So, this chapter might be short, but a lot happens!
Chapter Fourteen: Dib
"What do you mean you can't?" Gaz demanded, making my heart beat even faster.
I couldn't answer. There was too much happening too quickly. My breath was fast, and I could hear the blood thudding in my ears as my heart raced. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and hide, waiting for this entire thing to blow over.
Gaz shook her head and grabbed my wrist. She started pulling me towards the school yard where the thing theoretically crashed.
It had to be a meteorite. Just a meteorite. There are asteroids made out of metal. Dad's lab must have just confused the metal for mechanization. That's all.
Aliens can't be real.
When we arrived in the yard, Gaz forced our way through the gathering crowd until we got to what they were surrounding. It was a large metal ball with what looked like a parachute coming out of the top.
Definitely not a meteorite.
There was a hiss as the top gradually lifted open.
My heart hammered so quickly inside my chest that it was painful.
Once the top of the metal ball was fully open, a hand grasped the edge of the opening, and a human hoisted himself through. "Boy, that was a rough landing," he commented rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, everyone!"
"Mister Dwicky?" I gasped.
"Dib!" he shouted, jumping onto the rim of the exit. He slid down the metal pod and onto the ground. He rushed towards me and grabbed my shoulders. "You have to help!"
"Help with what?" I demanded, hitting his hands away.
"There's an alien ship from a very dangerous alien race that's coming to take over Earth," the ex-school counselor announced.
Alien ship? There's no such thing as aliens; there can't be.
Then where did Dwicky come from? I couldn't have hallucinated the whole thing like I did when he left. I'm on medications that prevent that.
Something grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from Dwicky. I looked back, and found that Dad was dragging me through the crowd along with Gaz in his other side. "We need to get to my lab, so I can corroborate this," he explained.
"Well, yeah, but why do we have to come," Gaz complained.
"You think I'm going to leave you kids alone right now?" Dad scoffed, slowing down as we arrived at his car.
Dad opened the back door and threw us into the back seat. He slammed the door closed and got into the driver's seat. He started the car and tore away from the school and towards his lab.
Aliens can't be coming because they aren't real. I must be caught in the middle of a dream of some sort. They'll hurt me if I don't get out of it.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bottle of pills I used for panic attacks. I didn't have anything to drink, but I didn't want to waste time. I opened the bottle and pulled out a pill, popping it in my mouth and swallowing it dry. I took a breath to try and bring down my heart rate.
It's alright, now. I took a pill. It will kick in soon, and this dream or hallucination or whatever it is will end. It's okay.
We reached Dad's lab as the pill took effect. It gradually slowed my heart to a resting rate, instantly making me feel calmer.
Dad parked the car, and opened his door. "Come on, kids."
Gaz and I both got out of the car and closed the doors behind us. We ran after Dad as he rushed into his lab, the doors automatically sliding open to admit us. The inside, the lab was in a panic. There were red lights flashing, alarms blaring and people running every way possible.
Dad fought through the confusion and got to a computer keyboard that had a wall-sized monitor attached. He typed in a few commands and an image of space appeared on the screen. After a few seconds, a large, pink ship came into view.
I-I recognize that ship. It belonged to Zim's leaders, didn't it? Yes, that's right. We fought over it as he tried to force it to Earth. The Massive.
"It's only a few days out…" Dad muttered, but his voice was too distant to matter. The blaring of the siren and the panicked screams of the scientists were starting to fade.
I knew this was real. It was all real. Zim, GIR, his base, this ship, everything was real.
But if Dad knew about this ship coming to Earth, did he know that aliens were real all along? If he did, why did he put me in that hospital? And why didn't Gaz stop him?
I couldn't be here anymore. My heart was beating so fast that it was about to pop out of my chest.
I took off, ducking under the running scientists until I found a small, dark corner. I slid down into it, and took the pill bottle back out of my pocket. I stared at it in my hand. Should I take another one? If Zim's leaders are invading Earth, I can't be panicking, but I also have to be able to think clearly, and I can't do that with two of these pills in my system combined with what I took this morning.
"Dib!" someone shouted, but I ignored the voice. It didn't matter. All that did matter was trying to stop these aliens.
"Dib, look at me you stupid Earth Monkey!"
"Earth Monkey"? Zim?
A three-fingered hand grabbed me around the collar and lifted me up, forcing me to look at a pair of large, pink eyes.
"You have to stop the invasion! I screwed up!"
I didn't respond. What he was saying didn't make any sense. "Stop the invasion"? But it was his leaders invading. Didn't he want them to come?
Zim growled threateningly and threw me against the wall, making me drop the pill bottle. "You're useless! Whatever that hospital did to you was good for me at first, but now it's just plain irritating!" he shouted, his voice rising degree by degree. "Whatever it is, you have to fight through it, or both the Earth and you are doomed!"
The four mechanical legs extended out of Zim's pack and drew him up towards the ceiling, and he disappeared beyond a ceiling tile.
I glanced back towards where I thought I dropped the pills, but they were gone. They must have been kicked away by some of the running scientists. I guess that settles that question.
I took a breath and forced down my nerves. I had to get the rest of these drugs out of my system. Nothing mattered more than protecting the Earth.
Hope to see you next week!