# A Dangerous Escape

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

A million thoughts rushed through Hiccup’s head as he clung distractedly to Toothless’s saddle. His heart was still pounding, thumping out of time with the dragon’s wingbeats. He could hear Astrid panting in his ear, her arms still wrapped around his waist for support as she clung to the safest thing she could find- something that undoubtably would have made him very self-conscious if he hadn’t been so preoccupied.

“What in the name of Thor was that?” Hiccup breathed.

“It was huge…” Astrid replied.

Fresh memories of the event flashed vividly through their minds. Teeth and scales, each the size of a whole Monstrous Nightmare- no- bigger; and a maw so enormous that it could rival a house, big enough to swallow an entire Gronckle like it was nothing, and it had come that close to snapping them up too.

“All the food…” Astrid muttered, “they give that thing all the food… Why?”

“You saw what it did, they have no choice,” Hiccup replied. “It’s the only way to keep that… dragon from coming after them instead.” Toothless banked to one side as the island of Berk came back into view.

“So they all work together to keep it fed,” Astrid realized. “And it gives them a safe home that no Viking could ever find.”

“At least until we showed up… This… This is ridiculous, could all the dragons in the archipelago really be hunting for one huge dragon!?”

“No, it totally makes sense! It’s like a giant beehive. They’re the workers, and that’s their queen. It controls them.” Toothless touched down on the rocky, moonlit shore and Astrid immediately slid off his back. “Let’s go find your dad.”

“No, no!” Hiccup jumped off the Night Fury after her and grabbed her arm. “No, not yet. They’ll… kill Toothless. No, Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully.”

Behind them, Toothless’s ears suddenly perked up and his pupils narrowed, just like when he had first approached the dragons’ nest. Hiccup and Astrid continued talking without noticing, but as they spoke the Night Fury turned around and stared intently back out into the darkness from where they had arrived. He watched silently for a moment until he heard a sound, something too faint and distant for his human companions to detect. He let out a low growl.

Hiccup turned around.

“Toothless?” He asked, taking a few steps closer.

Astrid took notice too, but kept her distance, still not completely convinced of the dragon’s safety. Hiccup saw how his friend was staring fixedly off into the night and an anxious feeling began to creep over the young Viking.

“What is it, bud?” he asked.

Then, faintly, Hiccup heard something. It was the call of a dragon, a Zippleback if he recognized it correctly. He looked up to the sky, and in the distance he could just barely see a pale form with a set of wings flapping towards the island. As soon as he had spotted it, two more calls reached his ears, then a dozen more, and then his eyes went wide because he was suddenly picking out scores of flapping figures materializing from the dark evening sky.

“Uh, Astrid…” Hiccup called. Within a moment the swarm of dragons was clearly visible, and as they approached he continued to notice more and more of them.

“They’re attacking!” Astrid shouted. “Quickly! We have to get back to the village!”

“Yes, right- um- Toothless, stay somewhere safe, I’ll be back when this is over.”

The dragon objected with a sharp cry, reaching out and grabbing Hiccup’s vest between his gums as the human turned to leave.

“Hey!” he complained. Astrid, who had already started running, stopped and looked back.

“Toothless, let go! I have to get back, the village is in trouble!” Hiccup insisted.

Toothless stared back up at him with a pleading, almost fearful gaze and crooned worriedly. The first of the attacking dragons began to pass overhead.

“Come on, Hiccup!” Astrid called, glancing nervously between the boy, the dragons and the direction of her home.

“He, um, he won’t let go,” Hiccup replied awkwardly.

“Ugh! We don’t have time for this, just bring him with us!”

“What!? You can’t be serious.”

“He’s a dragon, Hiccup! In a dragon attack! Who’s gonna notice?!”

“But- but he can’t fly without me, what if something happens to him?”

“What if something happens to our parents!?” Astrid countered.

“Errr… Fine!” Hiccup turned back to Toothless. “You can follow us. Just try not to be too obvious,” he allowed reluctantly.

