Chapter Text
Chapter Six
Friday, September 9th. 1994. Burgess, PA. Contd.
Everything slowed into a silence as still as stone. It was only when the fabric of Jack’s hoodie twisted with Hiccup’s anxious fingers that he shifted to the right to block Snotlout from seeing Hiccup in his entirety. The muscles of Snotlout’s face tightened with ugliness. Jack almost resisted mimicking it until the taller boy severed the silence with words meant to cut.
“What? Cat got your tongue?” He said.
“Somebody doesn’t remember their pasta makeover from last time,” Jack snapped back, unable to resist.
Snotlout’s face darkened as his arms dropped into fists. “Don’t worry, short-stack. I remember. And I’ll make you regret being born for that soon.”
“Truly? Well, I think I now know why your mom regrets having y-”
Hiccup pinched him in the side, halting his insult, and when Jack looked back in disbelief, his friend gave him a grimace and a shake of the head. Uncertain now, Jack’s hackles lowered.
“Wait a minute,” Snotlout said, “What were you going to say about my mom?”
“W-what are you doing here?” Hiccup asked as he poked his head out from behind Jack.
Unexpectedly, Snotlout turned away. He was staring at a picture frame as he scoffed out: “You think I want to be here?”
“No, I guess not.”
Jack opened his mouth to barrage Snotlout with insults when suddenly, there were deafening footfalls heading straight for them. Ducking under the doorframe came the largest man Jack had ever seen in his life.
“Hey there, son,” the man said.
His powerful voice was the kind that Jack expected to belong to a behemoth, and yet his words softened beneath a long, red, and braided beard.
“Oh hi, Dad,” Hiccup said.
Jack swiveled his head between them both with raised eyebrows.
“That’s your dad?” he blurted out, then slapped his hands over his mouth.
The giant nodded. “And I suppose you are Jack?”
“Yes, sir. Nice to meet you, Mr. Haddock! I’m Jackson Overland.”
Jack stuck out his hand. If anyone saw it shake a little, no, they did not.
“No need to be so formal, Jack. I hear you’re best of pals with my boy. The name’s Stoick.”
A huge hand, easily the size of Jack’s head, soared towards him. The man’s hand did not stop at Jack’s, continuing to fly until it wrapped around Jack’s entire forearm. Within the blink of an eye, Jack found himself crushed to Stoick’s side as his feet dangled. He looked to Hiccup for help. Hiccup gave a sheepish grin.
Out from the beast’s belly came a roaring laughter. It was so loud that Jack genuinely believed the sheer volume of it would knock through several support beams and cause the house to cave in.
“What’s wrong, lad?” Stoick asked. “D’ya think I bite?”
“Of course not, sir,” Jack replied stiffly, very aware he himself was barely taller than the man’s arm.
Thankfully, Hiccup’s dad eventually took mercy on him and set him back on the ground. He gave them all a once-over before turning to gesture emphatically at the pizza boxes on the kitchen counter with glee.
“Surprised ya aren’t stuffing your faces already. Dig in, boys!”
“Uh, Dad…” Hiccup started, finger raised.
“What is it, cub?” Stoick asked.
“W-why is… um, why exactly did… you know he doesn’t… I mean you must-”
“Why is he here?” Jack butted in.
He drew his pointer finger and aimed it at Snotlout’s head.
Snotlout was already in the kitchen by this point, holding onto a piping hot pizza slice with bare hands and greedily ripping off the tip with his teeth. Cheese spread string-like between his mouth and the object of his desire as tomato sauce dribbled down his wrists and onto the floor, staining the tiling red. Way after they all turned towards him, he finally noticed their stares and startled. A glob of cheese fell with a thick splat.
Jack wondered if the floor now counted as a pizza. After all, there was a layer of sauce and cheese on the tile. Sure, it would be a very crunchy pizza, but his mother always said cheese made everything better and-
“What do you mean?” Stoick said. “He practically lives here! The boy’s family after all.”
