[00:01.22] Chapter 8.
[00:03.10] Freak of nature.
[00:05.54] Nemo set off at full speed towards the north,
[00:10.10] and we found ourselves in the Atlantic Ocean off the South Americas.
[00:16.16] Ned sat by the chest of Spanish doubloons.
[00:22.60] He loved looking into their golden glow.
[00:27.26] It was one of the few pleasures he had aboard the Nautilus,
[00:33.69] but he never took even one coin.
[00:39.72] Ned Land was as honest as he was brave.
[00:47.04] But Nemo would not have cared if Ned had taken any.
[00:52.64] He said there was plenty more gold in the sea where that had come from.
[01:00.22] Concealed had covered the desk with maps of the world,
[01:06.38] trying to work out where the nautilus was heading.
[01:11.99] Was Nemo sailing the seas without a plan,
[01:16.62] or was he searching for something or someone?
[01:22.47] He seemed to want revenge.
[01:29.98] I was now used to the wonders I saw every day,
[01:35.19] and I didn't think there was anything left in the sea to shock me.
[01:41.34] But I was wrong.
[01:44.85] The oceans had a terrible surprise in store for us.
[01:53.00] I was making notes on what I saw through the window,
[01:58.54] when a fantastic monster swam before my eyes.
[02:05.45] It was a giant squid, close to 8 meters long.
[02:15.14] It swam with the nautilus, staring in through the window with bright green eyes.
[02:23.76] Its tentacles lashed furiously, and its mouth was like a parrot's beak,
[02:31.98] snapping open and shut.
[02:36.96] A horny tongue and several rows of pointed teeth darted in and out of the beak.
[02:46.81] It was a bird's beak on a sea creature.
[02:52.86] What a freak of nature.
[03:00.47] My hand was shaking, but I picked up a pencil and began to draw the monster for my records.
[03:11.74] As I drew, several more swam up to the window and gnashed their beaks against the glass.
[03:22.37] A sudden shock went through the nautilus and brought it to a sharp stop.
[03:29.93] As I looked up from my drawing, Captain Nemo came into the saloon.
[03:38.52] They're a scary bunch, I said, nodding at the creatures.
[03:45.52] Yes, they are, Mr. Naturalist, he replied, and we've got to get out there and fight them.
[03:58.65] Out there?
[04:01.84] Concealed repeated, alarmed.
[04:06.29] What a nightmare.
[04:10.68] What's happened?
[04:14.14] Our propeller has stopped.
[04:17.79] The horny jaws of that first squid are caught in it, Nemo explained.
[04:28.55] We've got to get the nautilus to the surface and take them out with hatchets.
[04:35.70] And a harpoon, Ned said.
[04:40.12] No giant squid is going to get Ned land without a fight.
[04:48.37] I'll help, Concealed said.
[04:52.30] He turned to me and whispered under his breath,
[04:58.61] On deck, I might see a landmark to help me work out where we are.
[05:08.06] I said I would help too.
[05:11.88] I was learning to conquer my fears, and had grown used to facing danger with my friends.
[05:21.28] We followed the captain to the main stairs, where 10 of the crew were ready with hatchets.
[05:31.54] Ned grabbed a harpoon.
[05:35.75] Concealed and I took a hatchet each.
[05:41.87] The nautilus rose to the surface, and one of the sailors unscrewed the bolts of the main hatch.
[05:52.15] But before he could open it fully, the cover was ripped from his hands by a giant tentacle.
[06:03.83] Another tentacle slid down the opening like a serpent, and there were at least another 20 waving about above.
[06:16.19] With one blow of his axe, Captain Nemo cut the first tentacle off, and it slithered down the ladder.
[06:28.33] As we all pushed forward to reach the deck, another tentacle snatched at the leading sailor.
[06:37.55] It tore him from the ladder and dragged him out of the nautilus.
[06:44.36] Captain Nemo rushed out, and we hurried after him.
[06:51.15] The sailor danced in the air at the end of the tentacle.
[06:57.16] He screamed in fear.
[07:01.86] Captain Nemo ran at the squid and cut off another tentacle.
[07:09.30] Several other monsters crept up the sides of the nautilus.
[07:15.38] The crew swung their axes in rage and desperation.
[07:21.88] Ned, Concealed and I joined in, hacking wildly.
[07:31.31] The first squid had only one tentacle left, waving the sailor in the air like a feather.
[07:41.22] But just as Captain Nemo ran forward again, the monster squirted a stream of black liquid and blinded us all.
[07:54.28] When the black cloud cleared away, the giant squid had gone, taking the sailor with it.
[08:03.60] Then 10 more monstrous creatures charged at the nautilus.
[08:10.56] Mad with horror and rage, we hacked into the mass of slimy tentacles.
[08:19.94] Ned struck his harpoon into the staring eyes of a giant squid, but a tentacle whipped around his feet and knocked him down.
[08:33.56] I rushed to help him, but Captain Nemo was faster.
[08:39.10] He thrust his axe between the squid's enormous jaws, stopping it in its tracks.
[08:49.10] Now you owe me again, Ned land, Nemo laughed.
[08:57.72] Ned was furious to be once again in Nemo's debt, and he grabbed his harpoon.
[09:07.39] But Nemo laughed even louder, as though he wanted Ned to run him through.
[09:17.51] White faced, Ned controlled his anger and turned his harpoon back on the squid.
[09:26.86] After quarter of an hour's desperate fighting, the monsters slipped down under the waves.
[09:40.36] Captain Nemo, exhausted and covered with blood, stared out at the sea that had swallowed up one of his friends.
[09:53.19] Tears came into his eyes.
[09:57.83] He would not speak to any of us and went below to his cabin.
[10:04.61] There he stayed for several days.
[10:10.80] The nautilus drifted, waiting for orders from its captain, floating on the waves like a dead body.