In the distance, the sound of burly Vikings yelling could just faintly be heard.

“Hiccup!! Ugh!! Forget it, you’re taking too long!!” Astrid turned and started to run again. Hiccup looked back to Toothless.

“Come on, bud, we gotta go!”

Toothless gave him one more worried glance before begrudgingly accepting the tiny Viking’s request, but rather than release him, as Hiccup had been expecting, the Night fury suddenly rushed forward, scooping Hiccup onto his back and then dashing off in the direction of the village.

“Uh, Astrid!” Hiccup called again as they quickly began to catch up. Toothless continued running straight at her. “Astrid watch out!!” She turned around just in time to see the pair ram into her like a Gronckle’s tail, but rather than run her over, she too found herself scooped up and tossed onto the dragon’s back, right on top of Hiccup.

Toothless sped through the hilly forest in leaps and bounds as his two passengers wriggled in an attempt to untangle themselves. By the time they had settled down, he had already carried them to the outskirts of the village where the sounds of explosions and Viking battle cries rang loudly in the night.

“Alright, bud, stop here. I don’t want anyone to see us riding you,” Hiccup instructed. Toothless halted, his ears extended and wings partially raised in instinctive preparation. His head darting from one direction to another, he spared a glance backward as he felt his passengers dismount.

“I’m going to my house to get my spare axe and make sure my parents are okay,” Astrid informed. “You should find your dad.”

“Okay. Stay safe.”

“You too.”

Astrid rushed off, the thudding of her boots quickly blending into the roar of battle. Hiccup watched her go for a moment before turning back to Toothless.

“Alright, bud, let’s go. Just try to stay out of sight.” He’s a Night Fury, he should be able to manage that? Right?

Hiccup made his way from the trees and started past the first few huts. Right away he could tell something was wrong. Two of them were burning, but there were no Vikings trying to put them out. Actually, as he continued deeper into the village, ducking behind structures to hide from swooping dragons, he realized he had yet to see any other Vikings at all. He looked up to the catapults and spotted a few figures manning them, just to reassure himself, but it was weird that no one was out on the roads, there were usually warriors rushing around everywhere, flailing hammers and axes.

“I better get to the forge, Gobber’s probably already wondering where I am,” he muttered.

He continued running over the hilly terrain, until he saw something that stopped him dead in his tracks. He finally saw his first fellow Viking, or, more accurately, the rear end of a Viking, jutting out from the maw of a Monstrous Nightmare, legs flailing in protest. He looked on just for a moment, but when he tried to move again he quickly realized that the sight had him paralyzed.

He watched the flaming beast tilt its head up, working its jaws and sliding the warrior deeper, until eventually the Viking’s feet passed the dragon’s pointed teeth and the beast closed its lengthy snout. Hiccup couldn’t hear the swallow over the cacophony, but he could sure see it. The Nightmare’s throat shuttered and then a large, squirming bulge appeared at the top of its neck and slowly snaked its way down towards its chest. The dragon spread its wings and flapped away before the lump had a chance to arrive, but the image stuck in Hiccup’s mind.

“I’ll definitely be having some monstrous nightmares after that,” he muttered with widened eyes. A loud crash from his right brought him back to his senses as a Gronckle firebombed a nearby house. He nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly started running again. A few moments later, he caught sight of three more Vikings, engaged in a battle with a Deadly Nadder.

“Get to the Great Hall!” he heard one of them shout. “I’ll hold it off!”

Two of the Vikings turned to retreat while the third brandished his hammer and shield. He gave a fearsome war cry and raised his weapon to strike… only to have the Nadder’s head suddenly come crashing down on top of him, its jaws engulfing him up to his chest. The hammer and shield clattered to the ground as the man was lifted up, the dragon raising its nose to the sky and bobbing its head as it gave a few quick gulps, converting the brave warrior into another writhing bulge, descending the long, scaly neck.

“Valkyries above!” Hiccup exclaimed, as he tore his eyes from the sight. He glanced over to the two Vikings who had fled, only to find that one of them had been ambushed by a Gronckle and was already knee deep in its maw.

