Chapter Forty-Fife: Firestorm
Hiccup wasn't sure what woke him. The cries or the sound of collapsing watch-tower next to the prison.
Either way he was awake in seconds, stumbling to his feet, holding on to the iron bars.
In the cage next to him Josh groaned as he got up.
"For God's sake, what time is it?" he asked. "Don't know but it must be past midnight." "Why are they making such a noise out there?" Josh asked before he shouted: "EY! SOME OF US ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO SLEEP YOU FISH-EATING WORMS!"
Then Hiccup saw the orange glow of fire through the small windows and painfully familiar roars.
Dragon-roars.
Suddenly he felt like swept back in time. He froze.
The sound of running feet on hard ground. Roaring Dragons in the sky. Angry and desperate war-cries. The sound of fighting. The crackling sound of fire consuming everything in its path.
Before He'd taken it all in Hiccup knew what was happening.
He turned to Josh, his face pale.
"Dragon-Raid." He whispered.
Kate:
Kate had followed that George guy and his companion and had found a village. The flags hanging down from the masts just outside the village marked the as property of Talkin. The crest was the same as in their national flag. A badger fighting with a snake.
She tried to remember if she'd read about this village and came to the conclusion….no.
Or? Well she had read about the trade center of the east. A mighty town on an Island before the coast of Talkin. Known as the 'Gate to the east'.
But this run-down fishing village a trading nation? Not really.
And yet she still could see the remains of a fort, there were stone pillars that probably once belonged to a port and some of the houses were too big for a village.
As she crept along the outline of the village she hid in the forest that surrounded the village on three sides.
There were men patrolling back and forth. Every few meters torches light the night.
She tried to make out conversations but the people were awfully quiet and just did their chores.
She crouched behind a moss-covered tree trunk that was lying on its side.
The village was tiny compared to what she'd seen before.
Yet there were remains of real roads and she even could make out street signs. But those usually were common in big cities.
The more she saw the more she felt dread settle in her stomach.
She continued her way around the village, staying out of the guards' way.
A patrol came her way and she quickly ducked again.
Doing so she lost her footing on the wet ground and with a silent gasp she tumbled down into a ravine.
Once the world stopped spinning she got to her feet.
Her head was seriously complaining.
She supported herself on a log and tried to find a way out of the ravine.
Carefully she made a few steps.
Suddenly she felt the ground change under her feet from soft forest floor to stone.
She stepped back and knelt down.
Why was there a stony floor so far away from the village?
She began pushing the foliage and branches aside until she had cleared the ground. The flagstones she'd discovered were clearly made by human hands. They were to smooth to be made by nature and they were all rectangular.
She followed the flagstones with one hand trailing over their surface until her path was blocked by fallen trees.
No…not trees she realized. Those were walls. Broken, destroyed, burned walls!
Kate quickly got rid of all the stuff that had grown over the ruins.
Her heart started pumping again. Fear and dread settled in her stomach. She shot to her feet, her head flying around.
There.
She hurried over to the next ruin, hidden by branches, rootage, leaves and moss. It was the same. A destroyed house. She could barely make out the foundations.
As moonlight poured through the leaves of the trees that had grown on those ruins she could make out more vague shapes ahead of her.
As she hurried through, what looked to her like a graveyard, she stumbled across a tree.
But it was no normal tree. This tree had grown next to some stone column but with the time, as the tree grew and was in need of more space, it had started growing around the column, making it look like it was slowly eating the column.
But with the light streaming down from the sky, Kate was still able to make out the carving inside the stone.
From north, south and west they shall come,
to here, where our all history once begun.
United we shall stand, united shall be our lives,
the earth as our mother and the sea our wife,
with light form the sky and love from the heart;
this shall be one part.
Evil, beware the greatness of mankind
Beware the wonder and strength a true heart can find.
Here, at the roots of fate,
Port East shall stand against the hate,
So our children may live one day,
In a world where light forever will stay.
I give this to my kind.
Your strength hides inside.
H.H.H. II
Kate thought she would be sick.
This was it. Port East. The 'gate to the East'.
A town once known for its greatness, reduced to a village, hidden from stares.
Why had this never reached the other six nations?
What was going on?
Her fingers moved of the signatory. H.H.H. II
"What is going on? How could this have happened?"
Her question was answered when flames light up the sky above her and the screaming started.
