Author's Note: So sorry for the late update! Our internet cut out so we didn't have any wifi for a while. =/ *Glares at router* Dang you router!

Anyway, here's chapter eleven! I hope you enjoy it! =D


Chapter Eleven: Escape

Hiccup sighed and dropped the small stick he had been holding. He had spent the past ten minutes trying to pick at the simple lock that was keeping him inside his cell. By the look of the snow blocking his window, Hiccup could tell it was night. Hiccup sat back on his bed and the small Terror that had delivered the bad news to him hopped into his lap, staring at him.

"Sorry," said Hiccup, recognizing the look that was asking for food. "I don't have any fish."

The Terror slumped and curled up in Hiccup's lap with a small huff. Hiccup huffed as well and leaned back against the stone wall. He had to get out of there. He just didn't know how.

Hiccup began to rub the small dragon's back, thinking about how delicious a hot soup would be. It was hard to stay focused on thinking about how to escape when one was hungry. The men hadn't brought any food down like they had said they would earlier, and Hiccup knew that they probably didn't feed the Terror anything either when it had arrived with the message.

"I should probably come up with a name for you," Hiccup said to the small, blue dragon on his lap. The Terror perked up with interest and cocked its head at the young viking.

"Let's see...you flew through the snow and delivered something to me, but I don't think Snowmail sounds very interesting."

The Terror nodded its head. He clearly didn't want that name.

"Erm...how about Blizzard? I'm pretty sure there's one going on right now," said Hiccup as he looked up toward the barred window. The snow outside was blowing around wildly, and Hiccup could hear the wind howling.

The Terror seemed satisfied with the name. Blizzard curled up on Hiccup's lap once again and stared up toward the barred window with a wine.

"I know, buddy," said Hiccup. "I wanna get out of here too. But we can't leave without Toothless, but I have no idea how he's doing."

Blizzard looked up at Hiccup attentively as the young viking continued.

"And what about the others? I don't know if they're even still here! I know they wouldn't leave me here, but what if they were forced to leave this place? And to top it off, my dad caught Inyitis right when he already recovered from previous injuries. What are we gonna do?!"

Blizzard nipped at Hiccup's hand and Hiccup yelped in surprise.

"What was that for?" asked Hiccup. Blizzard rolled his eyes at him as if to say, "It was to make you hush up."

Hiccup sighed. "Okay, maybe I am freaking out a little, but we really do need to find a way out of here."

Blizzard nodded and began to search around the room. Hiccup felt around the walls to see if there was a weak spot that they could break down, but there were none. The only way in and out was the locked cage in front of them.

"We need to get the key," said Hiccup. "Or break this door down, but the first idea sounds better."

Blizzard didn't seem to agree. The little dragon bashed his head into the metal cage doors, and turned around looking dazed. Hiccup laughed lightly and picked up the small dragon.

"I don't think you're strong enough to bust down this door on your own," said Hiccup. "We should get some rest. We can come up with something in the morning."

Hiccup wrapped himself with the thin blanket and laid down on the bed. It wasn't comfy like his bed at home and was very cold. It didn't even have a pillow. Hiccup used his hand to prop himself up, but it didn't bring any comfort.

Blizzard curled up next to Hiccup, bringing a small amount of warmth to the young viking. Hiccup smiled and gave the dragon a pat on the head. It wasn't a lot of warmth, but it was enough to make Hiccup feel a bit better about the situation they were in at the moment.

"Thanks, Blizzard," said Hiccup. And the boy and dragon soon fell asleep.

Astrid was worried for Hiccup. She and the other Riders managed to escape the ships and take shelter in a cave they had found. A fire was lit in the middle of the room, and the Riders circled around it, absorbing its warmth. The other dragons wrapped themselves around their riders, trying to give them warmth as well. Everyone was safe and sound inside the cave...except for Astrid.

Astrid stood outside in the cold snow scanning the area. She saw no sign of Hiccup or Toothless meaning that they must have been locked up somewhere. She sighed and rubbed her hands together. They needed to go back for him.

"Guys, we need to go and save Hiccup," said Astrid as she walked into the cave with Stormfly following behind her. "I have a bad feeling that those men are going to do something bad to him."

"I feel the same way," Fishlegs said. "But it's dark out and it probably isn't best to fly into that storm…"

"Who cares about the storm when Hiccup's in danger?" said Astrid. "We've been sitting here long enough. Let's go."

"Just five more minutes by the fire, then we can leave," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut and Snotlout nodded and continued to bask in the fire's heat. Astrid rolled her eyes and walked outside, then returned with a bucket filled with snow. She dumped it on top of the fire and it immediately went out.

"Hey, what gives?!" cried Ruffnut.

"We're leaving. Now," said Astrid firmly. The twins and Snotlout got to their feet quickly, fearing the wrath that would come to them from the Hofferson girl if they didn't obey.

Astrid nodded, satisfied, and led the Riders outside. They mounted their dragons and took to the cold, snowy air and flew toward the direction of the village that they had gone to buy the berries. As they were flying, Astrid told them the plan.

