Corrupted Memory
By: 99Alien-Freak99 & Xmimi89eR
Rate: T
Story will contain: blood/ violence/ anorexic/ depression/ strong language.
(ZaDr!)
Disclaimer: We do not own invader Zim, but we own the story and idea.
English is our second language, my apologies if there are any mistakes.
Our stories do not contain lemon.
-XXX-
"-what do you have in mind?" Someone whispered.
"Watch." The other whispered back.
"-the control brains forbidden killing an Irken without a trial,"
"He destroyed the brains! And I'm not gonna kill him..."
A slow smirk danced on his lips.
The small Irken stood in front of them.
"Come Closer, Zi-"
Everything was fuzzy, sparks were coming out of the Irken's PAK, he shifted multiple times before falling to the floor, eyes shot open, he couldn't see anything but darkness, slowly, black figures start to appear, they smiled emotionlessly at him, getting closer, and closer.
Body paralyzed, his hands twitching at his sides, not able to move them. Fear made his eyes tear, the cold tears fell down his cheek to the ground. The monsters kept creeping in, their hands in front of them, towards him. They wanted to catch him, hurt him. Panic began to rise, he felt lightheaded, not wanting to go back to sleep so they won't catch him, they seemed just standing there, waiting till he gives up to sleep to have an upper hand on him. Standing a few feet away.
Red light and beeping sound suddenly snapped him out of his daze, he stood on his knees fast, blinking when the monsters were gone, gone back into the darkness the ship held in the inside. He held his chest tightly, breathing heavily, that was horrifying, their faces still in his memory.
Slowly, the small Irken sat in the pilot seat, noting that he slept for two days. Looking at the alarming notification.
'Incoming message.'
His eyes went wide, message? Someone wanted to talk to him? Who is it?
Typing his commands, he saw it was a reply to his SOS signals.
Yes!
Slight hope rose in his heart, they answered him! They really did! He was almost happy, desperate in knowing someone will be there to help.
(Who are you? Why do you need help? Where are you?)
That was the message, he stared at it for a bit, stuck at the first question. Who was he?
Who am I...?
He still couldn't remember, should he tell the other this? Should he say he's injured? Maybe that way they'll come faster! Or maybe they'll see him useless and leave him to die there...
Who was he?
"Come closer, Zi-" he remembered his nightmare, not sure who was speaking but he knew they were talking to him.
Did that mean his name starts with a Z...?
Why did it have to end at that specific moment??
Z... it's better than nothing... Irken Z. IZ.
(call me IZ for short. I'm injured and lost in space, no planets close to land on. And I don't know where I am.)
Staring at his answer, not so satisfied with it, it looked pathetic... but did he have any choice? Not really...
He pressed: Enter.
Then hugged his knees, making himself comfortable in the pilot seat because he won't move away from it, he didn't want to sleep, too scared to see the monsters again.
Ruby eyes stared outside at nothing, waiting.
-XXX-
In the past days, Dib would lay in his bed at night, headphones turned on and so was his computer, listening for an answer, wondering if his message had reached the alien.
Three days after he send it, but still no reply. It was already 1 AM and he needed to sleep. Eyes slowly closing and opening.
The beeping sound came back again, though this time sounded different, more like a 'ting' than an actual beep. Thankfully his headphones volume was low. Sitting from his bed to the computer, he saw a flashing red file, but this one was labeled 'Message' instead of 'SOS signal'.
He clicked it, the same odd app popped up, loading for a second before words on the left side of the screen showed up, the opposite side of his message, it looked like the messenger in his phone.
Alien words got translated to English in a second.
(call me IZ for short. I'm injured and lost in space, no planets close to land on. And I don't know where I am.)
"Holy hell..." he whispered, "Did I just got a reply from an alien??"
He reread the message.
Injured? And no planets near him?
Slight sympathy sneaked to Dib's heart, what should he do? He wanted to help at some point but didn't know how.
