Love Between Riders 2: Nightmares

Nightmare Sand and the Arrival

"We have to figure out what this stuff is," Hiccup says to the group. It's been a week since the attack and no one in Berk can figure out what it is.

"It looks like black sand," Tuffnut tries to helpfully say.

"But it feel all oily and gooey," his sisters describes it.

"Fishlegs?" Snotlout asks.

"I don't know what this stuff is. I scoured the books but nothing has a single entry on what it could possibly be," he shrugs his shoulders in defeat.

The gang continue to sit in the Great Hall at their usual table and ponder over what the substance is. They go back and forth between theories of how it's nothing more than discolored sand or that something rotted away and became this as its final form.

"But I found this stuff when I had my nightmare about a week ago..." Hiccup states.

"What do you mean?" Snotlout asks.

"I... had a nightmare and once Astrid finally woke me up this stuff was around my side of the bed," Hiccup explained.

"Come to think of it," Ruffnut chimes in, "my brother and I found this around our bed when we had our nightmares."

"Oh yeah, me too," Fishlegs adds.

"Nightmare sand!" Tuffnut calls it. "I think it's a fitting name."

"I agree," Hiccups says. He puts the sand in a clay jar, careful not to drop any.

The gang disperses, the twins going to do whatever it is they do, Snotlout decides to patrol, Astrid and Fishlegs go to the academy to train new recruits, and Hiccup heads to his office in the forge.

************

Snotlout patrols the Archipelago. He as he goes over the islands he takes his time but wastes none when he flys to another one. When he reaches dragon island, though, something is missing. He couldn't quite place his finger on it until Hookfang roars. No response.

"There aren't any dragons here," he says. Just then an unknown roar pierces the air and send Hookfang to the ground in terror.

"Get a grip before we crash!" Snotlout says, trying to pull his friend up.

It was too late when he realizes Hookfang is literally frozen in fear.

************

Hiccup is in his office when the twins suddenly burst through the door.

"HICCUP! COME HELP!" he jumps out of his seat.

"Wha-wha- what's wrong?" he finally manages to get out.

"It's Snotlout!" Ruff says, tears threatening to run. "Please, help him..."

"Don't worry Ruff, I'll see what I can do. Tuff, go get Gothi."

Ruff leads Hiccup to the house she's started to share with Snotlout. "Oh no, the stuff has spread.." she finally breaks.

"What's spread? Ruff, talk to me," Hiccup tries but to no avail. He looks around the house to see...

"Nightmare sand..." he gasps. "Where is he?" Ruff points to a room.

Hiccup makes his way to the room, trying to avoid coming into contact with the black sand.

He manages to get to the door but wouldn't budge. He slams his palms against the door but it refuses to move. He shoulder slams it a few times, managing an inch. Finally he lets loose his rage of his friend and cousin in likely peril and kicks the door wide open.

"Snotlout!" he yells when he sees the man suspended in air.

You're too late. I have him. You can't save him no matter what you do. Give up, Hiccup. You're powerless against me, even with your demon.

"Who are you? What do you want?!" Hiccup asks the air.

Some world call me the shadow, others the demon in the night. Other places call me the evil sandman. Others, though, I'm known as the Boogeyman.

"Who? We've never heard of you," Hiccup scratches his head.

Oh, dear Hiccup. You soon will. You and all of Berk and all of this world!

And with that Snotlout hits the ground hard and all the sand in the entire house disappears.

"Snotlout babe!" Ruff rushes in to set him on the bed. The sound of feet and a tiny tap of wood on wood is finally heard.

"Ruff, what took?" Hiccup asks.

"It's hard to fly a two person dragon with only one twin," he explains. "I went as fast.."

"I know, Tuff," Hiccup calms him. "Wait.. Where's Hookfang?"

"In the hangar with the other dragons so they can calm him down," a sweet voice pierces the air.

"That's good. Maybe the dragons can do it because I honestly don't like dealing with Hookfang when he's worked up," he tells his wife.

"Why does everything happen to my babe?!" Ruff cries. "First he was possessed and now this!"

Astrid kneels beside her and wraps her arms around her.

Fishlegs arrives and starts interpreting Gothi's drawings once she's done examining Snotlout.

"She says she's dealt with something similar to this and that what she made should help awaken him from his pudding. Wha- Ow!" she whacks him in the head with her staff. "Oh, my bad. Nightmares," he rubs his head.

"We need to figure out how to stop this thing, whatever it is," Tuffnut says.

"But how are we gonna do that if we don't know what we're fighting against?" Ratchet shows up. "Don't we kinda have to know what it is before we know what to do?"

"She makes a good point," Astrid chimes in. "Fishlegs, take Gothi home and then see if you can find anything."

"Anything about demon in the night or whatever a Boogeyman is," Hiccups adds. "I thinks things just got a lot more harder than anything we've faced before."