A/N: The chapter of lines.
Chapter 8
Zim cackled to himself as he ran, not looking behind him. Poor, poor, Avi-human. She was just...so human. And so feeble! Though she had raced against that other earth vehicle...Not like that meant anything, even if Devastis trainers had always warned everyone that racing your ship was dangerous. Zim remembered the slideshows of the effect of accidents, and the disfigured bodies of the Irkens who had. He clacked his tongue. Devastis was the place where they had put him through grueling tests and even the ones that made him able to run as fast and long as he could. But still, Avi was...
Hey! Where was she, anyways?
Zim slowed down, but didn't stop completely—until he ran into a pole. That was it—he finally took the red sun hat off.
"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his head. Zim glared at the pole before looking up and seeing it was one of...those things. What were they...oh, streetylampers? Yes, yes, that was it.
"I am ZIM!" He congratulated himself on figuring out what the stooopid huuuman device was. He turned around, smirking, to see if the Avi had witnessed his amazing thinking.
He pouted, finding out she hadn't. Zim pondered about someday putting a leash and collar on the Avi-human. He grinned at the thought of it, pulling her along everywhere. Heh, heh.
"Come to Zim!" he called, crossing his arms, still holding the hat, and tapping his foot. It'd been hard for him to run barefoot, too, but the skin on the bottom of his feet were thicker than most humans', so he was fine. Plus, you know, he only had two toes, so it was less foot to get hurt, anyways.
"Eeeek!!!"
His antennae raised so fast they bounced, and he could tell it was Avi. She didn't sound too safe...
Now, for another amazing rescue...from Zim! Zim thought. He started running in the direction of her voice. A couple seconds later, when he heard barking and growling, he hesitated and stopped. Irkens were supposed to fight their own battles!
She's not Irken, is she?
No! She's a filthy, disgusting, little...
"The dogs!" he gasped. "Nnhh...no." Zim stood there for half a second, contemplating. "Argh!"
His spider legs seemed to burst from his PAK at lightning speed, his subconscious winning over. If he had eyes in the back of his head, he would glare at his own PAK.
Stoooopid "love". Disgusting...Ehhh...
He quickly propelled himself forward as fast as he could, preparing himself for everything.
I closed my eyes, deciding this was the best way to go. The thought of my last image being my own gore flying everywhere didn't sound too appetizing. Thanks, but no thanks.
The one who started growling first tried to bite me first, and I rolled over as quick as I could. The dog got a mouthful of my hair, which would have been a bit funny if I hadn't felt the ripping sensation on my scalp. I whimpered before I knew it, but oh well. I think I heard the dog choking on my hair.
Ha! That's what you get!
I scrambled to get on my hands and knees and turned over so my stomach was facing the ground, daring not to look up into the eyes of the dogs. I started backing up slowly, when—
I heard a scraping noise, and looked out of the corner of my eye to find Zim hurling himself at me with his spider legs. The legs were making that sound against the cement and asphalt. A dog snapped at me, but my reflexes got me just in the nick of time. Well, not really. I had felt the fangs go over my skin—I don't know if the dog drew blood or not, I was too busy trying to get on my feet.
"No! No!" I backed up, but it was too late—one of them got my hand. I gasped out loud and was pulled forward by the dog—back on my knees again. It took a while for my body to get the message, but it finally did, and there was blood. Everywhere—all over this guy's backyard grass, and against my shirt as I tried to grab my hand back and it splattered everywhere. Nice, eh?
Pain shot through my hand, and my brain idly thought I wonder if this dog has rabies.
I scrambled back again, and suddenly I felt a hand around my entire waist. My hands automatically reached for the ones that were picking me up.
"Ooompf," I said again. I just...sorta...hung there. Zim had picked me up, and man, was he hauling ass. He didn't say one word as he backed up into the street, the leader dog staring at the spider legs totally confused. Maybe a little frightened, too.
Bitches! I thought. If I wasn't concentrating on how much blood was coming from my hand, I would be smirking at them.