He heard his sister open her bedroom door, with a move of his legs, he span his chair and opened the door, seeing his sister as she walked to the stairs. "Hey Gaz!" He called for her.
Gaz stopped but didn't get her eyes off of her game, "What?"
"How can I help an injured alien in space?" He asked, making it sound like a random thought more than how important it is.
His sister turned around, still not looking at him, "Why?"
"Just a random question."
"That's a stupid 'random question'." She replied, "And you never ask random questions if you didn't have something in mind." Amber eyes shot him a glance behind her purple bangs.
"You won't believe me if I told you," he looked to the side, shrugging his shoulders lightly.
Gaz stood there for a moment, "I know these 'paranormal' things of yours are real, I've been with you multiple times in the woods anyway."
"Yeah,"
She looked at him, seeming thoughtful, "I'm hungry that's why I'm going downstairs." She began, "But I know you have snacks."
Dib rose an eyebrow.
"I'll listen if you shared some."
"Deal." He smiled as his sister made her way to his room, closing it behind her. "So you remember the device I made to detect alien ships?" He asked.
Gaz paused her game to search his backpack for the snacks. "Uh-huh,"
"Well, it detected a SOS signal from space, far away from our galaxy!"
"Hmm."
"And I hacked into it, the ship's broken, and the alien in it is injured, I think their race is called 'Irkens' or something too!" He explained with excitement he never felt before.
"Injured you say?" She asked, opening a bar of chocolate and throw a bittersweet candy at her brother, landing in his lap.
"I've sent him a message and he replied, saying his short name is IZ and he needed help, but I have no idea how..." he frowned, slowly opening his favorite candy.
"Can't you send him Earth's location so he'd land here?"
"Wha-? No! What if he was evil?" Dib slightly snapped, stuffing pink candies in his mouth.
"He's asking for help, he won't have time to be 'evil', plus, wouldn't a real alien showing to Earth means that people will believe you?" She got salty chips out of the bag after finishing her chocolate, acting like she didn't care, though, deep inside, she hated how people treated her brother.
Dib thought about it, yes, people will finally see the truth, his Dad will believe him!- but, "But that would mean I'd have to turn him in,"
Gaz eyed him, raising an eyebrow, "You don't have to expose him, maybe if you helped him then he'll offer you a ride to space." She smiled slightly.
"His ship is broken."
"But it's still working." She replied.
Dib sighed, unsure of what to do.
"C'mon you'll meet an alien, and if he turned evil then we'll make scientists catch him." She shrugged, "And you said he's injured, he'd focus on himself than Earth."
"What if it was an evil alien plan? A plan so they would invade planets, and here I am thinking of giving him the location of it?"
His sister shoved the last piece of chips in her mouth, "Then why aren't they here? They're aliens Dibson, if they wanted our planet destroyed they'll do it without your permission." She teased his name then started walking towards the door.
"Maybe,"
She opened the door, heading to her room, "Goodnight Gazlene!" He teased back the name, smirking.
Gaz got to her room, grabbed a doll and threw it at him, then shut her bedroom door.
"Thanks for listening too!" He chuckled, closing his own door, feeling less confused with his sister's words, she was nice but too stubborn to show it. He looked back to the computerr, rereading the message again. Then start typing his reply.
(How long can you handle in there? I'm not sure I can help but would it be easier to...)
Dib stopped writing. Should he really offer this? What if he was the reason his planet got destroyed? But like his sister said, they're aliens, they have the technology, if they wanted to know something, they'd have detected his computer signal since he got the SOS signal.
(How long can you handle in there? I'm not sure I can help but would it be easier to send my planet's location to you? Maybe I can help when you land.)
With some little hesitation, he pressed: Enter.
Hoping he didn't screw his planet's fate.
-XXX-
It was hard to keep his eyes open, with the stars being the only thing he can see, he couldn't help but be scared but also bored, he had nothing to do, nothing but wait and fight sleep. It's been quite a while, hours, or was it days? Almost two days have passed with him sitting lifelessly in his seat, wondering if he'll ever get a reply.
