Author's note: Another chapter out. This one's going to be interesting.
Narrator's perspective
The duo walked over the dunes in silence, only the sounds of the desert insects heard. They'd left the Hunter's base a while ago, much to Astrid's dismay. Eret had insisted they head back to the bunker and create a plan. He'd said they couldn't go in there alone, the Hunters had every known trap on the planet, and they had nowhere near the firepower required to break open the cages.
The dared not to fly, the spotlights of the base were still trained on the area where Astrid had stood up from behind the dune. The black sky was dotted with twinkling stars, creating an eerie feeling.
Astrid was looking at the ground, eyes still puffy and red, tears stains on cheeks. "He could be dead by now Eret, and we didn't try to save him."
"Astrid, I've told you this already. From what Valka has told me, Hiccup is a titan wing. He's more powerful than any other dragon. He may just not know it yet. Now c'mon, we need to get back home and formulate a plan. We've only got a couple of hundred kilometres to go." Eret slimed in the last sentence, but his attempt to lighten the mood was unsuccessful.
They'd been walking over countless dunes for the past hour and by now they were beginning to get thirsty, the bottles Astrid in her backpack were empty.
"I think we should be able to fly now. The Hunter's base is miles away." Eret turned into a Rumblehorn.
Get on. We'll be back at the bunker soon. He said.
Astrid kept low to Eret's dragon form, as she hardly had the strength to hold on and the wind would've blown her off otherwise. Eret knew exactly where the base was, his sense of smell was a hundred times better than that of a sniffer dog's, so he picked up on the scent of the bunker quickly.
The lowered their altitude and readied for landing, but Eret stopped halfway through his descent.
"What is it Eret?" Astrid asked from his back.
I've been detecting something near the base for a while, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Well, I remembered that smell now. Helicopter fuel. Used to work in the military, was a pilot and I don't know how I forgot the stench of it.
"Meaning?" Astrid asked starting to get worried.
Meaning I think there's someone at the bunker.
Eret circled back and landed some distance behind the bunker. Astrid slid off his back and clutched at the knife on her belt.
Astrid, if I'm right in my assumption with who's at the base, you're gonna need more than a knife.
Astrid released her grasp of the knife and set her hands alight, the white-hot blaze temporarily blinding Eret.
What the?! Since when could you do that?!
"I discovered I could do it I think the day before you kidnapped me and Hiccup. He was just as surprised." Astrid said, lowering the blaze's intensity.
Well I think you're good. I gonna stay as a dragon. I can shield you if need be.
The two of them walked low up to the back of the rock the bunker was set in. Eret flicked his head left. They turned and walked 'round to the garage. The drape covering the garage was pushed to one side and the door into the bunker was ajar.
Astrid, stay behind me, I going to draw them out.
Astrid moved behind Eret's body as he let out a roar.
All hell broke loose.
The windows of the bunker shattered as a rain of bullets sprayed out. But Astrid saw from behind Eret that these bullets had little pink tails on them. Most of them glanced of Eret's armour but a few found the kinks in his neck.
Eret started to move slower, his body beginning to droop. Who-ever was in the bunker must've seen them land and loaded tranq darts.
Seven people covered in black bullet-proof vests vaulted out the destroyed window and continued firing, now aiming to the kinks in Eret's armour. The word "POLICE" was displayed across their front.
Astrid slid out from behind Eret and began blasting fire at the people. One of them turned to the girl and clicked a button on his rifle, setting the gun to semi. He fired a single shot at the girl, hitting her thigh.
Astrid collapsed to the ground, the tranquiliser running through her veins.
Eret's body flashed, returning him to human form. The officers gasped, stepping back from the person that was just a dragon.
One of them spoke, "What in the name of…"
They moved found and handcuffed the two people, picking them up on their shoulders. An officer pulled out a walkie-talkie and called for the helicopter.
"Roger that." Came back through the device.
The phone rang in the living-room of the Hofferson's house. Garret put down the TV remote and walked over to the buzzing device. He picked up the handset and placed it to his ear.
"Is this the Hofferson's?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Aye, this is Garret."
"Hello sir. This is the search party director. We've found your daughter. She was kidnapped and is now in the town hospital."
Garret dropped the phone. He ran into the kitchen, sliding on the washed floor.
"Love, we've got to go. Astrid's been found and she's in the hospital." He called to his wife as he packed a bag with some food.
His wife came down the stairs.
"What?" she asked.
"I just got a call from the guy who showed us those pictures a few days ago. He said that Astrid had been found and she was in the hospital recovering."
His wife ran down the stairs and opened the pantry, helping her husband pack food into the bag. They zipped it up and hurried over to their shoes. They put them on and ran to the car. Garret put the key in the ignition and started the engine, pulling the car out of the drive and onto the street.
Uh, why does my head hurt? Astrid thought to herself. Was I knocked out of the sky again?
She tried to lift a hand to her head but found it hard to move. She only got it as far as her shoulder before she felt something stopping her.
