A/N: This is probably my favourite chapter out of all. I hope you guys are enjoying this story!


Chapter 14: Blood Eagle

"Pass me another one!"

"Great day today, eh?"

"Give me back my axe!"

"Rough one over there…"

Jerrick stopped trying to listen to whatever the soldiers were saying. Raucous cheering and celebrations filled the caverns. Jerrick found it funny that the exact noise that had drawn him and his friends into the caverns initially was exactly what he was trying to drown out.

The largest part of the cavern had been converted into a makeshift bar. If the air there was musty enough just for the simple fact that it was in a cavern, the celebrations simply made it worse. Strong alcoholic scents wafted through the thick air, which made Jerrick's eyes water.

Jerrick led the way through the crowd as they tried to find a familiar face. Maybe then they would get some answers. A man bumped into Jerrick, spilling some sticky mead onto his arm. Jerrick scowled at his arm in disgust.

"Pardon me, lad." The man sauntered away, his alcoholic breath further contaminating the air. Jerrick glowered at the man. A few drops of the honey-filled drink dripped off his fingers. He wiped it off with his clean hand, but that was a mistake. Now both his arm and his hand felt sticky.

"Let it go," Kari said, putting a hand on his back. Jerrick shot another death glare at the man's direction, before allowing Kari to lead him away.

They continued through the large cavern. Jerrick walked with his arm hanging awkwardly by his side to avoid dirtying his clean tunic. It was his last clean one. The ones they had packed had been left behind on Berk. Alcohol continued to ooze through the thick air. Breathing in here was a chore. Maybe finding out the cause for celebrations could wait.

Just as Jerrick wanted to quit and head out into the clean air, he spotted a familiar face sitting by the counter, a mug in his hand.

"Captain Jorgund!" The man in question looked around with his shifty eyes for a moment, before finally settling on Jerrick.

"Jerrick! Good to see you, lad. Congratulations on a job well done. All of you." Captain Jorgund rose and shook every one of their hands, including Jerrick's. Jerrick had to contain his laughter when Captain Jorgund scowled at his own hand and tried to wipe the stickiness off his hand.

"What's happening right now?"

"A large celebration! To celebrate our victory over the dragon riders!"

"Where are they?"

"Rotting in a cage somewhere." Suddenly, Captain Jorgund turned to face Jerrick with harsh eyes. "Why do you care?"

"I don't." Jerrick shrugged. "I was just… wondering how they were spending their last moments." Captain Jorgund seemed to accept this answer. He leaned over the counter and spoke a quick word to the bartender. The man nodded and scurried off to a long table leaning against a wall. Weapons hung precariously over the table. All it needed was for the wind to blow strongly and an axe could slice off the bartender's fingers. This part of the makeshift bar must've been an armoury. A large crate stood beside the table. The axe and sword blades sticking out of the crate all but confirmed Jerrick's suspicions. One of the axes seemed very familiar. A second passed as Jerrick tried to recall where he saw it before. Then it hit him. Quite literally, in fact. It was Astrid's axe. The criss-cross pattern at the head of the axe was unmistakable. She had wielded it many times, even flung it at him. Jerrick figured the crate contained the dragon riders' items. He slotted this piece of information to the back of his mind. It might come in handy later on.

"How did you guys do it?" Captain Jorgund said, bringing Jerrick's attention back.

"We set up a camp outside the village. From there we went to the edge of the village every day and tried to get as much information as possible," Jerrick explained.

"That was the plan until Jerrick got captured," Corey chimed in.

"You got captured?" Captain Jorgund asked.

"Yeah, I was too close to the village and they spotted me."

"The others? Did they get captured too?"

"Thankfully they didn't. They only saw me." The bartender returned with five mugs and set them down on the table. Captain Jorgund waved his free - and probably slightly sticky - hand at them.

"For you all. To congratulate all of you for a job well done."

"Thanks, but I don't drink alcohol," Corey said.

"Which is why I got mead without alcohol. Drink up lads." Jerrick grabbed the mug and took a sip. There was the taste of slightly stale honey and a fruit that Jerrick couldn't particularly identify.

