Queen of the Sandworms

Chapter 17: Sandworms out of Sand

...

Lydia stared down at the new Nest that was a bunch of debris on the streets of the destroyed city. Lydia felt better knowing that her kind were safe from the horrible perolayx...the thought of them made her shiver. She had come close to death once or twice when she encountered those slimy slug creatures. They were nothing to mess with, so the best choice was to leave the Nest...

Lydia felt a twinge of pain in her heart as she thought of her destroyed Nest. The place she called home; now a feeding ground for the perolayx. Lydia narrowed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. She didn't want to leave...it was their home...their only home...but the perolayx were the predators. The real winds tugged at the tattered, striped ends of her Sandworm corpse disguise that was draped around her small shoulders. She rubbed her left arm from the cold.

Suddenly, she heard something from far away. It was faint, but very familiar to her ears. She turned her head sharply toward the direction and gasped in horror. The screeching high pitch sounds came from the perolayx as they squirmed and wiggled over the roads toward the city. Her eyes went big as saucers from inside the mouth of the deceased baby Sandworm.

No...no It...it cant be!" she cried to herself. Edgar noticed them as well. His red eyes widened in horror. His black and white striped body coiling and uncoiling. He screeched to her, but Lydia's attention stayed on the huge tsunami wave of black alien leeches coming their way.

The rest of the Sandworms stopped in their tracks when they heard the screeching sounds as well and turned their heads. They noticed the terror that was coming their way. Their red eyes widened; crying out in terror as they began to move. The Sandworms tried diving into the streets like they used to in Saturn's sands, but instead of going through and making tunnels, they ended up smashing their noses into the hard asphalt.

The Sandworms raised their heads up and howled to the skies in agony. A couple of them shook their heads to shake the pain away. They couldn't burrow in the ground like they were used to. To get away from their dark enemies.

Lydia stared down at her poor Sandworms in shock.

"No..." she realized. The Neitherworld was a good idea to get away from the perolayx...unfortunately, Neitherworld city did not have any sand to bury into. The streets were hard, the environment was totally different then what the Sandworms were used to. They were like fish out of water. Sandworms out of sand. Exposed in the open, and terrified.

Edgar screeched, breaking her out of the shock. Lydia turned to him and started climbing on top of his back. The perolayx came and attacked the side of the building Lydia stood on top of; digging their teeth into it and drilling through it. The building shook. Debris fell from it, just as Lydia left her feet. She cried as she felt herself falling. Her arms stretched out toward Edgar's neck. Lightly running along it.

Inside, ghosts and goblins were heard screaming inside their homes as the building rocked. Edgar screeched and quickly shifted his body and became a coil. Lydia slid down his curved body till she made it all the way down to the ground safely. The building stopped rocking and steadied itself. The dead people inside the building ran screaming out of it through the double doors and out of the city as the perolayx ate through their home till there was nothing left.

Edger scooped Lydia on his head and slithered away before the creatures got to them next; crashing through debris as it littered the streets. Lydia held on to Edgar tightly. The tattered ends of her Sandworm disguise flapping behind her in the winds. Her face pressed against her loyal Sandworm's back. Tears brimmed her eyes as she watched her kind cower behind buildings from the perolayx.

The leech creatures devoured everything that stood in front of them. Their sharp, needle like teeth gnashing and tearing into wood, steel, concrete, and other elements in the city. Fires erupted all around as telephone wires were taken down. The dark clouds above became darker as the smoke rose up towards them, adding to the darkness.

...

Beetlejuice finally made it to the Neitherworld city. He leaned against a broken street light and placed his hands on his knees and gasped heavily. He wasn't used to running so much...only unless he was being chased. He lifted his head up and looked at the destroyed city. All the citizens of the city had already evacuated, and now was inhabited by Sandworms and perolayx.

Everywhere he looked he saw the leech creatures eating everything in sight. Sandworms slithered away screeching in pain as the leech creatures clung to their backs, eating away at their flesh. It was all a mess. Beetlejuice had never seen the city so trashed and destroyed before. It actually looked quite nice...except for the fact that he wasn't the one responsible for it. The sight of the creatures made him tense up and wish he was back inside his roadhouse.

