Saving You

Chapter 6

What happened? Astrid sat up, clutching her head, her vision clouded over. She had no idea how long she had been out cold for and was nervous to find out. As she looked around her, she realised that she was still in the place in which she had fallen, and the smoke still filled the air. That explains why I can't see properly, she thought. Where was Hiccup? Struggling to her feet, she recalled the events which took place not so long ago, though she was unaware of that. The sun was beginning to set now, and she could see the flames still burning bright. Suddenly, she remembered that she was shot down by a piece of flying rubble which hit Stormfly square in the centre of her chest. Stormfly.
"Stormfly?" Astrid called out, searching around her as best as she could. The grass around her was singed, and pieces of the once ancient monument lay around her, cracked, and burned. She called out for her dragon a few more times to no response. Extremely anxious now, she darted forward and shrieked for the Deadly Nadder once again, only this time, she heard a faint yelp. "STORMFLY!" She yelled and began sprinting forward and into a clearing, though slowing abruptly at what she saw. Men, hunters, tying up and muzzling her dragon, a stun dart sticking out of her neck. Before she could run any further, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her backwards, covering her mouth with a cloth. She yelled, and struggled, but no matter what she did, she couldn't break his hold. Instantly, she stopped fighting, when a dagger was pressed against her throat.
"Don't say a word." Drago threatened. "Or you'll regret it."
...
"ASTRID!" Hiccup bolted upright, clinging his chest as it groaned in protest. He began coughing violently before sitting ack against the headrest, wincing in pain. He was back in his room, tucked in his bed, meaning someone must have dug him out of the rubble. Toothless, he assumed. He quickly wiggled his right foot. At least I didn't lose anther one, he thought.
"Hiccup!" It was only after he had heard his mother speak, that he noticed the others in the room. Toothless and Valka sat next to his bed, Valka pressing a cold cloth to his forehead. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff, and Tuff stood around them, watching anxiously.
"Astrid..?" Hiccup asked again, this time calmer. The other riders looked down. He turned to his mother who sighed, and spoke softly.
"We'll find her."
"How long was I out?" Valka seemed taken aback by the question at first, but later realised she wasn't surprised. "How long was I out?" Hiccup repeated, breaking her train of thought.
"A day and a half..."
"A DAY AND A HALF?! I'VE BEEN OUT FOR 36 HOURS AND SHE'S STILL GONE?! He leapt out of bed, his chest screaming as he did so, and for the first time, he noticed his head was pounding against his skull. None the less, he began pacing up and down, rambling at the same time.
"This is all my fault," he said "All my fault. If I had ran faster, I would have made it out of the hall on time. If I hadn't have gone back in the hall, I would have been able to go and find her immediately-"
"Hiccup..."
"If I hadn't have flown so far ahead, I would have realised she was gone quicker. If I had got Toothless to blast the rocks, rather than dodging them, one wouldn't have hit her which I assume is what happened-"
"Hiccup.."
"If I hadn't have made her fly into the smoke, she would be safe and sound right now. If I hadn't run after the trader, she wouldn't have followed me. If I hadn't let an intruder on the island in the first place, the great hall wouldn't be gone, and everyone, including Astrid, would be safe. If I hadn't let my dad jump in front of me, sacrificing his life for mine, none of this wold have happened! It's all my fault!" He began tearing at his hair, and his friends watched him pace, not knowing what they could do to help.
"HICCUP!" Valka hadn't meant to shout, but she knew it was the only way to get her son's (and apparently everyone else in the room's) attention. He whipped around to face the ground in front of her, tears streaming down his face. "None of this is your fault," she paused. Do you know how many deaths there were?" Hiccup looked at her. "None. Do you know how many wee injured? A minimal amount. Do you know why that was?" Silence. "Because of YOU Hiccup, not me, not Snotlout, not anyone else, YOU. If you hadn't have acted when you had, we could all be dead." Hiccup smiled slightly, gazing into his mother's eyes. "Astrid isn't gone. She's too stubborn for that. We will go out and find her, whilst you rest." Her son sniffed, and walked away, but not towards his bed, where Valka expected I'm to be going. Instead, he walked over to his dragon, gave him a quick scratch under the chin, before swinging his left leg over, clipping it into the pedal.
"Hiccup, where are you-"
"I have to go," He said, ignoring Fishlegs' question, and flew off out his open bedroom window.
After a minute of silence, Tuffnut spoke:
"So... what do we do now?"
"We help him," Valka replied, and she and the youths ran outside to take to the skies themselves.