ADITL: Teacup Crab

This morning started out just great. I got up, poked my eyes out of my little rocky home, and analysed my surroundings. No predators! I was free to run to my friends, to catch up on all of our dreams we had last night. I scurried across the sandy shores of my homelands, across the pebbly hills, all the way to where my friends had called home for the night.

As soon as I got there, I heard a horrific screech that made me jump. I slid back into my shell, hoping this monster would fly away. I felt the shadows of this bird blanket me, but after a few seconds I felt the light again and the shadows didn't return. I felt it was safe, and took a peek out again. It looked as if it had flown away, so I stepped out of my shell. I tapped on my friend's back, several times in fact. The lazy crab still snored like there's no tomorrow, so I ended up rolling him on his back and lightly stabbing him in the chest, because I'm not a monster. He woke up in an instant, and began complaining his chest hurt.

"Oh grow up. Anyways, good morning! How did you sleep? Dream of anything cool?"

"I did actually, dreamt of some demon. I was the demon though, I think. I ate some fish, killed a whale, and shot one of those weird flying monster thingies with some lightning. Was fun," he replied.

I just stared at him, thinking What a weird person, but I couldn't let that distract me from my plans today. I wanted to try out the new game my friends have invented. It was simple: temporarily abandon my home shell, find a new one, and try and hide from my friend. They have just two minutes to find me, and if they don't then I win. I win nothing, except bragging rights, which I desperately want. Nay, I NEED.

The countdown started, and I threw myself out of my home shell. Looking about, the timer ticked down, as my heart started to race faster. I began running about in search of a rock, but there was nothing. The timer hit ten seconds. I screamed. I was looking and looking, and then, I found one! I pounded towards it, flipping it over with my tiny legs and hopping underneath. "Time's up!"

My mouth felt incredibly dry, and I tried as hard as I could not to make a single noise, otherwise I worried I might be found. I heard my friend scuttle around, flipping over rock after rock, screaming "FOUND YOU!", only to groan as he spots nothing underneath the pebbles. I tried not to laugh while I hid, as it was funny listening to my friend complain about my hiding spot. I waited and waited, motionless as my friend's complaints grew quieter, as if he was walking in the other direction. I chuckled, and then I panicked as I heard my friend yell. I thought he had found me, but as I heard the outside voices, I realised it was something worse. Much worse.

I peeked outside of my shell, to see giant, things, stepping about the beach. These creatures were phenomemally big; I could stand at their feet and not be able to climb up one of their toes. I launched from underneath my shell, and attempted to find my home, only for one of those giant monsters to notice my scuttling. They yelled in some weird language, stared directly at me and pointed. Another one opened their mouths and bellowed, as it reached down and plucked me right from the ground. I tried to pinch it with my hands, but to no avail. This monster was too strong, and nothing I did could make it let go of me. I slumped, as I was carried across the beach to a weird monument, in the shape of a shell, but at least a thousand times bigger. The monster carried me inside, and sat me down on some comfortable floor, nothing that I had ever felt before. It was soft, bright pink, and dry. I was not used to this sensation, but I sort of liked it.

I looked around this grand room, and spotted many other people like me sat on similar surfaces. I had no idea what was going on, but I sure was scared. That was until I saw my friend being brought in, and placed next to me.

"Hey, what the hell is going on!?" I whispered.

"No clue, and I'm freaking out. Are we going to die?" he replied, and I looked at him, silently.

The weird monsters all gathered in a circle, staring right at each one of us. I glared right into their eyes, putting on my meanest face, but they didn't seem frightened at all. This is useless, I thought, as these creatures examined us one by one, prodding and poking us with tiny sticks for no goddamn reason. I looked over to see my friend being stabbed with one of the tiny sticks, and he snapped back. He managed to pierce the skin of one of these monsters, and it reeled back, screaming in pain. The biggest monster stepped forward, took one look at my friend, and brought its giant fist down on him.

