Chapter 3
Drip drip drip
What... happened?
Drip drip drip
What was he laying on that was so...
Drip drip drip
Cold...
Drip drip drip
Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and stared into the darkness surrounding him. His entire body felt heavy, but his head throbbed. He had no idea where he was. He couldn't hear the ever so annoying rain anymore, so that was good... Or very bad.
Adjusting his vision to the light in the room, Hiccup could see what was dripping so irritatingly.
Water gathered on the roots sticking out of the ceiling. When they became too heavy to stay attached to the root, it fell to the dirt with a drip. Rocks poked out of the walls and the ground, some sharp and jagged, and others were smooth.
Tunnels, of all sizes snaked in and out of the walls. Only a few of them were big enough for someone like Hiccup could fit through.
He was lying on a ledge of earth that was carved out of the wall, up above the ground by about three feet.
The sound of scurrying feet echoed in the tunnel, constantly stopping and starting, changing direction. All except for one set of foot steps. They sounded different, they remained constant.
They were also growing louder.
Glazing down the dark tunnel, Hiccup could see dark shadows darting back and forth. A silhouette appeared and became larger by the second. It wasn't big enough to be a dragon...
The shadow was almost in view when it saw Hiccup was awake. It stopped dead in its tracks, jumped on to the wall and pushing upwards, scampered in to an opening in the roof of the tunnel.
Hiccup looked up, following the sound of scurrying feet in the tunnels above his head. Bits of dirt rained down where it moved.
Silence followed.
Hiccup scanned the room quickly. He spotted a hole in the roof beside the ledge where he lay.
A pair of brilliant, emerald orbs stared back at him through the dark. They were small and round, curious and precarious.
"You can come down now," Hiccup coaxed. "I'm not going to hurt you."
The eyes blinked, but remained in the hole.
"I promise,"
Turning slightly, the eyes moved to the side, and something dropped from the ceiling, landing beside Hiccup.
It slowly straightened, revealing its features.
Skin stretched tightly over the bones the back, chest and legs, hunched over like an animal, and wrapped in dark cloth, dark red hair hiding the face.
It was... a girl.
She lifted her head, exposing her face. Small and bony, just like the rest of her. If she was standing, she would be only a bit shorter than Hiccup. Instead the girl crawled along the ground, much like an animal might.
As she slowly moved sideways around Hiccup, the girl eyed him curiously. He must have moved too fast, because the girl bolted when he sat up painfully.
"N-no wait," Hiccup called after her, but he toppled over when he tried to stand.
His leg was gone! Well, the false, wooden part was.
"Lovely," He sighed, putting his head down on the ground.
A few moments later, Hiccup heard a quiet shuffle of feet on dirt. Something touched his head and he looked up. It was the girl, and she looked almost... sorry for Hiccup. Her face said "Yep, he's harmless."
Slowly reached out, she touched Hiccup's hair. She pulled away quickly, but then softly smoothed his chestnut hair again.
"Do... do you have a name?" Hiccup asked slowly.
The girl made a rumbling sound in her throat. Guess not.
"Can you speak?"
Nothing. They obviously didn't speak the same language.
Where was he? The question crossed his mind once again.
"Where am I?"
He knew it was pointless.
The girl took his hand and helped him stand. Jumping up on the ledge, she bounced off the wall again and sailed through a hole in the wall. She rushed off down the tunnel and left Hiccup alone again.
He sat down, having more question than ever. What was she doing here? Why couldn't she speak? Who in the world was she? All valid questions, but Hiccup hoped he could get some answers if and when the girl came back.
He must have fallen asleep again because the next thing he knew, the girl was back. She sat cross legged above his head on the ledge, stroking his hair. His head rested on her lap and looking up at the girl, she smiled. Hiccup sat up slowly, back aching from the hard ledge. He turned so his feet dangled over the edge.
The girl stood up and pulled herself into another hole in the wall. She hooked her legs on to a large root above Hiccup's head and let her arms fall, so she hung upside down. She swung back and forth until she reached the edge of the tunnel she climbed into and brought out a white rock.
The inside was hollowed out and it was filled with clear water. The sides were rather thick, but the mug still held quite a bit.
He was grateful for the water, the back of his throat was dry and sore. He drunk the water, trusting it was drinkable.
He did not know how long he had been here. They seemed to be somewhere underground.
"I should find I way out of here," Hiccup thought out loud. "But I'm not going to get far without my leg."
As if on cue, the girl extended an arm from her hole. She held a oddly shaped object of wood and metal in her hand.
"Oh hey, you found my leg!" Hiccup exclaimed.
He reattached his leg and stood up. Now he could find a way to the surface!
He moved toward the tunnel in which the girl entered. She jumped down from the hole in the wall and followed Hiccup.
The tunnel was cool and branched off every so often. Hiccup decided to just go straight for now and try not to get lost.
A little while later, the tunnel opened up into a large room. Holes dotted the walls and dragons of many types zoomed around between them.
"Whoa," Hiccup breathed.
Three full grown Whispering Deaths came barreling out of the tunnels, growling and looking angry until they saw Hiccup.
All three of them immediately dove downwards, drilling into the ground. He could feel the vibrates they were causing. Springing up, they surrounded him. Snarling and snapping, they prepared to strike.
Suddenly the girl leaped between him and the dragons. She mimicked the fighting stance of a dragon, growling and snarling.
The dragons backed up, looking frightened. They flew back into the tunnels above.
The girl straightened up a bit then darted across the room. She sprung up, crawling into a low tunnel. Hiccup hurried after her and she pulled him up. The tunnel was just large enough to walk whiles in a crouch. The girl moved ahead quickly and he followed although he was not certain where she was leading him.
Rooooaaaar!
The bellowing cry ripped through the air. It sounded not too far behind. The girl stopped dead, eyes growing wide.
"Toothless?" He gasped. "Toothless!"
The girl abruptly bolted forward and he dashed after her. The tunnel began to grow larger and larger, until Hiccup could stand with room above him. He could hear scaled feet and claws on dirt behind him.
A black creature flew past Hiccup, barely missing his ear, but still knocking him forward. The beast slid to a stop and faced the girl.
Toothless stared the girl straight in the face, threaten to murder her for what he considered kidnapping.
And for a moment, just one moment, the girl looked frightened.