Age Rank(s): 12-13
The heat of fire burned all around Hiccup's small frame, but he paid no attention to it; all that was important to him then was to prove himself. Charging past the flames, Hiccup dived and swerved to avoid fellow Vikings who fought off dragons, ignoring everything to the left and right and focusing on one thing: to make his village proud of him. More importantly, to make his father proud to call Hiccup his son.
Hiccup made it to the edge of the island much quicker than normal, but his mind never pondered on that fact. Dragons flew everywhere, and he knew he had to get his hands on one. He had to kill a dragon.
As if on cue a Monstrous Nightmare flew down to the ground, landing in front of Hiccup with a low growl, as if challenging him. The battle cries faded into the background as Hiccup suddenly changed his mind and ran, repeating how bad of an idea this was over and over again in his head. The dragon gave chase, snapping and snarling hungrily on his tail.
Before long Hiccup was cornered between a tall wall and the dragon, and he whipped around as it gained on him. With a shriek of fear, he waited to be engulfed by the large monster, but no impact came. When Hiccup opened his eyes, he was surrounded by rock walls, in a huge cavern that was crawling with hundreds of dragons everywhere you looked. Their evil eyes and vicious snarls stared him down, large, tense claws scraping loud as thunder into the dirt. It was a horrid sound that only got louder and louder by the moment. Covering his ears, Hiccup shut his eyes tightly, the sound overpowering him, drowning him, crushing him, just as the dragons lunged to finish him off once and for all.
One last dragon screech sliced through the air, and Hiccup woke up with a startled gasp. His forehead and palms were wet with sweat and his hair stuck up in many different directions. He was back in his room, just waking up from the nightmare.
Hiccup sighed, trying to get back to sleep when he realized how late it still was. But he heard another dragon shriek, and this time it wasn't from his dream.
Dragon attack! Hiccup realized, jumping out of bed and slipping his fur vest over his shoulders. This is my time! I can feel it!
Suddenly he hesitated, thinking over his dream. But he pushed it away, chuckling nervously to himself. Get a grip, Hiccup; it was just a stupid dream.
Thumping down the stairs, Hiccup threw himself outside and looked around with an open-mouthed smile, half with apprehension and hope. I can do this. I WILL do this!
"Take cover!" A Viking shrieked not far away. "Heads up!"
Hiccup looked up, gasping as a large building came crashing down straight at him and a few others. Turning, he ran, nearly tripping on his own feet as he leaped out of the tumbling house's range. Sliding down a hill, Hiccup almost fell over but caught himself on what he thought was the end of a catapult but turned out to be the lever, automatically wasting a huge stone thrown down in to the ocean. He watched it go for a few seconds before snapping his attention to two Vikings.
"Hiccup! Get inside!" They ordered. "Before you make things worse!"
Hiccup ran off, trying to avoid any more catapults. A building to his left was brought up in flames, a few flying debris heading down at him. As Hiccup dodged, he tripped over a group of sheep who were hiding behind a wheelbarrow, shoving them out in the open. Right when the sheep were revealed, a gang of dragons grasped them in their talons and flew off with all five of them. Hiccup stared with a pursed lip as the dragons flew off with the terrified sheep, mentally face-palming himself and hoping no one saw his embarrassing mistake. He should've known someone would.
"Are you trying to help those beasts? Get inside!" Phlegma the fierce ordered, throwing a bucket of water at the fiery building.
Again, Hiccup charged away, praying to Thor that just once he could do something right. He nearly ran into Astrid, who jumped to get out of his way and spilled her water bucket all over herself. She gave Hiccup a death glare, who gazed at her wide-eyed.
"S-sorry!" He apologized, quickly turning the other direction and making a break for it.
Hiccup turned around a building to hide from his dad, who was just running past. "Ack! Watch that Zippleback!" Stoick warned one of his well-trusted Vikings, not noticing Hiccup.
When Hiccup was sure Stoick was gone, he zipped back to the battle-field, jumping over what he thought was a rock. He was so wrong about that.
His left foot tripped over the edge of the 'rock', falling down on his face. The 'rock' stirred, revealing not a stone but a Gronckle, who viciously looked down upon him. Hiccup stared at the Gronckle, backing away and stumbling to his feet. The Gronckle fired, but Hiccup barely dodged and ran in the midst of the fight, where the fiercest battle raged. Dragons were everywhere, left, right, up and down. The Gronckle was still after him, unbeknownst to Hiccup.
Just as Stoick put the last of the fire in the field out, Hiccup came charging through screaming, a speeding dragon flinging after him, going rather fast for a Gronckle. The Gronckle blasted a fireball, burning the field right back up. The flames travelled quickly around Hiccup, trapping him. The Gronckle hovered from above, opening its mouth to shoot one last time, only to find it was unable to. It didn't take a genius to know it was out of shots, much to the luck of Hiccup.
"HICCUP!" Stoick bellowed, leaping over the flames and throwing a mace at the Gronckle, making it shriek and turn away for a moment. The bulky chief grabbed his son and rolled through the thin fire just as the middle piled on in flames. He let go, letting Hiccup roll over and over through the grass, stopping in front of Astrid, who had a newly filled bucket in her arms along with the twins, Fishlegs and Snotlout. They ran to the fiery field, putting out the flames before it could grow anymore. Stoick fought the Gronckle away, making sure it left this time before facing his son.
Hiccup staggered to his feet, rubbing a sore arm. He realized with a jolt that Stoick was giving him a disappointed scowl. Hiccup swallowed hard, trying to ignore all the stares he got from the village as the dragons flew away with sheep, cattle, and anything else they could use for food. The destruction they caused in the village was even worse than it could have been if Hiccup didn't step outside.
"Sorry, dad…" Hiccup forced out, looking at his father's gaze momentarily.
When no one made a move to speak, Hiccup decided to try defending himself. "I just wanted to help- -"
"Hiccup, whenever you try to help, havoc breaks loose!" Stoick shouted, hiding his embarrassment. "I don't have time to focus on your mistakes when there is already more than enough to handle! Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"
Hiccup knew arguing would get him nowhere, and regretfully he was at a loss for words. He lowered his head, gloomily scowling at the burnt grass below his feet.
"You're not a Viking yet, son. You're barely even a teenager. You can't kill dragons. The only things you'll ever kill are sheep being eaten from dragons!"
Hiccup held his breath. "You saw that?"
"Nothing happens on this island without me knowing." Stoick growled. "Go home. I have your mess to clean up."
Exhaling deeply, Hiccup trudged away, not lifting his head even when Snotlout made a smart remark. Why can't you give me a chance? He wondered, forwarding it to no one in particular. No wonder the gods hate me!
Hiccup stomped in his house and slammed the door shut behind him.