Island of the Lost

Part 2

The storm was upon them almost before they could think. One moment everything was calm: the sky blue, the waves shimmering below them. The next, darkness cloaked the heavens, the ocean tossed, the rain pounded them, wind grabbed at the boy and his dragon.

Hiccup clung to saddle with all his might, the leather straps digging into his hands. As the wind hurtled them through the sky, he soon lost all sense of direction, only conscious to a single thought: Don't let go.

Despite his efforts, Hiccup felt his hands ripped from the saddle. A moment later the boy and his dragon were both in free fall.

Time seemed to slow down as he plummeted through the air. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears, he barely heard Toothless' roars. Hiccup's hands grabbed at the air for something, anything to hold onto, and the wind swept around him.

His hand came in contact with the saddle and he clung to it, feeling as if his arm would be break off at any moment. Black spots clouded his vision as he dimly sensed Toothless desperately tried to slow down.

Hiccup was barely aware of the impact when his body slammed into the ground. A moment later, and blackness swallowed him whole.

When Hiccup woke up, he found himself staring at Toothless' wing. The dragon had draped it over him, protecting him.

Hiccup pushed himself out, groaning a little, but moved carefully as to not wake the sleeping dragon. His limbs felt stiffer than iron. Mist dotted Hiccup's face and hair, making him blink.

In the east, streaks of light were appearing, shining through the cold and grey air. However, the light seemed just as cold and distant as the darkness that surrounded them. As Hiccup looked around at the landscape, he saw that it was covered in dark, dry, dust. Sharp rocks rose up from the ground and charred stumps of trees were scattered about. There was no sound, no chirping and chattering of birds, no crashing waves, no grunts and growls of dragons. Everything was completely silent.

Hiccup's face felt stiff. He rubbed at it with his fingernails.

"OW!"

The dragon jerked his head up to look at Hiccup. Shaking slightly, Hiccup drew his hand away. His fingers were covered in blood, dark brown and crimson. Ripping off a strip of his tunic, Hiccup pressed it to the wound, and Toothless whined softly.

"Sorry, bud. It's not your fault," Hiccup whispered to the dragon, rubbing him just behind his head.

Light shivers ran through his body as he rose to his feet, and looked around. "Let's get out of here," he muttered. Forgetting his twisted metal foot, Hiccup stepped forward, but almost fell down. He grabbed a rock to steady himself and examined the prosthetic. It was hopelessly twisted and bent. "Well this is just wonderful."

With his prosthetic broken, Hiccup realised wouldn't be able to use the foot petal that enabled Toothless to fly.

Toothless walked up to him and nudged him gently. Let's get out of here, he seemed to say.

"I don't know if we can." Hiccup placed his arm on Toothless' head, using him as a crutch. He took a few hops forward. Above them, the dark sky grumbled angrily.

It seemed they had been walking for hours before something white caught Hiccup's eye. He looked and saw a white tree to his left. At the sight of it, Toothless whined and drew back, but Hiccup hobbled forward.

It was the only tree Hiccup had seen that didn't look as if it had been burned to ash. It had a short trunk but long, twisting branches that glowed slightly. Its leaves were dark cyan, and large black apples hung from the branches. Just looking at it made Hiccup shiver slightly, but he stepped forward again, narrowing his eyes and saw that a picture of a storm cloud was carved into the trunk. Just then lightning flashed, and a crack shot down the trunk.