Suddenly, loud voices that somehow managed to drown out all the noise in the cavern rose from somewhere. "...time for… waiting… of the leader… Horrendous Haddock…" Jerrick couldn't make out what they were trying to say. It seemed like something important was happening though, because everyone started to head towards the exits.

"I think they're bringing out the dragon riders," Captain Jorgund explained.

"What for?"

Captain Jorgund cracked a smile. "Execution. Let's go." He rose from his seat and began to follow the crowd. A chill crawled down Jerrick's spine. He shared a few worried looks with his friends, but eventually they too left their mugs on the counter and followed the crowd. The crowd led them out of the caverns and to a large amphitheater. A cheery vibe could be felt from the crowd, but none of them shared that sentiment.

They finally reached a large circular amphitheater that seemed to carry with it all the eeriness that had occurred inside it. Somehow they ended up plastered between the large cheerful crowd and the looming walls. The walls of the amphitheater were a dull shade of beige. Cracks of various sizes and depths joined together to form weird shapes on the large walls. It was as if someone tried to carve the names of their victims on the walls, but he suddenly lost his sight and control of his hands. Jerrick plucked out a small piece of the wall and crumbled it in his hands.

It took Jerrick a few moments to realise that they were heading towards an entrance. For the size of this monstrosity, the entrance was surprisingly small. Only three or four people could fit in the doorway at one time. Why does a place as large as this have such a small doorway? Highly incompetent planning was probably the answer, Jerrick reasoned. Every doorway had a suffocatingly large group of people waiting to enter with no semblance of order. Jerrick was roughly jostled back and forth as he tried to enter. He turned around and reached for Kari's hand, offering as much help a small teenage boy could. She held his hand gratefully. Their eyes met for a brief moment and he smiled as warmly as he could.

After breathing in the same air that other people exhaled for way too long, they were finally in the amphitheater. It was just as large inside as it was outside. Seats stretched up a good twenty to thirty rows all around the circular centre stage. It could easily fit a few thousand people with space to spare. Captain Jorgund led them to the front rows. "All of you get these seats for your contributions," he explained. Jerrick knew he should feel some sort of gratitude, but he didn't. Neither did any of his friends, he could tell. No words were spoken between them, but Jerrick knew neither of them really wanted to be here. What had they gotten themselves into? What had he gotten all his friends into?

Suddenly, the noise in the amphitheater stopped completely. Jerrick looked around, wondering what could have caused such a drastic change. That's when he noticed Krogan walking onto the stage. The power he held over them was shocking. It was almost like their very lives depended on them falling silent.

"Welcome to the moment all of you have been waiting for!" Krogan announced proudly. "Today marks the end of a war we have fought for way too long. Today we put an end to… the dragon riders!" The amphitheater erupted into loud cheering. Krogan's voice was way too cheery for such a thing. Stray thoughts floated around his mind, but Jerrick couldn't make head or heels about what they were trying to say.

As if on cue, a cage with a tarp over it was wheeled onto the stage. There had to be a larger entrance somewhere, because a cage of that size could not fit through the small entrances. Krogan nodded, and the tarp was pulled back. Jerrick caught sight of the dragon riders in the cage. The crowd cheered.

But Jerrick gasped.

The dragon riders were in horrible conditions. All of them were bruised and battered in one way or another, yet all their hands were still chained firmly to the cage. They couldn't run if they wanted to. All their clothes were slightly torn, as though they had been dragged across a layer of gravel. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff had a few bruises on their faces and a couple of cuts. Astrid had a black eye and a busted lip. Some blood stains were smeared on her face. But the worst of them all was Hiccup. He was their main target board. He had a black eye, a few bruises, and a broken nose. Even though his tunic was red, blood stains could still be clearly seen on it.

Jerrick gasped audibly. Nothing entered his mind except the horrifying state the riders were in, not even the loud jeering and whistles around him. Why would anyone do such a thing? Even if, if they were terrorists, why would Krogan's men torture them? Information? Were there more terrorists around? Jerrick couldn't think of any reason to defend such a brutal beating.

A soldier opened the cage and two other soldiers strode in purposefully. All the riders yelled threats at the soldiers, but they all fell on deaf ears. Wordlessly, they picked Hiccup up by his arms and dragged him out. Jerrick watched as Hiccup's face contorted in pain when they dragged him to the centre of the stage. They kicked the back of his knees, and he fell painfully onto the cold ground. After chaining him to a heavy-looking slab in the centre of the stage, the soldiers left him alone.

