Of Sunscreen and Crabs

by George Thomas Matchett
(Interlachen,Florida,United States)

It was upon that fateful day that he first realized it. He had always known, but simply told himself that it couldn't be true. The arcane secrets of the beach would soon be revealed.

Genroe sat upon his bed, eyeing a bottle of sunscreen with contempt.

"Why must this sunscreen torment me so?", Genroe thought.

Sunscreen had always angered him because of it's subtle aroma that lingers for what seems like years on any item it touches. Why the aroma angered him so, not even he knew.

The crabs scuttled about, day after day, while the foolish humanians, as the crabs called them, were none the wiser to their evil plot. No human had any idea why crabs always walked sideways, nor what they were doing. Day by day, the crabs were gathering the necessary ingredients to manufacture a power source beyond all human comprehension.

Noticing a crab acting strangely; Genroe missed the Frisbee that his best friend Xeke had just tossed. The crab was walking as any other creature, not sideways like crabs do. This crustacean crusader was so intent on finding his prize that he hadn't noticed the foolish humans who had taken notice to his odd behavior.

"Do you see that?", asked Genroe.

"What? The crab?", Xeke replied.

"Yep, what's he doing?", Genroe asked.

"How do you know the crab is a male?", wondered Xeke.

The crab jumped as it found what it had been after, a small shiny chunk of metal. It was smooth and looked as though it were an alloy of silver and copper. This chunk of metal was small, but the crab seemed to have trouble carrying it with it's pincers.

Suddenly the crab began to grow in size and began to look almost human. Pincers became almost hands and arms, many legs became but two. The crab man started glowing and his shell crumbled away. Strangely, he was fully clothed.

"We need to leave this place now!", the crab man exclaimed.

"Why?", asked Genroe.

With superhuman strength, the crab man pulled Genroe and Xeke away from the beach and toward the road. Then he let them go. As Xeke looked back, massive purple crabs conquered the horizon.