Did his message reach them?
Did they ignored him?
Did he sound too weak they became disgusted with him...?
'New Message'
He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as the hologram screen came to life again with the words on it, wasting no time, he clicked it, reading with anxiety of what the reply could be...
(How long can you handle in there? I'm not sure I can help but would it be easier to send my planet's location to you? Maybe I can help when you land.)
Blinking, he thought for it.
I don't have any other choice...
They're offering help nonetheless so...
What should I say? What if this was a trap?
Why would it be a trap anyway? And why would he care, he'd die sooner or later with or without the help if it was a trap. He has nothing to lose, not even his memory...
(I'm not sure for how long, it's already been weeks. Sending your planet location would be helpful, what's its name, anyway?)
Enter.
Then wait.
-XXX-
Ting!
Dib flinched in his class, he turned to look at his laptop, some students glanced at him but looked back at their Geography professor.
A new message, finally.
He noticed how late his messages get to the alien, or maybe the opposite, either his slow laptop, long distance, or because the ship's broken.
Ignoring the questions, he read the message.
(I'm not sure for how long, it's already been weeks. Sending your planet location would be helpful, what's its name, anyway?)
It took a few seconds for it to translate.
"So he doesn't know what planet it is..." he whispered to himself, biting his lips. He already offered help, he won't stop, and this IZ already suffered for weeks...
Shifting slightly, he started to type.
(Planet Earth. How long would it take you to get here?...)
He stopped to go and download Earth's Milky Way location and his hometown so the Irken would land near him, checking it before sending it to the alien alongside with his message.
Enter.
He then focused on his class. Almost
-XXX-
The small skinny Irken grabbed tightly at his arms, digging his claws in them, his vision kept getting darker as sleep demanding him to rest, to close his eyes, and sleep. The monsters were in the back of the ship again, in the darkness, waiting for him to come from the seat and sleep in his old spot, waiting for him, knowing he'd sleep sooner or later, there was no running away.
So he kept digging his nails in skin, hoping the pain would make him stay longer, but who was he fooling? He can't run from this, he'd either sleep or lose consciousness.
Hugging his legs tightly, he started whispering words to calm himself, shaking as a cold air brushed at his neck, making him snap his head back.
A tall black figure with red eyes gazed down at him, his three-clawed hand almost touching him, but didn't get closer.
"Come close...~"
They whispered, moving with an unnerving slow motion.
The Irken fell from his seat, grabbing his PAK wires that dragged after him and hid under the console, hands on his antennae to block their noises, eyes squeezed shut tightly.
"Go away, please, go away..." he kept repeating, not daring to open his eyes, he was too scared, too alone and no one will hear him call for help.
Please, whoever is texting me, please hurry...
Tears gathered as he started to shake badly, his breath caught in his throat when he heard the monsters laugh, their voices coming from everywhere.
Please hurry up...
They kept talking, laughing, smirking with red glowing eyes, some were even purple and cyan, they all had the same hateful look, spatting their laughs.
He chocked in deep breathes, and started having a panic attack, they didn't seem like they'd leave any sooner, they won't leave at all. His heart began to pound in his chest, it was suffocating in the ship, freezing, and small.
He can't escape.
Or can he?
He glanced at the shadow monsters, they didn't move from their place, then looked at the windshield.
Can he open it and escape?
Won't that kill me?
Are they even real?
Maybe he should open it so they'd die then close it... or no... that's a bad idea, right? It sounded bad but felt good enough.
"Too short to be enough...~" another whispered with a low tone, smiling, showing his bright teeth.
His hands began to touch everything, his legs, arms, chest, then head. Feeling his face, eyes, and mouth, then going back to his antennae. He kept whispering "Go away..."
Can he help me?
He looked again at his console, should he ask for help again?
"Clooooser...!~"
One of them said, too close to his face that the small Irken jumped back to the pilot seat, he typed so fast, tears blurring his vision.