Krogan leaned in close to Hiccup and said a few words. The noise made it impossible to hear him but Jerrick tried to read Krogan's lips. "I've been looking forward to this day, Hiccup," Krogan taunted. "Then of your riders." 'The end' was probably what Krogan said. It felt more fitting than 'then'. "How does it feel, Hiccup? To know you've launched the bowel you've four four sir lawn." Jerrick made a mental note to work on his lip reading. Hiccup glared at Krogan, but Jerrick could see the pain he was hiding beneath his strong exterior.

"Hunters!" The amphitheater fell silent. Krogan paused. A gleeful smile appeared on his face. "How shall we proceed?" His tone was surprisingly calm.

"Feed him to the dragons!" Someone shouted.

"That's too common! Break his leg first!"

"Cut off his hands!"

"Cut off his head!" A few people murmured their agreement.

"Skin him alive!" A few oohs rang around the amphitheater.

"Hang, draw, quarter!" Even more oohs rang around.

"Blood eagle!" The loudest of oohs rang out.

The blood eagle is one of the most barbaric ways of killing a person. The executioner would first rip off the flesh from the victim's back, exposing his ribs. Then his ribs would be detached from his spine using an axe, and his lungs would be pulled through the opening to create a gruesome pair of wings. It was a horrible and extremely painful way to go. Simply thinking about it made Jerrick nauseous.

But the crowd felt the opposite way. The noise in the amphitheater gradually rose as more and more people chanted their approval. A chant of "blood eagle, blood eagle" broke out somewhere in the amphitheater. Jerrick felt sick. Did Hagen Brandt really work with these people? There was no way his father was this cold-hearted. His father would never wish a horrible death on anyone. Jerrick's thoughts were drowned out by the chant growing louder and louder. Eventually, almost the whole amphitheater was in on it.

"Blood eagle! Blood eagle! Blood eagle!"

Hiccup couldn't hide his fear anymore. It was written all over his face. His eyes darted back and forth, looking at the people who hated him. He tugged the chains, but it held fast. Loud clunks resounded from the cage. The riders were desperately trying to escape their chains, some of them searching for something that could pick the lock, others simply tugging the chains with all their strength.

Krogan held up his hands, and the amphitheater silenced again. He stood there in silence for a moment, examining the crowd. Finally, he turned his attention to Hiccup.

"It seems like they want a blood eagle," Krogan said to Hiccup, but intentionally loud enough for everyone in the amphitheater to hear. "What do you think?" Hiccup didn't respond. Gone was the brave facade, replaced instead by raw terror at the prospect of a brutal and horrifying death. He tugged the chains again, only to be greeted with a disappointing clink. Krogan smiled. Evilly. He turned back to face the crowd.

"Blood eagle it is!" He announced in a proud voice. Loud cheering erupted. Jerrick's heart skipped a beat as the soldiers on the stage moved towards Hiccup. The poor man was paranoid. He shook his chains violently, but to no avail. The soldiers weren't fazed. They forced him to the ground and chained him such that he was stretched out on the ground with his arms stretched out. Jerrick's heart leapt into his throat. The riders were screaming their lungs out. Death threats, warnings, pleas, everything they could think off. Astrid even had tears rolling down her face. The crowd cheered the soldiers on. How could anyone enjoy something like this?

Enjoy.

That one word churned something inside Jerrick's mind. Krogan was enjoying this. Why would someone enjoy an execution? Jerrick racked his brains for an answer. He tried to think of his own reasons for hitting Hiccup earlier. Hiccup had killed his father. Jerrick had a personal vendetta against him. Did Krogan have one against Hiccup? Krogan was still grinning like a child who just received a Snoggletog gift.

Another thought crossed Jerrick's mind. Krogan had promised Jerrick that he would give him the honour of executing Hiccup. Quite a gruesome thought to think, but it was a promise. It wasn't fulfilled. Krogan hadn't honoured his promise.

Yet another thought. Krogan hadn't cared for them one bit. No questions asked about them, although they probably looked worse for wear. Even when Jerrick mentioned he was in prison, Krogan hadn't cared. No questions about him ending up in prison. Only about Hiccup's plan.