Astrid placed her hand back down and started to open her eyes, but the white glare forced her to close them again. She tried to open them again and got further. She squinted 'round the room, her vision hazy. The walls and ceiling were white and clean, the floor as well and the whole room smelt of disinfectant.
She flicked her eyes open and closed a few times to clear her vision. When Astrid tried to roll onto her side, she felt something in the way and looked down to investigate.
Her wings had been spread apart and strapped to a wooden board, many tubes and pipes sticking into them and the other ends of said tubes connected to all number of beeping and buzzing machines.
Astrid glanced down at her arms. An IV drip was connected to her forearm but her hands were covered in thick rubber bags and strapped to the bed. She tried moving but the board on her wings and her strapped arms prevent any movement.
Two men wearing the same black clothing as earlier stood by the door, large assault rifles in their arms with attached magazines reading "Tranquiliser". They had noticed Astrid's awakening so one pulled a walkie-talkie off his belt and spoke softly into it. "She's awake." He said.
After a couple of minutes, a dozen doctors and nurses entered through the door to the room and surrounded Astrid's bed. Most of them just stared in awe while others pulled out notebooks and began writing things down. Some shouted questions but got no answer.
Astrid took one look at the gazing faces and panicked. She pulled and struggled against the restraints, face boiling with anger.
How could they treat me like a specimen?
She attempted to light her hands on fire but the rubber bags stopped oxygen from getting in. Astrid pulled her wings against the board holding them and the crowd took a step back.
The guards ran from the door over to her, dropping their rifles. They held her against the bed while a doctor walked up to the bed. They placed a large needle against Astrid's shoulder and injected the contents.
Soon after Astrid stopped struggling and started to feel groggy. She closed her eyes and feel asleep again.
"Ah Garret. Good to see you." The search party director said as the large man and his wife exited their car.
"Hi. How's me daughter?" Garret answered as he shook his hand.
The director replied while shaking Garret's wife's hand, "She's doing fine. Uninjured except for her previous injuries from the dragon encounter. But ah, I do have to warn you two she isn't quite in the same form as she was when she left."
"What? You said she wasn't injured!" Astrid's mother cried.
"She isn't. I can't explain it, you just need to have a look." The director replied.
The trio entered the hospital. Nurses ran up and down the hallways, carrying all sorts of equipment. Syringes, machinery, you name it.
Garret noticed that all of them seemed to be returning to the same room, which happened to be the one they were heading for.
"I hope she's alright love." Garret said, reaching for his wife's hand.
They stopped outside the room, nurses occasionally filing out. Some of them gave Astrid's parents pitying looks, which didn't help them.
The director placed his hand on the door. "You ready?" Both parents nodded.
He pushed open the door.
Astrid lay asleep in the bed, 2 doctors on each side performing tests on and studying her wings. Tubes hung off the sides of the bed, each one connected to a machine and pat of Astrid's wings.
Garret gasped and sprinted to his daughter. He shoved the doctor's out the way, much to their annoyance. He knelt down by the side of her bed and placed a large hand on her head.
"My sweet pea, what happened?" Tears welled up in his eyes.
The director shoed the doctors and nurses out the room and followed them out, closing the door behind him.
Astrid stirred at the soft touch of the large hand. Her head twisted slightly and she began to open her eyes.
"Astrid? Astrid wake up." Garret cooed.
Astrid moved more and cracked open her eyes. "Dad?" she muttered softly.
"Yes Astrid I'm here."
She groaned as she pried her eyes fully open.
"Can you sit up?" Garret asked.
Astrid flicked her head back, gesturing to the board her wings were strapped to.
"How did this happened?" he asked, but got no response. The tranquiliser was still running through her body. She slipped off into sleep once again.
Garret stood up and walked over to his teary-eyed wife. They took a seat by the door.
Then the door opened and Stoick walked through. Garret stood and greeted his friend.
"Stoick, what're you doin here?" he asked.
"Came to check on her and say hello." Stoick looked over the sleeping form of the girl.
"The big brute put up a fight." He said.
Garret looked back to his friend. "What big brute?"
"The dragon she was found with. Turns out he's a man, not a dragon entirely."
"Wait, slow down a second. What happened?" Garret asked.
Stoick sighed and pulled a seat opposite the couple. "Astrid and a large Rumblehorn were found returning to the bunker the Special Ops was hiding at. They put up a fight, but the tranqs found their mark and the two were unconscious. I'd volunteered to help one of the helicopter crews so only saw the aftermath. Apparently those wings and tail aren't the only new things about your daughter. I was told she tried blasting the team with fire, hence why her hands are covered." Stoick gestured to the rubber bags. He continued, "The dragon she was with turned out not to be a dragon at all. When he was tranqed a blaze of light appeared and he turned into a human. They've put him in a holding room for the time being. As for Hiccup, we've still got no idea as to his whereabouts. Maybe Astrid could help?"
Author's note: I was originally going to write this and more as a single chapter, but I had to split it. Hope you enjoyed! Things are getting spicy! Please review and tell me what you think.