When Worlds Collide

Chapter Three

Hiccup’s mother looked around, alarmed. “Did anybody see him leave?” she demanded, a commanding figure despite her slight frame. Everyone shook their heads.

“We should make a camp and wait for him to come back.” Suggested Katniss.

She went back to the truck and opened the door. Inside Gale was passed out in the back seat, oblivious to the world around him. She noticed the scar on his neck, and made a note to treat that when he woke. “I guess he won’t be much help.” She mumbled to herself. She began to search the truck for any equipment. Nothing, the truck was empty of helpful supplies.

“Well, I’ve got nothing.” She said as she came back to the group.

“I don’t get it,” Astrid said worriedly. “Why would he leave and where would he go?”

“Does anybody have anything of his?” Hiccup’s mom demanded.

“There’s this.” Katniss said, holding out the armor Hiccup had given Gale. He had not had it on for very long.

“Perfect,” she said, taking it. She offered it to her dragon, which Katniss thought she remembered Astrid calling Cloudjumper, and the dragon sniffed the air. His eyes narrowed.

“Come on, Astrid!” the woman yelled, pulling herself onto Cloudjumper. Astrid mounted her dragon, and the two of them took off. It was just the four of them now: Brom, Annabeth, Katniss, and Gale. Katniss made a small shelter out of some of the rubble around them, and she tried to get Gale out of the truck, but that proved hopeless. Brom just sat on a broken piece of building and stared into space. Annabeth took out the jug she had almost dropped earlier and took a sip of it, sighing with relief.

“What is that?” Katniss asked.

“Special water.” Annabeth replied. She couldn’t tell her what it really was. “Has some medicines in it.”

“Can you give me a hand with this?” Katniss asked, holding up a long piece of wood, trying to get it over the shelter.

“Sure.” Annabeth limped over, picking up the other end and doing her best to help out.

“How bad is that wound?” Katniss asked, pointing to Annabeth’s leg when they had placed the board. “If it’s a reasonable amount, then I can give you some morphling.”

“It’s pretty bad, but this stuff here really helps me out.” Annabeth replied, pointing at her jug.

“If Prim were here she wouldn’t let you walk let alone work. She’d tell you to sit down and force you the morphing.” Katniss said, slight tears falling down her face.

“Trust me when I say this, I have been through a lot worse than this.” Annabeth told her, thinking about a time not to long ago.

“We should make a fire and rest for a while. It wouldn’t hurt to put up a guard too.” Katniss suggested.

“Sounds good. Brom’s good with starting fires.” Annabeth waved Brom over, smiling at him. He bent over the partially built fireplace and, though it looked like he was using two sticks, he murmured something under his breath and the fire instantly started.

 

After the sun went down over the tree tops, the temperature dropped considerably. Everyone was huddled around the fire, trying to stay warm. A sound in the background made them jump. Annabeth even pulled out her dagger, searching for any signs of, well, anything.

“What’d I miss?” Gale said warily, as he stumbled over to the party. Annabeth smiled.

“Nothing much.” She replied “So, can someone explain all this district stuff to me, I’m afraid I have been really busy lately.”