The Outcast and The Night Fury

Author's Notes: I'm putting my notes at the beginning this time, as I feel I should warn everyone that there is some violence and mention of guns in this chapter.

I'm sorry for the long wait between updates. I've had a lot going on in real life lately, including my father re-marrying this past weekend, but part of it is just that I can be a slow writer sometimes.

I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please leave a review—I really appreciate it!

Chapter Fourteen

He stepped towards me, a rifle pointed directly at my heart.

"I never should have listened to Eret," Grimmel remarked almost conversationally. "He convinced me to let you live back on the island, and you have re-paid my generosity by wasting months of my work and costing me millions of kroners. You are definitely more trouble than you're worth, boy, but I suppose it's my own fault in a way."

His expression hardened. "But I won't make that mistake again."

He motioned with the rifle. "Go."

I didn't dare disobey, though my mind was racing, trying to figure out how to get away. I started walking in the direction Grimmel had indicated, moving as slowly as possible to try to gain a little time.

At least until Grimmel shoved the tip of the rifle into my back and snapped, "I said move!"

So I made my way through the twisting path through of tall metal containers until I came to a small cleared out area. My heart sank as I saw Eret standing beside a tall cage, with all the other kids locked inside.

Grimmel shoved me into the cleared area in front of the cage. "Well, it looks like the gang's all here," he drawled. "So which of you shall I shoot first? The pretty little girl? The two nutcases? Or one of you tough guys?"

Sly glared at him, which didn't surprise me—whatever his flaws, Sly does have courage in spades. But I was surprised that Fishlegs looked equally angry and fierce. As for Astrid, she looked ready to pull the bars apart and tackle Grimmel. In a flash of gallows humor, I had to think that he was lucky there was a steel-barred cage between them.

Then for just a second, I wondered where the Center dragons were and felt even more scared. Surely Eret and Grimmel couldn't have captured all of us without taking out the dragons first. I felt sick, and so terribly sorry. This was all my fault. I had brought us here and now we were all going to die.

But Eret spoke up. "We're not killing them, Grimmel."

Grimmel gave him a cool look. "I listened to you on Berk, Eret. And we've lost nearly five hundred million kroners, not too mention wasted over four months of work, thanks to your kind-hearted generosity. We're doing it my way now."

"You're talking about shooting a bunch of kids!" Eret exclaimed in horror. "That's cold-blooded murder!"

"And what did you think you were getting into, when you signed up to work for Drago?" Grimmel inquired. "Did you think we simply went on shoplifting sprees and jaywalked?"

"I didn't think you murdered children!"

"We do whatever is necessary, Eret," Grimmel replied. "And you're in too far to back out now."

He shifted the rifle to point at the younger dark-haired man. "Or you could join them…"

I had been watching closely as the two men argued and I decided that now, with Grimmel's attention diverted and the rifle pointed away from me, was going to be my best opportunity. I slipped away into the shadows, hurrying along behind the cages and freezers that stood haphazardly around the room. My natural instinct was just to run, to put as much distance as possible between me and Grimmel, but I knew I couldn't do that. I had to find some way to save the other kids and Toothless. So I stayed close, peering between the containers to watch Grimmel and also trying desperately to find some object that I could use as a weapon.

I also realized that I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the poachers' inattention. The twins had moved to the front of the cage, and I thought that Ruffnut was trying to pick the lock while Tuffnut did his best to shield her from Eret and Grimmel.

Seeing the twins reminded me of the bang snaps they had given us. I reached into my pocket and curled my fingers around the little paper package. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it might be the best I could do. Now I just had to be careful to use it at the right moment.

Of course it didn't take long before they realized that I was gone. Grimmel actually looked close to losing his temper for a moment.

Then his expression cleared and he swung the rifle towards the cage with the other kids, though fortunately, he didn't actually pay much attention to them.

"All right then. You can listen as your friends die, and then I'll come after you. You're on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you know. You don't have anywhere to run."

