12-第七章：只有拥有国王遗失之物的人才能登上明日岛并活下去

小嗝嗝不知道在他头顶上空发生了什么。那些准备攻击他的龙在互相猛烈打斗，闪电、飞镖和火焰在他那艘逐渐沉没的船周围倾泻而下，他拿着那折断了的桨拼命地向白色的海滩划去。
快到了，快到了，快到了。
离岸还不到二十码的时候，船完全沉了。他只能用一只胳膊游完最后这段距离，因为他的左臂已经肿胀麻木到几乎动弹不得了。雷神啊，这水真冷。小嗝嗝差点被冻晕了。
而他在这段旅程的最后一百英尺中差点淹死，这本来是挺讽刺。
明日岛西边是一片广阔的海洋，一直延伸到西边很远的地方，一直到不存在的美洲（当然，或者从世界的边缘掉下去，这要看你怎么想了）。
岸边的海浪非常大，在这大风的冬日里猛烈地袭来。
在小嗝嗝往岸边游去时，一个巨大的波浪吞没了他，他在海中翻腾了许久，肺部因缺氧而痛苦难忍。在海浪的折磨下，他最终到达了海滩，随着海水的退去，他摇摇晃晃地站了起来，喘着粗气，干呕着，一瘸一拐地在冰冷的海水中涉水而行，然后瘫倒在沙滩上，筋疲力尽，颤抖着，像一条搁浅了的可怜鱼一样喘着气。但即使在这样全身湿透且麻痹的状态下，他能感到一种厌倦的征服感。

他成功到达了明日岛！尽管他仍然记不起在英雄之尽头岛中醒来之前的大部分人生，但有一种感觉告诉他，为了到达这个地方、这个地点、这个鸟不拉屎、狂风大作的海岸，他已经寻找了很长、很长的一段时间。而如今他就在这里！他成功了！
明日岛。这里还有希望，甚至连这个词本身也有这么一点意思。
小嗝嗝让自己尽情享受这胜利的一刻，之后强迫自己站起来，跌跌撞撞地向前走。他转过头去看了看龙族反叛军们持续不断的骚动。它们可能还会来找他的。他必须离开这里……那条棕色的小龙Wodensfang说过，他必须找到一座废墟城，国王要在那里加冕……
他踉踉跄跄地向前走着，身上伤痕累累，每走一步都很痛苦，但他还是强迫自己往前走。
海滩在他左右延伸了好几英里，而那海滩上有什么东西使他感到很不自在，他那一瘸一拐、蹦蹦跳跳的步态更加不稳了。
也许是因为他脚下的沙子感觉不太结实吧。沙子在颤动，很轻微，很轻微，还在移动，好像沙粒都是活的，像蠕动的小虫子。小嗝嗝惊恐地低头看着地上的沙子，他踉踉跄跄地越走越快，试图爬上沙丘的顶端，离开海滩。发生了一件非常奇怪的事情。

【如果你不介意的话，我想我还是回到你的背包里吧。】飞猪龙紧张地说，一头扎进那个打着鼾的Wodensfang旁边的背包里，半掩上盖子，好让自己只露出眼睛往外瞟。【那沙子有点吓人（龙）……】
那沙子确实有点吓人。
它好像在唱歌。
一首神秘而可怕的歌，仿佛来自另一个世界。
带有威胁的嘶嘶声的歌。
小嗝嗝开始踉踉跄跄地跑，气喘吁吁，哭喊着，就在他快要跑到海滩边上的时候，让他惊恐万分的是……在他面前三码远的地方，一个巨大的人影从一块岩石后面走了出来。
小嗝嗝吓得停了下来。
那人影身材魁梧，戴着兜帽，双臂交叉。他大步走向小嗝嗝，走了一步、两步、三步，把兜帽往后一甩。
他的脸像花岗岩悬崖一样严肃而不屈，还有他的眼睛被蒙住了。
他从腰间抽出一把巨大的斧头，举在小嗝嗝的头顶，就好像他蒙着眼睛也能看见小嗝嗝似的。
“我是明日岛的守护者，”瞎眼斧头手吼道。“我，还有我父亲，我父亲的父亲，我父亲的父亲的父亲，已经守护了这个海岸将近一个世纪以抵御那些不肖之徒。”