Jack and Hiccup shared a long look of disbelief. Then the old man's spirit that continuously haunted Hiccup possessed him again. Jack guessed it had zapped Hiccup with some sort of perpetual “I am the most mature one here” super-maturity, making him look tired as he signaled for Jack to drop it.
“Well, come on. Eat up!” Stoick said.
He ushered both of them into the kitchen. They waited until Snotlout grabbed two more slices and moved away before grabbing a slice themselves. At the oval dining table, the two of them sat the furthest they could from Snotlout.
Stoick came in, beaming from ear to ear as he handed each of them a soda. The only one who spoke was Jack, who mumbled his thanks.
Afterwards, the man brought an entire pizza box to the table and set it down.. He opened it, and Jack watched as he consumed the most ungodly pizza topping concoction ever known to man: mushrooms, onions, and sardines.
For a good while, they ate in awkward silence. Although Jack found some enjoyment in looking up from time to time to witness the man shove an entire slice down his throat while barely chewing.
And then, their savior hobbled into the room.
“Why, is that Snotlout?” Gobber asked, scratching his head.
Stoick leaned back in his chair. “Is this your way of telling me your old eyes haven’t gone blind yet?”
“Well, get on with it. What’s the boy doin’ here?”
“Why else would he be here? The boy’s here for the sleepover, of course,” Stoick said.
Gobber sputtered before coughing into his elbow.
“Er, Stoick. That’s not such a good idea. Weren’t ya listenin’ to me when I told ya about what the principal and nurse said over the phone?”
“I’m aware they’ve gotten into a scuffle. It’s just what boys do at their age. It means they’re good friends –
no, better friends — now, doesn’t it, Hiccup?”
“Eh,” Hiccup replied, refusing to look up from his plate.
Only two small nibbles marred his single pizza slice, which Jack barely noticed because he was too absorbed watching the other two occupants at the table eat as if someone might snatch their food away. Jack looked at his own plate to discover he had somehow eaten a quarter of it.
Gobber put his hands on his hips.
“For helvíti’s sake, have ya finally lost yar marbles? It’s Jackie and Hiccup who’re friends. And you’ve just gone and brought Snotlout over- who’s, by the way, supposed to be grounded, and got suspended for a couple o’ days for hurtin’ Hiccup. The nurse said it wasn’t the first-”
“Now, now. Be reasonable, Gobber. The nurse was probably overreactin’."
“Overreactin’!”
“Yes, the same as you, ya big lug. Boys like to toughen each other up.”
“No, don’t ya go doin’ that crap, Stoick!” Gobber shouted.
Hiccup reeled back. Jack guessed it must be unusual to see Gobber so angry, not that he wasn’t a little shaken himself. The man was very expressive, yes, but usually jovial or full of that sarcastic wit which Hiccup was inheriting.
Stoick blinked, perhaps shocked himself at the fury of his…
Wait a minute, what are Stoick and Gobber to each other, anyway? Jack just assumed Gobber was Hiccup’s uncle. The two of them did not favor each other at all; however, the genes of this family have already proven to Jack that everyone looks alarmingly different from each other, as if DNA spun a wheel of fortune on physical traits willy-nilly.
Never mind that. Jack forgot for a moment that Hiccup’s caregivers were fighting.
“Boys,” Stoick said. “Why don’t ya go and grab a few extra slices and head outside while Gobber and me have a talk?”
Hesitantly, the three of them stood up, but Hiccup and Jack tiptoed into the kitchen as if they were crossing a ravine between two rocky giants, careful not to trigger an avalanche. They ignored the pizza boxes in favor of heading straight for the back door.
Hiccup swiped his shoes and began putting them on once they reached the porch steps, while Jack patiently waited, still barefoot.
Snotlout was already out in the yard. His hands were full with a sham pizza-burrito, where he had rolled three slices together. He bit off the crust and chewed loudly.
Jack sat down on the steps while Hiccup finished putting on his shoes. Once he was done, Hiccup joined him.
