Henschel

by kwizjunior

Jacob loved to explore the woods alone with his metal detector. One day, a faint scream led to a bone-chilling discovery. Fortunately, he had a semi-automatic shotgun and a high-capacity magazine.

Summary: Jacob loved to explore the woods alone with his metal detector. One day, a faint scream led to a bone-chilling discovery. Fortunately, he had a semi-automatic shotgun and a high-capacity magazine.

WARNINGS: (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)

Rated M for horror, vulgar language, violence, and extreme gore. This story is NOT for people under the age of 16.

I normally avoid swearing in my writing at all costs, but this one will be rather vulgar. Our first-person narrator is a vulgar, sadistic teenager that loves guns and gore, which is basically not me in every way. It is a bit of an experiment to see how well I can stay in character. I apologize if this turns you off.

I know nothing about firearms, and my gore could never have been as "creative" as it is here if I did not have an… inspired friend (u/SilencedD1 on Reddit, AKA Sinful) helping me write certain parts. If gore is your thing, I hope you enjoy it, you demented, sick human being. :)

The only way this relates to HTTYD is that it features a special OC night fury that is not my own (used with permission, again from Sinful). The rest of this is original fiction.

There will be a little bit of magic in this that will not make sense or be explained in this work, but it does have rules, and there is a reason the magic happens; it is just not obvious. Hopefully, if I finish my other WIP, it will make more sense.

That being said, if you are still here, I hope you enjoy the story! :)

o.O.o

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…

My feet dragged through the carpet of leaves as the afternoon sun peeked through the canopy above me, decorating the trees with random patterns of light.

"Come on, come on," I whispered. It had been too long since I'd found anything.

Ever since I stumbled across that old pocket watch—that still worked, mind you—I had a constant drive to explore the woods with my metal detector whenever I could.

My search was turning out to be a complete bust. Usually I would find something, but on that day, it was almost as if someone had come through and cleaned out all the metal in the forest.

In the past, I'd also found hundreds of old, rusty nails, a shotgun slug from who-knows-when, and a horseshoe, and yesterday, I had even found a random old key.

I reached into my pocket and felt the key. Years of dirt had permanently caked into the crevices, but I was sure it would still work.

That was, of course, if I could ever find out what it was for.

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep...

"Dammit! Where is all the metal?" I groaned, throwing the metal detector on the ground. I sighed heavily and sat against a tree, burying my head in my arms.

"Ugh, I just… I wanna shoot something right now! Where the hell did it all go?"

It was not even close to dark, but I was already exhausted. My day had been a whole lot of nothing.

No metal.

No discoveries.

No excitement.

Nothing.

That left me sitting against the tree with one option: to sit right there and wait for something interesting to happen.

And so, I waited.

Well, isn't this fun? I thought sarcastically as I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out a bag of trail mix. I figured I might as well eat something to pass the time.

My thoughts were cut off by a faint, moderately high-pitched screech that echoed through the woods and made my blood run cold.

Was that… a scream? I thought.

I banished the idea immediately, attributing it to some dumb forest animal or perhaps my imagination. I held my breath and waited, not daring to move a muscle.

Screech!

And there it was again! That time, I recognized the sound clearly.

It was definitely a scream, and it belonged to none other than a night fury.

I scrambled to my feet and ducked my head under the shoulder strap of my shotgun. Arming myself felt like the right thing to do, especially since a night fury was the one screaming.

Screech!

I spun around and faced the sound to see an opening in the side of the mountain.

A new opening.

"What the hell is that?" I asked no one. I knew those woods and that mountain like the back of my hand, and there were absolutely no caves at ground level.

I squinted. The entrance to the tunnel certainly didn't look natural. It was almost perfectly rectangular, and it might have been double my height. The inside of the tunnel was filled with artificial lighting.

I took that as an invitation to load my drum mag for my Saiga 12. The thought occurred to me that most people would have stopped right there, turned around, and gone the other way.

My curiosity refused to allow that.

I pulled the bolt back on my gun as I cautiously approached the cave.

It was when I was about twenty feet from the entrance that I realized why I had never seen that cave before. Two large, natural-looking rocks had swung inward revealing a deep yet brightly lit corridor.

