Toothless's head instantaneously materialized above me. He gave a short, panicked roar and then looked at the Whispering Death, who paid zero attention to me throughout the entire time. The Whispering Death shot what would have been a killing strike at Toothless's chest had I not been crazy and jumped from the cliff. That fire blast would have knocked Toothless into the chasm behind him. And with no way to fly, he would have dropped like a rock. And if the impact with the ground wouldn't have been enough, I knew the Whispering Death would have flown in to finish the job.
I figured Toothless must have put two and two together, because he jumped off his "island" just before the stream of lava hit the ground and cascaded over the other side. I watched as he folded his wings, trying to become more aerodynamic, trying to reach me before I hit the ground.
Come on, buddy, I thought. I turned in midair to get on his back as quickly as possible just as his head reached the level of my feet. Toothless kept diving as I reached out to the saddle and yanked myself down onto his back. But I couldn't do anything unless I hooked my peg into the stirrup. Otherwise, we were pretty much dead.
I looked down at the peg and clicked in. And just underneath us was the ground. I pulled the peg forward slightly, trying to get Toothless's tail fin to spread completely out. He put his legs out underneath him to deaden the blow from the ground. We were moving way too fast to avoid any kind of collision.
I felt his legs bend slightly as he impacted the ground. It was enough of a shock to snap my head forward. I let my upper body roll with the impact and ended with my chest plastered to Toothless's back. A cloud of dust kicked up as he jumped, bringing us back to the world of the living. And I decided today that I hated dust. I just wanted to get back home so I could wash all this dirt off. But I had more pressing problems at the moment, like a Whispering Death.
"YEAH, BUDDY!" I shouted. "YOU SAVE ME, I SAVE YOU!"
Toothless grunted in approval as we gained altitude. I nudged him with my left knee, trying to get him to fly right. I wanted to hide briefly from the Whispering Death. I figured if we could surprise it, that would give us about a second to nail it with a fireball. Plenty of time.
Toothless banked right and was still rising as we rounded his former prison. Just around it was the tip of the Whispering Death's tail. The dragon probably had no idea what was about to hit it. As Toothless came around, the dragon was turned with its back to us. Perfect.
"NOW!" I shouted. Toothless launched a fireball straight into the back of the Whispering Death's head. Toothless checked to his left, so I adjusted his tail fin to head that direction. He wanted the stealth of hiding in the forest. The Whispering Death screeched in surprise and wheeled around, firing several spikes in our direction.
I remembered the timing of this dragon, with how fast it was against Thornado. I nudged Toothless with my right knee, hoping we could get out of the way of the spikes headed in our direction. One of them grazed my back as I felt a burning and ripping sensation. It tore through my vest and shirt, cutting through my skin. The spike flipped end-over-end and clattered to the ground.
"RRGH!" I gritted in pain. Toothless seemed to know what had happened and set down in the forest, near where the Whispering Death started backing him over the cliff. He looked back at me with a concerned grunt.
"HICCUP! YOU DID IT!" Astrid shouted, running toward us. "You got Toothless back!"
"Yeah, and if we don't finish this quickly, I'm gonna be dead," I told her. Without waiting for a reply, I turned around, showing her my back. I heard Astrid gasp.
"Can you do this?" she asked.
"Yeah, although the pain's getting worse. I need your help in finding this dragon's weakness. And if it doesn't have one, keep it distracted."
"Fishlegs told us the Book of Dragons says the Whispering Death has 'no known weaknesses.'"
I rolled my eyes in irritation. "Great. Just keep it distracted. We'll find some way to get it out of here." Without another word, Astrid took off toward the other teens, shouting instructions. Just as Toothless and I heard a low hiss.
"Toothless, up!" I shouted while yanking upward on the saddle. He took off. A couple of seconds later, the Whispering Death blasted out of one of its holes and immediately shot a volley of spikes at me and Toothless. Both of us saw them headed directly at me, so I shoved down on the saddle and brought my peg inward. The tail fin collapsed, and Toothless dropped underneath the spikes. We leveled out just as Toothless shot a fireball in the Whispering Death's direction.
For once, it felt great to be on the giving end of this type of exchange. The Whispering Death had no time to react as the fireball slammed into its body, knocking the dragon out of the air. The Whispering Death screeched as it fell. It collapsed into the ground and stayed there.
"Great job, bud," I told Toothless as I rubbed the top of his head. He grunted back at me and swooped in for the kill. Toothless landed about fifteen feet away and looked at his catch. The dragon was lying in front of us, breathing heavily, like it was waiting for something or someone to kill it. Like it had given up the fight and was ready to die.
Toothless crept around to the Whispering Death's head, where its eyes were open. I had no idea what it was thinking because of its lack of pupils. And it still creeped me out, even after seeing the dragon up close. Well, if I couldn't figure the dragon out through its eyes, then I had to focus on something else. I watched its mouth and nostrils and immediately felt something was amiss.