The realisation hit Jerrick like a hammer dropping on his head.

He had been used.

They had been used.

Krogan never cared about them. Krogan had simply used them to capture Hiccup. The false promises, the hidden emotions, everything played a part in convincing them. And it had worked. Krogan enjoyed tormenting Hiccup. Suddenly Jerrick didn't know whether Hiccup was as evil as he thought he was.

A cold sweat broke out on Jerrick's body as a soldier used a dagger to cut Hiccup's tunic off. One of the soldiers brought out Hiccup's flaming sword and lit it up. Jerrick knew exactly what they were going to use it for. They were going to use it to cut off the flesh from his back before chopping his ribs. An overwhelming sense of dread overcame Jerrick as he watched something that only happened in nightmares unfurl before his very eyes. Was he just going to sit here and do nothing about it? Was he really going to let a man die a grisly death in front of him? But then again, what could he do about it? He was one person. Five, including his friends. The number of soldiers in the amphitheater had to be in the thousands.

Suddenly, a thought struck Jerrick. All the soldiers were here. Probably. The beginnings of a plan started to form in his head. It was risky, but then again, when was anything he planned not risky? He would also have to improvise a lot on the fly. But Jerrick had more than enough information for the plan to work. Hopefully, he thought grimly. Speed would be key for this to work. Jerrick also had to hope that everything went exactly how he imagined it would.

"If I do anything, meet me outside the tunnels," Jerrick whispered to Kari.

"What?" She whispered back. But Jerrick didn't respond. His mind was already somewhere else.

The soldier with the flaming sword moved closer to Hiccup. Jerrick felt a sickening sense of dread grow in his stomach. The noise in the amphitheater grew even louder. How could someone cheer for this sort of thing? Jerrick watched as the soldier raised the flaming sword. The soldier double checked the positioning of his sword and prepared to drive it in.

"Stop."

That one word rang around the amphitheater like acid. The whole place silenced. A pin dropping could be heard from the other end of the amphitheater. The bewildered soldier turned around to face Jerrick. Every eye was on the teenage boy. Jerrick felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. A thick silence filled the massive amphitheater. It was so thick you could slice it cleanly with a knife. Or a flaming sword.

Krogan glared at Jerrick. Lips thinly pursed, eyebrows curled downwards in a scowl, as though he had just heard Jerrick insult everything he ever stood for.

"What do you want?" Krogan demanded. Jerrick rose from his seat. His heart was racing, but he forced himself to stay confident.

"Let me do it."

Jerrick didn't look around, but from all the gasps he heard, he could already imagine the shocked looks everyone was giving him. Kari touched his arm. She whispered an urgent "What are you doing?" but he didn't respond. Eyes hardened, Jerrick kept his steeled gaze on Krogan.

Krogan didn't react to Jerrick's words, at least, not outwardly. "Why do you want to do this? Don't you despise killing?"

"I've wanted revenge on the one who killed my father for two years. Now I finally have the chance to do so. Let me do it."

Krogan's brown eyes seemed to examine Jerrick. Jerrick refused to allow himself to crack. If he wanted this to work, he had to be confident.

"You promised me this," Jerrick pressed.

That seemed to do the trick. Krogan bore one last glare into Jerrick's soul, but he stepped aside.

Jerrick strode confidently onto the stage. His heart thumped against his ribs. He took the sword from the soldier and stood menacingly over Hiccup. Hiccup tried to turn his head to see Jerrick, but Jerrick refused to meet his eye. He didn't want anything to affect his resolve.

"Jerrick, please, don't do this," Hiccup pleaded, his voice trembling. Jerrick purposely kept his face blank. Nothing was going to stop him. He'd gone this far, he'll see it all the way through.

The soldier who handed Jerrick the sword stood close behind him, less than a step away. Two more stood slightly further behind by the cage. Jerrick did a mental estimate. They were about five or six steps away. Jerrick took a deep breath. Now or never. He raised the sword…

And spun around instantly, pressing the flat side of the blade onto the soldier's face. The scent of burning flesh filled Jerrick's nose. The soldier screamed and fell to the floor, clutching his face.

