(DISCONTINUED) Legacy of the Thunder and Fury--Book 1--Shock of Betrayal

Eight: Prisoner

FYI for those who don't know, italics mean the character's thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks. Bold italics mean the character's thoughts in a dream or flashback.

And WHOA this chapter is, like, 2,600 words long! Pretty short for someone else (maybe) but I have a hard time writing and not getting bored.

                                                    Heather

She pushed through some more ferns and shrubs, gasping for breath. She had been sprinting through the forest at top speed to the beach in hopes of escaping out to sea on a boat. Heather couldn't tell if Astrid was in pursuit yet, and she didn't want to stop to check.

She had escaped from the Berk jail a few times now, and Astrid and Stormfly had caught her every time with ease, getting even more cautious and vigilant each time. Heather skidded down a hill and brushed the bushes aside to reveal the beach and a small row boat. Just as she almost reached it,  a beam of sparks crashed down and the boat exploded, throwing Heather and several flaming pieces away. Shaking her head to right herself, the dark-haired traitor looked up to the sky, baffled and furious. 

"You can break out of jail as many times as you want," Astrid called cheerfully from the back of Stormfly as the dragon and rider descended from the clouds. "But you're never gonna get off this island," the blonde finished as her dragon swooped down and scooped Heather off of the sand and flew back up in the sky. Heather yelped as the ground rapidly disappeared from under her and she grabbed for Stormfly's claws as they sped back towards the village. 

                                            . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

                                                    Astrid

Back in the Berk prison...

Astrid shoved Heather back into her cell and slammed the door shut.

"Give it up, Heather. We have dragons," She said and from behind her, Stormfly squawked in approval.

"I have to get back to Outcast island," Heather said as she walked back to the bars.

"Pffft. I bet you do," Astrid scoffed. 

"You don't understand," Heather said, voice rising.

"I think I understand perfectly well," the Dragon Rider answered haughtily and turned to leave. 

"Wait! Alvin has my parents!" Heather said desperately as she tried to keep her captor in sight and listening. Astrid stopped in her tracks and turned her head with an incredulous laugh.

"Oh yeah? What happened to the "pirates"?

"There were never any pirates. I made them up," Heather confessed as Astrid walked grudgingly back to the prisoner's cell. "But I had to. I needed you to trust me."

"Well, guess what. We don't." Astrid walked away and then started at a run as Heather called out again. Stormfly took to the air and hovered above her.

Pirates, Astrid was thinking. The Outcasts actually make sense. What if Heather... is actually telling the truth? Don't be ridiculous, she scolded herself a second later. We can't afford to trust her again.

Above her, Stormfly gurgled. The Deadly Nadder landed with a squawk and bumped her back, and Astrid smiled and patted her dragon.

"It's good to have you back," she said and Stormfly purred in agreement. 

Voices clamored ahead and Astrid strode through the dragon academy door. The other dragon riders were just finishing their combat training. They had been working intensely on their fighting moves and maneuvers for the past two days, and had anticipated the day when Alvin would get the book and use it to train his many trapped dragons.