Meeting at the Crossroads

Chapter 6

At first, Merida was as confused as anyone. All she could see was people running from something. When she did see what it was, she screamed as loudly as she did when Mor' du had been about to eat her last summer.

They were monsters. Big, shapeless, black monsters that seemed to melt into the shadows and reappear a few feet away. The people around her dispersed, running like crazed chickens. Merida stood frozen to the spot as she watched the monsters rip down flags and smash every stand. Some even slipped into houses, chasing the occupants into the street.

When one of those shadow things slithered right at her, Merida snapped into action. She nocked an arrow and shot the creature in between the eyes so fast, it seemed to be a blur of motion. The thing howled and melted into what appeared to be oil.

"Gross," she whispered. Then she realized someone had been calling her name.

"Merida!"

"MERIDA!"

She turned and saw Fergus and Elinor scrambling off the stage, searching in the crowd for her. "Mum! Dad!" she shouted, running up to them.

"Thank goodness," her mother said, hugging her. "Come 'en. Maudie already took th' wee boys to th' ship."

They ran as quick as they could through the chaos. Merida ran behind her parents, an arrow nocked. Every time a creature got too close, she melted it into sludge. They were about ten feet from the docks when a wave of terrified people slammed into Merida from the right, spinning her to the ground, separating her from her parents.

When she shakily got to her feet, she found herself face-to-face with the largest shadow thing she's seen all day. Its shapeless form reminded her of a will o' the whisp. Only about five times bigger and a hundred times more evil-looking. The creature emitted a low hiss that seemed to come from the deepest depths of the earth.

Merida took one step forward and was suddenly grabbed from under the arms and yanked off her feet. She cried out in surprise as she was carried into the cold sky, the ground shrinking below her.

Hiccup did the natural thing when he saw the panicking people. He ran right into it. He vaulted over the counter and dove into the masses, ignoring Gobber's yell, "Where do you think you're going?" If it was the Viking in him or just plain stupidity, Hiccup didn't know.

When he saw the source of the panic, his heart stopped. "Gods," he muttered. "What are those things?" Not for the first time in his life, he felt useless. He had absolutely no idea what those creatures were. They looked like liquid shadows. Now if this was a dragon issue...well, Hiccup would have been all over it.

But still, he felt like he should try. "Hey, bud," he said to the nearest creature, keeping his voice calm and light. In truth, he was shaking. The thing stared at him like, Why is this tiny person talking to me?

Hiccup swallowed nervously. "You and your friends don't want to hurt anyone. You just want to go home and-"

He screamed as pain, cold as ice, shot up his arm. Another creature had snuck up from behind and bit him. He collapsed as his head turned cottony and his eyes began to blur.

A familiar whistling sound pierced the air. Everyone-Hiccup included- turned as a large form lept off a roof and shot toward the ground, shooting a purple-blue blast that exploded the two creatures.

If the townspeople were scared before, they were downright terrified as a dragon landed in their midst. But Hiccup was all smiles. "Hey, bud."

Toothless, the Night Fury, was here to help.

Toothless circled his friend protectively, sniffing him all over. He rumbled with concern when he saw Hiccup's arm. "I'm fine, Toothless," he said, shaking it off. They ducked when a shadow thing swooped overhead. Toothless shot it down with a plasma blast.

An idea formed. Hiccup jumped on his dragon's back, slipping into the saddle. He clicked his false foot into the lever and Toothless's prosthetic tail wing snapped open. "Ready to get rid of these monsters?" Hiccup asked.

It was a rhetorical question. The Night Fury was ready for anything. Hiccup yelled defiantly as they shot into the sky.