Rated Teen for Dark spookiness and violence?
I'm having fun with this so called 'plot' thing. XD I feel like not too much happens in this chapter, but I'll let you all be the judge of that- REVIEW! I don't care if it's two sentences or multiple rambling paragraphs! Review! Let me know what you think, suggestions, constructive critisism, random things you noticed, questions you want to ask (I'll always try to respond somehow) whatever you like!
This chapter is brought to you by Goodwill; because I found a perfect Dib-trenchcoat there. Goodwill; selling cheaply priced clothes since whatever year they opened, reminding humankind not to walk around naked! :D
Enjoy the next chapter of Prisoner of Nightmares!
:\\\:
Feeling stupid after his little adrenaline induced mishap with the cursed, ugly, spike-embedded door, the invader gripped the cold, metallic handle, and now pulled, not pushed, it open; slowly, just a few inches.
Zim's black antenna were perked and twitching, straining for any hint of sound. Nothing came from inside the prison, but after he'd burned the petty sheet-bat guard to ash, it's screeches had doubtlessly alerted plenty of other beings throughout the city. When Zim shut his eyes tight and concentrated only on what his black feelers were picking up, he could smell person-scents, pick up heat signatures, sense movement; but no worthy threats were close to him. He peered around the door, into sheer darkness for a moment, then jerked back apprehensively, waiting, muscles tight. When nothing happened after several seconds, he slid into the skool with the dangerous, silent grace of an assassin, right into the mild safety and enormous danger of the veil of blackness.
Enormous, liquid-ruby eyes adjusted to the lack of light immediately, the conqueror's night vision flicking on, hundreds of tiny details and lenses in his half-artificial orbs shifting and spinning and dilating in perfect, unnatural harmony, to change how he took in light, and perceived his surroundings.
He looked out into a long, large, entrance hall, just like the skool he knew, but twisted, the details changed. Along the walls, where the normal school would have had lockers, hundreds of hanging birdcages in various sizes were lined up, a rare few containing the skeletons of long dead anthros.
It was all black and blue, with gothic spikes, spires, and twists here and there, and a sharp, impaling, torturous look to it all.
Zim glanced back outside through the still open door for a long moment, before closing it. It creaked shut and gave an echoing thump when the hinges stopped it, completely shut. Zim felt a flaring nervousness at the finality of the action, but it would protect him from getting attacked from behind for now. He was an Irken invader. Even if the door were to lock itself, he could always find a way out of here once he needed it. He was ZIM! Right now, he just needed to find Dib.
Just before he could think to sniff out the boy's scent, Zim noticed a particular sheet of paper on an out-of-place, moulded, cracked bulletin board next to the doors. The written article was long, and smudged, but the first few sentences were what had caught Zim's attention.
"Upon vanquishing 'The Bitters,' our new master has declared that the former palace and fortress 'Skool' be renovated, into our main prison, and that a greater castle be built in his honor. All shall hai-"
It was around there that the paper had been dampened, and torn, but Zim could guess the last words were 'all hail whoever-the-new-ruler-was'
... This, was significant... Wasn't it? But Zim doubted whether this made any difference in finding his Dib right now. Finding his Dib was all he cared about. Then he wanted to get out, back to reality, WITH Dib. It sounded so simple, but when the details of the landscape and it's citizens were added, things got a little harder.
Zim left the paper to continue coating itself in germs and filth where it sat pinned to the cold, damp wall, and quickly light-footed down the way. He was being surprisingly quiet for having metal-bottomed combat boots.
As he hurried along, he remembered the now slightly thinned and drying trail of Irken blood- when he almost stepped in it, and began to follow the sense of the two monsters he'd seen earlier. Continuing right alongside the dark pink river again, he puzzled things over in his head. That little article he'd seen had really gotten his attention. Who was in charge now? Who had grown so terrifying in Dib's head, that they could take down the mutated school-teacher? Zim remembered how enormous and powerful and feared she was, so how had she been 'vanquished,' as the sheet had said?
And on an unrelated note, why in the names of the tallest was there a sickeningly long and thick trail of Irken blood here? Why was there Irken blood here at all! It signified an Irken present, and it hadn't come from Zim! Plus, how could so much life-liquid pour out of any normal sized Irken? It wasn't possible. Zim doubted whether even a tallest could lose that much and not stumble.
