Well, here it is! My new series. I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the dragon boarder series. Have fun and have a great day! Enjoy!
Chapter One
"There it is!" Hiccup shouted, pointing to the new island he and Toothless discovered a month ago. It took that long to come back to actually explore it because Hiccup was busy with chief duties. Now that he was free, he thought it was a perfect reason for a getaway with Astrid. Turning to Astrid who was following closely behind, he then asked "What do you think?"
"Wow…you weren't kidding about how much sand was here!" Astrid replied, guiding Stormfly to glide closer to Toothless
Hiccup laughed and replied with "You always doubt me!" Looking ahead at the massive sand hills, Hiccup then said "From what I was able to explore, the sand goes as far as I can see! It's a legit desert!"
"How far south are we?" Astrid asked, letting Stormfly skim right above ocean.
"Far enough where we can get away from the cold!" Hiccup laughed "I mean come on! Middle of winter and I can shed a layer of my armor! Toothless then roared in agreement. Letting one of his wings slice through the water, Toothless then roared again, this time shooting a plasma blast ahead. It was obvious he was excited to be able to fly with Hiccup to a new land. He loved exploring just as much as his trainer did!
"I guess Toothless is pretty excited about getting away from Berk." Astrid said laughing, shaking her head the excited black dragon.
"To be honest, I am too." Hiccup replied, sitting back on his saddle. He let Toothless glide along the sandy beach as he continued "I'm so tired from chiefing…I mean, yesterday, Not-So-Silent Sven kept on going about how his sheep keep on-"
"Hiccup!" Astrid cut off, glaring at him "We're not on Berk. We're away, we're alone, and we're not talking about anything with chiefing!"
Smiling, Hiccup just nodded and said "Fine! I guess I'll agree to that." Returning his gaze to the massive sand dunes, he then pointed at one that stood above all the others and said "Come on, let's have our lunch on that hill over there."
"Ugghh, finally!" Astrid moaned loudly, guiding Stormfly towards the dune "I've been starving for the last hour!"
Laughing, Hiccup urged Toothless to speed to the hill. Circling the peak, he saw that it was flat enough for them to be able to have their picnic. Letting Toothless gently land, he then dismounted off and immediately felt his feet sink a few inches in the sand. His prosthetic went a little farther since it wasn't as wide as his foot. Slowly walking up to Astrid, who was grabbing the bags with their food off Stormfly, he then said "Wow…the sand's a lot looser that what we're used to." At that, he extended his hand out and helped Astrid with one of the bags.
"It's weird." Astrid observed, kneeling down and running the sand through her fingers "Its right next to an ocean, yet the sand is almost bone dry!"
"It's kind of eerie…" Hiccup said, walking to the peak of the dune. Taking a seat, he then proceeded to open his bag up. He then continued to say "I mean look! There's no end to it!"
Astrid then took a seat next to him, flopping her bag in the sand. Before she could say anything, shade suddenly appeared above the two. Both of them turned to see both Toothless and Stormfly lay down behind them with their wings raised, protecting their trainers from the sun.
"Well that's kind of you!" Astrid said with a smile "Thank you Stormfly and Toothless!" At that, she pulled out two slices of dried fish and tossed one to each dragon.
Hiccup laughed as he also tossed them some of his fish. Turning to Astrid, he then said "I'm so glad we were able to get away! I mean seriously, I can't remember the last time I trained we had a moment with each other."
"You mean when you weren't spending a day goofing off?" Astrid said with a tease in her voice.
"Hey! I'm Chief of Berk!" Hiccup shot back with a grin "I might just assign you stable duty in the dragon hanger for a week!"
"I love you Hiccup, but I have limits!" Astrid threatened. "I can't really remember, who won the last 20 combat training sessions? Can you refresh my memory hmm?"
"Fine!" Hiccup said with a wide smile. Taking a bite out of a piece of fish, he then said "I don't goof off anymore! Don't have time."
