Captain Fury: Pirate of Berk

39: Go Berserk

Go Berserk.

Hiccup felt his heart grow cold and Arild press against him. The Governor of Meathead sounded smug and deferential in equal measures and he knew in his heart the identity of the Governor he was talking to. His memory very unhelpfully supplied him with a very graphic image of his horrific time in the galley and he felt himself begin to tremble. He clenched his fists tight and swallowed once to crush his instinctive reaction.

"Please..." he said softly. "Please let them go free. They are both innocent. If...if you promise to free them, then I will come...and accept my fate. I swear to Odin...I won't escape, I won't run...if you spare them." He felt Arild press harder against his legs, the small shape shaking with quiet sobs and there was the gasp of fear from Astrid.

"No..." she breathed and he felt his heart wench.

"Please...I promise..." he repeated.

"No...make them slaves..." a gruff voice said to Hiccup's left. His head snapped round, still blindfolded.

"NO!" Hiccup shouted, lurching towards the gruff voice-as a hand crashed into his face. He staggered back, hands restraining his shoulders. "DAMN YOU TO HEL! They're innocent! They don't deserve this! Just take me...please..."

"Our business is concluded," the gruff voice growled.

But the fierce grips on his shoulders just intensified and he felt himself dragged away. He struggled harder and was struck again. "ASTRID! ARILD! Don't worry. I will come for you! I will come for you!"

And then they were hauled outside, through the cold and damp night air down the slope towards the stronger waft of salt and plash of waves and creak of boats that signalled the port. Hiccup heard the soft sound of Astrid's breaths and the whimpers of his son, only a few feet behind him.

"Be strong," he murmured, repeating the words over and over, trying to convince them-and above all himself-that he could endure. But he felt his legs wavering as he was half-dragged up a gangplank onto a ship. He was resisting blindly, struggling and kicking as he was hauled across the deck and thrown into a cabin. He hit the floor and heard the door slam and lock behind him. Curled on his side, he felt his breaths shudder through him, his throat tight with despair. He had failed them all.

The ship bobbed and he heard the swoosh of sails and the creak of the mast, then the unmistakeable tug as the ship pulled away from the dock. Breathing hard and mastering his despair and his fear, he rolled painfully up onto his knees, feeling his side pull painfully as he turned his head towards the sounds of the deck. He craned his neck and tried to dislodge the blindfold, but it was tightly wound around his head and he was helpless to remove it. Gritting his teeth and forcing himself on, he scrambled to his feet and staggered to the place he had heard the door slam, before turning and trying to grab the door handle. His dexterous fingers prised the handle away and began to explore the mechanism. He could feel the tumblers move and he deftly unlocked the door...before it was wrenched open and he was pulled out.

Suddenly, he was standing on a swaying deck, the bob telling him that the ship was travelling with the wind. There were people around him, several sets of breathing in a close circle around his bound and helpless form. And then he felt his temper snap, furious at the injustice, at the threat to his family and the unreasonableness of the men capturing him. He kicked back, being rewarded by a groan as his boot connected with something soft. He heard someone move and a leg slammed out, taking the second man down.

"Hey..."

Arms grabbed him and wrapped him in a bear hug...but he slammed his head back twice and dragged himself free, screaming an incoherent cry of defiance as he lashed out a leg and floored the man. He tensed, half-ducking and swinging his head towards the next set of oncoming steps.