𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 ✘ 𝘉𝘌𝘌𝘛𝘓𝘌𝘑𝘜𝘐𝘊𝘌

Ꮯhᥲρtꫀɾ 𝟠: The Cabin in the Woods

One moment, Lydia had been in the comfort of her own home, safe and sound in a cozy room, surrounded by her loved ones. Suddenly, with a single snap, her surroundings had entirely changed with no smooth transition, as if it was a poorly edited video, into some place completely foreign to her. She was standing on the side of a quiet, rural road that seemed to stretch on forever. Cars were few and far between. Long blades of verdant grass grew upwards from the dirt lining the sides of the street. The sky was a blueish gray. The blonde girl, caught off guard by the sudden shift, stumbled backwards, nearly losing her balance.

Before she fell, though, she felt a firm hand quickly grab her bicep and help her back to her feet. It took a moment before she could process that it was Beetlejuice, still standing by her side after everything else had changed. She was having a very difficult time adjusting to suddenly being in an entirely new setting. Her alarmed, brown eyes looked back to him as she tore herself away from his grasp. "WHAT was that?" She demanded.

"What was what?"

"That! The... I was just in my house!"

"Ohhh. That? That was teleportation," he nonchalantly explained like it was nothing.

"Okay — never do that again without giving me more advanced notice." She shook her head, beginning getting a hold of her surroundings. "How are you so comfortable with it? That's... so weird."

"Eh. You get used to it with time," he answered.

Lydia looked around, examining. With the exception of a couple of cars, it basically looked like a ghost town. Growing up, she had lived in a busy city. At age fifteen, she moved somewhere more suburban, but still populated. Now, it was as if she was isolated from the rest of humanity. "Where are we, anyway?" She inquired.

"South Carolina."

"Sorry, what?" She demanded, eyes slightly widened. "Beetlejuice, what the actual hell?" She'd never been too far from home. Now, she was several states away from it. It was so sudden, and she simply wasn't prepared.

"What about it?" He asked, shrugging. "Just clearing you from danger, babes."

"In South Carolina? Isn't there ANYWHERE closer?"

He firmly replied, "I'm sure there is, but I'm fond of a little abandoned cabin down here, so this is where we're staying until your situation blows over."

Lydia audibly heaved a sigh. "You didn't even let me say goodbye. Can we go back?"

"Nope," he answered, sliding his hands into his striped pockets. "If I let you go back, you'll keep askin' to do it again, which'll just end up killing you somehow. But, if you want to send 'em a message, I can hook you up with a birdy friend of mine that delivers letters."

In response, she simply rolled her eyes. "I'll take a pass on that one for now."

Beginning to get slightly antsy from being outside for so long (in his mind), Beetlejuice suggested, "Heh — how's about we go inside, Scarecrow?"

Lydia, sensing his slight discomfort, inquired with emphasized calmness just to get on his nerves a bit, "What's the rush, BJ?"

He answered, lightly tapping his fingers against his forearm, "Sandworms. Teleportation, especially long-distance, throws 'em off, but a few minutes at most. Gotta get inside so I don't become their lunch."

"Maybe we should stay here for a few more minutes, then."

With sarcasm dripping in his voice, he replied, "Hilarious. Seriously, though."