CHAPTER 12: Dangerously close
Hiccup, Valka and the two kids were anxiously sailing their way on the seaweed-scented waters on a medium sized boat, a boat that had a bunch of wooden chairs for Zephyr and Nuffink to sit on, whilst a sweating, panicking and apprehensive Hiccup looked out, alongside Valka.
What prevented Hiccup's aching jelly legs and stinging, sweaty forehead from feeling the next level up was the possibility that Astrid was simply talking with the vikings on Old Berk, whoever they were. Hiccup's thinking was that the vikings on the old island were in very tiny portions and groups, and that they weren't anything other than that.
And it'll also comfort him in seeing the old island when they get there, because he knows at that point he'll be within the same area of Astrid.
From that guy near the lever of the contraption, to just the general implications being sent Hiccup's way, he was pretty much banking on the reality that at this point, Astrid was on Berk, so he was able to make all these guesses and predictions as to what's happened with Astrid going missing.
He just couldn't see these new people living on the old island as anything other than small groups who've took advantage of the fact that the island was abandoned.
Hiccup wasn't even considering the possibility that the old island simply wasn't 'Berk' anymore, as it once was, and that it's been used as the foundation of a viking regime for the past decade, shortly after Grimmel's death. He was clinging onto the view that those people on the old island were simply small, tiny groups.
Hiccup did of course have doubts about his current views; if Old Berk was truly being lived on by small groups who could only set up camp in one area of it and stay in that area of the island and no other due to their small numbers, why has Astrid been out for as long as she has? something wasn't adding up.
"I just don't understand, mum. Do you think it's true?" Hiccup worryingly asked.
"That there's vikings on Berk?" Valka, comforting Zephyr and Nuffink, said.
"Yeah."
"Well, I don't really wanna say anything at the moment that'll worsen the situation for yourself, son. But if he back there said he saw people living on it...who knows, maybe they've left it at this point, because it's been a few years since he sailed to it, so we don't know what it's like now?"
"I wish I could believe that, mum. But something's clearly keeping Astrid held up out here. I just want to see her boat appear in front of us so we can all get out of here."
"I genuinely could see the benefits of living on an abandoned island though, Hiccup. If it's anything, it's probably just a small group of vikings, nothing more than that."
"Well...I hope that's the case. We're gonna sail in this general direction and then this should lead us to the old island. But he said that it looked dangerous to him, the guy up at the lever that is, when he sailed there a few years ago...I'm so scared, mum."
"Wouldn't we all benefit from our dragons being here?" Valka said.
"Without a doubt. This is making me miss Toothless even more...I just want them all back here so we can resolve this quicker, and...I just generally really miss my best bud...the kids miss him as well." Hiccup said, feeling heavy in his heart about missing Toothless and the dragons, especially in light of Astrid's current disappearance.
"Oh son, I miss Cloudjumper as well. That dragon safeguarded me for 20 years and thought I was worthy enough to be with them in the Bewilderbeast's lair...just...the memories, everything."
Hiccup and Valka have been contemplating Old Berk being populated by tiny groups. How wrong they are. The whole island has a population, led under an isolated, cult of personality viking regime, whereby the policy is that any 'foreigners' captured have a zero chance of being released. Mentra itself is going to present a shock not just to Hiccup and Valka, but everyone, ranging from Snotlout, Fishlegs, etc, at what their old island has become, when they eventually sail here for themselves.
The first thing that'll be noticeable to Hiccup and Valka is the dark wooden barbed wire border that's easily seen from a distance, so they ought to ready themselves for a different-looking appearance from the island they used to call home.
And at the moment, Valka and Hiccup are talking about their dragons being here, and how they miss them; sure, the dragons would significantly help with the threat of the Mentranian viking regime, in that they'd easily overcome it to save Astrid from the regime's grip, but the dragons will never be back here again, nor will Toothless, so that threat is in a firm position, despite Hiccup & co not knowing about the regime yet.
Mentra had sent out about ten patrol boats to track down Blavery. The regime was quick to respond to the defection in this manner. And the lives of the Mentranians tasked with recapturing Blavery were at stake. If they come back empty handed, and the Mentranian overseers party is informed of their failure, every single Mentranian, including the dozen or so who initially tried to shoot down and chase down Blavery near the borders, will face a trip to the isolation camps.
You could see the iconic cliff of the island in its wide view from these boats. They were all evenly spread around the area of ocean the regime's assumed Blavery to be at, taking into consideration where they last seen him when he was on land near the borders. Every single boat was equipped with one Mentranian holding a venom vial for their crossbows.
Two Mentranians on every boat were stood on an elevated platform at the front of the boats, keeping a firm eye out for a swimming body in the waters. One of the boats, rocking slowly on the waters as the weather kept calm and steady, had a tense vibe on it because of what was at stake with trying to capture the defector in Blavery.
