Hiccup kicked into nothingness. A huge hand grasped his thin neck, pressing his throat down to prevent any air from escaping, or coming, through his throat. Hiccup gasped, looking into the red demonic eyes of his old enemy who carried a nasty, yet evil, grin.
"Listen up you runt," Alvin snarled. "There's no one coming to help you. You're father and friends are dead. And if you think there's any way escaping this, the think again," Hiccup felt the ginormous hand leave his throat, allowing him deep, steady breaths. Tears fell from his eyes, pleading that what he was told was a lie.
"Please, l-leave them a-alone," Hiccup gasped through his sobs. "Do wh-whatever you…you want with me, ju-just leave them out of it," He felt the same cold hand take a hold of his exposed forearm and a cool, sharp piece of metal place against his wrist.
"It's too late now, they're all gone," That was the last thing Hiccup heard him say for what felt like an eternity in the darkness. His screams echoed in his own ears as Alvin buried the knife deeper and deeper into his arm until he was sure there was no way any healer could save it.
Gothi ran out of the Great Hall, the fastest her old feet could, and down the stairs and path that led to the forge. Once she arrived, she looked around in shelves and on tables, in cabinets and closets but found nothing. Silently, with her muted voice, she groaned, but notices a ladder in the far end of the room. Possibilities flooded her mind and she carefully laid her staff against a beam and slowly climbed up the ladder.
There it was, dusty as ever. A book covered in layers of dust that could be measured as inches high. Only by the look, one could find it centuries old. Maybe even older. She brought it out with her bony fingers and held it closely to her chest as she climbed carefully back down the ladder. The book looked heavier than any other book, considering the many pages, but one shouldn't underestimate the strength of an elder.
Gothi brushed her hand along the cover, revealing a symbol. The chief symbol of Berk. Her eyes wandered out of the forge, through a window and up to the Great Hall. She had much explaining to do when the chief came back with what would hopefully be the cure.
Everything was in flames. The pots shattered by the contact of the wooden floor as the shelves they once supported themselves on that was now in flames and ashes. Glass shattered, fire burned and panicked roars from the outside was heard. There were fire inching closer to the Vikings inside, inching closer to them from every corner, and both roof and ground.
Stoick gave the pot to Astrid as he kicked the door with his foot, stumbling back and coughed with the crook of his arm covering his nose and mouth, and kicked again. The door broke little by little up as the chief kicked with all his might, knowing that his life, and the life of others, not just inside the same flaming house as him, depended on it.
The door finally gave out, breaking into pieces outside where the chief was met by a pair of big acid green eyes with slits. Toothless moved out of the way letting the 'prisoners' out of the flaming hut. Immediately, Stoick mounted Toothless who ran in top speed towards the village just as the house exploded with fire. A sigh escaped his lips once the smell of smoke and sound of fire was out in the distance instead of up close.
Toothless sped up the stopped for a second, by the first step of the massive stair that led up to the Great Hall, and listened. His ears perked up, listening closely with eyes wide. Stoick looked down at the dragon confused, about to let go when suddenly Toothless ran in a flash of light up the stairs. Toothless waited impatiently by the door as Stoick hurried on opening the huge door. He let out whines as he heard his rider's cries and heart racing. His paws lifted his body, without Stoick on, and sprinted inside the hall, ignoring the fact that it was empty for Vikings, and ran over to the door where Hiccup was kept behind.
Astrid was the first by the door and opened it quickly, running in, with the two pots in her hands, behind the Night Fury. Her heart raised in her chest, pounding against it as if trying to break free. In front of her, Hiccup trashed and screamed, calling out different sentences that were not understandable for anyone in the room. She stood in front of Mildew, ignoring his sickening laughter as she watched the scene in front of her speechless and feeling utterly useless.
"His heart is rising! We have to slow it down!" Kenna yelled, struggling against Hiccups grip that held firmly against her hands in hope to push her away. Hiccup screamed out, his chest rising, fingers twitching, and then all at once it stopped. Hiccup's body laid flat on the bed, his head falling limp to the side without a single sign of heartbeats.
Stoick stood there speechless, finding no words build up in his mind no matter how much he wanted it. His eyes were glued on the pale body of his son, lying there motionless. This reminded him of something. It almost felt like a Déjà vu. His mind and thoughts wandered back to the day he saw his son take his last breath in front of him. The way his son laid so lifeless in his big arms. How pale he looked.
In that moment he knew what was going on. His feet sprinted over to the bed and crumbled beneath him, making him fall to the ground with shaky hands holding the old carved wood. His massive hands crawled up the fur, over Hiccup's shoulder and stopped by his neck, searching for pulse. Stoick took a deep breath in hope to calm himself down to hear and feel more closely.
Stoick's breath stopped for a second, almost mirroring the dead breathing of his son, the breath he so badly wanted to hear. His index finger found the vein that was supposed to pumping up the oxygen to his nose. There was no pulse.
Instantly, his hands moved back to support his own weight on the wood that carried his son higher up in the air. He grabbed his helmet and threw it away, hurrying to put his right ear against the chest of his son and listened closely for any heartbeats. Stoick hoped he had been imaginary to the point of searching for a pulse and wanted to believe that he had hallucinated. He wanted it to be a nightmare, just like he wanted the first time his son went to Valhalla, but then again, dreams come true. And who were to say dreams couldn't be nightmares too?
