Chapter 6: Storm of Fire and Lead
Surprise :)
*Strong T-rating here, with some coarse language and intense action sequences.
"We are not men anymore, just savage beasts"- Edward Davies
Hiccup's POV
"YOU WILL STAND AT ATTENTION WHEN ADDRESSED BY YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!" Hiccup wishes he was a higher-ranking officer, where that phrase was used to command respect, but alas, he was only a corporal. Ease up on them, Thug, I know you want to scare them into submission, but I'm not exactly a captain.
When he first saw Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and ,somehow, Ruffnut, he was more than surprised that he they were his 'new rifles'. He also dreaded it, because he correctly surmised that Snotlout would refuse his command of the section. What Snotlout didn't know was that Thuggory absolutely despised a rebel in his army. So, now they were wasting precious time by having the 'new meat' lined up and getting spat on by a man who could've been the perfect Staff Sergeant or "YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOT WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, QUESTIONING THE AUTHORITY OF YOUR IMMEDIATE COMMANDER? I OUTTA COURT MARTIAL YOUR SORRY ARSE!"
"Alright, Thug, that's enough." He put his hand on Thug's shoulder, slowly pulling him away from the lined up Berkians. He had to give it to them, they were relatively undisturbed, except Snotlout, who was turning red in the face from either anger or embarrassment. To be frank, Hiccup didn't care what it was. They had a mission, and they needed to get going. "Listen up guys, I know it's been awhile since you've seen me, but things have changed. Put aside the past, I'm your corporal now, you will obey my orders to the letter and that's the end of it. I've seen more of this war than you have, so listen to what I have to say. Failure to do so, and you will either have to deal with Thug here, or you will be killed." He gave them a once over glance, noting how all of their hair had been cut short to fight underneath the standard issue caps in the army and how both Snotlout and Fishlegs had lost a good amount of weight, although Snotlout still retained a muscular physique despite getting skinnier. Must be the rations, he thought. "Alright, section dismissed, mount up!" They did so, and Hiccup helped Astrid up on her horse, handing her the backpack she was carrying, and mounted his own horse. Just like they practiced, Toothless hoped onto the horse's back behind Hiccup, putting his forepaws on Hiccup's shoulders.
"Right, let's move out, lads. I know the quickest way. Hiya!" Wartihog kicked the stirrups and shot off, leaving everyone else to follow him at a trot. "I figure we can cut off about an hour if we take the crow's path!"
"Hog, doesn't that just take us through endless amounts of sand?" Wartihog turned his head around.
"Yes, Corporal Haddock, but I know how we can get through it! We can make it possibly down to a 4 hours instead of 5-6!"
"Ok, I trust you!" He thought for a second. "And stop calling me by my full title! You know I hate it!"
"Sir, I'm only giving you the proper respect you deserve, seeing as you have successfully proved that Scotsmen are better than filthy Englishmen, and worthy of their independence, too!"
"Watch it, Hog, you got two Englishmen here." Thug chimed in, defending both his and Nobrains' honor.
"I'm just saying, the English are just the ones who always colonize and-"
"Hang on, 'Hog why do you always throw me in with the English?" It was Speedifist's turn to be annoyed, as Wartihog always made sure to throw him in the pile of Englishmen.
"Nothing against you, it's just your countrymen are in absolute love with their overseers! Haha!"
"Alright, the Scotsmen says put an end to the independence talk. We have a mission."
"Sir, are you then taking the English man's place and stomping out talk of independence and freedom?" Wartihog said this with a chuckle, and the other three men chuckled as well.
"Yes, yes I am. Now, Scotsmen says to stow it! Scan your quarters, there could be scouts watching us." This effectively silenced the group, and each men brought the horses down to a trot, eyes scanning the horizons and hills for anything that moved. They had 5 hours of riding to complete, with only one canteen between each men, but luckily the sun was setting soon and they would not be exposed to as much heat.
He looked back at Astrid and Heather to check on them, and had to smile a little bit at the concentration on her face. They were behind him, as Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut took up the rear. Heather seemed to be whispering to Astrid how to ride the horse, yet it seemed like Astrid needed complete control of the horse, not content with only being able to steer it. He had to chuckle a little, before turning his head to look over the new members again.
How on Midgard did Ruffnut get in? They don't let women serve in combat roles I thought. Maybe she convinced Tuffnut to do some of the stuff for her. With her shorter hair and the excessive amount of grime on her face, she passed off as a man, he guessed. It was just still weird, and he hoped it didn't affect the combat readiness of his section. He saw the large tripod she carried, and the Vickers Gun to go with it held by Tuffnut on his lap, ammo belts strewn across the khaki uniform on his chest. Ok, so they're the heavy machine gun team. That was good, he knew the twins, despite all of their fights, were typically great at working together when the situation called for it. He looked over at Snotlout, who had taken the hat off of his head, revealing his now short black hair. He had a trench gun (shotgun) slung across his back, so Hiccup assumed he was the trench sweeper, the man who was among the first into the trenches and cleared them out at close quarters. He looked over at Fishlegs and was not surprised to see that he was visibly distressed at the thought of hundreds of Arab horseman running out from behind the hills of sand to attack them. It was a little worrying to Hiccup, as he needed to make sure Fishlegs was fit for combat. Fishlegs had a Lewis gun slung across his back, so Hiccup knew that he was the light machine gunner, as the Lewis gunner only required one operator (if he could use it well) compared to the Vickers, which needed two or three. He knew the roles of the men in front of him already; they were all riflemen, trained in close quarters fighting, and could storm trenches with only melee weapons and sidearms. Each man was also trained marksman shooting, though Hiccup was the best, and had a general knowledge of all British weapons and how to use them, disassemble them, clean them, and what ammunition they fired. It was essential to their assignments before, especially in Italy, but now he was stuck with people from his past who probably didn't even know the first thing about trench warfare or annihilation and attrition strategies.
Move past it, Hiccup. They grew up in Berk, like you, maybe that warrior culture passed on more than a few things to them. He knew they were all knowledgeable in hand-to-hand combat, given Berk's reputation of raising warriors, but they still had a lot more to learn if they wanted to survive in this unit.
"Sir, I forgot to give you this, but General Montgomery had these orders given to us soon after we arrived." Of course Nobrains forgot about a General's orders.
He sighed. "Nobrains, you couldn't have told me this earlier?"
"Well, ah, sir, that's the thing, innit? I forgot."
"You always forget, Nobrains." At this point, Thuggory chimed in.
"I feel like at a certain point it's their fault, I mean look at him, he looks like a bleeding poof."
"Oi, says you, carrying around the rolling pin."
"It's not a rolling pin, it's a blunt-force weapon designed to-"
"No its not, it's a fucking rolling pin." This got a laugh from all five up front, Hiccup included. "Who are you, Auguste Escoffier? What are you doing with that? Gonna bake me a cake? Sing me a song whilst I blow out me fucking candles?" This earned some louder laughter from the five, and Hiccup seriously worried about losing control of his soldiers. It was good to be back with them again, but he felt the need to remind them of a few things.
"Language, there are women present." More laughter, and Nobrains turned towards Astrid and Heather, a little sheepish.
"Apologies, misses, I forgot myself, so allow me to repent for my mistakes." He gave a slight bow, and the conversation continued.
"Maybe he will bake you a cake, 'Brains, if you can remember something for a change." Speedifist's comment earned chuckles form everybody.
