Starting Over

Chapter 4: Nightmares and Prophecies

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I awoke in a cold sweat. Another nightmare, the fifth one this week. And it was exactly the same as the others.

It was Hiccup and Astrid, but different somehow, younger. There was fire, and blood, and dragons, and all things truly terrifying. Then the dream would get even worse, and it was them now, and there was a Stormcutter of gray, blue, and purple who was carrying off Astrid, and then there was a flash, and Cinderpaw stalking Hiccup, and I was sure I woke up screaming bloody murder every time. Yet, no one woke up, so I didn't make a sound.

Finally, I decided to ask my aunt about it.

"Kohora?," I asked, walking into her cave.

"Yes, dear?," she answered, and glided toward me, her blind eyes staring forward. Her sonar-receptors and ears were constantly vibrating as she moved about. This was because she used sonar to move around and see the basic shape of things even though she was blind. It also enhanced her prophecies and rendered them more accurate.

"I've been having these dreams," I said. "Actually, nightmares. Of Hiccup and Astrid, but of the past and future. I can't see their present, and the fact that I can do this scares me."

Kohora gasped. "You did gain prophetic powers!," she exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd get both traits! You sound like me; I can see everything but Asla's future, and that scares me."

"No, you don't understand," I said. "I can only see fragments of Hiccup and Astrid's far past and their near future. I can't see the whole picture, can't see their present. When I see the past or future, it's always the same story and always comes in a nightmare."

Kohora's eyes widened. "That means it has happened and will happen, the past and future scenes you keep seeing. What were they?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. For the past, something tells me that they were seventeen, and there was fire, and blood, and dragons. For the future, it was them in, probably a week or two from now, and for the first scene Astrid was being carried off by a gray, blue, and purple Stormcutter. The second scene was later, maybe by a week, and Cinderpaw the Singeclaw was stalking Hiccup."

Kohora was silent for a moment, then looked at me. "I'll show you their past first," she said. Then she placed her paws on my forehead, and the story I didn't really want to hear unfolded.

Flashes of light raced past me, then stopped suddenly. I was in the past, but not really there. My body wasn't there, my soul wasn't there, only my mind was. I could see everything that was going on, even though this was three years ago. There was fire, like in my dream, but it was worse and far more deadly than my subconscious had interpreted it. And then I saw it. There was a large shape moving through the flames, headed straight for Astrid and Stormfly. Another creature jumped on Stormfly and wrestled her to the ground. Cinderpaw. The evil dragoness circled Stormfly, who got to her feet and snarled. Then, she charged Cinderpaw and rammed her horn through her side. Cinderpaw howled and dropped to the ground. She staggered to her feet and limped around Stormfly, keeping her distracted.

I looked back at Astrid. She was running to Stormfly, and it almost happened in slow motion. A much larger dragon than Cinderpaw leaped out of the flames and knocked Astrid to the ground. He pinned her down, and Astrid wriggled helplessly under the massive creature. Then, the dragon grinned and his flaming claws shot out of his fingertips and into Astrid's skinny, pale arm. Astrid screamed, and it was the most horrible thing I had ever heard. I cringed backward, and everything returned to normal as Kohora's paws left my head.

I looked up at my aunt, tears streaming out of my eyes. "That's what those things did to her?!" Kohora was crying, too.

"I normally despise Vikings," she said. "After what they did to your uncle, but I can't bear to watch my own kind be that evil. That young girl didn't do anything to deserve that. She will have a scar for the rest of her life. Granted, a very faint one, but she will always remember that incident."