“They’re eating us!” Hiccup thought aloud. “This isn’t just a normal raid. They’re not going after our food; they’re going after us!” He ran faster, and as he did his mind raced as well. “But why would-? *gasp* That huge dragon we saw on the island, it saw us too. It knows we found its nest! It must have sent all these dragons here to wipe us out! Oh gods! I have to find my dad! Great Thor, he could be anywhere by now!”

“The Great Hall! Everyone take shelter in the Great Hall!” he heard a Viking call in the distance.

“The Great Hall,” Hiccup repeated. “If that’s where everyone’s going, he’ll be there protecting them.”

Hiccup shifted course, turning towards his new destination, only to suddenly come face to face with an enormous, hungry-looking Zippleback.

“AHH!” he screamed in surprise, digging in his heels. He turned again to try and flee, but a Nadder touched down to his side, blocking his path once again.

“Oh gods! Oh no!”

He turned a third time and started to run, but a Gronckle swooped by, jaws agape, and just barely missed him. Hiccup stumbled and fell to the ground, and the Gronckle landed in front of him. The other dragons approached, but of course the Gronckle was closest. Hiccup saw it open its terrifying, cavernous maw before his tiny eyes, dark and glistening in the dancing flames. It came closer, ready to swallow him up.

Suddenly a loud explosion filled his ears and a flash of light blinded his eyes. He heard a distressed roar and the thudding of a few heavy footsteps. He rubbed his eyes, but even when his vision finally cleared almost all he could make out was blackness. But it wasn’t the shadows of the night, nor the fleshy insides of a dragon, it was the hard scales of a Night Fury’s hide.

“Toothless!! Oh, thank Thor!” Hiccup exclaimed. His relief was cut short as a loud snarl sounded from close behind him. He barely looked back in time to pull his legs in tight, narrowly avoiding the jaws of the Monstrous Nightmare as they snapped just inches from his feet. A moment later Toothless whipped around him and slashed at the advancing dragon, forcing it to retreat- but not very far.

The Nadder tried next, launching its toothy maw right at the young Viking’s face, but Toothless was ready this time, lunging forward to meet it with a thunderous roar. It veered off a foot or two before reaching him, but even though he was untouched, the attempt still left Hiccup terrified beyond all belief.

The three dragons began to circle them, slowly. Toothless darted around Hiccup’s shaking body, growling and snarling at each one of them in turn, lashing out with his claws whenever one of them made the slightest advance. In the midst of his defense, Hiccup heard the Night Fury make a sound: an anxious, uncertain rumble. Toothless wasn’t overconfident about their position and Hiccup knew he had to do something to get them out of it.

If I can just get onto Toothless’s back, maybe he can out-fly them, Hiccup thought. He did his best to steady his shaking limbs. Steeling himself, he tried to get onto his feet, but another ferocious, narrowly avoided snap from the Monstrous Nightmare sent him tumbling back down, even more shaken than before. Toothless cried out in alarm and swiped at the opposing dragon again. He glanced at his Viking friend worriedly.

The other dragons began to grumble and hiss as they circled, glaring with anger and confusion at the Night Fury. Hiccup could see the questions in their eyes.

We were told to devour all the humans on the island!

Why are you protecting this one?

What kind of dragon are you?

Do you want to get eaten?

Do you really think you can stop us all?

We will get him.

A fourth dragon, another Nadder, landed just outside the crowd and eyed the little human inside with intrigue and hunger. Toothless turned to Hiccup just for a moment and gave a concerned warble.

“Oh Odin above, this is it bud. It’s been nice knowing you. I’m really sorry about your tail. Thanks for not eating me when I found you in the forest.”

Toothless’s eyes suddenly went wide, his ears shooting up. He had an idea. A hundred thoughts raced through his head in the blink of an eye, but he had no time to stop and think, another dragon could snatch his little human up any second. There was only one solution he could think of, he just hoped Hiccup would understand.