Now, I wasn't that heavy, in my opinion, but Zim was certainly having a hard time. I believe spider legs are meant for one, yes? Yes. It was certainly showing that. Zim was squeezing my waist so hard, though, I felt like throwing up. I was sorta gasping for breath, too, and I think he either heard that or realized he was, because his clench loosened up a bit. I could feel Zim's head on top of mine, and I was soooo glad he'd saved me. God, it was just so convenient to have a Zim around. Except the fact he was crushing me alive, but that's okay! I was also reminded of my old injuries while he was on the ol' spider legs. Like my once-broken ribs.
We didn't say anything after Zim had gone a block. He didn't even say anything when he was putting me down, which caused me to fall about three feet. My already abused hands protested and throbbed, and I stood up (not too gracefully, again) and surveyed the damage. Besides hair loss, skin loss, bite marks in two places, bleeding, and maybe a bald spot on the back of my head, I was okay.
"Ow, ow, ow," I moaned, rubbing my head. I wasn't concerned with the dogs—they'd seen Zim's legs, they knew they shouldn't mess with us...er...him.
"What?" Zim demanded. "Tell Zim what is wrong!" Zim retracted his spider legs and dropped down like he'd done it a million times before. Lucky.
I showed him my hand, and his expression darkened. His eyes narrowed, he said, "Dogs. Oh, they will pay. They will pay double what they have done to you!"
"I like dogs, though..."
Zim gave me a look.
"I like dogs...Ow," I said as my injured hand brushed my shirt hem. "Crap."
"You're bleeding over there, too!" Zim said, angry.
"Shit..." I said idly, looking down to my arm and seeing scrape marks. That must have been where the teeth had dragged. I shivered. "I'm just cold."
Zim "tsk"ed, and brought out a bandage and some Irken-looking lotion-ey stuff. I stared at it.
"That better be—"
"It won't harm you. Zim...promises," Zim said, averting his eyes, yet taking my hand and putting a dab of it on my hand. I had a sharp intake of breath when he did; it stung. This time I felt too exhausted to utter a curse word. I just watched as Zim did that to my hand, then wrapped the bandage around carefully. Then he did the same thing with my other wound. I hissed through my teeth when he did that one, and he said, "Y'know..You always have to get yourself nearly killed, don't you? Tsk, tsk...Zim always has to save poor little Avi, doesn't he? Mmm, well..."
" 'Mmm, well' what?"
"Nothing," Zim said, rocking back on his heels, looking at me. He rocked forward. Then back. Forward. Back. Forwardbackforwardbackforwardback. I had a feeling he was going to do this for awhile. I leaned in and grabbed his clothes—which didn't work because it was a hologram. So I grabbed his wrists instead, and pulled him toward me gently. Why was there always a space between us?
One inch away, I watched Zim squirm. I was bursting his little personal space bubble, and I liked it. I smirked.
Then Zim stopped all of a sudden, and I looked up through my eyelashes—Zim was on the sidewalk, I was on that little patch of cement before it hits asphalt. So he was higher up, and I had look up. I bet he loved that.
"Wha—mm," was the sound I made before Zim leaned down a bit and kissed me. My grip on his wrists slackened, and he pulled them out. It was a short kiss—but it was Zim. I mean, all we'd really done so far was...well, yeah. What was happening now.
It ended, and I stared at him dumbfounded. I had usually been the one to do that when the need got too bad. But now he was?
"An effective action," Zim commented, an undercurrent of humor in his voice. He rubbed his wrists, as if I'd grabbed them hard enough to bruise—which I hadn't. Then Zim looked at me again and saw something...Because he started laughing at me. I blinked a few times, trying to form a few words.
"You...?" I managed to get out, before my voice cracked. My lips tingled. I yelled at myself inside my head.
"The look on your face when I do that..." Zim's eyes laughed at me. "You are giving yourself to me..."
I blinked at the way the wording was, but I nodded all the same.
"Yes," he grinned, "I AM ZIM!" He did his little thing with his arms, and I just watched patiently, waiting for the words to come back to me. "...But," he said, after he was done. "You are so innocent..." He tilted his head to his side, and I wished I could see his antennae. He stuck a tongue out, pondering something. "Do you know how old Zim is?"
