A/N: Just so you all know, this chapter takes place a few hours before the first Chapter. Just thought that I should tell you that so none of you get confused.
Dib sat at one of the tables in the cafeteria, alone as usual. It was lunchtime, and today they were eating pizza and mashed potatoes, though it just looked like slop as usual, and smelled even worse. He glanced over at the other side of the cafeteria, where Zim had seated himself.
Dib had been studying him more closely than usual today, and he noticed that the alien had been acting very strange ever since he had arrived to skool that morning. When he walked, he stumbled, and couldn't seem to be able to keep his balance. Zim had fallen down quite a few times in the past few hours, and he'd just shakily get back on his feet to continue shuffling around.
He'd also hardly spoke, and when he did, it wasn't in complete sentences. He mostly just made these strange snarling or whimpering sounds, weakly clutching his stomach. Dib had approached him earlier, to began goading and mocking the alien as he normally would, but before he could even get a word out, Zim had stared at him, and though he was moving and breathing, his eyes did not seem to have any life in them. They looked dead.
When the Irken noticed Dib's presence, he had immediately started snarling and snapping at him, and reaching for him with his free arm. Saliva dripped from his mouth, running down his uniform, which was soiled and dirty, splattered with mud and dirt, but the rest of the Skool did not seem to notice Zim's disheveled state, or if they did, they just ignored it completely. The Invader's boots and gloves were also coated with mud and bits of grass, and he had left a trail of it when he had entered the building that morning.
"What's wrong with you, Zim?" Dib taunted wearily. "Did you finally snap after realizing that Earth will never be yours as long as I'm here?"
Zim moaned and doubled over, hand still on his stomach. "Hungry…" he whispered, snarling softly. "Want…" He was suddenly interrupted when he was pushed from behind. "Move, dummy!" Zita muttered, brushing past Zim and Dib, heading in the direction of the library.
Zim growled ferociously, his eyes suddenly igniting with rage as he reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking it towards himself. He opened his mouth and bit down, and would have sunk his teeth into flesh if Zita hadn't pulled free of his grip, running down the hall away from them. Zim continued to snap at the air for a few seconds, saliva flying in all directions, before he realized that his prey had escaped him.
He began to attempt to give chase, slowly shuffling in the direction which Zita had gone, momentarily forgetting Dib, who stood a few feet behind him, staring at him in shock, his eyes wide. "What the heck was that?! Were you gonna eat her or something?! What the hell is wrong with you?"
Zim ceased his shambling and stood there for a few seconds, unmoving, staring straight ahead, as his breathing turned into barely audible wheezing. He slowly turned to face Dib. "…Hungry… want… it. Need…" Then he trailed off, not thinking to finish his sentence. Dib wasn't sure if he even could finish his request. His eyes were glazed over, far away.
"What is it that you want, Zim? Don't you have food for yourself in that thing on your back?" Gesturing to the Irken's PAK. The only answer he received from the alien was a soft growl and a step in his direction. Zim gestured wildly, grunting angrily, and again looked toward the direction where Zita had gone. "….eat… need…" Then, frustrated that he was unable to fully explain himself, he suddenly lashed out at Dib, slashing at him with his claws, which were protruding from tears in his gloves, barely noticeable unless you were to look really closely. Dib dodged the attack, but Zim swung with his other hand, catching Dib on his arm.
Claws raked across bare flesh, drawing blood. Dib cried out as he clutched his wounded arm, glaring daggers at Zim, who stood there snarling at him threateningly, his eyes locked onto the blood dripping from the human's arm, seemingly unable to look away from it. He began to advance, slowly closing the distance between them in a few steps.
Dib backed away cautiously, as Zim stopped at the small puddle of blood that had formed on the floor after he had attacked Dib. He dropped to the ground, extending a hand and dipping a finger in the blood, slowly bringing it to his lips and licking his finger clean of the fluids. His eyes lit up briefly, as he glanced up at Dib, getting to his feet and lashing out at him again, as though the taste of blood fueled him, and releasing an ear-splitting screech.
Dib's mind told him to run, to flee. But Dib would not give in to his impulses as he stood his ground and realized that Zim intended to harm him further. He did not yet know the reason as to why the Irken was finding it so difficult to express himself, or to even speak coherently. He surmised that it must have been an experiment gone wrong somehow, a lab accident. It seemed to be the most logical explanation, as far as he could tell.
Zim was after him now. He needed to run. To find a place to hide until it was safe again. His first thought was going back to the cafeteria, where the throngs of students would surely provide him with enough protection to think this through. Then he remembered that lunch had ended two minutes ago, and kids would now be streaming out of the cafeteria in droves.
He continued onward anyway, hoping that the halls being packed with students would at least slow Zim down and allow Dib to escape from him. He turned a corner to see the kids coming toward him. He smiled and looked behind him. Zim was almost running now, falling down a few times, but still steadily gaining on his position. Every time the Irken fell, it would only increase his rage and frustration.
Dib heard screams erupt close to him, and turned around to see that Zim had tackled a passing child and was currently in the process of biting into his fellow classmates throat, the screams of agony and fear echoing down the hallways. Dib did not stop to help, for he knew there was nothing that he could do, and he doubted that the child would accept his help anyway. If he was even still alive, that is.
He ducked into a nearby bathroom, closing and locking the door for added protection. He could still hear the screams out in the hallways as Zim attacked more children and teachers, and Dib had a sinking feeling that as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, that the hallways would be slick with blood of the innocent. The thought and subsequent mental image of the carnage that the alien was inflicting made his stomach churn.
After about half an hour, the screams and noises in the hallways slowly ceased. When Dib was certain that all was truly quiet, he hesitantly reached for the door handle, while trying to stop his body from trembling from a mixture of fright and adrenaline. He waited a few more minutes, all the while attempting to regulate his breathing, and prepare himself for what he knew he would see. He didn't want to go out there.
More than anything, he wanted to be home, safe in his room. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare, but he knew that he couldn't, because he was already awake. This was all real, every second of it. Try as he might (and he did try), he could not deny the fact that he was most certainly not dreaming. He was awake.
He took a deep breath, and opened the door.