Author's note: I had originally planned for this to be a single chapter, but because I haven't uploaded in a while and it was going to be quite long I decided to split it into parts. Hope you enjoy!
Narrator's perspective
The emptiness stretched far, orange sand and dirt laying still. Lizards crawled onto rocks to sunbathe as the sun peeked up over the horizon.
The van bounced over the rocky ground, its occupants getting thrown about. They'd been going all night, travelling to their destination. The vehicle bounced past a mob of kangaroos, the joeys stared at the new item curiously, while the older ones rounded them up and hopped away. The dark-haired, muscly man sat in the front, eyes dropping shut after not having slept that night. The other two occupants were a different story. One stared red-eyed at the opposing wall while the larger one was eyes shut, head lolling to the side.
*Bump*
The van ran over a rock, jolting its occupants who were suddenly much more awake. "Hiccup." The red-eyed one spoke softly. "Ugh," he rubbed his eyes, "What time is it?"
A sharp pain was felt in his ribs, finding an elbow planted there. Astrid gestured around, Hiccup following her hand. He swore under his breath and unconsciously pulled Astrid closer. "Right, what do we do?" he asked.
"I don't know, I just hope we are found soon." She replied, leaning on his shoulder.
"Would you two shut it back there! I'm trying to concentrate," the driver called back.
"Oh, we're sorry for not being more courteous towards the person who kidnapped us!" Hiccup seethed, sarcasm flowing freely.
"Do you really think I kidnapped you?" He chortled from the front.
"What other word would you use to describe it?" Astrid asked.
He pondered this for a moment then replied, "Merely, helping you in the right direction. And besides, you don't have to be afraid. There's someone who wants to see you." Chills went down their spines, so much for not being afraid.
Astrid lent against Hiccup's body, fast asleep from being up all night, but Hiccup stayed awake and thought. Their parents must have contacted the police by now and they would surely be searching for them. But something was bothering him, other than their current situation. Who were those people that chased them through the forest anyway? They were the reason they're here. But he felt like there was more to it, why simply give up their chase? They'd seen them disappear but hadn't continued looking. Why?
"Hey Astrid," He whispered, nudging her sleeping form, "Wake up Astrid, I've got an idea."
She didn't budge, so he nudged her harder. "Hiccup, I'm trying to sleep." She moaned, opening one eye. "I know Astrid, but I've got an idea of how we can get out of here." This got her attention as she scooted herself upright against the van's wall.
Hiccup gestured towards their bound hands, "I've already tried to turn into a dragon, but somethings stopping me." He gestured to their hands again, "Could you burn through these ropes?"
"Hiccup, I don't think I can do it discretely enough, he'll notice." She flicked her head in the direction of their captor. "Give it a go. Try for a low slow flame." Her hands ignited, but rather than a blinding white, it pulsed red like the embers of a dying flame. She twisted her wrists round so her hands were directly above the rope, slowly increasing the heat until the rope started smouldering. They both let out a silent gleeful cheer. The ropes fell away and Astrid's hands were free.
"Quick, do me." Hiccup whispered as he held out his hands. Astrid hovered one hand over Hiccup's bound hands and put the other one underneath. She ignited her hands, but it flashed brightly, illuminating the vehicle. She doused the flame quickly, clutching her hands. They stared wide-eyed at each other, breathing heavily with the weight of what just happened.
"Hey! What are you guys doing back there?!" He'd noticed. The man rotated himself, trying to see into the back of the van.
"Astrid, bang your tail against the door and get ready to jump." She nodded hesitantly and recoiled her tail, slamming it into the van's back door.
*BANG*
The man shouted at them, but it fell on deaf ears as they got ready to jump. Dust was kicked up by the wheels and it started to enter the van, impairing their vision. "3, 2, 1, JUMP!" Hiccup coughed. "Hiccup, this isn't good for me! Not after those operations!" Astrid called back, holding onto the remains of the door as the rocky ground sped below. The man was still calling back, telling them to get back inside. Hiccup wrapped his hands around Astrid's waist and jumped.
The world slowed to a stand-still. Astrid cried out in shock, hands releasing their grasp of the door. Hiccup screwed his eyes shut, hands still firmly around Astrid's waist. He managed to rotate them so he would hit the ground first, hopefully shielding Astrid from most of the blow. Time sped up; Hiccup crashing to the ground, Astrid land on top of him. He slid a couple of metres, exposed skin getting shredded raw by the untamed ground.
