Keep on the lookout for some reposting, however. I've been unsatisfied with certain things in the past chapters (1-5) and have fixed lots of the way things sound. It may be minor in some places, and noticeable in others, but overall, I've improved the quality to my current standards. I'll get those up in the next couple days/within the week. We'll see.
I want to say an extra special and heart-felt thank you to Kate aka Miaka-chan!! Your review made me feel so happy, I screamed! You ARE my number one fan, babes! And that makes me want to reach right through the communication wires and give you the BIGGEST hug ever!! *HUUUUUUGGGGGG!!!!* ^_^ Thank you so much!!
Spencers13 2001-2002
PG-13 — Sci-Fi/Fantasy — Action Drama
Story concept, Endri & Kyle © Spencers13
Chapter Seven - We're in deep!
At five o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, Lydia and Beetlejuice piled into her car and took off for her apartment about three hours away.
Lydia felt a bit apprehensive about driving so long with him. She dreaded the thought of them sitting in an awkward silence the whole time, but fortunately it wasn't the case. Even in light of her unwittingly confessing how she now felt about him, they still laughed and joked the entire way to her apartment.
When they finally arrived after being delayed an hour by traffic, Lydia set herself to the task of straightening her one bedroom dwelling. Beetlejuice helped here and there as well. He dusted some of her bookcases, made her bed with fresh sheets, and he even vacuumed her living room! With his own eccentric flair, that is.
She was amazed at his helpfulness. Something had definitely changed in him since they separated. Was he only doing these things to make sure he could keep on her good side? If so, he need not worry about such things. She was going to stay with him this time this time for good.
Around 10:30, Lydia realized she was out of fresh groceries. She needed milk and bread, plus a few extras here and there.
"Beetlejuice, I'm going to the twenty-four hour store. I need to get some food for the fridge and pantry," she told him.
"'Kay. Do you want me along?" he asked.
"Actually, I'd like you to stay here. It'll only take me about forty-five minutes or so. There's a Giant Eagle right down the road."
"'Giant Eagle', huh?" he smiled, still feeling the temptation to make a titanic bird appear, but able to control it.
"Yeah, well, it's a lot nicer than the Riverside grocery stores back home. See you later, okay?" she said, grabbing her leather jacket and keys.
Beetlejuice waved good-bye. "Careful out there."
"You know me." She winked and closed the door behind her.
He stared after Lydia for a few minutes. The day had gone a lot smoother than he thought. After their talk the previous night, he thought she wouldn't even want to be near him. She proved him wrong, though, when she asked him to come along with her to her apartment. It was a pretty nice looking setup too. The floors were plush, silvery carpeting. The walls were a medium-colored wood paneling. She had a decent sized kitchen with all new appliances, and a dining area sat off to the side of the living room. In a small nook off to the other side of the living room sat the bathroom, linen closet and the door to Lydia's large bedroom. The living room was huge too. She had a soft, black, leather chair and couch set artistically placed around a twenty-seven inch television/entertainment center. A row of bookcases lined one of the walls, all full to the brim with odds and ends reading material and knickknacks.
"Man Lyds must be making big bucks from this job of hers," Beetlejuice commented to himself. "I wonder what the rest of this building looks like?" He stepped through the front door without even opening it and set off on a small exploring venture.
Lydia pushed her cart half-full of groceries out of the sliding doors of Giant Eagle and clamored up to her black Trans-Am. She cautiously noted the silver van now parked next to the driver's side of her car while she piled the plastic bags of food into her trunk. She pulled out her keys and jingled them in her door.
From behind her, the sliding door of the silver van slid open suddenly, and a man wearing a black trench coat and shades squirted a mist into her face before she could even scream. Immediately, Lydia collapsed. The pale-blonde man reached out quickly and caught her before she hit the ground, pulling her into the van. The door slammed shut, and it sped off into the night.
Beetlejuice slipped back into Lydia's apartment through her front door, again, not opening it. He had just come from the roof where he had been gazing at the alien sky. Alien to him, that is.
The room was just as he left it, neat and clean, except now there seemed to be something extra. He noticed two objects sitting on the glass-top coffee table.