I had found a door!

I sprinted to the base of the cliff by the door and paused to catch my breath, making sure to keep aim at the entrance. I wasn't gonna get caught with my pants down. That was when I first heard human voices in addition to the night fury's screaming.

.

"... cut… again…"

.

I leaned my ear closer to the entrance.

.

"... don't let him…"

.

A deafening screech caused me to gasp and recoil in fear.

.

"Again!"

.

Screech!

.

"Alright, he's almost spent. Go for the wings this time."

.

SCREECH! SCREECH! SCREECH!

.

In an attempt to figure out what the hell was going on, I let myself in.

The long, empty tunnel was illuminated with several incandescent fixtures. The sounds carried exceptionally well through it.

A loud clang caused me to flinch and my heart to jump.

What are they doing to that dragon?

.

By the time I got to the end of the tunnel, there was almost complete silence. I ducked behind a rock and peered into the room that the sounds had been coming from.

I could not believe my eyes.

There, in the chamber, was a cage.

And in that cage was the night fury.

It was muzzled, chained, and absolutely covered in blood. I could hear the chains clicking rapidly as the dragon trembled.

A chill ran down my spine as my head filled with questions. Who are these monsters? How could they be so cruel?

A booming voice filled the room. "Nice job, men! I think that's a new record!"

"I mean, of course it's a new record, boss! Every time we've come close, he would black out—

"Shut up, you nincompoop! Who left the door open?"

Two more men crept out of the room and faced the open door of the cave. I silently shuffled further behind the rock.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it, boss! We're in the middle of nowhere!"

I looked at the night fury with empathy. He looked back toward me with incomprehensible pain.

A strange link formed between us, and words echoed in my mind.

'Please kill me…'

The dragon closed his eyes and rolled onto his side, deliberately exposing his heart.

He opened his eyes again and looked at me.

'Please don't just leave me here… please, just end my suffering…'

He was suffering.

I made up my mind. Whatever these men were doing, they deserved to die.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my earplugs.

Then, I drew in a deep breath and silently picked up my gun. My finger rested on the trigger as I waited until three men were right next to each other.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In perfect harmony, three explosions decorated the walls with bodily fluids. The first slug split the first man's jaw in half and severed his spinal cord, leaving a gaping void where his mouth used to be. The second slug nailed the second man in the neck, causing blood to shower and squirt everywhere—onto the walls, the other men, and even the inside of his own windpipe. The third slug turned the third man's head into a grey and white "brain matter firework" of sorts, leaving the entire back of his head painted on the wall behind him.

"What the—?" "Oh, shit!"

There were only two men left. I shot each of them in the stomach.

BANG! BANG!

Their midsections burst like Christmas in colorful red and green explosions that splashed onto the floor. As they screamed and writhed on the ground, I walked over to them.

"What the fuck were you doing to that dragon?"

"Go… to… hell!" one of them grunted.

"Oh?" I sneered. I shot all four of his limbs at the sockets, leaving him completely immobile.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

As he wailed in agony, I stepped on the wound on his stomach, drawing out more screams from him as blood and bile soaked my shoe. "You think I'm the one who belongs in hell? Hm?! What good did you think torturing an innocent dragon would do?"

Still stepping on him, I looked over at the man who lay next to him to see his eyes full of terror.

I knew exactly what to do with him.

Filled with rage, I shoved the hot barrel into his open wound. He screamed as his blood sizzled and sputtered against the barrel, filling the room with the rather unpleasant aroma of singed flesh.

A few seconds later, I pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Another spurt of blood and digestive juices sprayed in every direction, thoroughly soaking my legs. He died a few seconds later. As his blood dripped from my nose, my eyes returned to the limbless man who lay beneath me.

I twisted my shoe back and forth into his wound before backing away.

"Give me one reason to end your suffering now."

Tears streamed from his eyes as he whimpered in complete gibberish.

"D… d-d… m… s… a…"

I stepped back onto the wound, revitalizing his screaming, and leaned my ear down to him. His agony fueled me like an adrenaline shot.

His undying screeching was cut off as he spluttered and choked on the blood that started to pour from his mouth.