Astrid then made her voice whiney, and said "Take care of the village Gobber! I'm heading off to Burned Toe Beach to check out a new dragon!" Shifting her shoulders up and down, she could help but laugh at her own impersonation of Hiccup.
"Hey! First off, it was a new dragon! And secondly, I stopped the shoulder thing!" Hiccup said, defending himself "And that new dragon is called a Sand Wraith!"
"I know, but no matter what, you still find time to goof off!" Astrid said, teasing still in her voice "Take this place for example! You left Berk in the middle of the night to find this place!"
"I know, I know;" Hiccup replied, looking at the infinite sand dunes "give me a small break will ya'?"
Smirking, Astrid then punched Hiccup in the arm. Seeing him recoil back in surprise, she then changed the subject by asking "So, what kind of name are you thinking for this desert?"
Smiling at the subject, Hiccup then said "I was thinking of Careless Beach. Because both times I've been here, I just wanted to sit and do nothing."
"Fitting." Astrid said while shaking her head at the reason "But I think you want to do stuff, just nothing to do with being chief."
"Well, I guess that's true…" Hiccup answered quietly.
"What about Getaway Desert?" Astrid asked leaning against the sand dune.
"You know, I like that a lot more than Careless Beach." Hiccup replied with a smile, taking a bite out of a piece of chicken.
Smiling, Astrid just stared out at the dunes. After a few minutes of silence, she then asked a second question. "So…what's the plan for today?"
"Well…I need to update the map first off." Hiccup replied, standing up to get to flatter ground "Then after, I was thinking we could go for a walk on the beach. Let the dragons play in the sand while we just…I don't know…talk?'
Astrid just smiled at Hiccup glad to know that he was setting aside time for each other.
"And since it's a long flight back home, I was thinking we could stay the night. You know. To rest up before we head back." Hiccup added, smiling at Astrid.
"I'd like that." Astrid replied with a smile of her own "Give us a break from the saddle."
Smiling, Hiccup then walked to where the dune flattened out a little, pulling out his map in the process. Spreading it out, he then grabbed his pencil. Holding it out to Astrid, he then asked "Wanna start for me?"
"There ya' go…" Kyle grunted, sliding the sand tire onto the wheel of his green KFX 450 four wheeler. Grabbing the wheel nuts, he then began to hand tighten them.
"Wow…not wasting any time then?" Jake asked, walking behind his brother.
Kyle turned to Jake with a smile, revealing the scruffy face and shaggy black hair. Wearing a pair of black Oakley Sunglasses, his smile seemed to be brighter than the sun reflecting off the sand.
"Well, you see Jake," Kyle began to explain "unlike you, I wasn't able to put the sand paddles on before we left. Now that I only have an hour of day light left, I figured I'd make the most out of it."
"Should have come out here with me instead of mom and dad." Jake replied, handing Kyle a socket wrench "I've been riding all day."
"I couldn't miss work." Kyle replied, tightening the nuts even more so "Had to finish up checking the warehouse inventory."
"Could have just taken the day off." Jake said laughing, extending his hand to help his brother up.
"Said the guy who doesn't work." Kyle teased, taking the hand. Feeling himself hoisted up, he quickly began to dust off the sand. "How's the police academy anyways?"
"Done. I signed on with a local police department up in Nevada." Jake said with a smile "I begin in two weeks."
Kyle stared at his brother in shock "When did this happen!? You never told me how soon you were leaving!"
Laughing at his brother's shocked expression, Jake then explained "I was waiting to tell you tomorrow. You know, New Year's Day."
Shaking his head, Kyle grabbed his brother in a hug and said "Congrats man! That's the best news I've heard in a long time!"
"Kyle! Jake! Come say bye! We're leaving!" Their dad's voice called out from inside their massive camp trailer. The thing was 40 feet long and had enough room to not only haul their four-wheelers and side-by-side, but also had a master bedroom with a fireplace and a big enough kitchen that would rival some homes.
