Betelgeuse-A Beetlejuice Novel

Chapter 14: No One There

Disclaimer: I do not own Beetlejuice or related characters, he belongs to Tim Burton. I do not own Beetlegeuse. I don't own Betelgeuse? I don't own any of the weird spellings for his name.

Betelgeuse?

Written By: Melanie Ray

Chapter Fourteen: No One There

----------------------------------------------------


When Lydia opened her eyes again she was on a street she had never been on before. In fact, the whole feel of the area was very foreign.

Vernie pointed to the house in front of him. "You are now Kathleen Smith and this is where you live and work." He handed her a stack of stapled papers. "Past, present and virtually every question that may come up should be covered. Study it well."

Lydia took the papers quietly.

Vernie opened the door for her and they went in. He gave her a brief tour and led them to a specially designed nursery room. "Everything is bolted down in here, including the crib. Don't take your kid out of this room for anything until you are absolutely positive he understands not to use his powers. In fact, the more you dissuade him from using them, the less likely he should even remember them. There is a good chance with enough dissuasion, it'll be just a typical little kid."

Lydia looked at the already decorated crib. She closed her eyes and pictured a little spider mobile hanging above it, along with a purple blanket covered in a beetle tapestry. She even imagined the crib being more rustic covered in black and white stripes.

That's what her baby should have had. Instead she opened them back up and saw a blue teddy bear mobile with a blanket of brown teddy bears and yellow half moons on a background of dark blue. The crib was smooth and a light pine color.

Everything about it yelled wrong. The whole room screamed that it wasn't right. With the constant blues and teddies everywhere.

"We already did the work for you, less you be tempted to pick something unsuitable," Vernie explained. "From strollers to your swings, everything should be here that you need. Bolted down of course."

Lydia gave him a strange look. If the baby was supposed to spend it's entire life there until it forgot it's powers, what would she need a stroller for?

Vernie read her expression. "Standard. The job duty was to get everything that was standard. You never know, he might learn early. Maybe at 6 months he could go for a stroll."

Lydia kept staring at him more. "You already know it's gonna be a boy?"

"Oh." Vernie snapped his fingers. "Shoot. I wasn't supposed to say that." He looked around the room. "Like you wouldn't have figured it out anyhow. Yes, you're having a boy. Call it intuition on our part."

"Oh." Lydia looked at her tiny bump. She wasn't that far along yet. A lot of the times, she still didn't even feel pregnant. Some sickness yeah but not a sense of actually being pregnant yet. "It's going to be a boy."

"Yes," Vernie agreed. "Your name is Kathleen Smith. You now live here. You came from a well-to-do family which is why you are able to live by yourself in such a nice area." He brought out a bottle that was surrounded with tape. "According to the rules, I cannot allow you to have anything with any sense of the supernatural. I do know you want this though."

Lydia took the bottle and looked at it.

"I covered the outside of it, but I know it will mean a great deal to you," Vernie tried to smile. "Considering it was his."

Lydia held the bottle tightly. Most likely it would be the only thing she was allowed to keep.

"The place has been fully furnished in the other rooms as well," Vernie informed her. "In your kitchen there is a safe in the left pantry stocked with extra cash to help out. The combination is on the table. Everything you will need or want should be inside your house for you."

"But my parents," Lydia protested. "They will look from me, especially when they find-when they find?" She gasped.

"It's already said and done. We took care of you-know-who's mortal remains, but they were quick. They were told the bad news. Their reactions weren't happy but there is nothing we can do about that," Vernie told her. "In fact, I'm afraid they are going to get even more bad news very soon from the authorities about their kidnapped daughter again."

Lydia tried to brace herself.

"They will not look for you if they think you are dead," Vernie told her solidly. "It's for the best. Our WDP will fill in as cops and other positions. No one will suspect a thing when we tell them you were killed along with your best friend, Betty Juice. It will cover both of those mucky tracks."

Lydia's stomach felt very sick for some time but she had tried to hold it back bravely. She wasn't going to be able to hold it any longer though.

Vernie quickly led her to the bathroom and waited. He still had just a smidge more ground to cover.

Feeling slightly more confident Lydia stumbled out of the bathroom. "I don't think I can do this."

"You don't get a choice," Vernie informed her. "Now there's just a little more I have to tell you, then you are on your own."

"On my own?" Lydia looked around at her new house.