"Toothless, stop," I said quietly. He looked back at me with a curious grunt, seemingly asking why I wanted him to restrain himself. But I knew something wasn't right. The dragon's mouth was too tense. It was breathing a little too hard. Like it was shamming. Toothless took one more step forward, and I pulled gently back on his saddle. He stayed put after that.
"Aww, geez, Hiccup! Why do you keep on having to get hurt!?" Snotlout shouted from the air. I looked back slightly and held my right hand up, waving them off. I knew this dragon was faking. Waiting for Toothless to get too close, so it could kill him in one motion. But how was I supposed to get it to leave? I knew I couldn't walk straight up to it and tell it to go.
"ALL RIGHT!" Ruffnut shouted. The twins landed with Barf and Belch maybe ten feet from the Whispering Death's head. Astrid and Fishlegs were last to show up. They landed several yards away from the dragon. I looked at the twins with a worried expression.
"Why are you looking at us like that?" Tuffnut said.
Without warning, the Whispering Death grunted and lunged. It snapped its jaws shut around Barf and Belch's right front foot. The twins' dragon shrieked in horror and pain, tossing Ruff and Tuff several yards away. Toothless jumped forward and clamped his teeth around the Whispering Death's neck. He backed away immediately, just before the spikes on the dragon's body shot outward. I knew Toothless bit the dragon just so that it would let the Zippleback go. It rose into the air, blasting a stream of fire at Toothless. He jumped out of the way and whipped to his left, forcing me and him between the Whispering Death and Barf and Belch. The twins' dragon bellowed in pain as it limped backwards.
"HICCUP! WHAT DO WE DO!?" Tuffnut shouted from behind me. I couldn't take the time to tell him what to do, so I hoped Snotlout, Fishlegs or Astrid would figure it out.
Toothless jumped forward with a swipe of his front left leg, forcing the dragon backwards. It shot another volley of spikes at Toothless, but he took off, me holding onto dear life. The spikes landed harmlessly in the ground, just in front of Barf and Belch. I knew Toothless didn't care a whole lot for the twins, and I assumed his relationship with Barf and Belch was neutral, but I had never seen him this fiercely angry.
Toothless shot toward the Whispering Death in the air, ramming the dragon with his head. The Whispering Death bent in two and slammed into a tree. It broke several limbs as the dragon fell to the ground. And landed in the middle of a shaft of sunlight.
I watched as the Whispering Death seemed to panic. It thrashed around on the ground before contorting itself and diving underground.
After a couple of seconds, Fishlegs shouted, "THAT'S IT! SUNLIGHT IS ITS WEAKNESS, HICCUP!"
Toothless landed a few yards away from the newly created hole. Crept up to it and peered in. He growled, but that was it. Like he was telling that dragon it had better not come back up.
Another low hiss started. The Whispering Death was coming back for revenge. And if it wasn't headed for Toothless, it was definitely going to kill Barf and Belch.
I yanked upward on Toothless's saddle but kept the tail fin neutral. Toothless tried to move forward, and I stalled him, causing us to drop slightly. He gave a frustrated roar, wondering why I wanted him to hover.
"All right," I mused. "Let's get that dragon back outside. Toothless, plasma blast!" I shouted.
He glanced back at me with a curious grunt. He thought there was no target for him to shoot.
Communication between dragon and rider is key, Hiccup, I sarcastically thought. I pointed to the hole in the ground the Whispering Death had just created. And winced from the pain. My back was starting to feel swollen from where that spike grazed me. I knew I wouldn't be able to move my back soon, but I figured someone's dragon was infinitely more important than my discomfort. Besides, Gobber survived being stuck with a Nadder spike. "Right there, bud," I said, pointing.
Toothless rose higher, contorted his back and shot a fireball straight downward into the hole. It created a fountain of earth where the explosion rocked it. A second later, there was another blue flash from a nearby hole, followed by another. Each explosion brought up a spray of dirt. I figured this was an easy way to destroy a forest.
A few yards in front of Barf and Belch, the ground swelled slightly. Unless there was a rock that exploded in that spot, I knew it had to be the Whispering Death. We stalled it just enough to stop its cat-and-mouse game.
I pointed at the bulge in the ground and shouted, "Plasma blast!" Without hesitation, Toothless launched a fireball, where it exploded on the small mound. The earth tore open, causing Barf and Belch to panic again and topple over. My back, the Zippleback's leg. This dragon was causing problems all over Berk. We had to stop it now.
The Whispering Death shot out of its hiding spot and squared up to the Zippleback. Totally ignorant of Toothless, Hookfang, Stormfly and Meatlug. It chose Barf and Belch because that dragon was already in trouble. Meatlug and Hookfang immediately shoved their way between the Whispering Death and the Zippleback. Before the Whispering Death could do anything, Astrid shouted, "SPINE SHOT!"
Stormfly whipped her tail around and impaled the Whispering Death with two tail spikes. It reeled in pain just as Toothless nailed it with another fireball, causing its back to buckle slightly. He rammed it from behind, and the three of us crashed to the ground.