Jerrick didn't waste any time. He reached the other two soldiers before the first soldier even reached the floor. He slapped one of them with the flat of the blade. The soldier fell. Jerrick spun to face the last standing soldier, who had come to his senses. But Jerrick didn't stop. He drove the pointed tip of the sword at him as he was unsheathing his sword. He jumped out of the way and fell to the floor. Jerrick didn't spare him a second glance. He took off, heading towards the exit. The narrow walls around the exit felt like they were closing in on him as he ran.

Jerrick burst into the open. The noise in the amphitheater suddenly grew louder. They must have realised what had happened. A young teenage boy had betrayed them. He didn't need anyone to tell him how mad they would be.

The grassy plains he was running on was slightly damp from the morning dew. It wasn't helping him to run faster, but then again, it would give his pursuers trouble too. He controlled his breathing. Long distance running required that. And his destination might be far away. He really didn't know. He should have taken some time to check out the island the day before. But it was too late for that.

The dragon cages were his target. Freeing the riders' dragons was just one part of his plan. Jerrick thanked his lucky stars for his good memory. Krogan had mentioned that the cages were on the far end of the island. It was quite a run, but there weren't any dragons chasing him.

A Singetail roared in the distance.

Maybe there were dragons chasing him.

Jerrick swore and ran faster. His heart raced alongside his feet. He hadn't accounted for the Singetail. Judging from the loudness of the roar though, the Singetails were some distance away. The soldiers probably ran the opposite way to get to the Singetails, Jerrick reasoned. Hopefully that would buy him enough time. The cages couldn't be too far away anymore.

Jerrick rounded a corner and finally saw the dragon cages. Cages were scattered around in no particular order. Some had a few sad-looking dragons. A Nadder squawked lifelessly as Jerrick bolted past. Jerrick drew in a deep breath as he continued to run among the cages. Where were the riders' dragons? Finding anything in this mess was nearly impossible.

"Toothless!" Jerrick hollered. The Night Fury probably hated him. He would have to learn to get along if he wanted to see his rider alive though. There wasn't much choice. "Stormfly! Hookfang! Meat…loaf?" He didn't even try the names of the Zippleback, only remembering that it had something to do with vomit or puke. Wasn't it amazing how one's memory can remember everything except names?

Suddenly, Jerrick heard a sound that sounded distinctly like a muffled Night Fury call. He darted towards the sound. Within a few seconds he found three cages adjacent to each other. Much to his delight, Toothless was in the middle one, muzzled yet prancing around frantically. To his left and right were Stormfly and Barf and Belch. Jerrick congratulated himself for remembering their names. Using the flaming sword, he cut the lock on Toothless' cage.

Toothless pounced.

Jerrick gasped. His vision exploded into white. The wound on his head stung. He wanted to cry out, but large paws pressed heavily into his chest. Sharp talons stung his skin. Jerrick gasped. He couldn't breathe. He needed air. Toothless was going to kill him.

"Hiccup is in danger!" Jerrick blurted out. The heavy paws lifted slightly. Jerrick coughed and inhaled gratefully. Toothless' slitted eyes softened a little. "If you don't let me go, he'll die." Fierce green irises continued to pierce Jerrick's soul. Jerrick suddenly felt angry. A stupid indecisive dragon was slowing everything down. "Make up your mind already, donkey brain! Do you want Hiccup to live?"

That seemed to do the trick. Toothless leapt off Jerrick. He stood up and heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Go save him, he's at the amphitheater. Save him and run away." Jerrick pulled off the muzzle and waved him away. Toothless bolted.

Stars darting around his vision, Jerrick turned around and cut the locks on the other cages. His wound throbbed. Toothless pouncing on him must've hit him harder than he thought. The other dragons stormed out of the cages as soon as the locks fell. Jerrick removed their muzzles way too slowly for their liking. His trembling hands certainly didn't help. Every now and then Jerrick glanced into the sky. No Singetails yet. It seemed like an eternity passed before all the muzzles were gone. He waved the dragons off. They had to get to the amphitheater before it was too late.

Jerrick was already on the move again before the last dragon took off. His legs screamed for a longer rest. He ignored it. Speed was key, he told himself again and again. Run or fail. The wind howled past his ears. His next destination was the armoury that had been converted into a makeshift bar.

