A sunny Saturday evening was coming to an end. The breeze carried fallen leaves across lawns and roads, swirling aimlessly. Pink clouds painted the red sky as the sun dipped into the horizon. It left behind a few rays of light before vanishing completely, leaving the city in darkness. Even though the day had slipped away, life did not stop or contemplate it. Every individual continued their ritual, but now they relied on the unnatural light of street lamps and light bulbs.
A storm was coming. It lay on the horizon, pressing down on all the creatures that lived below. Lightning rippled across the stormy black clouds, producing small flashes of light. Miles and miles away from the bustling city, it lurked, waiting to pounce. Its presence was mentioned but not concerning. Storms were a common occurrence, rain and thunder meant nothing when people had sturdy homes to protect them. It would come, then go, then be forgotten.
In this city, there was a neighborhood, and in that neighborhood there was a house. Unlike the regular storm, this house was irregular. Almost unforgettable. It stood out among the other homes, for it towered high and seemed futuristic. Covered in technology and had visible electric fences. The Membrane's home.
Dib was in his room, which was dark and messy. Every wall was covered in pictures, posters, and newspaper clippings. Most of the photos were blurry pictures of Zim. He would be walking his dog or holding a strange device, there was even one that showed him with one of his contacts out. It was never enough to prove anything though. Never enough.
Dib let out an irritated huff and pushed his chair away from his desk. It creaked from stress and rested when it stopped rolling away. He ran a hand through his messy black hair. Another Day has passed, uneventful and boring. At this point in his life, the boy welcomed boredom. Not being bored meant getting chased by monsters or abducted by aliens. Those little adventures were fun and all, but it left him exhausted.
He stretched and his back cracked loudly from stiffness. Dib stood up, eyes never leaving the many computer screens that lay in front of him. Their light was bright and almost blinding. Each screen showed a place in town, places where Zim or his weird robot visited often. One camera was point directly at Zim's house.
Everything had been quiet for a few days. No activity anywhere at any time, the alien had not even been to school in the past week. Maybe he was plotting something, that was the most likely answer. Dib had noticed that everything seemed tense recently. It filled him with anxiety and dread. Something bad was lurking, and it was going to hit soon.
Dib had an idea of what the oncoming threat was. A weapon that goes back for centuries. Disease, plague, infection. Dib checked the news constantly for anything out of the ordinary, unexplained sightings and murders. Ever since Zim had gone into hiding in his home, stories about a sickness have been popping up. 13 people have been diagnosed with this new mystery illness, and at this exact time four are dead.
A screen flickered and an article popped up. Another person has been lost to this disease. Another fatality. Dib squinted at the screen with the article, then back to Zim's house. He shut down all of the monitors. No more waiting, today he was going to do something about it.
Dib left his dark room, being careful to close the door quietly on his way out. He snuck past his sister's room and down the stairs. His feet stopped at the bottom of the staircase and he thought for a moment.
'Should I prepare myself?'
He glanced around the unlit house.
'Definitely.'
He made his way to the kitchen and started digging through drawers. His hands pushed useless junk out of the way until he found what he was looking for. A pocket knife. Dib wasn't planning to stab his nemesis, well, maybe. If he could catch him he would. But no, the blade was just in case.
There have been situations before where he was tied up or corned and a knife would have saved him some bruises and cuts. This time around he would have it on him. Dib always seemed to forget about it, but this was a special occasion.
Feeling properly prepared, he exited the house without a sound. Dib slipped into the cool night, taking a moment to breathe. A chilling breeze blew through his wild hair. He instinctively started walking to his destination. A place he has been over a hundred times before. Zim's house.
His worn sneakers made soft padding noises on the sidewalk. Every neighborhood along the way felt desolate and quiet. Each step echoed through the empty street. In no time, Dib found himself in the familiar cul de sac that his greatest enemy hid in. He approached the odd, green house.
Dib stopped in front of the lawn and looked over the scene, already planning a way to get to the front door. He climbed over the wooden fence, knowing that the pathway directly to the door was rigged. The lawn gnomes stayed still, even when Dib's feet touched the lawn.
