I really didn't want to go back to that apartment.

I didn't want to face Zim that day. At that moment I wanted to run far away (even though my body wouldn't have allowed it) and never have to see his horrible green head again.

My clothes were torn and tattered and I was covered in a mix of my own blood and the enemy's blood and the blood of fallen comrades. I hated blood. It was sticky and really hard to wash out of clothes.

Of course, the aliens we were fighting were not advanced beings with plasma rays and all of the advanced weapons we were prepared for. No, they were the Swardins, intergalactic barbarians who slashed us with their scythe-like claws. They were almost like space grim reapers.

Ha. Didn't they know everything here was nearly dead already?

I knew I had been hurt badly, so badly I was having trouble standing up right. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do but rest and hope aliens didn't decide to invade tomorrow. After all, none of the good doctors that survived The Impact had stayed in this stupid town. They migrated like brainless birds to where they thought most of the people were, the big cities like New York and Chicago. Where they thought they were needed the most.

As though anyone would be there. When alien ships blow up a place full of skyscrapers like Manhattan, all the buildings fall down really fast. No one would have had time to escape. I'm guessing, since the doctors never came back, that they all died of starvation or something to that effect.

Instead of going inside to lie down on a bed, I slid down against the door, leaving a bloody trail after me. I felt my body involuntarily slump over a little, forcing me to stare at my boots. I had managed to paint them red as well. With a little effort, I forced my body to lean against the door.

Breathing hard and heavy, I looked down the hallway. It felt weird being alone in an entire apartment building, but for these new times I thought it was practical to claim the whole building. After all, if someone were hunting you down, it would take them ages to look through all the apartments. By then I would already be gone.

I realize now that I could have brought several people off the streets if I hadn't been so greedy, but I try not to think about it. After all, they didn't do anything to save themselves. They were just a bunch of rats in the street, whom if they had tried harder, could have found homes. It's not my fault they didn't. They deserve all they've gotten.

I knew I wasn't the only one who had done this anyway. Several of my comrades from the Earth Defense Alliance had found shelter as well. After all, this wasn't the only apartment complex in this stupid city. Perhaps we were the new upper class society then, looking down on the scum of this new world.

The unfortunate truth is, we weren't. We were the soldiers, fighting to keep our world safe, even though it had already fallen apart. Those devils in the streets? They watched us all, not bothering to offer a helping hand. No, they would watch us fight and fall on our own. Congratulated us when we won, booed us when we lost.

None of us cared though. It was just like it had been before The Impact. People are lazy and expect others to do everything for them. Imagine their surprise when they've been stepped on by an alien robot and couldn't be bothered to move.

Sometimes though…I look down the halls and wonder what kind of people lived here before me. Were they lazy masses? Were they scientists like me? Were they ordinary people who were just trying to keep food on the table?

No one had ever come to me demanding I give their home back. All of them were gone for one reason or another. All that was left now was the big empty of the hallway and the quiet laughter that lingered behind. It was haunting.

My head involuntarily leaned to one side and I found I was sitting in a crimson puddle. Unless I felt like sleeping out in the hallway permanently, I needed to get inside of the apartment. My legs refused to cooperate however, and wouldn't let me stand up. I was forced to use the doorknob as leverage and pulled myself upright.

With a swift click the door unlocked. I hesitated again. I knew Zim wouldn't be able to just leave me alone about this one. I knew that he would say something. In the back of my head, I wondered vaguely why that bothered me so much.

Slowly, trying to keep my balance, I opened the door. I leaned against it for additional support, so I wouldn't collapse. Breathing heavily, I dared a glance toward my alien.

And there was Zim, staring in horror at what I thought was me. Then I turned my head just a little and saw the mess I had left in the doorway. Oh.

Zim seemed to be searching in his little green head for words, trying to string together a coherent sentence. Words were the last thing I wanted coming out of his mouth. I could feel a small rage bubbling up inside me, ready to burst through the surface.

Then he said it.

Zim said the worst possible thing he could have said at that moment.

" What…" Zim started, still looking for the right words, " What happened?"

I don't remember how I was able to move so fast, but somehow I had Zim against a wall in seconds. My hands curled around his neck and I listened to him trying to breathe. I remember thinking what a sweet sound it was. Gripping and squeezing, I couldn't get enough of the beautiful noise.

I know I screamed at him. Long, strings of curses were thrown and every one hit. I watched him writhe and squirm and struggle in my fists with sick pleasure.

As quick as it had come though, my adrenaline rush died. My fingers had let go of Zim slowly and I found myself swaying to a beat I couldn't hear. I put my arm out against the wall so I wouldn't tumble to the floor. I could never do something like that in front of Zim.

I looked up at him, trying my hardest to refocus my eyes. He hadn't moved from his spot. Not that he could have, seeing as I was slumped over him against the wall. His eyes never left me either. There was a lovely ring of extremely light green that stood around his neck, courtesy of me. I watched in a daze as he slowly regained his breath.

That's when I realized it. I had been doing it again.

My breath stopped short a moment and I stared at him. I stared for the longest time and he stared back. Finally, unable to say anything, I shoved against the wall so I could get away. I needed to get far away from Zim.

Before I could get that far though, I felt my foot slip. I was falling and with the deep gashes on my arms, I wouldn't be able to catch myself. I seemed to fall endlessly. I shut my eyes, trying my best to prepare for the pain my stumble would bring.

…That pain never came though. All I felt was a slight sting on my wrist. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the last thing I had expected to see.

It was Zim.

He had one hand wrapped around my wrist, suspending me in the air. The white shirt I gave him had dark red polka dots scattered on it and only then did I realize it was my blood. Curiously, he pulled me up by my arm. I hung limply by his grip.

" Get up." He said harshly.

I wanted to smack him. I wanted to have him on the floor; I wanted him to be hurting and bleeding as much as me when I was done with him. How dare he talk that way to me? His MASTER? His GOD?

I held back though. Otherwise I'd do it again and this time, one of us wouldn't make it out alive this time. I stood as best as I could, and Zim became my ladder. Once I was on two feet again, I stared at Zim again. Not with gratitude and not with gratefulness. Just a simple stare.

I turned to leave and Zim didn't stop me this time. I'm sure he got a kick out of watching me hobble against the wall to my study. That didn't matter to me though. If he laughed, I'd make him wash the blood of the carpet with his face.

Shutting the door behind me I stopped and sighed. My hands were shaking and I wasn't sure why anymore. Slowly, I made my way over a sea of research notes to a filing cabinet in the corner. With a little effort, I pulled it open and pulled out some medical wrap I had stolen from the wreckage of the old hospital.

My shirt was so torn, all I had to do was pull it a little and it came right off. It wasn't as though I would be wearing it again anytime soon. When I saw my arm clearly for the first time, I realized this would probably take me all night.

Still, I stubbornly wiped away blood with tissues and wrapped it as best as I could. It would have been much easier with help, but I would have gnawed my arm off before I asked Zim for it.

It must have taken me hours to tend to all of my wounds. I remember that my chest and back had been the most difficult, having to reach around at odd angles to wrap the wound with the bandage. Finally, I laid back on my mattress (since it really couldn't be called a bed) and stared up.

There, gazing up at the ceiling, I thought I heard someone laugh at me. I quickly sat up and regretted it moments later. No one was there.

I laid back down, trying to ignore the pain that seemed to come from everywhere. I shut my eyes, pretending I hadn't heard anything. There was no one there after all. There was nothing but the big empty that was my life.

(A/N: I'm baaack. Thank you for all the lovely reviews, I really appreciate them. The next chapter should be up very soon, now that school's out for the summer. : ) )