So… here's chapter four.
I could shell out some excuse about being busy with school, but you're not here for that, so I'll just [throws smoke bomb and disappears]
The morning of the second day at camp, the seniors were to embark on a seven-mile hike to the roaring waterfalls that lay deep in the forest. The hike was mostly uphill, through dense old growth trees, crossing wide rivers and ancient bridges. Dib was not looking forward to the hike, a sentiment shared by just about every senior in their class- all but one. When the camp counselor announced that students would be partnered up and begin the journey at nine o'clock sharp, Zim merely examined the tips of his black gloves and looked resolutely disinterested. His change in wardrobe had prompted much whispering and staring from the other students, but whether Zim was unaware of this or simply chose to ignore it, Dib could not tell. He only knew that when Gaz had emerged from the girls' bathroom that morning and saw Zim in his new clothing, she met his eye with a look of cool approval and walked away.
Dib seethed all the way to the trailhead, shooting Zim looks of utmost loathing from the corner of his eye. When Zim did take notice of Dib's apparent antipathy, the alien merely regarded him with a blank expression, as though he had grown so used to the idea of being hated and distrusted he was no longer averse to it. His passive stance was tested, however, when the counselor told the students to each select a partner for the hike, and Dib and Zim were the only ones left unpaired.
"Membrane and Zimmerman. Team up." The counselor said, redirecting his attention to the group at large and missing the shocked and angry looks on the faces of the two males in question. "This is a long hike, folks. You are not to be alone at any time, under any circumstances. If you split up from the main group, you have to be with your partner at all times. Understand?" The students murmured their assent, and the counselor continued. "When we reach the falls we'll have a picnic. We'll be at the viewpoint for about an hour and a half. We'll all head back around 1400 hours. So," He stepped aside and gestured to the trail entrance. "Have fun, and stick together!"
Zim and Dib simply stared at each other as the rest of the students embarked on the hike, each sizing the other up. There was much Dib wanted to say, questions he wanted answered, but before he could speak, Zim had turned and started up the trail without him. Feeling the counselor's eyes on his back, Dib had no choice but to follow his enemy into the brush.
The trail wound around the lake and then began the steep ascent up the side of the mountain, leading them through tall trees and under logs and over streams and meadows. Dib tried to enjoy himself despite the fact that the person he hated most marched along just a few feet in front of him. It was not long before Dib was sweating and out of breath, whereas Zim was unburdened, his PAK whirring as it flooded the alien's system with hormones to increase stamina. Dib was jealous in spite of himself, for the day was heating up quickly and he had no alien technology to keep him from becoming exhausted. He wondered how Zim could tolerate such high temperatures without his PAK overheating, and before he could stop himself, he found himself asking just that.
Zim ignored him at first, as though if he waited long enough he wouldn't have to answer. But Dib persisted.
"Are those special clothes or something? Does your PAK have an air conditioning function? Come on, I genuinely want to know."
The rest of the group was far enough away for their conversation to go unnoticed, and so after considering the question for a few moments, Zim relented.
"Irk is a desert planet." He said stiffly, not looking around at his companion. "Irkens evolved under such conditions. We have low body temperatures and can withstand temperatures far higher than any human could."
Dib considered this. "So, you're cold-blooded. That makes sense, I guess. But does that mean you can't tolerate cold temperatures? Wouldn't you freeze to death?" He wondered if defeating his enemy would be as simple as locking the alien in a freezer or leaving him out in a snowstorm. But Zim quickly put an end to that idea.
"When Irkens first began our campaign for universal conquest, we were outfitted with PAKs to regulate our vitals and connect us to the Control Brain." Zim did not seem to mind sharing this information, if only to reiterate the superiority of his own species. "It allows us to survive the harsh conditions of outer space and the environments of alien planets."
Curious, Dib pressed for more. "Okay… Fine, that's impressive and all, but- but-" He finally broke down and asked the question he had wanted to ask for six years. "But why conquer planets in the first place? If you evolved to live in a desert environment, why mechanize your whole species just so you could survive outside it? Why leave your home planet at all?"
Zim stopped walking, and at last turned to glare at Dib over his shoulder. Dib stopped in his tracks, but now that he had started, he could not stop the words that tumbled from his mouth.
"Is it just an egotistical thing? Just a desire to rule over other races?" He thought of his own species' tendency to invade foreign lands and enslave its occupants. "What gives you the right to invade and colonize other planets?"
Zim's eyes were burning. He turned to face Dib head on, his hands curled into fists, hissing through clenched teeth. Dib took a startled step back; never before had he seen Zim look so angry.
"We have no choice." Zim whispered fiercely, and with that he spun on his heel and marched on up the trail, leaving Dib standing alone and wondering what Zim could have possibly meant. Certainly the decision to abandon one's home planet was not one to be taken lightly, and Dib wondered if it was done out of necessity, and not for selfish reasons. But Dib was not naive, and he new that any alien race that would weaponize its own people to conquer other worlds was not one that deserved much sympathy.
