Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Violent, dark chapter! My favorite kind... XD Maybe I'm the deranged one...?

It might also be a tiny bit confusing...if you have any questions, message me and I'll do my best to answer them for you. (Then again, every time I think a chapter is confusing, you guys seem to not think so...I dunno. Whatever. XD)

And WOW you guys have been AWESOME! Seriously! I don't think I've ever had this many reviews in such a short time! Thank you! You are amazing! (reminded myself of Hiccup just then...in Gift of the Night Fury) LOL.

"We're at war, Hiccup." Dagur hisses, close to the boy's ear. "And you're about to become the first casualty."

Hiccup whimpers, despite himself. But he's unable to move. His breath is suddenly very short and labored. All the memories of that night in the Forge come rushing back to him, threatening to topple him from the inside out. He can't move. He can't breathe. And Dagur is right behind him, holding a knife. Stars flash in his vision. He's going to pass out, he realizes. And, somehow, that's almost a relief. Maybe he'll faint before Dagur stabs him. Maybe he won't feel it... Maybe-

Dagur grabs his shoulder and spins in him around. The knife he's holding is a lot bigger than Hiccup had imagined. It's actually more like a machete... The Berserker's chief notices the look of absolute terror on Hiccup's face and laughs. He laughs. As if this is some kind of joke. He pushes Hiccup against the wall, holding him there with one hand. The other one brings his knife dangerously close to Hiccup's midsection. The very tip of its razor-sharp blade whispers over Hiccup's stomach, threatening him.

And...the stars are back... Hiccup silently urges them to take over. He doesn't want to be here when Dagur is done playing his games. When he decides to just end it and sink the knife into his gut. He wants to be far away, hidden deep within his mind's darkness when it happens.

Unfortunately, he isn't so lucky.

"Stormfly, Toothless, stay here." Astrid whispers as she backs away from them. "Hiccup's had his fifteen minutes and he isn't back yet. I'm going to find him." She can't help but notice the distressed look on Toothless's face, as well the uneasy chirps that Stormfly is still making. "I'll be back." She assures them. "Be ready to take off when I do."

She spins around and jumps, grabbing a hand-hold in the boulder's porous side. Then, heaving herself on top, she wastes no time in sliding down the other side and running straight into town, setting her sights on the spot where Hiccup described Dagur's house to be.

Only once does she see a patrol. He is at the other end of an alleyway that passes by. Luckily, he doesn't notice her. So she doesn't stop. Instead, she continues sprinting right up through the center of town, toward the large house at the end of the street. Hiccup is in there somewhere. And, by the eerie silence of the town, she can definitely feel it. The intensity buzzes across her skin, making it crawl. Something is wrong.

Hiccup is in danger. I need to find him...! Somehow, she just knows.

Astrid reaches Dagur's front door in a matter of seconds. Throwing it open, she takes a confident step inside, expecting there to be something happening on the other side. Some kind of fight, maybe. Or Hiccup being held hostage... But there's nothing. This is the right house, right? She glances around, her eyes growing wide.

There's something laying on the ground. A satchel? She leans down and flips it open, gasping at what falls open when she does. The Book of Dragons! She smiles, excitedly. It really is here! Only then does she begin to wonder. Why wouldn't Hiccup have checked that...? Did he not see it...or maybe... "Oh no..." She breathes.

Or maybe it was just put here. Dagur just got home.

The pain is excruciating. Blinding. The feeling of a knife cutting through your skin, spilling your blood... It's unimaginable. Hiccup screams in agony as the blade cuts into him. Instantly, his knees give out and falls to the ground.

Dagur stands above him, grinning. "You should have stayed dead the first time around...maybe then this wouldn't have happened to you." He regards the bleeding boy with a twisted smirk and shakes his head. "Maybe I'll take your body back to Berk...leave it on your dear old father's doorstep..." He lifts his foot, prepared to kick Hiccup while he's down...literally. "I wonder how your 'Dragon Riders' would react to seeing their beloved leader cold and lifeless...or your little girlfriend?" He snickers. But before he can bring down his foot-

CRACK!

Dagur's eyes roll back in his head and he sinks to the ground, collapsing only a few inches away from Hiccup. Said viking lifts his blurring eyes to see what happened.

Astrid is standing where Dagur used to be. She drops the object she used to hit Dagur over the head. Her face is ghostly white, her eyes wide with horror. "Oh gods..." She breathes, staring at Hiccup and, more specifically, the blood that's pooling around him. "Hiccup..." She squeaks, dropping to her knees in front of him. "What happened...?"

He opens his mouth to speak but he gets distracted by a strange taste filling his mouth. It's metallic, like copper. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows it's blood... But the forefront of his mind is still occupied with trying to comprehend the fact that he was just stabbed.

"Hiccup...?" Astrid asks again. Her hands are shaking. She looks scared.

Another part of his ever-blurring mind wants to comfort her. He wants to tell her he's okay...but, once again, his body simply won't do what he tells it to. Instead, he just continues to lay there on his side, watching as more crimson gushes from his wound, soaking his tunic and spilling onto the floor.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cries out, desperately. "Please answer me!"

But he simply can't. He wishes he could...but he can't. At this point, the darkness he'd been wishing for slowly begins to swallow him. But this time, it's different. A more complete darkness, silent... It nudges the corner of his vision, trying to push its way through and blind him to his pain.

"J-just hang on, Hiccup!" Astrid pleads. She moves closer, her eyes frantically searching for something, anything to stop the bleeding that's slowly draining away the color in his face. "Don't give up!" She shouts, not caring if anyone hears. "I'm gonna help you! Don't you dare give up!"

Somehow, he finds the strength to nod. At least...it feels like he nodded. Astrid doesn't seem to have noticed it so...maybe he only imagined it. Great. Now he's bleeding out and going crazy! Just great...

After a few more seconds, the blackness finally manages to worm its way in. Hiccup tiredly pushes against it, not wanting to give up and get in trouble with Astrid. But there's only so much strength he can muster right now. And, eventually, his vision fades. Fallowed by his hearing. And then the pain goes too. Just like when Dagur strangled him. And, also the same as last time, he can't stop his thoughts from going to Toothless...and his dad...and Astrid.

I promised Toothless I'd be back... He remembers. Dad doesn't even know I'm gone...he thinks I'm safely in my bedroom... A little bit of the darkness fades, suddenly. As if being cut by a light. Why does he feel so cold all of a sudden? And Astrid...oh man...she's gonna be so mad if I die... He feels like there's a wind on his face. The pain in his stomach is just an echo of what it was before...but he can feel it again. He feels something else too. Like he's being...dragged or carried...or maybe both?

"Hiccup..." Astrid's voice is so distant, like she's at the other end of a long tunnel. "Stay with me...you're gonna be fine...just please don't die..."

Suddenly, the world shakes. The wind whips his face and he gets the feeling he's flying. Maybe he is...? No. How would he have gotten to a dragon? He can't even walk, for Thor's sake! The last thing he hears before the darkness returns, is Astrid's gentle voice in his ear.

"It's going to be okay...just don't give up."