Suddenly, Beetlejuice's heart jumped inside his chest when he heard a scream. "Lydia?" he found himself blurt out loud. His eyes scanned the littered streets. Then they stopped when they spotted the girl wearing the Sandworm corpse around herself.

Her, Edgar and a couple other Sandworms were seen defending themselves from a group of the dark leech creatures. The perolayx's insides glowed a deep purple as they snapped their teeth blindly at the Sandworms and girl. Lydia stood in front of the perolayx with her spear, stabbing at the creatures if they came too close. One jumped toward her and grabbed onto her spear with its teeth.

Lydia gasped and tried shaking the creature off, but it held on. Its powerful jaws came down and snapped the spear in half. Lydia took a step back and chucked the broken spear at the group of advancing oil colored perolayx.

They were defenseless.

Beetlejuice gasped in horror. "Lydia!" he screamed and found himself running at top speed to her.

Lydia looked and saw her ghost friend coming toward her. "Beetlejuice!" she cried. Beetlejuice ducked and maneuvered around the broken street lamps, turned over cars and pieces of buildings to her and the other Sandworms. His striped coat rubbed up against a couple loose nails, causing it to rip, and his shoulder bumping into car tires, slowing him down, but he continued moving forward. His eyes still on Lydia.

Lydia couldn't believe what Beetlejuice was doing in the city. She didn't want him to be there, especially with the perolayx around. "No! Don't! Lydia cried over the loud noises of the crumbling city and the snapping teeth of the perolayx.

Suddenly, the group of perolayx that were attacking the girl turned their heads when they smelled the Ghost With the Most. They all belted a high pitch screech before squirming towards him. Lydia's eyes widened in horror as the group started advancing toward her friend. "Nooo! she screamed. Edgar's red eyes glowed and screamed as well.

Beetlejuice slowed to a dead stop when he noticed that something was not right. He froze. The perolayx were coming right at him. Biting their way through the debris in front of him as if it were made of paper. Their glowing bellies glowing extra bright. They were hungry for a certain striped clad ghost.

Beelejuice gasped in horror and placed his hands in front of him for defense as he began to walk backwards. He tripped over a chunk of building and fell on his rear end. "Ow!" he cried out when he felt more then his back end hurt. His leg had scraped against a sharp metal piece that was lodged in the concrete chunk from the building. Pain coursed up his leg as he clutched it. The perolayx didn't stop. Beetlejuice could hear Lydia's voice crying out to him. Beetlejuice mouth dropped open in a silent scream as the leeches came closer and closer.

He knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them in time. Especially with a wounded leg. He looked up to Lydia who was screaming for him to run. Beetlejuice felt tears come to his eyes as he waved for her to run and save herself. He had the group of perolayx distracted. It was enough for her and the other Sandworms to leave...

"Run! Go!" Beetlejuice shouted. Beetlejuice felt his heart hurt when he saw tears run down her face. He looked away from her face sadly as he bunched up his legs close to his chest, placed his pale hands in front of his face and squeezed his eyes shut. "Goodbye, Lydia..." he said softly as tears ran down his white cheeks. Bracing for the perolayx to rip into his skin-

Suddenly, he heard a loud familiar cry. He flinched. He felt the presence of a large creature in front of him. He slowly opened his tear stained eyes and gasped. Edgar loomed in between him and the leech creatures. He opened his mouth and allowed his second head to come out. Edgar roared as he blocked the perolayx path from getting to the striped clad ghost. The perolayx screeched in surprise when the Sandworm appeared in front of them, but it didn't stop them from taking him down.

Beetlejuice watched in horror as Edgar was attacked by the perolayx. His body twisting and writhing in pain. Edgar used his heads to smack the leeches away and used his tail to crush the oil colored perolayx, thus killing them. The ones that clung to the Sandworm's back began to sink their teeth into his black and white skin, feasting away and creating basketball sized holes. Edgar reared back his head and screamed a loud scream.

Beetlejuice's eyes became huge as he sat there, petrified in fear and shock. Soon, an anger began to bubble up inside him. He couldn't remember what happened in that split second. One moment he was on the ground staring up at the Sandworm in trouble. The next thing he knew he was floating above Edgar's head with a tingling feeling in his hands. He thre back his head and roared angrily as he clenched his fists together.