Jerrick glanced behind as he sprinted into the caverns. No Singetails. The thick smell of alcohol still lingered in the air. His legs were really screaming for him to take a break. There was no time for that, though. Jerrick had to get to the weapons.

Vaulting over the makeshift bar, Jerrick stopped at the weapons rack. His legs thanked him. How many weapons could he carry? He panted heavily as he sheathed a sword and an axe behind his back. Next, Jerrick glanced at the crate containing the riders' items. He rummaged through it for a brief moment while his legs rested a little. Jerrick pocketed a few things and grabbed Astrid's axe. Three extra weapons should be enough.

The roar of a Singetail echoed through the caverns.

Three extra weapons had to be enough.

Before running off, Jerrick swiped his hand across all the weapons. The weapons clattered loudly to the stone floor and echoed all around the tunnels. Immediately, Jerrick heard soldiers shouting out his position from one of the tunnels.

Satisfied, Jerrick sprang off and turned down the tunnel that led to the amphitheater. The weapons he was carrying were somewhat heavy, but nothing unbearable. Thankfully, the roar came from another tunnel. The sound of his own footsteps echoed in Jerrick's ears. Hearing one's footsteps was a sign that your legs were tired, he was taught. When this happened, you had to shut out the tiredness. Find motivation to keep going. Jerrick thought of his friends. He was doing this for them. To keep them safe. Why did he need to do this to keep them safe? If anything, they were safe until this happened. No, he was doing this because this is the right thing to do. Kari said so last night. Jerrick turned left. Kari. What did last night mean? It was definitely one of the happiest nights in his life. They kissed! How long had Jerrick been dreaming of this? Right turn at this junction here. He had been dreaming of this for almost as long as he knew Kari. She had to be his girlfriend, right? Gods, girlfriend. A Singetail roar echoed in the caverns. Jerrick sped up. That meant he was her boyfriend. Was he? Hopefully there'll be time to figure out what they were after all this ended.

The exit was close, so close that Jerrick could smell the air getting fresher. Breathing was getting easier. The walls of the tunnels seemed to weigh down on him. Kari and his friends should be outside waiting for him. There were four weapons, but five of them. Who wouldn't get a weapon?

Jerrick had little time to think about that, because loud shouts came from the exit.

The exit he was running to.

On instinct, he threw himself behind a rock and curled up into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible. Being a small teenager definitely helped this time. His heart thumped in his ears as the rumbling of footsteps came closer. Jerrick didn't dare to breathe as the footsteps thundered past his hiding place. He could even feel the floor vibrate as they ran down the tunnel. Time seemed to take an eternity to pass, but eventually, the footsteps receded deeper into the cavern. Jerrick let a few seconds pass before he dared to peek out from the rock. The path was clear. He glanced behind. Seeing no one behind, Jerrick got up and ran to the exit. He was so close, he could smell the exit. One last turn, and Jerrick saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Bright and inviting, he sprinted towards the light. He ran through the opening…

And crashed right into a soldier running in. Jerrick's head hit something metallic. He cried out in pain and shock as he fell painfully to the ground. Stars danced across his vision. For a moment Jerrick was blinded. His head throbbed. Jerrick rubbed his bruised forehead.

The soldier though, was perfectly fine. He just seemed a little winded. It looked like someone had punched him lightly rather than ran into him at full speed. A look of surprise appeared on his face when he saw who had hit him. The very kid that they were searching for! How had he slipped past his own troops? That didn't matter though, because now they had Jerrick in their clutches.

Jerrick didn't regain his senses until the soldier was right in front of him. He gasped as the soldier stuck the tip of his sword right under his nose.

"Don't make any moves, kid," the soldier growled. The mole on his face danced around as he talked. Jerrick gulped.

"What's happening?" Jerrick asked.

"We're all searching for you," Mole said. "I don't know what got into you to do what you did."

"Well, now that you have me, what are you going to do?" Jerrick stalled for time, trying to think of what to do. He was seated on the floor, legs outstretched, which made moving around slightly harder.

"No idea, sir's orders were just to capture you alive."

