A World of Another Kind

Chapter 37 The Holy Grail

     "What on Earth!" Regina exclaimed. "What is that thing?"

     "Some kind of sea monster!" Lancelot hollered fearfully, taking out his sword.

     "Bloody hell!" Hook exclaimed. "Stand back, Mates! This is not a friend!"

     "What is it?" David hollered.

     "It appears to be some oversized squid or octopus," Neal hollered back.

     I turned to Aubrey, and she read my thoughts. We knew exactly what this sea monster was.

     "That's the most feared creature of the sea, the kraken," Hook hollered out to all of us, taking out his sword as well. "This is going to be a messy fight. I've dealt with this monster before."

     "No one's going to be fish food today!" Regina yelled, appearing a fireball in her hand. She then threw it at the kraken, causing it to shriek and reel back. Then it angerly slapped its tentacle onto the ship's side, causing all of us to be knocked down. After David jumped to his feet and thrashed at the monster with his sword, suddenly, one of the monster's tentacles wrapped around him and lifted him up into the air toward its gaping mouth. It squeezed him so hard that he passed out.

     Lancelot came to David's rescue and cut through the tentacle that held him. As he was dropping from it, Regina used her magic to prevent him from falling into the sea, and she moved him onto the ship. Once he was safe on deck, she shot magic at the monster, and then Neal hurled his sword into the kraken's eye. It shrieked and finally disappeared under the waves.

     Soon, the storm died down, and I thanked God we were safe. We all hovered over David who was still unconscious, and Hook gently shook him. "Mate, come on," he urged. "Wake up." And to our relief, David slowly opened his eyes.

     "Well, I must say, I was so certain I was fish food," David said with an amused grin, sitting up.

     "You had us worried there, Mate," Hook said, helping him up.

     "I would have been dinner if it weren't for you all; thank you," David said, nodding gratefully.

     We all hugged him.

     "Thank goodness this dreadful storm is nearly over," said Regina. "I was so sure we would not make it out in one piece."

     "I've dealt with many storms like this one, being out at sea all the time," Hook said. "Many pirates aren't so fortunate when facing the kraken."

     "And yet you are still fond of the life out at sea," Lancelot said.

     "Aye," Hook responded. "That's the pirate's life for me, a life full of dangers, action, and adventures."

     "Do you still have the map?" Regina suddenly blurted out.

     Hook pulled out a soaked map from his pocket.

     "Great, that's just perfect," Regina said sarcastically. "Our map is completely soaked," she added with a sigh.

     "That's no problem, Love," returned Hook. "I have great memorization skills, so I still remember where we need to head."

     "Let's just hope you do," Regina grumbled, "because I certainly don't want to turn around after getting so far."

     By the next day, we finally reached the island. "Here we are, the Island of Antillia," said Hook as we stepped onto the sandy shore. I stared at the tropical-looking forest ahead of us.

     "We have to be aware of any unseen dangers," warned Lancelot. "Any savage animal can be lurking midst the forest."

     "That's why we have weapons," Hook said.