The car slowed to a stop outside of the church. Deep red bricks formed the structure, dead ivy hung on the walls. The windows had been boarded shut from the inside. Above the door was a stained glass portrait of a saint Zim couldn't recognize, welcoming all who approached with open arms. The glass, though dirty, was mostly intact, save for a few pieces over the left breast. All in all, the place felt far more mundane compared to the rest of the town. Zim opened the door to the vehicle. A stiff breeze came from the west causing the building to moan.
"I apologize for not finding you sooner." The scientist attempted to make light conversation, as he searched for the keys to the church. The invader was far too tired to play along.
"You may grovel at another time human." Zim grimaced. "Once I am back home and have rinsed the filth of this town off my uniform."
"We have clean cloths inside." Membrane opened the door and gestured for Zim to follow. "No running water unfortunately, but we make do." Zim shook his head. He'd rather not risk exposing himself to these human's idea of clean. He looked back for a brief glance of the outside world before proceeding. Soft ash fell from the ledge as the door closed behind him.
The main entry way was light with a small table lamp. By the door, a large book filled with names sat on a pedestal, many people had been crossed out. Further into the church was shrouded in darkness, leaving Zim with a sense of unease. The chapel was cold as a tomb and he couldn't hear any signs of other humans in the building.
"It's pitch black in there." He said.
"Now who did that?" Membrane shook his head. "I told them to leave at least one candle lit on the mantel. It's not like the light could be seen through the windows." He chuckled. He entered the darkened room with a somber expression. "It's a real pity you came to see my son."
"Why?" Zim demanded, his eyes widened. "He's not hurt is he? That pitiful worm, how dare he-"
"No no no, he's fine." Zim sighed in relief. "Well almost. You see my son has a debilitating condition. Despite my efforts, he refuses to accept the help needed to get better." He lit a candelabra at the end of the aisle. The warm glow enticed Zim inside, eager to escape the cold.
"Why would Dib-stink do that?" Zim hugged his armed to his chest. "He's stupid, but not crazy."
"Oh he's crazy all right." He said quietly. "I've tried everything known to science and still he seems to believe it is better for him to remain ill." The flames reflected off of Membrane's goggles. "Something keeps reinforcing his toxic mental state." Zim backed away as his eyes darted around the room. There were shadowy figures blocking the doorway, but they didn't try to enter the heart of the chapel.
"Where are all the humans?" Zim hesitated. "Weren't they supposed to be here?"
"Are you sure you want to meet the others, you seem frightened." So those were the humans? He'd never seen humans so still or quiet. "It would be better for you to wait until the I've properly prepared. I don't want you spooking anyone into leaving before the ceremony."
"...Ceremony? There's no need for any ceremony!" The alien fumed. "You are here, the Dib thing is here! We need to collect him and go home!" He had no weapon to threaten the human with, so instead he brandished a pointed finger.
"He's not going anywhere with you." Membrane turned to him with a grimace. "He continues to cling to these fantasies because of you. It's putting humanity at risk! As long as you're around he will continue to shirk responsibility, to believe in… aliens." He looked up at the chandelier above. "With you gone he will have no reason to fight me." He laughed. "Your death will mark the beginning of a new era of father and son forging a world of science together!"
"You're crazy!" Zim shouted. The shadows inched toward him, filing in along the walls, blocking each window.
"Me? Oh no dear boy," he walked toward Zim with a syringe in hand "you are severely mistaken." There had to be a way out of here! He ducked under the pews and crawled toward the back wall. As the figures closed in behind him, Zim pulled open a side door and disappeared down the stairs.
The deeper he went into the basement, the louder the alarm rang.
Cadged torches lit the way as Zim climbed down the spiral stair case with increasing speed. Between the grey brick, rusting mortar dripped blood. He could see the stairs beneath his feet rapidly decay and buckle under his weight.
"Where are you?" Membrane's muffled voice echoed behind him with impish glee. Zim began skipping steps as he ran, his work of breathing strained. The wooden boards groaned in protest from the increased abuse. The last step snapped throwing Zim onto the cold stone floor. "There you are!" He could hear the scientist clear as day a few steps behind him.
The alien clambered to his feet and ran down the hall. Bricks gave way to cramped cages, with naked humans moaning and crying against each other. The longer he ran, the narrower the walkway. The incoherent captives reached for him through the bars, shrieking and begging to be released.
At the end of the hall Dib's name was painted on a large iron door. He was here! But Zim needed more time to formulate an escape plan before the professor could reach him. As he reached Dib's door he could see the rows of cages stopped, with a concrete hallway on the left and right. Zim took an abrupt turn down a side corridor. He grabbed the handle of one of the unblocked doors and entered hastily. Breathing a sigh of relief he stopped and waited to hear if Membrane would be able to find him. However the only sound he heard was heavy breathing, and it wasn't his.