The curiosities here were getting to him. The longer he was here the less he seemed to know. Puzzles kept showing up, pestering him into wanting to solve them. Zim disapproved of this place more and more and he wanted to get Dib and get out; yet, he was still curious. He was sickened, yet interested.
The skool smelled of abandonment, and swampy wetness. There was the swirling stink of mold, and possible strange fumes and gasses, occasional greasy puddles, but there was a huge lack of presences, or 'person-scents', which made the scents Zim COULD pick up all the more clear and distinguishable. He slowed to focus on his predatorial tracking abilities, antenna seeking out any hint of his quarry.
There were the two beasts from a minute ago- the ones who'd led Zim here, But there were also a couple of other presences, two, close together so they overlapped. Their smells seemed a little older, from an hour or two ago if Zim had to guess. One presence was somehow almost entirely covered by the fumes from the Irken life-goo, as if it's scent were something akin to it naturally, or it had been coated in the alien blood. Zim couldn't tell much about that creature, but it's essence gave him a horrible feeling in his squiddily spooch. He didn't like it. It was too strong, too big, and above all, much too familiar. Like something that haunted the background but was never directly seen. It was an intimate fammillair. Prickles of apprehension shuddered down Zim's spine.
He focused on the last presence. If the invader hadn't been paying close attention, he might have missed it completely, it was so small, weak, and faint, completely unlike the others that stood out so well, let alone the powerful beast who's smell overlapped that fainter one. There were pockets of air where the sense thickened slightly, as if the being had dragged and bumped, leaving some of its essence here and there where the cracked and jagged stone floor had cut the less-then-awake being as it was pulled along.
Fear, weakness, tiredness, possible unconsciousness, and the soft, burnt marshmallow, grape-flavored, and salty smell of Dib. That's what that last scent was. Dib.
Dib! Little Dib-let! Zim felt a rush of varying emotion. He had found his fragile human! Or at least, he was on the right track!
He picked up the pace, clenching his jaw in determination as he started to run down the dreary entrance hall, beside the smeared pink. He had to get to his Dib. His stomach twisted with ferocity at the thought of what he'd do to anything in his way. He WOULD reach his Dib-ling, regardless of what the boy's mind-realm threw at him.
At this rate it would be easy. The lack of guards in this place was seriously unnerving.
Zim's path down the entrance hall turned a corner, and the blood trailed under a door. The alien reached out, turned the freezing metal handle, and opened it, without caution, without thinking. Nothing jumped out to attack him. There had been nothing there to see him. The building seemed more and more dead and deserted the further Zim went.
It would be the perfect trick, as far as a place to keep something valuable. No one would expect to find something hidden here with so little protection. Never the less, Zim didn't like it. He frowned, as he entered the next room, still on high alert, looking all around.
The irken stepped right out onto a suspended stone catwalk of sorts, finding himself looking into a room of humongous size. Spider web strands as thick as Zim's waist, filled the room forming ladders, platforms, and generally a way around the chaotic mess of silky-yet-strong support beams for various things. Mostly, the room was filled to the brim with small cages, formed out of the webbing, all stacked up half hazardly, chaotically, like chicken coops in industrial farms; supposedly the poor birds would chew their own limbs off from stress and kill themselves. The Irken shuddered. The details in his eyes shifted constantly, as he looked all around for the tiniest sign of life. Even though his antenna sensed nothing except a few strange bugs or pests such as mice and bats, he completely expected something to jump out at him any second through the jungle of silvery weaving. There were too many places for things to hide, and he was marching right across the center of the room. He hated feeling so exposed.
Zim pushed out concern once again, single-mindedly following the river of pink down the metal bridge. It went all the way across the walk, all the way across the room, to another door.
The smell of Dib was getting stronger, exciting him, quickening his pulse. After eight days of failure he could finally get his Dib back. He felt almost frenzied or panicked after having almost lost the boy. He wanted to grab him, squeeze him, have physical contact with the boy at last for some reason. His squiddily spooch tingled. Dib had to be close. Zim could feel it! The invader broke into a run across the expanse towards the next door, vaguely aware of the downwards slope of his long path, as if he were heading underground.
