Chapter Fifty Two
I wasn't sure how long I'd been out. The men who captured me knocked me out shortly after their departure. But the moment my eyes opened I struggled to free myself. They had me bound to a chair in some kind of cell below deck. I couldn't even see what was going on outside.
Which only made things worse. My heart felt like it was breaking once again. I felt tears running down my cheeks as I thought of Snowfire. She was gone. I let her die, because of my selfish stupidity. And the guilt that weighed on my shoulders was far worse than the grief that followed.
"I'm sorry…." was all I could whisper.
...
"Mom, have you seen Alex anywhere?" Worry washed over Hiccup as he reached the forge. Valka had been cleaning the wound of a Deadly Nadder when he arrived, whispering gentle words as it squawked uneasily.
"Not since this morning," she replied while concentrating on the wound. "Mentioned something about needing time to think."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his hair as anxiety took over. She shouldn't be wandering the forests alone, not with everyone disappearing the way they were. He was ready to say something else when he noticed the twins were trying to sneak their way back to the academy.
With a roll of his eyes he made his way towards them. They weren't exactly the quietest Vikings he'd seen. But it did leave them suspicious, and he had to make sure they didn't cause any trouble.
What am I thinking? he thought with a shake of his head. I'd be surprised if we went for an entire day without them causing trouble.
"What are you two doing?" he asked when he caught up with them. Barf and Belch were standing close by, growling in confusion when they stopped.
"Uh, we weren't going to blow up the statue Snotlout just brought in," Ruffnut replied.
"Yeah, what would we be doing with some dumb statue?" Tuffnut added with a shrug.
"Statue?" Hiccup repeated in confusion. "When did Snotlout buy a statue, and since when has he ever been interested in decor?" The last time they dragged a statue into the academy, it was used as target practice and blown to pieces.
"He bought it from a couple of men who were asking about us," Ruffnut explained. "They had some really cool stuff."
"Yeah, like this axe!" Tuffnut pulled out a red-stained axe, and Hiccup couldn't help but wince at the sight. "Said this axe was used in some battle. I wanna see if that's true."
Hiccup resisted the urge to keep asking them more questions. He was more concerned about the people they had mentioned. Usually anyone who traded items with Berk was Trader Johann. But they hadn't seen him in weeks.
If anyone was visiting the island than he had every right to know as chief. The last thing they needed was unwanted visitors.
"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice cut through the awkward silence that followed. The twins chose that moment to slip away as Stormfly flew down next to him. "We've got a problem," she explained after jumping out of Stormfly's saddle. "The entire forest near the beach looks like it was burned down."
"What?" Hiccup's eyes widened in disbelief. "Show me," he added before calling to Toothless.
Astrid wasted no time in flying in the direction of where the fire had been. When they reached the forest, Hiccup could see Eret and Skullcrusher hovering above. Smoke still fumed from where the fire had been. Hiccup could see it as clearly as if the fire had just occurred.
"We managed to put it out," Eret explained when they reached him. "But there's something more alarming than that."
Hiccup followed what Eret was pointing at. His eyes widened in panic when he saw the familiar tracks of a White Terror. Without warning he flew Toothless deeper into the forest, ignoring the look Astrid had given him seconds ago.
"It looks like some kind of fight happened here," he murmured as he spotted a net wrapped around a branch. Toothless gave the net a cautious sniff before growling. Stormfly flew down shortly after with Skullcrusher following.
"But why? What were they fighting about?" Astrid asked in confusion.
"Something tells me that we're about to find out," Hiccup replied after noticing an object in the ground.
He had never seen this object before. It was shaped like a rectangular box, black and had some kind of metal protecting it. The fire hadn't even damaged it. But what surprised him the most was the light it gave off when he pushed a button.
It must belong to Alex, he realized. She had mentioned something about objects that lit up like this, and could play music.
"Guys, I think whatever happened here has something to do with Alex's disappearance," he suddenly realized out loud. Whatever it was, they needed to find out what had happened, and fast. He was going to find her, and anyone else who was missing.
...
I'd lost track of how much time had passed. Being stuck in this cell was driving me crazy. The constant rocking of the boat wasn't helping either. Add that to the grief that had already taken over, and things weren't looking up.
I hadn't realized until now how lucky I was to avoid disasters like this. Being caught by madman like Alvin the Outcast and escaping with all of your limbs intact wasn't something to brag about. Getting yourself captured and being able to survive that captivity, now that was something to brag about.
"Time to wake up lass; we've landed." I blinked against the harsh light as a door creaked open. Daylight. Freedom. Once again I struggled against my restraints, but found myself stuck to the chair. The man only laughed at my futile attempt. "Don't waste your energy, you'll need it."
In that moment they pried me off the chair, tying my hands together once again before pushing me forward. I had to blink a few times in order to avoid getting blinded by the sunlight. The air here was much warmer, to the point where what I was wearing was almost too much.
"Welcome to Hazard Island! Your new home," one of the men sneered as they shoved me ahead. I resisted the urge to spit something, having realized that saying anything would be pointless. At this point my body was already too stiff to fight back.
