5 Getting Crabby

Chapter 5 GETTING CRABBY "Cheese Louise!" yelled Judy. "If the windows melt, we're history!" CLUUUNK! The Water Bug smashed into one of the chimneys. The rubber-blubber buggy bumper bounced them away from the dark, twisted shape and the super-hot water. The Water Bug sank to the ocean floor. The chimneys towered above them. "It's like we're in a forest of giant, smoking tree trunks," said Judy. She leaned toward the windshield. "Oh my gosh! There are flowers growing on the black smokers!"

Judy was looking at a patch of thick stems much taller than the Water Bug. At the top of each stem, a red blossom shape waved in the water. meep… "Not flowers," said Thudd. "Worms!" "Worms?" said Judy. meep… "Tube worms," said Thudd. "Worm live inside white tube. Only place on earth this kinda tube worm live is on black smoker chimney." Little white crabs crept around the tube worms. Thudd hopped onto the dashboard and pointed to a flat rock. Heaped on top was something that looked like a huge pile of tangled pasta. meep… "Spaghetti worms," said Thudd. "Spaghetti!" said Andrew. "I'm getting hungry." Judy rolled her eyes. "Disgusting boy," she said. "Well," said Andrew, "we can't get the Water Bug going. There are pizzas in the refrigerator. We can have a snack and wait for Uncle Al to find us."

Judy frowned. "I sure hope that nasty old Soggy Bob doesn't find us first," she said. Awk! "Soggy Bob used to be a good guy before," said Burpp. "Before what?" asked Judy. Awk! "Before he met Doctor Kron-Tox," said Burpp. "Who's Doctor Kron-Tox?" asked Andrew. Awk! "Soggy Bob used to walk in his sleep," said Burpp. "One day, he almost fell off a cliff! He went to see a strange scientist named Doctor Kron-Tox to find a cure. Doctor Kron-Tox made Burpp stay outside his laboratory. All Burpp could see was lots of flashing lights. "When Soggy Bob came out, he was different. Before, he was kind to everyone. He picked up stray cats and let them sleep in his bed." Judy shook her head. "Flashing lights, huh?" She thought for a minute. "I'll bet Doctor Kron- Tox hypnotized Soggy Bob. I've read you can do that with flashing lights." "Uh-oh," said Andrew.

"'Uh-oh'?" said Judy. "Those are my least favorite syllables in the whole world!" "Um, there's something weird over there," said Andrew. "Where?" asked Judy. "It's crawling from behind the black smoker," said Andrew. Then Judy saw what Andrew saw. It was a monster crab! Its body looked like a barrel. Its long, skinny legs spread as wide as the Water Bug. Behind that crab was another… and another. It was a monster-crab army! meep… "Giant spider crab!" said Thudd. "Biggest crab! Japanese name is shinin gani— mean 'dead man's crab.' Giant spider crab eat people that drown!"

"Eeew!" said Judy. Suddenly gloppy brown goo splattered against the Water Bug's windshield. The crabs charged toward the Water Bug! "Andrew! Do something!" yelled Judy. Andrew cranked the key in the ignition and slammed the gas pedal. But the Water Bug still wouldn't start.

The crabs crawled onto the hood. They looked through the windshield with round black eyes on stalks. They snapped at the doors with their claws. Judy shuddered and shrank into her seat. kk… kkk… kkkkk crackled the speaker on the dashboard. "Oh no!" Andrew hollered. "It's Soggy Bob!"