“只有拥有国王遗失之物的人才能登上明日岛并活下去！”
“你是谁，竟敢冒着被扔去空中死亡埋葬地的危险登陆我们的海滩？”
小嗝嗝吞了口唾沫。‘空中死亡埋葬地’听起来不太好。
“我想我的名字叫小嗝嗝，”小嗝嗝说。在英雄之尽头岛和明日岛啊之间的海湾里，致命影龙正以最快的速度向海滩飞去，因为现在就连卡米卡琪都有点担心小嗝嗝可能没有计划。“小嗝嗝在跟谁说话？”卡米卡琪喊道。
“那一定是明日岛的一个人类守护者，”鱼脚司说。“在这个岛的海岸上有数百个这样的人。完了，完了，完了……”
“还记得我们昨天看到的那些明日岛的龙族守护者从沙子下面飞出来吗？是不是有一些可怕的说法，比如：‘只有拥有国王遗失之物的人才能登上明日岛并活下去’？影龙，你能再快点吗？”
【这…已经……是…最快…的了...】天真哼了一声。
“你是说你是想当国王的人？”瞎眼斧头手吼道。
“我想是的。”小嗝嗝不确定地说。“是这条棕色小龙告诉我的，它说它叫Wodensfang。我不知道你是否认识他？”

斧头手摇了摇头。
小嗝嗝有点含糊不清，因为他太害怕了。“正是这条棕色的龙让我有理由相信，这个岛上可能有某座城市废墟。你能告诉我怎么走吗？”
瞎眼斧头手面无表情地看着他。他的斧头还举着，这可不是什么好兆头。
“问题是，”那个斧头手说，“岛上已经有一个人通过了测试。当他在一小时内被加冕时，我们这些守护者就可以从九十九年的束缚、九十九年在这岛的监禁中解脱出来。自由！”瞎眼斧头手的声音因强烈的渴望而嘶哑。“从这岛笼中获得自由…自由漫游群岛的海洋和天空，想去哪儿就去哪儿……,我将脱下我的眼罩，第一次看见周围世界的美妙，看见那些从前我只能靠嗅觉和触觉感受到的美丽的东西！”
“太棒了，”小嗝嗝说。
“确实太棒了，”斧头手表示同意。
“我相信这是你应得的，”小嗝嗝说。
“你是个很有礼貌的好孩子，”瞎眼斧头手说。“而礼貌却被低估为国王的一项优良品质。但是，如果岛上已经有了一个国王，就像黑夜和白天一样，那你就不能同时当国王了。”

“给我看看遗失之物，”瞎眼斧头手说。
小嗝嗝又吞了口唾沫。他的牙齿在打战，但究竟是由于寒冷还是恐惧，他不得而知。
“这个，恐怕我现在没有这些遗失之物，”他承认道。“但这条棕色的小龙——就是我跟你说的那只——它告诉我，有一个叫背叛者阿尔文的人从我手上偷走了所有的遗失之物，所以即使他是比我先到这里，事实上我才是合法的国王…...”
那个被蒙着眼睛的人低头盯着小嗝嗝（如果说一个蒙着眼睛的人还能盯着别人的话）,他的斧头还举着。小嗝嗝很不自在地意识到自己一定会变成一个不像国王的人物，就好像他愿意让一只落汤鸡当国王一样——当然，尽管那个被蒙住眼睛的人根本看不见他。
“这么说背叛者阿尔文偷了你的遗失之物？”瞎眼斧头手又说了一遍。
“没错，”小嗝嗝说。这听起来像是一个相当无力的借口，在明日岛荒凉多风的海滩上，头上还举着一把斧头。
“你是合法的国王吗？”瞎眼斧头手问。
“那是Wodensfang说的。”小嗝嗝说。

瞎眼斧头手把他的斧头放回腰间。
小嗝嗝感到如释重负，头晕目眩。
“谢谢你，”他感激地说。“现在，如果你能告诉我去废墟的路——”
“很抱歉，”斧头手遗憾地说。“我真的很抱歉，因为你只是个孩子，而且是个有礼貌的好孩子。”
斧头手举起双臂，像蝙蝠的翅膀一样展开，对着狂风暴雨的天空大喊：“但……
‘只有拥有国王遗失之物的人才能登上明日岛并活下去……’
“来吧，伟大的死亡和黑暗！来吧，一代又一代的伟大明日岛守护者！来吧，龙族守护者，把这个不肖之子带走，让他到空中死亡埋葬地去！”
“不！”卡米卡琪尖叫道，致命影龙正以最快的速度向海滩飞去。
小嗝嗝周围的沙子开始冒泡。
他环视了一下四周，吓坏了。
那片沙……那片先前似乎有生命的沙，现在却涌现出了难以形容的恐怖生物。天知道它们是什么东西，是龙还是怪物，或者是比这两个还要更糟的东西。它们是如此巨大，如此敏捷，如此致命，根本不可能看清它们。它们像某种异族力量一样从沙土中冲出，尖叫着，发出来自另一个世界的复仇之声。它们抓住了那个惊恐不安的尖叫着的小嗝嗝，然后像巨大的、可怕的流星一样飞向空中，把他抬升，抬升，把他溺死在高层大气中。