:\\\:
With shaky breaths, Dib braced himself, palms flat against the floor, pushing his chest up off the cold stone, carefully turning his body so he could sit up and look out through the metal bars of his cage.
What happened? Where was he?
He felt a distress and panic when he realized he couldn't even remember his own name. He was in pain, weak, and tired. Everything was still blurry and smeared when he tried to think. He wasn't quite awake yet.
He didn't bother trying to stand up. It would have been too painful. Besides, when he'd stretched out while laying down, his empty stomach practically bit into his nerves. It felt better to remain slouched or curled up. Somehow it helped, but it didn't negate the fact that he hadn't eaten anything in who knew how long.
Somehow, he achingly shuffled and scooted over to the bars, cautiously looking out through them to try to see around. It looked like a pretty typical underground dungeon. More cells lined the opposite wall, for as far as he could see down the walk; there was one small lantern hanging on the ceiling about ten feet away to the left, and no other light sources.
Dib was straining his human eyes in the blackness, and his head was spinning. He wondered for a moment if he was sick and hallucinating. He felt so faint and shaky, and so cold!
Sitting there, just behind the crisscrossing metal rods that kept him in his tiny box of space, Dib slouched over a little more and adjusted his legs for better balance, sitting almost indian style, trying not to fall over as he raised his arms to hug himself and shiver. He was freezing and felt so... alone. Unsaveable. He felt an itch at the back of his eyes like he was going to cry. He was still so confused though, he didn't understand what was going on, and his thoughts were so sluggish and tired, lacking the will to do much for him. He sat there for a minute or two, with nothing happening. Once he considered loudly asking whether anybody was there, or could hear him, maybe someone would talk to him, but his throat was too dry and cracked to do much more then choke, which hurt. He kept his mouth shut and sat shivering in the dark.
A door creaked open, then closed, somewhere a short distance away, and strange clopping and pitter-pattering noises struck against the stone, animalistic foot-falls were coming towards him. Out of nervous fear, Dib mustered his strength to scoot back, pushing and pulling himself away from the door to his cell, somehow managing to reach a dark corner and curl up in it, shutting his eyes tight. Something seemed wrong, unnatural about whatever whim coming towards him. Dib didn't want it to see him. The approaching sounds were strange and intentfull, a murmur of low voices, horse-hooves, and thick, heavy feet.
It was no use. The sound got louder and closer and stopped right in front of the human's cell.
"It's right there in the corner. That's what we're here for." A nasally voice mumbled and Dib's hope vanished, but he curled up tighter, not wanting to look up as metal keys jangled.
"Wait,"
"What?"
"Be quiet a second."
Complete silence followed, drawn out into long, strained minutes. Dib took long, slow, soundless, shaky breaths, willing himself to become invisible while whatever they were hearing had their attention. Then the nasally, hissing one spoke again, with a sort of angry urgency.
"There's something here."
A pause.
"What do you mean?"
"It smells strange... It shouldn't be here, it's not from here... It's that THING from OUTSIDE!" Furious, the hagraven lifted its hooked witch-nose to smell the air, sunken eyes intense as it hissed, tentacles twitching and thrashing.
"I can hear it, I can feel its vibrations! The creature is close!"
Dib peeked up to see what was happening, shuddering to see three creatures of his mind so mutated that they didn't even resemble anyone from his real life anymore. There was a floating, avian-human-jellyfish commander-in-rags, a half-zombified equine, and the fat, humanoid jail-guard, with it's small head perched at the end of a serpentine neck, wearing a scant suit of armor.
Acting quickly, the witch-bird turned to the jail-gaurd, jabbing him in the chest-plate with one clawed finger as it spoke in a rush.
"Open that cage! Arkersix and I MUST get the power-source to the overlord before that intruder of our realm can reach him! Summon all your fighters and STOP THAT CREATURE! Do whatever you must, but if it leaves this building it had better be in chains or you will be held soley responsible!"
The keys were jammed into the lock. The lock clicked, the door was swung open and the metal crashed when it hit the wall and swung half-way back on its hinges from the force that pushed it open. The floating commander charged in.
"Com'ere!"
The taloned, avian hand reached out towards the terrified boy. Coming briefly to his senses from adrenaline, Dib kicked out and tried to back away, but was already huddled into a corner.