"Lydia?" he called into the room, but received no answer.
He stepped over to the couch and plopped down, examining the coffee table's newest additions. A tape recorder with a neon green Post-it note attached to it and a small tin with the same kind of Post-it note sat side by side on the table. The tape recorder's note said "Play Me", and the tin's said "Eat Me". Beetlejuice chose to hit the play button first, before anything else.
"Hello, my spectral friend," came a hauntingly familiar voice. "By now you must have noticed that your precious girlfriend isn't home yet. Don't worry, she's safe and sound for now. If you cooperate with us, no harm will come to her if not well, she is kind of cute. Say hello to your man, honey."
In the background of the tape, Beetlejuice heard Lydia's sweet voice raised in fear.
"B-Beetlejuice! Help me! ACK! Take your hands off me, you bastard!" A scream followed.
"Lydia!"
The man's voice returned, and Beetlejuice finally remembered who it was. He was one of the men that showed up at Lydia's house over a week ago asking about strange happenings.
"Now listen carefully. There is a metal container next to this recorder. Open it."
Beetlejuice reached down and opened the small tin.
"You will notice a blue cracker inside. Eat it," Kyle's voice instructed.
Beetlejuice shrugged and popped the cracker into his mouth. After all, what harm could it do? He was already dead.
Just as he swallowed the last of the cracker, another voice emanated from the recorder, this one more familiar than the last. It was the man that threatened Lydia in her own bedroom. The one he had to attack.
"You don't think he'll really be stupid enough to eat it, do you?" Endri asked from the background.
Beetlejuice's eyes grew in fear, and he slapped himself on the forehead.
"Shut up! *ahem* Now," Kyle continued, "I'll tell you a few things. The cracker you just ate will soon break you apart. It dissipates Alpha energy, which is what you are composed entirely of, therefore, you will simply evaporate in a harmless cloud of mist--"
"That's assuming he ate the damn cracker," Endri's voice drifted from the background again.
"Shut up! I'm trying to work here! Right We have the antidote here if you want it. And if that isn't a good enough reason to get your ass over here, then maybe your girlfriend's precious safety will. We're in the basement of the abandoned hotel across town. If you're not here by midnight well, you'll no longer exist, and the girl pays for your absence. See you soon."
Silence issued from the recorder.
Glancing at the clock, Beetlejuice's hands tightened into fists. 11:50 PM. He only had ten minutes to find that place.
Wait a minute he thought. Didn't Lyds point that place out to me on our way here? Right, I'll just zip on over there right now and get her back. No one kidnaps my friends and gets away with it!
In a flash, he vanished from Lydia's apartment and materialized in the damp basement of the abandoned hotel.
Kyle sat on top of an old wooden desk a good ten strides away. Next to him lay Lydia. Her arms were tied behind her back and a metal device was strapped to her chest by several wires. One of the wires lead from the pack on her chest to a button in Kyle's hand.
"BJ! Look out!" she shouted.
Beetlejuice turned around to face Endri. He smirked evilly, leveled a weapon at the ghoul and fired. A small cartridge hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and exploding into a spherical force field around his body. Trying to touch the inside of the field resulted in Beetlejuice getting shocked with a huge pulse of energy. He resorted to floating in the center of the energy ball and stared angrily at Endri who merely grinned back. He lifted his leg and kicked the sphere hard across the room. Beetlejuice landed in front of Kyle and shocked himself on the inside of the ball.
"So glad you could make it!" Kyle piped happily.
Beetlejuice regained some composure after his heavy shock. "Let her go! It's obvious it's me you want!"
Kyle leaned forward slightly. "Yes, you are the one we're after, but we need the girl to how shall I put this ensure your cooperation. By the way did you eat the cracker?"
Beetlejuice closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes."
Unexpectedly, Kyle burst into laughter. "Yes! Hey, Endri! You owe me a hundred bucks!"
Endri mumbled something incoherent behind Beetlejuice.
"What is going on?! Is this some kind of sick joke?!"
"Oh, no joke, I assure you. The cracker was just extra insurance to make sure you got here. Don't worry, you're not going to be destroyed. It was just a saltine with food dye on it," Kyle chuckled to himself. "Now comes the fun part."