"Yes. Just remember, say my name if you are really having troubles. I mean really having troubles," He said a bit tougher. "I'll keep a line open with you for about the first four months." He looked at his watch. His partner should have been there by now. Instead, he had to remember everything. "Claire did a fairly good job on how to act, but ease yourself up a bit until you make friends. Then you can follow their lead."

Lydia nodded, knowing she was back to square one. Now that she was out of shock, she probably wasn't allowed to even say his name again. "What about him? Will he be alright?"

"He'll be fine. He's been dead once before," Vernie reminded her.

"Oh she's just worried because she physically saw his brains splatter."

Vernie frowned at his partner who finally showed. He could be so insensitive at times!

His partner looked at his own watch. "Alright, I'll take over from here." He looked over at Lydia. "Pick your friends carefully. There's a bunch of beetles in the fridge for you to help with your cravings. Once the little squirt comes, mix a bit with your milk. Or continue eating them, but your taste will have gone back to normal. What else." He looked over his notes. "Up the milk and lessen the juice of the beetles as he grows older. Eventually, just have milk."

Lydia looked at the ground. "Beetle juice."

"Juice of the beetles," The unnamed WDP warned her. "Don't say his name. Ever. Even if he could come, he would bring more harm than good. Everyone would sense exactly where you were and everything would be coming after your family. Here and back at your old home."

"We won't be here to guard you anymore. In a completely new location, you are out of harm's way. We'll keep tabs on you, but consider yourself fairly free now," Vernie said. "We'll especially be watching close when the child is coming closer to being born."

"With no thoughts of the supernatural though, and nowhere near any supernatural places of the past or present, it'll be too hard to find you," Vernie's partner added. "Just remember that the more you rebel against the supernatural, the safer you both will be. In fact, it is very important because you see-"

"It's not important to dwell on it," Vernie warned him. "She knows it by heart. She will do the right thing."

"Well just in case her mind slips on what the right thing is," his partner responded. "If we feel that you are slipping, then we'll make it easy for you by taking away your kid. You'll never see him again. Understood?"

Lydia's mouth dropped. They were supposed to be helping her, not threatening her.

"The boy will never see a beetle in your hand. No spiders, nothing common you'd see in the neitherworld. No ouija boards, nothing spooky whatsoever. Every insect he sees must be on accident, and as soon as you know about it, you will get rid of it."

"But we'll ease up around Halloween," Vernie added. "Since many celebrate and have things outside their house, we know it's impossible to keep him away at that point."

"Still, you should do your best. Meaning you shouldn't celebrate Halloween. We won't be that lenient." His partner added. "And of course, if we even so much as hear that ghost's name we'll-"

"She gets the hint," Vernie interrupted again. His partner had scared her sufficiently enough. He pointed at Lydia. "Purple is a color you kind of like, right? Not everything has to be the pink you despise."

Lydia looked down at herself. Her clothes had been changed to a basic purple dress.

"Remember." Vernie's partner said one more time. "By the time you say his name once, we'll be here before you finish the third time. And even he can't go everywhere that we can." With that last warning, he disappeared.

Vernie sighed. "Remember we really are here to help you. Just call if-"

"I'll be fine," Lydia said abruptly. "I doubt I will need any of your help, Mr. WDP, sir."

Vernie groaned. Great, because of his partners 'help' she wouldn't even trust them anymore. "I hope you learn to enjoy your new life, Kathleen Smith."

Then, he disappeared.

Lydia looked at her new home. She looked at her new clothes. She thought about everything that happened in the last six hours of her life: Beetlejuice's death. Hiding at Claire's. Destroying her identity. Going to her new home. Learning her new identity. Finding out it was a boy. Finding out that the WDP didn't really trust her.

It was a lot to take in.

She took a moment to breathe in. B.J. is dead again.

She took a moment to breathe out. My parents will think I'm dead.

She breathed in again. The WDP will take this baby away if I screw up.

She breathed out again. I have no one left to turn to.

"Is there really no one?" She asked out loud. Nothing answered back but her own slight echo.

She breathed in again. She breathed out again.

Then she fainted.

A few minutes later, she found herself on the hard floor. No one caught her when she fainted. There really was no one. Lydia stared at the bottle ahead of her she had dropped when she had fainted.

Beetlejuice's baby bottle.

There was no more hope left. All that remained of hers was the little bottle up ahead. Her friends, her family, everything had been taken away.

There would never be any happily ever after for her.

_______________________________

Author's Note: I am almost all caught up with my current writing for this fiction. I am working steadily on the next chapter, "Beetlejuice's Sacrifice". Please stay tuned.