Chapter Two: Abduction
Within ten minutes, they reached his house, and Dib got Mel a tall glass of water. She gulped it down at once and set it down on the table ahead of her.
"Better?"
"Very much so."
"So, you...have a history of this?"
"History of what?"
"You were just in the emergency room!"
"Oh, you are referring to THAT...yes, I see. Well, I've had it since January of 2002; it's been a whole year now. I still don't know exactly what it is, but I have reason to believe that...well, call me crazy, but I think it has something to do with alien abduction."
"I don't think you're crazy."
"Didn't really expect you to; just a figure of speech, you know."
"What gives you reason to believe that it was because of aliens?" At first, Mel thought that he did, in fact, doubt her, but dropped the idea when she noted that he was taking out a pen and paper to record her response.
"Well...for one, it didn't start really until about two months after my most recent abduction. Make sure that pen has plenty of ink in it, for I feel a LONG flashback coming on...
"Now, one thing that must be established before I continue is the fact that since I have had an interest in UFOS ever since I can remember, I've had many opportunities to learn about the phenomena. Most of those opportunities have been fulfilled. Aside from the allure of possibly discovering something that no one else has and having the chance to prove that discovery to the world, I've seen UFOS ranging from once when I was four, a possible abduction when I was three turning four, a sighting with my dad when I was about seven, when I was eight, nine, eleven, and especially twelve. My dad has had several experiences with UFOS and the paranormal, including possible abduction, and he is honest, especially with my family.
"Over the years, with finding out about people whispering rumors about me who I thought were my friends and whatnot, I've become quite good at telling whether someone's telling the truth or lying. So, both of us have had experience in determining the reliability and potential authenticity of unusual occurrences.
"As for the experience itself, I was on a website, Fanfiction.Net, to be precise, reading stories written by the fans of a show, which is, sadly, being taken off the air because the show was unfortunate enough to be aired on the Nickelodeon network. So, since the sheets to my bed hadn't been dried, my dad, who hadn't known I was up at 1:00 in the morning until now, put them in the dryer and told me to lie down in his room. I just stood there as he left the room, and felt compelled to look out the bathroom window. The bathroom is right next to my parents' room, by the way. Since I like to document everything potentially significant in my life, (it's a habit I've had since I was ten) I noted that the time was 1:14 AM. I carefully treaded to the bathroom, and looked out the window. I saw nothing at first, but soon saw an oval object illuminated in purplish light. As it grew larger, it became green, and the next thing I knew, I was standing up in the bedroom, a different place than I was before, a different room.
"My dad walked in and told me to get to bed and that he'd called for me to go to bed before, but didn't come inside until now. I glanced at the clock, and it was 2:16 AM. The next morning, I had a peculiar rash on my right arm, what looked like the mark of a needle in my left arm, and a headache; the rash disappeared after about three months. Interestingly, the morning I awoke on Sunday, the 21st, I wrote a story that was 72 pages long about a girl who was abducted by the grays, and they were after her mind. They spoke telepathically with her, and wanted to utilize her for experimentation. It was called 'The Ability', later to be renamed 'The Ability of Many'.
"In addition to this, I must describe what occurred on the Tuesday before, which was the 16th of October, 2001. It was approximately 1:12 - 1:15 PM at my old elementary skool, outside the amphitheater, where the sixth grade classes line up after lunch, awaiting the arrival of the teachers. As I turned my head backward to see if my teacher was coming, for I can't STAND being around my peers for so long without an adult nearby, as usually they ridicule me for being intelligent and seeing past the superficial nature of society and its eventual collapse at the hands of humanity, I saw a silver object hovering in the distance.
"An airport is fairly close by, so I thought that it might just look larger and in an odder shape because of the sun and the distance factor, but as it got nearer, I noticed that it didn't follow any normal flight paths. I look at the sky a lot when I'm bored because the curriculum is FAR too easy, so I get to know these things.
"For a couple minutes, it still hovered behind the trees, but soon emerged. It stopped for a few seconds, and I got a good look at it. It was dome-shaped on the upper portion, and looked similar to the Saturn-shaped UFOS that are seen. However, instead of having a dome-shape on the bottom portion, it slanted inward and had what appeared to be a flat surface, like in a pan. I could provide a drawing for you if you'd like.
"It immediately swerved from its place to behind the trees after I looked at it, and I had a creepy feeling of being observed, and the children at the skool I attended at the time couldn't care less about me, much less bother to watch me or anything of that sort. As I tried to follow it with my eyes when it moved further away, still behind the trees, I noticed that my teacher had arrived already, and that some of the kids were laughing because my class had long passed me by.
