Island of the Lost

Are you sure about this, Hiccup? Your dad's off negotiating with other tribes, the twins and Snotlout are who-knows-where with their dragons, Fishlegs is glued to the Book of Dragons, and my mother's making me help her out with chores. Ugh."

"I'll be fine, Astrid! I've flown with Toothless off this island a million times before."

"But never this far away. You don't even know if these dragons exist, or if this is just one of Trader Johann's 'exotic' tales."

"Even if they don't, it'll still be good to get out with Toothless. It's been over a week since we last flew together, with all the thunderstorms and such."

"Just promise me you'll be careful, Hiccup."

"I will. Be back by late afternoon, or earlier."

Astrid hurried out of the house, then breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was dipping into the waves of the west, the horizon dotted with clouds. The voices of Vikings and cries of dragons carried across pier. Finally, she was done.

"How are you doing, Girl?" she asked, going up and patting her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. The dragon snorted, and nuzzled her in return. "I'll go see if Hiccup's up to a lap around the island before the it gets too dark, alright?"

Astrid walked down the dirt path, wondering if he had found the dragons, and what they were like. Trader Johann had said they were small, much like Terrible Terrors, but skinny as twigs. Huh, whoever heard of dragons as skinny as twigs?

Astrid arrived at Hiccup's house and swung the door open, shouting, "Hey Hiccup! Do you wanna-" Astrid cut off mid-sentance as she saw the house was completely empty. That's strange, she thought, playing with her braid of light blond hair. I was certain he'd be here. Oh well, maybe he's with Gobber or Fishlegs.

However, the blacksmith knew not of Hiccup's whereabouts. "Haven't seen him since he left this mornin'," Gobber admitted. "I can't think o' where he'd be."

Astrid felt chilled. He probably just looking over the Book of Dragons, she argued with herself. After all, if he found the dragons, he'd want to add it in as soon as possible.

She found Fishlegs still pouring over the Book of Dragons in the Great Hall, and eating a hunk of yak meat. "Hey, Astrid," he greeted, as she went over to him and sat down. "Want some?"

Astrid shook her head. Her stomach was churning too much to even think about eating. "Have you seen, Hiccup?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Nope, been too busy updating the Book of Dragons. I can't believe no one's updated the Night Fury page until now."

"Hiccup's missing," Astrid muttered. "He left this morning, was looking for this new species of dragon. He said he'd be back hours ago, and Hiccup's never late!" She pushed the book away from him.

"What?!" Fishlegs yelped. "He could be eaten by wild dragons, or caught in a forest fire, or lost in a blizzard, or... marooned on an island, or-"

Astrid clenched her fist, resisting the urge to punch him. "We've got to go look for him, right away."

"What?!" Fishlegs yelped for the second time. "Oh no, no. It's getting to dark out, our parents will never let us, we..."

"Are going, first thing in the morning." Astrid stood up, and slammed her fist into the table. "We have to find him!"

Pain. That was the thing that called him back, pulled him back into the world. Firey pain that shot through his wrist. Lashing pain in his leg and hands. Pounding pain in his head.

The teenage boy heard a soft whimper. Hiccup tried to open his eyes, but gravel showered on his face.

"Toothless?" Hiccup croaked. His throat and mouth felt like sandpaper. Once again came the soft cry of the Night Fury. Hiccup cracked his eyes open to see the dragon peering over a ledge.

Hiccup sat up, rubbing his forehead, and groaned from the aches that rippled through his body. When he looked to the left, his heart nearly stopped when he saw he was sitting on nothing but on a small ledge, barely big enough to hold him. The edge dropped clean away to a dark abyss.

How did I get here? he thought. And more importantly, how do I get out?

When Hiccup looked above the wall seemed to hold enough bumps and cracks for him to climb up. He unsteadily rose to his feet and placed a shaking hand on the wall. However, as soon as he tried to begin pulling himself up, he yelled.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow," Hiccup yelped, pulling his hand away from the wall. The palms of his hands were scored with cuts and welts. What happened to me?

He tried placing his other hand on the ledge, and this one held, though the rocks pierced the cuts on his palm. Hiccup stepped in a crack with his good leg, then lifted his prosthetic. As he glanced down, he saw it was badly bent, and groaned.

"As if things couldn't get any worse," he muttered.

Sweat poured down his face as the teenager slowly made his way up the wall. Hiccup's stomach twisted, and his limbs shook at the thought of what would happen should he slip. The rocks dug into his tender hands, and the pain was nearly unbearable.

Tears were forcing their way out of his eyes, and he could barely breathe by the time he made it to the top. Hiccup managed to take a few steps away from the ledge, before he collapsed on his back, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Ow," he moaned softly.

The soft cooing of Toothless fell gently on his ears, and the Night Fury's face came into his line of vision, blurred from the tears running out of his eyes.

"You're okay," Hiccup whispered, letting out a long breath. The Night Fury seemed bruised and roughened, but not too badly.

Toothless gave him a gentle nudge and began slowly licking Hiccup's hands. His tongue swept over them rhythmically, and Hiccup sighed deeply, allowing himself to relax.

Except for the dragon's gentle purring, everything was perfectly silent and still, and Hiccup felt the tension sweep out of his body. However, questions still tugged at mind.

Where are we? And, more importantly, how do we get out?