The Runaways of Berk

EQUALITY OF LIFE

I added this chapter to further explain a few incomplete plots from when I first wrote this story... I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Gobber, barely awake and surrounded by the clamour of the exhausted Berkians in their cells, groggily addressed Stoick, "Stoick, why in the name of Thor did those dragon-riding youngsters throw us in here?"

The inhabitants of Berk found themselves fatigued, the middle of the day feeling like the dead of night due to not being able to rest during their arrests and the battle. Not to mention the constant screams from Spitelout, Hiccup had spent almost an hour with the Jorgenson, and during that hour nothing but constant screams and shouts for mercy could be heard.

What had the Jorgensons and their allies done to anger the Draconians? The question remained unanswered among the Berkians. Once Hiccup had left the dungeons, without gracing the Berkians with answers, the guards had dragged Spitelout and Mildew's bodies to one of the open-barred cells, the three teens were pushed behind them, leaving them with no answers and only speculation about the events that had unfolded.

As the guards closed the iron gate behind the teens, Stoick placed his hands against the bars of his cell, trying to get a closer look at the perpetrators. Spitelout and Mildew were both half-alive, tortured, they had wounds and cuts across their chest and backs, and the split lips and broken nose filled their face and mouth with blood that shone in the dark corridors of the dungeons. Hiccup had tortured both Vikings, most likely for information, but why?

Stoick sighed heavily, his brow furrowed with concern. "Gobber, I can't make sense of it either. Something's not right here. The alliance between Berk and the Draconians is fragile, but this is extreme. Hiccup would never torture anyone... and not to mention almost four dozen soldiers had come to escort us into the dungeons. We need to find out what happened, and quickly."

Gobber grunted as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Aye, we can't let this misunderstanding escalate into us being exiled. The last thing we need is to be thrown out, we wouldn't survive for even a week, especially with dragons in the mix."

Stoick nodded in agreement. "I need to talk to Hiccup, he must have learned something during his time with Jorgenson. We need to piece together what led to this mess."

Confusion filled the Berkians as they tried to understand the events that led to Draconian Soldiers and their Speed-Stingers waking them, clamping cuffs around their wrists, and hauling them off to the dungeons. A few Berkians who had tried to escape were met with swift paralysis by the Speed-Stingers, leaving a couple of Berkians immobilized while the others were forcibly escorted to the dungeons.

Soon the prisoners found themselves segregated into four cells by iron bars. On one side of the corridor, the Jorgensons and the allied traitors occupied a cell, separated from the rest. The guards had initially started beating the Jorgensons in their closed cell but were abruptly interrupted by the sounds of battle. By the sounds of celebration they had heard a few hours ago it was easy to say the Draconians had returned victorious.

The dungeon was dimly lit, with the air heavy from the musty scent of old stone. The occupants, Ingrid, Havlor, and Gobber, exchanged worried glances.

"Where is Anna? She isn't in any of these cells what if something happened to her?" Ingrid whispered to herself. Ingrid had been worried for Anna's safety for the past few hours. The worried mother had started shaking with fear, not wanting to lose Anna just like she had lost Astrid.

Havlor sat beside his wife murmuring words of comfort. They all soon realised that all the Berkians had been arrested except for Anna, Fishlegs, Gustav and the Twins. This worried them into thinking something bad must have happened to said individuals.