(Please hurry the shadow monsters will get me! They're getting closer!)
And without thinking, he send it.
Then hugged himself so tight it hurt, and dig his claws back into his arms, he could feel cold liquid flow from the wounds.
-XXX-
When Dib got the message, he was confused and also scared a bit.
Monsters?
Are there other aliens hunting him? Wasn't he alone?
And hurry about what? Did he receive the location?
There were a lot of questions, that message was too weird, almost scary at some point.
How old is the alien?
Why should he know? If he can pilot a ship then he should be old enough.
But still, he's an alien.
(I'll help you. What monsters? Are there other aliens?)
Enter.
He sat on his bed, taking his shirt off and getting under the sheets.
He dreamt of scary monsters he used to see when he was young, that stupid Halloween vision that seemed to hunt him since he was a kid, thankfully he was old enough to control it.
-XXX-
Ting
The Irken heavy eyes opened, He without thinking opened the message, trying to ignore sleep.
A location! Holy Irk, a location!!
Wait, what is Irk?
My... home planet?
His happiness turned twice as good when he remembered something about his kind. Maybe he'll survive.
"Earth...?" It's the first time he hears about this planet, but what can he say, it's not like he remembers anything at all in the first place.
Quickly, he downloaded the location in his ship, a smile on his dry lips, overjoyed with the attempt of help, he can escape the monsters, he can be free, he won't be alone!
'Autopilot to Planet Earth.'
'Two months before arriving.'
That's a lot... but better than nothing!- he should be happy yes!...
But he won't be able to stay awake for that long...
Ting
He looked back up, another message.
(I'll help you. What monsters? Are there other aliens?)
He forgot about this question, but was happy nonetheless. So he answered both this and the last message.
(It will take two months from now. And no, no aliens are here... I don't know if they're real... I don't think I can stay awake and away from them.)
A shaky finger pressed enter. Then leaned back, his eyes began to close...
-XXX-
"...I don't know if they're real...?" Dib repeated. "Is he... imagining it?"
Well, staying in space alone will give any sane person hallucinations. Sympathy crept to Dib's spine, he knew how that felt, he had enough as a kid. Maybe he should say something so the alien won't lose his mind.
Is it even 'he'? Maybe it's a 'she'. Do aliens even have genders? Well, IZ sounds like a male's name.
(Hang in there. I'm here if you want to talk.)
That was stupid since their messages only get received days after being sent, but who cares? What matters is a small bit of hope anyone can hold on to.
Enter.
-XXX-
It didn't stop.
Their voices didn't stop, they kept whispering, laughing, teasing, and screaming. Their voices came from everywhere, no matter how hard he tried to block their sounds, they seem to be in his head, it didn't make any difference, they'll talk even if he shoved his antennae off.
Digging his claws in his arms didn't help either, his uniform was thick it won't hurt enough and it was cold so he didn't dare take it off just for that. So the simplest thing to do is scratch his neck, it was exposed, close to his falling tears which he kept wiping away with no use, and because it knocked the air out of him, keeping his mind off of the monsters.
Pink blood falling down his back, deep wounds buried themselves there, and the Irken didn't seem to have enough. He kept hissing with every scratch, every dig of nails, and every time he suffocated himself.
His eyelids were still heavy, heavier than the last few days, he would blink and find himself unable to reopen them again.
"ARe yOu ScAaaAArEd?~"
"Wooooorthless!"
"LOOK WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
The Irken who decided to stick around with the name 'IZ' for a while, held his head tighter, "I'm sorry, please just stop..."
The more he sat there with his head on his knees, the more he feels like sleeping. It was hard and the dark ship didn't make it easier, he could see the passing stars as the Voot flew among them, heading to where the location was.
Where Earth was.
But he still needs months to reach it.
Will he be okay?
Will he be strong enough to stay up?
What would happen if the monsters catch him...?
-XXX-
It's been days since IZ send any messages.
