Saving You

Chapter 15

"Are we seriously just going to leave him?!" Astrid was furious, as she raced out of the cave, her and Valka taking the lead.
"What choice do we have? They outnumber us 3 to 1, and that's those in the cave alone, never mind the others he will have lurking around somewhere. If we go back and try to rescue him, we'll all be killed." Astrid could hear the sorrow in her voice.
"But-"
"It's for the best, Astrid," Valka turned away, and the young Viking noticed tears forming in the woman's eyes.
"It'll be okay, Valka."
"You don't know that!" Valka composed herself. "I'm sorry. I'm just-"
"I know. We all are."
The cave had darkened further now that they didn't have the torches- they were abandoned in their protests against leaving. Astrid wished she had something, anything to light the way. A torch, Inferno, a Dragon... anything. But she didn't. So, they ploughed on, running as fast as they could towards where they could hear the dragons roaring for their return. Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Snotlout were carrying Tuff, and were too focused on getting everyone out to safety.
"I... I can't lose him, Astrid," Valka sighed as she let a tear roll down her cheek. Astrid didn't know how to respond, just nodded in agreement.
Then, came a battle cry, as the Vikings heard hunters bellowing down the tunnel. Astrid spun around, continuing to run, but backwards, as she noticed a sight that was only originally seen in her nightmares. There, were Drago's armada, charging onwards them, with any kind of weapon imaginable.
"RUN!" Astrid barked, as if that wasn't what everyone was already doing. The riders pushed forward, as they felt the tunnel widening once more, and the dragon's calls amplifying in sound. "Let's go!" Before they knew it, there in front of them, were their dragons, looking terrified at the sight of them.
Hookfang was confused as to why his rider had a split lip. Did someone punch him? He roared in fury, but before he could run ahead, Snotlout jumped on his back. Most people thought that the bond between the two was weak, but the pair would die for one another, just the same as any other rider and dragon.
Meatlug immediately noticed something was wrong when Fishlegs approached. Carrying Tuff with one arm, and clutching his stomach with the other, she knew something had gone down. Once he approached, she nuzzled him, and he gave her a quick scratch on her back to reassure her before mounting.
Barf and Belch were freaking out- one rider's cheeks were tearstained and strained, whilst the other was too weak even to walk, with minor injuries left, right and centre. They were ready to rip down the cave and show some revenge, but they knew getting the twins to safety was their top priority. Once the three youths had helped Tuff onto his head, Ruff hopped on too, ready to fly but not with the normal enthusiasm.
Cloudjumper didn't show emotion. He could tell something was up, and knew it was his place to stay strong. For Valka. For the riders. For the dragons. For everyone. He let the woman mount him carefully, before he prepared for take off.
Stormfly didn't understand. On her escape from the death trap which was Drago's new base, Astrid Had run straight past her dragon, completely ignoring her other than a quick 'hello girl.'
Toothless was frantic. Hiccup hadn't come out of the cave. Every one of the other riders looked anxious and desperate to fly away. Just to confirm his suspicions that something had happened, Astrid hopped on his back, prompted him to shoot a plasma blast own the tunnel, to the shock and screams of the army, gave a follow command to her own dragon and flew away, leaving his rider behind. The Nightfury protested and growled as he attempted to turn back, but the girl was stern. The Berkians did have stubbornness issues, after all.
"I know, Toothless. Don't worry, we'll find a way to get him out." But the dragon noticed the uncertainty in his voice, as the group flew towards Berk.
...
"So what now?" Snotlout spoke with a lisp as he temporarily removed the ice from his lip, to Gothi's displeasure. Fishlegs stood, with a light bandage round his stomach, scratching Meatlug, as he searched through the book of dragons.
"SnapTrappers. Attack 10. Speed 4. Armour 4. Heads 4-"
"I meant, how do we save Hiccup."
"That," Fishlegs began, nervously. "I don't know."
"We need to find a way to lure Drago and his men away from Hiccup, so-" Astrid was cut off as she saw Tuffnut leave Gothi's hut, walking on his own once again, his injuries wrapped in gauge. "Tuff! How are you?"
"Injury wise, fine. Mentally..." Ruffnut placed a hand on her brother's back, and the two embraced one another in a tight hug. Tuffnut avoided wincing at the discomfort, as he knew they both needed that.
"It's okay, Tuff, it's not your fault." The riders were silent for a while, and Astrid took the opportunity to look for Valka, who had claimed to need some 'alone time.' Astrid originally protested at the thought, but at the promise of her being careful, and not going after her son, she agreed.
...
"Hey," Astrid said, as she sat down beside the Chief's mother. They were on top of the clip looking out over the docks. "It'll be fi-"
"Look," Valka said simply, pointing towards an empty area of land, just outside the village.
"There's nothing-" Astrid stopped and gasped as she saw hunters. Hundreds of them, circling around an area of land. What was going on? Following the already terrifying situation, Drago walked into the centre, dragging someone behind him by a chain around their neck.
"Is that-"
"HICCUP!" Valka yelled as she raced towards the cliff edge.
...
*One minute prior*
"Let me go, Drago!" Hiccup screamed, as he pulled on the chain choking him. Before he could loosen it even slightly, hunter approached, and gripped his arms, pulling them tight to Hiccup's back, and the chief couldn't help but wince.
"No! You listen to me, Dragon Master!" Drago barked at the man standing chained and unable to escape. "You are my prisoner now, so you listen to me!" He slapped Hiccup square across the jaw, and he collapsed to the ground, panting. "Up," Hiccup scrambled back to his feet. "Now. Let's see what your citizens think about all... this."
"You just gestured to all of me." Drago sneered at Hiccup's quotation of his younger self. Suddenly, he saw all fo Drago's followers form a circle in the clearing, and before he knew it, he was being yanked inside of it himself.
"HICCUP!" He heard his mother yell from the clifftops. He wanted to shout back, but found itself unable to speak due to the tightness of the chain.
"Ha ha. Cat got your tongue?" Hiccup heard one of the inters exclaim as he laughed with those around him.
"Quiet!" Drago yelled, and the men immediately all fell into order. Hiccup looked up to see all of the Berkians and Traders surrounding Valka and Astrid on the cliff edge, the riders in the first row. He mentally sighed once more. Whatever was going to happen next, they would all see it.
"Hello, Berkians and Traders who serve them. Here, I'm sure you all know who I am and who I have captive here," Hiccup could hear Toothless roaring with fury, but he didn't shoot, not wanting to risk hurting his rider. Hiccup hung his head. The villagers who had not yet heard about Hiccup's capture were whispering in shock. Those who were brave enough decided to speak up.
"Let him go!"
"Give us our chief back!" All of these comments were then drowned out by the screams and shouts of the others, each insult thrown worse than the last. Drago didn't even flinch.
"SILENCE!" Drago bellowed and everyone immediately fell quiet, other than Toothless, whom Astrid was attempting to calm down, before he made the situation worse. "Now you will all see what happens when you mess with Drago Bludvist," He drew his sword, and approached Hiccup slowly. The chief scrabbled to get away but knew there was no hope.
"NO!" He heard Astrid scream from above. Hiccup decided to stop fighting it, and stand tall for his tribe, despite how terrified he was inside. Toothless was distraught, but knew the situation was now out of his control. Astrid continued o scream for Hiccup's safety. Valka could barely watch through her tears.
Drago sneered and cackled as he approached Hiccup, amusement in his eyes. He raised his sword high above his head, and Hiccup recoiled.
"NO!" Astrid screamed again but it was no use.
Drago swung, and the blade imbedded itself in Hiccup's stomach.
He fell to the ground, clutching the wound, motionless.