AN: Well there were no reviews so no need to respond to any of them, since they weren't there. I don't know, Fanfiction's been getting all weird with my account it tried to tell me no one had reead my story yet two people had favorite it and that I had to find out by looking at the story stats. Either way on with the story.
Level Two
The world flickered as Zim stepped outside of the school house, everything went back to the way it had been when Zim first arrived. He decided that he'd rather deal with the constant flapping of the possessed birds than the disgusting rust and blood that had creeped up after the alarm rang. He walked down the street trying to calm himself down. The town wasn't completely empty, just full of mutilated monsters, and Gir. Through the falling ash the hospital came into view. It was large, but hardly suitable for the medical treatment Dib would need once Zim got his hands on the human. The flapping grew closer, a decaying bird the size of a pterodactyl swooped in from above. Feathers flew about in a demonic shower as it screeched, reaching for Zim's neck with molded claws. This beast wasn't like the others; it was agile and very agitated. Zim ran all the way to the doors of the hospital, the 'bird' close behind him. Zim pushed against the heavy door, barely getting it open in time. It swung shut with a defiant clang, leaving Zim in complete darkness. The florescent lights slowly flickered back to life down the long hallway, old gurneys and IV stands were cast about the hall. He walked up to the information desk, a tattered map of the hospital lay folded on the table next to an open book. He picked up the map, if it was here he might as well use it. Looking around a last time, he confirmed his suspicions.
The hospital had been deserted.
-Blood Candies-
Clutching the gun tightly Zim approached room 408, a heavy breathing came from inside the room. Who knew what could be in there, a monster child, a giant germ? The possibilities were disturbingly endless. A blood curdling hack came from inside. Zim opened the door to the dark room pointing his gun widely about; an awful stench filled the air.
"Do I have a visitor?" asked a bed ridden human, "It's been so long since I have, close the door dear. The last thing you need is something sneaking in here." A human, a living, breathing human! Zim never thought he'd ever be happy to see or rather hear a human.
"What are you doing here?" Zim asked, he stepped further into the room. A woman in her mid-thirties sat on a hospital bed, the thin sheet was tucked around her chest.
"It's a hospital, I'm still recovering. Then again, this isn't a normal aliment… Your skin, did that happen after you came here?" Zim examined himself.
"No I was born with a skin condition."
"Oh good," the female said, "what is your name?"
"Zim. Look we're not safe here." Zim said.
"Ah, figured that out hunh?" the woman sat up and the sheet fell, her torso was wrapped in gauze, the smell seemed to come from her. "I'm afraid to tell you that' it's too late for me. I can't go anywhere." Zim tried not to recoil as realization dawned on him. A greenish, black covered her chest it's infected fluid staining the bandages used to hide her ailment.
"I-" Zim stuttered, he could see the woman before him was slowly decomposing.
"It's a miracle I'm alive, you need not worry. I may not be able to leave, but perhaps I could help you? You didn't come all this way to see a stranger after all." Zim snapped back to the reality of his situation.
"Right, I'm looking for a friend of mine. He has dark hair, glasses, and a gigantic head." The lady looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. "You haven't seen him have you?"
"Oh yes, he has his own room… you said he was your friend?"
"Yes, I guess I did."
"Be careful. I think the nurse here would know where he is."
"Thank you." Zim exited and took a few steps down the hall, where should he look first? The alarm blared, Zim turned back toward 408, the door still wide open. He ran, the human had no form of protection and he had thoughtlessly left her in harm's way! He ran past bolted doors, his footsteps sounded strange on the now chain link floor, a thin net that kept him from falling onto discarded medical equipment. He came back to the room and walked in. It was completely empty, her bed a totted sunken in mess. "WHY!" he screamed "WHY MUST EVERYTHING BE FILTHY!" The world around him went black, leaving him wondering who's footsteps did he hear at the other end of the hall.
-Blood Candies-
Zim woke with a cold compress on his forehead. "What?" He asked faintly.
"That was quite a fall you had there." Said the nurse.
"…Tak!" Zim screamed. Zim stepped back and observed the other Irken; she looked like any other nurse would, save for the one arm wrapped in gauze.
"My other patient informed me that you were trying to visit a patient. Would you like to go to his room?"
"Why are you here!"
"I-"
"Why!"
"I-"
"WHY!"
"…I came here-"
"WHY I SAY!
"I came here after I failed in my mission. I'm forced to work here now that my base is gone."
"Fine as long as you stay and help Zim." They walked down the hall; most of the decay had disappeared, as if the world had righted itself while he had been unconscious. Tak lead him down the hall, he could taste the victory that was close at hand. Oh how Dib was going to pay for what he did, making Zim save him! It was always something with that child. Luckily all of it would be over soon. Tak opened the door, the room was dry and smelled thickly of iron. In the center of the room a plastic curtain surrounded the bed spread; a red-brown substance was smeared on the inside of it. Like someone had been struggling when they set them inside."Is he in that… thing?" Zim asked.
"No. He is a regular here, constantly getting injured. He hasn't come as often, the last time he was here he was in an awful state. Even so his father took him with him." She shook her head, Zim's eyes widened in shock.
"He's dead!" Zim shouted.
"Not really, I think he's unconscious, where ever he is. It's just as well the boy is horrible. He's done terrible things to us."
"What are you talking about?" How could someone in critical condition do terrible things.