The two minutes that followed were downright terrifying.

While I was pressing my shoe firmly into his wound, he was on the ground, squirming, crying, choking, gasping, and begging for mercy until he drowned to death in his own blood.

Damn.

As good as that felt, there was still a hint of remorse. Maybe it was for the dragon; those degenerates sure didn't deserve it.

Oh well.

I looked around myself and counted five bodies. I lay my shotgun on the ground.

My eyes crossed the bloody dragon in the cage, and my heart broke all over again.

He looked so miserable.

His bloody, shackled paws were pressed on his ears as he lay in the cage, trembling.

I frantically fumbled through every dead man's pocket until I found a blood-soaked key ring. "Okay, okay, stay with me, dragon. I'm gonna get you out of there…"

The first key didn't work. I tried the next one. And the next one.

And the next one.

Finally, after going through the entire key ring, the last one opened the cage.

"That figures…"

I pulled the door open and laid my hand on the dragon. He flinched and started whimpering.

"Easy, buddy. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."

His skin bulged out on both sides of all four shackles. A chain secured with a padlock wrapped around his neck so tightly it was nearly choking him.

I started with the padlock, trying one key at a time.

The first key did not work.

Nor did the second.

Nor the third.

"DAMMIT, what is it with my luck today?"

I tried every key on the ring at least three times, turning more and more aggressively with each attempt.

Nothing.

None of the keys worked. My arms dropped to my side, and my eyes burned.

"I'm sorry," I cried, "if I can't find the key, I… I don't know how to get you out of here…"

I walked out of the cage and felt through every pocket of every corpse again.

No more keys.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" I screamed as I slammed my fists onto one man's chest, causing several ribs to crack.

Well, that felt good, at least.

I clenched my teeth and beat the hell out of his body, splashing his blood all over my hands and face. I heard bones cracking and clicking with each blow.

"... FUCK YOU…" squelch "... YOU GODDAMN…" crack "... DEGENERATES!"

I backed away from the body to catch my breath and wiped the blood from my face with my sleeve.

Those disgusting wretches. How am I going to find the key to the shackles? They probably got rid of it.

Defeated, I slumped my shoulders and faced the dragon with pity. "I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry. I can't pick locks. Those chains are way too thick to shoot out, and I don't know how else to…" I trailed off.

'It is not your fault, Jacob. I… deserve this.'

"Don't you say that! No dragon could ever deserve this treatment!"

He sighed shakily. 'I should never have let them catch me. I have always thought that I would die down here. At least I know that justice was served.'

He paused to look at his paws before looking back at me. 'They got rid of the key to my shackles ages ago.' The dragon's head rested on the ground, and he let out a miserable croon.

"Well… what do you want me to do?"

I was not prepared for his response.

'When they first put the shackles on me, they were so loose that I could almost slip out of them. They have dug so deep that they have been scraping against my bones for years now. Every time I move, searing pain shoots through my entire body.'

His eyes were filled with the pain that he was feeling. 'You have two bullets left. If you wish to end my suffering, I ask—no, I beg—that you make them count. Please, just end my suffering! Please! For once, could a human being just have mercy on me?'

At that, he squeezed tears from his eyes and once again broke our link. He started moaning, presumably from pain.

My heart shattered. He would lay there, bloody and miserable, never again to see the light of day, until I pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger. Tears streaked down my face, and my breath shook. I promised myself that I would never kill a dragon. I could never kill a dragon.

But he needed me to do it! He begged me to do it!

The answer was obvious, but I refused to believe it.

.

I had to kill him.

.

I looked at my shotgun on the ground. I had come to deeply respect the power of that weapon.

It needed to be done.

Still on my knees, I leaned over and picked up the gun. It was so much heavier than I remembered. I gripped it and tried in vain to prepare myself mentally as hot tears soaked my cheeks.

"Is there anything you would like to… say? Like… any last words? I… I could make a gravestone for you if you would like…"

'I do not want a gravestone, but I think you may want to know… the closest human name to mine is "Henschel."'

