The sun went down slowly, drawing out the already painfully long time until dark. He hoped to see the moon again before he died.
Dib sat on the hard metal ground, propped doll-like against the feet of a statue of an incredibly tall, thin Irken. The immortalized Tallest was wrinkled and old, riddled with many battle scars; the first Irken Warlord served as shelter for the earth-boy. A poor shelter it was, seeing as one of the murderous aliens was standing before him with a long jagged spear clutched in her hand.
Dib's head was dipped, but he looked up at her with his eyes and scowled. His glasses were cracked, and part of the left lens had abandoned the frame. The tall, feminine being was only partially in focus, but he could see her gloating smirk all the same. He remembered her, from long ago.
Unbidden, memories flooded into his aching skull. Memories of a Skoolgirl who took interest in his hobbies and saw him fit to share conversation with. Kindness that was unspoken of in its rarity.
Memories of an Irken invader that had almost destroyed his planet; the one and only thing that he had ever fought for. That protective urge, it had taken him far. He was reminded by a sharp sting of pain in his hip, ribs, and the forearm laying limp over his lap that far wasn't nearly far enough.
"Tak," the name fell from Dib's abnormally pale lips like a curse. She raised an eyebrow, at the sound of the word. He didn't care if he impressed or surprised her. "Why don't you just kill me?" He asked her, voice breaking.
Dib hacked in an ugly way, tasting the sharp tang of blood on his tongue. That explosion had done more damage than he cared to let himself acknowledge. He didn't feel like being scared, not now. He felt like being courageous. It was the only way to make the last minutes of his life meaningful. So he put on a brave face.
Her laugh shattered the moment, making the noble way he faced death seem as special as a grain of sand was to the desert. It overpowered his resolve, and made him feel incredibly helpless and inexplicably angry. Dib grit his teeth, and attempted to sit up. The struggles only resulted in fiery pain. It drew a grunt from his throat.
"Well," Tak said. "I was going to say I let you live because you're more intelligent than the rest, but you just proved that you're incredibly stupid. What, you want to further dislocate your shoulder?" She smirked. "Pitiful human scum." Though he might not have believed it, she was remembering him too. Her statement, although mocking, was true.
As Dib watched it almost appeared as if she lowered the spear and therefore her guard down an inch or so. But no, an Irken Invader would never do that.
Dib glanced at his shoulder, strength leaving his face for a fraction of a moment. Tak rolled her eyes. "You had no idea how much damage you did to yourself with that pathetic sabotage attempt, did you? Looks like you've managed to break it as well." She prodded his forearm with her spear, which caused Dib to grimace. But he felt a spark of hope; she wasn't going to take his life. Not now, at least.
"So I take it you enjoy poking me with that thing?" He shot out. "What would the tallest say? You're treating Earth's very own Invader like a plaything! Shouldn't you turn me in or something?"
Tak chuckled, putting her free hand on her hip. He amused her. She cocked her head. "One and only Invader. You're hardly a threat. Why do you think I dragged you from the rubble? If I wanted you dead you'd be dying right now... well, quicker than you are at the moment." She scrutinized the blood that soaked his shirt, making the grey inner lining of his coat nearly as black as the outside.
Dib felt his stomach sicken at the nature of that sentence. Her allude to torture didn't surprise him; but it still disturbed him. "Seventeen," He murmured.
"You've grown."
"So have you." Dib looked up at her, looking more sick than furious. She had grown. His verbal statement of the fact seemed to make her burn with pride, as her smile widened deviously. She was nearly as tall as he would've been had he been standing, and even slightly paler. Her eyes seemed to have darkened, if only a bit. They were a dangerous shade of plumb. In all honesty, Dib found her appearance comparable to the beauty of a murderous wildcat.
"Aye, I have." She stated. "When the Tallests fall, I'll be qualified to compete to succeed them. And I will succeed them." A hunger gleamed in her rabid eyes and bared teeth. Dib shivered. He couldn't imagine what kind of wacked up government system the Irkens had adopted...
"So what are you gonna do with me...?" Dib asked, voice defiant yet strained. Tak realized he was growing paler by the second, and could sense that he wanted to reach the conclusion of their conflict as soon as possible. It was obviously difficult for him to continue even speaking, at this point. He was oddly strong for alien scum.
She knelt down and sat casually in front of him, setting the spear across her legs. "I'm going to smuggle you into my ship."
"What?" He breathed, eyes growing wide with what she interpreted as fear. Rightful fear! She had many means of inflicting pain upon her enemies.
"You're coming with me." She spat, antenna flattening against her head. "I'm going to repair and alter your pathetic body and dump you at the nearest star system not claimed by the tallest." His face, pure shock. She smirked, evilly. It felt good to be the dominant one, to be on higher ground.
Dib choked a bit on the liquid that bubbled in his chest as he breathed. "Wh- you can't do that to me -" he broke off and let out a storm of wheezing, gasping between each stabbing cough. Through a weird haze of semi-consciousness, he heard Tak mutter something along the lines of "fine, have it your way" and heard her footsteps as she began to leave him.
"Wh-WAIT!" Dib gasped, wiping blood from his chin. He held his good arm out, extending his hand to her as if he could will her back. "Tak, wait!" He shouted, in a gargling voice. She stopped and stood silently, straight back facing him.
"Say that again." She ordered smugly.
"Oh, I forgot Irken's don't have ears." Dib shot vehemently, as he swallowed bloody spit that made him want to gag. He wasn't about to beg, he'd NEVER beg. The boy knew that his reply was incredibly stupid, but danger had become his only friend and he had learned to feed on its presence. And an aura of danger clung to Tak like the glow of a white hot flame.
Tak found herself grinning yet again. This one had spirit. It would be fun to try and break him.
But it might be even more fun to leave him as he was, to observe him from a distance. Somehow, the thought of destroying his willpower seemed a shame. He was still the boy she had sat and talked with so long ago. But stronger. Tak wondered just how strong. She turned back and walked towards him, sitting so close that she could smell his freakishly deeply colored blood.
"What are you doing?" He asked her, sounding annoyed. "If you really want me alive I think we'd better get going. Like now." So condescending. Did he think she was an idiot?
"We can't leave yet," she snapped. She continued, as if she were explaining to an ignorant smeet. "The guards don't shift until the moon rises."
"Oh," Dib said, voice drifting off. He looked dangerously tired, and his eyes were clouded as if he were half asleep. "About how long do we have to wait for that?"
"About fifteen minutes."
Dib's heart sank. He didn't know if he could last fifteen minutes... his body already felt cold, and his fingers stiff and numb. He judged by the small puddle of blood that had accumulated under him that he had already lost a vital amount of the life sustaining liquid. He hoped that alien technology was able to perform what would seem like a miracle to the scientists of earth. Who knew, it probably could.
He sighed, and looked at the sky. The sun had sunk below the horizon, revealing a deep purple and green sky. Multicolored stars shimmered in the atmosphere. Somehow on the edge of death, her alien presence was... alright. Tak's cruelty reminded him of Gaz, a little. He missed his sister, dearly. He had always felt a little bit guilty for leaving her without explanation.
Sitting next to Tak reminded of conversations he had had with her. He hoped that his life wasn't flashing before his eyes in his last moments... did that really happen? Either way, he couldn't say he minded the closeness of her alien body. Somehow, it felt like they were equals. And the fact that she didn't callously murder him gave him a surge of gratitude that he was to proud to admit. But really, it was a good, good feeling.
Dib closed his eyes and exhaled, drinking in the moment. It had been a long time since he had felt anything close to comfort.