Chapter 4
I put my face in my hands.
"Yes!" Dib said, and I turned to stare at him. "Law enforcement will finally see the horrible monster that Zim really is!"
I gritted my teeth, my mind whirling. Wait...it actually sounded like my mind was whirling. I listened carefully and found that it was coming from Zim's PAK, and his body seemed to be healing itself. If the police weren't at Dib's house right now, I would be sighing in relief. So Zim's healing process had already begun...That was good. Now to get Zim away from his certain death...again.
I cracked my knuckles and contemplated, trying to figure out how I was gonna do this. Now, I could drag Zim and damage his skin even more...
Hm. I guessed I had about 15 seconds to think about this. I was going to be a very stressed out person because of Zim.
"Hey," Lila said, "The hair gel is still in the pool."
"...How is that going to help me?!" I asked.
"Eh...I don't know."
My fifteen seconds were over. I shot the sliding glass door a terrified glass, and sure enough, two male police officers stood in Dib's kitchen. They had their hands on their guns, and were talking to Helena. She was shooting terrified glances to the backyard and saying something. She gestured to her head, making the "L" sign with her fingers. Then she put her thumbs on her head, her pointer fingers pointing behind her.
Oh. Those would be antennae.
That's it—I didn't know if the officers had even seen me. I took one of the towels that were covering Zim, and lied it down on the floor. I kept the other one near his...er...waist. Then I dragged Zim to the towel, and Zim grimaced as his burned skin drag across the ground. With Zim on the towel, and me sweating nervously, I bent over and started pulling it towards the gate.
Let me tell you. Sloooow progress.
"Ow," Zim groaned, coughing. "OW!" Maybe the towel was thin.
"Be quiet!" I dragged him another ten inches.
"Mmrrr...nnnrreeh!"
"Almost there..." I took a breath.
Dib watched, disappointed, as I reached it.
Then I heard something that made my blood go cold in my veins, and all of it drain out of face. The police had opened the sliding glass door. I mumbled something vulgar and stood up straight. I unlocked the lock and grabbed the towel again, yanking it so hard Zim almost fell off.
"Nnrrrh." I didn't know why he was making these kinds of noises, and I told myself I would try to figure it out if I made it out alive. Yeah. I mean, in this world...If they saw me with an alien, and trying to drag him away, they would probably kill and dissect me, too.
"...Zim."
"Wuh?"
"Tell me how much water got in your PAK."
"PAK damage: Critical." So his PAK answered me now...
"Craaaap."
"Nhmm." Okay, so the PAK was his brain, basically. With water in it...so Zim was retarded now?
I stopped and stood over him. I grabbed his shoulders, and starting shaking him, to get the water out.
"Eenenenen," Zim said, glaring at me. I could see his eyes—they weren't too pretty. Red to black wasn't a nice change. Did he even know it was me? I let go of Zim.
"Shh, the police are here." There was a little spot between Dib's gate and the front of his house. It was a nice place to hide, actually. As long as the cops didn't search the place, we weren't screwed.
"We're gonna search the perimeter," I heard one cop said. I slapped my forehead.
Why, exactly, had I chosen to be in a cartoon? Oh, yeah. I didn't choose.
"Mmm, but we've got that new doughnut place to check out. Er...we got a call. Somebody down there lit a fire. Y'know kids.."
"Oooh, right, right. Sorry, misses...and Dib, we gotta go."
A couple seconds went by and I heard the slider open and close.
I heard Helena say, "...How do the police know your name?"
Dib mumbled something like, "I...er...called them before." Dib sighed. "Pizza guy was possessed by a ghost."
Then there was what can only be described as an awkward silence. Then I heard the front door open and the police go out it. I listened until they got into their car and sped away, with sirens blaring to the doughnut shop. Well, that was stupid.
I looked down at Zim and thought about how I was gonna get him home. There was no way in hell I got drag a half-naked Zim on a towel to his house, and no way I could keep Zim here—Dib would kill him. I could stay with Zim and Dib here, and keep an eye on Zim every second of the day, but... I opened the lock and walked into the backyard. Helena hid behind Lila.
"I neeed..." I took a breath. "Help. And, well, Zim needs some pants."
Fifteen minutes later, we were all in a stolen car, Zim with pants on (yay!) and Dib, Lila, and Helena all smushed in the back seat. I hadn't let anybody sit in shotgun, because, well, I had started screaming when Dib was trying to get in it. I was...a bit...nervous. The movement had made me not only scream, but jump up and hit my head on the top of the car.
"THIS IS INSANE!" I turned my frightened gaze to the other frightened gazes of the people behind me.
"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!" Dib screamed quite girlishly.
"Do you have a license?!" Helena asked me.
"NO." I squeaked out. I was a little tense. I was pushing myself as hard as I could into the cushions of the seat, and my arms were sticking quite straight out, gripping the steering wheel pretty damn hard. I looked at my knuckles and saw they were completely white. It was some type of future car that I can't describe that we stole, but it was red. And red cars always got the speeding tickets, because they stood out. The police had just been in the same house I'd been in, and I had just STOLEN A CAR.
"WHO SUGGESTED THIS? Stealing a freaking CAR?!!!!!"
Seriously...
"Uh..." Lila started, but looked too scared to go on. I breathed in with my mouth, then out my noise. In, out. Breathing was very calming, yes. Calming...A car slammed on the brakes in front of me and I slammed on mine. Zim slid off the seat (he'd been laying on the laps of the people in the back) and he fell to the floor. I put my hand on the horn while I braked, and didn't stop pushing it. Thank god my dad had taught me how to drive.
"Orrrrsss," he mumbled on the floor. I stopped beeping.
Calm down, Avi. You just need to drive to Zim's house...It's all right...Not too far...Now pay attention to the road, and you'll be fiiiine. I reassured myself.
"It was sorta your idea..." Lila said.
I started hyperventilating.