They watched the sun’s last vestiges sink below the treeline until the sky had only a sliver of pink, officially marking the transition into night.
In the far distance, in a meadow by the road, two strong and proud elk were butting heads. As they fought, their antlers became tangled together. Jack imagined their angry snorts and huffs as they struggled to free themselves of each other, wondering what it was all for. Normally, the narrator of a nature documentary would say the violence was over a herd of females, yet, after seeing Bambi, he liked to think of bucks as kings, full of power and dutifully protecting their woodland kingdoms and all the does who resided within. All he saw were two kings in disagreement, unwilling to surrender.
Neither seemed willing to give up. Jack wondered if they would keep fighting until one of them was hobbling away, injured.
Eventually, Snotlout wandered over to the boys on the porch, licking his fingers clean from the last remnants of pizza.
“I’m bored,” he said.
Jack raised a brow but kept quiet, hoping his look said it all while Hiccup pretended to be busy messing with his shoelaces.
“I’m bored,” Snotlout said again.
His demanding tone alone was enough to make anyone irate.
“Congrats. I didn’t know you could feel emotions, or identify them,” Jack snapped.
Snotlout’s gaze narrowed. “I should have squashed you on the playground when I had the chance.”
They all returned to silence. After a few seconds of sweet bliss, Jack foolishly thought that was the end of that, but Snotlout had other plans.
“I’m bored!”
“And why should we care?” Jack said, crossing his arms.
“I can come up with something fun, but I don’t think it would be fun for either of you. Just me. How about a game where I see if I can hit some moving targets with pebbles?”
Jack jumped to his feet. He raised his fist, ready to do the world a great service and punch the jerk.
Hiccup caught him by the collar and yanked him back before he could take a step forward.
“Jack,” his friend warned. “We just have to wait until they’re done speaking. Then we can go back inside. So just ignore him until then.”
“Can’t believe you’re not shaking like a wet blanket as usual, Hi-hi-hiccup!”
The freckled boy frowned and turned his head away.
Snotlout was so lucky that Jack was being kept tethered, but that didn’t stop him from imagining all the ways he could make the bully suffer. Gummy worms shoved up a nose. Black hair covered in slime and feathers. Maybe syrup, too. Chilli powder. And what the heck, why not? Add some lemon juice to the mixture.
The bully scoffed at them before he started roaming the yard.
Whatever discussion Gobber and Stoick were having felt like it would never end. Stars began peeking through the indigo sky, waking and twinkling, as Jack took to walking up and down the steps. Hiccup counted each lap. They reached number 35 before something metallic and hollow thudded against the ground.
The boys looked over to see the metal shed’s door wide open. Inside, Snotlout rummaged through a pile of junk and crates, his figure becoming harder to make out in the encroaching darkness. Hiccup and Jack looked at each other for a moment before deciding to ignore it.
They continued their game. It was when they reached 47 that Snotlout approached them again, a bundle of flashlights in his hand. There was one large flashlight and two teeny-tiny ones that Jack was sure people invented just to look into the creases of their couch for lost coins and keys.
Snotlout held out the two tiny ones to them.
When neither of them made a move to grab one, Snotlout dropped the flashlights on the ground with a “Hmph!” before switching on the big one and blinding them both.
“Tag, you’re it!” Snotlout said.
Then he dashed off down the yard. Jack expected him to stop at the edge of the yard. He didn’t. He kept going until his form disappeared into the undergrowth of the forest. When Snotlout did not reappear after several long seconds, Hiccup sighed.
“We have to go after him,” he said.
“What! Why should we? Are we really going to play tag with that doofus?”
“No. We aren’t. It’s because he’s not allowed to be in the woods alone. Neither of us are.”
“Then he knows that, so I say we let him be dumb and get in trouble.”
Hiccup, to Jack’s utter disbelief, shook his head. “No, he might get hurt if we let him go by himself.”