Hiccup:
He felt sick. A dragon raid. It had been so long since he'd experienced one.
And in the last one he'd shoot down Toothless, embarrassed himself in front of the whole village and had gotten into another argument with his father.
But also he'd been younger, inexperienced, stupid you could say.
He was shocked how little difference it now made.
Fear clouded his mind.
This was different than home. Was it? A little voice asked in the back of his mind. He shook his head.
"This is bad, right?" Josh asked. "Yes, yes it is!"
Hiccup tried to see what was going on. Occasionally he could make out a scaly body flying overhead and spears and nets and bolas flying through the night.
Also he saw fire.
And the desperate look on the people faces, trying to fight the dragons and keeping the fire from destroying everything.
"We need to help them!" Hiccup said determined. Josh looked at him incredulously. "Have you lost it? No way, I'm helping those people. They want to leave us here to rot! They can perish in the flames for all I care!" Hiccup shook his head. "No we cannot! We're going to die along them eventually." "What do you want to do? Train all those dragons that are attacking?" Hiccup shrugged. "Basically." "That is madness." "That is our only chance to prove that dragons are no brainless beasts with evil intentions!" "Good luck with that mate!" "Josh! We somehow have to get them to listen to us!" Josh rolled with his eyes. "Alright alright I'm coming. But if we die, I'm going to blame you."
Hiccup smiled.
"Thanks old friend." "Yeah yeah. Don't get sentimental. Just get going."
Melting the iron bars was piece of cake for Hiccups fire-powers.
A they burst outside, they both froze for a moment.
"Holy mother of Loki!" Hiccup whispered.
It was a mess. Everything was on fire. People ran around like headless chicken. Burning sheep were hunted by a squad of dragons. Other dragons attacked the villagers, sometimes picking one of the up, randomly, and dropping them again.
Hiccup flinched at the sickening sound of a body smacking on the stone pavement. Josh looked equally horrified.
"Okay. We too have problems with dragons but usually they just steal our cattle of accidently burn something down or something like this. But they really rarely attack. Only when the feel threatened or when you're too close to their nests!" he whispered to Hiccup.
Hiccup agreed.
In Berk the dragons only attacked their animals too. And when the Vikings started to attack them they of course fought back but never they…slaughtered them. Unlike the Vikings.
Something cold settle in the pit of Hiccups stomach.
With a very weak voice he said: "Josh?" "Yes?" "Something is horribly wrong here!" "No kidding." "No, I mean it. This…this not proper dragon behavior! I mean…it's not a dragon's nature to kill humans!" "What do you mean?" "Remember what I told you about dragons and humans being two parts of the same coin?" "Yes." "A dragon chooses his rider. Not the other way around. For a dragon killing a human is like you killing your own siblings." Josh flinched. "It's not normal." "So why can humans kill dragons so easily?" "I don't think it's easier for them. I mean I couldn't when I met Toothless. I think they just don't realize how hard it actually is for them. Above all, dragons are far more intelligent and sensible on a whole different and new level." "So and why are these dragons killing people anyway?" "Because something's wrong with them."
Hiccup could feel the truth in his words.
They didn't have time to talk any more.
"Hey! What are you doing out of your cages…How did you even get out?"
They turned and found themselves nose to nose with Blondie. Though his hair was more grey from dirt and ash and his cloth were shredded.
"We're here to help!" Hiccup said. "Yes, to help the dragons. Sorry to tell you but their doing a good job without you already. Now get back into those cages before I run you through! I deal with you once the raid is over." Before any of them could do as told, there was a roar from behind them.
A Monstrous Nightmare attacked them. "Down!" Josh bellowed and grabbed Blondie by his color and dived into safety. Hiccup just closed his eyes and felt his body be engulfed by the flames.
Once the flames died down Hiccup grinned up at the Nightmare.
"Bad dragon." He tossed out his hand a fireball shot toward the dragon. It exploded in its chest and the dragons was catapulted backwards with such force he went down in the ocean.
Hiccup winced a bit. This was about dispelling the dragons for now.
He turned around to his two companions.
"You alright?" he asked. Blondie staggered to his feet.
"You should be roasted meat!" he said accusingly. Hiccup shrugged. "Do you want our help or not? I promise you can lock us up afterwards! And we won't try to flee!" Blondie snorted. "Try to help if you want. You will be killed. You have no idea! And I'm not worried about you escaping. They sat our boats again on fire. We're stuck here."
