Queen of the Sandworms

Chapter 10: One Who Mocks Our Stripes

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Edgar broke through the sand and stretched his body toward the sun. He cried out his long, screeching cry as he rose higher and higher up. Beetlejuice held on to Lydia for dear life, keeping his eyes shut. Finally, Edgar arched downward and lowered his head down to the amber sands that stretched out for miles across the planet.

Lydia turned to Beetlejuice who still held on to her. "We're here," she said. Beetlejuice didn't seem to hear her. She tapped his head, startling him. He opened his green eyes and straightened up. "We're here?" he asked. Lydia nodded and removed his arms from her waist. They both jumped off Edgar's back.

Just then, another Sandworm broke to the surface near them, making Beetlejuice jump in terror and run behind Lydia. A couple other Sandworms broke the surface as well, making the sands rain down on the two. It was like watching whales come up from the deep waters of the ocean.

Beetlejuice stayed close to Lydia as she looked around. They ended up somewhere that had patches of colorful alien vegetation. Like small rainbow clusters of oasis dotting the place. Lydia turned her head to the adult Sandworms who had their heads down to her level.

She pulled her dead Sandworm head over hers and pointed over to the patches of made a screech. The Sandworms screeched back and arched their black and white striped bodies over her toward the oasis sections; out to hunt any Saturn creatures and bring back to the Nest.

Beetlejuice nervously watched them, staying close. Edgar nudged his nose gently against Lydia's arm and made a small cry. Lydia screeched back to him and pointed to Beetlejuice. Edgar stared at Lydia. Lydia screeched back to him again. Edgar narrowed his eyes a bit, but obeyed Lydia's orders. The Sandworm stopped, only to hiss at Beetlejuice before leaving.

Beetlejuice sighed with relief when Edgar left and turned his head to Lydia. His eyes widened when he saw she wasn't next to him. He quickly spun around and saw her heading toward the closest small oasis. Beetlejuice hurried along.

"I still can't believe you can talk to them. How can you speak Sandworm? You can't really understand those screeches...can you?" The striped clad ghost asked, his dirty pale blonde hair whipping in the winds. Lydia stared straight ahead through the mouth of the dead Sandworm. "I can. I learned by listening," she answered. Beetlejuice still couldn't believe it. He slapped a purple leaf away from his face as he continued following his friend.

"So, how did you become part of their..." he faltered at what to call the group of Sandworms. "Clan," Lydia answered as she jumped over a fallen blue and red spotted stalk. Beetlejuice did the same. "Sure. Clan," he said. Lydia narrowed her eyes but slowed down so she could tell her side of the story.

"I became part of their clan when they began to trust me," she then gestured to the dead Sandworm carcass she wore. "I found this dead baby Sandworm body in the middle of the oasis, and decided to use it to trick the Sandworms into thinking I was one of them..." Beetlejuice nodded. "How did you survive?" he asked.

"The first couple of days, I stayed hidden in one of these places," she gestured to the small jungles before her. "Eating only what seemed edible," she finished. Beetlejuice looked around at the strange colored plants around him. None of the plants seemed edible to eat...for him at least. He would rather go looking for beetles.

Instantly, the thought of beetles made his stomach growl loudly. Lydia stopped and turned to him. "Hungry?" she asked. Beetlejuice wrapped his arms around his aching stomach and nodded. "I haven't eaten in a while...are there any beetles around?" he asked. Lydia pulled out a self made wooden stake hidden under her disguise.

"There is something the Sandworms call a jujible around here. It looks kind of like a beetle and has wings, but its bigger then your head," she said. Beetlejuice grinned when he heard the last part and rubbed his hands together. "Ooh! Sounds like my kind of beetle-thing! So, where can you find it?" he asked.

"It usually is found hitching rides on the backs of Sandworms and starts eating their skin," she replyed. Beetlejuice grinned wider and began looking around. "Where is Edgar? I bet he has a whole bunch on his back!" he cackled as he turned. On the back of Beetlejuice was an orange and blue beetle creature. Lydia calmly raised her stake.

"Don't move," she ordered the Ghost with the Most. Beetlejuice blinked and turned back to her. "Huh? Don't move? Why can I not-" he stopped when he heard a strange clicking sound on his back. He looked over his shoulder and found himself staring face to face with four glossy red eyes and a set of sharp looking pincers.

Beetlejuice screamed like a girl and began spinning around, flailing his arms. Lydia sighed and watched the ghost humiliate himself as he freaked out over the alien beetle. She waited for the right moment, then attacked the ghost. "Oof!" Beetlejuice said as he fell onto his stomach and felt the alien beetle grip his shoulders tightly. Lydia pinned it down with one hand, and raised the wooden stake in her other hand.