"Oi, screw off, you." Even as he tried to maintain his composure, Nobrains accidently let a smile out. "No, no, no, 'e won't bake me a cak, 'e'll bake 'Hog ova there a cake once Hog gets over 'is little anger spout at the current military strategy."
"It's so bloody stupid! All they do is send thousands of men to die on a frontal assault on the same position, and litrally nothing changes each time! We've proven that small groups of good men, in well-coordinated assaults, can take trenches, but the bloody stupid Englishman won't listen!"
"It's not just the Englishman, Hog, it's the French, Germans, Russians and the Ottomans too. They all do it." Hiccup hoped he could bring some sense back into the conversation.
"Well, ta hell wit all of them. We should just gat rid of all of the colonial empires, and just let the small mainlands fight over this then! What do you think of that, Thug?"
"Hog, that is the stupidest thing ever, you are fighting for the said, colonial empire!"
"Irrelevant, I-"
"Wow, you know what irrelevant means?"
"Why, you stupid-"
"Can we all just take a second to laugh at how Thug has a stupid, fucking rolling pin?"
"Nobrains, you really have no brains. I'm impressed."
"Speedy, you just shut your mouth, because at your height, you're in no position to mouth off at anyone."
"Really? Remember that time I beat in you a fight?"
"That was bias, you had a soldier from a Welsh platoon as the judge!"
"Alright, section, that's enough. I want silence for the next couple hours while everyone scans their quarters. Understood?"
"Yessir" was the response he got from all four up front. It went silent, so the only noise they could hear on the desert sands was the wind blowing around them.
~4 hours later~
With the sun set over the Arabian sands, the only light the group had now was that of the full moon, which, in this night sky, was more than enough to light up the sands ahead of them. Hiccup craned his neck and gazed at the stars, careful not to move too much or risk waking Toothless, who was asleep with his front paws and back paws hanging off opposite sides of the horse.
It was a nice night. There was not a cloud in the sky, and he saw more stars than he ever could hope to count in the sky that night. It reminded him of that Scottish sky, back on Raven's Pointe, and it might as well have been the same sky.
The sea of stars, each one unique in brightness and color like a snowflake, cascaded across the heavens, an unending display of brilliance and magic. He felt mesmerized by the sight, the same feeling he got when he was a kid and stumbled upon his spot on Raven's Pointe for the first time, when he was ten after running from Snotlout and the twins. From that point on, whenever he felt lonely, sad, or like he didn't matter, he went to that spot, gazing out upon the stars. It was relaxing, calming, and helped clear his mind of everything that was going on around him.
He looked back at Astrid, finding her, too, looking up towards the heavens, and for a moment, Hiccup forgot all else around him. He could only stare into eyes, not sure if her eyes were reflecting the light of the stars or Astrid had a heavenly sky within her own eyes. He believed the latter, and he took in the sight of her messy French braid slung over her shoulder, a black vest overtop her blue tunic, the Red Cross armband on her right arm, and the dark shemagh that she kept at the base of her neck. How have you not noticed these things before? She's beautiful.He wanted so badly to pull out his sketchbook and draw her face, paint it, and save it for all of those times when he was losing his mind in the trenches. Every time he lost someone, or things got so bad he couldn't move on anymore, he could just think of what he was fighting to protect, the thing he wanted to keep safe from all other harm in the world.
He wanted to keep everyone he loved safe from it. Not just the war, but all of the realizations that came with it. Going to war made Hiccup realize the evils of humanity, the hate that humans are capable of, the ingenuity that can be used to create new, terrible weapons. It showed him the ignorance people are capable of, sending thousands to die in a field for nothing, the capacity for violence even the kindest and nicest people are capable of under circumstances. It showed him nothing other than the horrors and terrible side of humanity. The heroes were always the ones who died, whether they were trying to save men's lives or laid down their own so the rest could survive. And Hiccup didn't want Astrid to see that. He wanted to save her from this new vision of humanity, something that changed him forever and killed his innocence. After all of this, he could never feel innocent again, never feel like a child again. He felt like he gained 10 years from the fighting, 10 years of experience and visions and thoughts that no 19 year old should have to know until later. And he wanted to save Astrid from that. Unlike him, she had to retain part of herself, she couldn't be lost in the conflict like he was.
She must have felt his eyes on her, because she looked down from the stars and directly at Hiccup, straight into his eyes. He felt almost ashamed, until a smile made its way on her face, the whiteness of her teeth visible even among the stars. He smiled back, and in the faint, pale glow of the Arabian moon, he saw what looked to be a blush make its way onto her face. And this, this made him happy. Very happy. Butterflies assaulted the walls of his stomach, his heart fluttered and his entire chest felt like it was swelling up. He wanted nothing more than to travel back in time to Paris, holding her hand in the empty Parisian streets and kissing her in the shadow of the Moon and Eifel Tower. A voice brought him back to his senses. "Sir, if I'm right, we might be coming up on the edge of the town soon. Maybe 10 minutes out."
"Thanks, Wartihog." He turned to the rest of the men, "10 minutes out. Load and lock rifles, gentleman. Keep an eye out, the Ottoman force was spotted by Camel Troops around the city, but we don't know which way they are coming from. I don't want to walk through their lines or get encircled." The clicking and locking sounds of rifle rounds being chambered echoed around him. Instruments of death being prepared for an orchestra of fire and lead. He loaded and chambered his own rifle, waking Toothless up, who subsequently went into lookout mode. His eyes scanned the barren desert, their column marching onwards, every eye scanning for possible movement. It was Thuggory who saw the first possible enemy, not five minutes later.
"Hiccup, I got movement, over on the right" aiming his rifle in the direction he stated.
"Possible movement on the left side." Nobrains found one this time. And two minutes later, Speedifist confirmed it.
"Sir, I got a human silhouette over on the right side. I think he's following us."
"Alright everyone we don't have much further to go, let's kick into high gear." Hiccup moved to the back, where the other residents of Berk were riding, and repeated the same thing, "Kick it up a notch. We're being followed. Start picking it up to Lahij." No verbal affirmations from the gang, only nodes and grunts. Are they afraid to talk to me? Just because I'm their commanding officer? Not wanting to ask questions about this until they reached their destination, he kicked the stirrups with a "Hiya!" and they were off.
Riding in a straight line, his section made it into sight of the lights of the objective city without incident, but once they saw the city lights, they had to stop. Hiccup sent up a white flare, signifying that the incoming troops were British, but he hated it because for that 300m ride to the city the enemy knew where he was. Worse yet, they might think the flare was a signal to start the attack, and begin a siege before they were inside and secure. They rode the rest of the way, both hands on the reins, running their horses at a sprint, hair flipping in their faces from the sheer force of the wind. "Friendlies, friendlies!" He yelled, the city troops allowing him to pass through. They made their way to town centre, the site of the Red Cross tent and their command tent. They dismounted, and he quickly turned to Astrid, "I'll find you when this is over. Stay in the tent and stay away from the front. I'll be ok, I promise."
"Ok," was all she could say. She wasn't showing it on her face, but Hiccup saw fear in her eyes, fear and nerves, not of combat, but of losing him so soon after they started dating.
"Hey, hey. I'll be ok. I promise." He grabbed her hand, feeling how it shook, pointed to his braid she gave him. She smiled at that, and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "I'll find you after this. Promise."
"You better." He had to admit, he kind of liked it when she was forceful and demanding.