:\\\:
Zim felt his insides jump up into his neck when a short scream reached his antenna. Despite its soreness and chocked edge, Zim still recognized the voice as he ran even harder through the dungeon maze.
Dib.
His eyes bugged out of his head as he panted, fighting the desire to call out to his human.
He heard something yelling, a sharp cracking sound, Dib crying out again before going quiet, and sudden footsteps retreating. Zim felt Dib's incredibly close presence moving away from him now and snarled loudly. How dare they! He'd show them! He'd KILL THEM! He'd kill ALL OF THEM! They would not keep Zim's chosen mate from him!
The monsters that were dragging his earthling off were just around the next corner, only meters ahead. He KNEW IT!
His lip curled back in a sort of killer's grin, exposing fangs, he would charge right in and SLAUGHTER them all. After all his stress from Dib laying unconscious while he could do nothing to help, he'd enjoy the bloodshed and violence. Yessss, he'd shred them all right open!
Zim prepared to swing around the corner.
Someone shouted a command.
From around the bend, a blurred, fast moving something leapt right into the alien's way, and Zim almost tripped and fell backwards trying not to barrel right into it. He stumbled, windmilling his arms and attempting to analyze his foe.
A black, tar-composed, face-less figure, just shorter then Zim, stood in an all too calm position, completely still and statuesque in the middle of the dungeon hall, where it had not been before, featureless, like a silhouette.
In no mood for tolerance, or even fear, or more then two seconds estimation, Zim hissed challengingly. Getting no response, he gritted his teeth in ferocity, backed off several paces, then charged to go around. He had no interest in this creature. He only wanted to reach his Dib-Dib. The being that had obstructed him made no obvious moves, and didn't even look like a worthy threat. Zim didn't think, driven by fury.
The moment the invader had passed the tar statue, something wet and sticky, like a frog's tongue, shot out and wrapped around one of his boot's ankles. The monster's now-stretched arm pulled back hard and fast. The alien gasped as he was jerked back, his chest swinging down to hit the ground with his legs no longer holding him up. His momentum was reversed like the snap of elastic. The air was knocked out of him bruisingly when he hit the stone. Quickly being dragged across the floor towards the gleaming, black mass, the Irken automatically reached out, flailing for anything solid to grab, shock pulsing in his chest at the sudden attack. His hands found the bars of a cell in the wall and grabbed on, stopping his movement but straining his muscles from the force it took to hold on.
The inky monster bubbled up some strange-toned gargling sound and increased the tension in its one stretched arm, it's thick-liquid hand tightening on the Irken's ankle. Consumed in the calculations of the fight, and the cornered feeling from being unable to move, Zim's spider legs zipped out, having become his favorite offense and defense, and one stabbed down into the black inkiness.
All it did was get stuck. His enemy did not respond to being stabbed.
The creature pulled harder again. Zim had to strain himself painfully to hang onto the bars where he sort of lay on his side on the floor, one spider leg trapped, but already charging up the others to shoot lazers. He gritted his teeth, and tightened his grip, ignoring several red-eyed rodents that had come out of nowhere and were watching with wicked purpose.
Zim's attention was suddenly drawn to a hissing noise, black smoke rising from where the monster was gripping him, it's hand melting through his boot like a slow acid. Zim fired the lazers. The tar creature turned red from the heat but gave no other reaction, quickly fading to dark again. That didn't work. Zim needed another plan. He screamed out a noise of frustration, trying to struggle.
Vibrations were scuttling across the floor in his direction, more enemies coming; more rodents. Their numbers had increased frighteningly quick and now they were creeping in towards their helpless prey, wondering if they could get a chunk of Zim's flesh before his current attacker could destroy him.
He needed a way out, now, what else could he do?
It would cost a small amount of energy from his charging cell, but at the moment Zim couldn't bring himself to care. He needed an escape. From his pak he sent a heavy jolt of electricity through his own, immune body, into his attacker.
