No sound nothing, almost like before birth, before realization of life itself. In seconds I felt the pressure condense on my back and in an intense pain as I hit the rocky shore.
My vision blurred by the blinding life giver. My ears are filled with screeches, squeals and other peculiar unheard sounds.
I find my self surrounded by large oval shaped rocks and lakes seething with life of all forms.
beyond this rock filled world I see the familiar blue from which I belong.
The life giver attacks me with such wrath that the cooling water sizzles from my body, cooking me as if for a treat for some larger being. I scurry for shade under a near by rock. Under the shade I could feel a cooling breeze sweep over me. As I crawl further and further under the rock I find myself being slowly in a known feeling, the chilled waters make me feel like I am home.
Out of exhaustion I collapse and stay unable to move for for what feels like a life time. I let the water wash over me, becoming part of the landscape devolving to a rock.
Until instinct wafts a smell so enticing, so magnificent that my claws move automatically, searching for a taste of heaven.
Dodging between looming boulders, sniffing around as my blood hound instinct kicks in.
I front of me I find this large succulent piece of meat. I begin to feast recognizing the texture and taste as algae and salmon.
My stomach satisfied with all my nutrients rein-burst my body begins to strengthen bursting energy in me outward a feeling of a fight still within me.
I crawled from rock to rock looking for my next meal. Diving in and out of pools fighting off others for meals and shelter feeling invincible in a world where I am king.
As the life giver to swelter slowly ******* all the surrounding watering holes dry. I look for shelter under a rock near the cliffs at the end of this world.
I lay there, peaceful undisturbed almost sinking into my dreams.
All at once the rocks begin to shake rippling the water around me. the large rock I lay under begin to levitate and then lands a distance away.
Shocked and scared, pleading with the life giver and the familiar blue that the worst is over, but I know I cursed myself as soon as I thought that I ruled this world.
Standing a hundred thousand times taller than I, was a horrifying, mysterious beast that surly owned these parts.
This beast lent down and picked me up with its disproportionately small tentacles. It holds me up to its odd fleshy face and I think please let my death be quick, but instead it just stares at me inspecting me, rubbing my shell as if to polish me as some prize. It starts rumbling creating large vibrations down my body like it was trying to converse with me.
As a last and futile attempt, I strike at its flesh but its soft flesh is impervious to my hardest crunch. Having crushed snails shells with less, I realize I am doomed to what ever fate this unusual demon has in-store.
It brings me across the entire land in seconds like a flying beasts I have admired from above, This one used two long tentacles to jump from rock to rock.
It brings me over to a gathering of its species but to my horror the one holding me was the smallest of this gathering. It holds me up to its companions like an offering, they investigate me, rubbing me again but this time almost taunting me to snap at them, I try and fail.
They begin rumbling like earthquakes.
This is the end but again spares me for now and places me in a lake with a small amount of algae to eat. I stay there as I can see it watching me from a distance. Is it trying to fatten me before it eats me?
Am I part of some sort of cruel sport? Or a horrible experiment?
I stay there as this thing occasionally takes me out and focused its sights on me and vibrates waves from air from a hole in his face, then places me back in the water.
It starts bring other creatures back, other ***** like it was collecting us. We stay there too terrified to speak to one another, too baffled to know what we could say. Eventually it begins to take the other ***** out I cannot see where he puts them or more petrifying what he does with them.
I am left alone in this lake but I can still hear them in the distance pulsating the ground and water. Until silence, I can no longer see the shadowing figures, feel the shaking. All I can hear is the familiar blue whispering to me "you are safe".
I crawl out of the lake slowly to find my rock land being eaten by my friend the familiar blue and I understand its call, it is coming for me.
As it comes closer I too walk forward meeting it and as A wave crashes over me, sweeping me from the solid ground and tossing me into its warming body.
I think to myself, I am free.
This is actually a short story I did a few years ago.
I got the idea from going "crabbing" with a friends 10 year old child. All i could think about was how freaked out that crab must have been even though the child just thought he was making friends.
© Claire A. Jacobs. All rights reserved.