Stoick's eyes shut, letting a tear fall from his teary eyes. His arms went around his head that rested on the silent chest of his only son. By the sight everyone could tell what happened. Tuffnut gripped his hair in fear, not knowing what he was supposed to do. He stayed silent in his own thoughts.
"No," Astrid whispered, ignoring the fact that her eyes were showing clear weakness. She always cared of being brave, for everyone. Everyone except one. And the one was lying lifeless in front of her eyes. Her knees made contact with the hard wood beneath her feet. The pots in her hands rolling down her tights and lightly down on the floor below. Her hands lay in her lap, shaking slightly along with her shoulder that followed the rhythm of her silent sobs.
"He-he can't be gone!" Snotlout cried, running a hand in his hair that was hid beneath his helmet. He looked at his cousin, Hiccup's face lying towards him, and felt himself tear up inside. His eyes watered at the sight of his future chief and his child hood target of his bullying. Regrets filled his mind and he didn't want anything else to do but to drown in them.
Ruffnut was speechless, locking eyes with Heather who looked back at her and then moved to Astrid. Astrid's hands were wiping away the tears as she looked at Hiccup's body. Without second thoughts she knelt down beside her, pulling her closer to her chest as they both stared at Hiccup.
Fishlegs stood beside Gobber who held his shoulders loosely down, his mouth open as tears fell from his eyes as well. Fishlegs bowed his head, looking down at the floor beneath his feet to avoid looking at the lifeless figure of his friend. He and Hiccup didn't have such a strong bond as kids, but days changed everything and they discussed dragons whenever they could. It brought them closer.
Gothi held her head low along with Kenna, both of them staring down at their feet. Everything was deadly silent. The air wasn't awkward as one would describe a silence to be. The silence was rather wretched. No one had taken notice of the man causing this, standing in the same room as them with a wicked smile on his wrinkled face, still chained to the wall.
Mildew smiled, looking nothing like the ones surrounding him. "It's finally done," Astrid's teary eyes widened, but shifted quickly to anger towards the source of the voice. She pulled herself up from the ground, turning around to the man. "Alvin will be pleased with this," Mildew snickered. Astrid's body screamed with fury. She grabbed Mildew by his throat, squeezing it with her hand. Mildew choked, gasping for air. All the attention that once lay with the dead body of their friend and heir was brought to the Viking who held an elder by his throat. No one stopped her.
"You think it's funny that he's dead?!" Astrid screamed her voice cracking. She pinned him to the wall with her forearm against his throat. Mildew stayed silent, the only think being heard was his gasps and the angry and heavy breathes of the blonde Viking. "YOU KILLED HIM!" Astrid growled, smashing his head hard against the wood. "I swear to Odin you will pay," She yelled, rising her fist.
Hiccup gasped, sitting up in the bed and coughed. His throat was dry like a desert. He breathed in heavily as the coughing faded. Opening his eyes, he was met by a sight that made him confused as ever. Everyone looked at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, but what surprised him the most was the widest pair of them all. Mildew looked at him in shock, his eyes looking as if they could fall out any second.
"Wh-why are y-you stari-ng at me?" Hiccup managed to say, rubbing his sore throat. No one said anything. Then everything came back to him. His eyes widened as he looked beneath his tunic, on his fingernails and every possible exposed skin Alvin had played with. He had expected a bruise, a bandage or any pain at all, but he felt alive and painless. His eyes wandered up to his father who stood there and then he remembered Alvin's words. "Y-you're alive," Hiccup smiled, his voice cracking. Once again, no one answered. Hiccup looked at them awkwardly, sitting over to the edge where he had his prosthetic. He strapped it on, looking up at them confused as ever. "Hello?" Hiccup tried again.
Astrid dropped Mildews throat and let her fist loosen, walking slowly over to Hiccup before she suddenly threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his middle as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. Hiccup was taken aback, but wrapped her arms around her waist, patting her awkwardly. "Did something happen?" Hiccup asked, looking at the others who were speechless by the sight.
"H-How are you still alive?" Mildew growled, getting the air back in his lungs.
"Y-you were dead!" Snotlout blurted out, looking at him in total shock. Hiccup looked at them in disbelief.
"I…," Hiccup turned speechless. He held Astrid close, looking forward with wide eyes. Different memories and thoughts mixed in his mind, making him stare into nothing. A wooden object tapped his shoulder lightly. Hiccup turned around to see Gothi holding up a book for him. He took it unsurely, feeling Astrid pull away and sit by his bedside. He crossed his leg over his prosthetic and held the book in his lap. Looking up questioningly, he saw Gothi nodding for him to continue.
Hiccup looked down at the cover, noticing the symbol of the chiefs of Berk. He traced the symbol with his finger before he heard Gobber gasp. "You found that in the forge didn't you?" Gothi nodded. Hiccup looked at them confused, just like everyone else. "What does this have to do with any of this?" Gothi walked over to Hiccup, lifting her staff with the hook beneath his tunic. Gobber looked at her awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "She…uhm…wants you to take your shirt… off," Hiccup blushed, looking at Gothi who nodded. He removed his tunic revealing what Gothi was trying to find. The mark.