Dib didn't know what to say, all he knew that the alien was in his way, injured and mentally unstable it seemed.
He could hear Gaz's game noises from the other side of the couch, they ordered pizza and he decided to watch a film, keeping his thoughts away but that didn't help.
"Don't act like that around me, it's unnerving." Gaz hissed, taking a bite from her pizza.
"My mind is full of stuff."
"Alien stuff?"
"Yea."
Gaz rolled her eyes. Ten minutes went by as she kept beating her level, when she won, she closed the game since her last one got damaged from overheating, so she closes her game every now and then to let it cool down. She took a long sip of her soda, glancing at the TV to see what movie was in it. "Why don't you just talk to him?"
"The messages take two days!" He huffed, "And I don't know what to say, he literally told me last time that he sees some 'shadow monsters'."
"'Shadow monsters'?" She looked at him, frowning her eyebrows.
"It was his last message," It hit Dib when he said that, his face went blank at this realization. Gaz noticed.
"Do you think he killed himself?"
"He won't do that just for hallucinations," Dib tried to think how an alien may kill himself, open the windshield perhaps. His face got paler.
"You tried doing that when you got that Halloween stuff, remember?"
Dib realized his sister was actually without her game and paying attention to him; it wasn't so rare but he still gets surprised whenever she does so. "Well, maybe, but I'm human." He said, "Of course they won't do that!" He laughed nervously, wondering why it mattered.
"Maybe he will." Gaz said, taking another slice, chewed it then looked at her brother, "Do you still have them?" Her tone was slightly soft. She could remember how Dib would beg to sleep in her room because he was too scared. How he tried doing something harmful to himself in middle school, and how it ended up with him wanting to jump off of their father's company. Thankfully she was there, she helped him and took care of him, she'd stay on her game at night to watch over him. Sure she'll never admit any of that.
At less he got older and managed to keep them away.
"Sometimes, but I can pass." He smiled at her.
"Well stupid, those times you needed someone, now that fucked up alien need you!" She shoved him with her leg playfully.
"Ow, quit it!" He hissed but not angrily, "Fine fine I'll see if he's dead!" He got up from the couch, taking his soda with him, "You can have my pizza if you want!"
Gaz stared at him as he ran upstairs, she took his pizza and started flipping through channels.
Dib sat on his computer, he checked for the second time this day for any messages but found none. Opening the odd messenger app, he began typing:
(Are you still there? How is it with you?)
Sighing, he pressed enter.
Hoping the other wasn't dead.
-XXX-
Thin green neck was horribly bleeding, abused and bruised, claws marks all over it, it itched, it was sore and almost hot, but the pain wasn't enough to keep him away from the shadows.
His back was pressed hard against the ship's cold walls, under the console, body shaking, he patted his foot on the floor, making a fast tip-tap noise, echoing through the darkness. Eyes wide big yet tired, dried tears got refreshed every few hours. His throat was sore, it hurt to even breathe, but it wasn't enough to keep him awake.
With every blink, it becomes impossible to reopen them. With every blink, his eyelids become heavier.
Not long before he falls asleep.
What do they want from him?
Why him?
"No! No! Stay awake...!" He shook his head as he felt a wave of darkness invade his body, he became limp, no longer able to hold into the hug, one knee fell slowly before him as his hands rested on the floor, his head hanged to the side, eyes half-open, he watched as the monsters crept in, smiling widely at him.
He couldn't freak out, too tired to even move, slow tears gather in his eyes, falling as he closed them. He heard the computer do a 'ting' noise, telling him about a new message, but he couldn't move, he wanted to, needed to, but couldn't, he gave a last feared gasp before going to sleep. Unable to hold any longer.
-XXX-
A whole week passed by, no answer from the alien.
Dib became worried, he couldn't help but feel that way, whether this was an alien or a human, the fact that he was literally alone in space, a dark void, in a broken ship and also injured scared him, and would scare anyone.