It was useless. Still no reaction. The irken felt a heavy wave of fear. He was losing. He was out of all basic plans. Zim's boot had been melted through and his ankle was starting to slowly sting and burn, the sensation quickly increasing its intensity. Zim's arms couldn't hold onto the metal cell bars much longer. If he let go he'd be pulled right into the black, acidic figure, leering down at him; he'd be consumed and melted! He was falling into distress as he turned to see the hoard of mutant, pox covered, red eyed rats now advancing in a rush. He was trapped for them. He had no room to get out of this. Nothing was working. It was too much too quick. He fell into full panic.
With a snarl he frantically swung out the spider legs that had proved useless against the slime-creature, stabbing in all directions, scattering several of the large rats, and impaling several others, causing gory explosions of disease ridden blood and guts. A few of the vermin hesitated, but most continued forward unstoppably, hungrily.
Zim's arms ached and throbbed painfully. He stabbed through several rats with one mechanical limb, and flung them at the tar-person out of sheer desperation. They hit the black substance and stuck to it like glue, immediately fizzing and screeching as they started to smoke.
Then suddenly, the burning grip on Zim's ankle was released. The alien fell limply against the floor from where he'd been suspended several inches during all the tugging. The inky monster enveloped the rats, sucking them into its mass, smoke drifting up from it for several seconds. Then, to the invader's immense relief, it seemed to completely forget him, going for the easier, tastier prey it had just discovered. Zim got up off the floor rather shakily. The tar-thing melted into a puddle and spread forward across the floor, capturing several rats that ran right onto its sticky substance and enveloping them like the others for digestion.
The vermin that seemed to have come randomly out of nowhere started to retreat as they realized their dwindling numbers, and Zim hesitated before running on in the way he'd been going. He wasn't interested in seeing what would happen between the tar beast and the rats, and he really didn't want to be there when there were no more rats for it to eat. He wasn't even interested in ending the fight. From what he'd tried, he didn't believe he could hurt that thing in any normal way. He had better things to worry about- Dib. This was all nothing but a petty interruption. It was below his worry. He was a mighty irken! -calm down, just calm down, deep breaths- NOTHING COULD DESTROY ZIM!
He needed to find his human.
Zim charged around the corner he'd planned to follow, and realized suddenly that in the confusion he'd lost Dib's scent. He stopped dead where he was, antenna twitching. Dib's presence was faint, if not gone.
No! NO! CURSES! Zim ground his teeth, and yelled in frustration, fisting his hands so tight his claws dug into his own skin. DAMMIT! But this wasnt the end, he could still find Dib! These monsters wouldn't stop him! The blood! The irken blood! He'd been following it so far, and what little was left of Dib's smell indicated he'd been dragged alongside it once again. Zim's path was still clear. Just keep following the trail of injury.
He was getting tired of running, inhuman 'lung' organs stinging from the air, but he took off again, driven by determination and the strength of semi-maternal instincts, the absolute need to protect his mate, who had been taken from him. Zim would find Dib. He WOULD. He just kept focussing on that, again and again. It would keep him going, and keep him sane.
The Irken panted as he ran fast and hard down the empty, stone hall, walls lined with cells, and occasional weaponry, equipment, or a very old, uncomfortable looking chair or table. He was trying desperately to catch up to those ahead of him and out of sight and hearing. He was fast. He was catching up.
When he stumbled for the third time he finally looked down at his ankle. The tar-monster that he'd left long behind had left his boot in melted pieces. It was slowing him down. Frustrated, Zim kicked it off, then decided that having one bare-foot and one not-bare-foot would only make things worse. He kicked off his other boot as well, just leaving them both there as he ran on again. His ankle was raw and sore, but he ignored it.
Zim's antenna were raised and alert. He could guess he'd been detected, and that the thing he ran into back there had been meant to stop him. Chances were, there would be more road-blocks along the way. Zim ground his teeth some more and growled to himself, antenna twitching in irritation as he started to think. He needed a plan against these creatures, some sort of... WEAPONS!
A rack of torture equipment hung on the wall up ahead, and Zim gathered enough common sense to grab a long-handled, rusty, enchanted-looking mace-club-thing as he whisked by. He could probably use a handheld weapon. At the very least he could throw it for a distraction, and it could probably pack a harder blow then his little fists, despite all Zim's Irken strength.
It had caught his eye as the best weapon he'd seen so far in the entire dungeon, and it had a strap so he could sling it over his shoulder, attaching it to him like a duffle bag.