Hiccup saw the dragon’s face shift from concern, to inspiration and deliberation, through desperation and then finally to regret, all in the span of a second.

“Um, Toothless?” Hiccup stared for a short moment into the dragon’s big, remorseful eyes. Why did he look like he was apologizing? What had he done to feel sorry for? Or- wait- what was he about to do?

The Night Fury’s pupils suddenly shifted into thin, ferocious slits.

“Toothless!? What-!?”

In a moment that ripped the very warmth from his bones, Hiccup saw Toothless open his powerful, toothless maw before the Viking’s trusting eyes. A single ray of light glistened against the red ridges of the dragon’s palette and slimy forked tongue, granting Hiccup a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his presumably short life, but only for a split second before the gaping gullet suddenly rushed toward him, plunging his face into a world of slick, hot darkness, thick with the stench of recently devoured fish.

“Toothless!! What are you doing!!? Stop- *blech*!! Ugh!!”

*GULP*

The deep sound thumped in his ears along with a chorus of squelches and crackles as he felt the dragon’s throat contract around him, grabbing him and pulling him inside with a forceful tug.

This can’t be happening!! This cannot be happening!! Toothless couldn’t really be- he wouldn’t actually-

*GULP*

“TOOTHLESS!! NO!! SPIT ME OUT!! PLEASE!!”

Hiccup tried to struggle, but his arms were already pinned to his sides by the walls of the dragon’s powerful throat; it gave him no room to maneuver and nothing but impossibly slick, stretchy muscle to push against. In an instant he realized there was no chance he could get himself out of this. And of course he couldn’t! He was halfway down the gullet of a dragon! A Viking was so far gone at that point that they didn’t even bother warning about it in dragon training.

*GULP*

Another swallow brought him in past his waist and Hiccup felt his face forced through a noticeably tighter ring of muscle. He tried to inhale and immediately gagged. The stench was unbearable, like a year’s worth of rotting fish that had been left out in the sun. And the heat was on a whole other level, bringing tears to his eyes even though they were closed.

This had to be the dragon’s stomach, he was deathly certain. Yet at the same time he still couldn’t believe it. Was he already arriving at his end? So soon? Just a second ago he had been completely outside. He could still feel his feet, kicking frantically in vain, surrounded by the cold night air, yet everything else was now enveloped in a living casket of slimy, squelching muscle. And even more than the abruptness of his journey, he still couldn’t believe that it was Toothless who was swallowing him down. Even if the dragon had concluded that there was no way he could save Hiccup from being eaten, Hiccup still couldn’t accept that Toothless would’ve taken that as an excuse to do it himself.

*GULP*

Well, it was hard to argue with that.

Another unforgiving shove from the dragon’s throat drove him solidly into the squishy embrace of the stomach walls. He felt a shallow pool of sweltering goop cover his chin and the top of his chest. It was tight, dark, foul and feted and Hiccup did not want to be stuck in there. He could still feel his feet sticking out from the entrance of the Night Fury’s maw. Forcing himself to breathe, he made one last desperate plea, unsure if his friend could even hear him.

“Toothless! Please! Don’t do it, bud! Don’t eat me! I’m not your food!”

*GULP*

Toothless felt the last bit of his rider slip over the back of his tongue. The poor human, now a thrashing bulge in his throat, slid down his neck with unnerving ease and eventually came to rest as a wriggling ball tucked tightly inside his now lightly distended belly. He had heard everything, every frightened cry and panicked plea, but he had done it anyway, he had swallowed his Hiccup, he had to, it was the only way.

The other dragons looked at him with surprised and skeptical expressions. The Night Fury had made such a fuss of protecting that human… just so he could eat it himself? It seemed strange and irrational, but one by one they each realized that they had empty bellies and there were more humans to be had, and that human was in another dragon’s belly now, so there wasn’t much to be done about it anyhow.

