Little Miracles

Snap

Chapter Ten: Snap

There was a pause as everyone turned to look at Fishlegs. He took a step back, fully expecting an enraged Hiccup to attack something when he knew where the next clue was hiding.

"A place where fish live is a metaphor. Your last name is Haddock, which is a kind of fish." Fishlegs began.

"And she isn't talking about a fin as part of a fish... she's talking about the person! Finn!" Astrid finished.

"Exactly. The next clue is at your house!" Fishlegs exclaimed, looking triumphant.

"But that's impossible. That's where the first clue was, that's... that's..." Hiccup suddenly crumpled the note and threw it at the wall. "She's following us!"

"No... Hiccup, we didn't go into the house!" Astrid said, her face ashen. "She knew we'd see the note on the door... it would distract us..."

"So this whole time..."

"I don't know." Astrid tried to put a hand on her husband's shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"And what the Hel does it mean a once happy family? Is Addie... is she..."

"We need to go." Stoick said in a low voice. "Just keep going and don't think about that."

"Let's go then." All emotion suddenly drained from Hiccup's face, leaving a blank expression.

Stoick leaned in to talk to Gobber in a low voice. "He's going to snap soon."

"You're probably right." Gobber replied, raising his eyes slightly as Hiccup shot out of the cave at top speed.

Stoick got on his dragon and Gobber mounted his. "This has got to end. We have got to make sure Adrianna's back safe."

"That's why we're here." Gobber replied before taking off with the others into the sunset.

Xxx

Hiccup very nearly kicked down his own front door the moment they landed, bolting into the main room. The moment he saw what lay directly in front of him, his heart stopped. On the table was an hourglass with no sand in the top half. Forcing himself to stay calm, he walked forward and picked it up. Unlike the first, it was portable. And, to his slight relief, he saw a note tucked under it.

"She was here." he muttered, slamming the hourglass back on the table as he unfolded the note. "We wasted our time running around Berk when this whole time, she was just leading us here!"

"What does the note say?" Astrid asked, stepping forward and trying to get close enough to her husband to reassure him in some way.

Hiccup tossed the note on the ground. "I'm not... I can't. Someone else open it."

No one made a move to pick up the note. Truthfully, no one wanted to get close to Hiccup for fear that he would take out his anger on them. Fishlegs finally decided to risk the repercussions and stepped forward to pick up the clue. He opened it and read out loud in a clear voice.

Congratulations, you've earned a night's rest
(Yes the sand has run out but this was only a test)
Don't try to find us when the moon's in the sky
Or, before the sun rises, your daughter will die
But when it does rise, you'll continue your work
The next clue will be somewhere public on Berk.
So rest with this comfort: your Addie is well
Will that continue? Tomorrow will tell.

"So she... she expects us to rest? While Adrianna is somewhere out there with a psychopath probably torturing her?" Hiccup slammed his fist against the table, his breathing ragged. "No... no, if I have to be out all night, I'm going to..."