Hiccup stood and snatched one flashlight up from the ground, heading for the forest but not without glancing back at Jack.
“You can stay here, Jack. You don’t have to come. I can retrieve Snotlout by myself because I know these woods.”
Then he set off across the yard. A faint beam of light sprouted from the device in his hand, hardly clarifying anything it touched.
“Oh, come on!” Jack whined to himself, bouncing from foot to foot as he watched his friend go.
He had never explored the forest, and the last thing he wanted to do was venture inside it at night. Still, he had two choices. Either he could stay here and hope the grown-ups wrapped things up quickly, so he could then tell them about the dumb decision-making skills of two very reckless boys. Or he could follow Hiccup and make sure nothing happened to him.
He paced up and down the steps again. Images of the former choice flashed through his mind.
Dark red pooling beneath Hiccup as he bled out on the forest floor. Claw marks the size of a bear running along his chest.
Hiccup succumbing to his injuries because it took the adults too long to find him.
Snotlout turning Hiccup purple and blue with his fists. Snotlout laughing because he counted on Hiccup to follow him, but not Jack. A trap.
Jack bit his nails, his pace quickening as the thoughts consumed him.
Hiccup, scared and alone in the creepy forest as his flashlight died.
Snotlout returning with no Hiccup in sight. Snotlout smirking at Jack before shoving more pizza down his gullet as Stoick and Gobber scrambled to figure out where Hiccup went.
Hiccup’s picture ending up on the back of a milk carton.
His feet moved of their own accord before he even decided what to do, leaving imprints behind in the damp grass.
The flashlight found its way into his hand. He walked. Speed-walked. Jogged. Then sprinted the rest of the way to catch up with his friend.
Hiccup was just about to disappear into the underbrush when he turned at the sound of quick footsteps. Surprise crossed his face. Then he smiled.
Jack knew then that this was the correct choice.
The boys pivoted, facing the woods. They entered together.
-
For a while, they said nothing as they searched with their lights. Consuming the forest was an all-pervasive silence, save for a lone owl hooting balefully, while twigs snapped and leaves crunched beneath their feet. The moon wasn't full, but it wasn't new either. Its faint crescent light, combined with their crappy flashlights, allowed them to see at least a handful of feet ahead.
“Snotlout!” Jack yelled, ready to head back. “Come out right now!”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Jack, but I don’t think he would tell us if he was close by.”
“He said tag, didn’t he? Not hide-and-seek!”
“But we are ‘it.’”
“Ugh. I’m famished. Maybe we can swing back for pizza real quick. I’m regretting not grabbing anything.”
As if on cue, his stomach growled so loudly that the owl's calls momentarily stopped, as though it, too, was suddenly unsure what kind of creatures could be out there in the night. Hiccup chuckled.
“I think we’ll eat an entire pie between the two of us.”
“Make that three.”
Jack rubbed his belly.
As they walked, the air grew crisp and cool. The calls of the owl have long since petered out. Jack was unsure how long they had been out there looking, but he swore every time that he blinked, the trees twisted into wicked silhouettes.
“Uh, Hiccup?”
“Yes?”
“You do know the way back, right? Maybe we should give up on Snotlout. He obviously doesn’t want to be found.”
“You see these tracks on the ground?”
“Huh?”
Jack looked down where Hiccup was aiming his flashlight. Sure enough, there was a path of animal footprints, but most notably, the larger impressions of tennis-shoe soles. They were vague, but easier to make out in patches of damp soil. They'd been following the path the entire time, and Jack hadn't even noticed.
He relayed as much to Hiccup, who nodded.
“My dad takes me on his hunting trips sometimes. Tracking is something I’ve learned from him.”
“Wow, you really are a smartie-smarterson.”
His friend shrugged at him. “So you keep saying.”
“‘Cuz it’s true.”
By now, Jack could hardly see anything in the dense night foliage, but that didn't stop him from feeling Hiccup smack him lightly on the shoulder.
