14 Aaa-Choooo!

14. AM-CHood! The vehicle was moving up the Pirate Cruncher's tongue. Jim's mom was checking the ropes and chains to be sure they would all hold together when they landed in the sea. Jim thought he could hear the monster sniffling, even with the parrots secured in the cage. He was waiting on the back of the car-boat, ready to set them free. When his mom climbed in and gave the all clear, he turned the key in the padlock.

"Hold tight, boys!" Jim shouted, jumping into the passenger seat and quickly fastening his seatbelt as the parrots swarmed into the upper reaches of the monster's cavernous mouth. The parrots soon had an effect. There were great rumbles all around, a deep gurgling from down in the Cruncher's throat, and its colossal tongue began to shake and slide. The car-boat and rafts were thrown from side to side,

and everyone held on tight as the parrots futtered above their heads. The Cruncher took a deep breath, and a gust of warm air hit them like a hurricane, hurling seaweed, bones, and debris all around. Before it caught its breath, the beast inhaled again. Sitting in the front of the vehicle felt like riding a roller coaster, thought Jim, as the tongue puckered up into the roof of the Cruncher's mouth. He grabbed hold of the dashboard as another gust of sea air blasted past them. He heard the shouts of the old pirates, who were clinging to their rafts as they swung above the Cruncher's gaping throat. And then...

AAAA... AAAAAAA... AAA-CHOOOOOO! They flew through the air, landing in the sea with an almighty splash, the rafts strung out behind it. Some pirates lost their grip and fell into the sea but were thrown life belts by their mates and dragged alongside as Jim's mom floored the vehicle's accelerator. One rickety pirate was standing on a plank of wood, gripping a length of rope and screaming as he surfed along behind the rearmost raft.

Fortunately for him, the Pirate Cruncher was still dazed and sniffling, rubbing its nostrils with a tattered sail gripped in its tentacle. With a happy flap of his wings, Squawk appeared from nowhere and perched himself on Grandpa's hat. "Eh? What!?" said Grandpa, suddenly waking and sitting bolt upright on the backseat. "Five gobstoppers and a packet of... Oh. Um. Where's the cursed beast? Where's it gone? Where's me leg?" "The beast is behind ye, Grandpa!" Jim answered. "And yer leg's on the seat."

Grandpa pulled out his telescope and looked over the stern. The Pirate Cruncher had recovered. It raised itself from the sea, teeth glinting in the sun and tentacles swirling in the air all around. Its eyes narrowed, and a wave formed across its stomach as it hurtled their way. The pirates had spotted the Pirate Cruncher too and began firing the cannons at it. Most of the shots sploshed into the sea, but the cannonballs that hit the beast bounced harmlessly off its thick, barnacle-encrusted skin.