Ok, now, Hiccup…war footing. He reminded himself of their combat coming soon, and so lead the remainder of his section to the tent, where he was surprised and somewhat shocked to find a lieutenant commanding the garrison. "Sir, Corporal Haddock and Section 5 of the Scots Guards, reporting," he finished with a salute, the rest of his section following suit.
"At ease, Corporal, the rest of your section can wait outside the tent." He waited until it was only him and Hiccup left, before continuing, "Your troops are going to make a valuable contribution to the defense of this. I do not need to remind you that defense of the city is vital to keeping the allegiances of the other protectorates in the region."
"Yes, sir. We'll do what needs to be done, sir."
"Good, I was hoping you'd say that. No long trench lines today, but we have barricades setup around the city with a few trenches around the outer perimeter, so your section will be stationed in those trenches to the north. If your position starts to fall, retreat back to the barricades. We are grossly outnumbered, so you need to minimize casualties to the best of your ability. You are the last part of the advance column to arrive, and I don't think that Lieutenant-Colonel Pearson will make it with the main body before we get attacked, so keep your men alive. We only have a few hundred British rifleman and a few hundred of the sultan's army, so make this count. That'll be all, good luck."
"Thank you, sir." He gave him a quick salute and stepped out, going through everything he had just been told. Only a few hundred against thousands of Ottomans? And the Arab tribesman with them? He assumed the majority of the British troops would be inside the city setting up barricades and guarding important areas, whereas the sultan's troops would probably be out in the trenches, if he wasn't the only ones out them. "Alright, we are setting up shop in the northern trenches, we are going up against several thousand enemies, so make sure to conserve your ammo and for the love of gods, don't get it hit. We need as many people as we can on this. Got it?" A chorus of "yes, sir"s answered him. "Alright, are we all aware of the odds against us?" Nobrains, in an attempt to lighten the mood, spoke up.
"It's a target-rich environment, sir." A few chuckles, but none from his old Berkian connections. They were very nervous. He wondered if they'd seen combat at all. He decided to comfort them a little.
"Alright, guys, just remember your training. If you just keep to your training and follow one of these guys" he pointed to himself and the other four veterans, "you'll be fine. Alright let's move it." He led them in a march to the trenches, where they dug in and prepared for the clash that was nearing them with every minute.
Astrid's POV
Astrid had not expected the nerves. She knew she was in a combat zone, now, but with thoughts of Hiccup swirling through her head, she wondered if she was going to be able to function at all. She wasn't nervous about herself, but just losing him, especially so early. Did I make a mistake dating him so soon?
"Hey, you ok?" It was Heather, just returning from talking with the only two doctors they had on site.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just…well, I don't want to think about losing Hiccup so soon, especially not when I'm in the same area and other lives depend on it."
"Ok, first, that's dumb, I know you heard about the battles Hiccup went through, and plus, Astrid, he's, like, an elite soldier. I mean, before of all…this stuff, wasn't he in the Scots Guards?"
"Well, yeah, but Heather there are a bunch of Guards units. That doesn't mean anything. It just means he's better than average and partakes in parades." Astrid knew she was lying, the Scots Guards were very renowned for their resilience and effectiveness, but they lost a great many men to gain that reputation.
"Ok, well, still! For Pete's sake, Astrid, he's pretty good at this, don't deny it! You saw the men he was talking with on the way over, they looked like they had been through the grinder!"
"I know, but…Heather, just because he's seen it through now doesn't mean he'll see it through again!"
"He knows what he's doing. Besides, he's got that braid to remind him of why he can't die. He'll make it back to you."
"I just…I…ok. You're right."
"Ok, cool." Astrid noticed her mouth twisting a little, the exact face Heather made when trying to ask a question. "So, you…you know the other members of that group?"
"Yeah, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut."
"Those are their actual names?"
"No their real names are Sam, Freddy, Theodore and Rae, but on Berk we have a tradition of using ugly and horrible names to ward off evil spirits and trolls."
"Trolls?"
"Ok, well, it's a tradition, I didn't say it was true."
"So, wait, if everyone else has weird and horrible names, why don't you? Astrid's a name that's really common in Germany, and it's Scandinavian. What happened with your name?"
"My father, who married into Berk, wanted it to be my name. You see, his father, my grandfather, made him promise to name his first daughter Astrid. My grandfather had a daughter named Astrid, but she went missing when after turning two. They never found a body, and it tore him to pieces. So, my grandpa's final wish was for me to be named Astrid, and my father stayed home with me all the time until I was…I think I was three. He was really worried about losing me, so he stayed home with me, teaching me all that he knew from the Vikings, like stories and stuff. When he went to serve with Stoic, Snotlout, Gobber and my uncle, I wrote to him almost every single day." Astrid felt the predecessors to tears coming up, so she stomped them down and continued, "I still remember the day he got back. He wrote me a letter in 1901, telling me he was coming home, gave me a date and everything, and I was so excited. I counted down the days, I had my best dress picked out, I was so happy to finally see him after two long years." Another bout of choking down tears. "I remember waiting on the docks, seeing this small boat getting closer and closer, and when I finally saw my father, I was ecstatic. I screamed 'Daddy!' and I hugged him, but…" She stopped. She figured Heather already knew the rest, and honestly it was causing her a worrying amount of pain to continue the story.
"Your father and uncle weren't the same, were they?"
"For the first few years after, my father barely talked to me. Uncle Finn locked himself in his room and rarely came out. I was happy when Finn came back, but knew something was wrong when he didn't respond to anything I said. The only thing I got was a hug, and that's the most affection I've gotten from him since. The first time my dad even said a word to me after getting back was after my seventh birthday. He was drunk in the Great Hall, and I came in to try to find him because my mom was about to start cutting the cake, and he was piss drunk in the corner. I tried to pick him up, but couldn't so I shook him awake and told him it was my birthday. He, in his drunken brilliance, said, 'Oh it's your birthday? Robert Baker was supposed to turn 21 today, but now he's six feet under in an unmarked grave in South Africa, missing an arm. And so was Winston Robson, he was going to be 23, but all he got for his birthday was a lead bullet in the eye.'" Astrid had to stop now, she needed to breathe a little bit before this got out of control.
"Astrid, are you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I ran home crying. I ran straight past my mom and into my room, and I locked the door. My mom kept asking me what was wrong, but all I could think was that my dad didn't care about me anymore. We never ate the cake that was prepared that night."
"Astrid, I'm so so sorry."
"It's ok. The next day, he broke down crying and begged me to forgive him, and after that he quit drinking and went back to teaching about fighting and Vikings, the two things he knew best. Occasionally, he'll have moments where he's back in South Africa, but for the most part, he's past it."
"Well, that's good at least."
"Yeah." Astrid wiped any precursors to tears out of her eyes. Now was not the time for crying. "So, what do you think so far? Ready for the next couple of days?"
"I hope so. I told the doctor I was prepared to, if need be, perform surgical operations in emergency situations, but he got this disgusted look on his face and waved me away. He was an older one, but the younger doctor told me that I would most likely need to, and asked me what my qualifications were."
"Yeah, wait what are your qualifications?"
"I told him about all of the books I read and stuff, and he said it was good enough to probably pull out a bullet or shrapnel. I think he's pushing it, but I'm ready to do what needs to be done."
