Run and Hide

Chapter 10: Lost Soul

Chapter 10: Lost Soul

Astrid

My heart felt like it was gone because all that was left in its place was this empty hole. The empty hold took hold of the last remaining hope that held me together. I wouldn't be feeling this right now; if only I had believed he was gone when everyone else did I would be fine. That's not the case as it would seem. Everything had been quiet after I took the visit to Valka; I came back to the Edge to see the twins messing with Snotlout again, Fishlegs with his head in books and maps, Heather down training in the arena, which just left me. I felt lost and alone, more than I ever did before. The hope I had before made me feel like I had a purpose, now that it was gone I felt like I had no purpose at all. Taking a deep breath I made my way down into the arena to meet Heather and following her idea of training, only hoping it would sway my mind away from what was really haunting me.

"Astrid?" I looked up at the pair of emerald eyes in front of me; Heather's eyes just looked as sorrowful as my own reading she knew where I had been and the news I had just convinced myself to believe. "It's okay, I'm okay," I tried reassuring her before her arms had swung themselves around my body to hold me tight. I felt my lungs collapse in on each other, squeezing so tightly I found it difficult to breathe. "You're not okay, I know you," we pulled away and I watched as her ebony fringe fell across her face but not hiding her reassurance "But I will be, you can believe that," I forced back the reassurance as well as the tears that scarred the back of my throat. I walked past her to pick up one of the axes that lay on the ground and twirled it in my hand; sighing heavily I let my mind fall blank ready to focus on targeting more than my own despair.

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Heading up to the clubhouse I could hear the girly screams come from the corner and I knew that could only mean one thing – Snotlout. He small, dumpy figure came rushing round the corner smashing right into me, which sent us tumbling down two or maybe three flights of stairs. My body hit the hard texture of the wood before Snotlout come landing on top of me. "Snotlout!!" I screamed out his name through the pressure his weight had over me. His head turned to look down on me, his eyes widening at the anger my sapphire glare pierced on him. "Sorry Astrid, it was the twins...again," He spoke with no motion to move off me. Agitated with their stupidity I threw Snotlout off me so he went flying against the twins hut. "Hey don't take your anger out on our hut we didn't do anything wrong!" We both looked up in unison to see the twins staring down at us with their arms crossed. "Didn't do anything wrong?!" I questioned their statement. Each twin exchanged looks, shrugging before looking back upon me. "You're the reason that Snotlout ran into me in the first place!"

"Well if Snotlout hadn't-," but Tuff's sentence was shorted by a screeching siren that flew over head. Our heads looked up in unison as we watched this black figure fly across the Edge. "ATTACK!" The twins and Snotlout screamed together; without any hesitation Snotlout released a boulder from Fishlegs contraption next to his hut aiming directly towards it. "Snotlout wait!" I urged him to stop but it was too late, the boulder had already been released and before anyone could blink the black figure went hurtling downwards straight in the woods without another chance to be seen. My body twisted as I looked upon Snotlout who just shrugged ever so slightly but his eyes said it all. "Why did you do that?" but I walked away just as soon as I said it as the twins landed next to Snotlout "She didn't give me time to answer," Snotlout complained as the three of them started following me "That's what you call a rhetorical question my Snotman," Tuff confirmed it for him.

The four of us searched through the woods to find whatever the black thing was. "Urgh, this would be so much easier if there weren't so many trees!" Ruff complained throwing her arms up in the air with frustration. "Quiet," I hushed her. I walked further through the trees until I could see it, so I started running with the trail of the others behind me. Suddenly I came to a halt, holding my arms out from the others to hold them back. There it lay, or should I say they lay. Our eyes were fixated upon two figures unconscious on the ground. The first figure was the black one, its scales ebony with a slight shine with a saddle connected to its body as well as a tail missing. But it didn't change the fact we knew what type of dragon Snotlout hit. "That's a Night Fury," Snotlout gaped. But my eyes wandered more on the figure that lay next to the dragon. "But then who's that?" Ruff pointed to the figure I was more fixated on.

I slowly made my way over before Tuff pulled my arm back, I looked at him glaring and confused "You can't just walk over to it, who knows what could happen," I shook my head pulling my arm away "I'll be fine Tuff," I carried on sauntering over towards them both and realised the figure was of a boy. I went to reach my hand out towards him but suddenly the dragon awoke and barred it teeth at me. Immediately Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout pulled me back away from the dragon. I looked into its green eyes as he stared me back wrapping his tail around the boy protectively. "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you, you can trust us, we can help him and you but only if you let us," the dragon looked upon the boy he was protecting before looking back at and slowly but surely, he nodded his head.