A seagull

A shadow passed over the two women, and as they looked up, their hearts sank. A seagull, which might as well have been a dragon to the two tiny ladies, was circling above them in a hunting pattern. "M-mother. There's a... a, a b-big b-b-ird above us." Tina stuttered.

"I see that." Hilda started to shiver but decided to put on a smile in front of her daughter. "Not to worry. Gulls don't eat live crabs. As long as we keep moving, we'll be-"

A loud cry echoed in their ears as the titanic bird swooped down towards them. Tina screamed in terror as the bird opened its beak. "Duck!" Hilda yelled, pulling Tina down by her shoulder. Them both felt a strong breeze as the gull flew past them, brushing their hair with its beak.

The crab started scuttling wildly, trying to break free from the rope as the seagull circled around for another pass. Hilda grabbed ahold of her needle, trying desperately to steady her mount. "For the record, I don't think that was a duck." Tina said snarkily.

"Oh, don't start." Hilda chided as she struggled against the pull of the crab. They were so close to the end of the beach; if they could just get off the sand, they might be able to escape on foot. "Come on, big guy, move your ass!" Hilda ducked and weaved as the crab swung its claws at her, turning the needle to try and **** the crab to scuttle forward.

As the crab wrenched against Hilda, trying to run back to the water, its remaining legs kicked up plumes of sand. Tina held her hands in front of her eyes and looked up with dread. The seagull was coming in for another attack. Seeing no other options, Tina dove into her mother, pushing her and the sewing needle onto the muddy ground and cutting the crab free in the process.

As the tiny women hit the earth, rolling onto their sides, the crab crawled over to them, raising its claw in a striking motion. But before it could snap at them, its own predator lunged upon it, flipping it over onto its back, and started to peck away at its softer underbelly shell.

Tina, spitting mud out of her mouth, pulled up her mother and started to run away, hoping the taste of crab would distract the giant bird long enough that it would ignore the other tasty morsels' escape.

Unfortunately, that turned out to be wishful thinking, as the seagull, like the rat with wings it was, looked up from its conquered prey and locked its eyes on the two shiny butts running away from it. Letting out a screech that disturbed both Tina and Hilda, the bird started to hop along the ground after them.

Hilda looked around for a place to hide, finally laying eyes on a small but workable crevice in a pair of rocks. It was across the road, which to the two mini maidens seemed like an endless scorching valley, but they had to try. Hilda grabbed Tina's wrist and made a break for the stones, looking back over her shoulder at the quickly-approaching bird. With every small step, the distances between the mother and daughter and their destination and predator shrank, until finally...