Beetlejuice's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
Kyle twirled the button he held in his hand. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I want you to answer them all extensively if you don't, or you give me an answer I don't like well, let's just say you're little girlfriend won't like it." He depressed the button in his hand, and Lydia screamed in pain. The device on her chest was releasing an electrical shock through the wires wrapping around her body!
"Lydia! You bastard!" Beetlejuice howled, kicking at the inside of his small prison.
"Actually, my parents were quite happily married," Kyle retorted. "Question one: Where is the Neitherworld?"
"How did you know about the Neitherworld?" Beetlejuice asked suspiciously.
"I'm asking the questions!" Kyle shouted, pressing the button again and shocking Lydia. "Answer! Now!"
"All right! I'll tell you! Just don't hurt her anymore."
"That's better. Go on."
Beetlejuice lowered his head in defeat and delved into the extensive knowledge he attained over time. "The Neitherworld is on another plane of existence. It's just out of sync with the Earth enough that they don't exist in the same spot. If the different plane didn't exist, the Neitherworld and the Earth would be the same planet."
"Very interesting," Kyle mused.
"But common knowledge," Endri finally joined in. "I already knew that. Tell us how to get there."
"You have to die to get there."
"That's old news as well," Kyle said. "I don't think Endri and I would like to die quite yet. You take your girl there all the time, and she isn't dead. How?"
Tears of pain poured down Lydia's face, but she somehow found her voice. "No, BJ, don't tell them!"
"Shut up!" Kyle shouted, pressing the button again. Lydia stiffened and screamed in pain, then collapsed to the tabletop, breathing heavily.
"NO!" Beetlejuice screamed.
Kyle grinned. "That one took a lot out of her. She may not survive another, so you'd better start talking."
"Okay, okay!" Beetlejuice raised his hands to stop Kyle from making any further actions. "Just say my name three times."
Endri stalked up to the outside of the field. "This isn't a joke!"
"I'm telling the truth! Just say my name three times!"
"That's ridiculous!" Endri shouted.
"So's the concept of the Neitherworld, but it exists, doesn't it?!"
The room fell into an uneasy silence.
Kyle was the first to speak. "Riiiight well we'll try that when we're done with our questioning. Now tell us where the Worm Gates are."
Beetlejuice's eyes narrowed to mere slits. "How did you know about those?"
"Tell us!" Endri shouted through the barrier.
Beetlejuice glowered at him. "Every person in the Neitherworld that knows about those is sworn to secrecy, and not many know."
"But you know," Kyle observed.
"I do," he admitted.
"Theeeen tell us where they are, or I'll personally kill your girlfriend!" Endri spat.
Beetlejuice became desperate. "You don't understand! I can't!"
"And why is that?" Kyle questioned.
"I just can't. Those gateways are too dangerous to reveal their locations."
A wicked grin spread across Kyle's face. "Exactly. Where are they?" He lightly pressed the button again and Lydia's half-conscious body jumped.
"Please! Don't do this!" Beetlejuice begged, silently cursing his defenseless position.
"Just tell us what we want to know, and we'll leave you and the girl alone," Kyle said, applying more pressure to the button. Lydia awoke completely immediately, and her cry of pain brought a grin to Kyle's face.
"Wait!" Beetlejuice shouted, stopping the man from pressing the button further. "Do you promise to let her go if I tell you?"
The grinning man nodded. "Of course. When this whole messy business is behind us, you and the girl are free to go."
Beetlejuice sighed. "Then I guess I have no choice The gates are in six different places."
"Where?" Endri's teeth grated together angrily.
"The first is in Neither Neither Land, below the surface of the Neitherworld," Beetlejuice explained. "The second is in the Land of Lost Stuff. Third is in Sandworm Land, then the Last Place You'd Ever Look, then the Place Time Flies To and the last gate is in" he paused, barely able to finish. As if to coax him on, Kyle depressed the button slightly once more, making Lydia moan in pain. "Space," he finished quickly.
"Very good," Kyle said, pleased with himself. "Now I think it's time we all took a trip to the Neitherworld."
