(A/N: okay. I'm determined to finish this story. I don't care how lazy I get, or how much writer's block I have, I will finish it! I'm even planning on posting it on dA and tumblr, just to SEAL THE PACT.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! I'm really excited about this.)
The clock ticked in slow motion.
With every agonizing tick of the clock's second hand, Dib grew more and more impatient. The last five minutes of school could well be dragged out until the end of time. Zim wasn't at school that day, which meant that he was probably taking the day off to plan humanity's demise. Dib had to get out of school already so he could find out what Zim was surely up to!
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the heavenly ring of the school bell. Yes! He got up from his chair so fast that he knocked it over, but he didn't care.
Maneuvering through the crowded hallways was a difficult task. It seemed that he wasn't the only one eager to leave school as soon as possible on a Friday afternoon.
At last, he managed to squeeze his way to freedom. The refreshing air on his face filled him with hope. He ran the whole way back to his house. Leaning against the door, he reached for the keys. Man! He was completely worn out from running at full speed. He unlocked the door, and, as expected, he was greeted with complete silence. His father was at work, of course, which is what he was counting on— to stop Zim, he'd have to use his father's lab, which he was strictly prohibited to use regarding the paranormal. Gaz wasn't home yet— Dib sped home, while Gaz took her time. For about five minutes, he'd have the house to himself.
Grabbing a water bottle, he walked upstairs. He logged onto his computer, accessing the security cameras he'd hidden in Zim's lab. He admitted to himself that that was a little creepy, but… it would all be worth it once humanity was surely saved from a horrible demise!
He pulled up the footage and maximized it. He couldn't hear what was going on, but Zim was standing there, yelling at Gir, using erratic hand motions and facial expressions. The sound kicked in shortly after. Dib smiled and prided himself for the security cameras.
"No, Gir!" He yelled. Gir was on the floor, stuffing peanuts into his mouth. "The peanuts are part of the plan! They will go into the specially designed peanut-shooting gun! It will be the perfect thing to annoy the humans with!" Zim smiled evilly.
Dib rolled his eyes. Oh, come on! He sped all the way home and stressed all day at school for this?
"Just be patient, Gir. The peanuts are only a distraction! If the humans are being pelted in the face with the delicious snack-nuts, then they will not pay attention to the REAL plan! I will create a—"
"WHAT'S THAT?!" Gir cut him off and looked into the security camera. "Hehe! I'm gonna eat you!"
Dib began to panic as Gir ripped the security camera off of the wall and began to shove it in his mouth.
"No!" Dib yelled as the screen turned to static. He got up. Whatever Zim's real plan was, it was probably huge!
He ran into his father's lab. He held his breath for a moment, knowing that there might be a slight chance that his father was in there. To his relief, it was empty. He walked down the metal stairs, listening to his footsteps echo. Whatever Zim's plan was, it had to be stopped. Dib decided to build a giant robot that he could control remotely. Of course it would be huge, and of course it would be equipped with dangerous weaponry. He had to be sure to eradicate Zim. Plus, it would probably look really neat.
Gathering the supplies was easy enough: titanium metal, fuel, super-cool rocket bomb weapons… just the essentials. Now came the tricky part: actually assembling it.
He laid out all of the pieces on the table. He smiled. It would be hard work, but he was certainly up for it. It was for the good of mankind, after all. He crossed the lab to where his father kept the tools. Thank God his father gave him a full tour of the lab… several times. He sighed. He felt slightly bad for disappointing his father. But surely he'd feel better after saving mankind yet again.
Changing his attitude, he made his way across the dimly-lit lab. He rummaged through the tool drawer, looking for some bolts and a wrench. Grabbing what he needed, he jogged across.
A sudden sharp pain in his side made him halt. He dropped everything he had in his hands, shuddering at the loud clanging sounds they made. He grabbed his side, fighting back tears. This was probably the most excruciating pain he'd ever experienced! It felt like his skin had literally ripped open!
Whimpering, he staggered up the lab's stairs. Something warm seeped through his shirt— blood, predictably. Had his skin actually ripped open? But how? That defied all logic whatsoever.
He ran into the bathroom, inspecting the wound. It looked more or less like a deep gash. Dib was no expert, but it looked like it needed stitches. It looked pretty bad, and it was bleeding quite profusely. Dib knew he couldn't tell anyone about this. If his dad found out he was down in the lab to work on things related to "para-science", he would probably flip.
He ran downstairs again and put the supplies away. Dib didn't know exactly how he got injured, but it must have happened in the lab. That was the only possible explanation. Whatever it was must have been extremely sharp. It sliced through his flesh with ease! He guessed that the blood loss was getting to him— the wrench was almost impossible to carry! How effortlessly he'd picked it up before… now, he could barely even walk.