I pulled the bang snap from my pocket, wondering frantically if it would incapacitate Grimmel if I threw it at him, but Eret shouted "No!" and lunged at him, shoving the rifle out of the way.

There a was a moment of the two of them wrestling. Then suddenly a loud shot echoed through the chamber and I watched in horror as Eret sank to the ground, his hand pressed to his side as blood flowed between his fingers.

Grimmel swore in a furiously cold tone, and then turned back to the cage. I didn't have to see his face to know that he meant business—and that he was certainly capable of killing.

I threw the bang snap as hard as I could towards Grimmel. Although it wasn't a weapon and didn't hurt him, the sudden loud noise going off right at his feet did startle him enough that he dropped the rifle and stumbled backwards.

I darted forwards to try to grab the rifle, but Grimmel recovered quickly and he was reaching for it too. I kicked fiercely and at least managed to send the rifle clattering away into a far dark corner of the room.

Grimmel grabbed my arm. "You're going to pay for that!"

Ruffnut must have succeeded in picking the lock because suddenly Sly was there.

He ran into Grimmel full tilt, knocking him down. "Get your hands off my cousin!"

Astrid also ran over to kick Grimmel. "And I am NOT a pretty little girl, you misogynistic pig!"

She turned to me. "Hiccup, get the rifle!"

But the twins had already run off in search of it, and just then Tuffnut yelled, "We've got it!"

They hurried back, carrying the rifle carefully, just as Grimmel was climbing to his feet.

"You, get in there," Ruffnut snapped at him, gesturing to the cage.

"Yea, it's your turn to be locked up," Tuffnut told him.

Grimmel hesitated, but Tuffnut had the rifle and for once, the twins looked deadly serious. Reluctantly, Grimmel went into the cage, his jaw tight with anger.

Sly slammed the door and closed the lock. "There!" He announced with immense satisfaction.

"Hey guys, he's losing a lot of blood here," Fishlegs spoke for the first time and we all looked around to see that he had taken off his shirt and was kneeling on the floor beside an unconscious Eret. Fishlegs was holding his shirt to the young poacher's side, pressing as hard as he could to try to stop the bleeding, but the shirt was soaked with blood and Eret was frighteningly pale.

"We need to try to call the Archipelago Guards," I said.

Sly had already reached for his phone, but then he scowled at it. "No reception in here. I'm going to have to go up on deck."

"I'll go with you," Tuffnut offered. "He's out of action," he nodded towards Grimmel. "And you might need someone to cover you just in case we run into any of the crew."

I wasn't completely at ease with Tuffnut having that rifle, but he did have a point. Something of my conflicted feelings must have shown in my face, because Tuffnut looked over and said solemnly, "Don't worry, Hiccup. We joke around a lot, but we know when things are serious. I don't like this thing either, but those crew members could be armed too. Someone needs to protect Sly, just in case."

I nodded and they hurried off. I just prayed that they could reach the Guards in time.

"Astrid, you know first aid. Is there anything else we can do for him?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid shook her head. "I don't think so, except keep trying to stop the bleeding. Ruff, give me your jacket."

Ruffnut didn't say a word in protest, but quickly handed it over. Astrid knelt beside Fishlegs, joining him as she pressed Ruffnut's denim jacket to Eret's side.

Ruffnut and I stood beside each other, and I wondered if she felt as helpless as I did, just watching Fishlegs and Astrid trying to save Eret. But then another thought occurred to me.

I swallowed hard and asked, "What happened to the dragons?"

"Grimmel and Eret got them with those fast-acting sedatives," Ruffnut answered.

"Oh." I felt a little weak with relief that at least the dragons should be all right. Ruffnut must have been thinking along those lines, too, for she said.

"Since I'm not any use here now, maybe I'll check on them, see if they're waking up." She started to walk off, but then turned back to me. "Hey, Hiccup?"

I looked at her. "Yea?"

"Thanks.""

I blinked at her. "For what?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "For saving our lives, a few minutes ago. Grimmel was about to shoot us, and then you jumped out at him. Remember that?"