Jerrick let a smug look cross his face. "Well I'm afraid you're too late." Jerrick looked over Mole's shoulder. "You came just in time," Jerrick said. Mole spun around, senses heightened, ready for an attack.

But there was no one there.

Immediately, the soldier knew he had been fooled. It was the oldest trick in the book. Pretend that there was someone behind your opponent. In the moment that the soldier turned around, Jerrick sprang to his feet and unsheathed a sword. He pulled it just in time to parry a strike. Heart pounding, Jerrick jumped back and narrowly parried another strike. Taking a step back, Jerrick tried to gain a foothold.

But he cried out as his foot stepped on a loose rock. Jerrick lost his footing and stumbled backwards. He scrambled to regain his footing. He managed to do so, but Mole had the upper hand now. Sensing a strike, Jerrick quickly hit the deck. Mole's strike went sailing overhead. Gut instinct told Jerrick that Mole was going to kick. Jerrick rolled to his right, expecting Mole to lash out with his right foot.

But Mole was left footed. His heavy boot crashed into Jerrick's shoulder as he rolled away. Pain cracked down Jerrick's arm like lightning, and he cried out. The sword clattered out of his hands. Jerrick clutched his shoulder and looked up. Defenseless and helpless, Jerrick found himself staring into the ugly and snarling face of Mole. The mole on his face seemed to let out its own ugly little smile.

"You know you could've made it easier on yourself if you had just followed orders," Mole said.

"Well, I guess I like things to be harder," Jerrick said sarcastically. Out of the corner of his eye, Jerrick spotted some movement behind Mole. He didn't look that way though, for fear that Mole might notice.

"Your smart mouth is going to land you in trouble one day."

"It already did, that's why I'm here." The light behind Mole grew darker.

"My boss is going to have-" A loud thunk interrupted Mole. He suddenly stiffened, crumpled to the ground and lay still. Jerrick couldn't help but let out a little laugh when he saw who it was.

"Kari!"

"Are you okay?" She asked, pulling him to his feet. The rest of his friends were behind.

"I'm fine." Jerrick rubbed his shoulder. "Grab a weapon, let's go." With Mole being knocked unconscious, there were a total of five weapons. Corey and Helka grabbed swords, Kari and Dustin grabbed axes, and Jerrick grabbed Hiccup's flaming sword. A cool weapon like this should be given a cool name. Inferno? That sounded nice.

Jerrick led the way out of the tunnels. Breathing in fresh air never felt better. Jerrick focused on the next task. The small tasks in his plan popped up in his mind like a checklist. Free dragons, save riders, check. Get weapons, check. Flee the island? In progress. Next checkpoint, the docks.

"Care to tell us the plan?" Corey asked as they began to jog towards the docks. Jerrick felt comfortable jogging, he hadn't seen or heard any more soldiers.

"We're escaping this place," Jerrick said. He glanced around nervously.

"Thanks," Corey said sarcastically. "How?"

"Through the docks. Have the dragon riders left?" Jerrick asked.

"Yeah, they took off immediately," Kari replied. "How are we going to escape? There's so many guards."

"Trust me," Jerrick said curtly. He glanced around, and was glad to see no soldiers.

The amphitheater loomed large on their right. Jerrick shuddered at the thought of what almost happened there. Bypassing it quickly, they continued their jog to the docks. It wasn't far away. In fact, Jerrick could see the wooden staircase leading to the docks up ahead. The thick forest Jerrick spotted the day before lay in front of them.

A Singetail roared.

Time was running out.

Jerrick sped up, and his friends followed suit. Weapons in hand, ready to fight if ever needed. They turned to run down the stairs, but at the last moment Jerrick stopped them.

"Hide in the forest. Make sure you can see me," Jerrick instructed them. They moved into the shrubbery, and within a few seconds they had disappeared. Even a keen eye couldn't have spotted them.

Satisfied, Jerrick began the last part of the escape plan. Taking a glance over the edge, Jerrick spotted a few guards stationed at the docks. There were exactly six of them on the docks. Jerrick backed away from the edge and turned around. About fifty meters in front of the staircase was one of the four entrances to the cavern. Jerrick didn't bother thinking why there weren't any soldiers here. All that mattered was that there weren't any soldiers here and it suited him. The situation was going perfectly.