"It was at that time, and here's something I normally keep under wraps due to the Hollywood-sounding nature of it, that it flashed a ray of bright light into my eyes directly. Though it was extremely bright, like staring into the sun, it didn't hurt, and my eyes are extremely sensitive to light. I still looked for it on my way to class, where I should see it better, but it was gone without a trace. Whoa, I can't believe I spent that much time just describing a sighting that lasted three minutes!
"So, based upon these facts, do you think it's authentic, or do you think I'm a liar?" When Mel looked up from her feet, she saw that he was frantically trying to copy everything down. "Dib? Uh...are you okay?" He looked up at her.
"What? Oh, sure...well, it seems reasonable enough. Wow...Are you sure you remember this all correctly?"
"I remember it like my own name." There was a pause, while he tried to catch up with his notes. "Dib, have you ever considered hypnosis to try to get your memory back?"
"Memory?"
"You believe you were abducted as a young child, am I right?"
"You're right."
"Hypnosis is oftentimes highly effective in helping possible abductees recount their experiences."
"I haven't really thought about it."
"You should seriously consider. What do you remember?"
"I was in my room...I think I was about three...when I saw a bright, bluish light flood the room. I was curious about it, and I looked out the window. I saw a glowing oval shape grow brighter and larger, and I couldn't move. I was transfixed.
"At that moment, I must've been transported to the ship, because I was lying on a table, and I struggled, but couldn't get free. Then, a female alien walked up to me and told me that it was going to be all right, and that I shouldn't fear them. She said something about me being important, and how I would be missed. She kissed my forehead, and the next thing I knew, it was morning and I was on a coat hook. Strange, huh?"
"No surprise that it was a female. I swear, in almost every report of alien abduction made by a guy, a female is involved, and either they're attracted to them, or they have-"
"I was just three-years-old! Come on! Not EVERY report is like that!"
"Sure, that's your perception."
"You're lucky I called that ambulance; no one lifted a finger to help you but ME, so if I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut!"
"Okay, already; I was just joking! Sorry, Dib, but you took it too hard. No hard feelings?"
"Well...okay. No hard feelings." He crossed his arms, obviously still upset about the whole incident, and had narrow eyes.
"Stop pouting and look at me! Come on, I said I was sorry! I really didn't mean any harm! I didn't mean it. Friends?" She extended her hand out with a smile on her face, and he accepted it.
"Friends."
"Your story is quite intriguing. I'll have to look into it."
"Hungry?"
"Oh, yes, as a matter of fact...I am. Anything worthwhile in that fridge of yours?"
"Not really...just some leftover pizza and some milk...let's see the expiration date...DECEMBER 25, 1984?!" He dropped the carton, causing the cap to fall off and for a waft of eighteen-year-old milk vapor to be released into the air; a thin river of whitish liquid along with a raft of bluish-green mold steadily moved forth. As Dib picked it up and heaved it into the trash, a clump of what used to be milk penetrated the cheap carton and fell through onto the ground. It was like wet clay set out to dry, except that it had dead worms and strange organisms protruding from within and had already been painted revolting shades of puke-yellow and alien-gut- green. Mel walked in and immediately screamed out in horror.
"WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?!"
"Some milk from 1984. I'll heat up some of this pizza."
"Thanks. That is very kind of you. Seriously, though, I've something important to tell you."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well...I'm not exactly sure how, but...it seems that I've been transported to this reality."
"This reality?"
"Dib, I come from an alternate universe where you are a character in my favorite cartoon show called Invader Zim."
"That explains the shirt..."
"So...what do you think?"
"I don't know. Uh...still want the pizza?"
"Sure, of course! I'm as hungry as a...person who's hungry!"
"All right, then." He fixed the pizza, and Mel got a chance to look around at the place. She inspected it like a museum exhibit, picking up everyday objects and staring curiously at them, and didn't stop until Dib came in with the pizza. "Mel...what are you doing?"
"Uh...just...admiring...the arrangement of artifacts, I mean, objects, and how they are placed around the house; it's very lovely, by the way."
"Uh-huh. Here's the pizza. See you later. I'm going into my room, now."
"What's the rush?"
"I've got...stuff to do."
"What KIND of stuff, exactly?"
"Fate-of-the-world stuff. You know the drill."
"Yeah, sorry, just not used to living in the same town as an alien trying to conquer Earth and an abductee trying to stop him; after all, shouldn't EVERYONE know that you go to your room at precisely 5:30 to save the world each night?"
