TTEOTNF-Chapter 4: Lost

Lost

The night was very dark when the horrifying sounds of Night Furies in agony finally ended. Thorer, still very frightened, finally emerged from the rocks. He slowly crept out, sniffed the air, and shivered as the cold rain splashed down on him. However, it wasn't the rain that made his body feel so cold and numb.

All around him, the forest was eerily dark. Every now and then, lightning would flash and thunder would rattle the earth in the distance. The rain poured down in torrents, making everything soaking wet and the ground slippery.

"Mom? Dad?" Thorer whimpered.

The little Night Fury began to search through the woods for any sign of his parents. He sniffed the air constantly, trying to pick up their scent. He was deathly afraid to call out, or even so much as speak a single word. He didn't dare whisper. He was afraid that the lightning dragon, the Skrill his parents called "Skagi", would lurking through the woods, looking for him.

Thorer shuddered and his heart beat even harder with fear as he remembered what that evil dragon had said before to his father:

"Just hand over the hatchling and I'll spare you and Dagna's life!"

That would haunt Thorer's memory for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, the Skrill had seemed to move on from the island. There was no sign of him anywhere. When Thorer was absolutely certain that Skagi was gone, he finally shouted:

"MOM! DAD!"

No answer.

"MOM! DAD! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Still, no answer.

Thorer sniffed the air one last time. At first, he was happy to smell the scent of his parents. But anxiety began to creep in again as he caught another scent that was mixed with theirs.

Blood.

The little dragon immediately sprinted through the forest, fearing for the worst. His pulse quickened by the second as the horrible feeling was growing and growing in his heart.

As he ran closer and closer to the where the scent was the strongest, he noticed that more and more trees had fallen. Only they didn't look like they had been toppled by the wind. They had dragon scratch marks deep within the wood of the trunks and thick branches and many of them had half of themselves split in two, with one half completely bent over.

On top of that, Thorer found himself leaping over large pits in the ground. The most disturbing thing was that the pits were becoming more and more frequent as the scent of his parents became stronger.

Finally, he came to a clearing and stopped dead in his tracks. Lightning flashed across the sky and for a brief moment, lighting up the landscape below. But what it showed was the thing Thorer never wanted to see.

"No…" a weak whisper escaped with his breath.

In the center of an opening of the forest, which splattered with holes, was the most terrifying thing that Thorer had ever seen in his life.

His parents lying on bloodstained grass, their wings broken and dislocated, more Whispering Death spins protruding from their bodies, and each of them had horrible gashes in their sides.

Thorer, shocked and grief-stricken, ran over to his mother. When he got up close, he was horrified to see numerous burns all over the female Night Fury. Her body was as cold as ice and her eyes remained closed. A little bit of blood dripped from her mouth and there was no sound of breathing.

"Mom?" he whimpered, nudging her face. "Mom, wake up! Mom, please!"

Dagna remained unmoving.

Thorer quickly went over to her chest and placed his ear against it, hoping to feel a heartbeat.

Nothing. There was no heartbeat. Not even a faint one.

"Mother," the little dragon moaned in sadness.

From behind him, Thorer heard a weak groan. He whipped around and looked at his father. The large Night Fury's head moved slightly.

"Father!" Thorer cried out.

Thorer ran over to his father and stood over him. He saw awful burn marks along his father's neck and shoulders. Alva's chest heaved in spasms as he struggled to stay alive, just long enough to tell son something.

"T-Thorer?" Alva said in a weak voice.

Alva's cloudy eyes were barely opened, his breathing was shallow, and he could barely move his broken body. Seeing his father like this tore at Thorer's heart so much that his chest began to ache. He lowered his head and nudged his father's face.

"Dad…I…I'm sorry!" the little dragon choked.

"For what?" Alva replied.

"I'm sorry!" Thorer repeated. It was the only thing he could say. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Thorer," Alva smiled as best he could, "no…no need to be…sorry."

"But that Skrill…" Thorer protested. "He was after me! Why didn't you just give me up?! You should've saved yourselves!"

"Thorer," Alva heaved, "you mother…and I…would never…never have given you up."

"But…why?!"

"Son," Alva gently said, wincing, "someday when you…when you find someone…someone to love…someone that you would do anything for…someone you would be willing to…to sacrifice yourself for…you'll understand."

"Dad, please…!"

"Listen, Thorer," Alva shuddered, feeling strength beginning to wane, "Beware of Skagi. Get away…away from here. He…he will stop at nothing…to kill you."

"But why?!"

"Just promise me…" the fallen dragon groaned, "you'll stay alive. Live on...live your life. Trust your heart and…and become who you are meant to be. Promise me."

"I…I promise." Thorer whined, feeling emotional pain rip through his stomach.

All Alva could do now smile as best he could at the young Night Fury.

"Thorer," he whispered he last few breaths, "your mother and I…will always be with you. We…we will always love you. And…I want you to know that…I'm so…so proud of my son."

With that, Alva breathed out his last breath. His eyes slowly closed and his head collapsed on the ground. His heart beat one more thump before falling silent and still.

"Father?" Thorer nudged his father's face. "Father!"

Nothing. Thorer's father was dead.

If Night Furies could shed tears, Thorer wouldn't be ashamed of letting them fall now.

His family was gone: killed by a Skrill and Whispering Death. The worst part, and the thing that threatened to rip Thorer's heart to shreds, was that he felt responsible for their deaths. The feeling of it being his fault grew stronger and stronger, making him coil away as if he had just be stabbed in the stomach. Feeling pain, anger, and loss gather up inside of him became too much for him to bear.

Finally, he shut his eyes tight, lifted up his head, and let out an anguished roar to the heavens. At the same time, lightning flashed across the sky and thunder shook the sea.

Thorer then collapsed with exhaustion, as if a club had just smacked him across the head. He didn't feel the rain pouring down on him anymore. He couldn't hear the thunder across the horizon. He couldn't even feel his own limbs. He had gone completely numb. The world around him seemed to have vanished. His energy just left from him.

Then the Night Fury's consciousness gave out and darkness took him.