A/N: I would recommend listening to "Guardians at the Gate" by Automachine while reading this chapter. :)
The dragons were fleeing. It wasn't like the last time, where they had all left at once and returned a few weeks later. No, it was different this time. They seemed to be growing uneasy, more skittish, almost. As the weeks went by, they flew off, always in groups of three or four, never less, never more. They left, and did not come back. Their numbers dwindled until only Stormly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf, Belch, and Toothless left. All other dragons had fled, like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Hiccup yelped as his body smacked into the floor. His eyes flew open, darting about the small room. His hands were clenched so tightly he had left marks on this palms, and his body was covered in sweat. He sucked in huge gasps of air feeling like he had run a race against a Night Fury. It took him a second to realize what had happened. The nightmares had returned. The terrors that confronted him almost every time he closed his eyes. They were getting worse. The teenage boy could never remember them, only a vauge sensation of being chased. Hiccup slowly at up and wrapped his arms around himself, trembling.
As he sat there, leaning against the frame of his bed, a large black dragon came quietly over and nudged him, then settled himself beside Hiccup. Another nightmare? he seemed to ask.
"I-I'm okay, Toothless. I-it w-w-was just-t a dream," Hiccup whispered, then realized how hoarse his voice was. He must of been screaming. Hiccup took a shuddering breath, and stroked Toothless, hoping to calm himself.
For a second he wondered how his dad hadn't woken up, then remembered. Stoick had left with some of his men on a trip to meet up with the fellow tribes about a week ago, leaving Spitelout in charge. The night he left was the night the nightmares started.
Hiccup grabbed the edge of the bedpost and heaved himself up, then threw the blanket back on and clambered on top, looking out the skylight at the twinkling stars. Toothless gave him a concered glance, then settled himself back on his rock, but kept his eyes open, unblinking.
Hiccup tried to relax, but his muscles remained tense, and he kept jerking slightly at every little sound. He tried to let his mind wander, but it kept coming back to the forgotten dream. What had terrified him so much? Why was he running? What was chasing him?
Finally he swung his legs over the side of the bed, letting out a groan of frustration as he rubbed at his eyes. Toothless raised his head to look at him, and Hiccup gave him a small grin.
"Since I see you can't sleep either, howabout we take a little midnight flight together?" he asked the dragon.
Toothless imitated him by lifting his own lips in a grin, before letting out a purr.
Hiccup had almost forgotten how beautiful the island could be at night. The village spread out beneith him, slumbering under a peaceful blanket of darkness. Stars clustered in the moonless sky, their relections causing the ocean to sparkle.
As Hiccup felt the tension release, he lay back across the dragon's back, once more looking up at the sky. He was so used to riding Toothless that he barely even thought about using the foot petal glided, his wings almost touching the water, as Hiccup pointed out stars to the dragon, and told him their names.
After a few minutes of listening to Toothless' wingbeats, Hiccup sat up, feeling refreshed and energized.
"What do you think, bud? Should we go a little faster?"
Toothless gave a half-roar of agreement, and shot forward when Hiccup pressed down the foot pedal. The Night Fury twisted and dived, zooming around rock columns and climing into the air. Hiccup whooped loudly, feeling the adrenalin rush through his body. The wind rushed past him, and Hiccup felt breathless, as he could only feel when he was on a dragon's back.
Suddenly, Toothless threw his wings forward in and effort to slow down, and Hiccup was almost hurtled onto the dragon's head.
"What is it?" Hiccup whispered, but the dragon growled at him, as if telling him to be silent. The Night Fury hovered, swinging his head back and forth and growling slightly. Hiccup looked too, but all he could see was the flowing waves beneith them. A gentle breeze shivered through the air, but he could hear nothing else.
He tried to urg Toothless forward again, but the dragon only growled again. Hiccup sighed inwardly and ran a hand through his hair, casting his eyes all around. Then his mouth dropped open. Three dark figures were galloping across the ocean, their hooves kicking up splashes of water.
Hiccup looked up and let out a yelp, starting, when he saw one of the creatures directly in front of them, its nostirls flaring. It looked somewhat like a horse, but spines portruded from its neck, and sand streamed out of the back of its legs. It grinned wickedly and darted towards them, but Toothless let of a plasma blast, shattering it into thousands of peices of sand.
The other three screamed and galloped up into the air as soon as Toothless let out the blast. As Hiccup stared at the bizarre creatures, three more appeared, all galloping straight towards him.
Hiccup's stomach twisted, the breath flooding out of his lungs. No, no no. It can't be. A sudden cold flooded through his body as he realized these were the creatures that had haunted him each night. They were the creatures of his nightmares, and this one was all too real.
A/N: Haha, cliffie! 'Cause I'm just mean like that.