Shaking his head slightly, Dib hurried after Zim, ducking under branches and leaping over roots that had grown over the path. When he at last caught up to him, the two found themselves in a large clearing on the side of the mountain, where they were afforded a stunning view of the Cascade Mountains. Everywhere they looked they saw only towering green peaks and lush valleys, the tops of each mountain covered with a dusting of late-season snow. The sky was a stunning shade of blue that reminded Dib of a bottomless lake, in which soft white clouds drifted like tufts of cotton. They took in the sight for several long moments, and then Dib turned to Zim and spoke to him in an awed voice.
"I bet you don't have anything like this on Irk." He said, too amazed to feel smug.
"Can't say we do." Zim said, for once allowing himself to be impressed. The two stood like that a long while, each lost in his own thoughts, until enough time had passed that they would be late to arriving at the waterfalls if they didn't get a move on. The breathtaking sight had quelled their enmity for each other, at least for the time being, and they walked side by side in silence for nearly half an hour. Eventually, the quiet of the forest was displaced by a deep roar in the distance; Zim was the first to hear it, and soon Dib could too, and after a while it had drowned out all other sound.
"We must be getting close to the waterfall," Dib said, but when they reached the top of the trail they saw that it was only the river- a wide, rushing river, white with rapids, over which a narrow bridge was suspended. They would have to follow this river upstream for over a mile before they reached the falls. As they crossed the bridge, mist from the rapids dampened their clothes and chilled Dib down to his bones, the water was so cold. He glanced behind him at Zim, who seemed not in the least bit perturbed by the water that slicked his boots and nestled in his hair like dew drops. Dib took off his glasses and dried them on his jeans, and when he had replaced them on the bridge of his nose, he decided he would try another question.
"You still bathing in paste every morning?" He asked, realizing as he spoke that his voice sounded derisive, although he hadn't intended it to be so. Zim narrowed his eyes, although it was not so much a look of contempt as of consideration. Evidently he decided that the question was not so offensive that he could reasonably ignore it, and he answered, if somewhat stiffly.
"No. Water itself isn't the problem." There was a hole in the bridge where one of the boards was missing, and Zim stepped neatly over it before he continued. "When water mixes with carbon dioxide in this planet's atmosphere, it forms a chemical compound known as carbonic acid, which causes rainwater to be slightly acidic. That is what causes my discomfort." Zim's expression turned dark as he met Dib's eye. "In other words, this filthy planet is so overridden with toxic gases even the rainwater is polluted."
"So it's just rain that bothers you?" Dib mused, missing for the moment the implications of Zim's words. Zim shook his head.
"Not the rain, the acidity of the rain." He said, then stopped. He eyed Dib suspiciously. "Why do you ask, anyway?"
Dib didn't really know why himself. But as long as the alien was willing to talk, Dib might as well try to find out all he could. Some of the information might be useful in vanquishing his enemy, and some of it was just plain interesting. Because he had no solid explanation, Dib decided the best course of action would be to change the subject, and quickly.
"Do you know what the juniors were going to be doing today?" He asked, hoping to deflect any suspicion on the alien's part. "I, er- I didn't get a chance to ask Gaz." Dib watched Zim's expression carefully; at the mention of Gaz's name, Zim scowled, although Dib supposed this might have been due to the abrupt topic change rather than the reference to his sister.
"I don't know, I don't talk to any of the juniors." Zim said, sounding slightly irritated, as though the question were a waste of his time. "You'll find out when we get back."
Dib bit his lip, thinking fast. There was much he didn't understand about Zim- in fact, it was safe to say he understood almost nothing about him. However, Dib was beginning to understand one thing about the alien, and that was Zim's dislike for beating around the bush. Zim did not respond to Dib's subtle hints or carefully phrased questions, yet when Dib asked him something outright, Zim often gave up the answers easily and without preamble. When Zim had learned that Gaz was aware of his identity, he had sought an explanation from the girl herself, in a manner that would not draw attention to either of them and thus complicate the matter further. Trying to coax a confession out of Zim by casually dropping Gaz's name was not going to yield results. He would have to go straight to the heart of the matter, like Zim would himself.
"Look, Zim." Dib began, steeling himself for what was to come. "I know you were talking to Gaz this morning. I saw you."
Zim stopped walking. He turned to stare at Dib over his shoulder. Dib stood in the middle of the path, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes dark with anger. Zim's expression, on the other hand, was unreadable as he turned to face the other boy directly, as though Dib's accusation came as no surprise to him.
"So?" Zim said, evidently seeing no need to deny anything. Dib spluttered furiously, momentarily taken aback.