Kyle then followed Jake inside with a smile. For a New Year's holiday, it was actually going to be a lonely one for him. Though the family decided to have a family vacation at Dumont Dunes in California, their parents were going to Las Vegas to celebrate the New Year; and Jake was going to be with his friends that set up camp elsewhere in the dunes. Then everyone would come back in two days to spend the rest of the week as a family. But still, two days alone was going to make for a long holiday.
"Well…think you'll do alright without us?" his dad asked, walking out of the trailer.
"Dad…Jake's 23, and I'm 21. I think we'll be fine." Kyle replied, slightly annoyed.
"Remember, make sure you lock the trailer up when you go for a ride. I don't want anyth-"
"Dad! We know!" Kyle said loudly, rolling his eyes "It's not like I have my own quad to take care of."
"Don't worry dad. We'll take care of everything." Jake said laughing, resting his hand on Kyle's shoulder.
Smiling, he then began to walk towards the truck that hauled the trailer. His mom then walked out carrying her bag. "I left some barbeque chicken in the fridge. We'll have the steaks when we come back."
"Really? That was like the one thing I was really looking forward to eating!" Kyle said, looking down with a depressed look.
"Hey my friends are having steak tonight. Wanna come party with us?" Jake suggested.
"Heh, well thanks but no thanks. I'm going to Skype Rachel tonight." Kyle said with a smile. Turning back to his mom, he hugged her and said "Drive safely. Don't have too much fun!"
"Thanks sweetie. Have fun tonight! I left you a surprise in the fridge." His mom said with a smile.
"Is it an alcoholic beverage?" Kyle asked with a grin.
"A case of Hard Lemonade." His mom said, smiling at Kyle.
"My favorite!" Kyle said laughing. Watching his mom get in their truck, he called out "Seriously, drive safe. Traffics going to be bad going to Vegas."
Watching her close the door to the truck, it then started up and drove over the sand towards the exit of the dunes.
"You sure you don't want to come with me and my friends? Terrance has a new trailer." Jake asked again, watching Kyle open a cupboard on the side of the trailer.
"I'm sure." Kyle said with a smile "I'll have a good time talking to Rachel. Thanks for the invite though."
"Suit yourself." Jake said with a shrug. Walking to his new Polaris Razor, he then said "Call me if you change your mind."
"Will do!" Kyle said, pulling out a bag from the compartment with his riding gear.
At that, Jake started his side-by-side and drove off; jumping his ride off a large dune.
Smiling, Kyle quickly opened the bag and grabbed his chest protector. With the black and green Fox Racing symbol on the chest, he then slid it over his head and began to clip the straps together. Making sure the chest plate was secure, he then pulled out his riding boots. Slipping out of his shoes, he then began to strap his boots on. Grabbing a backpack that was leaning against the trailer, he quickly slid it on and made sure the water hose was clean of sand. After that, he then pulled out a black bag out of the cupboard with the riding gear. Opening it up, he pulled out his riding helmet. Also black and green, like his chest protector, it had a custom decal on it with the words 'Outlaw' on the side of it. Ever since he started to ride with his friends back home, he was always called Outlaw for the reason that he was always doing crazy things; things that were borderline illegal.
Putting the helmet on, he began to walk to his quad while checking the goggles to make sure they were tight enough. Smiling to himself, he quickly jumped on his prized machine. Turning the engine, he felt it roar to life.
"Finally…time to ride!" he whispered to himself. "I've got at least a good 40 minutes of riding before the sun sets. Pushing the throttle, he felt himself launched forward. His KFX glided across the loose sand, allowing him to drift it along the face of a dune. Feeling the G-forces pull against him, he then quickly leaned the opposite way, fighting the forces of nature. Feeling himself straighten out, he couldn't help but laugh with joy. Though alone on New Year's Eve, he wasn't going to have any shortage of fun.
"What an amazing place…" Astrid observed, walking next to Hiccup. After mapping out the land that they could see and dare fly to, they both decided that it wasn't really an island, but a large mass of land. Now with the sun beginning to set¸ they were wrapping up the day by starting to set up a camp.