Defeated, he dropped it. If his dad questioned him, he could probably just make up a stupid lie.
The stairs were a maze now— there was no way Dib would make it up. He weakly staggered over to where the gauze was, wrapping it around him. He tightened it. Suddenly he couldn't stand. He sank down to his knees and then the world faded to black…
Professor Membrane inserted the key into the door and stepped inside the house. It was around eleven PM— for their sake, he sure hoped his kids were asleep. It was a week day, after all.
He set his briefcase down by the door and walked into the kitchen, brewing some coffee. It was kind of late to be drinking coffee, but he had to type up the conclusion to a recent experiment. Hopefully it wouldn't take him more than an hour and a half. He knew that was just wishful thinking, though, and prepared himself to stay up for another four hours at the most.
Turning the doorknob to his lab, he took a swig of the warm drink. He flicked on the fluorescent lights and descended the stairs. The sight of son sprawled unconscious on the floor, looking extremely pale, was not exactly what he was expecting to see. He nearly dropped the mug at the sickly sight of the boy. He caught it and set it on the table.
He shook Dib hard. "Son!" Professor Membrane yelled. "Wake up! Are you alright? What on earth are you doing sleeping on the floor?"
Dib opened his eyes. He felt dizzy and disoriented. Also, his side was killing him. He felt a dull throbbing ache there. He decided it must be getting infected.
Dib squinted. It was hard for him to remember what exactly had happened. Then, he remembered. Oh yeah! Zim's plan, building a robot, odd gash…
He sat up. His head had begun hurting, too. What a mess he was! "Uhhh…" he croaked. "I was just… here… building a robot… for science, you know? And…" he closed his eyes, as if thinking for a moment.
"Uh huh," Professor Membrane said. "Go on."
"I just… kinda… got tired, so I…" he was struggling to speak. "Laid down on the floor for a quick nap." And he wanted to continue it, too. His head began to spin.
Professor Membrane shook his head. "Nice try, but I'm not buying it." He knelt next to Dib, feeling his forehead. "You have a low-grade fever and you seem to be quite disoriented." He caught sight of the blood staining Dib's shirt. "Dear God!" he exclaimed, pointing to it. "What on earth happened to you? Why is there blood on your shirt?"
Dib looked down. "Oh… uh…" he stared. He couldn't keep lying. "I don't know," he admitted. "It just kind of appeared. My guess is I accidentally cut myself on something sharp, but—"
"But wouldn't your shirt be torn?" Professor Membrane interrupted. "If an object is sharp enough to cut your skin in such a manner, then it would probably cut your shirt too."
Dib just shrugged. He honestly wanted to go back to sleep.
"Well, let me inspect the wound." Professor Membrane took the gauze off and flinched. He immediately knew why Dib had a fever! The wound was practically purple. Pus flowed out of the gash, more so than blood. It also emitted an extremely foul odor.
"Come here," he demanded. "Let's get that washed out." He knew he had to take Dib to a doctor for antibiotics—even though he had several degrees in medicine and could prescribe controlled substances, he could not prescribe medication to his own son.
Dib stumbled forward, attempting to climb up the stairs. It was futile. Professor Membrane walked back over to Dib and scooped him up. "My poor son…" he whispered. Dib looked up at him. He noticed his father had not used the word, "insane". Did Professor Membrane actually feel bad for him? It was simply a gash! It would heal in a week!
Professor Membrane carried Dib into the bathroom and poured some hydrogen peroxide on the wound. It bubbled immediately. Dib flinched. Oh, man it hurt!
Professor Membrane put more bandaging on it. Seemingly satisfied with his work, he nodded. "That should work for tonight," he said. Dib noticed that there was an almost hopeful tone in his father's voice. "Get some rest, now," he added. Dib was extremely thankful for those words. He was exhausted.
Professor Membrane carried Dib into his room and covered him with the sheets. "It's fine, Dad," Dib said. "You don't need to tuck me in."
Professor Membrane nodded. "Alright, son. Alright. Now, if there's anything wrong— anything at all— please, tell me. Immediately! I don't care if you wake up with the smallest amount of pain, I want to know about it." Professor Membrane took his goggles off and looked Dib in the eye. "Understood?"
Dib nodded. The urgency in his father's voice was really beginning to creep him out.
"Good. Now, get some rest. You need it."
Dib nodded. "Okay… night, Dad…"
"Goodnight," Professor Membrane replied.
Dib closed his eyes. Even though sleep came easy, his father's tone haunted him. He couldn't shake the fact that Professor Membrane knew something he didn't, and that something was very, very wrong.