One by one, each of the previously hostile dragons turned and flapped off back into the burning night, in search of a human prey of their own. He watched them go, trying his best to look stern and collected, but in truth he found himself greatly distracted by the wriggling rider in his belly. All that violent motion was bad enough, but knowing that it was poor Hiccup suffering in there made it even worse.

As he watched the last dragon leave, he felt all that squirming push some of the gasses in his gut back up into his throat, and before he could stop it he suddenly-

*BUURRAP*

“Seriously!? Did you really just burp like I was some glorious feast!? Let me out!!” Hiccup kicked the stomach wall as hard as he could.

Toothless grunted in distress and surprise and immediately clenched his belly muscles in retaliation. Hiccup felt the already limited space suddenly grow unimaginably tight, the fleshy walls forcing their way into every nook and cranny and forcing his limbs in tight against his torso. He shouted something in distress, but the overbearing walls muffled his protest. A few moments later, the walls receded, to his immense relief, and he let his limbs unfold limply as far as they could go.

“Please don’t do that again,” he wheezed, “If you’re going to make me a snack just end it already.”

Toothless ducked his head underneath his chest and gave a remorseful, apologetic whine in the direction of his belly. The little Viking didn’t respond. Poor Hiccup, the Night Fury should have known better than to brandish his strength against his poor, helpless rider, especially given his current predicament. And he wasn’t trying to make the little Viking into a snack. But how was Hiccup supposed to know that?

Toothless tightened his belly muscles again, gently this time, in an attempt to be reassuring. But he knew there was only one thing that could reassure his friend now, getting the little Viking out of his stomach as fast as possible.

A serious expression came over the Night Fury’s face to replace his sympathetic one. He considered the details of his mission. He had to let Hiccup out quick, but he couldn’t just spit him out there, not with all the other dragons around on the hunt. No, he had to do it somewhere safe.

One place instantly came to mind.

Hiccup felt his surroundings suddenly lurch and then begin to shake, rhythmically, back and forth. He could hear Toothless’s footsteps as he ran, carelessly shaking him around inside the stomach while the foul-smelling goop splashed over his curled-up body. Hiccup instinctively reached out as best he could, groping at the slimy walls for something to hold, anything solid. He realized he could vaguely feel the rest of the Night Fury’s insides: his organs above, his ribs below. And then there was something else, little solid bits, things that were stewing inside the dragon’s belly with him: the remaining bones of the many fish Hiccup had so kindly fed to his friend over the last couple days. Had he really never thought that he might find himself joining them?

I guess this is it. I doubt anyone will be surprised that the runt of the village wound up as dragon chow. Not that they’ll ever find out. At least I-

“Ow!!” Hiccup exclaimed, feeling something hard knock against his legs and force them uncomfortably into his chest. Along with the rush of inertia, Hiccup reasoned that the dragon had just landed a sizable leap and bumped his belly into the ground.

“Come on! Can’t you at least watch where you’re going!?” he complained, not sure what he really expected. After all the dragon had already eaten him, it obviously didn’t really matter what else happened to him now that he was packed into the Night Fury’s stomach.

To his surprise, he heard a sharp, apologetic tone vibrate in his ears. That was the second time Toothless had done that.

“Are you really trying to apologize?” Hiccup asked. “You do realize you just ate me, right? I’m going to die in here. If you were worried about hurting me you should have thought of that before.”

Toothless, still running, gave a curt, snappy tone, obviously objecting to Hiccup’s statement as if he disagreed with it. Hiccup found himself at a loss for words, not sure how Toothless could manage to deny something so obvious.

The dragon’s belly lurched a few more times as the Night Fury continued to run and jump.

“Where are you even going anyway? Off to find some cozy spot away from the village to sleep off your dinner?”

Toothless objected again, louder this time, and flexed his belly just slightly, clearly unhappy with the way Hiccup was talking.

“Don’t get snappy with me just cause you’re feeling guilty!”

Toothless snorted and rolled his eyes, though Hiccup couldn’t see. For a smart Viking, he was sure acting pretty stupid. Imagine if Toothless had decided he wanted to hurt him, there was a lot more he could do to a mouthy little Viking already trapped in his belly. Yet there he was doing his best to try and keep his passenger unharmed.

