Before everything changed, my days were filled with bright sunshine, salty water, and the beautiful rhythm of the sea. I used to live in a little tidepool on the shores of northern Europe with a group of fellow green crabs. My name is Crabicular, but they would just call me Crabby for short. We used to go hunting at the local seaweed forest at the crack of dawn every morning. Life used to have rhythm and this sense of balance to it. The eelgrass beds shelter the baby fish, the clams help keep the water filtered, and even the little snails help clean the algae off the rocks. I used to bully them, but they play an important part in what I’ve heard the scientist call a “stable ecosystem. ” They keep things running smoothly and maintain that balance.

    Then, one day of our usual shenanigans, the water whipped differently that morning. A giant shadow passed overhead, and I watched one of my buddies get caught up in the rudder. Before I knew it, everything went black in a passionate attempt to save what little of him was left. I scuttled my way over to the ship, hoping to find some remnant of him, but a powerful rush of water swept me up and pulled me into a dark metal room. I could only assume I got caught in the ship.

    I didn’t know this then, but this was the moment I became a kind of pollutant. These ships can displace species far from home and leave them in entirely different ecosystems, dropping them in places they don’t belong. That is exactly what happened to me.

At first, I just needed to get something to eat, so I searched everywhere for some clams and cracked open a few dozen. It felt amazing to finally get some food in my system. Before I realized it, I was raiding a local eelgrass habitat. This was something I only ever did with my friend back home, but it felt amazing to do it on my own; It felt empowering to be the strongest one there, and it was great to finally have a full stomach too.

I wonder if the boys are back at the old forest without me, still getting game. Those days were so simple, they lacked any sort of contrast.

The next morning came around, so my quest began again to find myself some breakfast. Luckily for me, no matter where I looked, there was a feast to munch on. Some would hide, oh how silly of them, as I dug effortlessly for them, there would be one and then another and another and another. I used my sharp claws to tear into and completely ravage them. Having few competitors at this location made feeding myself effortless, I would continue eating without restraint, nothing could stop me, and nothing will stop me.