With that Blondie disappeared between burning houses.
Kate:
Kate threw all cautious in the wind and ran for the village. But it was difficult. Many times she tripped and fell.
When she made it to the village, everything was on fire.
She stumbled through two houses onto the main road. It was a scene from a nightmare.
And the fact that a Monstrous Nightmare was cutting a cutter through the village, heading her way, didn't help.
She dived behind two barrels.
Looking around she froze.
There they were.
Hiccup and Josh! Talking with a person before said person took off into some smaller street.
She wanted to run over to her friends and huge and punch them for being alive and well but between her and the boys were several hundred meters as well as burning buildings, dragons, crazy unknown people with weapons and burning cattle.
She took a deep breath and grabbed her knives.
She saw a Nadder coming from the left and she dived again before its claws could grab her.
She got to her feet and ran.
The dragon screeched and began to chase her.
What was happening? Kate had never experienced something like this!
She jumped into a small ditch and pressed her back against the walls.
A few moments passed which felt like ages and when she looked again the Nadder was gone.
She sighed with relive.
That moment something closed around her upper right arm and yanked her upwards.
It was the Nadder.
Involuntary Kate screamed and tossed around, trying to free herself.
"No, NO!"
The Nadder suddenly screeched and let go.
Kate screamed again as she fell but instead of landing on the hard ground someone caught her.
"I got you!" an unfamiliar voice said.
She turned her head towards the voice and looked into a rather handsome but cold and dirty face of a boy, maybe Josh's age, around eighteen.
"Thank you." She whispered. "No problem." The boy eyed her while setting her down on her feet.
"Who are you?" he asked. "You…you don't seem familiar…" She opened her mouth to say something but somebody else was faster.
"KATE!"
The next second she was tackled in a fierce hug.
She stumbled a bit before she wrapped her arms around Hiccups neck.
She felt him breathing heavily. Despite the life-and-death situation butterflies were filling her stomach and everything was forgotten for a second.
"Oh gods of Asgard! Kate! We were so worried!" "You were worried? What do you think I felt like? Left alone in the woods!" Hiccup stepped back sheepishly grinning and said: "Sorry but this guy here had us kidnapped." And pointed at her savior.
"Really? Well, he just saved my life." She said. Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked skeptically.
"Wait, you belong together?" her savior asked, sounding strangely harsh. "Yes." Kate said.
Before anyone could say something Josh tackled them all to the ground and a Zippelback nearly missed them.
Hiccup was the first up and help out his arm again.
When the Zippelback again tried to burn them his stream of flames crashed midway into Hiccups flames.
Irritated by that it stopped and got caught by the flames erupting from Hiccups hand.
It screeched and flew away.
"Well done Hiccup." Kate muttered.
Hiccup shrugged. "The twins once said: "Fight fire with fire."* Kate didn't know what he was talking about but she could always ask him later.
But before that the desperate cry of: "Fire! Too much fire! Desert the village!" "NO!" came a loud roar back.
Kate turned around to Hiccup. "Can you do something about the flames?" He looked uncertain. "I…I don't know."
He stepped to next closest burning building and touched the licking flames. He concentrated and then…it seemed like he absorbed the flames in his hand until the house wasn't burning anymore.
All three of them stared at him. "Hiccup…that was amazing. Can you do it again?" Hiccup nodded and raised his arms.
From all over the place the flames seemed to lift from the burning objects and cattle and flew towards hiccup and conflate with his body until he was glowing.
When the last bit of fire had entered his body there was a small moment of silence.
Then, all of a sudden, all the dragons rose into the air and disappeared in the night, heading in the direction of Misty-Island.
Silence returned once again, disregarding the cracking of the flames and the moans of the wounded.
A heavy, bulky men appeared.
He pointed with his mighty ax at them.
"You." He was breathing heavily "You have some explaining to do!"
AN: Yep, expanding Hiccups powers a bit. Thought would be nice. But don't worry. I won't over exaggerate! And yeah, they are reunited and now *drum roll* we come to something big!
Next chapter: Mysteries are going to be reveled, explanations are made, old friends reappear and above all…someone falls in love.
I know the chapters are not so good in last time but I'm a bit down at the moment, don't know why. But thanks anyway for reading!
Love, Kate
*: Defenders of Berk, Zippelback Down