"I Do.... NOT!!"

Chapter 21: New Abilities

------ Hiccup's POV------

I fought through terrible wind and wet ash, feeling my lungs crackle and burn from the terrible atmosphere. I could tell I was glowing, bright enough for the village to see. It seemed that was exactly what happened, as I dipped and fought upwards in the malestrom, a strange sensation began running through me. The buzz of electricity became consistent enough to make a pocket of air directly around us that we could breathe. I regained strength to fly and made it a few more feet before being thrown sideways by the wind.

At this point, I could see the shore, dotted with vikings. I shook with exhaustion, now swimming with all my might and trying to keep my friend's heads above water. As I got a few more painful feet closer to land, my ears picked up a thunk in the water next to me. It must have been a rope, thrown out by the berserkers. I snapped my neck around and seized the end, hoping it wouldn't fray. After what felt like an eternity, my claws began hitting solid ground. I dragged myself out of the water with one front leg and two back ones. My right front paw had Heather and Astrid clinging drowsily to it, pulled close to me. I dropped them to the sand and fell next to them, covering them with my wing. I was worried the Vikings would see their scales... Nothing but that would have survived this insanity.

When Vikings tried to approach me I snarled at them, true to the monster they accused me of being. It was their fault I didn't have more strength to save their pathetic island. They were the ones that caused potential terrible consequences to Astrid and Heather. I was still buzzing with energy, blue light crackling through me. An expertly thrown rope tried to settle around my neck, but unprotected by my saliva, it disintegrated. I let out a massive roar, warning them to stay away. As I looked up, I saw a beautiful expanse of stars... The clouds that covered most of them were gone... The air finally felt clean. As if sensing my danger the lightning seemed to gather around me, making a sort of barrier between us and the threats.

I rested several hours, feeling the protection the lightning storm offered me. I knew it would have to leave when the storm did... Perhaps we could go with it. But I didn't think Heather would want to leave her only family. Then again... Would they even accept her now? An idea formed in my mind. It would be risky... But still possible. I carefully turned around, keeping my friends hidden. Then I grabbed them both with my front paws and held on tight as I tried to fly straight up. Lightning flashes moved with me, offering me protection as I rose higher and higher. Arrows and stones whistled past, an odd axe or two got pulverized by lightning as I continued my precarious climb. Once I was above the cloud cover, I used my echolocation to locate the tattered remains of the village. After determining I could land, I dove. As I landed and left them on the sand next to the healers tent, I saw Astrid stir. I growled at her to find Viking attire for Heather and fled, hoping Astrid and Heather's secret wouldn't be discovered. I pushed my aching wings upwards and disappeared into the night sky, grateful for the cover of night.

I flew for what felt like hours, fighting horrendous wind and dropping lower and lower. Finally I spotted a sea stack and desperately fought to stay level with it. I landed on the side and clawed my way up to the top, finally flopping onto the tiny space on top to rest. Black exhaustion swamped me and I blacked out. The next morning I began feeling warm sun on my back. I stayed still, soaking in the wonderful sun as I slowly woke up. My stomach growled loudly, and I scrambled to my feet, feeling weak from lack of food. I surveyed my surroundings and discovered that my sleeping place was far to low to the ocean and exposed. I thanked the lucky stars no viking had seen me, and began using my echolocation to survey the waters around me. I soon spotted a school of fish and prepared to dive, my mouth watering at the the thought of fish.

A little later I finally finished catching and eating fish, feeling pleasantly stuffed and tired. I soon drifted off to sleep on my seastack again, in desperate need of recovery. It must have been early evening by the time I woke, feeling much more energized and whole. I soaked in the fading sun's rays and thought hard about what to do now. I couldn't just leave Berserker Island. My friends were there, they needed my protection. Finally I determined to head back, after dark. No one would see me then, and if I was close enough maybe Astrid and Heather would sense my presence and try to find me outside the village. I waited a little longer, thinking about my home, hurt from a second rejection still fresh in my soul. I gave my people, my only direct family, a chance to see who I truly was... But it seemed to have failed miserably. All they could focus on was my differences from them... It was clear they all had forgotten that I'd saved one of their own, and that I wanted to protect them from dragon attacks.