"I wish we had more time to explore. I'd like to see how far the desert goes…" Hiccup said with some sound of depression.
"Then you'd be wishing we had more supplies!" Astrid quickly cut in, teasing Hiccup again "Then even more time! If it was up to you, you'd never go back to Berk!"
That's probably true." Hiccup said, smiling at the comment. Taking a seat on top of the dune they were walking on, he stared at the ocean below them, with their dragons playing on the beach, he couldn't help but say "I do like the name Getaway Desert. That's exactly what we did here huh?"
Nodding, Astrid sat down next to Hiccup and began to braid his hair; as was a custom she did whenever they had a moment to sit and talk. "It did feel good to have a break."
"With you basically running the academy and me with being chief, we don't have much of a break at all don't we. From running the day to day activities, to stopping Alvin's raids and such." Hiccup added, still watching the two dragons roll in the sand.
"Well…for the time we did have together, I really enjoyed today." Astrid commented, weaving his hair she held.
"I did too Astrid. I guess it's easy to wish for more things after you have an amazing experience." Hiccup replied softly.
Smiling, Astrid turned to take a long look at the dunes behind them. After staring for a few seconds, she then said "Hey Hiccup…what's that?"
Hiccup turned to see what Astrid was talking about. Standing up, he saw a massive wall of sand blowing towards them. Realizing what he was looking at, he then felt wind pick up and begin to roar with fury. "Get to the dragons! We need to go now!" He shouted, grabbing Astrid's hand and pulling her down the hill.
Astrid immediately shouted "Stormfly!" Running with Hiccup, she turned to see the sand storm rise above them. Almost in slow motion, she watched the sand overtake both her and Hiccup. Blinded by the sand, she instinctively let go of Hiccup's hand to cover her eyes. Her eyes squeezed shut, she began to cough out the sand that seemed to fill her lungs. Where her skin was exposed, the sand felt like small bees stinging her. Trying to get at least one breath of clean air, she felt her foot sink into the sand. Thrown off balance, she then fell onto the sand and lay there. Trying to protect her face, she began to breathe into her arm and try to wait out the storm.
Hiccup himself was struggling to gain his sense of direction. Panicked that he and Astrid were separated in this sudden sand storm, and not being able to see and breathe, he quickly used his arm to try and cover his mouth. Stumbling down the hill, he quickly tripped himself as his prosthetic leg sank into the loose sand.
Collapsing, he felt something stand next to him. Looking up and through his sand covered eyes, he could only see a black object lay down next to him. Feeling the wind blocked, he knew that Toothless was protecting him with his wings. "You're a sight for sore eyes…thanks bud!" Hiccup coughed, trying to spit out the sand that stayed in his mouth.
Toothless just growled, lowering his head into the temporary shelter built by his wings. Hiccup just stared out of a small hole, watching the sand fly across, hoping Astrid was alright.
Astrid coughed, still unable to really get a real breath. Realizing that waiting the storm out would be the death of her, she began to crawl towards where she thought the beach was at. Trying to pry her eyes open, she was then forced to shut them as she was blinded once again. Out of desperation, she shouted "Stormfly! Hiccup!? Where are you!?"
Coughing, unable to breathe, Astrid dropped to her knees and then collapsed entirely onto the sand. Feeling her senses begin to numb, she slowly drifted off into a black world.
Hearing the wind slow down to a stop, Hiccup whispered to Toothless "Ok bud… let's find Astrid and Stormfly."
Toothless then lifted his wings, letting fresh air flood both their senses. Taking a deep breath of refreshing air, Hiccup then looked around. All the dunes were shifted and in completely different places. The only thing that looked familiar was the ocean still in sight.
Standing up, Hiccup began to call out "Astrid! Astrid!" Not hearing anything, he began to panic. Running up the dune closest to him, he stumbled slightly as the sand gave way to his weight. Struggling to get on top, Hiccup pushed even harder. Finally getting to the pea, he scanned the horizon for something, anything that showed evidence of where Astrid was.
