51 Chapter 51 Off the planet at last! (2/2)

Heading back up the tunnel, he reached the other worm tunnel that they had first followed.The giant worm was long gone, having continued digging in search of food.He turned back towards the monster's lair, and hoped that getting out would be this easy the whole time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't.The giant serpent was waiting for them, poised to strike as they waited just inside the tunnel.It must have heard them coming, somehow.

The shuttle didn't have any weapons, and really could only handle one speed.He was going to have to use his brain to get out of this problem.Maybe that would be enough.

Moving forward, he got the serpent to strike at them, and managed to move back far enough into the tunnel that it couldn't hit them.He watched carefully, and saw that the serpent left enough of a gap between its jaws when it hit the wall, that the shuttle could squeeze through.Taking a breath, he eased forward again.But this time, when it went to strike, he jerked the controls forward, slipping out of the way.

This seemed to infuriate the serpent and it went crazy trying to snap at him.

Olivia made a noise that was halfway between a squeak and a strangled cry, but he ignored her.Now that he was out, it was a matter of staying ahead of the thing, and he knew that it was faster than his shuttle.He intentionally flew close to rocky outcroppings to slow it down as he dived into the water.It didn't like this any better, hitting a lot of them, and losing a few scales in the process.

Once under the water, he retraced his route to the outside.Every time the serpent went to bite, he would change direction, but it was too crafty to be tied in a knot like in the old cartoons.Dustin was a little disappointed in that.

A thick curtain of plants, growing at the bottom of the chasm, made an excellent hiding spot, while he tried to evade it on his way to the waterfalls at the end of the chasm where he had entered.

Flying towards the white froth of water bubbles that he knew had some rocks hiding in them, from the last time he flew through this area, he steered just above them, missing by inches.That was actually closer than he had intended.It turned out to be an excellent move, however, as the serpent had grown desperate with the fear of losing him.It lunged with all of its strength at it, as the shuttle entered the bubbles, and ended up crashing right into the rocks.The bubbles became tinged with the color of its blood, and Dustin immediately steered them straight out of the water, climbing above the edges of the cliffs, and up into the sky.

He had turned off all of the lights before leaving the bottom of the chasm, so as not to notify any scouts who may be watching for them.And since it was currently dark, he was able to squeeze by undetected.

As Olivia cheered, he had all of the air tanks recycled and filled with breathable air before they climbed too high.Then they both put on the rebreathers that she had found in the bench storage.

It was time to get off this planet once and for all.He was quite pleased to say he wouldn't miss it at all.