"Keep quiet, men, we need to hear for some sort of cry or yell. He won't be swimming in these waters for very long, chances are he'll be on the verge of drowning, screaming for his life." the top Mentranian said, sounding firm.
His viking colleagues nodded. They adjusted the sails and slowly turned left and right in their direction on the boat. Finding the defected Mentranian was a priority set for them by the overseers party, and they're fully aware of the dire, merciless consequences should they fail to turn up with him.
Hiccup, Valka, with Zephyr and Nuffink, had finally sailed to a point that they were within distance viewing of Old Berk. There it was; their old home of seven generations. Hiccup literally had no time to embrace the view of the island due to his anxiety of finding Astrid.
"Wow...is that it, dad?" Zephyr asked, as Nuffink leaned onto the side alongside his sister, looking at the island.
"It is, Zephyr. We all used to live here, way before you were born...the both of you." Valka said.
"Woah..."
"Yeah, and your mum's going to be on here it seems. We'll have to get to it quickly to make sure she's okay." Hiccup said, feeling his heart beat slightly faster at seeing the old island again.
He was taken through a passage of nostalgia at the sight of Old Berk, very very briefly, before being returned to reality. He rushed over to the sails and ensured they were blowing in the right directions for him and his family to be heading towards the island.
"What's that?" Hiccup asked, after returning to the front of the boat to glare at Old Berk, besides Zephyr and Nuffink.
"What, Hiccup?" Valka asked, walking to the front of the boat subsequently.
"Wait a minute, what's going on over there? it-" Hiccup had no words.
About ten or so boats were sailing within close vicinity of each other from what Hiccup saw from here. Not only that, but he could see some sort of dark, tall covering that was stretching out all the way around Berk's shores, like some sort of border. A wooden boardwalk that extended out into the waters he could also sight with his eyes. Once it dawned on him that Berk had additions and looked very different to its old look, he had a brief heart attack; it's true.
"It's like it's been completely re-invented, mum...what the heck is going on here, and why are those guys over there sailing like they're in some sort of formation?" Hiccup asked, crunching his eyes as he leaned out slowly towards the drastically different looking island.
"Son, I...I don't know." Valka was also taken aback.
Hiccup's assumption that Old Berk simply had small camps of people on it, judging from what he heard from the contraption lever viking back at New Berk, was dead. Old Berk didn't look the same...various things have been built on it, and it genuinely looked different. And whilst the iconic cliff was in intact, from here, he couldn't even see the stone stairway leading up to The Great Hall. That was such a memorable and iconic aspect of Berk back in the day that Hiccup was able to quickly track down its general position from this far out, and unfortunately come to the conclusion that it's no longer there.
It's like it's been demolished. But by who? and why?
"Who's done this, and what've they done to Berk?" Hiccup asked.
"I don't think we should sail towards it, Hiccup...it looks like it's been taken over entirely...I...the forest from here doesn't even look like it's there." Valka said, as she was able to recall seeing some aspects of Berk's forest from the front back in the day.
She was absolutely right; the forest was burnt down entirely by the Mentranians when the regime was in its early times, to make room for more living space and a bigger village generally.
"Astrid is on there, and it's still our island, no matter who might be in charge nowadays. We need to head there, now." Hiccup said.
Something was telling Hiccup that the folks who've took charge of Berk in some form, have captured Astrid, and that wasn't making him feel any better. He was very apprehensive. The last thing he expected was to revisit Berk ten years later, only to find that it's been taken over and totally transformed by another bunch of vikings. It was and still is the home of the Hooligans, despite New Berk being their foundation nowadays, and Hiccup wasn't going to let it be overtook by a bunch of random people.
"They may have good building skills or whatever mum, but I'm not going to move away here. I'm gonna head to Berk, get to the bottom of all this, and find Astrid." Hiccup declared.
"Dad, is this what it looked like?"
"No, Zephyr, something's happened in between the time we left it a decade ago, to now, when we're coming back to it...I dunno what that thing was, but we're going to get to the bottom of it. Nobody comes to my father's generational island and turns it into..something else entirely...look, the Great Hall's stairs aren't even there, and the door isn't...what's gone on here, honestly?" a shocked Hiccup asked himself.
The closer they got to the island, the more the differences showed. And those ten boats didn't look friendly in the slightest. The most notable difference Hiccup saw, prompting anger and anxiety in him, was that the whole island was rendered free of its colourful huts that it had prior to Grimmel forcing them to evacuate; every single bit they could see, from the huts and houses, to that big wooden border looking thing, was brown. The boardwalk completely killed off the island's nostalgic feeling, despite being a small addition, and again, none of them could make out the greenness of the forest, or even any trees at all.
"LET ME ON, LET ME ON!" somebody yelled, prompting Zephyr and Nuffink to jump backwards in fright.
"WHO'S THAT?!" Hiccup yelled.