Beetlejuice had to keep himself from pounding on the interior of his prison. "Wait! You said we could go!"
"Yes, I did," Kyle admitted, "But after this whole business is done, and we're not finished with you two yet. Let's go." He slid off of the desk and pulled Lydia onto his shoulder with surprising gentleness. She dangled in his arms groggily, half-conscious once more. "Endri, would you like to do the honors?"
An evil grin spread across his partner's face. "With pleasure Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice"
Upon Endri's last word, the four of them disappeared in a huge billow of blue mist. They reformed in the Neitherworld standing along the Lost Souls Highway.
Beetlejuice remained in his spherical force field, much to his dismay. Had it not been around him, he would have put his own force field around the two kidnappers and teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. Kyle stood with his back to him, and Beetlejuice could see Lydia looking this way and that as she dangled from the white-haired man's shoulder. Knowing she was awake was a small advantage on his part.
Kyle and Endri gazed about in wonder. Their eyes took in scenes no other mortal has ever seen other than Lydia.
"It's a little run-down, isn't it?" Kyle remarked absent-mindedly.
Endri averted his eyes from his surroundings to his partner. "You have to expect that since some of this has been around since the Earth was created."
Kyle nodded. "True."
Endri turned to Beetlejuice inside his bubble. "Where is this Neither Neither Land?"
The ghost looked toward the sky and noticed the moons at about the one AM point. "It should be below us now. There's a trapdoor over there," he said indicating a section just up the road, "Use that to get there."
Endri kicked Beetlejuice's sphere as he had done in the hotel basement. He landed near the trapdoor, shocking himself again, and screamed as the overloading energy zipped through him. The two humans arrived a few seconds later, just as he pulled himself from the side of the field and began floating in the center once more, smoke drifting lightly from his body.
Endri knelt down and yanked on the rusty metal trapdoor. It popped open rather easily, but the hinges groaned in protest. He swung the door all the way open and peered down into the small world below.
"Ugh It's so cute in there!"
Kyle stepped over and stared down as well. He had to see that!
Lydia, still dangling from his shoulder, worriedly looked at Beetlejuice while both of the kidnapper's backs were turned. Beetlejuice returned her frightened look, but winked at her as a sign that he had something up his sleeve. He held up three fingers before him, and Lydia nodded slightly in understanding.
"Nevertheless, we have work to do. You brought the keys, right?" Kyle said to his partner.
Beetlejuice's jaw dropped.
"No" he whispered. "You have the keys?!" he raised his voice to a shriek. "Are you mad?! Unlock those gates, and the whole Neitherworld will be destroyed!"
"Exactly," Endri said wickedly. He moved forward as if to kick Beetlejuice down into the trapdoor.
"Lyds! Now!"
Before anyone could tell what was going on, Lydia shouted out Beetlejuice's name three times, transporting only her and Beetlejuice back to the Real World.
"Dammit!" Endri shouted in their wake.
Kyle tapped him on the arm. "Don't worry about them now. We still have the old maps as a back-up, right?"
"Yes," Endri nodded, still fuming.
"Then let's get going."
Both men perched at the edge of the trapdoor for a few seconds, then leapt down into the small world below. Kyle held his nose on the way down.
In a swirl of yellow mist, Beetlejuice and Lydia reformed in the Real World. Lydia lay on the floor of her old bedroom in her parent's house, and Beetlejuice still floated, suspended in his force field prison near her old canopy bed.
Beetlejuice looked over at Lydia and noticed her still wrapped in the electrical wires, and her hands were still tied behind her back. "Lydia? Are you all right?"
She lay face down on the hardwood floor and tried to roll to the side without much success. She settled for turning her head to the side. "I don't feel so good, BJ."
"Don't worry, Babes," he said, struggling to come up with a way to get out of his prison, "I'll be right with ya." He lifted his legs up to his chest and kicked the inside of the field as hard as he could. It shot across the room, hit the wall and bounced to the floor. Beetlejuice tumbled inside of it like a rag doll, shocking himself at every turn. When it finally came to rest, he floated in the center and waited until the smoke cleared from his body. He noticed that every time he touched the field, its energy drained somewhat. Perhaps if he held out long enough, it would eventually short out? It was worth a try.