'Looking good.'
Dib crept across the lawn, dashing for the front door when he saw an opening. He stood up straight and began knocking on the door. A security camera placed above the door turned to look at him. His lips turned down into a frown.
"ZIM!! I know you are in there! Come out and face me!" Dib shouted, staring directly at the camera.
He stopped pounding on the door and waited for a moment. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked and opened. Dib took a step back and raised one of his brows. He had already been concocting a plan to just sneak it, but it looked like he would not have to do that.
Zim held the door just a crack open. One of his eyes peeked out warily. His human disguise was on, not that it mattered, the disguise was pretty terrible. He blinked and glared at Dib.
"Go away Dib-Thing, today is not a good day to fight." Zim growled out.
Dib squinted and crossed his arms, "What do you mean 'today is not a good day to fight'?! Do you think I am stupid?!"
"Yes." Zim said point blank.
"Well, I'm not. I know what is going on! You are doing something, waiting out while one of your doomsday plans runs its course. I won't let that happen!"
"Eh? What are you talking about?" Zim questioned, seeming legitimately confused.
He paused and his eyes opened up with realization,"Oh! Eh, you think that the pestilence is my doing?! Silly stupid Dib…"
Zim shook his head and smirked.
"What? You really expect me to believe that?!" Dib said and clenched his fists.
Zim opened the door more, he was wound tightly and ready to spring into action. He chuckled and his grin widened.
"Oh Dip-"
"Dib, how many years have you known me now?!"
"Dib Dib Dib, silly little DIB! Don't you realize? Your PATHETIC race just can't wait to off itself. This disease….It is not my doing, but I will use it to my advantage like the crafty and resourceful INVADER I am!" Zim ranted, something he did very often.
Zim continued to talk, not even taking a breath to let Dib interject,"You see, I am going to go into space and monitor this problem! I will watch...Wait...and then strike at the most VULNERABLE TIME!!"
"Why do you always tell me your plans like this?" Dib asked.
"Dramatic effect."
"Oh, okay."
Zim stood there awkwardly and scratched his neck. He looked away, "Well uh, I'm gonna go now. Stuff to do….mhmm...yup."
His claw-like hand reached for the doorknob and he started to close the entrance. Dib shoved his foot into the door to stop it, then pushed forward, flinging it wide open. Zim was thrown back a bit, skidding on his sleek, black boots. For a moment they stood there, staring each other down.
They refused to blink, glaring and clenching up. Zim's contacts felt uncomfortable on his large eyes. He blinked, and Dib lunged forward. Zim's PAK-legs slid out of their ports and lifted him up high, causing Dib to miss him and land on the floor. He immediately sprung back up, ready to attack.
Zim's metallic spider legs took ahold of a thick wire that drooped from the ceiling and raised him high above his attacker. He crawled along the path and flung himself into the kitchen. Dib quickly followed and ran at him. The alien dashed to a slightly discolored floor tile and launched himself with his PAK-legs to the ceiling again. This time, a door opened up and he scrambled inside.
Dib watched the door close behind Zim and he groaned. Not even moments later, a deep rumbling vibrated through the house. It shook the walls and tossed random items to the floor.
"Zim's ship!" Dib said out loud as he sprinted to the front door. He stopped outside and looked up as the roof of the base opened up. A large purple aircraft hovered up, Zim could be clearly seen inside. His eyes shone with victory.
The ship shakily rose and began to speed off as Dib could only watch helplessly. Wind and leaves tossed around, and the ship shot into the night. Dib watched it get farther and farther. Tiny lights on the rear of the ship blinked, getting smaller as they gained distance.
He took a few steps forward and squinted. He saw the lights dart around before the ship began to plummet down, down into the city. Dib's eyes opened wide and he started to run. The dark clouds above swirled and writhed with fury. Thunder rang through the boy's ears like a lion's roar.
'The storm is here.'
Dib dashed down the dark streets, turning and letting his feet show him the way back home. Gusts of wind tossed him this way and that, but he got to his destination. He did not bother unlocking the gate to his backyard, and just jumped over it. Rain started to hail down by the bucketful. The dirt Dib stood on became a mud soup that sloshed around his black combat boots.
