We're back! Onto the next chapter! And be sure to read the note at the bottom.
Chapter 4: The Man with the Eye Patch
Dib woke to a kick in the side, causing the once sleeping boy to wake with a pained gasp.
"What the hell, Zim!?" Dib cried out irritably, clutching his side as he glared up at the alien standing above him, his teeth clenched together as he tried to breathe through the pain. He had been kicked by Zim enough times to know that he had held back, a lot, but that didn't mean that it still didn't hurt.
"The Dib-stink has gotten enough sleep, I tire of waiting!" Zim exclaimed using way more enthusiasm than Dib thought anyone should have this early in the morning.
Dib growled as he pushed to his feet, bringing himself to his full height to look down on the alien, his fists clenched.
"You didn't have to kick me, you stupid lizard!" He growled back, it was true, he wasn't mad at being woken up as he was at how he was woken up. Nobody liked to be kicked. It wasn't like it was still dark, the sun was fully risen, so it had to be mid-morning by now.
"I'M NOT A LIZARD!" Zim yelled out angrily.
"That would be the only word you pick out." Dib muttered rolling his eyes.
"Yes, yes, whatever. Just get your bag and let's go!" Zim said dismissively with a wave of his hands as he turned away. Dib just let it go and knelt down to roll up the sleeping bag. He secured it to the bag when he noticed something he was surprised he didn't see before.
"Ummmm…Zim? Is that a bear cub?" Dib asked with some concern. Indeed there was a small brown bear cub that was perched on Zim's shoulder.
"Yes, the fuzzy-meat sack is aware of the AMAZING Zim's superiority and has chosen me to be his master!" Zim explained joyfully.
"You can't keep a bear cub!" Dib yelled, looking around, expecting the mother to come out any second. "The mother would kill us!"
"You worry too much, Dib-stink! The baby has been conquered and the mother will too bow before the might of ZIM!"
"Let me guess, it came up to you last night and wanted to play?" Dib guessed at with a sigh. He stopped looking around and just focused on the small brown cub hanging on Zim's shoulder.
"That is correct! And Zim proved his superiority and the fuzzy-mutant submitted!" He was very proud of himself, his new little friend let out his own little call in response, which made Zim grin all the more.
"Zim, the mother is going to be looking for her baby. She's going to kill us before you can assert your 'superiority' over her." He tried again.
"You lie!" He yelled.
"How am I lying? It's normal maternal instincts! All mothers have it!" Dib tried, his hands waving about for emphasis. But his hands dropped when he saw the confused look on Zim's face.
"Internal insects? This has nothing to do with parasites, stupid hyuman!" Zim retorted loudly, earning him an eye roll from the human. Dib couldn't believe that this was the alien who was supposed to destroy the human race. He barely listened to anything he was ever told.
"I said maternal instincts. You know, that protectiveness that mothers feel over their young? Your mother probably showed some sign of it too." He tried with a huff. He hated having to explain things to Zim, it made him wonder if he wasn't helping the boy out in his quest for world domination. But most of the time, like in this case, Zim acted so stupid, one couldn't help but correct him.
"Silly worm-baby! Only you filthy hyumans require such forms of reproduction! The mighty Irkens are born from tubes, formed from two DNA signatures of existing Irkens chosen at random." Zim bragged, seemingly to believe that this was a much more superior way to produce offspring.
"Wait, so you have no family?" Dib managed out, surprised. He couldn't believe that there was a race that would be made up of completely lab created beings.
"By the definition of what a hyuman considers make people family, then I do. One as amazing as ZIM will have to have hundreds of half-siblings and even a few hundred smeets of my own by now!" He continued to brag happily.
