Shellshocked

Chapter 5

Viggo's shocked reflection stared back at him. He instinctively reeled away from the water, feeling almost dizzy, like the moss he was crouched on wasn't gripping onto a dirt mound,  rather floating in the stream. His palms pressed hard to the damp green to stabilise himself.

He'd visualised the burns, but seeing them was.... was something he hadn't prepared for.  He may be half-blind, yet the image had been scorched into his brain. He could still see the angry red flesh that replaced his cheek and wrapped around to his left ear, the skin that had been mangled and deformed by the searing heat, and—a shuddering breath escaped him. The worst of his injuries—his clouded eye. The pupil and iris were barely discernible, just a white shroud that obscured it almost completely. Gone was the brown that matched the right.

Viggo was not a squeamish man. Seeing injuries like these was part of being a Dragon Hunter. The scar on his neck was a reminder that he himself hadn't escaped the risks involved in his business. Being a Hunter wasn't easy nor was it particularly pleasant at times...

The Deadly Nadder squawked and splayed the spines jutting from its tail with a sharp flick. It swooped down to dodge a bola, transitioning smoothly into a barrel roll to avoid the volley of arrows. The men on deck were trainees. Poor of aim and visibly flinching at every roar of the dragon, they were only three days on the ship when Ryker had ordered some of "firsthand experience". Viggo had told his brother that they weren't ready for it. But Ryker insisted that they needed to be harder on the recruits.

"You're always complaining that our profits are dropping, Viggo, it's because the crew can't properly trap a dragon, or shoot an arrow straight!" Ryker had argued.

The Chief  had sighed and removed his hands from their resting place behind his back, only bothering to half conceal his exasperation. "Fine, but if there's any... casualties, that's your problem to deal with." And with that he turned away - ignoring the older Grimborn's scowl - and planted both hands on his desk. He had dragon maps to study.

Now Viggo stood observing the hunt, knowing all too well that his presence irritated Ryker. His brother's twin jagged swords shook in their sheaths as he bellowed out commands to the men.

So inexperienced, thought Viggo, but they have potential. All men and women had potential. One just had to find what it could be used for.

A dragon root arrow pierced the underbelly of the Nadder and it shrieked all the way down to the hard deck. It was almost surprising how the wood didn't splinter from the impact. Three of the new men quickly found heavy chains pushed into their hands by the more experienced Hunters, and Viggo almost smiled at the awkward way they tried to restrain it. He shook his head slightly in amusement.

Amateurs.

Ryker stepped back to let them flounder on their own as the beast struggled against the metal, squawking in disoriented rage. It's whip of a tail suddenly got free and then what happened next was a horrific blur. A scream rang out over the dragon roars and clamour of the crew- and all eyes turned to see the orange and green spine sticking out of one of the trainees legs. The thing so often used for ballista and spear tips had now sunk deep into the man's flesh, protruding from the other side.

A long second of quiet hung between everyone. Ryker's eyes found Viggo's. The younger of the two shot back a glare and an unmistakable "I warned you of this!!" from those cold brown eyes. Then the ship's occupants lurched back into action.

Agonised howls came from the man. Two Hunters hurriedly carried him below deck to attend to his serious wound and Ryker ordered more Hunters to take over from the trainees. The Nadder was restrained and wrestled into a dragon proof cage within the minute. Once the major crisis above deck was over, Ryker stormed to his chambers and went to open the door—but not before Viggo gripped his arm.

"Get your hands off me!"

Viggo kept a tight hold. "Not until you recognise, brother, that this is exactly why I advised you not to do this!" he hissed.

Ryker threw off Viggo's grip angrily. "Oh I see alright, I see that this bunch of useless idiots are no easier to train than a—than one of those damn dragons!" He threw the incredulous remark at the man across from him, breathing heavily.

"No brother, you've failed to exercise some patience. I should've never let you go through with this." In truth, he had wanted Ryker to learn some patience, but never intended for one of the men to be harmed so severely. An escaped dragon, or a messily organised team would have sufficed, not this. But if Ryker altered his methods from now on it would have been worth it.

Sacrifices needed to be made.

Water trickled out from the moss clenched in his fists as he drew in breath after breath, shocked from what he had seen. The change that had happened to him was irreversible. It was a strange thing, to be aware that he must accept it but at the same time refuse to. The shred of hope that he would see normally again was small yet he relentlessly held onto it. Surely a healer would be able to fix this? Surely he'd see past that empty void once more?

The likely truth chided him for being so foolish. He knew that injuries like this never completely healed.

His fingers ached as he unclenched  them. A headache pounded in his head and he got up unsteadily, staggering to the side, still overwhelmed from the rippled reflection he'd seen in the stream. The armour on his shoulders was too heavy for his weary and battered body and the spiked belt ringing his waist prodded painfully against his arms whenever they strayed too close.

The stream was no longer welcoming: just a reminder of what had befallen him.

***

Thanks for over 500 reads!