He ran into his shed and left the door swinging open wildly in the wind. His raven hair somehow still stood up in some places, despite it being soaked. Dib flipped a switch and the shed lit up. Shelves and workbenches were covered in strange technology, in the center of the room lay something large underneath a sheet. With a proud smile, he tore the sheet off to reveal what was underneath.
An Irken ship, Tak's ship to be exact. Though it had a different appearance, being black and blue instead of the original muddy red.
"Hey ship!" Dib yelled out over the booming thunder.
The ship whirred awake and lit up. A displeased, feminine voice spoke from it.
"What do you want?"
Dib grinned from ear to ear and he approached, the front of the ship opened up for him and he clambered in.
"I'm taking you for a ride" He said and got comfortable in the pilot's seat. The front windshield closed.
"Your disgusting body is touching me" The ship said bitterly.
Dib snorted, "Look, just fly, okay? That is a command."
"I'll do it, but I won't like it."
"I know" Dib mumbled and leaned back while the ship shot up, crashing straight through the roof of the shed. His body was thrown around and hit the front window when they stopped.The ship may have been programmed to do what he said, but it still had Tak's fierce personality.
Dib sat up and pushed his bent glasses up his face. He growled out some curse words to himself and looked over the scene. Raindrops were heard tapping on the roof rythmically.
"Ship, can you track Zim's biosignature?" Dib questioned.
"Yeah."
"Well?"
The ship did not respond.
Dib rolled his eyes and said, "Ship, track Zim's biosignature AND take me too it. Safely."
The ship let out a mechanical groan and cruised towards the city. Dib looked down at the bright lights and saw people running below. He tilted his head. No cars were moving, and everyone seemed to be moving on foot.
"Fly a little lower, let me see what is going on" Dib ordered.
His ship darted down, high above the chaos but still close enough to observe it. People were running in all directions, down the street, into stores, alleyways. Some were ducking away and hiding under the stopped cars, while others were looting whatever they could get to. Dib's eyes opened wide.
'What in the hell did Zim do?!'
The ship took a sharp turn around the corner of a towering skyscraper. Dib jumped in his seat and clenched his fists. His blood practically boiled with rage at the sight of the carnage down below. He looked ahead and his eyes went wide. Piles of police cars, stacked and thrown in all directions.
Dead and dying people littered the streets. At the center of it all was a hospital. There was a gaping hole in the roof of the hospital.
"Zim is in there" the ship stated.
Dib's jaw dropped, "He did ALL of this?"
"Well, duh, do you really doubt it?"
Dib thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No, actually, I don't doubt it."
The ship made a noise that sounded like a sigh and said, "Okay, I took you to him. Now the only way to reach him SAFELY is if you go in there on foot."
"Are you just trying to kick me out of you?" Dib asked.
"No, but I would like it if you did got out."
He rolled his eyes and let out an amused chuckle, "Whatever, just get me close so I can get in there."
Dib's ship drifted down to the hospital and smoothly landed on the crumbling rooftop. He hopped out of the aircraft when the windshield slid open. His gaze looked down into the foreboding building as he patted the side of the ship.
"Stay right here" he ordered.
His ship closed its windshield as it powered down, all of the blinking lights inside going dark. Dib walked close to the edge of the hole. A piece of debris crumbled beneath his foot and fell down, landing with an echoing clacking noise. He crouched to the ground and hopped inside.
"God, why does it have to be so dark and SPOOKY down here?" Dib commented to himself while he took in his surroundings.
He appeared to be inside a medical supply room of some sort, it was hard to tell. Dib took his phone out of his jean pocket and put 'flashlight mode' on. A bright light emitted from the device and he held it up. The place was an absolute mess. Cabinets were thrown about and piles of supplies littered the flood.
Parts of the walls were torn up and the doorway was destroyed. Dib stepped into the hallway, sweeping the area with his light. He stopped it on a crumpled door leaning against the wall across the hall. There was still no sign of Zim or his ship, he would have to continue searching. As he strolled cautiously down the hall, his wet boots squeaked and squelched on the tile floor.
