A/N: Back to the dream world again. I'm sure everything will be totally normal and not nightmarish at all!
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, Squee, JTHM or any related franchises. But I do own a very nice lamp from Target. I can't post a picture of it here so you'll have to take my word for it.
DREAMTIME
The Wall has no end.
I tilted my head so far back that my neck twinged, but I could see no ceiling. The concrete was a road with no destination, stretching miles upon miles into the starless darkness.
Was I really that small?
Shaking, I placed a hand against The Wall. I expected the concrete to be cold but it was warm. Closing my eyes, I focused on its blistered surface, warped by patchy layers of red and brown. The warmth pulsed beneath my fingertips, like a heartbeat.
Crack!
I opened my eyes. To the right of me, a black fissure stretched up into the void.
Approaching with slow steps, my heart beating in my chest, I peaked inside. At first, I saw nothing. But as I squinted closer, pressing myself against the concrete, I saw a small, white something floating in the distance. There was a black dot in the middle of it- tiny, as if tapped on with the end of a pen. The air was hot and steam crept up my glasses. I wiped the lenses with the bottom of my shirt and looked again...
...and an eye looked back at me.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
I stumbled backwards and tripped. The eye reared up along the fissure, staring at down me with a dilating black pupil as The Wall shattered into pieces.
"Run!" cried the boy. He was afraid but his bear smiled. "It's going to get you!"
I spun around just in time to see the eye in my face; the pupil so wide that I could see my mouth opening as I started to scream…
XXX
We're taking your Voot Cruiser tomorrow right? I texted.
Outside my open window, I could hear the familiar sounds of my street- crickets chirping, a car backfiring a couple blocks away. The bright light from my phone screen chased the shadows back into the corners of my room.
No, it's out of commission! The reply came within seconds. Why are you awake in the middle of the night?!
Out of commission? That was a first. Zim's ship was an outdated piece of junk compared to Tak's but it was also much easier to repair and customize, which is why I assumed he kept it around instead of upgrading. My Spittle Runner had voice-controlled AI and an improved warp drive but had taken one hit to the left thruster and now couldn't be repaired without an expensive part imported from Irk. The Voot Cruiser, on the other hand, looked like it had been dragged out of a lake and then battered against the side of a mountain but every time I shot it down, Zim had it running as good as new within days. What had finally done it in?
Did you crash again? I asked.
None of your filthy business, worm baby! Go to bed and bother ZIM no longer!
Can you get it fixed by tomorrow?
I waited for a while but no answer came, so I reluctantly turned the phone off. The room went dark, illuminated only by the soft glow of the stars on my ceiling. Zim's right, I thought, I need to go to sleep. But as I pulled the covers up and settled onto my pillow, I spotted the new drawing on my wall- a white eye peaking out from a dark crack of scratched lines. I turned over and tried to fall asleep but I could still feel it in the darkness.
Watching me.
So I spent the rest of the night downstairs, watching reruns of Mysterious Mysteries until the sun came up.
A/N: Chapter Two coming at ya on Monday.