"No answer, hm?" Gaz asked, eating a sandwich before school. Dib came with a bowl of cereal and opened the fridge to get the milk.
"No..." he sighed, sitting at the table again and mixed his cereal with milk, but didn't eat any.
"Can't you just call him?"
"No." He frowned, taking a sip of his breakfast, feeling the cold milk run down his throat. "The ship's transmissions are blocked or maybe even broken."
Gaz cursed under her breath as she fought the boss in her game, talking to her brother while playing didn't put her on edge but actually made her calm and easier to kill the boss monster. "Can't you hack it?"
"I dunno," he shrugged, slowly eating his food. It got quiet for a few moments, both eating in silence, Gaz playing her game while Dib kept thinking of a possibility to reach the 'Irken'.
He'll try again after he gets back from college.
"Move moron." Gaz snapped, he blinked as he realized he was standing in front of the sink, staring at his empty bowl.
He drove his sister to her high school since she's younger and in her last year, and then went to his college which was slightly further.
After school that is.
It was a long day, the young adult was too tired to do anything, so without changing his clothes, he flipped in his bed, forcing his hand to take off his glasses, then passing out immediately.
A few hours later Dib woke up, he felt much better and looked to the window, it was around 6 PM, a long nap but it was good.
Dib was excited to go and try his luck, maybe he can actually hack into it, maybe even see if IZ was close to Earth.
He got his trench coat off and sat on his seat, leaning down, he opened the file, going through all the other stuff he hacked into before stopping in the file named 'transmission' clicking it, he began his work.
After two hours, Dib realized that:
It was all pointless.
Dib kept trying over and over again with no luck, the transmission system was broken, almost too weak to connect to his planet.
The rooftop.
He closed his laptop and put it in his empty backpack, then got his headphones and another device to make the signal stronger, putting them all in then zipped the pack, put it in his back, and start climbing from his window. This was his hidden spot since he was a kid, and he always hoped no one will see him climbing like a monkey in there, though it didn't matter, at less he can move not like his lazy classmates.
Putting everything in place, he put his headphones back on his head, turned on the device that started blinking red, then his laptop.
The signal did get better by his attempt, still not stable but better.
He decided to call instead of hacking on first, he knew this may not work but he had to try, he had an alien at the tips of his fingers and he won't let it go. It took slightly longer to be able to connect the ship, he pressed enter and the screen turned red with the glitching 'Irken' symbol if he wasn't wrong on it, three dots appeared beside each other, fading, letting him know that the transmission was connected and the ship was probably ringing right now, he just needed to wait for the alien to pick up.
It kept loading, 'ringing', but no one picked up.
He can't be dead.
After a minute, the transmission cut off and the red screen disappeared, showing his desktop again. He sighed, why wasn't the other picking up? Was he too afraid to do so? Or just... wasn't there at all? Dead?
Alright, now for the harder part.
He won't believe the alien was dead, he will hack into the ship's transmission camera and with or without the alien picking up, he'd be able to see what's going on. Years of hacking into NASA as a kid helped a lot, he was literally twelve years old when he did that, now that he's twenty, it felt good to finally have a challenging hacking game.
With an alien technology.
The sun disappeared and the night sky appeared, stars shining from the milky way, it was beautiful. Dib brushed his fingers in his hair, sighing when he was almost done, it was cold outside and he really wanted to go to his warm bed. Maybe he should have got his trench coat with him.
The last thing to do was simple, he typed that the other had already answered and put his computer code to be important to the ship, so it will open his transmission without the alien even knowing.
Red glitchy screen showed up again with the Irken symbol, though this time it didn't load but turned black, he got a message that his line was connected but weak.
The black screen glitched badly before showing a blurry image. Dib rose his computer brightness.
The place was dark though some light could be seen from what he assumed was the console, an odd-shaped seat was in front of the screen, he could see some blinking lights, reflecting on the walls and seat. The ship from behind was too dark to make out anything, but he could tell it wasn't that huge. But there was no alien.