"Oh," I repeated, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Well, yea, I had to."

"No, you didn't have to. You could have just hidden and tried to call the Guards for help. But you didn't—so thanks." Ruffnut smiled at me and then went off to check the dragons.

I looked back over to Fishlegs and Astrid, but there didn't seem to be anything that I could do to help. Then I glanced at Grimmel, who stood glowering at us from the cage, but he was silent and safely contained.

I turned away from him and awkwardly cleared my throat. "I'm going to check on Toothless and see if he's woken up yet."

Astrid nodded in a distracted sort of way, but I'm not sure if she and Fishlegs really heard me. I turned and made my way through the stacks of high freezers and containers back to where Toothless was. At least, I hoped I was heading back towards Toothless. It was easy to lose the way in this dark, cluttered space.

But after a few minutes I could make out the cage by the wall and his familiar shape lying down inside.

"Toothless!" I rushed over and shook the cage door. "Wake up! Are you all right?"

For a long heart-stopping moment, nothing happened and I worried whether Toothless was hurt, and not simply sedated. But then he blinked and slowly opened his eyes, looking around blearily.

"Hiccup?"

"Yes, it's me! Are you all right?"

Toothless nodded. "I think so, but what happened—oh!"

He raised his head sharply as the memories returned. "You shouldn't be here! It's dangerous."

"Not anymore," I told him. "We locked Grimmel up in a cage and Eret—" I paused and swallowed hard. "Grimmel shot him. He's hurt pretty badly, I think, but Fishlegs and Astrid are trying to save him, and Sly and Tuff are calling for help."

Toothless looked confused, but before he could question me further, I gestured towards the lock on the cage. "Stupid me, I should have had Ruffnut come with me to pick this lock. Should I try to find her, or just wait here?"

"Step out of the way and I'll see if I can blast the door open." Toothless climbed to his feet.

"You can do that?" I asked.

"I don't know. The cages are probably strong enough to withstand ordinary dragon fire, but Night Furies shoot plasma blasts. I might be able to get out," Toothless explained.

I stepped back and as I did so, suddenly someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back even further into the shadows.

"Hey," I began indignantly, but then I froze as I looked up into Grimmel's furious face. "You—"

Grimmel smiled slightly, but there was no humor in it. "Did you think your little friends are the only ones who can pick locks? Those two young fools never even noticed, they're so busy trying to save that traitor Eret."

He pulled a handgun from inside his jacket and continued conversationally, though his tone was like ice. "You should have considered that I might have another weapon as well. 'Always be prepared' is my motto. I was tempted to shoot your little friends even while they were kneeling over Eret."

His face hardened. "But you're the one I'm really after."

He pressed the cold muzzle of the gun to my forehead. I've always heard that you see your life flash before your eyes when you think you're about to die, but for me, it was more like several thoughts, regrets and worries, racing through my mind—what would happen to Toothless? Would Grimmel kill the other kids too? And that I would never be able to tell Dad that I was sorry that I had said I hated him, that I didn't mean it, and that I really did love him and wished that he loved me.

Then several things seemed to happen at once. There was an odd, piercing sound that I realized later must have been Toothless blasting his way out of the cage because suddenly he was there, his green eyes shining through the darkness. Grimmel pulled the trigger at the same instant that Toothless grabbed him and slung him away from me. For a terrible instant I was afraid that Grimmel had shot Toothless, or me, but then I realized we were all right.

But I didn't even have time to feel relief because Toothless slung Grimmel with such force that the silver-haired poacher crashed into several huge metal containers. They shook, and then collapsed, burying Grimmel—and the top one was falling right towards me.

Toothless sprang to snatch me away. There was no time for him to be careful—he just grabbed my arm in his mouth and his teeth felt like a dozen little daggers stabbing into my arm. He almost succeeded—he did manage to get most of me out of the way. But the corner of the container landed on the lower part of my left leg and foot.

There was indescribable, blinding agony, and then mercifully everything went black.