Nothing to Fear

Chapter Seventeen: More Answers, More Questions

Her first thoughts focused of the pain radiating throughout her head, neck and shoulders. Her body felt stiff and genuinely uncomfortable. No amount of tossing or turning helped. With a sudden frustrated huff, she snatched her pillow from behind her head, punched it a few times to fluff it up, and then set it behind her head again. There, much better.

"I've never seen someone massacre a pillow before."

Inga's eyes snapped open and she froze. The first problem: she wasn't in her room. The second: there was a boy in the room with her. The third: she dearly hoped she was wrong, but that boy sounded like...

She turned her head to the right and in the adjacent bed sat the redheaded boy whom she so despised, a small book propped on his knee and a big smirk on his cocky face. "Haddock." The raven-haired girl nearly spat.

Finn grinned and turned back to his book. "Jorgenson."

Inga growled and gritted her teeth before tearing her gaze away from that side of the room to stare at the ceiling. "What are you doing here?"

"A better question is why you're so petulant after sleeping for so long?"

"Oh! Haddock used a big word!" Inga smiled in fake sweetness. "Are you reading one of your sister's big girl books?"

Finn scowled and twisted the book around. "It's a shortened copy of the dragon manual. Basically the only thing I read." He rolled up his long sleeves. "Besides, Mara wanted me to read in hopes that the dizziness would go away; or something."

Inga frowned. "Dizziness?"

"I was sick and still fighting off some of the after effects."

"Why the heck are you in here if you were-" Inga paused in disorientation. Slowly, she sat up and took in her surroundings. "Mara... we're at Mara's." She remarked dumbly.

"Yes..." Finn glanced at her from his book, pretending to be uninterested. However, he was slightly panicking because she wasn't supposed to wake up while Snotlout was away.

"Why..." She turned to Finn in utter bewilderment and turmoil; a look that Finn had never seen on her before. "What happened? Why am I here? I – I can't remember..." Finn licked his lips and opened his mouth to reply, but she continued, panic evident in her voice. "I – I can't remember anything. I don't know what happened! Why can't I – Finn! I can't remember! Why can't I remember?"

Finn didn't know what to be more shocked about – the fact that the normally very collected girl was panicking or that she actually used his name. "Hey," he slid into a sitting position. "It's –" He groaned and slammed a hand onto the small bedside table when his vision swam but he forced himself to focus on the horrified girl in front of him. "Inga, look at me." He spoke calmly.

Inga lifted her head from her hands and looked at him; her arctic blue eyes wide with fear. Finn felt something in his chest constrict. Suddenly, he wanted to rid the terror from her, no matter what it took. "It's okay," Finn reassured softly, "You're all right now."

"What happened?" Inga whispered.

Finn didn't want to tell her everything; it wasn't his place. He took a careful breath and reassured her. "You went to get the aloe for medicine. Do you remember that?" Inga paused for a few seconds before gingerly nodding. "You had an accident. But I think it would be best if your parents told you –"

"Where are they?"

"They stepped out a couple of minutes ago. Your brothers needed them for something. I'll see if I can find them." Finn set his book down and slowly stood, trying his best not to appear weak in front of a girl – especially Inga. He strode toward the door with deliberate steps, and just as he grabbed the handle, everything spun.