Dib leaned to look closer, he was so amazed with the fact he's looking in an alien ship, even though it was through a glitchy transmission.
Where is he?
He decided to speak, maybe call for him? Maybe the ship was bigger than he thought and the Irken was in another room, "Hello?"
He then waited. Rising the headphones volume, he could hear the dying machines of the ship, it echoed through the metallic walls, the place looked abandoned.
There was a faint sound of something moving, somewhere but he couldn't see where, "Hello??" He called a little louder, not sure if his voice was being heard at all or not.
Dib jumped out of his skin when he heard something gasp, his eyes widen and he scanned the area again, still nothing he can see. Whatever had gasped now was coughing, it was a dry one, almost painful to just hear.
More movement, close to the screen. Then a thin hand grabbed the console's edge. Dib was too focused on the noise that he yet again jumped in place when he saw it, he looked at it and noted that the creature had three fingers only.
What he assumed was the alien, was trying to get up, his shoulder showed up and stayed that way, just holding the console while coughing. Dib could hear a faint sound of crying, shaky breath, and metal-on-metal noises. The Irken then said something in a low tone, almost screamed it in a language he didn't understand before the transmission was cut off.
Dib stared at his laptop screen, mouth open. He blinked a few times, not snapping from his thoughts, from what he just saw.
He didn't see the other's face, but at less he now knows IZ was alive, well, barely. That cough was harsh.
He wondered why the alien was under the console, can't he just sit in the pilot chair? Was he hiding from something? He couldn't see anyone.
Dib finally got over his state and shook his head, that was terrifying, the whole quality, dark ship, and the sick alien. Dib took a deep breath, deciding that was enough for the day, closed his laptop, he noted how overheated his equipment was, then got them in his pack and climbed down to his room.
-XXX-
He knew he can't run away from sleep.
"Aww, he trust us!~" the tall purple figure purred, leaning close to the red-eyed one.
"What a waste. You would have been useful to us if you weren't such an idiot." The other teased harshly.
"I will trust you till the end, my tallest." He saw himself bow.
The two shared looks, then looked back at the crowded place. Other Irkens were watching, laughing at him, he tried to ignore them.
Their laughter was somehow covered with a beeping sound, but he couldn't place it.
"Turn around."
With shameful hesitation, he turned his back at them, the small Irken could feel their breath as they got closer to his PAK.
"Open it."
He glanced back slowly, wondering why they'd want his PAK open.
"Y- yes my tallest."
"Hello?"
Everything stopped in his dream, all the other Irkens froze including the two tall ones, their green skin was slowly melting, turning black as their faces became blurry.
He didn't know what to do but freeze with them, sweat ran down his forehead.
He tried moving, tried to wake up, his body was too frozen in the dream, he wanted to run away from them but his body didn't obey, it felt like it didn't belong to him, he opened his PAK.
"Hello??"
He heard the sound call again, the dream became fuzzy, the monsters' movement were slow, the looked like they were straggling somehow, they couldn't do much since he was already waking up by whoever was calling.
Gasping when felt the monsters let go of him, he saw them retreat back to the shadows. His gasp made his throat scratch and he began coughing, a hand held to the console edge, trying to hold his shaking body, feeling like he's having some sort of a seizure.
He saw the hologram screen glitch from the corner of his eye, "Wait-!" But it was too late, whoever it was they hanged up, a chance was taken away from him.
His hand tried to reach back to it but he gave up, his body hurt so much and his thoughts were blacked with fear and depression, it just felt like he'll never get any chances, he was too slow, too useless to be saved.
He didn't matter, he'll die in here and no one will even care, he can't remember anything and was sure nobody remembers him back, somehow he knew this for a fact. It was just a feeling, one that kept repeating he did not matter, just an outcast among others, maybe somehow those monsters were right, maybe he really should just give up.
It's not like it mattered.
Nothing matter.
He was a nobody and just deserved to disappear, maybe that's why he's here, maybe this was better for everyone's lives.
