Enid returned once again to the hive, though this time she'd brought a friend. Bea smiled at the sight of the odd pair, she never expected to see Enid and Xavier together, especially not at the hive.
"Enid said you'd be here." Xavier shrugged, he awkwardly climbed into the confined space.
"Yeah, this is my new confinement til i'm cleared." Bea muttered, she stood up to be at eye level with the others. "I think whatever Tyler warned me about is going down tonight." Bea continued, she could feel it in the air, she'd already noticed the change when Wednesday had taken her to the hive initially. There was a bad aura emanating from Nevermore, especially from the crypt.
"I still can't believe Tyler Galpin, your ex boyfriend, is the monster." Enid sighed, she never believed the boy could have amounted to so much. "Did you know when you said you two had broken up?" Enid asked, just now coming to the realization. Bea nodded her head and sighed.
"I don't know what to think of him anymore." Bea muttered.
"I guessed that much, do you seriously think he's somehow innocent." Xavier scoffed, he believed the boy to be trouble, even before finding out that he was the monster, this was just the icing on the cake for him, proof of his chilling suspicions of Tyler.
"I don't know, but I can't judge him completely knowing that he's enslaved to Ms. Thornhill."
"Geez, look at the time, I need to head back. Xavier you should too." Enid said, the girl was currently late for one of her classes, though Xavier didn't mind being a little tardy, these were pressing times, plus it's not every day that you're up close and personal with someone like Bea. She didn't open up much, but when she did it was always interesting.
Xavier hoped to bring the conversation back to Tyler, and did so once Enid left the hive.
"Is that really what happens?" Xavier asked, he was referring to Bea's previous statement. The boy didn't know much on the matter of Hyde's, no one really did. Bea wanted to enlighten people, hopefully spreading the good word and of course awareness as well.
"Yeah, you're helpless against your master. Tyler's been asked to do Thornhills bidding, who knows what else she's asked him to do. Plus, a Hyde is a whole different personality from the person." Bea stated, she was torn on terms of Tyler, there were some things that didn't sit right with her, especially with that confrontation in which he admitted to enjoying the killings.
She couldn't figure out if that were his Hyde speaking or if it was Tyler, that was what made things much more difficult.
"Have you dreamt of anything current recently?" Bea asked, Xavier shrugged his shoulders and looked away from Bea. He was lying, but only for the protection of the girl.
He'd dreamt of the girl fighting with someone, it wasn't very vivid and in fact confused him greatly, though he assumed that it would happen. A lot of his previous dreams had been of things that were real, more like places, such as the monster of the Gates mansion, this time it was a little different. It was a lot more similar to Wednesday's visions, almost like a prediction, the boy just hoped it was a fantasy rather than a truth. Because in his dream Bea was the one who lost.
"No not really, I'm finally at peace." Xavier teased, he was glad to get the girl smiling again. Frowns didn't really suit her, Bea's face always opened up when she smiled, adding a sort of beauty to her appearance that he couldn't quite understand. "I drew this though." The boy said, it was a portrait of Bea behind bars.
"How lovely, but you drew my bad side." Bea chuckled, she admired the boys work for a moment and quickly returned it to him.
"Keep it, as a reminder or something." Xavier stated, he folded his arms and sighed, he too could sense the danger in the air, but for a moment he felt safe. Maybe because he was in the confined and secret space of Eugene's hive, or because a certain girl was by his side.
"Of my time as a hardened criminal." Bea spattered, she folded the page up and placed it in an inner pocket of her coat. The girl glanced at the time, there was a clock ticking right above the entrance to the hive. "Shouldn't you be heading back?" Bea asked, Xavier just shrugged his shoulders.
"It can wait." The boy said, Bea pushed him in the side.
"Go, people will start getting suspicious." Bea stated, Xavier didn't budge the first few times Bea shoved him in the shoulder, though he eventually gave in, not because of the girls frivolous acts of violence, but because he wanted her to be safe.
"Alright fine, don't do anything stupid while i'm gone." Xavier said, he turned to look at the girl one last time before closing the door shut behind him. He felt uncertain about everything, especially where he stood with this girl. He was in awe that she was possibly willing to give Tyler another chance, though he didn't know what it was like. She understood him like no one else, that meant they had a sort of connection that he could never have with the girl.
...
Nightfall was beginning to approach, meaning that the blood moon was steadily rising. You could see it over the horizon, slowly but surely making its way to the top of the sky. Bea could only stand by and wait things out, though Wednesday had warned the other kids about some sort of travesty that was to happen at Nevermore. Perhaps related to the image of her destroying the school.
Xavier had mentioned it to Bea, though the girl didn't know how to take it, that is until she heard a scream in the forest. The girl stood up quickly and exited the hive.
Whoever it was, they were in trouble, but little did Bea know, this was bate to lure her in. Thornhill, or dare I say, Laurel Gates, was hoping to bring Bea to her location so that Tyler, her own boyfriend, could put her out of misery.
Or at least get her out of the running, she quite enjoyed the fact of seeing to loved ones go head to head, especially when it means more bloodshed of outcasts.
