Chapter 2

An Uninvited Guest

Despite his best efforts Zim was not able to get back to sleep. He cursed Brandon under his breath as he stumbled toward the bathroom. In the mirror he examined his body where the cattle prod had touched him. There were no marks, but he didn't care what Brandon had said. The fucking thing had shocked him.

He urinated and went into the kitchen without washing his hands. His stomach grumbled, and his tongue begged for eggs and bacon, but that would be too much effort. Instead he went for some cereal. The thought occurred to him that he should get milk for such a meal, but the fridge was all the way on the other side of the kitchen, so he ate from a dry bowl as he leaned against the sink.

He was two spoonfuls in when there was a harsh, frantic knock at the door. "Fuck," he muttered. He was certainly not in the mood for visitors and hoped that if he didn't answer the person would go away.

No such luck. The hammering came again, and this time it did not stop. Zim grumbled as he sulked toward the door, opening it up without looking through the peep hole. He assumed it was Brandon back for round two. Before he had the chance to say anything the person rushed past him and slammed the door behind him. The shrouded figure planted his back against the door and visibly panted.

"Who the fuck are you?" Zim asked.

The figure turned his head up, and the hood fell away, revealing a heavily scarred face. Wisps of hair clung to his pate like cobwebs, and he wore an eye patch. "I can't believe you're real." His voice was accented, but Zim couldn't tell if it was German or Russian.

"I'm real. You can go now."

"Cereal!" The man grabbed the bowl from Zim's hand and shoved his face into it, eating the Lucky Charms like a dog. The man's hands were also scarred, and he was missing a significant number of his fingers.

Zim thought about grabbing his breakfast back, but he changed his mind when he realized how much slobber there probably was on his cereal now.

"Sorry," the man said between bites. "I haven't eaten in three days. They've been after me ever since I escaped from the hospital."

Zim backed away, certain that the hospital in question was one of the mental variety, and "they" were probably guys wearing white coats and carrying butterfly nets. How dangerous was this man? And why hadn't he used the peep hole before opening the door?

"You've got to get out of here," Zim said. He thought about calling the cops, but his phone was still in his bedroom, charging up for the day.

"No. I can't leave you now that I've found you." The man finished his meal and handed the bowl back. Zim grimaced, wondering what diseases this guy might have.

"You keep talking like you know me. Who are you?"

"I'm from Florida," the man said. "I was a friend of your brother."

"I should have known. Tell Geoff that if he needs money he should send you out to my parents' place. I barely make enough money as it is."

"You misunderstand me. My name is Bienvido, and I had a vision of you. When I was in a coma after the fire, I had a dream, and you were in it."

"Great." Zim thought about sprinting for his phone.

"Although I'd never seen you before, you appeared in my vision as you look now. When I described you to your brother, he said it could only be you, so he gave me your address."

"What was I doing in your dream?" Zim hoped that it hadn't been a wet one.

"You were saving the world," Bienvido said.