13 Meanwhile, Under the Floorboards

13. MEANWHILE, UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS… How did Camicazi and Hiccup escape from the box and the rope? Well, it wasn't quite the miracle that the watching Dragonmarkers and Alvinsmen thought it was. Let us go back to earlier on, under the floorboards of the floating city, where a terrified Hiccup had whispered 'Plan B! Plan B!' down to Fishlegs and slammed down the hatch, leaving Fishlegs sitting on the upturned hull of a boat in the darkness with six dragons: the Deadly Shadow, Stormfly, the Hogfly, Windwalker, the Hurricane and Wodensfang. 'Oh, for Thor's sake,' moaned Fishlegs. 'Plan B! Plan B means that the Lost Things aren't there!' The ears of the Wodensfang were bright purple and quivering as if electric currents were running through them, which was always a sign that terrible peril was near. 'I told Hiccup,' wheezed Wodensfang, 'I've seen the Lost Things in my dreams. They're underwater somewhere. But I admire Hiccup's courage in trusting Snotlout. It's just a shame…'

Fishlegs swallowed and finished the sentence for him. 'It's just a shame that Snotlout has betrayed him again?' As if to confirm this, Snotlout's Hurricane dragon took off from the submerged boat and flew off. 'Where's he going?' asked Fishlegs. And then he answered his own question. 'He must be joining his treacherous master. 'This is fine,' said Fishlegs to himself. 'I'm on my own here, but it's fine.' He was trying not to panic. His asthma often got worse in times of stress. Luckily Deadly Shadows give off a calming hormone in their smoke when they are in an action situation, and breathing in the milky clouds of steam drifting out of the three heads of the gentle giant beneath him gave Fishlegs the strength to remain calm and to focus. Fishlegs pushed his broken glasses more firmly on to his nose. He did not want to look like a coward in front of his mother's dragon. If his mother could be brave, then so could he. 'OK,' said Fishlegs, making himself think reasonably, 'according to Plan B, we now have to surreptitiously rescue Hiccup. But how do we rescue

him if we have no idea where he is?' Two hundred yards away, a hatch opened in the long platform of the ceiling above them, letting a brilliant shaft of light down into the dark sea. The sound of the shouting and the stamping of feet became so loud, Fishlegs shrank behind the Deadly Shadow's back spines, for fear they had been discovered. 'HIC-CUP! HIC-CUP! HIC-CUP!' And then the witch's voice, clear and loud: 'LOWER HIM THROUGH THE TRAPDOOR!' Something was dumped through the trapdoor and into the sea. With horror, Fishlegs recognised Hiccup's helmet. 'O… K…' said Fishlegs. 'There he is… That's Hiccup… let's rescue him…' Windwalker had left Fishlegs's side before Fishlegs had even finished speaking, flying towards the spot where Hiccup had been dumped. In two flaps of his wings, Fishlegs could see from the bubbles that Windwalker had reached Hiccup underwater, closely followed by Wodensfang, Stormfly and the Hogfly. Fishlegs hovered near the spot on the back of the Deadly Shadow. 'Get him up! What are you guys doing?' he whispered desperately from the shadows. 'Why aren't

you getting him out of there? There are Winterfleshers down there and everything…' He could see the quick black silhouettes of the heavily-fanged Winterfleshers being chased hither and thither underwater by the hunting dragons. The Alvinsmen pulled on the chain again. It drew taut, and UP the blue dripping figure of Hiccup was hauled, and Fishlegs watched, open-mouthed. SPLASH! Up rocketed Wodensfang, out of the water. 'Why didn't you rescue him?' whispered an agitated Fishlegs. 'He didn't want us to,' replied Wodensfang. 'He kept on pointing up towards the Great Hall. I think he doesn't want us to rescue him until he can get Camicazi out too.' 'Oh thank Thor,' breathed Fishlegs. 'So Camicazi is alive?' 'We're just trying to keep him warm and alive,' continued Wodensfang, 'and scare away the Winterfleshers. Windwalker is blowing air into him so he doesn't drown.*' SPLASH! Down Hiccup was thrown again, and Fishlegs could see the large shadow of the Windwalker flying*

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underwater like a giant ray, sending the little dark slivers of the Winterfleshers shooting off in all directions in alarm. Again and again, Hiccup was hauled back up through the trapdoor, again and again he was thrown into the sea– and each time he was left underwater for longer and longer. 'Oh what shall I do?' Fishlegs whimpered to himself, 'This can't be good for him… Plan B was always over-ambitious… How on earth is Hiccup going to rescue Camicazi when he's all tied up in chains and everything?' Fishlegs's question was answered when SPLASH! The large box crashed into the water, and this time Windwalker attacked the box, and to Fishlegs's passionate relief, Camicazi came gasping to the surface. He