Beetlejuice cringed when he heard the sharp, high pitch cry from the beetle, then felt its multiple arms go limp, loosening its grip on Beetlejuice. Lydia got up, removing the creature from the striped clad ghost's back.

Beetlejuice got up and rubbed the top of his back. "Thanks," he said, smiling a small smile, but felt very stupid inside. Lydia didn't say anything as she pulled out the wooden stake from the beetle's shiny armor- like shell. A trail of green goo followed from the dead beetle to the tip of the wooden stake. The sight of it made Beetlejuice's pale face become even more pale.

The Sandworm girl handed the beetle to her friend. Beetlejuice accepted it. He looked down at the beetle before turning his head to the side and sticking his striped tongue out in disgust. The green blood from the beetle bubbled and oozed out from the dead shell. Lydia rolled her eyes from under her disguise and walked away from the ghost and the dead beetle.

Beetlejuice looked up, noticing Lydia walking off. "Hey! Wait for me!" he called and ran after Lydia with the dead beetle still in his hands. The two continued on, hunting for food, and stopping a couple of times to rest. Beetlejuice tried the beetle and found it to be very disgusting.

"Its the only thing close to a beetle, Beetlejuice, so you can choose to starve or just eat what you have," Lydia said in an irritated tone. The two had decided to take a break and were sitting near a small stream with round rocks.

Beetlejuice averted his eyes away from her and did as he was told. He took another bite out of the beetle and forced himself to swallow it. After a couple minutes of the sounds of crunching, Beetlejuice finally finished the alien beetle. He stuck his thin striped tongue out in disgust and made a grossed out face. "Uhh...that was the worst jijigle I ever ate," he complained.

"Jujible," corrected Lydia. Beetlejuice looked back up at her. "Jujible..." he repeated. Lydia nodded. Beetlejuice blinked. "So...the beasts actually give names to everything here?" he asked. Lydia nodded. "The Sandworms are smarter then you think," she answered.

Beetlejuice looked around the area they were resting in. He finally pointed to the stream. "So, what do they call this?" he asked. "gurblim," she answered. "And this?" the ghost asked as he pointed to the round rocks. "Bolgos." Beetlejuice continued pointing to every single thing he saw in the small jungle, and Lydia would tell him what it was in Sandworm.

"And from all the hissing and snarling, that's what it comes out as?" he asked. Lydia nodded. "And you understand it all?" Beetlejuice asked again. Lydia gave him a glare. Beetlejuice felt fear come back to him and quickly looked away, pretending to look for something else for Lydia to translate into.

After a couple minutes, he turned back and looked into Lydia's eyes. "I have known the Sandworms for a long time. I never liked them and they have never liked me...have they given me a name? he asked in a serious tone. Lydia was quiet for a minute, her hands resting on her lap. Then she finally nodded her head.

"The clan calls you Dojakliszibe," Lydia explained to him. Beetlejuice shifted on the round rock he sat on and gave her a confused look. "Dojabla-what?" he asked. Lydia stared back at him. "In English, it means, One Who Mocks Our Stripes," she translated.

Beetlejuice blinked. "One Who Mocks Our Stripes...what?!" he shouted angrily, realizing what the name meant and stood up from where he sat. "I don't mock their stripes! I had the idea of stripes before they began to exist on this planet!" Beetlejuice argued.

Lydia shrugged. "That's what they think you are doing. You and the Sandworms both have black and white stripes, and they think you are insulting their stripes," she answered. Beetlejuice gritted his teeth as steam blew out of his pointy ears. "I am not mocking their stripes! I think they are the ones mocking my stripes!" he shouted angrily.

Lydia watched the ghost shout and throw a fit till he accidentally tripped and fell into the small stream. Beetlejuice quickly sat up and spat out the water. Lydia couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the angry, soaked ghost. She placed her hand over her mouth and laughed non stop.

Beetlejuice turned to her and was about to say something, but stopped when he realized she was laughing. It felt like years since he heard her laugh! It sounded so nice to his ears. He smiled as he watched the girl in the Sandworm carcass laugh, instantly forgetting that he was in the stream.

Suddenly, her laugh was cut short when they both heard a Sandworm cry out in the distance. They turned their heads toward the sound. Lydia's smile instantly faded and her eyes widened in horror. "No," she said as she quickly got up. Beetlejuice got up as well from the stream, soaking wet, but he didn't care at the moment.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Lydia didn't answer him as she jumped from rock to rock, then ran off into the jungle. "Lydia!" Beetlejuice cried and quickly got out of the stream and ran after her.

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