Adventures of Crusty Book Two
I
BOOK TWO
THE SEARCH BEGINS
After walking for some time Crusty, the lovable green-brown crab, stopped to rest. He sat with his back against a small rock. A giant ray swam slowly towards him. Crusty risked waving a claw. He was a little nervous of such a large fish. The ray stopped. “Hello,” Crusty said a little shyly.
“Well hello,” replied the ray in a most friendly voice. “You look a little tired. Is there anything I can do for you?“
Crusty cleared his throat. “Well,” he said, already losing his nervousness. “I would like a lift. My legs are very tired. You see I am looking for a new home.”
“What happened to your old one?” asked the ray. “But before we continue let me introduce myself. I am Delta. What do you call yourself?”
“My name is Crusty,” the little crab replied and he told Delta all that had happened at Coral Marine.
Delta listened quietly until he had finished. “Have you any special place in mind?” she asked.
“Oh. No. Anywhere and everywhere,” said Crusty.
“Right. Climb onto my back and hold on. Shout when you want to get off,” Delta told him. As soon as Crusty was settled she took off. Crusty found himself flashing through the water at a speed that made him dizzy. Delta is the best and quickest way of getting around, he thought as she swam with little effort for hour after hour.
Zzzoooommm they seemed to go until Crusty was quite breathless.
They were soon far away from Crusty’s old home.
Ahead of him Crusty saw what might be a place to look for a home. “See that dark mass… Just to the right,” he yelled to make himself heard. “Can you drop me off there?”
Delta nodded and changed direction. She stopped near an outcrop of rocks rising out of the seabed. It was full of holes and caves. “Are you sure you want me to leave you here?” she asked, her voice hinting at her dislike for the place.
“Sure. Sure,” Crusty told her. “It is just the kind of place I’m looking for. I’m sure I’ll find something here I will like. Thank you for being so kind.” He jumped to the ground and almost flipped over onto his back in his excitement.
“If you are sure you are certain….” Delta said as she looked round at the lack of life around the cliff face. “Would you like me to wait while you look around,” she added. “I am not sure this is a good place to stay.”
“No. No,” replied Crusty hurrying across the sandy bottom. “You have done enough for me. I can look after myself you know.” He threw a claw at an imaginary opponent, which spun him round in a circle. “But thank you once again for your help… ‘Bye.” He waved a claw.
Delta couldn’t help smiling but shook her head sadly before waving her long tail. “Goodbye and take care of yourself,” she called after him before swimming away.
Crusty turned to watch her go. He suddenly felt very, very lonely. Shaking his head to get rid of the feeling he turned, anxious to start looking for a new home. “Mmm,” he said out loud. “Not many about are there.” In fact there was no one about. Then with a shrug of his shoulders and whistling a little tune, he started to look into many of the caves and holes. In and out he went. Small ones, large ones. There were so many he could not make up his mind. Finally he chose one that had a small opening. He was thinking what a good choice he had made when something touched his leg.
A TIGHT SQUEEZE
Crusty jumped and turned in a swirl of sand and bubbles. He squinted into the murky water but he could see nothing. The sand he had stirred up hid everything from sight. He stood still, all his senses on full alert. “What’s that?” he almost shouted as a blurred object moved within the gloom. He took a couple of hasty steps backwards.
The water slowly cleared.
Crusty saw a snake-like object inching its way towards him. Staring into the clearing water he could see sucker pads on its underside. He was so afraid he couldn’t move. He blinked his eyes several times. But he was not mistaken. It was a tentacle of a large octopus. He forced himself to move slowly backwards so the water would stay clear. Watching the snake-like arm he was forced to move towards the end of the cave.
As Crusty moved so did the snake-like menace. Centimetre by centimetre the sliding snake-like arm drove him deeper and deeper into the cave. And as Crusty moved backwards the light became fainter and fainter. “Its tentacle must be cutting off the light,” he muttered. “As it moves further in it will cut off even more light as the thicker parts take up more space. I wish I had checked if there was another way out.”
As this thought entered his mind Crusty felt his shell hit the end of the cave. He could go back no further. “Solidifying Seawater,” he groaned and for a moment he almost gave up. Then his fighting spirit surged through his tiny body. “All right you Set of Suckers,” he shouted. “Come any further and see what you’ll get.” He stared into the gloom with his claws poised for battle. “I think it has stopped,” he said with surprise. “Yes. Yes. It has. It can’t come any further. It must be too fat.” He threw a punch at the snake-like arm making sure he was too far away to make contact. “That’s what you can expect if you come any closer,” he cried. He tried to laugh but it turned into a worried gurgle. “Now what am I going to do?” he muttered.
“Follow me,” a voice said close to his ear.
“Howling Halibut,” yelled Crusty almost jumping out of his shell. “Who said that?” He blinked into the darkness at a glowing, flickering light only a short distance from him.
“If you want to avoid ‘him out there’, follow me. It will soon become much lighter. You’ll see. Oh. My name is Twinkle.”
Crusty was in no doubt who ‘him out there’ was. He decided he would follow the flickering light. He knew he could be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire but what else could he do? He tried not to think about it as he hurried to keep up with his guide. Crusty almost cried out when his guide suddenly disappeared. But it was only a momentary nightmare before he stepped out into bright, clear water to find his guide waiting for him.
“It’s quite safe now,” Twinkle told him. “Old Ozzie will be there for hours. I haven’t seen you here before.”
Crusty looked around before replying. “No. I only arrived a short while ago,” he said. “I’m glad you came along when you did. Do you live here?”
“Not likely,” smiled Twinkle. “Very few stay near here… because of Ozzie… as we call him. I am glad I was able to help. Sorry I can’t stay. Perhaps I’ll see you around.”
“Yes. ‘Bye,” called Crusty, watching for a while as Twinkle swam away. “Creaking Timbers. That was another close shave,” he muttered. “This is no place to stay.”
More of Crusty’s adventures can be found in Book Three.
To be added later