这里就是空中死亡埋葬地。
“不！！”卡米卡琪、鱼脚司和风行者尖叫道。“不！不！不！”
风行者用爪子蒙住眼睛。
不...不要...
7. ONLY THE ONE WITH THE KING’S LOST THINGS CAN LAND ON TOMORROW AND LIVE 
Hiccup had no idea what was going on in the skies above him. The attacking dragons were fighting among themselves, with such violence that lightning bolts and darts and flames rained down around his sinking boat as he paddled desperately towards the white beach with his broken oar. Nearer, nearer, nearer. When he got within twenty yards, the boat sank entirely, and he had to swim the last bit with only one arm, for the left one was now so swollen and numb he could barely move it. Thor, the water was cold. Hiccup almost passed out from the icy shock of it. And then he nearly drowned in the last hundred feet of his journey, which would have been ironic. The sea to the west of Tomorrow is a great ocean that stretches far to the west until you get to America-the-Land-that-Does-Not-Exist (or you fall off the edge of the world, of course, whatever you happen to believe).

So the waves reaching this coast are gigantic, and come rolling in with great violence on a windy winter’s day like this one. As Hiccup swam in to the beach, a great wave took him, and tumbled him over and over for such a long time that his lungs were bursting for lack of air, before grinding him down on the sand, and as the water retreated, he staggered to his feet, gasping and retching and limping, wading thigh-high through the icy water before collapsing on the sand, exhausted, trembling and gasping for breath like a poor stranded fish. But even in his bedraggled, numb state, he felt a weary sense of conquest. He had made it to Tomorrow! Although he still could not remember much of his life before waking up on Hero’s End, something told him that he had been searching for a long, long time to get to this place, this spot, this wild and windy shore on the edge of nowhere. And he was here! He had made it! Tomorrow. There was something hopeful, even about the word. Hiccup let himself enjoy the triumph of it for one victorious moment, before forcing himself to get up and stumble onward. He looked over his shoulder at the continuing commotion of the Dragon Rebellion

dragons. They might yet come after him. He had to get out of here… The little brown dragon Wodensfang had said he must find a ruined city where the King was going to be crowned… He staggered forward, so bruised and battered that it was painful to make each step, but forcing himself to move nonetheless. The beach stretched out for miles to his left and right, and there was something about that beach that made him feel very uneasy, and lurch even faster in his limping, rollicking gait. Perhaps it was the way that, under his feet, the sand didn’t feel entirely firm. It was shaking, just a tiny, tiny bit, and shifting, as if the very grains of sand were alive, like tiny wriggling worms. Hiccup looked down at the sand in horror, as he shambled faster, and ever faster, trying to get to the top of the dunes and off the beach. There was something very peculiar going on. ‘I think I might just go in your backpack if you don’t mind,’ said the Hogfly nervously, diving into the backpack next to the snoring Wodensfang, and half shutting the lid so that only his eyes were peering out. ‘That sand is a little SPOOKY…

’
The sand was indeed a little spooky. It appeared to be singing. An unearthly, terrifying song, that seemed to come from another world. A song that hissed and hummed with menace. Hiccup broke into a shambling run, panting hard, and crying, and he had nearly made it to the edge of the beach when, to his absolute horror… Three yards in front of him, a colossal figure stepped out from behind a ROCk.
Hiccup stopped dead with shock. The figure was huge, and hooded, and his arms were crossed. He strode towards Hiccup, one, two, three steps, and threw back his hood. His face was as stern and unyielding as a granite cliff, and he was blindfolded. He drew a gigantic axe from his belt, and he held it directly above Hiccup’s head, as if he could actually see Hiccup despite the blindfold. ‘I am a Guardian of Tomorrow,’ roared the blind Axeman. ‘I, and my father, and my father’s father, and my father’s father’s father, have for nearly a century guarded these shores from those who are unworthy. ‘ONLY THE ONE WITH THE KING’S LOST THINGS CAN LAND ON TOMORROW AND LIVE. ‘Who are you who dares to risk Death by Airy Oblivion by landing on our beach?’ Hiccup swallowed. ‘Death by Airy Oblivion’ didn’t sound good. ‘I think my name is Hiccup,’ said Hiccup. Out in the bay between Hero’s End and Tomorrow, the Deadly Shadow was flying as fast as it could towards the beach, for now even Camicazi was a little worried that Hiccup might not have a plan.

