Hiccup sat up, clutching his chest where the mark was, and screamed. He looked around the room in panic, backing away from the shadow in the room. "Hiccup! Calm down!" Stoick yelled, holding his arm along with Kenna. Hiccup looked at him with wide eyes, breathing heavily. The last thing he remembered was lying in the cove after getting hit by Alvin's sword. He looked down at his chest to find a black mark on his chest. His body shivered and he wrapped his arms around his body. Kenna gave him a blanket that he quickly wrapped around himself as he stared down at the end of the bed.
The door suddenly opened, revealing Astrid with wide eyes. "What's going on?!" She yelled, looking back and forth on the three. Gobber ran in afterwards, panting.
"Sorry chief, we couldn't hold her back," He apologized. Stoick just waved it off and looked at Hiccup, rubbing his back soothingly. He could feel Hiccup's body tremble by only making contact with him. Something must have terrified him, Stoick thought, looking at his son in worry.
"Hiccup?" Stoick whispered, leaning forward to look at him. Hiccup looked down at him with the same wide eyes. His breathing audible in the silent room. He held his chest hard with his hand beneath the blanket and stared horrified into his father's eyes. "Hiccup?" Stoick asked again. Hiccup nodded shakenly. "Can you tell us what happened?" Hiccup nodded slowly, staring back down on the bed as he took a deep breath.
"I…" Hiccup trailed off, closing his eyes. He felt his father hold his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Hiccup tried to squeeze back but found no strength in his arm to do so.
"It's okay Hiccup. Just tell us what you saw," Stoick said calmly. Hiccup opened his eyes again.
"A-Alvin," Hiccup whispered, barely making a sound. Stoick looked up at Gobber who stood beside him.
"What did you say?" Astrid asked, kneeling down in front of the bed and rested her arms on the bed. She wasn't sure if she'd heard him say something. She noticed Hiccup's hands shaking beneath the blanket. Carefully, she stood up and sat down on the bed in front of him. Gently taking his hands in hers.
"I…I saw Al…Alvin," He said louder than before, looking into her eyes with fear. Astrid looked at his father with wide eyes, unsure if she had heard him right.
"You saw Alvin?" Kenna asked. Before Hiccup answered, he threw the covers away from him and sprinted out the doors. He ran past Fishlegs and Snotlout who surrounded Ruffnut, trying to impress her by giving her the biggest meal. Heather sat beside Tuffnut on the table, laughing a little by the three. Ruffnut sent her a death glare as she pushed them away when they got to close.
"HICCUP!" Astrid yelled, running after him. Heather looked away from Ruff and in an instant ran after her with the others. "Astrid! What's going on?" She yelled, finally catching up to her.
"I don't know. Hiccup just ran out!" She said, opening the Great Hall with force. She looked around the village from the top of the stairs, in search for Hiccup. He sprinted down the stairs and ran through the village, making his way to the bridge that leads to the woods. Astrid whistled for Stormfly and mounted her once she came, and helped Heather on before they set off to follow Hiccup. Stoick came through the doors with Toothless and mounted him, getting a little glimpse of Hiccup before he disappeared behind a mountain.
Hiccup panted as he struggled to run. His stump ached but he didn't care. The adrenaline rushed in his veins and through his body. He had to get to the woods. He turned and ran, slipped but ran, fell but kept going. Nothing was going to stop him. Not even the lungs burning and his throat aching. He heard dragons flapping behind him, encouraging him to go faster. In all honesty, he didn't want them to follow. He wanted to do this on his own. But with Alvin back, he knew he would need the help he got. The only answer was how would he get help when no one believed him.
The familiar cliff came up ahead and he picked up speed. He ran and ran, and then jumped, rolling over as he landed and picked up his balance again before running over to the place he saw Alvin. He looked behind the stones he had appeared from. Nothing. His heart beat faster and his lungs begged for more air. He ran his hand through his hair, looking around in clear panic. He ignored the dragons landing in the cove and ignored the calls from his friends and his father.
"Where is it?" He muttered to himself, looking around his surroundings. He ran over to the place he stood, before he fell unconscious, and looked forward. "Okay, Alvin stood there," Hiccup muttered, looking forward before his eyes landed down to his feet. "And I stood here," he whispered. His eyes widened. He held his chest and looked behind him where he noticed a black object stuck to a tree. Immediately, he ran over to the tree and leaned his right arm to the tree as he inspected it closer.