Dib shone the light into every room he passed, but he did not bother with going into any of them. He did try to jiggle a few doorknobs here and there, but they were all locked. The entire place seemed lifeless, vacant. Did Zim REALLY do this? Why was there no one around?
Dib scowled to himself.
'No, this wasn't on purpose. He crashed here, his ship was a pile of junk.'
An ominous, bright blue light flickered around the bend. Dib cautiously made his way to the end of the hall and turned. He followed the trail of destruction Zim left behind. Using crumbling walls and skid marks as pathways. His face turned up and he stopped underneath a broken fluorescent light.
Ceiling tiles all along the hall had fallen out of place or were hanging, moving back and forth quietly. Wires and pipes could be seen, and there was a constant whirring sound. Besides that, it was practically dead silent. Dib continued walking and turning. He did find Zim's ship, what was left of it.
The Voot Cruiser was ruined, utterly unsalvageable. Every piece and part was smashed to bit and torn apart. It looked like it also destroyed the elevator too, unusable now. Dib kicked a chunk of machinery away.
"His ship is here...But where did he go?" He mumbled to himself.
Dib stopped to try and hear something, anything. Gun shots, from outside the building. Far off and very muffled. He also heard footsteps, which were definitely much closer than the guns. Bingo. His mouth turned up into a smug smile, and he dashed in the direction of the noise.
As he got closer, he realized that the steps were coming towards him. Slowly and unevenly. They also sounded heavy and labored. Unlike Zim, who was small and light on his feet. Agile, calculated, proud, this was how Zim moved. Not this unknown person. Dib slowed his running and took a step back.
There was a figure at the end of the hallway, hidden by the darkness but noticeably approaching. Dib raised his phone to shine light on the nearing person. It...He was a man in a hospital gown. He slowly limped forward, letting out a low and pained moan. His appearance was thin and sickly.
Dib sighed and looked at the man pitifully, "Sir...Sir do you need help?"
The man got ever closer, but tripped and fell to the ground. He crawled towards Dib, raising a bony like he was begging for something. Dib kneeled down and grabbed the man's hand.
"Let me help you" He spoke reassuringly.
The man dug his nails into Dib's coat sleeve and his jaw dropped open. A disgusting growl rumbled out of his throat and blood dripped onto his scraggly beard. Dib jumped in surprise and pulled his hand away instinctively. He fell on his rear and crawled backwards as the old man clawed at the ground to pull himself towards him.
Dib pushed his boot into the sickly man's face to keep him at bay. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The strange man would not respond to any speech, and was aggressively attacking. He swiped and chomped his teeth in Dib's direction, trying to get at him. Was this-?
BAM.
The man's face was a gaping hole that could be seen through. Dib scrambled away from him and began to hyperventilate. Pieces of bone, brain, and blood covered the floor. It looked like a disgusting gumbo sludge. He grabbed the front of his shirt and stared wide eyed at the limp corpse.
There was a soft metal clinking sound that brought Dib's attention away from the dead man. He noticed some familiar metal spider legs and looked up. Zim was high up, holding a strange gun filled with glowing pink liquid. It illuminated his pale green face, which was currently graced with a zipper-toothed frown.
"Infernal PIG MONSTERS! Getting in the way of MY WORK!" Zim hissed bitterly, then spat on the corpse.
Dib's eyes darted between the corpse and the alien above him. A weak noise of fear choked out of his throat. Zim raised a nonexistent brow and retracted his PAK legs back into their slots. He dropped to the floor with a quiet thud, then stood up proudly with his chest puffed out.
"Why hello there, DIB. I see you have come to stop my genius plan for conquest!" Zim remarked as he pretended to buff his nails and appear uninterested.
Dib swallowed and spoke shakily, "Y-You just killed that guy!"
"Kill? HA! No no, he was already dead. I merely obliterated his brains."
"What?" Dib asked.
Zim smirked as he narrowed his eyes, "I see you are confused, how typical. Let me explain for you!"
