Author's note: This one is a bit late, sorry. *Cowers in fear, hoping the scary people don't find him*
Narrator's perspective
Astrid had woken up several times over the past few days. Sometimes is was just a flicker of the eyes, others she was struggling against the restraints.
Her parents were with her the whole time, or at least one of them; the other went home to care for their son. He hadn't seen Astrid yet and was rather anxious. Based on what he had been told by his parents, Astrid had wings and a tail. For a 10 year old boy this was probably the coolest things possible.
Astrid's parents, Stoick and the doctors examining Astrid had organised a meeting about the origins of her new appendages. They gathered in her room, Astrid still sleeping.
"What do you know doc?" Garret asked one of the medical staff.
"We've done some tests on her wings and tail and they all appear to have the same blood supply as any other part of the body. They weren't attached, they grew on her body. The muscles surrounding them are strong enough to sustain flight and we've had an aerospace engineer and a dragon expert examine the aerodynamics of her body as well as the bone structure of the wings. She is definitely cable of flying." The man with the clipboard said.
"Do you think she is aware of her ability to fly?" Garret asked.
"Judging by the dragon person we arrested who was with her, I'm assuming she is actually able to fly, and I think she knows it."
Astrid stirred in her bed, head moving side to side. The observers looked over briefly.
"When will she be fully awake?" Stoick asked.
"Oh, she has been; but every time she is, she pulls against the restraints. We've been trying to keep her sedated, but the effects of the drugs are wearing off faster every time we give her some. She's already broken through two wing straps and has snapped the board holding them down. Since then it has become a challenge to keep her under control."
"And what of the person she was with?" Astrid's mother asked.
"He's still in the hospital but is in the custody of the police. They're looking into any records they can find of him, but everything they have discovered stops about 15 years ago. Since then there's been no record of him anywhere; no tickets booked under his name, no passport records, no even a birth certificate. The police have charged him with kidnapping and he is due to appear in court in 3 weeks." The doctor said, placing down the clipboard and injecting more sedatives into Astrid. She squirmed away from the needle but was eventually asleep. Her parents cringed at the sight of this.
"What did you say the name of the man was?" Stoick asked when the doctor was finished.
"I didn't, that is strictly in the police's discretion to reveal that information. He could be a danger to the public."
Astrid started to move again. The doctor sighed and headed over with another syringe.
"This is what I'm talking about; the effects of the drugs wear off faster each time."
"Wait!" called Astrid's mother, "Can we at least speak to her?"
The doctor sighed, eyes downcast. "Normally, I wouldn't be allowed to do that. But I think I can make an exception."
He left the room and closed the door behind him.
They remaining party turned to look at Astrid. She kept turning and her tail twitched constantly.
Garret kneeled by the side of her bed and placed a hand on her arm. He whispered to her, saying he wanted her to be alright. The girl's eyes flicked open and she turned to look at her dad.
"Hey dad, what you doing here?" She groaned softly.
"We came to check on you. You've been out for many days." He replied quietly.
Astrid tried to lift a hand, but the restraints held their place. "Uh, I need to get these off." Astrid flicked her head down to the bags on her hands. Without thinking, Garret started to untie the bags.
"Uh Garret, no offence but is that the best idea?" Stoick asked.
Garret scowled, "Whoops." He pulled a bag off her hand. Stoick just rolled his eyes.
Garret undid the other bag. Astrid lifted her hands and flexed them, feeling the blood rush back to her fingers.
"Where's Eret?" She asked.
The parents looked at each other with blank faces. "Who's Eret honey?" Her mum asked.
"Eret, he was the guy with me. Where is he?"
The trio of parents looked at each other again.
Garret was the first one to speak. "He's in police custody. They've arrested him on accounts of suspected kidnapping."
"What! No! He's a good man!" Astrid cried.
"Honey, he kidnapped you." Astrid's mum said.
"What?! No he didn't. He protected me!"
"Astrid, I think you've got something wrong. His belongings were found at the bunker and you were with him." Garret said.
"NO! He's a good man." Astrid shrieked.
"Garret, I think we should leave her along for a bit." Astrid's mother said as she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.
Astrid lay fuming in the bed. Did they really not believe her when she said Eret was good? She tried to calm herself, but was still feeling like her parents didn't know the story, or couldn't for that matter. Just as they were about to leave Astrid spoke again. "Stoick, can I speak to you? In private?"
Astrid's parents paused and looked back. Astrid stared back at them, gaze not moving. They reluctantly left the room and Stoick closed the door behind him.
"What did you want to say Astrid?" Stoick asked, rather curious.
Astrid quickly glanced around the room, making sure no-one was watching. "I get the feeling you are still confused as to where Hiccup is and why he wasn't found with me?"
"Aye, you'd be right. But where-ever he is, I know he is strong and knows how to survive in the Outback." Stoick said, taking a seat beside her bed. He gazed out the window, eyes going hazy.
"I know where Hiccup is. He's with Valka." Astrid blurted. Stoick sat bolt upright, eyes slowly moving over to meet Astrid's. Astrid's hands flew up to her mouth, the weight of what she'd just said hitting her like a ran-away train.
"What did you say?" Stoick asked slowly with a tense edge to his voice.
Astrid gulped and spoke timidly, "Hiccup is with Valka. She's alive and in the desert."
Stoick's jaw dropped. "What, we were told she was dead, 15 years ago. Where was she?"