"Why don't you go read one of your books, or something?"
"Oh, and I suppose that you think that I couldn't save the world if I wanted to, is THAT it? Well? IS that it?! Do you think that reading books and being smart is something to be FROWNED upon, like some grotesque--"
"No, no! I didn't say any of that! You're pulling words from nowhere! I just thought that you'd WANT to read books!"
"And just where did you come to THAT particular assumption? Is it because you think I'm some kind of..." she shuddered, "...some kind of...NERD?!"
"NO! I DIDN'T THINK THAT!"
"What, then? A DORK?! A LONER?!"
"Listen! Just be quiet for a second and listen to me!"
"Fine. I'm listening."
"I don't think any of those things! That's what people think about ME! I don't stoop to that level."
"I don't believe you. I think you're just trying to take advantage the fact that I'm in contact with aliens and know a vast amount more than you about them so you can win a victory for yourself against Zim! I thought you were some kind of HERO! I thought wrong! You only want to defeat Zim for personal gain! You may have saved lives, Dib, but believe me: you are no hero. I always thought that Zim was some kind of doofus, but Dib, YOU are the doofus."
"What, now I'M the doofus? You just yelled and screamed about how you thought that I called you a nerd and a loner, but you're doing that to me! You're a...a hypocrite!"
"What? How DARE you call ME a HYPOCRITE, you...HYPOCRITE!"
"If I'm such a hypocrite, then go find some other place to sleep tonight!"
"Okay, I will. Maybe I'll even go to Zim's house," she said as she opened the door.
"Fine! Don't come crying to me when you're dead!"
"I WON'T!" Mel slammed the door, and Dib sighed in frustration.
"Girls...never can understand them." He turned in early that night, still thinking over what had just occurred. "Why was she so mad at me anyway? I didn't do anything to her. She just started being sarcastic, I suggested reading, and then she screams into my face and says she's going to stay at Zim's house. It doesn't make sense."
The sharing of thoughts, ideas, and events can sometimes create an incomprehensible strain on an individual, no matter the nature of the recollection. Some parts of life are easily acceptable by humans, but often those areas are shrouded by delusion, and the propensity of people to simply accept the "easy way out" without any form of investigation into the matter for fear of change or purely because of the foreboding implications it has on humankind.
Fear is the prime-determining factor in human motivation.
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.
Within ten minutes, they reached his house, and Dib got Mel a tall glass of water. She gulped it down at once and set it down on the table ahead of her.
"Better?"
"Very much so."
"So, you...have a history of this?"
"History of what?"
"You were just in the emergency room!"
"Oh, you are referring to THAT...yes, I see. Well, I've had it since January of 2002; it's been a whole year now. I still don't know exactly what it is, but I have reason to believe that...well, call me crazy, but I think it has something to do with alien abduction."
"I don't think you're crazy."
"Didn't really expect you to; just a figure of speech, you know."
"What gives you reason to believe that it was because of aliens?" At first, Mel thought that he did, in fact, doubt her, but dropped the idea when she noted that he was taking out a pen and paper to record her response.
"Well...for one, it didn't start really until about two months after my most recent abduction. Make sure that pen has plenty of ink in it, for I feel a LONG flashback coming on...
"Now, one thing that must be established before I continue is the fact that since I have had an interest in UFOS ever since I can remember, I've had many opportunities to learn about the phenomena. Most of those opportunities have been fulfilled. Aside from the allure of possibly discovering something that no one else has and having the chance to prove that discovery to the world, I've seen UFOS ranging from once when I was four, a possible abduction when I was three turning four, a sighting with my dad when I was about seven, when I was eight, nine, eleven, and especially twelve. My dad has had several experiences with UFOS and the paranormal, including possible abduction, and he is honest, especially with my family.
"Over the years, with finding out about people whispering rumors about me who I thought were my friends and whatnot, I've become quite good at telling whether someone's telling the truth or lying. So, both of us have had experience in determining the reliability and potential authenticity of unusual occurrences.
"As for the experience itself, I was on a website, Fanfiction.Net, to be precise, reading stories written by the fans of a show, which is, sadly, being taken off the air because the show was unfortunate enough to be aired on the Nickelodeon network. So, since the sheets to my bed hadn't been dried, my dad, who hadn't known I was up at 1:00 in the morning until now, put them in the dryer and told me to lie down in his room. I just stood there as he left the room, and felt compelled to look out the bathroom window. The bathroom is right next to my parents' room, by the way. Since I like to document everything potentially significant in my life, (it's a habit I've had since I was ten) I noted that the time was 1:14 AM. I carefully treaded to the bathroom, and looked out the window. I saw nothing at first, but soon saw an oval object illuminated in purplish light. As it grew larger, it became green, and the next thing I knew, I was standing up in the bedroom, a different place than I was before, a different room.