A few beams of light fell into the room through a small window allowing minimal visibility. Turning slowly Zim looked at what it was he had closed himself in with. On the floor a black clothed woman sat, her head hung down and her breathing ragged. The two of them remained in an awkward silence, her low growls the only sound in the room.
Slowly Zim reached for the handle of the door eyeing the other being in the room. His hand landed on the metal knob, a small creak came from the cogs. The breathing stopped abruptly, boney hands inched along the floor. The was a soft shuffle of chains as she changed positions. The door swung open and she lunged toward the bright light, gnashing long, yellow teeth through an rusted muzzle. Iron chains held her back as veiled eyes sightlessly roamed around the room. He slipped out the door shutting out her irate growls.
Glancing around once more, he froze. There were no footsteps in the hall, no angry shouts. He was safe for now. Zim made a slow advance, still wary of the silent hallway. A few more moments passed before he picked up the pace. A loud thunk came from upstairs as people filed into the cathedral above. The long line of cages were dark and empty, their doors wide open.
He was running out of time.
He ran past small corridors and paused. There at the other end of the narrow passage was the exit. It stood there mere feet away from where he was. A quick sprint and he was home free. He glanced back at the door with Dib's name on it. Maybe Dib was already dead? Maybe he was too far gone from blood lose? Or worse, perfectly fine without Zim? He turned to the exit. He didn't need Dib, he could just waltz out, find a new nemesis to take him home, finish his mission finally and become tallest. Why did he have to keep risking his neck for that stink beast? He turned paused, cursing himself. One thing was for sure, he wouldn't leave without answers.
"Dib-thing you have a lot of tasks on your list of repaying Zim!" Zim shouted as he opened the door. He clawed at his face as he ranted at the cieling. "While you've been carried everywhere, Zim has had to deal with your insane planet's filthies and unreliable weapons. Zim had to be nice to your stupid parental unit which, by the way, WANTS ZIM DEAD! I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill you too, so thank Zim. Thank Zim for saving your pathetic life!" There was a long pause. "Well aren't you going to grovel? It's the least you could do after Zim came all this way." He briefly panicked, was the boy not here either? But, no, there was a human lying in bed with his nemesis's cowlick.
"Dib?" Zim's voice softened when he noticed no one had tried to interrupt him. "The brain squishies didn't get to you, did they?" He stepped forward looking down at the gurney in the middle of the room. Dib was in a stained strait jacket, fresh blood dripped from his right elbow and pooled under his back. His right leg had a long gash that couldn't have happened less than a day ago. Leather straps buckled him down to the gurney. The light above him reflected off his glasses, but Zim could see the human was struggle to keep his eyes open. Zim felt a small amount of pity for the sweaty human, whose eyes couldn't focus on Zim for longer than a second.
He started to unbuckled the human's ankles. The human was incredibly weakened, but perhaps with a few hours in the sun, he'd become of some use again. The restraints were locked in place, with no emergency release. An iron door behind Zim swung shut causing the alien to turn around with a start.
"That wasn't very nice; running away like that." Membrane said shaking his head.
"What have you done to him!?" Zim immediately let go of the straps. Perhaps a key to the restraints was on Membrane's personage.
"Nothing really, many of the injuries he has were sustained from the crash. I took him to the apartment I was staying in, but he tried to run out looking for an alien... Even after I burned all of his paranonsense, I could reverse the damage his psyche has done to this town, to you. It's his fault you look so unearthly child, I... I'm so sorry." He pulled out a gold-tipped needle. "I've kept him a sedated to slow the progression, but that could wear off soon as well, so we'll have to hurry."
"What do you mean we?" Zim hissed.
"You're coming with me." Membrane grabbed the alien roughly by the shoulder.
"No! Get your filthy, lying hands off of Zim!" He grabbed the scientist by the elbow and used his weight to throw the man to the ground. "HAH!" He mocked only to be tripped when he tried to run. His head collided with the hard floor and the world fell from his grasp.
Rate this chapter on a scale of one to four, one being tame, four being terrifying!
1*2*3*4
Now here comes the fun part. Look at all the numbers you've collected through your journey and see which one you chose the most. That will be your ending if it's a tie then choose the one you found more fitting for the whole story, why? The more frightened someone is the less they think clearly and make good choices. So if you got mostly ones then you would have made smarter decisions in Zim's place then someone who had mostly fours and was panicking. All four endings will be released at the same time on Halloween Night! ^^