‘Who is Hiccup talking to?’ shouted Camicazi. ‘That must be one of the human Guardians of Tomorrow,’ said Fishlegs. ‘There are hundreds of them posted all along the coast of this island. Oh dear oh dear oh dear…
Remember when we saw those Dragon Guardians of Tomorrow ROCKETING out from underneath the sands yesterday? Isn’t there some horrible saying like: “Only the One with the King’s Lost Things Can Land on Tomorrow and Live”? Can you go any faster, Shadow?’ ‘We’re flying… as… fast… as… we… can…’ snorted Innocence. ‘Are you saying you are He-Who-Would-Be-King?’ barked the blind Axeman. ‘I believe so,’ said Hiccup uncertainly. ‘That is what I was told by this small brown dragon who said his name was the Wodensfang, I don’t know if you know him?’ The Axeman shook his head. Hiccup was gabbling slightly, because he was so frightened. ‘That same brown dragon gave me reason to believe that there may be some kind of ruined city on this island. Would you possibly mind showing me the way?’ The blind Axeman looked impassively down at him, with his blank blindfolded face. His axe was still raised, which wasn’t a good sign. ‘The thing is,’ said the Axeman, ‘we already have a man on the island who has passed the Test. And when

he is crowned in an hour’s time, we Guardians will be released from ninety-nine years of bondage, ninety-nine years of imprisonment on this island. Free!’ The blind Axeman’s voice was hoarse with longing. ‘Free from this island cage… free to roam the seas and skies of the Archipelago and wander where we will… And I shall take off my blindfold and see the wonder of the world around me for the very first time, and gasp to see the beauty of the things that I can only smell and touch!’ ‘That’s wonderful,’ said Hiccup. ‘It is wonderful,’ agreed the Axeman. ‘And I’m sure you deserve it,’ said Hiccup. ‘You’re a nice polite boy,’ said the blind Axeman. ‘And politeness is underestimated as a good quality in a King. But if we have a King already on the island, it follows just as night follows day, that you cannot be the King as well. ‘Show me the Things,’ said the blind Axeman. Hiccup swallowed again. His teeth were chattering, but whether from cold or fear, he did not know. ‘Yes, I’m afraid I don’t have any of the Things right now,’ he admitted. ‘But the little brown dragon – the one I was just telling you about – he told me there

was a man called Alvin the Treacherous who stole all these Things from me, so even though he got here first, I am in fact the rightful King…’ The blindfolded man stared down at Hiccup, if a blindfolded man could be said to stare, his axe still raised. Hiccup was uncomfortably aware of what an unlikely, un-King-like figure he must make, as if he were offering a drowned rat to be the King – although, of course, the blindfolded man couldn’t see him anyway. ‘So Alvin the Treacherous stole the Lost Things from you?’ repeated the blind Axeman. ‘That’s right,’ said Hiccup. It sounded a rather feeble excuse, out there on the wild and windy beach of Tomorrow, with an axe being held above your head. ‘And you are the rightful King?’ asked the blind Axeman. ‘That’s what the Wodensfang said,’ said Hiccup. The blind Axeman put his axe back in his swordbelt. Hiccup felt faint with relief.

‘Thank you,’ he said, gratefully. ‘Now if you could just show me the way to the ruined—’ ‘I’m sorry,’ said the Axeman regretfully. ‘Truly sorry, for you are only a boy, and a nice polite boy at that.’ The Axeman lifted his arms up so that they spread out like bats’ wings, and he shouted up to the stormy sky: ‘BUT… ‘Only the One With The Kings Lost Things Can Land on Tomorrow And Live…
’ This didn’t look good. ‘COME GREAT POWERS OF DEATH AND DARKNESS! COME MIGHTY PROTECTORS OF TOMORROW ACROSS THE AGES! COME DRAGON GUARDIANS AND TAKE THIS UNWORTHY BOY AND GIVE HIM DEATH BY AIRY OBLIV-I-I-ION!’ ‘NO!’ screamed Camicazi, as the Deadly Shadow flew as fast as it possibly could towards the beach.

All around Hiccup the sand began to bubble. He looked around himself, appalled. That sand… that sand that earlier had seemed alive, now gave birth to creatures of indescribable horror. Who knows what they were, dragons or monsters or something worse. They were so huge and so swift and so deadly it was impossible to see
them. They burst from the sand like some alien force, shrieking otherworldly vengeance, and they took hold of the screaming, terrified Hiccup, and they shot up into the air like great grim shooting stars, carrying him up, up UP, to drown him in the upper atmosphere.

This was Death by Airy Oblivion. ‘Nooooooo!’ shrieked Camicazi and Fishlegs and Windwalker. ‘No! No! No!’ Windwalker put his paws over his eyes. No… surely not…