“Why, Hiccup, are you embarrassed again?” Jack crooned, leaning into Hiccup.
“What are you talking about?”
“Uh, huh. Yanno, hitting won’t stop me from telling the truth! You are a smartie.”
“No, seriously. What are you talking about? When have I hit you?”
Hiccup’s flashlight turned to light up Jack, who was sweating. A chill ran up his spine.
“Act oblivious all you want. I know you smacked me because you’re too embarrassed by compliments.”
“Jack,” Hiccup said, his tone solemn and eyebrows furrowed. “I haven’t touched you.”
“Don’t say that! This place is creepy enough without you being a butt.”
“Okay,” his friend said, and then dropped it.
Afterward, the other boy’s words finally sunk in and the effects were giving him goosebumps. Though, honestly, Jack could not fathom what Hiccup had to gain from lying to him. His friend sounded serious, too. Maybe all that happened was that Jack had simply brushed against a low-hanging branch.
They continued walking for a bit until his light suddenly flickered out. He tried to shake it, even tapped it a few times, but it refused to turn back on.
“Batteries must be dead,” Hiccup said.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed easily, even as he reached out with a shaking hand and grabbed his friend's arm.
A herd of wild animals was desperately clawing and gnawing their way out of Jack’s stomach. As a gust of chilling wind flew into them, he huddled closer to Hiccup and slowed their pace considerably, but other than an odd look, his friend said nothing about the proximity.
Instead, Hiccup stopped and said, “Huh, that’s weird.”
“What is?”
“I can’t see any more of Snotlout’s tracks.”
They paused and crouched to look at the ground. Jack squinted and lowered his head toward the forest floor, but he couldn't see much of anything in the dim light of the remaining flashlight. Only a spotted lanternfly scuttled through the dirt, its wings a striking combination of black and red.
He watched it walk by. With him so focused on the tiny creature, he realized too late that he and Hiccup were no longer alone.
There was a loud and menacing roar. The sound drummed his heart awake.
They screamed.
Hiccup turned his flashlight shakily toward the source, but Jack was already scrambling to get away. His hands and feet struggled to find purchase on the earth. He fell sideways.
In a split second, he was rolling.
He tumbled down a steep hill he could have sworn was flat ground.
He rolled and rolled, catching roots, rocks, and leaves in his descent. Nature collected him in her roughness without a care.
Until he landed hard, headfirst. On a rock.
Above him, he could hear a nasty laugh. It took him a moment to connect it to Snotlout, the very reason they were in the woods at all.
“Hah! I can’t believe you guys fell for that.”
“What the hell Snotlout!” Hiccup shouted.
“You should’ve seen your faces!”
“Yes, yes. You were really terrifying. Did you see where Jack went?”
Jack groaned in pain.
There was a rustling of leaves. A dry twig snapped.
“Jack! Where are you?”
He tried to lift his head, but the pain stung too strongly, so he stayed still and tried to alert his friend to his location. His calls came out breathless and ragged. Barely a sound at all.
“Jack!”
“I saw him fall that way. After you both screamed like little babies.”
There was more rustling. Jack could hear as he shuffled down, before sliding the rest of the way. The flashlight flung around erratically before it settled on his prone figure.
“Jack!”
Hiccup ran towards him and slid to the ground on his knees. He used his light to check over Jack, but he swatted at it sloppily, irritated by its brightness.
“Oh my god,” Hiccup breathed. “Your head.”
A palm swiped at the spot on his forehead where a bead of warm liquid was trailing down his temple. Sweaty fingers pulled away with droplets of watery ruby running down them.
“Iz it bad?” Jack asked, the words slipping from one into another, barely above a whisper.
“I don’t know. I’m no doctor. But you could have a concussion. So there’s that… And I read somewhere too that head injuries aren’t usually as bad as they look, but you might need stitches. Come on, I’ll help you up.”
Hiccup reached down, and Jack allowed himself to be pulled up, but instantly regretted it. His stomach recoiled at every movement.