It was heavy, but Zim was strong. In his self-absorbed confidence he was sure he could use it. He just wondered for a second, if it would be worth the trouble it might cause, as it thumped against his back with each pace as he ran.
The previous hold-up hadn't stalled Zim for more then a couple minutes. Already Dib's smell was getting close again as the alien worked through the maze of hallways, always following the pink liquid road. A maniacal laugh struggled out of him as he ran. Nothing could stop the mighty Zim!
:\\\:
Dib opened his eyes, coming back to consciousness after being knocked out for the second time in just a couple hours. In seconds he managed to realize he'd been thrown onto the back of the zombie horse he'd seen earlier through his cell bars, and was straddling it in the usual riding fashion, leaned forward against its putrid neck while he had slept. His hands were tied behind his back.
The horse apparently had six limbs, or could grow as many as it wanted, as a pair of humanoid arms sprouting from just behind the equine's front legs, were reached back to hold him on, so Dib wouldn't fall off, the cold hands against his back making him feel sick and tense.
As multiple frightening realizations hit him; it was always a bit unnerving for anyone to wake up and not be in their own bed in their own room, let alone in this situation; Dib jerked slightly, twitchily, waking up. The zombie-horse, who the tentacled hagraven had addressed as Arkersix, felt Dib's movement and slowed thoughtfully.
"I think it might be waking up."
He grumbled in an annoyed tone. Dib quickly shut his eyes, going completely limp again. He wasn't interested in getting knocked out again.
He was still weak, and not thinking very clearly, but fear and adrenaline gave him a small boost. He just wished it would be enough to leap off the horses's back and take off running. His heart thudded heavily as he fought to make his breathing seem natural and calm.
He had no idea what was going on, or where he was being taken, but he was helpless. Helpless and afraid yet again.
The hissing, sharper voice of the apparent commander spoke up,
"It should still be a while before the sedative wears off enough that the power-source will start to cause trouble. We don't have a lot of that poison and can't get more except from the overlord. We have to save it. He looks completely unconscious to me."
Dib took in the information he was hearing thoughtfully.
"How many doses are left?"
Arkersix questioned unhappily.
"I'll check."
There was a funny clattering, mechanical noise. Dib opened one eye but the hagraven was out of his line of vision, and he didn't dare look up and turn his head, despite his sleepy curiousity. He didn't want them to know he'd woken up.
"Three more doses. It should be more then enough to reach the overlord."
Dib looked around as much as he could without moving his head. They were in a stone tunnel with a few, rare lights; growing objects and small, dead creatures with glowing tails or antenna, nailed to, or hung from, the ceiling. The inignorable echoes made every sound seem more cryptic.
Dib felt a painful, sick sensation of fear and distress. He was a lone prisoner in a city of enemies and monsters. He just wanted to get out.
One of the creatures escorting the boy to their master loudly sniffed at the air. Arkersix spoke.
"I can smell that intruder again. Whatever that thing is, it's catching up."
The hagraven snarled.
"The prison overseer Smacky will stop him. I believe he organized all his men at the last main room. The outsider can't get past them."
An unexplainable flicker of hope jumped into Dib at what they said. He wondered vaguely who they were talking about. So he wasn't the only one who didn't belong here? Somehow that was nice to know. He had a mild sensation that he knew who it was too. He wondered if he might see them soon.
:\\\:
The last stone-walled, cold, dungeon tunnel ended in a dead end with an impressive door leading beyond. Zim slowed his pace, cocking his head as he walked up. The door was large, wooden, and dark-red, thin script written on it said; 'Entrance way to Black Rest.' There were candleholders with flickering candles arranged in no order on the wall, chaotically and uneven, but offering light. The door handle was not made out of metal like the others, but what looked like finger bones.
Zim made a face of disgust as his insides clenched. He hesitantly took the door handle, and pulled it open.
The room he looked into was like the inside of a blue, violet, and grey version of a roman colosseum.
The pink blood trailed strait across the center of it, along with Dib's scent.
Halfway across the room, was a large group of beasts and figures, waiting for him, eyes fixed on the alien now standing in the half-open doorway.
:\\\:
CLIFFHANGER! Hurr durr. I know, I'm evil...