The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

his tracks, bringing Catfish to his senses.
    "Let's go," he said to Winston. Then he looked at Estelle over the top of the car and winked. "You go on.
    This ain't your time."
    Catfish played a few notes on the Stratocaster and then ambled after Winston to the surf. The pharmacist ran into the water up to his knees,then turned around. Catfish was having trouble climbing over the rocks to the water while keeping the guitar cord from catching.
    "That's far enough," Catfish said. He walked into the surf and stood next to Winston, keeping the guitar high to keep any spray off of it.
    "Give it," Winston demanded.
    "You ain't got a lick a sense, do you?"
    "Give it," Winston repeated.
    Catfish played four bars of "Green Onions" on the Strat, the notes still blaring out of the amp in the station wagon, then draped the strap around Winston's neck and handed him a guitar pick. "Have fun,"
    Catfish said.
    "Oh, I will," Winston said, a lascivious grin crossing his face. "You know I will."
    "Play!"Catfish said as he turned and ran up the beach. He saw Estelle already making her way away down the shore away from the commotion. Behind him, the sour, rattling notes began to emanate from the amp in the station wagon as gunshots filled the air.
    Molly The sheriff fired three more times as he backed away from the Sea Beast missing not only the monster
    but the entire North American continent. Molly threw herself sideways from a full run into the back ofBurton 's knees and cut his legs out from under him. She came up in a crouch, putting herself betweenBurton and the Sea Beast. The sheriff thought he heard the song "Green Onions" and shook his head to clear a hallucination. The Sea Beast roared again and the sheriff vaulted into a crouch, ready to fire, but instead of a sea monster in front of him, he saw a woman in a leather bikini. He looked over his shoulder and watched the Sea Beast snap up the white station wagon in its jaws and toss it aside. The guitar sounds stopped and the Sea Beast slid over the bluff to the beach. Seeing that the danger was gone, he trained his sights on the woman. People were streaming by him on either side after the monster, wailing like a crowd of banshees.
    Molly looked over her shoulder and saw Steve going into the water,then turned back toBurton. "Go ahead, you prick. I don't care."
    "You got it,"Burton said.
    Winston Krauss He was just beating on the guitar strings now, but it didn't matter. The amplifier wasn't working anymore and this beautiful creature was coming to him. Winston was so turned on he thought he'd explode. She was coming to him, his dream lover, and he yanked the guitar from around his neck, ready to receive her.
    "Oh, come on, baby. Come to papa," he said.
    The Sea Beast charged into the water, throwing spray fifty feet in the air,then snapped his jaws over Winston, severing the pharmacist's body into two sleazy pieces. The Sea Beast swallowed Winston's legs and roared, then snapped up the remaining piece and dove under the sea.
    The Sheriff "I don't think so, Sheriff,"Sheridan said.
    Burtonlooked over his shoulder without taking the gun off Molly.Sheridan had his M-16 trained on the sheriff's back. "Don't fuck with me, Sheridan. You're in this with me."
    "I'm not in this. Lower your weapon, sir."
    Burtonlowered the pistol and turned towardSheridan. Molly started to leap forward and the SWAT commander pointed the M-16 at her. "Right there," he said. She stopped.
    The pilgrims were all standing at the shore now, wailing as they looked out. Molly gestured in that direction andSheridan nodded. She ran toward the shoreline.
    "What now?"Burton asked.
    "I don't know," said Sheridan, "but no one has been shot here, and I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of attention around this event so no one is going to get shot."
    "You wimp."
    "Whatever,"Sheridan said.
    "Hey,Burton!"Theo Crowe was running down the hill toward them. "You hear that?"
    When they looked up.Theo ducked behind one of the wrecked Blazers and pointed toward the southern sky."Film at eleven."
    Burtoncould hear them now: helicopters. He looked to the south and saw the two dots coming over the horizon. Two of the SWAT team members were topping the next hill. They had started running when the monster first came out of the cave. The other two were still pinnedunder one of the overturned Blazers. He turned back toSheridan. The big cop was watching the approaching helicopters. "Game over,"Sheridan said. "Guess it's time to