Hey, guys! So, in my last author's note, I gave you all the list for the new Race to the Edge episode titles, and some of you were wondering if I knew when they were coming out.

Well, good news! I DO! :D I believe they will be coming out during the second half of December. We will get 13 episodes for Race to the Edge every six months for two years, so we'll get over 50 episodes. I KNOW, RIGHT!? AMAAAAAAAAZZZZIIIIINNNNNNNNG! :D

Enjoy chapter 28! :D

Astrid felt her breath quicken once the healer was finished speaking. She glanced back at Hiccup, and collapsed to the edge of the bed, staring at the floor as she tried to register what had just happened.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," said Valarie.

Astrid nodded. She didn't know what to say, what to think. Her mind was blank. It was one hundred percent blank. How was she supposed to respond? What was she supposed to say What did Valarie expect her to say? "Me too," she whispered at length.

"I'm going to do some research," said Valarie, but Astrid wasn't even listening to her. Hiccup wasn't expected to survive the night. He was dying...

Valarie put a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "I take it you're going to stay here all night."

Astrid nodded silently. The sun had already set, leaving Berk underneath the darkened shadow of night. That's exactly how Astrid's mind felt: dark, hopeless, scant of the light that came with Hiccup being with her.

"I'll let your family know for you," said Valarie, her voice quiet.

"Thank you, Valarie," said Astrid slowly. "Do you, by chance, know when Stoick will be getting back?" She knew that the Chief would lose his mind when he heard about Hiccup, but she couldn't even bring herself to think about that very much.

Valarie shook her head. "Last I heard he was doing some late night work," she said. "He'll probably be back in a few hours."

"Okay," said Astrid. "If you somehow manage to see him on your way, maybe you could...I don't know...let him know."

"Of course," said Valarie, offering the girl a sad smile. She collected her things once more, and then left the abode, leaving the bucket of water and rag there, giving Astrid instructions to break Hiccup's fever should he get one. Astrid nodded and bid farewell to the healer as she left the house, heading towards her destinations.

After ten or so minutes, Hiccup groaned, opening his eyes and struggling to sit up. Astrid pushed him back down by the shoulders, and his eyes rolled over to regard her. They were fever bright and hazy, and she had to blink rapidly to keep tears from welling in her eyes.

"Astrid?" he choked. Astrid nodded. "Wh...what...happened?" He coughed weakly into his fist, and Astrid rubbed his shoulder.

"Shh, stop," Astrd whispered. "Your wound reopened. You lost a lot of blood. You need to rest."

Hiccup blinked up at her; that was the problem with him. He could read her like a book, and he was an excellent reader. "That's not it, though, is it?" said Hiccup. It was more of a statement than a question, Astrid caught in his voice. "There's something else you're not telling me, Astrid, and I know it."

"N-nothing," said Astrid quickly; too quickly. She didn't want to tell him. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell him he was dying...

"Please don't lie to me, Astrid," Hiccup almost begged her, his voice quiet and small. "Please don't lie to me…"

Astrid sucked in a sharp inhale of breath. She couldn't lie to him, it was impossible now that he begged her not to. She took another deep breath before she spoke. "Your infection got worse, Hiccup," she said. "The healer...she's...she's not expecting you to survive the night."

Hiccup glanced up at her, his eyes filled with terror. There. The truth was out. Astrid didn't want to see his face at this point, but she looked at him anyway. "Astrid?" he said.

"Yes?" the girl responded.

"I-I don't w-want to die," Hiccup whimpered, rolling over on his side, pressing his back against Astrid's crossed legs.

"I know, I know," said Astrid, grasping his cold hand in hers and massaging his shaking, pale fingers. "You won't, though, Hiccup. You'll be fine. You won't die. I promise."

"Promises don't mean anything," Hiccup muttered.

"Yes, they do," said Astrid. "It'll be okay, Hiccup."

"Mmm," Hiccup mumbled. "Whatever you say." He closed his eyes and sagged against Astrid, surrendering himself to sleep, feeling feverish yet cold, in pain, and exhausted. Astrid pulled the blanket over his body and smoothed it around him, trying to keep herself from thinking about what the healer had told her.

She stayed there, her fingers moving almost on their own as she redid two little braids in Hiccup's hair as a habit. She liked doing it; besides, she thought, in her own personal opinion, that the braids looked rather cute, even though she knew he didn't like it. He sometimes took them out, yet always let her redo them. She wasn't sure why.

She kept trying to tell herself that Hiccup wasn't going to die, but by the looks of it, that was exactly what was going to happen. She placed her arm over him, pressing her hand to his chest so she could feel his heartbeat.

The hours seemed to pass like days, each minute seemingly far, far longer than it truly was. Hiccup didn't wake up, and maybe that scared Astrid even more so than Valarie's prediction. As long as Hiccup was awake, then at least Astrid would know he wasn't dead. She wanted so desperately to just wake him up and hear his voice again, or see his eyes open once more.

However, looking down at him was the only thing that strayed waking the boy. He was shivering, pale, and she knew just by looking at his face that he was exhausted and needed to rest. He was unnaturally thin, possibly looking even worse than he had earlier. His ribs pushed against Astrid's hand as he breathed deeply yet unevenly, and the girl could feel every one of them.

Feeling Hiccup's chest rise and fall was both a relief and a concern for Astrid. A relief, because it meant that he was still fighting, holding onto life by just a thread. However, it was also a concern, though, because she knew that any breath he took could have been his last. Every time he exhaled, she held her breath a little bit, worried he wasn't going to bring more oxygen into his lungs.

She placed her hand on his head to make sure he wasn't getting a fever. He didn't, but maybe that was just the problem. His hair was sweaty and greasy, a dull shade of brown instead of its usual auburn. Astrid figured that it was lack of sunlight that caused the color change.

She stayed there for longer than she cared to think about. She knew it had been a few hours, but she just wasn't sure how many hours exactly. It could have been four, while it could have very well been eight at the same time. She didn't know for certain, nor did she care at the moment, either.

She listened to him breathe, feeling his heartbeat, worried it would stop at any moment in time. The thought terrified her, that Hiccup could stop breathing at any given second. She tried not to think about it, but that was nearly impossible to accomplish. Her mind kept drifting to the fact that the healer didn't think Hiccup was going to make it through the night without slipping away.

Hiccup whimpered in his sleep, and Astrid shushed him softly, trying to calm him while at the same time trying to calm herself.

It wasn't working, though, because she knew that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was going to die.