Dib gazed at Zim with suspicion while he stood up.
"That thingy, the beasty...Was no longer human. It was the doing of the PESTILENCE. It is a corpse being puppeteered by a host to do its SMELLY doing."
Zim placed his foot on the dead creature's body. His latex boot made a sick noise against the blood and guts. He put his weird gun back into his PAK. Dib crinkled his nose in disgust at the sight.
He turned to Zim and said, "I get you're trying to rain doom on humanity and all, but this is awfully morbid. Even for YOU."
Zim rolled his eyes and huffed out in an annoyed fashion, "Dib, must I tell you again? I did not create this illness. I truly have no idea where it came from."
"Yeah whatever, like I would believe that load of bullshit!"
"You INSOLENT FOOL!" Zim screamed and swiftly launched himself at Dib. He tumbled into him and pushed him to the ground.
Dib placed a foot on Zim's torso and kicked him away forcefully. He sat up, exclaiming loudly, "Zim, what the hell is wrong with you?!"
Zim jumped back onto Dib and hit his head with open hands repeatedly.
"LISTEN TO ZIM, OR I WILL PUNISH YOU AND YOUR GIGANTIC HEAD!"
Dib covered his face, and opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted. A loud boom shook the walls and floor, and dust fell from the ceiling. Gunshots rang out loudly from inside the building. Zim was dazed for a moment, and Dib used the opening to push him off. He stood up as he took a knife out of his pocket and flipped it out of its sheath.
The floor shook a few more times while the gunshots persisted. Zim stood up a little shakily, keeping his eyes on Dib.
Dib grumbled as he got a little closer, "You are going to fix this mess or I will dissect you right here and NOW."
Zim eyed the knife and blinked. He stated calmly, "Humanity's problems are not my own, and I am not responsible for this."
Dib moved even closer, his face contorting into an angry grimace. Zim backed against the wall and turned his head a bit. Their warm breath mingled in the air as Dib pressed the knife to Zim's pale green throat. The alien purred out a gurgly chuckle.
"Fool…" he mused and continued, "you can't kill me with that…"
"I've come to that conclusion already, but it still hurts" Dib growled lowly.
Zim squinted and raised his hand. He carefully pushed the knife away from his neck as he sighed.
"Very well, how about we strike a deal?" He inquired.
Dib pondered on it for a bit before asking, "What kind of the deal?"
"The kind where you don't mutilate me."
"Where is that part of the bargain that is meant to entice me?"
Zim reached into his PAK and retrieved his glowing gun with the pink liquid in it. He pressed the nozzle into Dib's forehead.
Dib swallowed and spoke, "Th-That will do I guess." He watched Zim as he put his knife away.
The alien, now satisfied with the terror he induced, lifted his uniform and holstered the gun on a black belt that blended in with his tights. He let go of the bundled up fabric in his hand and it rested on the weapon, leaving it visible and easy to access in case of danger. Zim scratched his wig and shifted it back in place.
"Alright, now that we aren't killing each other, we can strike a REAL DEAL!" He stated loudly and gazed at Dib with plastic, periwinkle colored eyes.
Dib rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He stared down the corridor at a metal door. It had a cane on the handles to prevent it from being opened on the inside. Zim followed Dib's line of sight and saw the door.
"You humans are entertained by such mundane things!" Zim laughed.
Dib hushed him and spoke urgently, "Shut up for a second, isn't that suspicious to you? Why would someone block that off?"
"Easy, there are tons of walking corpsey things in there!" Zim shouted in an almost sing songy voice, it was obvious he enjoyed knowing something that Dib didn't.
"You crashed into this place no more than an hour ago and it's already some post apocalyptic wasteland?"
Zim chuckled and placed a gloved hand on Dib's shoulder, "No no, it was already falling apart. I merely sped it up a little by accidentally destroying part of this...medical facility!"
Dib slapped Zim's hand off of him and started to walk away without a word.
"Hey, stinky, where are you going?" Zim inquired as he followed Dib.
"I'm taking my ship and leaving."