While this statement would be true in any other Irken, it was not true for Zim. Once he was discovered to be dangerous, that is, after the cause of Painful Overload Day Part One was finally discovered, this was a few years after the five years of darkness finally came to an end. Zim's DNA sequence was taken out of the system; for fear that it would create another dangerous defect like him. To date, he only had three smeets that managed to sneak through the purge, out of pure luck more than anything else, for they were unaware of the source of half their DNA. One was currently a General, one a successful scientist on the planet Meekrob, and one was the new Invader Scoodge, the poster child for galactic conquest. It was a good thing nobody looked into ones parental linage, for the Tallest would have been horrified to know that their poster child was related to Zim. And, for everyone's unknown relief, Zim was blissfully unaware of any of this.
Dib, on the other hand was shocked by this. He couldn't imagine being so utterly alone in the world, and he couldn't help but feel bad for Zim. He would never know the love of a family, he'll never have anyone to depend on, and he'll never have someone to turn to for help. Dib may not have had the best home life, but he would never give that up. The pity disappeared only a moment later when he reminded himself that Zim was his enemy and pity would only get in the way.
"Whatever, if the mother shows up, I'm throwing you to her and running." He said, turning and started to walk in a direction, leaving Zim to shout after him.
"Just try it, Dib-stink!"
It had been two hours since they started walking again, still with no luck in locating any signs of life or the edge of the forest. Zim was following Dib, silent, the little bear cub running excitedly around them, the human still having no luck getting the cub to go home. He also still couldn't see why the cub was so attached to Zim. The not knowing was driving him crazy, but it could also be in combination with the same green scenery around them that was doing nothing to distract the boy. Dib was thoroughly over camping and forests. That was when he suddenly noticed that there was an absent of crunching footsteps behind him. He turned to see Zim stopped a few feet behind him, his wig in his hands, eyes closed and antennae twitching in the alert position on his head.
"You hear something?" He finally ventured to ask when the alien failed to say anything more after a few minutes. Dib couldn't hear anything other than the chirping of birds in the distance.
"I hear footsteps that way." He said pointing to their left, his voice oddly neutral as it betrayed the mix of feelings that he had towards this fact. He was happy at this fact as much as he was unhappy. On the one hand, he could get out of here, but on the other that would be admitting to need a human's help, something he most certainly did not need. However, he'd also get away from his enemy and back to his mission at hand. He was saved having to make a choice by Dib, who had no quarrels asking humans for help.
"Then let's hurry up and find them!" The human said before taking off running in the direction that Zim had pointed to. Zim hesitated before following suit, decided that as long as the human asked the other humans for help, Zim himself would not be the one relying on help from the furless mammals, for he would only follow them to study their knowledge of the area outside their urban environment. And if that happened to get him out of the forest, then that would only be a coincidental bonus instead of an intended outcome.
Dib had no doubt that his rival was behind him, the bear cub probably happily chasing closely after. The Membrane child never liked being lost. From his experiences, the lack of knowledge, especially of ones surroundings, never ended well. So, he was more than happy to jump at the chance to get out of here. Yet, he could not bring himself to hate the time spend in the forest. He didn't dwell on figuring out the reason why because the sounds of muffled voices could be heard in the distance, spurring the boy to move even faster, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. A few moments later and he could see the forms of a group of six people in the distance, the joy catching in his chest made Dib's already shortened breath catch. He ignored the burning pain in his protesting muscles; they were used to running, but not this much.
Most of the group had their backs to the advancing youths, meaning only one was facing them, yet he seemed to be distracted. Dib took in a deep breath to call out to them when the source of the man's distraction became clear in the sound of a ringing gunshot that echoed throughout the forest. Dib stopped in his tracks, recognizing the sound at once. His blood ran cold as he watched the man facing them fall. Zim, on the other hand, was not as familiar with the sound and did not stop in time to avoid a head on collision with Dib, sending them both to the ground. The noise drew the attention of the remaining five people.
"Run!" Dib yelled in vain. By the time the two detangled themselves, the group had already had them surrounded. Dib was pulled roughly from the ground by his wrists by the largest of the group. He looked like a giant and easily lifted the thin boy with one hand a foot in the air. He was well build, bald, and eyed the human teen with dark brown eyes. He looked very unamused. The giant wore a simple black long sleeve shirt and black pants. His scary appearance was only heightened by the sight of the shotgun strapped to his back.