How long had I been strapped to that chair? It hurt to walk, yet it was also a relief to be out of that cramped ship. And the further we went the more I noticed that we were headed for an underground compound. Once again I was surrounded by darkness until one of the men lit a torch.
"Watch your step; there's a gap nearby." Too late. My teeth ground together as the men laughed at my clumsiness. Pain seared through my leg as they shoved me forward once again. "Keep moving, and keep that brat alive, unless you want to be thrown in the dragon pit!"
"Dragon pit?" I repeated. The men ignored my question, and it wasn't long before we stopped in a larger chamber. I looked around warily and saw a shaft of sunlight peeking through a hole. The distant roar of a dragon followed, and I felt shivers run down my back.
"Sir, we brought the girl, as you requested," the man leading the group bowed to whoever was in front of us.
"Good, now leave." The words came out in a growl, reminding me all too much of Drago Bludvist. All of the men around me bowed in response before quickly shuffling out of the room. When we were left alone, I felt a sudden foreboding wash over me. "You don't even remember me," the speaker sneered as he stepped into the sunlight.
For the first time I got a good view of him. And he did seem familiar. But the graying beard and hair was what threw me off. The edges of his beard were tied up, and in his hand was a sword as that he kept staring at.
"Should I?" I asked.
The man only smirked and raised his sword a little. "Of course an insignificant child like you would forget me," he growled. "I was expecting as much." Faster than I could react, the man drew his sword and cut the sleeve off of my right shoulder.
Pain burned from the cut he'd given me, and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from crying out. Soon the other sleeve was cut off, leaving another wound in the process. But that wasn't all his sword had done. It revealed where the scar my father had left on my shoulder.
"Just leave me alone," I couldn't help but whisper. The man smirked a bit more at my response.
"You said those same words that night I left those scars."
This time I felt horror rush through me. I always had a feeling that he might be here, in this world. But I would push that thought away the moment it came. I was too afraid to admit that one day I might have to face him again. And now here he was, standing in front of me.
"H-How…." My voice trailed off as he laughed at my reaction.
"Did you really think I would leave you?" he demanded, his voice getting cold as ice again. "When I 'disappeared' from our world, I simply woke up here. We share more in common than you realize, daughter."
I had to hide the shame that crawled through me, and the fear. "We have nothing in common!" I nearly spat the words.
"I understand you don't want to admit that we do," he simply replied. "But like it or not, we have the same abilities. I can communicate with the dragons, and take them away from you. I know all too well what you are capable of, child."
I fought back a fresh wave of tears that were threatening to overwhelm me. "No, you can't…." I whispered.
"You didn't really think you are the only one with this ability, did you?" He laughed once again as I flinched. "There are others who will challenge you. And I, my child, have. This world will fall apart when I take over. Nothing will stand in my way, especially you."
"You won't get away with it!" I shouted. My voice was starting to crack as I glared.
"I think I already have," he replied before grabbing by my hair. Again I held back a cry of pain as he picked me up with no problem. He definitely wasn't this strong in our world. "It's time you met some old friends."
I didn't have a chance to respond as he dragged me through a hallway. The pain from him pulling my hair was giving me a headache. And of course I couldn't fight back even if I wanted to. What was the point? Even if I did manage to escape there was no way off this island.
Suddenly my father stopped in front of a large wooden door. As he opened it I couldn't help but gasp. Two familiar people were chained to the wall, heads hanging down in defeat.
"I believe you two are already acquainted," he sneered and threw me in.
"Alex!" Gobber suddenly cried as he struggled against his restraints. It was difficult to make them out, mostly because only one arm and leg were chained to the wall. I had to wince at the sight. He was covered in bruises and wounds.
"What did you do?" I demanded through gritted teeth.
"Just a little precaution, to ensure our prisoners don't escape," my father replied. With that being said, he slammed the door shut behind him and kicked me in the stomach. This time I couldn't hold back the cry that followed. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment." Pain surged within me when he dragged me towards the wall and chained my hands to it. "Good luck getting yourself out of this one, child."
AN: So these chapters are getting fun to write. Mostly because I finally have an idea as to where I'll be going with them. Also, next couple of chapters may have mentions of torture and various other adult themes. I will warn you of when this occurs, so you can look away if needed :P Also, bonus points to people who've already guessed who's with them ;)
Sil - She would, if she were alive... bwahahaha! In all seriousness though, hopefully she survives this ordeal.
69759 - I know the feeling. Oddly enough Captain America: The Winter Soldier inspired me to write these next few chapters. Scarlet Johannson (excuse the misspelling) is one of my favorite actresses, mostly because of how bad-a** she is. She actually performs all of her stunts! And she was pregnant during the filming of the Captain America movie. She's like the perfect roll for Natasha Romanoff :)
Roxygirl - Yep, it's all for the drama. Go ahead and cry, I actually did while typing this...
Nightfire260 - Thanks! And as I said to 69759, it was the Captain America movie. For some reason it just really inspired me to write something like this XD