"We're gonna have to be stealthy," said Astrid. "So no wandering off. Stick together and we'll be able to find Hiccup faster. Once we find where he and Toothless are being kept, we'll break them out and fly out of here before anyone catches us. We're criminals there, so we have to keep a low profile."

"Low profile. Got it," said Tuffnut.

"Astrid, do you even know where Hiccup and Toothless are being kept?" asked Fishlegs.

"No, I don't," said Astrid. "But a dungeon shouldn't be so hard to locate." Right? she added mentally.

"Just...just stay low and follow my lead," said Astrid. "And we'll be out of there in no time."

The Dragon Riders nodded and as they approached the small village, Astrid hoped that things wouldn't take a turn for the worst.

Hiccup was woken up by a loud roar. He nearly fell out of his bed and accidentally knocked Blizzard to the ground. The dragon roared in surprise and looked up at Hiccup with an upset look.

"Sorry, Blizzard," said Hiccup. He slid out of bed and walked to the cage bars that were keeping him inside and looked around. The roar sounded again, and Hiccup paled when he recognized the roaring.

"Toothless…" he whispered. Hiccup shook the bars. "Toothless!" he yelled. What were they doing to him? Hiccup kicked at the metal bars in frustration. He needed to get out of there. Now.

"Blizzard, do you think you can burn off this lock?" Hiccup asked. He knew that a Terror's fire wasn't as hot as a Nadder's, but the young viking was desperate to get to his best friend, who seemed to be in danger.

Blizzard, seeing how desperate Hiccup was, flew up to the lock and blew a trail of fire at it. The metal burned and turned a bright orange, then snapped off. Hiccup smiled and flung open the door.

"I really wish I thought of this before," said Hiccup. He turned to the small dragon who looked tired after using up so much firepower.

"Good job, buddy," said Hiccup. He scooped up the dragon in his arms and ran out of his cell, making sure to avoid any guards that were in the hallway. Hiccup followed the sounds where the roars had come from, and eventually came to another hallway filled with cells. Hiccup walked through and found one that seemed to have been blasted open.

"He escaped…" remarked Hiccup. "That means he's looking for me." Hiccup ran back down that way he came but didn't see the black dragon anywhere. Hiccup decided to head outside before he was discovered to have escaped. The young viking quickly ran up the stairs and found that he was actually underneath the Great Hall.

Hiccup blinked. "So this is where they keep their dungeons? Interesting." Hiccup and Blizzard crept under an empty table and watched as the group of men that had captured him cheered on how they were going to get the award for catching the chief of Berk's son. Hiccup then spotted Toothless on the other side of the Hall, silently making his way to the door. His eyes locked with Hiccup's and Toothless' eyes brightened, happy to see that his friend was okay.

Hiccup smiled and made gestures for the door. Toothless nodded and continued to creep toward the door. Hiccup clutched Blizzard to his chest and did the same, ducking behind barrels or hiding under tables. Toothless was waiting—-hidden behind a knocked over table—-for Hiccup by the door. Hiccup managed to creep behind another tower of barrels and drew in a breath.

"Here we go," he whispered. Then he, Blizzard, and Toothless opened the door and ran out before the men realized they had escaped.

Hiccup had climbed onto Toothless' back and placed Blizzard in the saddlebag. Hiccup didn't have a coat, so he kept his arms wrapped around himself as he and the dragons made their way behind buildings to avoid being detected. It turned out that the men had patched up Toothless' wounded leg. Hiccup didn't know if it still hurt and Toothless was covering up the pain, but if that were the case, the Night Fury seemed to be perfectly fine.

"Nice job on breaking out of there, bud," said Hiccup. Toothless warbled in response and they eventually came to the spot where he and the Riders had landed.

"Hopefully the others are nearby," said Hiccup. Right when he said this, he spotted the Dragon Riders in the sky. Hiccup smiled and patted Toothless to fly into the sky. When the Riders spotted him, relieved looks crossed on their faces.

Astrid smiled. "Hiccup! You're okay!"

"Of course I am," he said. "We managed to escape without being detected, but we should probably find a place to stay. Preferably a warm one."

The Dragon Riders turned around and eventually made it back to where it was warmer. They landed on a small island and set up camp on the beach. Astrid walked up to Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They shot Toothless' leg which made us fall out of the sky. They took us to their dungeon talking about chopping my head off for the bounty that was put up a year ago."

"I guess they didn't hear that it wasn't going on anymore," said Astrid.

Hiccup nodded. "Toothless managed to escape first and then me and Blizzard followed."

"Good thing you got out in one piece," said Astrid. She noticed Hiccup's somber expression and asked, "Did something else happen?"

Hiccup bit his lip and sighed. "Um...well...it turns out my dad caught Inyitis."

Astrid gasped. "Really? Oh no…"

"Yeah…" said Hiccup. Then he shook off his sad expression. "But we'll get the rest of the ingredients and make the cure," he said. "He'll be fine, as will everyone else on Berk."

Astrid squeezed his shoulder. "Yes, everyone will get better soon."