Chapter 5. Eeeeeeek!

Eeeeeeek!

Well that was all Erin could come up with. In the circumstances and this being a family adventure, with what met her eyes this was not a bad call!

There before her, dripping brown slime and towering some fifteen feet, was a sea monster, a Kraken.
The tentacles rippled like a Mexican wave. Making the water bubble and a schlooping sound as they drew towards the carriage.

The horses had frozen to the spot. Shear terror in the eyes of all but one, and bloody froth in their mouths from the sudden exertion of the halt. Their heaving bodies steamed in rain. The the ground around them churned by their hooves, and foaming from the sweat the rain had washed away.
Even though she tied the bonnet with a cats cradle knot, it was all she could do to  keep the driving the rain into her eyes. A swirling blast of the icy and salted rain from behind Erin tore it from her grasp and off into the night. It was then that she saw her coachman held captive aloft. One of the beast's tentacles held his body limp like a rag doll, the rain running off the tabby pawed feet.
"Boy that is one big mean sucker,." Erin growled under her breath. "Sure seems a long way from home, can we have travelled that fast that we are on the West coast already? If so my Prince will be within riding distance if I can only get message to him?"
And what of the driver, she mused. Not the talkative sort, but strong and silent it seemed, and true to the cause and his friends that there was no doubt. Being tossed by a squid wasn't her idea of the tip you'd want for saving someones life. There has to be a way out of this, there has to be a way to get help and avenge...

Kraken let a squeal that would have parted your hair and shattered the glass from your pince-nez. Dropping the driver to the ground, it brought its mass to bear on Erin. It's gelatinous head swayed like drunard in the storm, as it edged through the muddy slimy water.

Erin slowly backed up, keeping a hand on the hilt of her cutlass as she scanned for possible ways to exit this scene. The woods to the side of the road seemed her best chance of Escape. The undergrowth was dense and the pines looked like they could pierce even the krakens hide.

"Ye gads, that is one hell of a breath issue you have there ol' squidgy squidy pal! I dare say that Atkins Diet isn't good for you. Have you thought about began vegetarian? about now would be a good point to start. As they say squids never to later to make a change!"

The humour fell on deaf ears as the beast who's eyes, unblinking, now searched into Erin's soul.
This was no siren to entrance her, but nor was it a plate of deep fried fish and nip cheese wedges devoured at will. This was a calamari take away from hell, and she was going to be sushi chop chop if she couldn't think of something fast.

A tentacle each side of her lifted, and, like some exotic dancer, the suckered limbs danced to where she stood.

And then, before she could think much less make a move, a tentacle  from a hither to unseen rut, grabbed her legs. Pulling Erin from her feet, it dragged her to wards it's now gapping mouth, and the black thorn like teeth within.


Gasping and yowling from the force of the the impact, and the pressure applied to her lower body by the tentacle. Circling her from cutlass to boots, and it was all she could do to whimper a prayer. She vowed she would be a better pirate in the next life, or a vet for poor kittens in need.

And then without warning, she flew from the ground. Dangled before the beasts soul searching eyes, she twisted and turned as best she could, but no avail. she felt like a sprat waiting to pass down a birds throat to oblivion.

She swung closer to the orifice. The breath that greeted her was as stale as any ships bilges, making her regret her large breakfast!

Under the pressure of the beast, time seemed to slow. Erin's vision blurred as her heart, and nine lives started to leave her. The end was nigh it seemed. There was no hope, no hope of salvation. No hope of seeing her true love, Valentino, or an embrace and bathing in his floof and sweet aroma.
Sensing its victims defeat, the squid raised the now sodden and limp furred body, and swung one more time.


To be continued...............

Note from the Editor:-

To enjoy the previous chapters of romance and adventure on and off the high seas, for Erin and her beloved Valentine (aka The Dashing Count Prince Von Valentino) please follow the links below.

The first chapter, 'Laugh and Love Like a Pirate' by moi, can be found HERE, 

The second chapter 'The Cursed Mousies' penned by Valentine, can be found HERE.

The third chapter 'Of Stranger Tides and Mice' by moi, can be found HERE.

And Chapter Four 'Aboard the White Floof' penned by Valentine, can be found HERE.

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And now it's Sunday Selfie time......