He swallowed the blood in his throat, then decided to check the time. He'd been sleeping for too long, his legs were sore and so was his PAK. Checking the new messages with no real desire, he blinked, surprised to find not only one but two!
(Hang in there. I'm here if you want to talk.)
(Are you still there? How is it with you?)
The other checked on him... he checked on him! He wasn't forgotten!
(I'm here...)
He thought of what to say, he also realized their messages seem to take long till they reach each other, so he'll ask more than one question.
(I'm here. I accidentally slept and they were about to get me, though I woke up in time. What's your name?)
Satisfied with his last question, he hit enter.
This new message gave him some tiny hope he wanted to hang on, it brightened his face with a small smile, in disbelief, maybe he did matter...
Maybe someone did care about him...
Maybe...
He leaned back in his seat, not daring to look back.
-XXX-
"Soooo, he's not dead?"
"Yeah, I guess," Dib answered his sister, "But he's still sick, damn... that fucking scared me..." he whispered the last part to himself.
"Hm." Gaz hummed, pressing her game buttons.
Ting
"Speaking of the devil." Gaz said slowly, smirking.
Dib rolled his eyes, he leaned on the couch to take his laptop and put it in his lap.
"I'm here. I accidentally slept and they were about to get me, though I woke up in time. What's your name?..." Dib read the message aloud.
"Who was about to get him?" He asked.
"The 'monsters', duh."
"Maybe..." Dib thought for a moment, "My name?"
"He's so lonely-" she started laughing, "Jee, your first friend would be an alien??"
"He's not the first!" Dib defeated himself.
"Yeah, sure." She game him a glance, "Be happy, you're gonna be friends with an alien rather than those fat-ass kids you call classmates."
"He just asked for my name, Gaz," he shifted in place, looking from the message to his sister. She was right at some point. "Just curiosity."
"Riiiight."
"Should I tell him?" Dib asked.
"Meh."
Dib pouted, he looked back at the laptop, a thought of calling back again danced in his head, though he couldn't bring himself for another heart attack. "I'll just say Dib, not Dibson, does he even know what a human is? I mean, he didn't seem to know our planet at all,"
Gaz shrugged.
Sighing, he typed what came to his mind, happy he finally got a reply.
(I'm Dib, and I'm pretty sure you're just hallucinating, nobody is there to harm you. You'll get here and we'll find a way to help you, it's going to be okay.)
"Guess this should be enough,"
"What is he doing in space at all? Can't he just call his leader? He can't just wake up and find that he's too far from any planet." Gaz all of the sudden spoke, gaining Dib's attention.
"What do you mean?"
"Tsk. Isn't it weird just, out of the blue, finding himself nowhere, as if he popped up in that ship even though it's broken?" She explained flatly.
Dib thought about it, she's right, that was kinda suspicious. An alien with a broken ship, floating nowhere near anyone, somehow injured, and with hallucinations. Whatever that was happening, it was big, he looked like he escaped a fight maybe, but that means a planet should be near, unless it was a spaceship that aimed at him, maybe that's why he got injured.
Can the ship's computer know if it was broken? Maybe it was broken before all of this happened, maybe he landed somewhere to fix it. But that means he'll need to land on a planet, and there were no planets around. Why did he now send the SOS signal? Maybe at that time Earth was far away to get the signal?
(I'm Dib, and I'm pretty sure you're just hallucinating, nobody is there to harm you. You'll get here and we'll find a way to help you, it's going to be okay. How did you end up in your situation anyway?)
He added to his message, curiosity bugging him to know.
Now I'll never stop thinking till I get a reply.
He smiled mentally at how of an overthinker he had become. Great.
END OF CHAPTER THREE!
Mary: a long chapter! Finally! Hope this got your attention and sorry if there're any mistakes, it was long so I may have missed something.
AF: yep, long chapters are good! Reviews are highly appreciated!! 3
This was Alien Freak, signing off.