Two identical twins had grabbed Zim by his arms, holding him in place as he squirmed to try and get free. They were significantly smaller than the bald behemoth; their light, almost white, blond hair was tied back in small ponytails that reached just past their shoulder, but their grey eyes held the same cold look as the other man. They also wore matching crimson shirts underneath black leather jackets in combination with black pants. They also had two pistols each in holsters under their jackets.
The woman was the one holding the gun as her bright green eyes observed the two struggling teens. Her black hair fell in straight locks all the way down to her lower back. Her long sleeve emerald green shirt hung off her shoulders and stopped a bit above her navel. Her low riding jeans fit her form all the way down. But she wasn't the one who really caught Dib's attention, for, despite the fact that she held the only gun drawn; the man next to her was clearly in control.
The man's startling blue eye was paired with a black eye patch covering his left one. He was tall, and lean, but had muscle tone. But the look in his eyes made it clear his strength was in his mind. His blond hair was longer, but did not take away from the overall neatness of his appearance. He wore a black blazer with a white shirt and black slacks despite the fact he was bringing people into the forest to murder them. He was the first to speak.
"Ah! Look what we 'ave 'ere!" He drawled with a thick German accent, smiling with amusement that did not reach his eyes. "You will remove your filthy hands from Zim!" Zim suddenly yelled out, still struggling against the twins, his sudden outburst causing the eye-patched man to turn his attention solely to the green one.
"You are in no position to demand, little one." The man told Zim, his voice calm and even, making a shiver go down Dib's spine. The man clearly was use to things like this making him a very dangerous man indeed.
"Filthy hyuman pigs! I, ZIM, will-" The rest of Zim's rant was abruptly brought to an end when the German put his fist roughly into Zim's gut. The alien's breath all was forced out in one pain filled sound before he collapse to his knees, trying to recover his lost air. His smile was gone and his cold blue eye turn its focus on Dib, who flinched, expecting a blow too.
"You seem like a reasonable boy, ya? Then you must understand the predicament I am in. You must know I cannot let you live after what you saw." He said instead, sounding more like he was teaching a lesson rather than telling two young teens that they were about to be murdered. "Do you 'ave any questions?"
"What happened to your eye?" Dib asked, the question coming out before he could think. The man blinked then laughed loudly.
"I 'ave to say! No one 'as ever asked that before dying! See, this is why I like children!" He said, turning to his cohorts, who looked like they were paying attention, but didn't share the thought. "But, alas, I am afraid I cannot tell you, young one. It is a secret, you see." Dib didn't even get the chance to respond before Zim, who by this point had recovered from the blow, surprised his captures by pushing off his feet, his fists getting them in the guts before he pulled them forward, making their heads collide, knocking them out cold.
Before anyone could react, Zim swung a foot into the bald man's kneecap, bring the giant to his knees, allowing Dib to pull free from his grips. The sound of another gunshot rang through the air as a bullet grazed Zim's shoulder. Dib took a swing at the woman and knocked her into the man with the eye-patch before grabbing his rival by the collar and taking off. He resisted for a bit before just giving and running alongside Dib.
They moved as fast as they could, Dib's lungs burning as it pleaded for air and he didn't know how much longer he could keep going. That was when his foot caught on uneven ground, sending him stumbling to the ground, the impact knocking his glasses clear off his face. Zim tripped over the fallen boy, and landing on his face a little bit away as footsteps could be heard in the distance getting closer.
Okay! Next chapter done! Sorry, this was meant to be longer but I just don't have the time and didn't want to make you wait much longer. Unfortunately, I will have to inform you that I will probably not get to even start type the next chapter for another two weeks. That is why I decided to post this at the point I did. Sorry, guys! College is no picnic. I'll get back to it as soon as I can, I promise!