"Henschel…" I tried to smile, blinking away more tears. I looked into his eyes. "Alright, Henschel, know this: I will never forget you. I will seal this… this prison… and plant a garden in your honor at the entrance. I will maintain it for the rest of my life."

'Thank you, Jacob. May all the days of your life be filled with joy for the good you have done on this day. If there is an afterlife, I… hope to see you there… someday…'

He closed his eyes. Those were his final words. I liked them, and they gave me a sliver of hope.

Forgetting that I was already wearing my earplugs, I instinctively dragged my hand into my pocket to pull them out.

My hand brushed something metallic. I froze.

That was when I remembered.

.

The key.

.

Just when I had lost all hope, I pulled it out and examined it. It looked like the right size.

"Wait! You said they got rid of the key! I found this key yesterday!"

His eyes shot open.

I stood up and sprinted back to the cage, nearly slipping in the puddles of blood that stretched across the floor.

The key went straight into the padlock, and the cylinder turned instantly.

After the padlock opened, the dragon moaned and popped his jaw as I pulled the chains away. There was a faint line on his neck where the chain once was.

I took the same key to the first shackle. Sure enough, even upon close inspection, all four of them squeezed his legs so tightly that they looked like they were deeply embedded into his skin.

The key went in, but turning it was rather difficult, especially because the dragon was whimpering and struggling a little bit.

Click.

He squealed.

"Oh God, oh God, oh my God…" I grimaced.

As the metal restraint screeched open, he just kept screaming from the pain. The metal had sharp corners that were buried more than an inch under his skin. A pitch-black band had formed where the metal had dug into him, and his bones were faintly visible before a slowly seeping layer of blood concealed them. Shriveled, bloody scales peeled off him from underneath the cuff. Some stuck to the metal, while some fell to the floor.

I winced the whole time. It was hard to watch.

But it had to be done.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I nearly sobbed.

The dragon remained on his side and struggled to hold still.

"I'm sorry they did this to you. Just… hang in there. We've got three left."

He groaned.

I put the key in the second shackle, and sure enough, there was the whimpering again. The lock offered more resistance.

Click.

He screamed, and it was definitely louder than the first one. His restraints were far, far, far too tight.

"Sheesh, what were they doing to you?"

The third progressed in much the same way, but by far, the fourth one was the worst. The key was much harder to turn, and it didn't help that the dragon was crying and writhing uncontrollably through it all.

Snap.

.

The key broke in the lock!

.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!"

I stared at the broken key as waves of guilt came crashing down on me. My breath shook. I thought that was the end! I thought I would have to kill him all over again!

The dragon squirmed and cried in pain, causing the shackle to open a bit.

That was when I realized that, by some miracle, the jaws of the shackle had opened.

"Woah," I breathed, "damn, that was close…"

I braced myself for the most horrible sound I had ever heard as I opened the last shackle.

I did not brace hard enough.

SCREECH!

"Sorry, sorry, oh my God, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry!"

His skin provided so much resistance that I had to physically rip the shackle open. His breathing grew dangerously fast as he screamed and squirmed in agony.

Suddenly, he stopped moving and went limp.

"No!"

My hand shot to his chest, and I held my breath.

His heart was still beating.

I pursed my lips, and the breath that I was holding left me slowly. He must have just blacked out from the pain.

I stayed by his side for a minute, keeping one hand on his chest and one hand on his foreleg until my heartbeat slowed to a normal pace.

I leaned over to his ear. "You made it, buddy," I whispered. "That was all of them. You're free now!"

His body was still covered in blood.

Right. We weren't out of the woods yet.

I decided to make the most of his unconscious state and clean him while he couldn't feel the pain.

The night fury's captors had a well-equipped lair. In that very room was a shelf full of large jugs of what I presumed were water.

"This should work," I mumbled as I pulled a jug off the shelf.

I made my way back to the caged dragon.

He hadn't moved an inch.

I opened a jug and poured it onto him. It washed most of the blood away and exposed somewhat lighter shades of grey than I was expecting.

With the second jug, I took off my sweater and used it to scrub the dried blood away. I noticed that most of the blood had come from numerous small cuts, but none of them were deep or life-threatening.

I inspected his wings and saw hundreds of small holes perforating them.

"Holy shit!"