"Ok." They sat there in silence for a few more minutes, just contemplating what tomorrow morning would bring, until the younger doctor came around and told them that were going to be no attacks tonight, they should get some sleep instead. He pointed to some bunks under the tent, and the two laid down in the bunks, Heather falling asleep immediately, but Astrid talking a little bit longer. She just couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Hiccup being hurt or killed, how it would affect her and so on. Finally, she came to the decision to just shove any feelings towards the back of her mind. Tomorrow, she would be Machiavellian, pragmatic, only thinking about the job in front of her. No thoughts of home, none of Hiccup, nothing but what was in front of her.
Hiccup's POV
Being on the line provided Hiccup with a sense of calm and familiarity, something he hadn't found in Paris. It was weird, but also comforting, since the trenches were where he spent most of his past year. These trenches, however, were a lot nicer than the ones on the Western front, in his opinion. There were no rats, no mud, and they were relatively clean.
Still that didn't take away from the imminent fact that they were going up against several thousand Ottomans and tribesman. Just his luck.
He had made his way around the trenches his men were fighting in, making his way towards the trench where Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs were stationed. He decided to try to talk to them a little, make sure they were ready to fight. He wasn't losing any more men because one group wasn't ready to do what was needed. He walked over, where he saw the twins setting up the machine gun, Snotlout pouting, and Fishlegs on watch. They saw him coming, and waved to him. "Hey guys, you all settled in? Ready to go?"
Fishlegs was the first to respond. "Yeah, pretty much, it's the twins have been having trouble with the bolt jamming on the gun."
"Look, Legs, you don't need to rat us out to Hiccup to try to suck up to the new bossman." Tuffnut turned towards Hiccup, "Hi, Theodore Thorston, pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Tuffnut, I already know you. We grew up together?"
"Yeah, I know. But I figured I should reintroduce myself to you, since, you know, you have a lot of power."
"Tuffnut I'm just a corporal, what is it with the power thing right now?"
"Tuff, brother, careful. You don't want to make our new commander angry." For some reason, Ruffnut had lowered her voice so it sounded more manly, but again, Hiccup knew who she was.
"Ruffnut, I know that's you."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, Ruff, yes I do. How did you get past the inspections, physicals, and inspections?"
"What are you talking about? I am a man, sir!"
"Ruffnut, knock it off!"
"Hey, Fishlegs, leave my sister out of this!"
"W-w-what, that doesn't even make any s-"
"SHUT IT!" Hiccup had had enough. "No more arguing, guys, I just wanted to make sur everyone was ready. The attack could come tomorrow in the morning or the day after tomorrow, we need to be sure we are ready. Are we?"
"Yes, Hiccup."
"Thank you, Fishlegs." Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, but of course, Snotlout had to chime in now.
"So, what, you think you're our boss now because some lieutenant promoted you because you were a suck up, like you always were?" He stood, almost challenging Hiccup to a fight.
Alright, that's it, you smartmouth. "Snotlout, what did you say?" Hiccup hopped down into the trench, standing up to face Snotlout, who, to his delight, was a few inches smaller than him now. That didn't seem to deter Snotlout, though.
"You think you're our boss now because some lieutenant promoted you because you were a suck up, like you always were? Just because someone says you're in charge of me, doesn't mean you are-" He didn't have to finish, as the rest of his words, along with the air in his stomach, were knocked out by a rifle butt to the gut from Hiccup. He'd done it to every hothead who'd challenged him, and found that they typically got the message quicker when they weren't able to talk.
"Listen here, Snotlout, and listen good. I am your commanding officer, whether you like it or not, so, you actually do have to do what I say. I was not appointed that, I was given a battlefield promotion. That means I was promoted under combat conditions, for my actions during combat, not because I shined officers' shoes. If you have a problem with my command, feel free to approach me when we are not on the line. Right now, put that out of your mind. Focus on what is right now, not any of your prejudice. Got it?"
"Yes…"
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." He let Snotlout get up, who proceeded to go back into the corner, before Hiccup ordered him to take Fishleg's position on watch. "Maybe you'll get a promotion above me if you do good enough, Lout." He turned towards the twins, still trying to fix the Vickers. "How's it going?"
"Well, it's like the old boar pit, except…the boars aren't oiled up, and the boars are actually machine guns that don't work without the oil. It's no fun."
"Here, take some of this grease. It should work on the pin." He gave them some grease he normally saved for his marksman rifle, but figured he could get more if he needed it.
"Oh, sweet! Thanks Hiccup!" Tuffnut set about using the grease on the bolt. Once he got it lubed up, he got behind the gun, aimed down the sights and pulled the bolt back. "Smooth as butter! Thanks, H!"
"H?"
"Yeah, like Hiccup, but shorter!"
"Oh, ok…uh…no problem…T."
Tuffnut gasped, "Did you just give me a nickname?"
"Wait, no Tuffnut, I-" He wasn't able to finish before Tuffnut hugged him, earning a groan of disgust from Ruffnut.
"Tuff, can't you just stop acting weird for one second?"
"Me act weird? You were the one who was ready to ditch us in the African jungle for some arms dealer!"
"Was not!" Pause. "Ok, maybe I was ready to part ways with you at a very inopportune moment, but he was such a hottie!"
"No excuses, Ruff!" Tuffnut crossed his arms. "You have not taken the meaning of the word brotherhood to heart."
"What, why I oughta-" Hiccup decided to tune out the rest of this, turning to Fishlegs, who was in the corner, currently cleaning the Lewis gun, while Snotlout stood actively watching the horizon with his weapon drawn, not that it would hit anything at the this distance. He walked over towards Fishlegs and took a seat next to him.
"Hey, Hi-, uh, sir!" Fishlegs seemed flustered now that Hiccup was in close proximity to him, something that was bewildering to him.
"Legs, you can call me Hiccup. I'm not a general, and this unit isn't exactly by the books."
"Sorry, Hiccup, I just wanted to air on the safe side."
"It's okay Fishlegs. Ok, so, I have a question for you."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"How much combat experience have you guys seen, collectively? Like, in Africa what engagements were you apart of?"
"I mean, we got ambushed a few times, shot back, but nothing major or pivotal. We know how to fire our weapons, clean them and such, but other than that-"
"Have you killed anyone?"
"What?"
"Have you been in any engagements were you inflicted casualties on the enemy?"
"I-I-I, uh, I-I don't k-k-know. I think Snotlout and the twins have gotten a few, but I haven't gotten any."
"Fishlegs, this is important. Do you think you'll be able to kill if it comes to it?"
"I hope so?"
"Fishlegs…"
"Hiccup, I-"
"Fishlegs, I need to know right now."
"I don't know, Hiccup, I just don't know!" He put his face into his hands, ashamed that he wasn't like the others, and Hiccup would've felt bad under normal circumstances. However, given the enemy numbers and the desire to walk out with 8 alive and 0 dead under his command, he needed to be hard.
"Fishlegs, it's ok. But, I need you know that there are others counting on you here. All you have to do is count to three, and pull the trigger. If there are enough people, you may not even know if you kill anyone." Just when Fishlegs was starting to look a little better, Snotlout had to chime in.
"Fish, it's easy. Look, they'll just come running at you, and all you have to do is pull the trigger." Snotlout used his shotgun as an example, pretending to mow down an advancing infantry line, "Easy. Plus, these aren't even the real enemies. The Ottomans are just a bunch of tribesman banding together to fight us, and they probably don't even know how to use a weapon." The twins also decided to weigh in.
"Yeah, honestly, these thing sounds like a cakewalk. I mean, they wear towels on their heads, who does that?" That's it.