"Lyds, can you move?"
Lydia struggled with her restraints and wiggled to a sitting position. "Yeah, I guess."
"Try to get behind the bed or something. I'm gonna see if I can overload this thing."
She swung her legs under herself and stood up on her knees. She hobbled as best she could to the opposite side of her bed and suddenly collapsed out of sight.
"Babes!" Beetlejuice shouted to her.
"I'm okay, BJ. I just fell," came her muffled reply.
Satisfied for the moment, he welled up his strength and rested his hands against field in front of him. The shock he felt made him want to cry out in pain and pull away, but he noticed the field weakening and kept his hands against it. A mere moment later, the force field wavered and shattered into hundreds of light shards. Beetlejuice fell to the floor, holding his scalding hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment longer, and slowly his hands healed themselves until no evidence remained of any burns. As soon as he healed himself, he leapt to his feet and ran around the bed to attend to Lydia.
"Lydia please. Are you all right?"
She looked up at him from the corner of her eye. "I've been better, BJ," she said, not moving.
He reached down and slid his arms under her body and lifted her up to the bed where he gently undid the binding straps and threw them to the floor in disgust. Reaching up, he slid his hand over her forehead and across her face. "They didn't touch you, did they?"
"No."
"But the tape?" he said, confused. "I heard you screaming"
"They were tying me up then." Lydia looked at him and noticed the sincere look of concern on Beetlejuice's face. "Why?"
He shrugged. "Oh-uh after your prior experience and all I would hate for it to happen again without me there to protect you."
Tears stung at Lydia's eyes. "Oh Beetlejuice" She did her best to pull him down to her then threw her arms around his neck and hugged him desperately.
Beetlejuice snuggled his face into her neck for a few minutes, then suddenly pulled away to stare into her eyes. They were so close, then. Lydia stared up into his swirling emerald eyes, wanting nothing but to close the small gap left between them. As if he heard her thoughts, he leaned a fraction closer. Just before their lips met, he clamped his eyes shut and grit his teeth then gently pushed her away and reached down to pull the blankets over her.
"Lemme go see where your parents are and sneak you up a snack. You look hungry," was all he said before he vanished.
"Beetlejuice," Lydia whispered after him, finally letting a few tears drip down her cheeks.
He reappeared about five minutes later toting a plate with a cheese sandwich and a few pretzels scattered across its surface. After he handed the plate to her, he slumped down to the edge of the bed and avoided all eye contact possible.
"Your parents don't seem to be home right now," he said.
Lydia picked at her sandwich slowly, realizing that he hadn't noticed her recent bout of tears. His attempts to avoid eye contact hurt deeper than any electric shock. She realized that he was with someone else right now, but his actions proved that he did care for her. He even admitted he cared about her on their recent excursion to Lake Eerie in the Neitherworld. She could tell that Beetlejuice wanted to be close to her, but at every turn, he would pull away. She couldn't blame him, and in a strange way, was proud of him for being so loyal to whoever he was with. For now, she would have to be strong.
Lydia finished off her sandwich and started on the pretzels. She remembered the "questioning session" in the old hotel and also how upset Beetlejuice became when Kyle brought up something called "Worm Gates". It certainly wasn't something he had ever told her before. Perhaps he would now?
"BJ?"
"Mmm?" he hummed, still not looking in her direction.
"Um what are Worm Gates?"
Beetlejuice sighed deeply and nodded. "I s'pose I should explain that to you now. There are actually more kinds of worms than just sandworms and seaworms, Babes. There's six kinds. Fire, rock, sand, sea, sky and starworms," he counted on his fingers. "Each has its own respective gateway in six different places in the Neitherworld. Sand and seaworms are the only two that've been able to exist permanently there, but they really came from another plane of existence beyond the Earth and Neitherworld. You might even be bold enough to call it Hell, but that's not its real name.
"All the gates are held shut by two separate doors: an outer door that's opened by a specific key, and an inner door that won't open until all the keys are in their places at every gate," he explained, using his hands as a visual example. "It's a safety precaution the ones that created the gates decided on. But at the same time, it makes things that much worse if someone does manage to open them all. There's another precaution too. All the keys that open the gates were taken to the Earth and scattered."
