Disclaimer – I don't own Invader Zim

A Ghost's Whisper
By Sanoon

Chapter 1: You Don't Know Jack

Dib was walking down the Hurt park trail, smiling broadly and humming a giddy tune. Although not the direct way home, the paranormal investigator decided to take the long way today. The sun was setting, giving off an orange glow on the horizon. The leaves on the trees were pure green on the warm July day, and the birds were calling out to each other. No one else seemed to be in the park this evening, as the paths, playing equipment, and pond were all devoid of human activity. The boy in the black trench coat didn't mind though. Nothing could ruin the greatness of the day he had.

Dib thoughts were consumed by the day's earlier events. It was this day that he finally got footage of Zim out of his poorly made human disguise talking to his leaders. Sure, Dib had gotten footage of Zim in all of his alien glory before, but something always prevented him from displaying this knowledge to the world. Whatever it was, a bird that would come out of nowhere and snatch the video recorder away, Mysterious Mysteries not believing him, a mutated rodent eating his recorder, or even his own recklessness that caused him to drop his camera into an Endless Hole machine his father had created for some reason, had always complicated his goals. No, today his camera came out unscathed, and Dib finally had the hard proof he needed to prove to the world that Zim was an evil alien.

Down the path, a bench seemed to appear, from seemingly nowhere, next to a path light. Dib stopped to stare at the bench for a minute. He could have sworn that he had never seen a bench there before during any of his other outings to the park. The bench was completely made out of wood, unlike the other benches at the park, which were made from a strong plastic. The light brown paint on the wooden bench that Dib was currently staring at was starting to chip, revealing its true oak color underneath. Despite the oddity of the bench, Dib was a little tired from all of the running, sneaking, and advanced acrobatic moves he did today, and thought a break would do him good. That, and he felt drawn to it for some reason.

"Just a short rest," the boy said as he pulled out a data chip and held it into the air, "and then it's off to home to duplicate this video," Realizing the incredible risk he was taking, he shoved the chip back into his coat and looked around the sky. No mysterious birds.

Dib took a seat on the bench and leaned back, taking in the comfort of the scene before him. A beautiful small pond, with the sunlight gleaming off of it set across the path. He remained like this for a short time, before deciding that he had rested enough. It was time to stop Zim's horrible evil before he could do anything else. Before he could stand up, he heard the sound of shoes hitting against the asphalt path. There was someone else in the park.

Dib glanced over to observe who was making the sound. The sound was made by a man in a large, light brown, almost tan trench coat walking towards him. His hands were in his pockets, and he was wearing a hat that Dib had only seen used in old movies. His face was concealed by the darkness produced by his hat. In essence, the man looked like he was ripped out of the 50's and thrown into a futuristic society. It wasn't easy to pick out the oddities about the appearance of the man since the setting sun had cast his left side in darkness, and his right side wasn't in Dib's full line of view.

When the man got close to the bench, he stopped to look at the boy. The darkness that covered the man's face cleared away, and Dib could see that the man had a nasty scar on his right cheek. "Is this seat taken?" the man asked Dib.

"Ah…no. Go ahead," Dib replied slowly as he observed the man's appearance. The sun had almost completely disappeared from view, and the lamps along the path had slowly turned on.

"What a day," the man said calmly, relaxing on the bench a little. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and pulled out one of the white nicotine sticks. "Do you mind?" the man asked, holding the cigarette in front of his mouth. The man's voice was calm and peaceful.

"I don't mind," Dib replied as he glanced at the cigarette. Dib wanted to leave, not because of the man, but because he wanted to send the video to all the other members of the Swollen Eyeball network. But for some odd reason, Dib couldn't compel himself to leave the bench.

The man pulled out a match, struck it on his shoe, and then lit his cigarette. He took a few puffs. The two sat there for what seemed like forever before the older man took a deep breath and said, "These days are good, huh?"

"You wouldn't believe how good they are," Dib replied, smiling broadly as he stared at the moon's reflection on the pond, which had taken its place in the sky a while ago.