"Oh, really? You think- you think this is going to be a pushover, Snotlout? Hm? Several thousand illiterate, handicapped, stupid tribesman are going to walk here, and we are going to win? Hm? Is that what you think? Do you think the same thing about the Germans?"
"I mean, the Hun is only knows how to fight, he's pretty stupid, so-"
"Ruffnut, shut up!"
"No, Tuffnut, Ruff is right. The German only does know about war." Hiccup could feel the steam building in his skull. "Alright, you know what? Let me tell you something. Something about the soldier I know, the German soldier, the Ottoman soldier! The German has been trained in a country and militaristic culture that glorifies war. He is taught from birth about the importance of a military, indoctrinated, they worship their damn army! Their goal in life is to be part of the strongest force in the world, the most ruthless, efficient and deadly army the world has ever SEEN! And the Ottoman, boy these idiot tribesman just must be doing something right, because right now they're turning back a full-scale invasion at Gallipoli, with enough men to march thousands to take a town we can't be bothered to send a professional fighting force to! He can live for days on shitty bread, toxic water and endure misery YOU COULDN'T DREAM UP IN YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!" He took a breath, taking in the looks on all of their faces, "You can call them what you want, picture in their heads however you want, but do not, DO NOT, underestimate their desire to PUT YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS INTO AN EARLY GRAVE! IS! THAT! CLEAR?!"
"YES, SIR!" Hiccup looked around, making sure they all got the message, before climbing out of the trench, "2 hour watches, 1 person at a time. Be ready to fight tomorrow morning." He walked away after this, not caring to look back at their faces. He would check on them tomorrow.
Hiccup's POV, 6 hours later, morning of July 4th
Hiccup woke up with a start, as if somebody had shaken him awake. He saw Toothless laying at his feet, and took a second to gauge the rest of his surroundings.
He was in a trench. It was sandy. Then he remembered, he was in some place in the middle of nowhere called Lahij, because it was important to hold the garrison here for the ships entering the Suez Canal. He lifted his head up from his rifle, serving as a pillow, and immediately saw Thug standing five feet away. "Good morning, sleeping beauty, did you-" he stopped, face changing from a joking expression to one of concentration. Something was happening.
It took Hiccup a second, but then he sensed it too. Toothless woke up then, probably the same thing. Hiccup strained his ears to hear something, and just when he thought he was being paranoid, he heard it.
The low-thumping, muffled sounds that resembled thunder. Too quick to be thunder. Too organized. He looked at Thug, who looked back at him with the same hardened expression, and they both got out of the trenches. "ARTILLERY!" Hiccup saw heads pop up out of the trenches and foxholes, yelling the same thing and passing the message on to others. Just then, with Hiccup and Thuggory still on the outside of their trench, they shells landing. They fell down, sounding like a train overheard, but whistling as they neared the ground before climaxing in a fireball of red and orange, kicking up a cloud of sand, dust and smoke. The first ones landed too far away to do any harm, the plumes of sand about 100m away, but Hiccup noticed they were slowly getting closer and picking up in intensity. Creeping barrage. "TAKE COVER!" he shouted as he dove back down in the trench, covering Toothless, with Thuggory right next to him. The thumps of and claps of the artillery, with their plumes of sand shooting up through the air like a waterspout, got closer and closer, louder and louder, until they felt like they were right on top of him. They hammered the ground, each explosion deafening to his ears, and Hiccup prayed none fell right on top of them, like he always did. He pressed himself closer to the ground, so close he could actually hear Toothless' heartbeat. Flashes from the explosions of the shells flashed along the inside of the wall, the ground continuing to shake like it was going to fall away from them. The clouds formed from their impact drifted down onto Hiccup, causing him to cough and choke on the dust. He closed his eyes and mouth, hoping to keep some of the dust out. The shells kept landing, and he just hoped none landed in the trenches. They needed every man.
Knowing that a creeping barrage was always followed by infantry, Hiccup turned to Thug, still prone, and kicked him in the shoulder to get his attention. "Thug!"
"What!"
"CREEPING! BARRAGE!"
"WHAT?"
"CREEPING! BARRAGE!"
"Got it!" He gave him a thumbs up, and tucked his head back down, resolving to wait out the relentless bombardment.
Just then, a shell landed, and in the two seconds after it, Hiccup and Thuggory bolted upright, rifles at the ready, looking over the line and through the dust clouds for infantry. And the first thing Hiccup locked eyes with was an Ottoman soldier, close enough to see the shine of the bullets in his bandolier. At that point, it was muscle memory. Hiccup raised the rifle, aimed down the sights, and softly squeezed the trigger.
CRACK!
One down, but there dozens behind him. At that point, the whole line opened up with machine gun and rifle fire on the infantry, working to push them back before they got too close. For Hiccup, it was just like any other fight from before.
After the third shot, he heard movement behind in the trenches, and saw Wartihog, Nobrains and Speedifist run up to their line and raise their rifles. The five of them, all lined up, were firing almost in sync, their muscles already having been trained to the actions of chambering a round with the bolt, aiming, squeezing the trigger, repeat.
Not 5 minutes had passed before the ground in front of them was littered with bodies, the enemy having been driven back.
For now, he told himself, they'll be back.
Astrid's POV
Astrid woke up hearing the sound of thunder, briefly worried, before thinking that it was just a passing storm.
It was only when she heard the yelling, commotion and shells landing was she thrown from her cot. "GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" someone yelled. The whistling intensified, as if a warning for shells about to land, and it was terrifying. Unprepared, Astrid quickly slid underneath the cot, head between her hands, pushing herself into the quaking ground. It was only then did she realize what was truly happening, and she quickly looked over to see Heather doing the same thing, a grimace on her face, squeezing her head between her two hands. Astrid went back into a tucked position, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to block out the explosions.
But, it did not work. She heard each one, loud as a crash of thunder right above her, but shorter and more violent, with air of malice in it. With each shell that landed, her teeth jittered and her bones rattled, shaking her to the very core. Then, as quick as it started, it stopped. Astrid lifted her head, expecting to hear nothing more, but with the crack of a rifle, she immediately when back down, before realizing it was from the trenches. All of a sudden, the entire area around her erupted with the echoes of fusillades of rifle fire, and the occasional crack-crack of a machine gun. She looked over towards Heather, "Hey! Heather! Are you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm fine! You?"
"I'm good!" They got out from underneath the cots, brushing themselves off of sand, and listened to the gunfire. The main thing running through Astrid's mind now was Hiccup, whether she meant to or not. Is he ok? Was he hurt in the barrage? Is he one of the men firing and not being fired upon? Is he still alive? Part of Astrid wanted to run out to the line, to see for herself if he was ok, but she restrained herself. She turned to look for the doctors they were assigned to, and found them standing upright at their stations, ready for casualties. "You two, stand ready, in case of casualties, we need to be prepared. Here, put these bandages down at the table next to every cot, and you," he pointed to Astrid, "move the supplies into the building right there. We don't want them destroyed by artillery out in the open." Astrid nodded and proceeded to take each box in, one by one, and by the time she was halfway done, the casualties started to pour in. All of them were the sultan's men, she assumed based on the garbs they were wearing, most of them having artillery injuries. She carried the last box in, and ran to the tent, running up next to Heather. Heather looked up and pointed to the man's thigh, "Here, Astrid, I need you to press down on the bandages, here, right here!" Astrid did so, remembering her training, but the first thing she noticed was the blood, and how much of it there was. There was never this much in their training. She tried to put it out of her mind, pressing the bandage harder and harder, attempting to stop the bleeding. She looked at the man's face, contorted and grimacing with pain.