Astrid rolled off his chest and onto the ground. Dust picked up, getting into her nose and mouth. She coughed violently, throwing up her last meal onto the desert ground. The impact winded her, dust stopping much-needed air from entering her lungs. She clutched her chest, shaky legs supporting her as she climbed to her feet. And then she saw Hiccup.
He was lying on his back, eyes screwed shut, teeth clenched and neck tight. She scrambled on the ground, gripping it and sprinting to her friend. He was still conscious and it didn't look like he a concussion, but the ground was starting to form a red outline around his back.
The van had pulled to a stop about 100 metres ahead of them, the scowling driver getting out and striding over to them. Astrid placed her hand behind Hiccup's back, trying to lift him up. "ARGH!" his muscles tensed, Astrid recoiling her arm. Blood was covering it. She stared wide-eyed at her friend.
"Sorry Hiccup, this is going to hurt." She placed a hand behind his shoulder and one behind his leg and rolled him onto his front. "HUH," she gasped as she got a look at his back. Two long and deep cuts ran the length of his back, blood pouring from them and trickling down his sides onto the ground. Many smaller cuts scarred his back, raw pink flesh visible beneath. Rocks speckled his back, indents showing where some had previously been.
"Help!" she called out to the man, "Get a first aid kit!" The man got closer and upon seeing his previous captive laying bleeding on the ground, he turned and sprinted back to the truck. "Where are you going, he needs help!" Astrid shouted after the retreating man.
"Well, that's useful." The man entered the van and turned it around, heading straight for them. "No! Stop!" She shouted.
The van stopped next to them, the man getting out with a medical bag. He hurriedly unzipped it, pulling out numerous packets of creams and lots of bandages. "Hold him still for me." The gruff voice spoke as he got to work smearing the creams over his back. Hiccup writhed in Astrid's grasp, her staring at the man.
"I've seen you somewhere before." She spoke softly.
"Really, where?" He turned to her with an annoyed expression.
"I don't know. Just, somewhere." She replied, mind drifting off
"Focus on the task at hand. Hold him down!" He pulled her attention back to Hiccup, who had started to move more.
"Where do I know you from?" She asked again.
"Astrid, concentrate!" Annoyance leeched through his voice.
"How do you know my name?" She asked, staring wide-eyed at the buff man.
He stopped what he was doing and stared at her, just realising what he said. He dropped his gaze, "The same reason I captured you, you need a shove in the right direction."
The conversation stopped there, Astrid still confused but helping with Hiccup. Antiseptic creams had been applied to his back which was then tightly wrapped in bandages. The man grabbed Hiccup's legs and Astrid his shoulders, then carrying him to the van.
"Where are we going?" Astrid asked, sitting beside Hiccup while the man was in the driver's seat.
"Back to base."
Astrid had no time to respond to this, the engine was started and the went off further into the desert. She held onto Hiccup tightly, so they wouldn't fall out of the van.
"So where is this base?"
"You'll find out in about 30 seconds."
She stood up and looked out the front window, only seeing a pile of grey and red rocks. The continued straight towards it, gradually slowing down.
They got within 100 metres of the rocks when she noticed it wasn't the rocks that were grey. Out from the side of the red rocks stood and little concrete bunker, like those you would find in World War 2.
"Slow down; we're going to hit the rocks!" Astrid called out, pointing at an area next to the bunker. He slowed down, still heading for the rocks.
But they passed straight through it.
Astrid stared around, confused. The place she thought they were going to crash into was actually a piece of camouflaged fabric. The van had stopped in a square cut-out in the rock formation, like a garage. A door was to their left, presumably leading into the bunker.
The man got out and headed to the door, leaving Astrid to carry Hiccup. She picked him up around his neck and legs and stumbled over to the door. She passed through into the bunker, concrete stopping about 5 metres from the front of it. But the rock had been hollowed out to form a larger chamber. A kitchen-type setup was at the far end, two beds on opposite walls and a table taking up the middle of the cavern. Maps and drawings laid strewn over it. And someone stood there.
The man walked down to the other end, walking up to the person, talking inaudibly. They both turned around, facing Astrid and her injured friend.
"Well, you took your time."
Author's note: Again, thanks for being patient with my irregular uploads. But I'm on holidays for the next two weeks so there should be another chapter within that period, if not slightly after. I've got family visiting at the moment so have little time to write.
Anyway, good news. In 12 days it'll be the 1-year anniversary of this story. YAY. I hope you've all enjoyed the first year of this story. Please review and tell me what you think.