Jerrick reached into his pocket and pulled out one of Hiccup's inventions. Earlier in the cavern, when Jerrick was rummaging through the riders' items, he had pocketed four Zippleback gas canisters, knowing full well how and when he was going to use them. Now was the time to do so. He opened them and flung two into the cavern. Green Zippleback gas quickly filled up the entrance to the cavern. Lastly, Jerrick grabbed Inferno, and pressed the button that lighted it up. The blade of the sword caught fire immediately. Warm heat danced close to his face. Jerrick took one last glance at the growing cloud of Zippleback gas…

And tossed Inferno in.

A loud explosion rang out across the island as Jerrick sprinted back towards the docks. The ground vibrated. Rocks began to collapse across the entrance. Ruff and Tuff would've been proud of this explosion. Jerrick took cover behind a large boulder. From his hiding spot, he could see the stairs to the docks clearly, but no one would spot him unless they decided to turn their head to the side completely. Jerrick's attention was on the wooden stairs now. Watching and waiting for all the guards to come up. One pair arrived and rushed to the entrance. The pair was quickly followed by another, and finally the last pair was up too. This was their chance. They had to move before too many soldiers came.

Jerrick waved his hand at his friends. They rose from their hiding spot and snuck onto the wooden stairs with him. None of the guards noticed the five teenagers sneaking down the staircase. When the guards disappeared over the edge of the island out of their sight, Jerrick broke into a run. They sprinted along the wooden deck, their footsteps thudding loudly. A commotion was starting to build near the collapsed entrance. But Jerrick wasn't worried about that. He knew that they would be firmly out of sight unless someone decided to deliberately go out of their way to peek over the edge of the island for whatever reason.

Corey was the first to break the silence. "How did you know they would run to the explosion?" Corey asked.

"I just guessed what they were thinking," Jerrick replied.

"What did you think they were thinking?" Corey pressed on.

"I assumed they weren't," Jerrick replied cheerily. "Come on." They sprinted towards the furthest ship.

Two guards clambered out of a ship. They screeched to a halt. Jerrick swore mentally. He hadn't considered that there may be some guards already searching the ships. This part of the plan depended on stealth. If they took out a few guards, soon the others would realise that they had escaped on a ship, and they would be caught in no time, especially with dragons. Maybe they had time to hide?

A look of recognition appeared on the guards faces, and they began running towards their group of five.

Hiding was out of the question.

"Attack!" Jerrick said sternly. He didn't have a weapon, having thrown Inferno into the cavern. He had to rely on his friends to beat the guards. Jerrick trusted them, they had trained together for nearly two years. But that didn't stop his heart from pounding his eardrums when the first strike happened. Metallic clangs rang around the place. Jerrick spared a few nervous glances behind. The other soldiers hadn't heard the fight. Yet.

It was a good thing they had the numerical advantage this time. Kari and Corey went for one of the guards, while the Sorenson siblings handled the other. The guards were large, bulky and beefy muscles bulging out from the armour they wore. Withstanding their strikes would take a lot of strength. But their large size meant that they weren't agile. That was something Jerrick learnt in the academy. His friends knew it too. With lightning quick pace, they began to circle around the guards. Kari and Corey charged at the bulkier guard. He sported an ugly scar on his arm. Scarred Arm swung his axe, but Corey dodged it expertly. At the same time, Kari danced around Scarred Arm and smacked his head with the flat of her axe. A loud thud rang out, and Scarred Arm collapsed to the ground. By the time Jerrick looked at Dustin and Helka, they had overpowered the guard they were fighting too. The fight was over before it had even begun.

"Good job guys," Jerrick said. He dashed forward and grabbed a sword from the fallen guard. "Let's go."

Jerrick led the way to the furthest ship. He undid the ropes fastening the ship to the dock as the others clambered in and raised the sails. The ropes took longer to untie than Jerrick would've liked. But eventually the ropes stopped struggling and gave way. Taking one final glance behind his back, Jerrick jumped into the boat. None of the soldiers had noticed their escape yet. The guards they just fought still lay unconscious on the docks. But Jerrick knew it was only a matter of time before they awoke and raised the alarm.

With one final glance back, Jerrick pushed off to sea.