Suddenly, lightning cracked across the black sky behind him, then came down again only this time coursing through Beetlejuice's body, and down to all the perolayx in Edgar's body and all around him. The perolayx shrieked as the power zapped them; cooking their insides with intense heat. The creatures in Edgar's body stopped eating him and began to writhe; falling out of his body and started to spaz amongst the others that were doing the same thing. Soon, their bodies couldn't take it anymore and they exploded in a fury of shiny black slime.

Edgar's body went limp and he collapsed next to the steaming pile of perolayx goo. Beetlejuice felt the lightning leave his body as he too went limp in the air and gradually floated down to the ground, exhausted and in pain. He fell next to Edgar's head onto his stomach. He forced his tired eyes open to look at Edgar. Edgar's red eyes glowed dim as he whimpered. Holes were seen all over his body and blood began oozing out of them.

Edgar stared back at the striped clad ghost next to him. He screeched softly in pain. Beetlejuice coughed and wheezed before forcing the words out. "Y-you...saved...my...life," he said weakly. Edgar shifted his head a bit as she stared at Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice used the rest of his strength to move his arm out towards Edgar. Edgar stared down at Beetlejuice's hand as it stretched out towards his nose.

Edgar used the last of his remaining strength to move his black and white striped nose closer. Beetlejuice felt his hand lightly brush up against Edgar's snout. Beetlejuice felt the Sandworm's warmth of his skin. His eyes came back up to Edgar's red ones, who were already staring back at him.

"Th-thank you...Edgar..." he said. Edgar weakly let out a soft screech. Beetlejuice smiled a small smile, which hurt him when he did, but he didn't care. Edgar, a Sandworm, saved his life. Then, Edgar shifted his head up slightly and opened his mouth, allowing his other head to come out. The white head covered in blue dots came out slowly. It's dull yellow eyes blinked before opening its mouth and stretching its tongue out.

Beetlejuice watched without feeling any fear course through him as it gave him a small lick on his face. Beetlejuice smiled and didn't bother wiping it off. Then the small head snaked back inside the striped Sandworms mouth. Edgar closed his mouth and rested his head back down. Beetlejuice stared at the Sandworm as it slowly shifted its body. More blood was seen dripping down the Sandworm's body, creating pools. Beetlejuice felt tears come to his eyes as he watched his new Sandworm friend slowly die in front of him.

He tried getting up, but felt the pain course through him. Suddenly, he heard Lydia's voice and footsteps as she came up to his body. "Beetlejuice!" she cried and wrapped her arms around his body. Beetlejuice groaned in pain. Lydia gasped and helped him upright. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his aching chest. Beetlejuice hugged her tightly, ignoring the pain.

"I th-thought I lost..y-you," Lydia sobbed. Beetlejuice shook his head as he removed the deceased Sandworm hood-like head from hers and placed his hand behind her real head. Then Edgar screeched from behind her. She quickly turned and saw Edgar on the ground surrounded by his own blood. She gasped and quickly rushed to him. "Edgar!" she cried and wrapped her arms around his snout. Beetlejuice slowly got up and limped to the two.

Edgar screeched softly to Lydia as she cried and shook her head. Beetlejuice watched from behind Lydia. His heart ached as his mind repeated what the Sandworm did for him. He felt guilty for hating all the Sandworms...especially Edgar. He knew Edgar hated him as well, but in the end, gave up his own life to save his...

Tears ran down his face as he touched Lydia's shoulders. Lydia kissed the top of Edgar's head and screeched something to him. Edgar shifted as if nodding, then his eyes went dark, and went completely limp. Lydia continued to hug Edgar's snout as she cried into his striped scaly skin. Beetlejuice gently pulled her away from the deceased Sandworm as it began to sprinkle.

Lydia turned around and hugged Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice wrapped his arms around her. He felt her tears stain his striped jacket, but he didn't care. He lifted his head up and looked over Lydia's head and stared down at Edgar's dead body.

Wishing he could have saved Edgar's life...

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