I couldn't move. My friend was just killed in an instant, by one of these monsters. I was lost for words. Not only was he killed, but in the most brutal and horrific way I've ever seen. And the monsters didn't even care. It just wiped it's hand, and kept on examining the rest of us. With no words, I just let these animals stab and poke me, until they finally stopped. The monsters gathered in a small group, discussing something in their weird language, before dispersing and standing in front of a different crab.

The monster stood by me was particularly revolting. Its eyes were embedded in its head, right in the centre, and its mouth was just a slit below its eyes. So weird. I kept staring at it, wondering what it was thinking. It must be thinking about how ugly it is; I have eyes on antennas, like a normal creature. The monster picked me up, and brought me to a smaller room, where it dropped me in a small tank. The tank was filled with water, and on the surface was a small floating island, that I could just about reach. The island was cute; there was some sand sprinkled in, a few pebbles, and a tiny tree. Not the worst, home, and not as comfortable as that floor I was on earlier, but decent.

I watched the monster study an array of unusual ornaments, about my size, maybe a little bigger. Each one was a unique shape, with unique patterns. Some had weird frills, some had feathers, others had bright yellow outlines while others were much darker. There were no identical ornaments, and I actually found it fascinating. Each ornament had a large hole in it, the perfect size for me to squeeze into, like my own makeshift home. "Wait..." I thought.

The monster rummaged around, seemingly for some specific ornament. It flitted left and right, scouring each and every shelf, until its eyes locked onto one ornament. The item was bright red; orange and black feathers lined the very top, and there was a hole in the side of it. I had no idea why the monster wanted a defective ornament, but I didn't question it to avoid being murdered, like my friend, which I still couldn't quite comprehend.

The creature came running towards me, ornament in hand, and it halted in front of my little tank staring at me, a wide grin plastered on its flat, ugly face. It shook the ugly red item at me, and then gently plopped it inside the water, gesturing me to get inside it. I complied out of fear, and nestled my way inside, turning to face outwards. You know what, it fit pretty well. It felt rather comfortable, I can stretch my back and all, I couldn't do that before.

After testing out my new home, I scuttled about the sandy floor of this tank. The monster on the outside seemed very pleased, as it began making booming noises and flapping its arms in the air. I felt a giant hand pluck me out of the water, and the monster's ugly face met mine. While I was on the verge of tears, this bitch was just smiling at me. I was placed in a small container, and brought outside, where I was then moved onto a small platform. From here, I could see the beach, and I desperately wanted to run away, but I'd never survive a fall from this high up. In fact, this very experience is what made me learn about my fear of heights. Whenever I looked over the edge of the platform, my vision would blur and my legs would shake.

As I was getting to grips at being this high up, various monsters would walk by me, and stare at me and my ornament. Honestly, I felt violated. Their eyes felt as if they were staring through my soul, and I really did not like it. I looked about as these weirdos looked at me and my new home, and noticed others of my kind sat next to each other. They also looked panicked, which just made me feel worse. I was suddenly grabbed by another giant hand, and I shot back inside my home. I peeped one eye out, and watched as I flew above the pebbles and sand, sitting down next to the row of crabs. I now became a spectator, as several more sat on the platform, one after another, being gawked at by the monsters.

At the end of this weird, violating show, all of us were moved about by the monsters, aligned in a row on platforms, slowly increasing in height. I was brought onto the tallest platform, as my legs began to uncontrollably vibrate. The sun began to set, and I'd usually sleep, but I couldn't; not with these idiots still staring at us. Suddenly, a big fat monster started screaming in their language, and after a minute or so all of the monster's arms began flailing in the air. Do they know how ridiculous they look? The monster that gave me my ornament stared at me, a smile bigger than ever, as it dropped a small dead beepbug next to my face. The bug shocked me, I wasn't expecting to be fed, especially not my favourite food. I wolfed the beepbug down, and the monster gently scooped me up, and lifted me high up into the air. From here I watched as the monsters waved their flappy little arms about. Maybe it wasn't so bad, after all.