I couldn't even fathom how someone could be so cruel to another living creature.

I reached for the third jug to rinse him off when I noticed something that his spines were glowing.

"O… okay… I'm just going to… keep doing what I was doing…"

I poured the third jug onto his wings.

Suddenly, every cut on his body glowed blue as brightly as his spines did, revealing a shocking web of cuts that covered every square inch of his body, and a young, female voice caught my attention.

"Jacob, you have done well. Your actions will be rewarded."

"Woah!" I yelled as I backed into the wall of the cage, reaching frantically for the shotgun that lay across the chamber. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"You are alone. But as you have initiated a Sacred Rite of Renewal, I present to you a choice."

"A… choice? 'Sacred Rite of Renewal'? What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you?"

"You may let this dragon's wounds heal naturally, or you may take on his suffering as your own."

"You didn't answer my questions!"

Silence.

Okay, scratch that. I guess I'm not allowed to ask questions.

But, at the very least, she offered me a choice.

I thought about the first time I saw the dragon, covered in blood. I had always loved dragons, especially night furies, and seeing that one suffer broke me.

I knew in my heart what I should do.

I trembled with fear at the thought, but it was an easy decision.

"Alright then. I accept his pain. It's better that I suffer than him."

There was a long pause. Just when I was getting worried that I was hallucinating, the glow in his wounds slowly faded, leaving him with hundreds of tiny scars where the wounds once were.

"Well done, Jacob."

The glow faded completely.

I gritted my teeth and braced myself for the most incredible, shocking pain to light up my entire body.

The pain never came. A minute later, my eyes opened again and faced my hands, arms, and chest.

Nothing had changed. I was cold and wet, but I was not suffering. Was that… a test? Who was that? What happened?

I had too many questions and not enough answers, but it did not take long for me to forget all about it all, as something else magical happened.

The night fury stirred before he stretched his limbs out and clawed at the bars of the cage. Several joints popped, and he yawned, releasing a soft whine. A few seconds later, and he was on his feet again, shaking away his drowsiness. Deep scars carved into all four legs where the shackles once were. The wounds had healed, but the markings would clearly never leave him. He sniffed around the open cage door, and his pupils went wide.

Suddenly, he leapt out of the cage and froze. He looked at his paws and sniffed them, flexing them a few times. He spread his wings as far as the chamber would allow and did a few small "test flaps" before folding them again. He did not move for several seconds.

He sprinted down the tunnel and froze at the entrance of the cave. There, he stood for nearly a full minute. I could faintly hear birds singing.

Finally, he stooped over to smell the grass, followed by the rocks that formed the door. His ears drooped, and he spun to face me.

I stepped out of the cage and started to cry. "Go on," I shouted, smiling. "You're free now."

I was at least hoping for a "thank you," and maybe even a lifelong friendship, but I knew I couldn't force that on him. He had spent long enough underground that I didn't want to keep him any longer.

'"Go on"? Jacob, I've waited so long to be set free, but I've waited even longer to call someone my friend. I spent my entire life thinking that neither would ever happen, but now, you are willing to give me both! Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!'

He strode back to me. I didn't have enough time to respond before both of his wings were wrapped around me in a warm embrace of gratitude.

Inside of his wings, two paws held me tightly against him. I could feel his breathing, his purring, and his powerful heartbeat through my chest.

I latched onto his neck as tears of joy streamed down my face. "I just wanted a friend too. I'm glad that you're alright."

He gripped me tighter, and all the horrible things I had just witnessed left my mind in a heartbeat. In his wings, I felt warm, safe, and overwhelmingly loved.

And when I say overwhelmingly, I mean overwhelmingly. I felt weak and thought my heart was about to burst as the purring dragon rested his chin on my shoulder.

Hugs are one thing, but that was another. The amount of love that he was pouring into that hug was so powerful that it was almost tangible.

And it just grew stronger with every heartbeat. I steadily felt myself growing weaker and weaker until I fell completely limp.

Henschel simply laughed deeply and held me a little tighter.

We remained like that for a long time.

o.O.o

A/N: I may or may not write a (happy) epilogue for this story someday. Stay tuned if you are interested.