Defenders of Central City, Book 1: Journey to Icestorm Island

Chapter 15 Escape from Icestorm Island

Shannon quickly ran (partly slide) down the hill. She had to warn the others. And fast. Skulder had come out of the caves and was talking with Hiccup. "Guys! Guys! They're here! The Dragon Hunters are here! We got to go now!" Shannon was gasping for air. "Dragon Hunters?" Skulder squeaked. "Calm down, Skulder. We'll be fine. We're gonna have to evacuate the island. And fast." Hiccup said. Shannon started to run towards Mildew's house. "Where are you going?!" Hiccup called after her. "Mildew may have betrayed us, but he's still one of us!" Shannon yelled back at him without even turning around. "Shannon knocked on Mildew's door. He opened it. "What do you want?!" He snapped. "The Dragon Hunters are here. You have to leave now!" Mildew opened his mouth to snap at her then he closed it. "You want to help me? But I've been working against you this entire time." Shannon nodded. "I know." Mildew looked at her, dumbstruck. "You..... You're a good Viking, Shannon. We built Berk with good Viking values like ours, not on the backs of dragons. I'll talk to he Hunters and give you some time to escape. Go on without me." "But..." Mildew shook his head. "Just go." Shannon looked at him for a second. And then she turned to go. "Oh, and Shannon." Shannon looked at Mildew "Thank you." He said, smiling. Shannon nodded her head and ran off.

She got back to camp and found Hiccup. "You're back! Where's Mildew?" Hiccup asked, looking around. "Mildew, he. He's going to buy us some time to allow us to escape." Hiccup smiled. "Wow. I didn't expect that from him. I'm touched. I wish we could change his mind, but we're out of time." Shannon looked out at the ships. They were looming closer. "What do you need me to do, chief?" Shannon asked. Hiccup handed Skulder the chest that Shannon had brought from the caves. "I need you to get Skulder and yourself to safety. "What?! No. There's no way I'm leaving you here." Shannon exclaimed. "Someone needs to raise the alarm back at Berk. And as the chief I need to stay here to make sure everyone's safe." Shannon looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup-" She started. "Fly, Shannon. Get out of here." Hiccup said touching her shoulders. He looked at Astrid, who nodded at him before Hiccup turned back to look at Shannon. "We'll be fine. Go now!" Shannon nodded. "Skulder get on Nightshade!" She yelled.

Skulder quickly mounted Nightshade. "She'll go a lot faster with only you on her back." Skulder looked at her. "Wait, your not coming?" He asked in fear. "No I'm coming. I'll be flying alongside you all the way." Shannon elevated into the air. "Shooting ice isn't the only thing I can do." She said to his opened mouth. The pair flew off at top speed. Shannon looked back at Icestorm Island. She sighed. She didn't want to do this. It didn't feel right to leave her friends behind. Shannon made a crash landing when she arrived at the school. She was exhausted. She had never flown that long at that speed by herself. Skulder quickly unmounted Nightshade to help her. "Shannon? Please tell me your okay." Shannon nodded but said nothing. "Shannon?" Heather ran over with the Headmaster, Gobber, and Valka, right behind her. "What happened?" Heather asked. "The Dragon Hunters attacked Icestorm Island." Skulder explained. "Hiccup told us to get help." Shannon quickly stood up and mounted Nightshade.

"Valka, get the rest of Dragon Riders and fill them in on the situation. Gobber, alert the A-team. Skulder, stay here with the Headmaster. Heather you're with me." Shannon said, directly. Heather mounted Windshear. "Shannon, wait. Hiccup just told you to get back up." Skulder said in concern. "Yeah. But he didn't say I couldn't be part of the back up!" Heather and Shannon flew off. Back to Icestorm Island. Shortly after they arrived the other dragon riders joined in the fight. They dodged arrows and rocks flung by catapults. The dragons shot back at them. After a viscous battle they had sunk all of the ships. All the riders flew back to the school. They all went to the meeting hall to celebrate. "Shannon!" Shannon saw Astrid walking over to her. "You did it! I have to admit, your pretty amazing." Shannon blushed. "It was nothing, Astrid." Astrid shook her head. "No, if it wasn't for you those dragon hunters probably would've ended us. And stole the treasure." That was just the beginning. All of her friends were in the Meeting Hall. Talking, laughing, dancing. It was peaceful. "My dear friend!" Shannon whipped around. "Skulder!" Skulder wrapped his arms around her in a great big hug. "Thank goodness your all right." Shannon hugged him back. Skulder quickly looked at Shannon. "It feels like everything rushed by so quickly. Together we made discoveries, solved ancient riddles, and unearthed an ancient treasure! I am indebted to you for all your help, but more importantly, I am grateful to have made a friend." Shannon smiled. "Won't you stay?" Shannon asked, hopefully.

"Alas, I'm afraid I cannot stay. Our discoveries only revealed more unanswered questions. That's the fun of archaeology! For instance, where did the ancient Vikings of Icestorm Island go? How did they use these artifacts? My next journey will be to solve these mysteries. I hope that we can work together again when our paths cross again. Until then.." Skulder trailed off. "Until then." Shannon said. She gave him another big hug. "Be careful. And contact us if you need our help." Skulder nodded. He walked off. Hiccup walked over to Shannon. "So Shannon, did this little adventure accomplish what you hoped it would?" Shannon looked at Hiccup. He seemed relaxed. More happy than he had been in a while. "Yes. It did. But the adventure's not over Hiccup. The adventure ends when we end. We are still Vikings after all!"

                                                                 The End ..... For Now

Next Story: Battle for the Edge