Bea made it to the entrance of the forest before beginning to feel like she'd made a mistake. She'd only heard one scream, that was unusual. Then the scream happened again, this time Bea was closer, and able to pinpoint its location.
The sound appeared to be coming just Northeast of Bea, she could make it if she hurried. Though the night had now begun and the last remnants of the sun had been slowly extinguished.
Bea tripped over a branch and fell, the hit was bad enough that it knocked her out for a few minutes. When the girl awoke she was left with dizziness and uncertainty, and she also worried about the screaming person whom she'd failed to attend to.
The girl continued on in the original direction that she had been traveling, this time at a walking pace to prevent further injury, she knew that she would need all of her strength to survive the night.
There was no sign of life within the forest, besides the occasional fauna that were sprawled throughout the place, there seemed to be no sign of human life, the animals would have scattered had there been someone in this area.
So was the screaming person gone? Or perhaps they weren't in this direction after all. Bea opted to end the search and attempt to navigate herself back to the hive. The woods were beginning to look a little familiar to Bea, she'd scavenged this area with Eugene once (Wednesday had told Bea to take her place) it was close to where Crackstone's crypt was. She'd walked so far that she'd managed to go around the Nevermore lake.
The girl was unsure of what to do, she was scared, alone, and in an unwelcoming environment. The trees looked like monstrous shadows that could reach down and snatch the girl up at any moment, the floor seemed faulty, with so many secret hidden between the numerous fallen leaves, and the lack of wildlife added to all of the strangeness. Was there something else out there, something that was scaring the animals away? Or was it just her own conscious, the beast that lurked inside her soul..
Bea sat down, resting her back against a large tree trunk. Part of her jacket had managed to get snagged on a bit of sap, though that was the least of the girls problems. There was a light up ahead, it looked like one of a flashlight?
The girl was contemplating on whether or not to approach it, but it was too late. This person was much closer than she'd anticipated, in fact he stood right in front of her.
"Bea?" He said, he had a sort of glossy look in his eyes, and the way he said the girls name caused her heart to melt.
"Tyler." Bea muttered, she stood up and remained where she was, she didn't dare take one step further. "What are you doing here." The girl muttered, her tone was rather hostile, but she wanted the boy to know where he stood in terms of relationships. They weren't in a great place right now, Bea didn't know how split Tyler's mind was, nor the atrocities he'd been through the end up like this.
The girl almost ran away, but Tyler had managed to sneak up on her. He grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling Bea towards him. Their eyes met for a moment before the girl batted her head in another direction, she couldn't handle his gaze.
"Please let me explain myself, before it's too late." Tyler whispered, there was so much fear when he spoke, and you could see it in his eyes, this really was Tyler. He'd come back for Bea.
"I-." Bea muttered.
"C'mon Bea, you of all people would know what I'm going through. It's inhumane." Tyler protested, the girl nodded and sighed. She was big on second chances, though technically Tyler had already gotten one after the whole mural business with Xavier. Still, the boy deserved to be heard, and deep down Bea wanted him to be innocent, so she was more than willing to listen.
"I do."
"Bea I never wanted any of this to happen, I didn't even know about my mother until Thornhill. She revealed it to me and I guess that sort of began it all. She found me at a vulnerable time, and she used that to her advantage." Tyler began, he still hadn't let go of the girl, in fact both of his hands were loosely gripping Bea's trembling arms.
"Yknow that cave, Wednesday probably found it out. That's where she drugged me, and tortured me, chained me to the wall like some animal. That's when I really began to lose myself, and I didn't know it then, but she was completely in control." Tyler began, Bea tried her best to hold back her tears, it was really Tyler in front of her, and he was even better than she'd ever imagined.
"Then the killings started happening, a-and I met you. I was always okay knowing that you'd be there on the other side." Tyler said, he watched as the girl began to cry, digging her face into his shoulder. Tyler's eyes were clouded as well, and he eventually let the tears fall.
"I was so mean to you." Tyler whispered.
"Tyler it's alright, you're gonna be alright." Bea cried, she didn't want to let go of the boy, she wished this moment would last forever. "Believe me that no one understands more than I do." Bea stated.
"Ive tried to stop Thornhill, I've tried to break free but it's so damn hard. How'd you do it?" Tyler said, he was nearly hysterical now, Bea lifted her head and began to pat his head.
"My mother asked me to kill her, she enslaved me for my own protection, but could never live with the guilt." Bea said, Tyler's eyes widened and he let go of the girl for a moment.
"Your mother was your master, you had to kill your own mother?" Tyler asked, his mouth was ajar and his eyes were widened due to shock.
"I-, yeah, so believe me when I say that I know what you're feeling, that emptiness, it's like you're paralyzed. But don't get overwhelmed in that, you'll be free someday i'm sure of it." Bea said, Tyler frowned and looked to the floor in shame.
"You need to go." Tyler said abruptly, he let go of Bea and began backing away from her.
"Tyler I can't just leave you." Bea retorted, she'd backed into the tree trunk, and immediately was swept with a feeling of being trapped, she couldn't explain it. She felt like some sort of prey being cornered by a mighty beast.
"Kill her Tyler."