Suddenly Hiccup heard a loud thud, the dragon’s belly jiggled violently, and then everything was still. Toothless had stopped running.

Well at least that’s over. Maybe now he’ll settle down and I can digest in peace. Geeze, I hope he doesn’t lay on me.

An unexpected squeeze from the stomach walls pressed against his head, coating his mouth with a fresh layer of slime before flowing down the rest of his body.

“*Blech*! *Ptewy*!” Hiccup spat.

Before he had time to do much else, it happened again. And then a third time, even faster.

Thor’s hammer; this is it. Toothless is starting to digest me.

He could feel the slippery folds of muscle slide against him as they kneaded his soft body, pushing him around the stomach and forcing him against the walls, again and again, faster, harder. He started to hear a sound, a wet, squelching, sickening noise coming from all around him. The stomach was churning. He braced himself as best he could…

Wait, that sound… Hiccup thought. He recognized it- from the day he had first approached Toothless! He did his best to feel around and realized that the dragon’s guts weren’t the only thing moving, he was moving too. He felt his surroundings begin to change, growing tighter, firmer, and he felt himself begin to slide in earnest. The sound grew louder, more forceful. He felt himself pushed further and further with every contraction.

Hiccup didn’t know what to think. He didn’t dare think. He almost didn’t even dare to hope. But it really did seem like…

The young Viking’s attention suddenly went to his foot. He couldn’t feel any pressure against his boot. He wiggled it around. He could feel some space! Another sickening squelch and he could feel the same with his other foot, then all of his lower legs. Hiccup felt hope spring up in his chest, despite his pessimism. The squishing and squeezing continued, until by chance Hiccup happened to lower his leg and finally felt it. He pushed a bit with his boot, just to be sure.

Ground. Solid ground.

Given some real air to breathe and maybe a bit more space, Hiccup might have laughed, he might have cheered, he might have cried! Instead he just grinned wide, shuttering from overwhelming relief. He felt his knees reach the Earth, and he felt Toothless’s gums supporting his torso as his fingers just barely kissed the cold northern air.

Just as he was starting to relish in this unmistakable promise of freedom, he felt one enormous, forceful retch slam over his body and he was abruptly ejected, falling backwards over himself to land with a thud on his back.

Hiccup felt the cold Berkian night against his face and gasped. Gulping down the fresh air like a feasting Viking, he let his limbs sprawl out and slowly opened his eyes. The stars twinkled down to greet him, distorted by the steam rising from his hot, wet body.

He could have laid there for hours, probably far longer than the chilling night would safely allow, but after just a few moments, he saw a large, black snout intrude into his field of view, and then felt the unmistakable sensation of a slimy tongue wash across his face.

“*Blech*! Toothless!!” he yelled, pushing him away and then running his hands over his face, only to realize that his hands were just as slimy.

The Night Fury stuck his head back over the splayed out Viking and looked down with a concerned expression.

“You!…” Hiccup began to say angrily. “You…” he sat up slowly and looked around. “You brought us back to the cove…” The rocky walls towered around them, the pond gently rippled nearby. Toothless knew he couldn’t leave here without his tail- without Hiccup.

“…You never were going to eat me… were you?” he asked.

Toothless just extended his neck, stuck out his tongue and ran its slick surface affectionately over Hiccup’s face once more.

“Ah! Come on bud, didn’t you already get me slimy enough!?” he said with a slight chuckle. He instinctively wiped a sleeve over his face only to realize yet again that it was pointless.

“You wanted to get me out of there,” he pieced together. “You had to trick those other dragons.”

Toothless stood tall and gave a quiet, prideful tone.

“You saved me…”

A distant boom- a crash, maybe an explosion- rumbled in Hiccup’s ears and he turned to look in the direction of the village.

“Now we just have to save everyone else…”

Originally Published: 28-Jan-2020