"You're going to be alright, you're going to be fine, just trust me. You'll be fine" she reassured him, and even though she did not speak his language, he seemed to understand it, and started to visibly calm a little. Astrid looked to Heather on the other side of the bunk, "How bad is it?"
"It's bad, it cut the femoral artery. Astrid, he's not going to make it," Heather looked up at her, and Astrid saw tears starting to form in Heather's eyes. She did not want to the first patient to die on him.
"Heather! HEATHER! Look at me, look at me, ok? I'm going to press down, and you're going to tourniquet his leg tighter, ok? Then I can wrap the bandage, we can move onto the next one, got it?"
"Ok. Ok, ok, yeah do it! This can work!" Heather grabbed a tourniquet from behind her and got to work, Astrid pressing down harder on the wound, and once the tourniquet was finished, Astrid was just about to tie the bandage down, before Heather stopped her, "WAIT! We need patch the artery, I need to see if it's cut at an angle or straight across. I need you to lift it, but keep pressure on the upper artery!" Heather grabbed the surgical tools, Astrid moving to the upper leg, and applying pressure. Heather went to work, and from what Astrid saw, looked like was making progress.
"Hey, buddy, you're going to be ok, we're patching you up now." She turned to look at him, "you'll be o-" No. No, no, no! Damn it! "Heather…"
"Astrid, I think I found the laceration, I'm going to try to repair it now."
"No, uhh, Heather…"
"We might be able to save him, Astrid, if I can just-"
"Heather!"
"What?" she looked up, and Astrid saw the look of hope disappear from her eyes, replaced instead by grief, anger, and sadness. "No, no, no we were so close! He-he- he was…"
"Heather, I know this sucks, but we have more people to attend to!"
"I-I…I…Ok, yeah, yeah you're right!" They moved off to the next bed, helping a man who had shrapnel in his arm, and while Astrid held him down Heather removed it, leaving Astrid to sew the man up before moving onto the next cot. And the one after that. And the one after that. She pulled a bullet out of a man's shoulder, removed more shrapnel from abdomens and arms, and in one case resuscitated a man who had passed out from blood loss. When the doctor started losing him, Astrid turned the man over and began compressions on his back, moving his elbows up and down, and forced air back into his lungs. After this, the doctor continued operations, and in that two second break Astrid had, she realized the artillery shelling had picked up again. She looked towards the road, beginning to see more and more troops trickling in, more and more of them had bullet wounds. She ran out to grab the soldiers, taking them in stride and allowing their buddies to go back to the line. She ran a few back to the tents, where the cots were now filled up, so she sat them on the ground and began to get to work on the ones that didn't require surgery, putting bandages on, torniqueting bleeders, and triage for the doctors. She only lost one man today, she wasn't about to lose any more.
Taking a deep breath, Astrid Hofferson dove back into the maelstrom.
Hiccup's POV
The second artillery barrage had began five minutes ago, this time more sporadic and spread out over the area, which Hiccup was glad for. It means he didn't have to take cover at the bottom of the trench. The whistling still annoyed him though.
He ran the few yards over to the next trench where his other soldiers were, sliding in as the dirt, rocks and sand showered them. "Everyone good?" Tuffnut looked over to him, seemingly unfazed by the artillery, but definitely angry about something.
"Ok, so, this gun jams up more than you when you had a stuttering problem-"
"Hey!"
"-but other than that, we're doing fine."
"Is it locking on a shell or not enough grease?"
"No, I think it's the sand, and the water-cooling isn't working properly either." A shell hit in front of the trench, showering them again with dust and rocks, but otherwise, the twins were unfazed. Surprisingly.
"Ok, clear out the sand best you can. Worst case scenario, break it down and move back in the line to the buildings, keep it clear of sand and dust."
"Got it, H!"
"Thanks, Hic!" the twins grabbed the duffel bags the gun's parts were stored in. So that's how they manage it. He was wondering why a six-man gun was only operated by two people, but now he knew how they did it: compartmentalization and bags. Interesting.
Hiccup scooched past the twins as they were continuing to try to clean 'Vicky', to Snotlout, who was for holding his rifle instead of the shotgun. Maybe he can make good decisions. "Lout, how are you holding up?"
"Fine." Another explosion nearby followed by a shower of sand and dirt. "Ok, you know what? Why aren't we counterattacking? Isn't that like the number one rule of fighting?"
"In an ambush, yeah, but Snotlout we have entrenchments here, why would we move?"
"We need to take the fight to them, Hiccup!"
"No, Snotlout, we really don't!"
"Why? What's stopping us?"
"The artillery and their numbers, you IDIOT!" As if to punctuate that point, a round struck near them again, showering them with dirt and sand again. This only seemed to make Snotlout more heated.
"That didn't stop us in Africa!"
"THIS ISN'T AFRICA YOU DIMWIT!"
"I KNOW THAT!" Just as Hiccup was about to retort, he heard a whimper from the corner. He turned and saw Fishlegs, huddling with his head between his knees, shivering like it was below freezing. "Oh yeah, and something in Fishlegs broke, he hasn't moved since the first barrage." Hiccup shot a glare at Snotlout.
"Move over towards the next trench. That's an order." Snotlout grumbled, but slung his rifle over his shoulder, grabbed his trench gun, and moved out. "Ruff, Tuff, keep an eye out. If they start coming, you shout it as loud as you can!"
"Ok, got it H!"
"Ok," he turned back to Fishlegs, "Fish, buddy? Fishlegs I need you to look at me, ok?" Fishlegs shook his head, still occasionally whimpering, and Hiccup's heart sank. "Fishlegs, I need you to look at me, look at me Fishlegs!" A little bit more coaxing got him to lift his head up ever so slowly, and Hiccup made sure to smile. "Hey, Fishlegs, you're ok, alright? Right? Just breathe ok, buddy?"
"I want to go home!"
"I know, Legs, I know. It's ok, it's not that bad here!" Cue the shower of debris from the shelling.
Can things get any more worse?
"Uhhh…Hiccup?"
"What, Tuffnut?"
"THEY'RE COMING!" Immediately the whip-cracking sound of the Vickers in action sounded, leading the whole line to erupt in gunfire like a Vesuvius. Hiccup sprinted back to the front edge, once again in that mechanical motion of aiming, firing, and pulling back the bolt.
Breathe, and squeeze. BANG. Click…
The sound was stuck in his head now, and just when he thought they were going to beat the Ottomans back again, there was a series of clicks from his left. He looked over.
The Vickers had jammed again. "No, Vicky! Not now!" Ruffnut pulled the gun back and began to take the top off, "Tuff, the bolt's caught again!"
"Shit!"
