Riders of B E R K

Part 62: The Mind of Bludvist

Sixty-Two: The Mind of Bludvist.

We crashed through the doors of the Infirmary, Toothless's roar alerting everyone. I was administering artificial respiration every five seconds to the limp body in my arms while we had raced down the stairs at stupid speed. There were tears on my face as I looked up into the shocked faces of my colleagues.

"He's in respiratory arrest!" I managed to choke out as hands snatched him from me and hauled him onto a trolley. I saw Gothi kicked her step into place and surge forward, her hands checking his pulse before she began bag-valve-mask ventilation. I stared at him, seeing her expertly tilt his head back and watching her tube him. The team were putting lines in and they were muttering about his burns-but I hung back. I couldn't treat him like a patient because he wasn't just a patient: he was my heart, my soul mate. I turned to Toothless and touched his head.

"Come on, boy," I managed. "We're in the way. You can sit in reception with Myrkr while I see what's happening, okay?" He grumbled but followed me, curling up in the waiting area with the little Night Fury at his side. Then I turned back to see Gothi and as the rest of the team stabilised Hiccup, I beckoned her closer.

"Major-he's been unwell and was feverish and tachycardia earlier," I reported. "He has been having problems with his stump and from what Heather said, I guess they at least put a tracker in there. Maybe it's infected...but Heather mentioned a-a 'present'. Maybe he's been poisoned?" She stared into my eyes and nodded, then turned to the team, ordering toxicology as well as a full septic screen. And then they prepped him to go into the scanner, with Ragnar leading the team. Gothi pulled me along to another patient-Cami, who was anaesthetised for suturing and exploration of her stab wound. She gestured for me to scrub in and after a moment, I agreed. Cami was a friend but this was something that was less personal and I was able to clear my mind and help her tie off the arteries, confirm there was no underlying visceral damage and then we sutured her up. Gothi let me finish and nodded approvingly.

We had just finished dressing the wound when Ragnar commed us that the scan was complete and he needed Gothi's input in interpreting the images...so I tagged along, desperate to know what was happening. What we found horrified us.

Viggo had implanted three trackers in Hiccup's stump and two in his neck...but one of the trackers had an attached capsule that had leaked something into his system. And there was also evidence of acute infection, a collection in the area and possible early osteomyelitis in his residual fibula. Basically, he was critically ill, in septic shock, possibly poisoned and needed urgent ICU care. So he was put on maximal support, given the most powerful drugs we could and prepped for surgery with our partner surgeons being flown in from the nearest trauma centre. They thought we were a specialist top secret army base-so when they came, it meant an urgent scramble to get the dragons all back into containment, since the incoming surgical team couldn't see them-not even the worried Toothless.

As my boyfriend was prepped, I managed to steal a moment to visit him, taking his bandaged hand and kissing his forehead, gently stroking the hair off his face.

"You stay with me, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," I murmured softly. "You are my fiancé and I am marrying you. So you fight this and come back to me, my love. Because I will be waiting for you. I love you. Don't leave me. Please." And I kissed him again, before pulling back. I was already logged as his next of kin and I nodded to the team as he was wheeled through to the operating theatre...before I walked back to check on Cami. She was awake and tired, though philosophical.

"I guess I'm getting a scar?" she asked me, once I had explained what had happened and I sat heavily in the chair.

"Apparently, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it," I reminded her and she managed a small smile.