The knife gently grazed the wallpaper as he crept down the dark hallway. As he continued, the blade cut deeper into the thin paper, making a long split along the whole length of the wall. It made a sickening grinding sound as it hit the actual drywall and scraped it. He reached his destination, grinning as he reeled his head around the doorway. Good. He was still sleeping. Shhing! The stranger ripped his blade away from the wall roughly and brought it closer to his side. Making sure he was as quiet as he could be, he approached the adult's sleeping form. He was close, close enough to see the details on the man's pale, peaceful face. The corner of the stranger's mouth lifted in a wicked smile as he slapped a hand over the sleeping man's mouth. The raven-haired man's eyes opened, not understanding what was going on, but they soon filled with panic and realization. His muffled scream filled the air. "Shhhhhh….." His green-skin assailant cooed, tracing his cheek with the sharp edge of the knife. Before he could react, the blade was shoved deep into his chest, his vision going white.

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"GAH!" Dib sat up in the bed, gasping for air. The sheets were is a mangled knot around his legs and torso, almost strangling him. His body was coated in sweat and he felt lightheaded. "Another nightmare…" He sighed and ripped the dangerous knots of the bed sheets off of him. The bright green numbers on the digital clock next to him read "2:36 A.M.". Dib's hands found themselves resting on his face. It wasn't even 3:00 yet. On nights like this, he could never go back to sleep. Even though he was still frazzled, his bare feet somehow made it to the carpeted floor. He shuffled across the floor to the small bathroom his bedroom held.

His reflection was horrid, like usual. His skin was extremely pale, sinking in a bit on his cheeks. Dark bruise-colored shadows loomed under his eyes from lack of sleep. A dark bloom of purple was splattered on his cheek, being the result of a blow his sister had thrown at his face when she had visited. His hair was messy, his scythe-lock hanging loosely in front of his face. His appearance was always like this. It never changed. It stayed this horrible, no matter how hard he tried to fix it. No sleep, not getting enough food, and constant beatings could really change the way you look.

Dib turned on the faucet in the sink and splashed his face with cold water a couple of times. The icy liquid immediately knocked the sleep out of him. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wiped his face, sighing.

Why…why doesn't he ever leave my mind? He's there….in my dreams….my thoughts….everywhere…

He felt warmth as he threw on his trench coat over his almost bare body. Shakily, he approached the window and slid it open, sliding out of it and onto the fire escape. Immediately, a cold gust of wind and the sound of cars flying by greeted him. An exhale of relief escaped him as he approached the railing, causing a small puff of smoke to form as his warm breath met the cold outside air. He always did this on nights he had nightmares (which, was pretty much every night). It soothed him most of the time. It allowed him to clear his mind the most that he could. It was impossible for him to completely get him out of his mind. He haunts him and forever will…..

Dib shook his head. "Stop thinking about that menace. You're trying to calm down, not have a breakdown…" Great. Now he was talking to himself. His thoughts started to drift further at that moment. What was up with that nightmare? It was so…..disturbing. He couldn't seem to push it from his mind. It was as if the nightmare had a meaning to it, a hidden message that he was supposed to figure out. Was…was Zim coming back to murder him…? No, that couldn't be. They had become friends not too long before he disappeared…

He felt a pain in his hand as he slammed his hand against the metal railing in frustration. He ignored it, grasping his head in confusion and anger. Why did he have to live through this?! Where did his life ever go wrong?! His thoughts were in a mangled and twisted mass. Ever since the alien had vanished, his life went downhill. His family started to treat him even more horrible than usual. He lost his job and his money. His sanity started to wear away….at least, that's what other people said. He never really believed it, but now, he started to. Zim was always in his dreams and his nightmares and always found a way to creep into his thoughts. And, recently, he started to put himself in physical form….through Dib's hallucinations. He was really beginning to think he had lost his mind.

He heard the wail of a siren in the distance, somewhere deep in the city, distracting him. Car horns blared on the busy street below him. The dark-haired adult glanced below to see what had happened. The cars were all slowed to a stop, a long line starting to build up. Another car wreck, he guessed. The idiots who drove through these streets never gave attention to the speed limit, so it was no wonder. He remembered the time Zim and he had almost wrecked his car. Dib had usually driven him places since the alien didn't have a car or a driver's license. One particular day, Zim had begged him to let him drive for once. Dib hadn't agreed to the idea, of course. It was far too dangerous. But, using his usual aggressive ways, Zim had shoved Dib out of the driver's seat and started up the car. Dib had no time to even try to stop him before they were going at an unbelievably fast speed down the road. Zim had laughed the whole time, even when he almost hit 2 pedestrians. Suddenly, one of the traffic lights had changed to red in a split second and Zim wasn't prepared to stop. Dib had saved them by quickly lunging out of his seat and slamming his foot on the brake before they rammed into a silver truck.

Dib smiled slightly at the memory, but then frowned. He had no idea where Zim was….they could never once again share the memories they had together. He felt a tear slip from his eye and roll down his cheek. He glanced downward again, looking at the cold, hard pavement below him. His apartment was on the 6th story, so there was quite a distance from the ground. A thought made its way into his mind. What if he just ended everything? One jump from this height and it would all be over as soon as he hit the concrete. He bit his lip.

What should I do?