A, B, C, D, E, F, G, these chapters are so cliffy. One's suspense, one's action, one's better just by a fraction. Now I'm running for my life, because my reviewers are coming after me with a knife. :) Shout-outs next chapter. :) Enjoy!

Wait a minute. Astrid wasn't supposed to be here! What was she doing!?

More roars followed, along with the sounds of dragons blasting fire everywhere. I closed my eyes once more, moaning against the pain that engulfed my being. I heard footsteps, and then someone was gripping my shoulder, trying to turn me over.

"Hiccup?" they said. Yep, definitely Astrid. Once she finally managed to roll me over on my back, she gasped. "Oh...oh my goodness…" she started, and then stopped, probably not being able to find the words to say. "SNOTLOUT! GET OVER HERE, NOW!" Astrid screamed. I heard frantic footsteps over the sounds of the battle raging around us, and then heard Snotlout gasp once he finally reached us.

"I'll kill Alvin for this," I heard my cousin say. "I'll kill Alvin!"

"Now's not the time, Snotlout!" said Astrid. "Help me get him on Stormfly."

I felt my cousin heft me into his arms, and I sucked in a sharp intake of breath to keep myself from screaming. No need to worry them even more than they already were.

"Toothless, Spiritflash, Hookfang, come on!" I heard Astrid shout. "The others will finish them off!"

Others? What others? What was going on?

"Hand him to me," said Astrid. "I have the supplies."

Supplies? What supplies were she talking about? Probably medical supplies, I figured.

I felt Snotlout's arms shift beneath me as he handed me over to Astrid. She took me gently, wrapping her arms around me to keep me on Stormfly's (or, I presumed it was Stormfly's, since she was Astrid's dragon) back.

"Where are we going?" said Snotlout.

"Away from here," said Astrid. "Come on, let's go."

The sounds of flapping wings and frantic roars met my ears. Then, a few seconds later, wind was blowing against my face, the sounds of the battle dying down until it was no longer in hearing range. We were flying.

"Hang on, Hiccup, hang on," Astrid whispered to me. She lifted my shirt slightly and pressed something to my wound. I gulped down a scream, although I did grab Astrid's arm in a death grip as if she were my lifeline.

"Oh my goodness, he's conscious," said Astrid, shock and worry lacing her voice, making it thick.

"He's conscious!?" shouted Snotlout. "Y-you mean...you mean he's feeling all of...THIS!?"

You just gestured to all of me, part of me wanted to say, had I been able to find my voice.

"We have to land," said Astrid. "Somewhere...we can't leave Toothless, and he can't fly. His prosthetic is damaged. And we need to get somewhere safe before Hiccup…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence before Snotlout and I knew what she was talking about.

I forced my eyes open, squinting at the sudden sunlight, and then looking up at Astrid. There were tear stains on her cheeks, along with more welling up in her eyes.

"Astrid?" I whimpered.

She looked down at me, concern and relief flashing in her eyes both at the same time. "You're okay," she told me. "You'll be okay, Hiccup, I promise."

As soon as she said that, I knew something was terribly wrong. Well, of course, I had already known something was wrong, but this only made me feel worse.

"Toothless…" I whispered.

"Toothless is fine," said Astrid. "He's following us from the ground."

I felt myself relax. At least Toothless was okay, even if I wasn't. I looked to the side and saw Spiritflash flying alongside Hookfang and Snotlout, looking to me in confusion and worry.

My eyelids flickered, and I felt myself growing dizzy and drowsy. My right arm was throbbing, my head pounding, my abdomen burning. I heard Astrid gasp, and she placed her free hand against my cheek, her other hand still holding a cloth to my wound. She gently turned my head so I could look at her, our eyes meeting, emerald green to sapphire blue.

"No, no, you have to stay awake, Hiccup," she said. "If you fall asleep, you might never wake up again."

Thanks for the encouraging words, Astrid.

"Nuh…" I mumbled. "Can't…"

"I know," said Astrid. "I know, but you have to stay awake. Please stay awake, Hiccup...Hiccup...look at me."

I looked up at her, still squinting, but now because my eyelids felt too heavy to keep open all the way.

"We'll land, and everything will be okay," said Astrid. "I promise. But you have to stay awake until then. Okay?" She pulled her hand away from my face and gripped my left hand in her own. "I need to try and stop the bleeding," she said. "You can squeeze my hand when it hurts."

I nodded subconsciously, trying to focus on Astrid instead of the pain in my body. She pressed the cloth harder to my wound, and I gripped her hand so hard I was afraid I was going to break her fingers. My breaths were erratic, my body shuddering whenever I took one too deep, because it hurt. Breathing too deeply hurt.

"Breathe, Hiccup," said Astrid. "Don't forget to breathe."

I nodded and rested my head against her chest, trying desperately to focus on something other than the pain. I listened to Astrid's heartbeat, trying to match my breathing to the steady thumping of her heart. She pressed against my wound once more, and I whimpered softly, squeezing her hand again. This time, she squeezed back, probably either reassuring me that she was there for me, or trying to reassure herself that I would be okay.

Probably.

"Try to relax, Hiccup, but stay awake," said Astrid. "Whatever you do, stay awake." I did as she told me, trying to steady my breathing while at the same time, trying to keep my attention off my pain.

Astrid had never really been the caring type, but I knew she cared about me. The worry I saw in her face as I looked up at her once more was something I had only seen a few times; whenever I was in danger. She was worried, and she cared, no matter how stoic she acted about it.

She was there for me, and I was happy for it. Because if I had been alone, I wouldn't have been able to do it.