Chapter 3: Queen Crab
“Get out of my way!” shouted queen crab as she triumphantly pushed a small group of lesser crabs to the side.
“Can’t you see this is my kingdom?!” she scoffed.
Queen crab was an angry, cruel, unstoppable force. Her strength was widely revered and earned her the title “Queen of the Benthic zone.” Like her, this was the coldest, darkest, and deepest part of the ocean and she didn’t have the luxury of surface niceties. It had been a year since she had established her dominion over the whale fall known as Baleen. And as far as she was concerned, she was running the show.
Anyone who stood in her way was quickly defeated, and she was without mercy.
It was becoming more and more difficult for queen crab to assert her dominance over the other bottom dwellers, in fact, it seemed like the number of intruders was increasing every day! To make matters worse, her royal spies recently clued her in on a plot by an opposing kingdom to overthrow her rule. They insisted that a rival queen had personally challenged her to a one-on-one, claw to claw battle.
And she had three days to prepare.
As each day passed her anger and frustration grew,
“Why me? It’s not fair!”
“How can this happen to me?”
“Who is to blame?”
“Why would this happen?”.
“I’ll show that other queen, who does she think she is?”
It was time. Queen crab watched as her competitor, a large, bright red queen emerged from behind a submarine ridge. She was alone, just as she promised. Slowly, she approached queen crab, and as she narrowed the distance, queen crab realized that she might have some real competition on her claws. This rival queen would be the most significant opponent she had ever faced. Queen crab’s signature anger began to turn into something different. She felt less confident, less sure, what was this feeling?
Suddenly, Queen crab felt a cold rush of water across her back as the opposing queen closed in, fearsome claws outstretched. Queen crab desperately raised her claws in anticipation and focused all of her attention on her opponents slightest movement.
SLAM!
Before either of the crabs could react, Queen crab’s opponent was instantly skewered by the beak of an incredible, eight-tentacled beast. Her rival clawed, helplessly towards the predator, but it was too late. The opposing queen’s body began turning pale as her appendages submitted to the real victor. The predator’s long tentacles wrapped tightly around her adversary as it violently shuffled away, out of sight.
Queen crab was frozen. What was this new emotion that had overcome her? She stood there, claws still desperately held in the air of anticipation, even though the battle was over. All Queen crab had known up to that point was anger, resentment, pride, and rage. Now, all there was, was fear, anxiety, and worry.
All at once Queen crab felt extremely small.
Months passed since the day her rule over the Benthic Zone was challenged. She reflected on that fateful day more than once, and the severity of her emotional state had only grown. Queen crab understood that she wasn’t as fierce as she once thought. And, if she were going to survive, she would have to start acting less like a queen and more like an animal. Over time, her rage evolved into ruthlessness and paranoia; She always looked over her shoulder, and slowly her authority over the kingdom started to decline.
While Queen crab’s influence over the Benthic Zone faded, she focused on more important matters. It was a mating season, and she had to find a suitable mate before the plankton bloom.
No one would stand in the way of her legacy.
Queen crab searched and searched for a male crab that was worthy of her eggs. Each kingdom presented there most suitable bachelors, which she dismissed over and over. She continued to crawl around her sprawling kingdom until she started to notice that a few of the crabs she encountered looked familiar… where had she seen claws that looked like those?
Until it finally dawned on herQueen crab searched and searched for a male crab that was worthy of her eggs. Each kingdom presented their most suitable bachelors, which she dismissed over and over. She continued to survey her sprawling empire until she started to notice that a few of the crabs she encountered looked quite familiar. Where had she seen claws that looked like those before?
And then it dawned on her; they were the same claws she encountered on that fateful day so many months ago. She looked around, and everywhere she looked, all she saw were those same claws. Her field of view slowly transitioned from dark blue, almost black to bright red as the ghosts of her former enemy collectively ambushed her. It was so sudden that no one came to her rescue. She could feel her body being pulled apart by the daughters of her opponent, finally exacting their revenge.
It was clear that her reign was over.
Thanks for reading the third chapter of Whale Fall
Continue to Chapter 4 (Free on Medium!)
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