"She and Eret lived in the bunker I was found at. They rescued dragons and…"
"AAAHHH! How could she do this. She never came back to her husband and son!"
Stoick threw his arms up and stormed out of the room, not even bothering to ask Astrid about Hiccup.
Astrid sat flabbergasted, she'd just told Valka's husband that his wife was alive and working with dragons. She starred into space with no clue of what to do next.
The doctor re-entered the room. "Judging from Stoick storming out of the hospital, I'm gonna say that didn't go well." He chuckled to himself, but Astrid just glared.
"When are you going to let me go?"
"Once the police have concluded their investigation and we've finished our tests. We're still trying to discover how this happened to you."
"I'll tell you how. I was hit by a blast that activated my powers. They're passed down through a long line of people, leading all the way back to the Norse Era when dragons roamed a plenty, instead of being hunted down to their small population of today."
The doctor chuckled and walked over to a machine where he pressed a few buttons, "Haha, you kids and your imagination."
Astrid glared at the back of his head. Her voice became soothing as she remembered something. "You wouldn't happen to remember a woman named Valka, would you?"
The doctor tensed at his station, "Why do you ask?"
"Oh nothing, just something she mentioned while drunk. Apparently that was just a summer fling, hm?"
The man said nothing.
"You wouldn't want that scandalous information out there would you. My, you could loose you job if it did." Astrid said, propping her head up on her arm.
"Are you blackmailing me?" The doctor asked.
"No! Well, let me put it this way. Give me two minutes with Eret and I'll forget we ever had this conversation. Deal?"
"Guess I don't really have a choice." The doctor turned and looked angry. Astrid smirked.
The guards removed the restraints holding Astrid's body down but the board her wings were on was left in place. They opened the door, one went out and the other followed, their rifles loaded.
They past many doctors and nurses in the halls, all of them giving strange looks. One even stopped them and asked them why Astrid had left her room. He was pushed aside and they continued. Astrid hid her un-bagged hands in her pockets, hopping no-one would notice.
They made it to the back of the hospital. A single door stood there, numerous padlocks and bars across it.
One of the guards pulled out several keys and undid the locks. "You have two minutes." He said, nudging her in the door and closing it behind her.
Astrid glanced around the room. It looked just like hers, but with metal bars on the windows and more straps on the bed.
"Hey Astrid. What you doing here?" Eret asked from the bed in the middle of the room.
She didn't answer. Instead she said, "I've got two minutes so I'll make this quick. I 'convinced' my doctor to let me out. The guards are being changed tonight, I heard him mention it. During this time I'm gonna melt the window frame and escape. I'll fly over to your window and melt the bars. You need to have these straps undone and be ready to transform. We'll fly to the other side of town and take a car back to the bunker."
"Woah woah Astrid, slow down. You're saying we escape tonight and we steal a car. That'll make us fugitives." Eret replied.
"To them, we're already freaks of nature and science. What's the worst that could happen?"
"You know you shouldn't say that Astrid, bad things happen when you do."
The door opened and the guards entered. "Your time is up. Back to your room."
Just as Astrid had heard, once darkness had fallen the were changed. They exited the room and closed the door, leaving Astrid with a small opportunity to escape.
The door to the room was closed when she hauled herself off the bed. She brought her wings together and snapped the wooden board holding them. The split board slid off her wings and clattered on the ground, causing Astrid to wince. She hoped that no-one had heard that sound.
She hurried over to the window, inspecting the frame to see where she should melt it. Choosing the corners as the best spot, she heated the metal frame until it became soft and she could slide her fingers through, the heat not affecting her. The glass shattered under the immense heat being outputted by Astrid's hands. The sound rang out into the night.
The door behind her opened as the new guards came in to do their shift. They spotted the figure of Astrid climbing out the window, wings following behind. They unleashed a volley of tranqs but each missed with several of them implanting themselves into the soft metal of the window frame. Astrid sprinted down the side of the building.
The night was bitter cold, the air was still and the sounds of crickets could be heard. It would've been a peaceful night if it weren't for people fleeing the authorities.
The girl heard shouts behind her. She chanced a glance back and saw 3 guards chasing her.
"C'mon wings, now would be a good time to start flying." She whispered to herself as she ran.
She extended her wings and flapped the down. It didn't work, so she tried again.
Her toes lifted off the ground so she continued to flap. Straightening her tail helped to stay stable and she flew over the hospital.
"Where was Eret's room?" She asked herself.
Spotting a figure on the ground she flew down to meet him. He moved back into the shadows when Astrid landed.
"Astrid, stay in the shadows." Eret growled.
"How'd you get out that quickly?" She asked.
"Pure skill and dexterity. Now, let's move."
They crept along the edge of the building, hearing the voices of the pursuing guards around the corner. They changed direction and crept the other way, making sure to keep to the shadows and ducking below the light of the rooms they passed.
The duo reached a mound of dirt near the entrance to the hospital. Checking the coast was clear, Eret changed into his dragon form.
"Get on. Let's go get that car." Eret said.
Astrid climbed onto his back and held onto his horns.
They were soon airborne and soaring over the town below.
"Whahoooo!" Astrid cried. Eret roared with delight.
Stoick looked out from his kitchen window, hearing a dragon roaring. He glanced up to see the faint from of a Rumblehorn and a smaller girl perched on top.
He smiled.