I heard crickets in the background. I don't know if that was just a sound effect, or if they just decided to chirp at that second.
I shook my head no. I felt the beginnings of a headache. Today had been stressful, but I was very happy that Zim was calming down and probably going to tell me how old he was. Zim's past intrigued me to no end. What I learned, no other fan of the show could dream of. So I listened carefully.
"Zim is double your age, times two or three, plus ten or twenty, minus three, and divided by two. Oh, then multiplied by three or four," Zim sang in a very sing-songy voice.
"Um..." My eyes shifted from the corner of my left eye to the next. "Can you repeat that?" My mind felt dizzy trying to figure it out. When I expected to learn Zim's age, I expected to be disgusted that I was in love with somebody so old, like those weird celebrity couples. But actually...It was different, and is very hard to explain. Love knows no species, gender, age, or race, maybe? I think it was also the fact Zim didn't act his age at all. Not like I hadn't seen any Irkens or people Zim's age, but he did act very young, didn't he? This whole age thing made me realize maybe I was more in love than I thought. And what's even scarier...I don't care. It's like a happy numb, I suppose. A good numb. Knowing that you're in love, and so is the other person...Oh, crap. I just rambled, didn't I?
"Hahahahahahahaha—no," Zim replied, apparently done talking about it. He started walking, and I walked along with him.
"Thanks for saving me..."
"Mhmm. Zim knows. Zim knows all."
"You don't owe me anymore..."
Zim grinned. "But oh, you do."
Uh-oh. I think I had a bad feeling about this...
An hour went by...of walking. Walking and listening and talking and breathing and blinking and nothing else.
Thirty minutes went by. This time I was falling asleep on my feet.
Zim let me finally rest my head on his shoulder. We walk slower.
Can't remember rest of thirty minutes.
Asshole drunk drives by. Sees me sleepwalking with Zim, decides to honk horn.
Ten seconds of honking and waking me up, Zim starts shaking his fist and yelling at them. He is Zim. He is Zim. One more time—he is actually, the Zim.
Half a second later, I flip them off.
Three seconds later. Car pulls abruptly over. Guys get out of car, one holding large cooking pan. Slight remembrance of wondering why a dude was carrying a pan around in his car. Other one holds a rubber chicken. Threats are thrown between us. Man lifts chicken up and throws. Hits Zim in head. How dare they do that, he is Zim.
Slight remembrance of loud, obnoxious cuss word coming from me. Possibly with the word "psycho-ass" and "mother" in it, if I remember correctly. Half a second has gone by.
One second later. Zim and I realize we are dealing with some drunk psycho-ass circus clowns. Very angry drunk psycho-ass circus clowns. Unemployment? Possibly.
Five seconds later; hauling ass.
Two blocks later. Wondering why the freak there are weird people in the world. I rest my head on Zim's shoulder again, but paranoid. Dog barks and we both scream. Old man yells at us.
Thirty minutes later. Contemplating sleeping on the sidewalk.
Author wonders if you are sick of these lines.
Avi wonders why she just heard a voice. She realizes she must be hallucinating, or dreaming, or both. Everything is okay. Goes back into haze.
(And I wonder why it went to third person)
4 AM. Zim and Avi make it to Zim's base. Magically switches back to first person.
Everything hurt. Everything. My lungs, my hands, my feet, my tongue even hurt. It felt like it was swollen or something. I took two steps and couldn't feel my feet. Numb is good. Goood. Though my knees hurt. I made it to the couch somehow—I felt like I was floating.
I groaned, not moving a muscle after falling on the couch. Zim made grunting agreement noise to show he was in pain, too.
On the bright side, I think I could now, officially, eat a whole quart of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Maybe two. I smiled like a lunatic after that.
"I'm going to sleep. Mm, bye."
I was too tired to notice that GIR got on my head and was trying to stick bubble gum in my hair. I didn't even remember his high-pitched voice the next day.
But maybe that was because Zim saved me from it.