"He hurts those who reject him." Tak pulled at her gauze, it fell revealing decaying flesh. "I should have helped when I had the chance. It's going to end soon. I hope. His father has taken him and everything will be alright." She grinned.
"My Dib-thing is being dragged, bleeding, begging for Zim's help. Now, now he could be dead in a ditch and you don't care!" Zim ranted, this wasn't good he needed the Dib to get home.
"What was that?" Tak asked.
"Zim said my Dib-thing-"
"Your Dib-thing?" Tak said with eyes wide. "Zim…" The decay crawled up her arms, she glared spitting each word. "YOU'RE THE ONE EVERYONE'S LOOKING FOR!" Black icor poured from her mouth. The walls rattled releasing the missing nurses. Their heads were wrapped in gauze. Their limbs had to be sewn on again. Medical implements clattered in their pockets, several held scalpels or bone saws. Tak extended rusty PAK legs to reach an impossible height, her disguise fell showing the full effect the rot was having on her green flesh.
"Why would people look from me?" Zim asked, taking a step back. "Zim doesn't do public appearances, I bid you farewell, good day." He blasted a hole in the door with his shotgun.
"Get him!" Tak shouted, Zim glanced behind him to see the spliced nurses shuffling after him. He opened a door and ran into the side room; it was pitch black and difficult to see. He ran to the end of the room only to find a closet. As he turned the invader saw the nurses rush in. They didn't move, just stood around and occasionally twitch. Zim inched along the side of the wall silently. He kept his steady retreat when he hit something. All the nurses turned their heads in his direction. Zim stood still hoping that they were as stupid as they were ugly. A cold, sharp hand grasped his shoulder.
"GYAAAAAH!" He screamed shooting the thing behind him only to find that it was nothing more than a plastic skeleton. He slowly turned mentally kicking himself for blowing his cover over a human display. He frantically willed his hands to stop shaking long enough to reload the shotgun as the nurses scrambled towards him. The hoard fell over tables, crawled along the floor and lashed out in an effort to deal a lethal blow. Then the alarm rang.
-Blood Candies-
Gone, it was all gone; the nurses, the tables, the stupid sneaky skeleton. All of it was replaced by a bloody rune in the middle of the floor. He shrugged, sure it was horrible and filthy, but if the nurses were gone then Tak should be too. Now would be a wonderful time to leave and find Dib. Who had been drug away from the hospital by his father of science. Zim sighed, he had no idea where to start looking other than sciency places. He would need a city map from the abandoned government information center, or what humans referred to as the library. Zim looked at his surroundings. The room was covered in old cracked mirrors. He sighed looking at his reflection. His wig listed awkwardly to the left. His clothes hung wrong on him, ripped in several places. Somewhere along the way he had lost his contacts and a long scratch stretched along his forehead, he examined the scratch which secreted blue blood. It dribbled down his cheek and then began to branch out into unnatural veins. The room produced its own maroon veins that spread across the reflective walls as Zim's reflection smiled demonically cracking the glass. Zim took a step back and staggered, his skin felt like it was on fire a searing pain which spread as rapidly as the bleeding walls. He quickly exited the room and slammed the door, taking deep breaths as the veins on his skin retreated to whence they came.
He stood on weak limbs, trying to ignore the moans that crawled through the halls. Shot gun clutched to his chest, his boots clinked on the chain link floor. Zim slowly approached the door to the waiting room. He pushed against the door, causing it to fall the large hole in the floor to the basement level. What remained of the floor clung to the edge of the wall, barely large enough for a person to walk on. Chain link covered the wooden frame of the room. He looked up to see carcasses that were permanently suspended in large cages. The room was completely still, too still for the world he was in.
"Wait a minute…" Zim said. Rusty PAK legs that had been reassembled with IV poles, old bed frames, and light fixtures shot out from the darkness. They clung to the chain link and old cages, working like the legs of a spider. A maddening laugh chased after the metal which hauled up its creator from the dark void.
"I found you." Tak grinned with what was left of her jaw. White bone shoved through the necrotic flesh. Her eyes pierced through black webs as she cackled. "You're not getting away this time!" Zim aimed the shot gun and pulled the trigger, a frantic clicking was all that came from the gun. "Looks like you're out of bullets Zim and out of time." Tak stalked forward.
"Stay away from me you mission stealing harlot!" Zim swung the gun hitting Tak square in the jaw her head snapped to the side leaving icor along the handle of the gun. Tak turned her body, a rusted PAK mere inches below her shoulder blades. She gripped her skull and twisted it, a sickening crack came from her neck as she set it in Zim's direction. He cringed gripping the barrel of the useless gun as a meager form of protection as she lunged forward. Then she abruptly stopped her advance, Zim opened his eyes to see sparks flying about. There was Tak staring at him a mear couple of inches from his face, listless and silent. In her hast to rid herself of the defective invader she had skewered her own PAK on the shot gun. He let go of it and watched her plummet into the strange abyss. "…Another victory for the great and powerful ZIM!".He inched along the edge, wary of the hole below. Slamming the door shut he took stock of what was left, 6 bullets and one pistol. "Next time I'll pick up one of those boxes of bullets lying around"
There you have it, chapter 2 is done. So amused? Creeped out? Never returning? Leave me a comment and I'll answer it before the next chapter when I up-date. Don't forget this story will test your bravery by picking a number at the end of each chapter. Choose one for unfazed and four for really freaked out. At the end you add up the numbers and see which ending you get. Good luck and pleasant dreams.
1*2*3*4