Valka remained stood back with the two kids, as Hiccup yelled back to that random voice; it sounded like it was coming from the waters directly in front of the boat.
"PLEASE, JUST LET ME ON, YOU AREN'T A PATROL BOAT!"
Hiccup leaned over the front, and saw a soaked up, middle aged viking in damaged gear hopelessly staying afloat in the deep sea. He was breathing heavily, as he swayed his arms and legs rapidly in the water to keep himself afloat. His eyes looked like he had witnessed something akin to a murder, he was that stressed and traumatised with escaping Mentra.
Hiccup reached his palm for the viking in the water.
"A PATROL BOAT?! WHAT?" he yelled, as Blavery grabbed the palm of Hiccup, with Hiccup slowly lifting him out of the water.
"JUST GET ME AWAY FROM HERE, PLEASE..." Blavery begged, and as Hiccup lifted him into the boat, his arrow-shot legs were unveiled to Valka, Hiccup himself and the kids.
"W-What's happened to you?" a shocked Hiccup said.
The boat was practically like a bowl of water from Blavery's soaked gear sucking a chunk of it in; Blavery himself was breathing like he was in the final portions of air before death, he felt weak, he was trembling with stinging pain, and his legs were shivering due to the saltwater stinging the wounds made by the arrows inflicted into him.
Valka covered Zephyr and Nuffink's eyes as Hiccup leaned down to the wounded, weak viking who's just been swimming, seemingly to escape something.
"Where did this all come from...?" Hiccup asked him.
"NO TIME...OH NO, THEY'RE COMING TOWARDS US...PLEASE JUST TURN AROUND..." Blavery said, finding the strength in himself to stand up and point towards the Mentranian boats sailing towards them.
The Mentranian boats have clearly spotted Hiccup's boat, and they were coming for him.
"WHO'S COMING TOWARDS US?! HAVE YOU SEEN ASTRID?!" Hiccup yelled, panicking in the heat of the moment.
"SEIZE YOURSELVES!" a violent sounding, thick voice echoed from one of the approaching boats in the distance.
"WHO ARE YOU-" Hiccup yelled back at the boats, but he was cut off.
"NO NO, JUST DON'T TALK TO THEM...THEY KNOW I'M HERE, PLEASE, SAVE YOURSELVES...TURN AWAY FROM HERE, THEY'LL GET US ALL..." Blavery begged, holding onto Hiccup by his chest.
Blavery could cry at this point. He wanted these random vikings he's just met to save themselves by turning away. The Mentranians were fast approaching, and Hiccup and Valka, alongside the children, could very well end up in the same situation as Astrid. Hiccup was stuck in a crossroads. This random viking was begging him to turn back from the island, and from the boats that were now approaching, but equally, he wanted to find Astrid.
"DO YOU KNOW WHERE ASTRID IS, IF YOU'VE BEEN ON THERE?!" Hiccup asked, trying to minimise his panic yells.
"SHE'S STILL ALIVE, BUT THEY- OH PLEASE, JUST GET US OUT OF HERE...PLEASE..." Blavery begged again.
Blavery suddenly lost his ability to stand up; his mind blanked out, not just from the pain and the trauma of escaping Mentra's regime, but also the stress that was being put onto him of the prospect of Mentra capturing him, and the vikings he's just met. He collapsed harshly, backfirst onto the soaking wet wooden floor of the boat.
"DO NOT MOVE! YOU SHALL BE SEIZED WITH OUR HELP!" another violent sounding, yelling voice echoed from the closing in boats.
"Son, son, just turn away...they sound dangerous, the kids don't like it..." Valka pleaded to Hiccup.
"Mum, we need to find Ast-"
"He said she's still alive, Hiccup. Please son, just do it this once, she's still fine and alive, but for now, we need to escape those boats, the people on it sound awfully dangerous and violent..."
Hiccup thought of the two kids, and giving in to the pleads, he adjusted the sails of his boat to slowly turn back around and get the hell out of the vicinity of Berk. The Mentranians were slowly starting to catch up to Hiccup's boat. But finally, Hiccup's boat was starting to move in its new direction, as Zephyr and Nuffink covered their ears at the stressful commotion.
The Mentranians were only about seven minutes behind their boat, but Hiccup was already picking up speed.
What's just happened? a random viking's just swam up and onto the boat, looking like he's just escaped some sort of dangerous, closed off hell, those boats just now had yelling vikings on them, sounding violent and dangerous, calling out to Hiccup & co like they were trespassing on Berk even though, in Hiccup's mind, it's still the home of seven generations to his father and the Hooligans generally, and Berk just...didn't look the same.
Worst of all, he's just had to avert danger in a manner now where he won't be getting to save Astrid, but did he really have a choice? Blavery was begging him, the Mentranians were catching up to him, and everything just sounded far too dangerous to stay around near Berk, even though, for Hiccup and everyone on the new island, it's still THEIR old home.