Symphony of Shadows

21. Spark

A flurry of movements and light surrounded Astrid but she couldn't hear a sound.

Protect and survive.

That was all she could hear.

Protect and Survive.

Her blood thrummed inside her veins as she narrowly avoided a fiery entrance into Valhalla by somersaulting off the steps of the Great Hall. She'd been trying to help Ruffnut avoid being charred to ashes by a violent Monstrous Nightmare. The dragon must've been decades old because it was bigger and meaner than any other she had seen. Her friend's strength certainly wasn't in fighting dragons. Tuffnut wasn't much better since they both were clumsy and lacked coordination. It was an unfair fight and Astrid was determined to even the odds. The humongous dragon opened its ugly mouth full of jagged teeth to fire a blast at Ruff and Astrid threw a mace at its snout. The beast turned its attention to Astrid with renewed vigor.

Uh oh.

Red and black scales with yellow eyes lunged at her and snapped its jaws right where her torso had been moments before. Its flame burned so hot that she already felt beads of sweat forming, making the battle even harder as she knew her body would be pushed to its limits. Now that she had helped Ruff, the decision of what to do with the monster plagued her as she knew running towards the village would give her places to hide which she desperately needed. But it also placed all the vikings that were currently fighting their own battles in more danger and would surely end in torched houses and lost lives. It wasn't a difficult choice.

Pushing past her body's exhaustion, she sprinted towards the treeline and into the Eastern Woods where the angry dragon followed closely with its gnashing teeth waiting to chomp on her bones.

Not today, not if I can help it.

Pumping her legs harder, she dodged bursts of flame from behind her and jumped over fallen branches, willing herself to keep going, to push harder. She was deeper in the forest which gave her more cover and the dragon took to the skies as it realized its gigantic body wouldn't be able to chase her in the trees. Her breaths came out in pants as she wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand and leaned back on a tree to steady her heart rate.

Astrid had done it. She'd escaped and was still alive, thank Odin. The hels-sent dragon let out a roar that shook the trees around her and she was grateful that she was out of range from its blasts.

Breathing out shakily, Astrid pushed off from the tree that had supported her weary body when she heard a loud cracking sound.

She looked up and saw a blazing branch quickly dropping down from above, coming straight for her.

As she looked up, she realized a blaze was rapidly surrounding her. The entire tree line was on fire. The monster hadn't given up, it had outthought her.

What the fuck?

She didn't have time to think, she had to run or she would be killed by flaming trees, not exactly how she wanted to die. Burning branches crackled all around her and she could feel the metal on her axe burn her upper back as the air around her became molten. Thick smoke poured from every direction and south became east as north became west. She was lost.

No, no, no this can't be it.

Astrid had to find a way out. She had to. But she couldn't see in front of her hand and the fire had spread to the forest floor, giving her no escape.

Trying to breathe, the smoke filled her lungs and sent her into a coughing fit, further weakening her. She staggered forward in the direction she only hoped was west, forcing herself to ignore the burning pain in skin as the temperature climbed higher and higher.

The smoke had grown unbearable and she remembered a lesson Ingrid had taught her. Ripping her intimate shirt, she covered her nose and mouth, her harsh breathing somewhat improving.

Astrid almost wept tears of joy as she saw a break in the tree line and made a run for it...until she was suddenly and brutally knocked to the ground.

Agonizing pain swept down her leg as she quickly realized that she was pinned under a massive fallen branch that was in the process of melting her skin off. The burning sensation amplified the throbbing and there was no way she could walk or even stand up.

"Gah!"

She screamed, trying to stop the tears from rolling down her face as they quickly evaporated with a hiss. Everything was aflame. Astrid had to get the branch off or she would be next.

She took a deep breath in and out, stilling herself for what she was about to do and how much it was going to hurt. Tearing the shirt she had held over her face in half, she wrapped her hands and prayed her plan would work.

"You've got this Astrid, c'mon, c'mon!"

With a deep exhale she heaved the branch with all her might, ignoring how her leg felt as if a Fireworm Queen had sat on it. It hurt.

"Aughhh!"

She ground her teeth as she slowly lifted the branch enough to roll her leg out from under it and almost gave up when she saw the damage. Her pants had melted onto her skin and she swore her skin was bubbling as if it was boiling water.

Odin's ghost...

Her hands weren't as in bad shape due to the short amount of exposure but they were still red with welts.

It was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. Surely she would wake up in her bed or in her boat, it just couldn't be real. But Astrid knew where she was in reality and she had to make a choice: stay on the ground and be burned into ashes or crawl as far as she could and find safety or die a fighter.

She got on her elbows and used her knees to lift herself forward in a slow but steady pace. The tree line was still visible and Astrid crawled towards her only hope for relief. The leaves and twigs on the ground further agitated her wound as the foliage rubbed against the tortured skin.

She was in literal Hel.

It seemed like hours until she finally made her way from the forest and into a grassy clearing but she was so exhausted it took everything in her not to collapse right there. Her shoulders and elbows ached from crawling and her body was on the verge of shutting down. All her adrenaline was gone and she was left with nothing but her own will.

There was no way she would make it to the village.

Her hoarse voice pleaded desperately, "Help! Anyone! Please!"
But it was no use. Astrid was going to die in that meadow alone. She would welcome death now that she would go out like a warrior in the throes of battle and would surely be welcomed into Valhalla with open arms. Everyone would be better off without her. Berk would find another Vordr and Ruffnut would find another best friend. She was so, so tired. Her eyelids grew heavy with exhaustion but she knew if she closed them, she was going to die. This was it. Her life was about to be gone.

But had she lived a full life? She barely had any friends, had made no impact on Berk, and had never felt in love. Sure she was the first Vordr but look what that had gotten her. She would get a nice little funeral and hoped they wouldn't use her own beloved boat to cast her off to Valhalla.

Just as her eyes were getting ready to close, she caught a dark figure running over to her. Another larger dark figure stood in the distance. This was it. The end. She felt arms lift her up and carry her but she couldn't make sense of anything. Her vision finally darkened and her head felt heavy as she finally lost consciousness and let death carry her away.