Zim lit up a bit and walked faster, "Can I get a ride home?"
"Piss off!" Dib snapped at him.
"Okay but my ship got destroyed, AND NOT THAT I CAN'T FIX IT!!! I just uh, have better things to do with my time….like uh" Zim went off on a tangent and then trailed off. He waved his hand around a little bit as he thought, then continued talking.
"Uhhhh, find a vaccine to the disease! Yes that!"
Dib groaned and pinched his temples, "Okay okay, I'll give you a ride in my ship. Only because I know you will do more damage in here than out there. Alright? Just don't lie to me like that."
Zim seemed like he was about to respond, but a loud banging noise stopped him in his tracks. They both turned to the direction of the sound. The source of the noise came from the blocked off doors. Both of the boys reached for their weapons. Dib looked down at his pathetic pocket knife and then at his rival's impressive laser gun.
Bang. Bang. BANG.
And then, a clunking sound. The cane that had kept the dead closed off was bent and lying on the floor. A few corpses fell out, and a steady stream of monsters trickled out of the room. They slowly made their way in Dib and Zim's direction. Each of them in different states of decay, but all of them let out hideous moans.
"Okay, have fun killing them!" Dib screamed before running away from the horrid scene. Zim growled as he raised his gun, and he aimed it at one of the creatures. He quickly realized the task would be fruitless, considering the amount of dead there were. They moved forward slowly as he sprinted after Dib.
Zim was significantly slower due to his short height, but he was still able to catch up to him. Dib tried to retrace his steps back to where he entered, but found himself turned around. He pulled his phone out and put the flash on. His light landed on Zim, and the alien's fake eyes contracted from the brightness. He put his hands up and covered his eyes with a hissing noise.
Dib chuckled quietly and covered his mouth. Zim snatched the phone from his hand and fumed, "BE QUIET!!"
"You're the one yelling" Dib whispered urgently, suddenly concerned. He could hear the corpses nearing their location, and he grabbed his phone. Zim was still holding onto it when he switched the flash off.
They stood still for a moment, sensitive to all sounds. Water dripping, lights flickering, their own breathing...and the shuffling of monsters drawing near. Dib's eyes shot around in search of somewhere to hide. Zim's boots squeaked a little as he shifted.
"All of the doors are locked" Dib whispered to Zim.
"So? What do we do?" He whispered back.
Dib did not answer, instead he slid over to a receptionist desk and jumped over it. Zim quickly hopped after him, and they ducked down just as the beasts rounded the corner. They aimlessly wandered in and continued meandering away. The two boys tried to steady their breathing and they gave each other nervous looks.
Tension and fear practically choked them to death as they sat there. Zim peeked over the desk for a moment, but quickly retracted back into hiding when he saw how many roamers there were. He nervously gnawed at his lip. Dib hugged his knees close to his body. His eyes shot wide open when he noticed one of the corpses had wandered behind the desk.
Luckily enough for them, it had not noticed they were there yet. All Dib could see was its legs, which were mangled and its skin was peeling off. Its feet were covered by blue hospital scrubs. Zim covered his mouth as he made a slight gagging noise. Dib put his pointer finger to his lips to hush the alien.
Zim glared at Dib and pushed him away roughly. He immediately regretted his decision, and they both went wide eyed with fear. Dib hit the tile floor with a deafening thud that echoed throughout the entire room. They stared at each other in shock for a few moments. The monster that was nearest turned towards them and dropped to a crawl.
The enemies held each other and screamed in unison as the corpse dragged itself towards them at a fast pace. Zim fumbled for his ray gun and raised it. The crawling creature was merely inches away from them, its chomping teeth nearing Dib. He gave Zim a pleading look.
He responded by pressing the gun to the crawler's face and blowing it to disgusting bits. Zim kicked the body away and cursed it out. Dib wiped blood off of his own face and smeared it onto his jacket. A loud chorus of moans and groans filled the air. The roamers that filled the halls started to gather around the desk and bang their fists against it. They became completely surrounded by the dead, flowing in from all sides.
Dib turned to Zim and said in a bitter tone, "You jerk."