It's school holidays and 12-year-old boys Skeeta, Pud and Cuppy (short for Cupcake) are going camping. Pud's dad drops them at their favourite camping spot on the banks of a large saltwater estuary, warning them to stay away from the water's edge at night because of the crocs. After dinner, the boys decide to go spotlighting ghost crabs. They chase the speeding crabs backwards and sideways up the beach, trying to stop them from getting into their holes. It is all fun until Skeeta accidentally stomps on a crab, killing it. Suddenly a voice yells from somewhere, accusing them of being little thugs and murderers. The boys are petrified and run all the way back to their camp. The voice does not follow. Arming themselves with bread and butter knives and building up the fire against the darkness, they hear a scrabbling in the bushes. After much deliberation Pud and Cuppy go to investigate the noise and catch a glimpse of a reptilian tail in the undergrowth.