The other boy let go once Jack was standing, but he stumbled.
Hands returned to steady him before he could fall over.
“No feel good,” Jack said.
“What do you mean?”
In lieu of an answer, Jack swiftly turned to the side, away from Hiccup, and hacked up his guts over a fallen log. Mostly watery bile came out since he had barely eaten the entire day.
“Zorry.” Jack whimpered.
His friend lightly patted his back.
“Don’t be, Jack. I’m the one who should be saying sorry. This is all my fault.”
Although the movement made him grimace, Jack shook his head.
“No. Iz Snotlout’s.”
“It’s not my fault you scare so easily!” Snotlout yelled from above.
“Can’t you just be quiet?” Hiccup snapped, glaring at his cousin. “Every time you open your mouth, you only make everything worse! Can’t you see Jack’s injured because of you?”
“Boohoo! Why should I feel bad that the dork got what was coming to him?”
“Because that’s what a sane person would do! His head is bleeding, for crying out loud! He just vomited, his speech is slurred, and his motor coordination is off. These things together are hallmarks of a concussion. Concussions can kill people, Snotlout!”
Jack almost swooned at the last sentence from Hiccup’s mouth, but his friend’s grip was firm, keeping him from falling over.
“What? No way! You’re lying!”
“Why would I lie?”
“To get me in trouble! I’m already in enough trouble with my dad because of you!”
“You did that to yourself! I never peeped a single word about it for a whole year and I lied to everyone for you just so your dad wouldn’t bother you. It’s not my fault the nurse figured out what was going on!”
“You should’ve just kept your trap shut when she asked you in front of the entire school!”
“I couldn’t do that. It would’ve made Jack look like a liar!”
“So you’re choosing him over me now?”
“What kind of question is that! Of course I’m choosing him. You and I haven't been friends since… Well, whatever. My point is he’s my friend and you’re not!”
“I’m your cousin!”
“Cousins don’t do what you do!”
Jack watched as Snotlout cried out in frustration and kicked a nearby tree trunk. Then, inexplicably, he started punching the bark with his bare fists. He screamed with every blow. It took only a few punches for him to double over and clutch his knuckles, erratically huffing and breathing, as if he was close to crying.
He pointed down at them.
“I hate you!” Snotlout screamed.
“I know,” Hiccup said.
Snotlout turned around and stormed off. His figure disappeared into the forest once more.
“Don’t we go aftar ‘im?”
“No,” Hiccup replied. “Forget what I said before. I don’t care if he’s alone in the woods anymore.”
“Good. M’tired.”
Jack leaned into Hiccup’s nice, warm shoulder with the plan to take a nap.
“Jack, you can’t go to sleep yet.”
“Why?” he whined.
“I have to get you home first. Then my dad can look over you while I call your mom, and then you can sleep in my bed if they say it’s alright.”
“Otay.”
Hiccup slid his arm under Jack’s, slinging an arm around his shoulder for support, which Jack took gratefully. Hiccup led them both through the forest, though they avoided the steep hill they had come from. Instead, they took a different direction. It was as if he was leading them through an easier path, preventing Jack from having to hike or climb, which was most likely on purpose. His friend grew up here. Maybe he knew the woods like the back of his hand.
The only issue was that it was so incredibly dark; in fact, it was a version of darkness where closing your eyes and opening them made infinitesimal difference. The hot steam of his breath curled against his lips as the temperature plummeted.
In perhaps the first time in his entire life, Jack regretted his lack of footwear as his feet ached from the rough terrain and the cold.
There was nothing more that he desired in that moment than to be curled up in his bed back at home and nursing a warm mug of hot chocolate. His momma. Oh yes, his beautiful momma would tuck him in with the soft quilt his grandmother made for him as a baby, before kissing the top of his head.