"Wouldn't I?" the man chuckled. "What did you do today that gave you such a happy smirk?" the man asked casually.

"I got proof of an actual alien living among us, and now I'm going to send that proof to members of the Swollen Eyeball Network," Dib answered happily. His eyes widened for a second before turning to the man next to him and saying, "That's my secret society, don't tell anyone." The man laughed quietly and nodded his head. "You don't believe me, do you?" Dib asked in response to the man's chuckle.

"I believe you," the man answered.

"You…you do?" the boy asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's strange. Nobody believes me. Although, the last person who said he believed me was my school guidance counselor. He ended up leaving earth with a few Plakoosians."

"Really?" the man chuckled. "You don't have to worry. I believe you 100" The man took another puff from his cigarette.

"Who are you?" Dib asked.

"Name's Jack," the man answered. "And what would your name be?"

"Dib…something. But that's not important. Are you another paranormal investigator?"

"Me?" Jack laughed. "I never really took a fancy for the paranormal. No, I was a private detective."

"Was?" Dib questioned.

"Let's just say I wasn't cut out for the assignment," Jack said with a tiny hint of sadness in is voice.

"So you quit?" Dib asked.

"I didn't want to, but I was kind of forced to," Jack answered. "Say, why don't you tell me a little bit about that alien you mentioned earlier?"

Dib raised an eyebrow to the man's question. Did someone really want to hear Dib out? Maybe he was a member of the Swollen Eyeball Network? The man didn't remind Dib of anyone he know on the SEN. "You really want to hear it?" Dib asked.

"You bet. I want to know more about this little alien," the man said before taking another puff from his cigarette.

"Well, it first started over a year ago when I received this transmission from an alien world about…" the paranormal investigator explained to Jack.

An hour passed as Dib told the man everything about the Irken race. Every little secret about Zim was given freely. The sky was now filled with stars. The man had moved passed his first cigarette, and got out another from his pack. He sighed and rocked a little on the bench as he thought about the information he had heard. "Hmm," he muttered. "That is very interesting. And you are the only one who knows about him?"

"Yes…well, actually, my sister knows he's an alien, but nobody else does," Dib replied quickly.

"Do other members of the Swollen Eyeball Network know about Zim?" the man replied.

"I can't tell you unless you're actually a member of the Swollen Eyeball Network," Dib said quickly. "Sorry, but it's one of the rules of the organization."

"I understand," Jack replied. "Say, Dib, if you ever need any help, then I'll be happy to offer my assistance."

"Really?" Dib shouted in joy as he jumped off of the bench. "With your private eye skills, maybe we can capture Zim." Dib started to face off into a different direction. "Finally, I can show everyone how right I was all along. Wait," the boy said as he spun around, "how can I contact you?"

Jack stood up and faced in the direction of the path he was originally going when he first stopped at the bench. He tilted his head up and looked at the sky. "A big storms coming. I have to go. Don't want to get wet. You should do the same." Dib glanced up, and saw a few clouds gathering in the sky, cutting off the moon's view. "How can you contact me? If you need to talk again, I'll be here before the storm. See you later Dib."

"Before the storm? " Dib questioned. His mind was riddled with questions, but the sound of thunder in the background interrupted his thoughts for a second. The boy glanced back down the path to see Jack walking away silently. "Wait," Dib shouted. Without stopping, Jack lifted his right hand into the air and waved; not even turning around, and then put his hand back into his pocket.

"Dib!" Came an all to familiar voice. Dib sighed and glanced over his shoulder. Gaz was walking down the path. "Who are you talking to? I can hear you at least 30 feet away. Are you talking to yourself again?"

"I was talking to Ja-" Dib started, but stopped as he brought his head to his front to show her Jack, however, he had disappeared. The paths were fully illuminated by the path lights, and there is no way he could have walked away that quickly. "Where did he go?"

"I don't need to see your imaginary friends Dib," Gaz said cruelly. "Dad wants you home, now!"

"Yes Gaz," Dib answered as he started to follow his sister back home. Another thunderstorm started to cackle in the night sky.