"So the gates are in the Neitherworld, but the keys are on Earth," Lydia said, understanding dawning.
" Making it that much harder to get everything together. But those guys seem to have done it. Why is my question."
Lydia spoke up quietly. "What happens if all the gates do open?"
"Pandemonium. Utter chaos," Beetlejuice said sadly. "The worms will flood the Neitherworld and eat and destroy everything. We gotta stop those two before that happens."
"Then," she grunted, trying to get up, "Let's get going."
Beetlejuice placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down to the bed. "We will, but not now. You need rest, and it'll take them a long time to find all those gates on their own. So take it easy for the rest of the night. Tomorrow, we'll go."
"But shouldn't we stop them before they get too far?" Lydia protested.
"Trust me, Lydia," he said gently. "Something tells me not to go back just yet. For once, and I don't even know why, I'm gonna listen to that little voice. Now get some sleep."
"You too, Beetlejuice?"
He sighed. "Yeah, I guess." He laid down on the bed as far away from Lydia as he could get without falling off.
She immediately noticed his distance and reached out to touch his shoulder. "Beetlejuice?"
"No more, Lyds. What is it?" he muttered, warning her from saying his name for the third time.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you push me away every time I get close to you?" she asked quietly.
Beetlejuice still lay with his back toward her, and a long pause issued before he answered. "Personal reasons."
"Am I not pretty enough for you?" she guessed.
He rolled over to face her and propped himself up on his elbow. "Lydia, how can you think you're not pretty? You're beyond beautiful."
She paused for a moment. "But that doesn't seem to matter to you."
"Oh, it matters. Believe me."
"Then why?"
"I told you before at the lake," he answered.
"There's someone else" She paused and looked away for a moment, then returned her gaze to his eyes. "But, Beej, I've never seen you with--"
"She was a long time ago. Way before I ever met you, Babes. When I was still alive." Beetlejuice looked away, not in shame, but with the expression of emotional pain.
Lydia took pity on him, but was still confused. "BJ would you please tell me?"
He remained silent for some time as if debating on whether or not to tell her. He had never before spoken to anyone about his past. First off, a ghost's past life was personal business that was frowned upon if spoken about publicly. Secondly, it was just polite not to ask. Lydia didn't know that, however, so he couldn't blame her curiosity. He had actually been tempted to reveal his past to her when she was younger, but he didn't deem it appropriate at the time. But how he needed to talk about it at that point. His past pains had been eating at him then, and he needed a release from it. Strangely, seeing Lydia had eased the pain, and eventually he forgot about it.
Now though, a lot of the past seemed to be making a reappearance. Lydia's return, his dreams of his past life and now this new threat popping out of the woodwork that seemed intent on messing with things from the past as well. Things seemed to only be getting worse instead of better. How had it ended up this way? The past week, so many things had happened, and Beetlejuice didn't see the end coming anytime soon.
Beej?
Ah, there it was, that voice that could bring him comfort even if he was in his darkest hour. How he wanted to lean forward and kiss the lips that the voice belonged to. Kiss the face the lips belonged to, kiss the body the face belonged to His heart reeled for a fraction of a second and his breath caught in his lungs. What an interesting sensation! He thought his chest would burn up in that split second, yet it was comforting at the same time. Could it be? Could his heart have actually skipped a beat?!
He chuckled to himself. Only Lydia could have given him such a reaction.
BJ?
There it was again. That sweet voice. Was she calling to him? Could she be in trouble again? No. There was no fear in her voice. She had to be all right. Why did he feel so alone in that moment? The voice was comforting, but it wasn't enough. He needed more. He needed to see her, hold her maybe even?
He gulped.
"Beej!"
Beetlejuice snapped out of his thoughts and blinked at Lydia.
She reached out and placed a tentative hand on his arm. "Are you all right? You just spaced out there for a while."
He blinked several more times and shook his head lightly. "Uh, no, I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"Look, if you don't want to tell me, I perfectly understand."
"No, Lyds, I owe you for telling me about your boyfriend."