"So?" He repeated, incredulous. "So, what were you doing talking to my sister? Why were you doing it at four in the morning? And what the hell is up with your outfit?"
Zim blinked, his expression still betraying nothing. "What's your problem?" He said coolly, as though Dib's anger were of no consequence to him. "I can talk to anyone I want to. Including your sister."
"If you wanted to talk to her, you could have done it in broad daylight, in the mess hall, or any other time!" Dib took a challenging step forward, pointing an accusing finger at ZIm's chest. "Why'd you sneak out when everyone else was asleep?"
"Maybe it was because I anticipated a scene like this." Zim said contemptuously, narrowing his eyes. "I only wanted to make sure she wouldn't reveal my identity. As for my clothing, the little Gaz-girl advised me on the proper attire for humans of our age group. That is all."
Dib did not dare believe him. "Listen, Zim," He began in tones of quiet menace. "I don't want you talking to her. I don't want you anywhere near her. She's my little sister, and it's my job to protect her from anything that could hurt her- and that includes you."
Zim's thin face twisted into a sneer. "How touching. I daresay your sister neither needs nor desires your protection. And really, Dib-worm, if I did desire to harm the Gaz-human, there's nothing you could do to stop me. However," He held up his hand as Dib opened his mouth furiously. "At this time, I have no such desire. I can't imagine a scenario in which I would, unless she threatened to jeopardize my mission, which I doubt she will do."
"Yeah, I bet she won't." Dib snarled. "But just because she's content to stand by and watch you annihilate the human race, doesn't mean I am. If I ever catch you around her again, I'll-"
"You'll what, Dib?" Zim said, sounding exasperated for the first time. "You'll tell everyone I'm an alien? You've already done that a thousand times. Or perhaps you'll try to capture me and turn me in to the authorities? When has that ever worked? You stupid little boy- don't you get it? There's nothing you can do to stop me. There was never anything you could do."
"Oh, there's not, is there?" Dib said viciously, pale with rage. "If you're so capable of destroying us all, if there's really nothing I can do to stop you from taking over the world, why haven't you done it yet? What are you waiting for?" He took another step forward and shouted in Zim's face. "You know what I think? I think you can't! You've been here for years and you've never succeeded once! If humans are so damn stupid, it shouldn't take a genius to wipe us out!"
Dib felt a blow to his chest that knocked the air out of his lungs, and he suddenly found himself on the hard-packed ground yards away from where he had been standing. The forest above him spun.
"Listen to me, Dib." Zim's voice sounded far away, echoing as if from the end of a tunnel. "I shall say this only once." He turned Dib's head with the toe of his shiny black boot and looked the human in the eye. "I have my reasons, and they aren't for you to know. Your inferior little mind couldn't understand even if I did tell you." The boot moved to Dib's throat and slowly pressed down. "Do not think yourself clever. You are under the impression you have me 'figured out'. You do not. I am an Invader in my own right, Dib. I am no less dangerous than I was before."
The boot suddenly lifted from Dib's throat, and he wheezed, sitting upright and rubbing his neck. Zim had turned away and continued up the trail. A question burned in Dib's mind.
"Before what?" He called out. Zim did not reply.
His partner having abandoned him, Dib was forced to find his way to the waterfall on his own, something the teachers certainly wouldn't be happy about if they knew. But Dib encountered no bears or cougars, nor did he fall off any cliffs. He didn't need a hiking buddy after all.
He heard the waterfall before he saw it. He emerged from the forest canopy to see a great wall of rock over which water thundered into a deep blue pool below. Most of the class was already there, at the edge of the pool, some of them wading into the water. Mist from the falls made the air cool and damp. The rocks that surrounded the falls were green with moss.
Zim stood away from the others, his expression dark, his gaze on the curtain of rushing water that shook the earth beneath their feet with its power. Dib watched him for a moment or two, but the falls proved more interesting, so he watched the water instead. His mind, however, was not so easily occupied. He turned the alien's words over and over in his head, trying to decipher their meaning one by one, the way one might pick up a stone and examine its details up close; then set it down and reach for the next one, and another, and another…
I am an Invader in my own right. Had Zim not been sent to Earth specifically to invade it? How was that different than any other member of his species?
I am no less dangerous than I was before. Before what? Before what?
He was not aware of the time passing. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Lilith, from his cabin, who told him it was two o'clock and they'd better head back before the teachers get suspicious. Dib was surprised to see that the other students had already gone, including Zim.
"Don't worry, you can walk back with us." Lilith motioned to Otto, who stood at the edge of the trees, waiting. Dib followed them down the mountain, across the bridge, and through the trees, half-listening to their conversation about books and theater and straightening irons and their least favorite teachers- normal things. Things that did not concern aliens. Things that did not concern the fate of the human race. Dib envied them. He wished, for just one day, he could pretend he had never in his life heard of a green boy named Zim.