His head, which throbbed. Despite never having a concussion before, he was sure it was that thing that stole the memories of people, where they forgot every single person they loved. Was it amnesia? He hoped the movies exaggerated that part. Jack didn’t want that. He wanted to remember Hiccup, his first friend. And there was no way could forget his Mamie-may, nor his momma.
Yet someone was taking a hammer to his skull, chipping away at it like an ancient Greek sculptor with marble, changing him with every strike. Judging by the way his throat burned, maybe the chunks of marble were sliding down it.
The boys had to pause in their walk so Jack could throw up nothing again. This time Hiccup held him closer to his side, rubbing circles up and down his back.
“Wanna go home,” Jack mumbled.
“That’s where we’re headed. We’ll get there soon, okay?”
“Now.”
“I promise. I’ll get you home.”
Jack knew that meant his home was too far away.
“Now?” he asked, to be sure.
When Hiccup refused to answer, tears sprang up in his eyes unbidden. The crying only caused the pain to worsen, but any attempt to stop them failed. His tears turned ugly as he sobbed and cried out for the very person he knew could make it all better.
“Momma!”
A harsh gust of wind blew through the small clearing they found themselves in. Shivers racked his spine.
“Momma…”
Hiccup let out a horrified gasp. Jack had barely noticed through his blurry vision that their remaining flashlight erratically flickered. The other boy fumbled with it in his free hand.
Jack hugged his arms to himself.
“Momma, m’so’cold.”
The flashlight finally gave out, leaving them stranded in complete darkness.
There was nothing he could sense except the softness of moss underneath his toes, Hiccup’s warmth, and the shadows of the giant trees reaching out to the stars above them.
“I gotta let you down so I can fix this stupid thing. Okay?” Hiccup asked.
“Mhm.”
As Hiccup started to lower him to the ground, the clearing suddenly flooded with light. A dozen or so basketball-sized globes hung around the pair as if they were stars plucked fresh from the Milky Way. For a moment, they only stayed suspended in one spot, before they glided through the air, dancing in leisurely loops.
“Pwetty,” Jack said, arm already reaching for one.
“What are those?” Hiccup asked.
“Staws. Want one.”
“How is this even remotely possible?”
“Smawtie, lez cash one!”
Hiccup pulled Jack back up to stand. Excited, Jack started reaching for them with both of his hands. Hiccup jerked him back before one touched his finger.
“Are you crazy!? We don’t know what those are!”
Pouting, Jack thought it was pretty obvious.
Before he could respond, he heard the faint sound of someone singing. Jack looked around at the lit meadow, but did not see anyone else beside them. It was the unmistakable lilt of a woman’s voice.
The melody was deep and slow, yet so sweet. Drawing him towards it.
“Jack,” Hiccup spoke in his ear, breaking him out of his enchantment. “I need you to get on my back. Piggyback ride style.”
“Why?”
“I think I can hear an animal out there. A big one. So I need you to get on my back in case we need to run.”
When Hiccup knelt, Jack shimmied onto his back and wrapped all his limbs around him. Hiccup’s arms came up to support the underside of Jack’s legs. With a grunt, Hiccup lifted him onto his back.
The singing sounded as if it were closer than before.
“Jack, I need you to promise me something.”
“Mmm?”
“Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”
“Huh?”
“Promise me.”
“Otay. Pwa-miss.”
“You better mean it.”
The hauntingly beautiful tune grew closer, the vague shape of consonants and vowels even beginning to form in its proximity, but Jack couldn’t understand the words.
It was then Hiccup launched them both forward, running the opposite way of the singer.
He headed through the path that the orbs of light lit for them. His feet drummed the earth.
As they passed, the lights falling behind them dashed into nothing like candle flames blown into submission. Hissing, soft as a shiver, emitted as they faded.
More and more of the stars came down, lighting up the forest floor perfectly for Hiccup. And there were so many hues: sunflower yellows, ghoulish greens, and the oranges of a buckeye nut.
Leaping over a snarled tree root, Hiccup tripped.
Yet he did not crash to the ground. Instead he only continued running forward.