"My dad walked in and told me to get to bed and that he'd called for me to go to bed before, but didn't come inside until now. I glanced at the clock, and it was 2:16 AM. The next morning, I had a peculiar rash on my right arm, what looked like the mark of a needle in my left arm, and a headache; the rash disappeared after about three months. Interestingly, the morning I awoke on Sunday, the 21st, I wrote a story that was 72 pages long about a girl who was abducted by the grays, and they were after her mind. They spoke telepathically with her, and wanted to utilize her for experimentation. It was called 'The Ability', later to be renamed 'The Ability of Many'.
"In addition to this, I must describe what occurred on the Tuesday before, which was the 16th of October, 2001. It was approximately 1:12 - 1:15 PM at my old elementary skool, outside the amphitheater, where the sixth grade classes line up after lunch, awaiting the arrival of the teachers. As I turned my head backward to see if my teacher was coming, for I can't STAND being around my peers for so long without an adult nearby, as usually they ridicule me for being intelligent and seeing past the superficial nature of society and its eventual collapse at the hands of humanity, I saw a silver object hovering in the distance.
"An airport is fairly close by, so I thought that it might just look larger and in an odder shape because of the sun and the distance factor, but as it got nearer, I noticed that it didn't follow any normal flight paths. I look at the sky a lot when I'm bored because the curriculum is FAR too easy, so I get to know these things.
"For a couple minutes, it still hovered behind the trees, but soon emerged. It stopped for a few seconds, and I got a good look at it. It was dome-shaped on the upper portion, and looked similar to the Saturn-shaped UFOS that are seen. However, instead of having a dome-shape on the bottom portion, it slanted inward and had what appeared to be a flat surface, like in a pan. I could provide a drawing for you if you'd like.
"It immediately swerved from its place to behind the trees after I looked at it, and I had a creepy feeling of being observed, and the children at the skool I attended at the time couldn't care less about me, much less bother to watch me or anything of that sort. As I tried to follow it with my eyes when it moved further away, still behind the trees, I noticed that my teacher had arrived already, and that some of the kids were laughing because my class had long passed me by.
"It was at that time, and here's something I normally keep under wraps due to the Hollywood-sounding nature of it, that it flashed a ray of bright light into my eyes directly. Though it was extremely bright, like staring into the sun, it didn't hurt, and my eyes are extremely sensitive to light. I still looked for it on my way to class, where I should see it better, but it was gone without a trace. Whoa, I can't believe I spent that much time just describing a sighting that lasted three minutes!
"So, based upon these facts, do you think it's authentic, or do you think I'm a liar?" When Mel looked up from her feet, she saw that he was frantically trying to copy everything down. "Dib? Uh...are you okay?" He looked up at her.
"What? Oh, sure...well, it seems reasonable enough. Wow...Are you sure you remember this all correctly?"
"I remember it like my own name." There was a pause, while he tried to catch up with his notes. "Dib, have you ever considered hypnosis to try to get your memory back?"
"Memory?"
"You believe you were abducted as a young child, am I right?"
"You're right."
"Hypnosis is oftentimes highly effective in helping possible abductees recount their experiences."
"I haven't really thought about it."
"You should seriously consider. What do you remember?"
"I was in my room...I think I was about three...when I saw a bright, bluish light flood the room. I was curious about it, and I looked out the window. I saw a glowing oval shape grow brighter and larger, and I couldn't move. I was transfixed.
"At that moment, I must've been transported to the ship, because I was lying on a table, and I struggled, but couldn't get free. Then, a female alien walked up to me and told me that it was going to be all right, and that I shouldn't fear them. She said something about me being important, and how I would be missed. She kissed my forehead, and the next thing I knew, it was morning and I was on a coat hook. Strange, huh?"
"No surprise that it was a female. I swear, in almost every report of alien abduction made by a guy, a female is involved, and either they're attracted to them, or they have-"
"I was just three-years-old! Come on! Not EVERY report is like that!"
"Sure, that's your perception."
"You're lucky I called that ambulance; no one lifted a finger to help you but ME, so if I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut!"
"Okay, already; I was just joking! Sorry, Dib, but you took it too hard. No hard feelings?"
"Well...okay. No hard feelings." He crossed his arms, obviously still upset about the whole incident, and had narrow eyes.