Toothless roared triumphantly as he stood on top of his kill. He glared the Whispering Death in the eyes, and I finally saw some expression come from the dragon. It looked worried. And I could tell that by its eyes. Toothless snarled at it, and the dragon tensed, its eyelids shutting slightly.
"Toothless, no," I said gently. He roared again, telling both of us what he wanted to do. "Toothless, stop," I said assertively. I had my left hand resting gently on his head, telling him that I was still here.
He glanced back at me with a soft grunt. I grinned slightly. He was coming back to his normal self. "Just let it go," I said gently. "Let it go."
He turned back to the Whispering Death and hissed, giving a final message to this dragon. Next time, it wasn't going to be so lucky. And Toothless and I weren't going to be so merciful.
Toothless jumped off the dragon, exposing it to direct sunlight. It thrashed again, and dove underground. I waited. There was no hiss. No foreboding sense of doom. Hopefully, that dragon was gone for good.
I relaxed with a sigh of relief, but was interrupted by a seizing pain in my back. My spine telescoped, and I toppled onto the ground. Back first. I yelled something in nonsensical gibberish, feeling pain that nobody should ever be cursed with. And the gods wouldn't let me pass out either.
"Get him on his front!" Astrid shouted, running over to me. I was blinded by tears and dirt, unable to move. Astrid and Fishlegs were the first to reach me, and they rolled me over to my chest, dangerously close to one of the Whispering Death's holes. Toothless grunted in worry, wondering if I was going to be okay.
"Are you sure the spike just grazed him?" Fishlegs asked. "Even if you get stuck with a Nadder's spike, it's not this bad."
"I'm sure," she said. "I saw it."
"Hiccup, can you move? Are you okay?" Fishlegs asked. I heard everything he said, but couldn't move a muscle to tell him I wasn't all right. Even breathing was a struggle.
"This isn't good," Astrid mumbled. "Snotlout," she said, pointing at him. "Go get Stoick and Gobber. Bring them over here. Hiccup and Barf and Belch are in trouble."
"Why do I always have to miss everything? Each time something cool happens, it's just 'Snotlout, go get help.' 'Snotlout, go back to the vill…'" He stopped.
"Do it now," Astrid said. She had just picked up one of the spikes from the Whispering Death and was holding it threateningly. We might have won the day, but the Whispering Death got the last laugh. Because of me and Barf and Belch.
"Fine," Snotlout grumbled. He got on Hookfang, and they flew off, hopefully toward Berk. Whether they'd return was anyone's guess. The odds were even lower for returning with either my dad or Gobber.
"We've gotta do something for Hiccup and the twins' dragon now," Fishlegs said.
"I don't know if we can help Barf and Belch right now," Astrid told him. She took the spike she was holding and used it like a knife to cut the back of my shirt and vest. She was careful not to let it touch my skin, lest it make what was happening to me worse.
"You are absolutely sure it just 'grazed' him?" Fishlegs asked. She nodded. And cut upward to expose most of my back to the world. "Geez, I don't know if I've seen anything this bad."
Toothless grunted softly and gently nudged Astrid and Fishlegs out of the way. "Hey, what is he doing?" Fishlegs asked. "C'mon, Toothless." Toothless looked at him and growled softly. He backed away with his hands up slightly. "Okay, never mind. You can stay there as long as you want."
After a couple of seconds, I noticed Toothless was inspecting my back. I felt his breath every few seconds touch my back. It sounded like the bellows I used in the armory. His tongue gently swiped across the gash, sending a wave of pain throughout my body. I couldn't even grimace, and breathing was getting harder by the minute. I just wanted to scream, if for no other reason than to focus on something other than the pain in my back. If some miracle didn't happen soon, I knew I was going to asphyxiate. And to think, I put myself in greater danger with the Red Death and survived.
Toothless continued working on my back with his tongue as Snotlout arrived with Gobber, my dad and Thornado in tow.
"For once, you're actually useful," Astrid sarcastically pointed out. And for once, Snotlout didn't say anything snide back to her. Not when he saw Toothless trying his hardest to ease my pain. Not when Barf and Belch had what looked to be a broken leg. The reality of the situation hit him just hard enough to keep his personality at bay.
"My son? Again?" my dad asked. "Where's the Whispering Death?"
"We…uh…think it's gone," Fishlegs said. "Toothless made sure it knew he was gonna kill it if it showed its face again."
"Well, Hiccup's out cold," Gobber pointed out. "Anything else?" Astrid pointed at Barf and Belch. The twins were moping nearby, not wanting to talk to anyone. "Aaaaand a Zippleback has a broken leg. You kids really know how to scare people around here."
I felt a pair of hands slide underneath my chest, wracking me with yet another silent wave of pain. My dad's face slowly came into view, but I couldn't focus. "Please tell me he's not paralyzed," he said. He draped me over Toothless's back, and the crew started the long trek home. A Night Fury carrying a paralyzed Viking, and a Zippleback limping along with a broken leg. All in a day's work.
The constant jarring from Toothless walking kept sending jolts of pain through my back. Eventually, I lost sight and passed out with my eyes open.