Hey all, finally updated the story! Life has kept me running in circles, and I'm not sure when the next chapter will be coming out(so much schoolwork). Anyhow, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8: Something Wicked in the Dark
Hiccup awoke to something jostling him. When he was awake enough, he registered the low growling of his Night Fury. He squinted his eyes, trying in vain to see in the dark, but it was of course impossible since all that remained of the fire was a few dying embers.
"Toothless?" he whispered.
Toothless' growling continued, and somehow, Hiccup suspected it was directed towards something -or someone- that was not him.
Out of the blackness came a sudden clacking noise, like knives tap, tap, tapping gently, gently against stone.
Hiccup's back stiffened, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
They were not alone.
Clack, clack, clack. There it was again, near yet far, close together yet strangely scattered. Then came a faint, bone-chilling chitter like the growling stomach of a ravenous monster. Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. He knew that call. He had heard it before. He racked his brain, desperate to recall the time, the place, the memory where he had heard it before.
Clack-clack. Rubble shifted, and the chitter sounded again. He fumbled around in the dark until he found a piece of firewood tipped with a dying, orange ember. After blowing on it to revive the fire, he held it out. Light spilled out from his torch, parting the shadows like clouds of mist above the ocean. Hiccup's blood ran cold; he now knew whose call it was upon glimpsing several coats of jaded-green scales and the all-too-familiar pairs of blood-colored eyes.
Speed Stingers. As he cast his eyes around the cave, he found that there were dozens, even hundreds of red eyes glaring at him from the inner parts of the cave. Hiccup's breath all but left him, too terrified to even scream. The only thought which pulsated through his mind was: "What do we do? What do we do?"
Indeed, what could he do? Speed Stingers were extremely aggressive and territorial, and Hiccup and Toothless had trespassed into their haven, their home, their cave. There was no chance they would forgive such a thing, and to make matters worse, Hiccup was sure they would find him a tasty dinner or at least a scrumptious snack. In slow-motion, Hiccup slid his right foot back, hoping to edge himself nearer to his dragon who was crouched down, back tensed, ears pointed, claws sheathed.
The lead Speed Stinger stepped gingerly forward, scraping his talons menacingly against the stone floor. It was as if he were sharpening them like an executioner sharpening his axe. The Speed Stinger's forked tongue slid around the brim of his mouth, licking it in relish as Hiccup visibly quivered in fear. One thing Hiccup had come to notice over this past year of facing several wild dragons was that they loved seeing their victim afraid. Fear was like an exquisite drug to them, enjoyed almost more than the feast afterward. The Speed Stinger would not eat Hiccup in a hurry, no. He was going to toy with him a little, have a fun game of cat-and-mouse, and milk out every last ounce of juicy, raw terror.
And that meant that Hiccup had only a few minutes to make an escape. He knew he had to make it fast.
What do we do? His thoughts pounded out with his racing heartbeat. What do we do?
What do we do, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do?
The pack closed in on them, encircling like a tightening noose. The point of the chieftain's tail rose dangerously high. Hiccup gulped.
What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?
Hiccup's eyes turned left and right, then up at the stalactites, jutting out of the stone roof like gigantic spikes. And it hit him.
"Toothless," he tried, but his voice cam out weak from fright. "Shoot the ceiling."
Toothless glanced at him, whirring uncertainly. The chief Stinger snarled. The pack rushed at them.
"NOW!" Hiccup screamed.
Toothless blasted the stone ceiling, and with an earsplitting, echoing boom, stalactites shattered, breaking off from the roof like teeth and came crashing down upon the Speed Stingers and Hiccup and Toothless. The Speed Stingers screeched frantically, scattering in their panic. The Night Fury wasted no time and snatching his boy up by the scruff of his tunic, flung him onto his back, then galloped out towards the exit of the cave, careful weaving through as the entire ceiling of the mountain came crumbling down upon them in a rain of rubble and dust and rock. It was lucky they were but a short dash from the exit, and it was not long before Toothless reached the exit and they had reached the marshy, pouring outside.
Hiccup panted, gulping in breaths. It took a while before he had the courage to look over his shoulder at the cave, but all there was inside was darkness. He squinted his eyes, hoping to see if any shape or shade was hiding inside the black veil. He stared. And stared.
Nothing.
He sighed. "That was-"
But no sooner had he spoken was he grappled by sharp claws and swiftly pounced on and hurtled to the ground. He barely had time to register this and found himself pinned beneath the rathful talons of the Stinger chief. His teeth were bared. His eyes were narrowed, thirsty for vengeance, for blood. Hiccup squirmed, but vainly as the talons dug into his shoulder in response. Hiccup gave a scream of pain, and his hunter growled, almost revelling in his pain. The chief reared his head in closer. Hiccup could feel the sickening, sticky breath of the dragon on his face. He turned his head away with a terrified, pitiful whimper.
Chittering ravenously, the dragon opened its jaws wide, ready to bite, to tear flesh, to feast.
In desperation, Hiccup screamed out, "TOOTHLESS!"
