The Great Beyond

Chapter 12: The Next Big Sting (Hiccup)

                I pulled on the metal supports of the mechanism attached to my back, trying my best to get the wings to spread out as far as they could. A few stray droplets of water fell into my eyes, dragging my hair down to block my vision. I could hear Reign muttering about how I was going to get myself killed, shaking her head in disapproval. But I knew things were going to work this time.

For the past couple of hours, I'd been testing out my first ever flight suit, the Dragonfly One. I'd been working on it ever since Toothless and I got separated while rescuing Gustav way back when he came to visit, but it wasn't ready to be tested until now. Unfortunately, the last few tests had failed miserably, resulting in the need for Reign or Toothless to come rescue me from the water, or right before I crashed onto the rocks below.

She seemed no more assured by the confident smile I wore, nor did the rest of the group. Everyone seemed pretty convinced this was going to fail again.

"This time, I absolutely know where I went wrong," I asserted. "It's all in the timing. I judged the updrafts wrong. I assure you, I definitely have it now." Toothless purred and perked his head up, prepping himself to jump down for a rescue. "Don't worry, bud. I've got this under control." As though to prove my point, a strong wind blew in the direction I intended to go, pushing me to jump again. "See? There it is." I bent my knees, crouching down and mentally prepping myself for the leap. "Okay, now!"

At first, that familiar panic overtook me as I began to plummet toward the water again. My arms and legs involuntarily flailed, in a desperate attempt to somehow make this work. But just as it looked like I was about to fall in the water again, the wings of the Dragonfly One caught the draft and fanned out completely, causing me to hover just above the glassy liquid and sail forward, if not with a bit of jarring and shaking. Once the initial shock faded, I began to laugh, still in disbelief this had worked.

"Wait! I'm flying? I'm flying! Woo-hoo!" My movements caused the Dragonfly to dip slightly, and I immediately corrected myself, remaining as still as possible. "Excellent!" A wall was coming up in front of me, giving me the perfect opportunity to try out turning. "Okay, right turn." I tilted my shoulders down to the right, but I only wobbled, rather than completely turning. I tried again, but to no avail, meaning if I didn't do something quick, I'd be slamming head-first into solid rock. "Might have to work on the steering a bit. Toothless!"

For a moment, I worried Toothless might not have heard me at all, and there was no way I'd be able to detach myself in time to drop into the water before the crash, but thankfully, just as I was running out of water, a black blur shot down and pushed me into the shallow river below. I accidentally inhaled some water as I went down, and when Toothless dragged me up onto the shore, I coughed and sputtered, trying to catch my breath.

"Thanks for the save, bud," I gasped out, propping myself up on one of my elbows. Just as I was managing to get up, Toothless shot out all the water in his mouth right at me, the force of which knocked me right back down. "Again." My hand rested on a broken wing of the Dragonfly, which would need repairs immediately. "Well, it looks like our flight tests are probably over for the day." As I tried my best to straighten out the wing, the others landed in front of me, and Reign immediately jumped off Shriek, looking as though she was going to murder me.

"Okay, that's it. You're done with this," she snapped, though I could see the concern in her eyes.

"Right," I muttered. "For now." Normally, once she finished her scolding, she would run up and I would kiss her, assuring her I was fine, but this time, she hung back, eyeing me awkwardly before moving to stand by Astrid.