Chapter 53

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Day: 667

Days Left: 4813

Lives Saved: 3

Enraged, the giant sandwyrm slammed the golden knight against the tunnel wall. Corrina held up her spear just in time to prevent the creature's gnashing teeth from devouring her. Unable to move backwards and trapped at a dead-end, the giant sandwyrm had only one direction it could go: up.

The sandwyrm shoved the golden knight upwards. The ceiling's integrity was now weakened from Pearl's digging, and thus the sandwyrm easily tunnelled through the sand. Daina and Pearl froze as the sandwyrm shot up to the surface in a matter of seconds, leaving a large gap where the light shone through.

Corinna spluttered and shrieked as the giant sandwyrm forced her through the hard layers of earth and sand, her back screaming in pain. Then, finally, she burst through to the surface, and the sandwyrm continued to propel up into the sky, its teeth still attempting to gnash at the golden armour.

Clinging on, his tentacles still wrapped around the sandwyrm's body was Sumit, who regretted the decision immensely, wishing he had let go, but it was too late now. He glanced down at the sheer drop below down to the grey sand, then squirmed and flailed as the sandwyrm began to arch downwards.

Corinna waited until they were closer to the ground, pushed her feet off of the creature and let go of her spear, her weapon remaining stuck in the sandwyrm's gnashing teeth. The golden knight landed on the soft sand with a stumble, not as graceful as she usually was able, then stepped back as the sandwyrm tunnelled back down into the ground.

"Sumit!" The golden knight called out as she saw a flash of an orange and red speckled octopus still latched onto the creature, then disappeared along with the sandwyrm down underground.

Pearl climbed up from the first hole left by the sandwyrm, followed by Daina, who phased through the earth. They reunited with Corinna, glancing around and scared at the absence of both Sumit and the sandwyrm.

"They're both underground again," explained Corinna. "We need to draw the sandwyrm back up." She turned to Daina. "We need to make some noise."

Nodding, the banshee flew a safe distance away from Corinna and Pearl, then let out her signature ear-splitting shriek. The ground beneath her hovering transparent feet rumbled and out shot the giant sandwyrm. It opened its mouth, ready to swallow the origin of the scream whole, but Daina's incorporeal body merely passed through it.

Now back above the surface, Sumit unwrapped his tentacles from the sandwyrm and landed safely on the ground. He waved his eight arms at the others in greeting.

"What now!" Pearl yelled at Corinna.

"Don't let it go under again!" answered Corinna. She looked up at the giant sandwyrm; its long body had shot up into the sky again and swallowing everyone in its large dark shadow. The golden knight charged at the sandwyrm's tail that was still embedded into the ground. She wrapped her arms around and held it still. Sumit and Pearl, confused, joined in with Sumit enveloping the tail with his tentacles and Pearl digging her mole-rat claws into the creature's skin.

After reaching the apex of its jump, the sandwyrm began its descent, about to burrow back down underground, but it couldn't. So instead, it screeched and wriggled its tail, trying to break free from its assailants' restraints.

The octopus, banshee, and giant mole-rat looked at the golden knight, eyes scared and bewildered, not knowing what to do next.

"Daina!" Corinna yelled as she struggled to hold the sandwyrm back, her feet almost slipping on the sand. "Bring it towards us!"

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