In a flash, Toothless leapt forward, knocking the Speedstinger to the ground. The Night Fury snarled, teeth sheathed in menace, ready to maul in revenge. But the alpha had other ideas and let out a screech to its pack. Instantly green streaks shot forward towards Toothless. They drove him back towards a massive, towering boulder, each making a stab at their prey with their barbed tails and narrowly missing. Hiccup jumped to his feet just in time to see crept up on the tree limb suspended above Toothless was the alpha Stinger. He had slipped away and climbed up, getting ready to pounce on him and puncture his back.
There was no time. Hiccup reached down, plucked a stone from the ground, and hurtled it. The rock zoomed straight as an arrow and bashed the Alpha square in the temple. He snarled in pain, then, eying Hiccup, screeched in fury and indignation. Instantly, the other half of the pack flocked about their leader. They brandished their barbed tails.
Hiccup gulped. Oh. No.
They rushed towards him like a green tsunami. Hiccup turned in the other direction and ran straight into the forest. He rushed past the dripping branches, through the brambles which sprayed him with mist even though it was so dark, it was nearly pitch-black. Hopefully, just hopefully, he could lose them in this dense and dark forest. In his horror, he skidded to a stop and whipped around hearing a distant, but ferocious shriek. But it was not one of a Speed Stinger. It was the panicked shriek of a Night Fury.
"Oh, no," Hiccup breathed and mentally kicked himself.
What had he done? He had left his friend back there, completely at the mercy of those scaly vultures. He ran, trying to follow the noise, but it is amazing how the darkness can play tricks, especially in unfamiliar territory. Hiccup heard the shriek again, this time farther than before. He stopped. He could have sworn that-
He darted right, his feet swishing in the mud. He had to get back. He had to get back. He had to save Toothless. Hiccup stopped. He turned full circle. His breath quickened in a panic. He could not see where he was going. He did not know where he was. Everywhere he looked was the black silhouette of trees and bushes, all morphed together and all looking exactly the same. But that was not what made Hiccup scared. It was that he could no longer hear his dragon.
Had Toothless- Hiccup shook his head in defiance, not even letting the thought finish. He could not think like that. If he did, for even one second, all might be lost. He had to keep moving.
Hiccup was about to take another step when out of the darkness came a pair of floating, red eyes. Hiccup froze, tantalized with fear. A low growl came, then as, more joined in like a chorus harkening death. More red eyes flashed.
He wasted no time and kicked up his heels and ran. The Speed Stingers rushed after him, and there began a race for Hiccup's life.
Hiccup broke through the heather, running as fast as he possibly could. He dared not look back, but he could hear the chitters coming from just behind him. The rain was picking up, but he still could hear the distant swishing was growing more pronounced, more audible. He darted sharply to the right, towards the deeper part of the forest, though he knew this would do little good. What good would darkness do against predators who had excellent night vision and could still smell him, regardless of the rain?
His feet splashed frantically in the muddy ground, too panicked to care about the puddles which caked his pants with brown sludge. "Toothless!" he called out desperately, cupping a hand to his mouth. "Toothless!"
He looked left and right, searching the darkness for his dragon, but he was nowhere to be found. Even if Toothless could hear him over the rain, he was probably far off. He was all alone, running blindly through a forest he hardly recognized at all. The darkness had washed itself over the terrain completely, remaking the land into a black, wet labyrinth.
"All I wanted," he panted, breathless, frustrated, and dripping, "was one weekend off. But do I get that? No! I get a supply list and a pack of bloodthirsty dragons!"
Hiccup then tripped over an overgrown root, lost his footing, and fell face-first into the mud. He pushed himself up, wiping the mud out of his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He scrambled to his feet, but he swayed to his left, and the sickening creaking and squeaking of metal came from underneath him. He looked down at his prosthetic to find it dislodged from its setting and bent to the left like a broken bone. Just his luck. It was broken for the second time. His problems just kept snowballing.
Another dragon call came, closer than ever before. Hiccup tried to resume his run, but the broken leg made it hard and he only managed a quick limp, quick being a relative term. Just ahead of him was a break in the treeline. He was almost out of the woods! If he could get out, he could at least have some light, be able to see his pursuers. Maybe Toothless would be able to find him more easily…
He made it out of the woods. His hands pressed against his knees as he caught his breath. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, but a distant bolt of lightning flashed and illuminated the grassy hill. Then, Hiccup felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw that the hill abruptly stopped just a few feet in front of him. This was not a hill at all. It was a cliff, a dead end. A dead end that encircled him, cut him off from any possible escape.
"Oh, Thor!"
A sharp chitter tore through the air, reminding Hiccup that he was not alone. He whipped around and saw the lead Speed Stinger break through the treeline, his blood-red dorsal fin raised like a mainsail, his teeth bared in bloodlust. Another Stinger came from the left of him, another to his right, and several others rushed up behind their alpha.
They had herded him here. Hiccup had nowhere to go, and they had him right where they wanted him. Hiccup backed up, hands extended in front of him. The pack encroached around him, snarling, pushing him closer and closer to the edge. This was it. He was dead. No one was coming to save him. He was all alone.
Hiccup's right foot grazed the end of the cliff. He slipped off and fell backwards.