occasionally, he helped himself with his wings and flew for a bit before his tail betrayed him and he fell back to his feet. How is he supposed to escape in this state?

Crack!

He wasn't alone, someone stepped on a twig and it broke under his weight. Startled, he stopped and looked around. Where did it come from?

"Is anyone here?" he called uncertainly.

There was a snapping of a twig. Then again, from another direction. Hiccup made an even more frantic escape. Wrong! Why did I speak? Will I never learn? Now they know where I am!

He was fast, but not fast enough, not on the ground. All the previous events had so exhausted him that he could barely run. But the worst part was the approaching footsteps. They came from all directions. Closer and closer, until finally he could hear their exhales. They must have been hunters. And they were catching up with him.

Something whizzed right past his head. With a glance through the trees, he saw the hunters. They were too close. He had no chance, no hope. There was another swishing sound, and this time Hiccup knew what it were Dragon-Root-tipped arrows. He could smell its intoxicating scent in the air every time the hunters fired more shots in his direction.

Hiccup zigzagged through the trees, trying to avoid them all, or outrun the hunters. His efforts were to no avail. Another of the poisoned arrows raced towards him, only this time it hit him. It went deep into his wing. Hiccup tried to ignore the pain and keep running, but the Dragon Root acted quickly.