"Ok, Ruff, Tuff, disassemble the gun and move back to the barricades. Once there, provide supporting fire, but watch out for friendlies leaving the trench!" He ran towards the side, leaning over towards the position that house the veterans and Snot, "COVERING FIRE!" At this, the twins picked up the entire weapons system and the two of them carried it back, Hiccup occasionally checking to make sure it was behind and they were safe. But now, he was down one gun. Unless…
"Fishlegs! Fish, I need you to look at me!" No response. So much for the easy way. He grabbed Fishleg's shirt and pulled him up to his feet, "On your feet soldier! Get up, Private Ingerman! Come on! We gotta hold this line!" He grabbed the Lewis gun and tossed it to Fishlegs, who fumbled when he caught it, "Raise your weapon, Private!" The explosions were still going off all around them, and each second the enemy was getting closer and closer. He needed this to work. "FISHLEGS! AIM DOWN YOUR SIGHTS, SOLDIER!" He complied, slowly, trembling all the way. He looked like he was about to break down crying. "COME ON FISHLEGS, HURRY! THEY'RE ABOUT TO OVERRUN US!" Hiccup turned and shot another Ottoman, a little too close for comfort now. He looked back at Fishlegs, who had the bipod out and was aiming down the sights at a mass of approaching Arab tribesman, all on camel. If they broke through, there were not enough forces in the town to counterattack and retake the territory.
If they broke through, Astrid was in real danger, and he wasn't about to let that happen.
"FIRE YOUR WEAPON, FISHLEGS!" Fishlegs turned, looking shocked at the command, but Hiccup kept the steel, expressionless look on his face, and repeated himself, "FIRE YOUR WEAPON NOW, PRIVATE!" Fishlegs turned back towards the mass of approaching camel men, less than 100 yards out now. Hiccup started to get pretty worried. Last chance. "FOR THE LOVE OF THOR, FISHLEGS, FIRE! YOUR! DAMN! WEAPON!"
Finally, Fishlegs shut his eyes, took a breathe, opened them, and squeezed the trigger. Rounds flew out from the fire-spitting barrel like a dragon, tearing into both man and animal in front of them. Now, encouragement. "THAT'S IT FISHLEGS, LET EM HAVE, LEGS!" Hiccup resumed his own firing, going back to the mechanical mechanisms, as easy as reading a bike for him. He turned to the side, looking at Fishlegs, whose face had now changed to concentration. He was doing better, picking his targets now rather than spraying blindly. There wasn't anger in his eyes, but focus. Fear, but checked by the desire to survive. His fight or flight instincts must have finally kicked in.
Good.
They pushed the attack back but at that point, the artillery picked back up again, this time more sporadic, and to Hiccup's horror, it was landing within the city as well. Oh no. He grabbed his rifle and whistled for Toothless, who leaped out of the trench and shook the sand off of him, and he began to trot back to the city. Something did not feel right.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Tuffnut ran up to him, heaving and out of breath, pale in the face. "HICCUP! HI-huuuhhh, Hiccup!"
"Tuffnut, what is it?"
"The…the…the-uh…huh…the…"
"Tuff, spit it out, what is it?"
"The…the-uh…Camel…Camel Troop…gone…"
"What?" No. No.
"The Camel Troop deserted, Hiccup. All of them. They're gone. All we have left are the Sultan's troops, our Indian troops, and two ten pounders." No, no no no no no.
"Shit. Shit! SHIT!" He ran off to the side, Tuffnut and Toothless in tow. "LIEUTENANT!" The lieutenant looked over, crouched behind some sandbags next to a machine-gun team. Hiccup ran over next to him, ignoring the artillery fire. "Lieutenant, I just received word our Camel Troop deserted us."
"What?"
"Sir," Tuffnut decided to speak, "they left with everything, and now our whole rear is exposed." He must have realized how serious the situation was, since he didn't even make a joke about that.
"Shit." The lieutenant's face crumpled, shifting as he weighed his options, looking around to see what troops he had in reserves, but there were none. Do I have to do everything here?
"Sir, you need to sound a retreat. Pull our forces back into the city, where we can trap groups and we'll have the advantage because they won't call artillery on their own men."
"If they catch is out in the open, we lose half of men!"
"Would you rather lose them all out here and leave the city defenseless?! Call them back, Lieutenant!" He pondered his other choices, not liking the fact that this lowly corporal was talking to him this way. But Hiccup knew he was right. It was the only thing sensible to do.
The lieutenant blew the whistle, and Tuff sprinted back to the Vickers, laying down suppressive fire on any stray tribesman or Ottoman in range, making sure not to hit any of the retreating soldiers. Hiccup waited, seeing Fishlegs get back, followed by Wartihog, Snotlout, Nobrains, Thuggory and Speedifist. "COME ON!" He yelled. Just then, a shell landed right next to Thuggory and Speedifist, throwing them off the ground and tumbling across the sands. No. He ran towards them, Wartihog and Nobrains in tow.
The three sprinted to their downed friends, even as more and more bullets zinged and zipped around them, with the enemy closing in. Thuggory and Speedifist were rolling slowly on the ground moaning, coughing up sand and dust, trying to get to their feet. Nobrains took a knew not far behind them, picking off enemies that were shooting at the downed men, while Hiccup and Wartihog ran to their comrades and patted them down for wounds, checking for any bleeding or shrapnel.
There was none. Absolute miracle. "How are you feeling, Speedifist?"
"Jeez, that's the first thing that doesn't pack as much punch as Nobrains' punches," he moaned out. Hiccup had to laugh at that one. Nobrains must have found it funny, too.
"I don't have to protect you bleeding idiots, come on! Let's get a move on! Let's go!" Hiccup grabbed Speedifist's arm and put it around his shoulder, hauling him up and grabbing his rifle, and the two ran back to the city, Speedifist trying to get some air back in his body and get his feet back under him. Thuggory and Wartihog were not far behind, although Thuggory opted to run the rest of it back under his own two feet. And once they made it, he set Speedifist down to have him checked out by Wartihog, who received some training as a medic before he was kicked out, checking for signs of cranial damage. "He's good, let's move!"
"Moving!" They met up with Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout, all of whom were near the commander, who then ordered the garrison to retreat back into the city.
If we fail here, the city is lost.
Astrid's POV
She and Heather were outside the tent went the shell hit, ripping everything in there to shreds, both living and non-living. It blew the two of them back at least ten feet, hurling Astrid against a stone wall, knocking her unconscious for a short time. When she did wake up, her ears were still ringing, her vision was blurry, and every sound she heard was muffled. Her arms felt dead, and when she lifted herself up off the ground, she felt a warm liquid running down her face. Slowly, as if she was touching her face for the very first time, she brushed some of the liquid and held it close to her face: blood. It was red, which meant it was just a scratch, not an artery. She looked up, seeing one of the buildings in flames and the younger doctor desperately trying to move the wounded who could still walk to an building adjacent the town square.
Then, just as she was starting to comprehend everything, men started flying by her, overwhelming her senses again. A few of them stopped, but she couldn't see their faces, until 8 men stopped running, one of them quickly approaching her. As he got closer, she noticed he had red hair. It wasn't until he was directly in front of her, his hands on both sides of her head, that she recognized him as her boyfriend. Hiccup.
Hiccup. Hiccup. Hiccup. The more and more she said that name, the more it came back to her. Suddenly, she was hit with everything at once: the aid station, the wounded, the shell, Hiccup.
She heard his muffled voices, straining to hear it, but she felt the hearing coming back, more and more each second.
"-strid-…-strid-…-eed…go-…Astrid…Astrid…Astrid! Astrid! ASTRID! WE NEED TO GO NOW!" An artillery hit on the building behind them confirmed that the situation was getting desparate. He shielded her from the falling debris, but once he got up, she found out her legs worked again and her arms were fine. She gave herself a quick pat down, making sure she had everything. She did.
"Hiccup, what about the wounded?!"