"Stop pouting and look at me! Come on, I said I was sorry! I really didn't mean any harm! I didn't mean it. Friends?" She extended her hand out with a smile on her face, and he accepted it.
"Friends."
"Your story is quite intriguing. I'll have to look into it."
"Hungry?"
"Oh, yes, as a matter of fact...I am. Anything worthwhile in that fridge of yours?"
"Not really...just some leftover pizza and some milk...let's see the expiration date...DECEMBER 25, 1984?!" He dropped the carton, causing the cap to fall off and for a waft of eighteen-year-old milk vapor to be released into the air; a thin river of whitish liquid along with a raft of bluish-green mold steadily moved forth. As Dib picked it up and heaved it into the trash, a clump of what used to be milk penetrated the cheap carton and fell through onto the ground. It was like wet clay set out to dry, except that it had dead worms and strange organisms protruding from within and had already been painted revolting shades of puke-yellow and alien-gut- green. Mel walked in and immediately screamed out in horror.
"WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?!"
"Some milk from 1984. I'll heat up some of this pizza."
"Thanks. That is very kind of you. Seriously, though, I've something important to tell you."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well...I'm not exactly sure how, but...it seems that I've been transported to this reality."
"This reality?"
"Dib, I come from an alternate universe where you are a character in my favorite cartoon show called Invader Zim."
"That explains the shirt..."
"So...what do you think?"
"I don't know. Uh...still want the pizza?"
"Sure, of course! I'm as hungry as a...person who's hungry!"
"All right, then." He fixed the pizza, and Mel got a chance to look around at the place. She inspected it like a museum exhibit, picking up everyday objects and staring curiously at them, and didn't stop until Dib came in with the pizza. "Mel...what are you doing?"
"Uh...just...admiring...the arrangement of artifacts, I mean, objects, and how they are placed around the house; it's very lovely, by the way."
"Uh-huh. Here's the pizza. See you later. I'm going into my room, now."
"What's the rush?"
"I've got...stuff to do."
"What KIND of stuff, exactly?"
"Fate-of-the-world stuff. You know the drill."
"Yeah, sorry, just not used to living in the same town as an alien trying to conquer Earth and an abductee trying to stop him; after all, shouldn't EVERYONE know that you go to your room at precisely 5:30 to save the world each night?"
"Why don't you go read one of your books, or something?"
"Oh, and I suppose that you think that I couldn't save the world if I wanted to, is THAT it? Well? IS that it?! Do you think that reading books and being smart is something to be FROWNED upon, like some grotesque--"
"No, no! I didn't say any of that! You're pulling words from nowhere! I just thought that you'd WANT to read books!"
"And just where did you come to THAT particular assumption? Is it because you think I'm some kind of..." she shuddered, "...some kind of...NERD?!"
"NO! I DIDN'T THINK THAT!"
"What, then? A DORK?! A LONER?!"
"Listen! Just be quiet for a second and listen to me!"
"Fine. I'm listening."
"I don't think any of those things! That's what people think about ME! I don't stoop to that level."
"I don't believe you. I think you're just trying to take advantage the fact that I'm in contact with aliens and know a vast amount more than you about them so you can win a victory for yourself against Zim! I thought you were some kind of HERO! I thought wrong! You only want to defeat Zim for personal gain! You may have saved lives, Dib, but believe me: you are no hero. I always thought that Zim was some kind of doofus, but Dib, YOU are the doofus."
"What, now I'M the doofus? You just yelled and screamed about how you thought that I called you a nerd and a loner, but you're doing that to me! You're a...a hypocrite!"
"What? How DARE you call ME a HYPOCRITE, you...HYPOCRITE!"
"If I'm such a hypocrite, then go find some other place to sleep tonight!"
"Okay, I will. Maybe I'll even go to Zim's house," she said as she opened the door.
"Fine! Don't come crying to me when you're dead!"
"I WON'T!" Mel slammed the door, and Dib sighed in frustration.
"Girls...never can understand them." He turned in early that night, still thinking over what had just occurred. "Why was she so mad at me anyway? I didn't do anything to her. She just started being sarcastic, I suggested reading, and then she screams into my face and says she's going to stay at Zim's house. It doesn't make sense."
The sharing of thoughts, ideas, and events can sometimes create an incomprehensible strain on an individual, no matter the nature of the recollection. Some parts of life are easily acceptable by humans, but often those areas are shrouded by delusion, and the propensity of people to simply accept the "easy way out" without any form of investigation into the matter for fear of change or purely because of the foreboding implications it has on humankind.
Fear is the prime-determining factor in human motivation.
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.