His breathing came labored. Jack knew his arms around Hiccup’s neck were strangling him, so he loosened his grasp.
“Your promise,” his friend gasped out immediately.
Jack held on even tighter than before.
The singing was behind them now. Crying choked and shortened some of the notes’ lifespans.
He looked back.
A humanoid figure was chasing them.
Blink.
She came in flashes, the woman. On the tail end of the vanishing lights.
Blink.
Tears streaked down her face.
Blink.
Her moon-like visage, ethereal.
Blink.
Long, inky hair whipped and whirled behind her.
Blink.
A long, tanned dress hung from her shoulders, and animal tails swayed from a belt around her waist.
Blink.
Her palms faced him, reaching.
Blink.
From her, the tune of a siren bewitching a sailor.
Jack was certain he had never seen such beauty before.
He almost reached for her in return. Almost let go. Anything to stop her pain.
But no, a promise was a promise. He tore his gaze away and buried his face in the nook between his arm and his friend’s shoulder.
The singing died.
A piercing, animalistic howl replaced it. The note trembled in the air, hanging with grief and agony. So loud. So inconsolably violent.
His eyes closed with a wince. Hid his face further into warmth, into safety, as beads of Hiccup’s warm sweat wetted his nose.
The wind picked up speed, tearing into them with bitterness.
And Hiccup did not falter. Only bolted through the lights.
He ran and ran.
The howl turned into a scream.
The screaming broke into sobs.
Jack raised his head in time to see the trees spread further apart.
Only three stars remained before them.
And the sobs dissolved into a whisper.
Two stars.
After one last leap, the air calmed.
And the last light faded.
The boys broke through the foliage into a meadow filled with elk.
Despite the sudden shift in atmosphere, Hiccup rejected the thought of stopping.
He ran right through the herd and startled all the does.
Some stood stiff. Others leapt, fled, and scattered.
Even the still-entangled bucks tried to run, but only ended up dragging each other by the horns.
“Uncle Stoick! Over here! I see them!”
Was that Snotface?
Unfortunately, it seemed Jack’s eyes were still working. Snotlout shined his flashlight on them.
Littered around Hiccup’s house were objects flashing blue and red.
There were people with lights and neon vests, but only one person stood out to Jack.
She was running directly at them.
“Momma!” he yelled and reached for her.
Despite his age, his mother swept him up from Hiccup, holding him close to her chest.
“Oh, my sweet baby. Thank goodness you’re alright.”
Jack wrapped his arms around her, sobbing.
Not long after his reunion, Stoick came and hoisted his son up as well.
Drowning in the embrace of his father, Hiccup panted and coughed. His lungs were probably burning after running for so long.
“Jack,” his mother gasped. “What happened? I was worried sick.”
Hiccup barely wiggled out of his father’s hold enough to shout, “Be careful of his head!”
“His head? Oh... Oh my god!” his mother shrieked, setting him down to peer closer at the wound.
“Loud,” Jack whined, cupping his ear.
“I think he has a concussion!” Hiccup said.
“Let me take a look, Emily,” Stoick said.
Stoick poked and prodded him. He nodded gravely at Hiccup’s continued insistence that Jack had a concussion before handing him over to paramedics who arrived shortly after.
Too many bright lights shone in his eyes. Stoick, and then paramedics asked him too many questions. They asked him to count fingers, state his name, and recite his address as a metallic blanket fell onto his shoulders. It was massive and really warm.
His eyelids drooped, but every time he closed them for more than a second, someone would tap him or call his name to keep him awake. Eventually, he grew tired of it and began swatting their hands away.
At one point, he almost fell asleep, but jolted upright as someone rubbed the bone of their knuckle hard against his sternum.
Doors slammed shut. Somehow, he found himself in the back of an ambulance and on a gurney. The vehicle lurched forward as his mother’s hands clasped around his.
The world tilted. Then it turned dark.
My art for this chapter, also posted to my Tumblr!
My commissions are now opened as well.