Toothless glided over next to Hiccup, with a concerned look on his face. Not only was Astrid missing, but so was Stormfly.
Hiccup quickly jumped onto Toothless and said "Find her bud! Try to find her by her scent or something!" Hiccup desperately needed to do something to find her.
Knowing that the perfect day went to ruin, Toothless launched into the air with extra energy. Scanning the desert, he glided silently and smoothly over the dunes with the sun disappearing behind the ocean.
"Please be alright…" Hiccup whispered, doing a double check on a dune. His perfect getaway was now a nightmare. His worst dream come true. Astrid was missing.
"Haha!" Kyle shouted, skidding his four wheeler to a stop. Parking on top of a dune, he stopped to take in the view of the setting sunset. The dark orange and blood red sky mixed together made the skyline look like a painting. The sand everywhere seemed to amplify the orange hue. Pulling off his helmet, he stared at the sight.
Smiling, he pulled out his phone and took a picture of the sight. For the end of December, it was a very pretty picture. Making sure he posted the picture to Facebook, he then flipped open his Skype app and began to call his girlfriend Rachel. Letting it ring, he looked up to watch the sun slowly disappear behind the mountains in the background.
Looking down, he saw that she didn't pick up. Frowning, he then went to his contacts and dialed her number. Pressing the phone up to his ear, he waited to hear for her voice on the other end of the call. Then he heard what he wanted, the ringing stopped. Smiling, he waited to for her to say hello, only to hear her voice muffled with a lot of background noise.
"Pocket answered me." Kyle thought to himself, a little miffed at the fact that Rachel wasn't even paying attention for his calls. Shaking his head, he was about to hang up when he heard another guy's voice on the line "Don't worry baby! Kyle won't know about this."
Kyle's heart skipped a beat. Who was that talking to Rachel? Pressing his phone harder against his ear, he then overheard Rachel reply: "He better not! He'd kill me if he knew we were seeing each other." The guy then replied "I'm not going to tell him, and neither are my friends! It's up to you not telling him."
That was it for Kyle. Hanging up, he angrily kicked his four wheeler. A year and a half of being with each other and she's cheating on him like that! "ARRRGGHHH!" he screamed in anger as he buried his face in his hands. "Happy New Year…" Kyle whispered to himself, gripping his hair as if to pull it out. In the heat of the moment, he then went back to his phone and began to text her, saying "Happy New Year. I hope it and the guy your with treats you as well as the last year and I did." At that, he sent the text to her and shut his phone off. If she was going to try and apologize, he wasn't going to hear it.
Staring down the dune, watching the headlights of four-wheelers appear and disappear behind the dunes below, he couldn't help but feel depressed with the sudden and almost random event that just took place.
Finally tearing his eyes away, he put on his helmet and was about to start his ride to go home. Just before, he heard what he thought was a person cough loudly. Stopping he listened a little closer to the sound. Hearing the person cough viscously, he then jumped off his four wheeler and ran towards the sound. Looking down on the other side of the dune, he gasped as he saw a person half buried in the sand and still gasping for breath.
"Hold on! Just hold still for a second!" Kyle shouted, sliding down the sand towards the person. Arriving at the half-buried surprise, he saw that it was a girl.
"Uh! Stupid sand!" She gasped, trying to dig herself out "Mind helping me?"
"Yeah, yeah, just hold still!" Kyle ordered, ignoring the metal shoulder guards and reaching to grab under the girls arms "You moving around is causing the sand to slide down on ya" Planting both feet as firm as he could, he quickly hefted up and felt her pop out of sand a little bit. "One more time." Kyle said, grunting at the labor he was putting into it. Double checking his grip, he again pulled on the girl and felt her finally break free from the sand.
Coughing, the girl collapsed on the sand and began to take deep breaths, leaving Kyle to stare and wonder who he just rescued.