"It isn't a debt that needs repaid, BJ. I told you because you're my friend and deserve to know, not because I knew you'd owe me later."
Beetlejuice cast his embarrassed gaze to the blankets. "You're right. Sorry. I do want to tell you though."
Lydia smiled at him and squeezed his arm in reassurance. "I'm listening. Whenever you're ready."
He smiled back at her, suddenly more at ease with himself. At length, he sighed deeply and parted his lips. "When I was alive, I was a Viking living in a village not far from here. Life was kinda tough, but I loved every second of it," he began. "Hunting for food making swords and other weapons I loved it all. But there was somethin' else I loved more than anything. A woman. I loved her so much that I took her as my wife." He paused at that point, stricken with the painful memory. He pulled himself together after a minute and continued. "We even had a little baby boy. He was so cute little pudgy fingers and toes little tummy. There's no experience quite like holding your own baby in your arms, and having him giggle when you tickle his little belly," Beetlejuice said wistfully, pausing once more. "Then all of it everything was taken away. Another village raided us. They took everything; killed everyone. Me included. I was trying to protect my family. I did everything I could, but there were too many of them. I'd rather be eaten by a sandworm ten times over than have my family murdered like that."
Lydia simply shook her head in disbelief. She had never truly realized that Beetlejuice was once alive. Seeing pictures of him as a baby in the Neitherworld and hearing stories from his mother, Bee, was the most she ever really knew of his past. Now he was lying next to her and telling her he used to be married? And he used to have a child?
"I don't understand. If you all died then why didn't you meet up in the Neitherworld?"
Beetlejuice tried his best to laugh, but only a muffled "humph" came from his throat. "Something got really screwed up. I didn't want to leave the Earth. I didn't want to be dead. Then, suddenly, I was being born again in the Neitherworld. I can't explain how it happened. I struggled too much, I guess.
"My memories had all faded into the back of my mind, but I remembered it all soon enough. I've been searching for my wife and baby ever since. That's how I know so much about the Neitherworld. I learned everything there was to learn, but I just don't know where they are!" he shouted, frustrated. "The Neitherworld is so screwy. Anything can happen at any time. Something must have happened to them, but I won't give up 'till I find them both. I know they're out there somewhere."
Lydia stayed in her stunned silence for a long time, not knowing what to say to him after such a confession. It all made sense now. He was and yet was not with his wife still. And what of his child as well? As the minutes passed, her surprise turned into depression. There just seemed to be no room in Beetlejuice's personal life for her at all, and she had to accept it.
"I understand," she whispered.
"Lydia believe me," Beetlejuice said desperately, taking her hand, "if I knew for a fact that I'd never find them again, I'd you and I" he paused, taking a breath, "I wouldn't hesitate when you got close to me."
Lydia dropped her eyes to the sheets. "Beej do you feel anything more for me?"
He raised his hand and stroked her cheek affectionately. "Yes," he confessed, unashamed. "And that's why I feel so guilty. I never planned for this. I thought you'd never feel more for me, so I didn't worry about anything when I was around you. I'm so sorry, Lydia I don't think I'll ever be able to say how I feel."
Lydia's eyes became glassy once more. "It's okay, Beej. I understand. I would probably do the same thing if I was in your position." Tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. "I can't say it doesn't hurt, though."
Beetlejuice looked as if tears would start to pour from his eyes as well when he wrapped his arms around Lydia's frail body and hugged her tightly. He wished things didn't have to be the way they were. He wanted Lydia, not to sleep alone in a cold bed every night and spend his days searching as he had done for so many years. However, his bonds to his wife were too strong to break, even for Lydia.
The ghoul lay awake for several hours after his living friend fell asleep, crying in his arms, and thought of the days to come.
Oh, how will we ever survive?
***************
Would you look at that?! DAMN! Kyle and Endri are in the Neitherworld and want to destroy it?! Oh, man, things aren't looking good! I hope BJ and Lydia can save the day tomorrow! ^_^ And oh man, BJ STILL refuses Lydia?! That is one loyal ghoul! Stay tuned for more exciting action in the next chapter of BJ Afterlife!! DUN DUN DUNNNNN! hehe