"We're moving them to the basement of the palace! You're coming with us! We need to defend the city!" He grabbed her hand, Fishlegs picking up a still unconscious Heather and then the group ran down a back alley, Hiccup and Astrid in front.
Suddenly, a camel troop came around, and the second they spotted the men and women in the alley, one of them shouted a command, and they began firing.
In a panic, Hiccup shoved Astrid through a door on their left, everyone else diving to the corners of the alley, Snotlout and Fishlegs hip-firing their weapons as suppressing fire. Astrid saw Hiccup quickly get up and fire a shot off at a man coming through the doorway. He dropped to the floor. Another man followed behind him, but a growl form behind her and a streak of black landed on the man's throat, as Toothless tackled this one to the ground. Hiccup turned to Astrid, "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine,- HICCUP BEHIND YOU!" Hiccup turned just in time to catch a man swinging his sword down on Hiccup, who dodged it and grabbed the man's hands, wrestling to prey it form his grip. Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid noticed the roof starting to catch fire, embers sailing down upon the room, which luckily was devoid of any carpet, but provided an eerie red hue to the action in front of her. Astrid got up, fully intent on helping Hiccup, before she felt an impact in her hip and was launched sideways. She turned to see a man towering above, one who was definitely not on her side.
Nerves disappeared. She threw herself back on her feet, and while Hiccup was struggling with his own fight, he pled with Astrid to run, throwing his opponent into a table and knocking the sword out of his hand. But Astrid had no intention of fleeing. This was what her father taught her for. She could do this.
Just like sparring with Dad.
The man's first move was predictable, swinging with his right hand in a wild fashion, easily enough that Astrid ducked and shifted to his side, punching him in the stomach and the side of the ribs, knocking him off his footing. When he turned, he was not looking happy, and swung again, this time with his left hand. Too easy. Astrid ducked again, shifted to his other side, and launched a hard kick at the back of the man's knee, blowing out his knee before punching him in the back of the neck and finishing him with a kick to the back of the end, watching him collapse on the ground. She looked towards Hiccup's fight, seeing he had knocked out his previous opponent but gained two more. She took three steps towards him, but was knocked to the ground yet again, this time by another soldier, a shemagh covering his full face, shouting in a foreign language. His hands had wrapped tightly around her throat, and he was too close for her to kick off of him. She began to panic. She packed her hands together and hit his arms, only for him to pin her right arm against the floor, one hand still clenching her throat. Her other arm flailed uselessly, and Astrid started losing breath as the fingers around her throat tightened. She couldn't swallow now, and panic was beginning to take hold. Her heart rate increased, and she desperately searched for ideas, and in desperation she tried reaching for his sidearm. Her fingers just barely brushed it, and as unconsciousness began to take hold, he shifted and she grabbed the pistol, willing herself with all her to pull the trigger with the muzzle against his body.
She didn't hear the shots, but all at once the pressure on her throat released, and she gasped for breath. The man stumbled back, surprised and shocked, but started to menacingly walk back towards her, and Astrid's survival instincts kicked in, as she pulled the trigger two more times at the man, watching him collapse into a heap on the ground. Time froze itself for a split second, and the only sound that brought her back to reality was Hiccup's grunting, as she turned around to see him holding a piece of rubble above his head. She looked away before he brought it down.
When she opened her eyes, she looked around the bodies strewn amongst them, still in shock of what happened, before turning to Hiccup. "Hiccup, I-…"
"Astrid, it's ok."
"No, I- AH!" She screamed as she felt a hand from behind her grab her, limping and pulled her close, crouching behind her to shield himself. A muzzle barrel pressed itself to her head. The man spoke in broken English.
"Me leave, girl, no harm!"
"Astrid, I need you to look at me…"
"Hiccup, I'm fine, I just need you to kill this guy!"
"No talk! Girl dies!"
"Astrid, everything is going to be fine…"
"Hiccup, why do you keep saying that? Just kill him already!"
"Astrid, stay calm!"
"Hiccup, SHOOT HIM!"
"5 seconds!"
"Astrid, don't move!"
"Hiccup, why…"
"You time up!" Astrid closed her eyes, waiting for everything to fade to black, but just then she heard a yelp behind her, and the grip on her loosened enough so she broke the hand holding her and moved away, opening her eyes to see Toothless' jaws locked on the man's hand with the gun, Hiccup charging in, slugging the man in the face, knocking him to the ground, and using his bayonet to finish the job. After that, silence pervaded the room and the area outside.
Is it over? All of a sudden, Astrid realized how exhausted she was, how much her throat hurt, and how much the cut on her cheek stung. She sat plumped down on the ground, catching the attention of Hiccup, "Are you ok, Astrid?"
"I…I…I…"
"Here, it's ok, you're ok." His words soothed tension she didn't know was there, her eyes followed him over to one of the bodies on the floor. She watched him pull his entrenching tool out, which she could only describe as gruesome, before realizing she was sitting on a loaded gun. Slowly, she sat up, grabbing the pistol she used to take the life of the man in front of her, staring at it. She must have gotten a little lost in it, because Hiccup slowly removed it from her hands, unloaded the clip and emptied the last round from it before tossing the gun to the side. He got down on knee, taking her hand and slowly lifting her up to her feet. She noticed her legs felt wobbly, unstable, and weak. He walked her out, where she saw all of the men under his command, with Wartihog and Fishlegs tending a now conscious Heather, but Hiccup ignored them. They walked down the alley, Toothless trailing them, and Hiccup put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Astrid, you ok?"
"Hiccup, I'm fine, I just…"
"You just what?"
"I mean…I don't know. I shot and killed someone, but I…"
"What?"
"I don't…I don't feel anything…Like, I don't feel any guilt, or regret."
"You were justified, Astrid, it's ok to not feel anything."
"But, I…I don't feel a single thing, Hiccup-"
"I know, Astrid. It's ok."
"I…ok." They walked a little further into the devastated town square, fires still spreading, and Astrid still feeling like she was in a daze. She needed to sit down. "Hiccup, I need to sit down."
"Yeah. Yeah, ok, sure, here," he pulled a barrel over to her, "you can sit here." And gently guided her down, allowing Astrid to look deep into Hiccup's eyes. And in his eyes, she found safety. Safety, as he took on several men to save her. He did save her. And Astrid was beyond words. She just had so many feelings right now, between realizing how much Hiccup cared for her, how much she absolutely wanted to be with him, and the worry over lack of feeling after having shot that man. Her brain was such a jumbled mess, she could only ask one question.
"Hiccup, is it over?"
He looked around, glancing at the bodies and equipment, debris and fire and calmly turned back and said, "Yeah, yeah it's all over."
Well, that's the end of their first battle together! The first, but may or may not be the last! Who knows! Also, this battle did happen, but there will be some dramatization of the battle and how far the Ottomans got. And to answer a review that said Mons had only British Elites and French soldiers, yes, you are correct. Hiccup is serving with the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, 1st Guards Brigade of the 1st Division of the Army. This Battalion was at Mons, as well as several other battles. I know that the native Scots had their own formations, but I decided to make Hiccup a part of this elite unit, given his skills, and his 'dramatic flair'. Also, as far as the accents go, Nobrains' East London accent is based on Ronnie Kray, Speedifist's accent is like what Tom Hardy sounds like, and Thuggory won't really have an accent. I'm sure you all know what Wartihog's accent is going to sound like lol.
Review/fav/follow for more updates! Thanks guys!