"Hiccup, what are you doing?" Stoick asked worried. Hiccup held up his left hand, silently telling him to be quiet. He brought his left hand up to the object. He knew what it was. It was the sword Alvin had thrown at him. The sword that had gone straight through him and ended up behind him, leaving nothing there but a black mark.
"I wonder," Hiccup whispered, squinting his eyes as he brought his left hand closer to the sword. As his hand was a single inch from the object, he brought his hand towards it with force, getting ready to hold it, but it went straight through. "What the?" Hiccup asked himself. He brought his hand back and forth, through the sword, but stopped as his hand went black. He held his hand by his wrist as pain rushed through his palm. He let out a scream and fell backwards on his behind.
"Hiccup?!" Astrid yelled, falling down beside him. She held her right hand behind his back and the other trace the line of black that could have easily been mistaken for being a bruise. Hiccup's breath quickened as the pain in his hand worsened. He cried out once more, falling down on the grass as he held his arm closely to his body.
Astrid watched as Hiccup laid down, holding his arm. She tried to do something but didn't know what. She didn't know what was wrong. Her eyes scanned his arm from palm to shoulder and watched as Hiccup gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. Black veins moved up his forearm, across his biceps and up to his shoulder. She thought it would stop then, but the veins moved to his chest and surrounded the mark. Hiccup screamed out in pain, gasping for air. The black veins soon faded, but the mark on his chest became more visible. Astrid narrowed her eyes to get a better look, but Hiccup held the mark tightly, preventing her from getting a better look.
"Hiccup?" She whispered, cupping his sweaty cheeks. He didn't answer. "Hiccup!"
Stoick kneeled down beside her and looked at the paled face of his son. He looked at Astrid with worry before looking down at his son. His large hand went through Hiccup's head as he grabbed his left shoulder, gently shaking it. Hiccup stirred a little. Stoick calmly whispered his name. Hiccup's eyes slowly opened. "Hiccup?" Hiccup looked up at his father, parting his lips.
"What happened?" He whispered in a voice weak and hoarse. His whole body felt weak as if the energy he had only a couple of minutes ago were drain from him in a second. Stoick sighed in relief. Relief that his son was alright.
"I don't know," Stoick said in all honesty. Hiccup nodded shakenly, wrapping his arm around his cold body. Stoick unattached his fur cloak and wrapped it around Hiccup who held it tightly around him.
Astrid stood up, looking over at the black object that was stuck in the tree. The twins walked over to her, reaching out to touch it. Astrid pushed them away angrily. "Don't touch it!" She growled, giving them a death glare.
"Why not?" Tuffnut whined.
"Didn't you see what just happened?" Astrid asked, placing a hand on her hip. Sometimes she couldn't believe how childish they were.
"We did," Ruffnut started.
"Why else do you think we want to touch it? That thing is awesome!" Tuffnut yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. The two sprinted towards the sword again, but something blocked their way. Fishlegs stood with his arms folded, looking down at the twins who backed away slowly.
"When I think about it, we'll just leave it there," Ruffnut said, earning a nervous nod from his brother. The two stepped away, walking over to Snotlout who stood a couple of feet away from them. Fishlegs rolled his eyes and turned around to Astrid.
Heather walked over to them, holding a stick in her hand. She stood beside the object and looked at Astrid unsure. Astrid nodded, looking at the stick. She felt Snotlout look over her shoulder and the twins doing the same with Heather. Heather brought the stick closer, expecting it to stop once it hit, but it went straight through. She looked up at the others who looked at the black object with wide eyes.
"What is that?" Heather asked, bringing the stick back and forth a few more times.
"Whatever it is, it's not good," Astrid said, standing up straight. She walked over to Hiccup to find him sitting on Toothless with a fur cloak wrapped around him. "How are you feeling?" Hiccup smiled weakly.
"I've been better," He said with a small chuckle.
"Will you come to training today?" Astrid asked. Hiccup nodded a little unsure.
"Probably after I've gotten a bath in the hot springs," He smiled at her. "I'll see you later," With that, the two set off towards his house. Upon arriving there, Hiccup unwrapped his cloak and opened the door, telling Toothless to wait outside. He picked up three towels and brought his satchel that contained new washed clothes, and ran downstairs, mounting Toothless and flew up in the air, having left his father's cloak back in the house for him to get it later.