They had left Hiccups house nearly forty-five minutes ago. The teens had been driving down a dirt road for the past twenty minutes. Those sitting in the bed were sitting low avoiding the flying gravel as Hiccup sped down the road. He eased his foot off the accelerator and turned off the main road and onto a lightly worn trail. The truck rocked and pumped as it passed over the uneven ground.
Astrid looked to Hiccup, "is this the 'lodge'?"
"No this is just the halfway point," Hiccup twisted to look toward the bed, "You guys may want hop out, this is gonna take a bit."
Hiccup stepped out of the truck and went around to the front while everyone started walking around the clearing. Astrid watched as Hiccup pulled out about twenty feet of winch cable. He clipped the hook to his belt and started scurrying up the 75-degree rock face.
The teens started to mingle together. Astrid was quick to join and listen in. They naturally were all trying to process what had happened and what was going on. Eret was grilling Snotlout pretty hard.
"Spill it Snotlout," Eret commanded, "He's your cousin you must know where the fishbone is taking us."
Snotlout held his hands out to the side, "I have no clue what Useless is doing."
The twins started in on the banter of questioning Hiccup and whether or not they should all just go back. Astrid's gut started to knot up. For some reason the conversation was rubbing her the wrong way. Maybe it was just because Hiccup had just saved their lives.
"How 'bout you guys just can it." She barked.
"Since when have you started defending Useless Haddock?" Eret questioned.
"I'm not!" Astrid said realizing the error she committed in the group's eyes, "But are we honestly considering going back to whoever is down there, who just tried to kill us?"
Before any one replied Hiccup came sliding back down the rock. He gained his feet and walked to the driver seat.
"Alright guys time to move." He called to them.
The teens uneasily started shuffling back to the truck. Astrid almost climbed in the cab but thought against it. She didn't want to look any worse in her friend's eyes. She jumped in the bed next to Eret.
"Fish you can ride shotgun." She said.
The big guy uncomfortably shifted toward the cab and climbed in. Hiccup was already situated inside and was waiting for everyone to settle. When Fishlegs had buckled himself in Hiccup passed him a control box to the winch. Hiccup twisted around and shouted through the shattered rear window.
"Everyone hang on and keep that gear secure!" Hiccup looked at Fishlegs, "Start winding the winch in."
Hiccup slowly pressed the accelerator and Fish pressed the button labeled 'retract'. The truck slowly began to roll up the steep grade. Everyone clenched onto the side of the bed as it grew steeper and steeper. It reached the apex of the climb and Hiccup had his foot to the floor. The tires slipped a little causing some hearts to skip a beat. Yet contrary to everyone's thoughts the truck rolled offer the edge and onto level ground. The group looked ahead and saw a path cut out in front of them. From below you'd have ever known there was anything just fifteen feet up. Hiccup quickly hopped out and unhooked the winch and respooled it. Without any word he got in the truck and started down the hidden path.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence. It was well into the afternoon by the time they reached their mysterious destination. It was a two-story log cabin carefully tucked back among a thick growth of oak trees. Hiccup pulled the truck up to the front porch and turned off the engine. He exited and grabbed the tan backpack and the duffel Fishlegs knew to have the guns in it.
"Leave everything for now," Hiccup instructed, "Come inside for the tour then we can get settled."
Everyone climbed out and followed Hiccup to the front door. The youth pulled a key ring and unlocked the cabin for everyone to enter. The interior did not exactly match the rustic exterior. While it maintained the outdoors atmosphere the modern conveniences were not left out. A 75in flat screen hung in front of some expensive brown leather furniture. A nice kitchen sat off to the right with a big dining room table.
Hiccup addressed the group, "Ok, we got three bedrooms. Astrid and Ruffnut, you can share the master bedroom at the top of the stares to the right. The one to the left is mine. Down in the basement is the third room and couches with pull out beds in the lounge area down there. You guysget to fight over who gets what." Hiccup started taking the stairs up, "Wait here one sec."
Everyone stood uneasy in the entryway of the cabin. No one spoke, and the silence only added to the tension and nervousness. Hiccup could be heard upstairs rummaging around. Lights flicked on and several appliances beeped. Eret made the first move inside and the others followed. Hiccup came down the stairs, Fish noted his bags were not with him.
"Ok so the good news, we got power and running hot water. We have plenty of food between what we brought and what my dad keeps stored up here. We should be fine to stay up here."
"What's the bad news?" Snotlout questioned.
Hiccup looked at his feet, "The bad news is, until my dad or Gobber come get us, we may have to be up here for a good while."
"So… what?" Eret spoke, "What are we supposed to do?"
Everyone looked toward the window when the faint cry of jets sounded in the distance. Everyone looked back at Hiccup.
"We wait. Until we hear that no more."