I'm Leaving Forever (a HTTYD Runaway Fanfic ~ Book 1)

25 - Escape: Chaos

"Yes, and since Hiccup's the one that's been captured, I can't think of any other island they could be on,"

"But what if they got separated or something?" Tuffnut asked, "and they were taken to different islands? That's still a possibility, right?"

"Well, right now, we have a lead that we'll find at least one of them here," Heather said, "Did you find anything else?"

"I can't think of anything else that could be useful to us," Atali started, "but I do remember seeing things that looked like entrances that could potentially lead underground. Hiccup, Snotlout and their dragons could be there, but we've had no chance of getting down there, so none of us know. If you do plan on investigating, then I suggest you proceed with caution,"

"Will do," Dagur said before mounting Sleuther and the other riders followed suit, "Alright guys, let's go and get on with this rescue and so I can kill Hiccup as soon as I can," That last part he kept to himself, obviously. What Atali said about entrances. And them all leading underground? From what he had seen from his experience, Dagur's first thought about that was that they could lead to an underground network of tunnels. He certainly wouldn't be surprised in Drago had one, and it sounded like a good place to keep prisoners. The dragons propelled themselves into the air, rocking the boat as they did so, and the Defenders and Wingmaidens looked on as the second party left. However, they weren't going to just not going to do anything because the Riders had flown off to do their job. There was still a good chance that their cover would be blown, and if that happened, they had to be ready to fight by their side.

For Astrid, Fishlegs, the twins and Gustav, it was honestly a little nerve-wracking, but who could blame them? This was the first time they had ever been to Drago's island and everything they had heard up until this point about the island and him have been anything but good. The danger was made clear to them even before they had arrived at the Edge; that was the reason Hiccup was first reluctant to let them come with him in the first place. However, they never would've guessed that they would find themselves involved in a war against some Dragon Hunters. Several months back, they were apprehensive about their first mission to a Dragon Hunter base, but they still managed to push through. Now they weren't even fazed. Maybe this will be just like that.

The riders were steadily growing closer to the island. They directed their dragons to fly high above the landmass, as it would give them a bigger element of surprise than if they were to fly straight on at a low altitude. They had only stopped when they were directly above the centre before they dived straight down. No one said a word, and everyone was focused, probably due to the raised stakes, but so far, things were going well. In around a couple of minutes, the riders were just hovering in the dark shadows of a small canopy of trees, and with the added darkness of the night, it was arguable that they were barely visible. Then, in three groups, they split up, not really making a big fuss about who went with who. All that was on anyone's mind at this moment was getting Hiccup and Snotlout out of here as quickly as they could. Of course, it wasn't going to be an easy task. Despite sending scouts, they didn't catch a sight of them, and although that wasn't necessarily what they were primarily sent out do to, it didn't help the Riders that they had no idea where their friends where. All they knew were what places to avoid.

Everyone did they best to keep a low profile. Lurking in the shadows. Going nowhere near the light to crowded areas. The last thing they wanted was a fight to break out, as they were certain they wouldn't make it out of this one. However, amidst all the fear and caution, everyone, no matter where they were on the island, had felt a tremor in the ground at least once. It varied in intensity, but it seemed to gain no reaction from the trappers to suggest that this was unusual. If the tremor were violent enough, they would stop for a moment in annoyance before carrying on with their job. It led everyone to believe that there was an underground tunnel system right below their feet. And Dagur in particular was interested in find a way to get into these tunnels. He had already speculated it and he had been proven right, but now that begged the question as to why? Why would there be activity underground? What could possibly happen underground? Unless they were protecting or guarding something.