Chapter Six: Surveillance Spectrum
It was now another skool day, and the children attending Ms. Bitters's class slowly filed in. Zim, however, remained missing. To pass the time during the boring lectures, Dib and Mel spoke to one another telepathically.
"Isn't today boring?" Mel 'asked'.
"Yeah...I wonder what Zim is up to."
"You always think about aliens!"
"Not always!"
"Oh, sure you do. What else do you draw all day long on your papers?" Dib lifted a worksheet, which was covered with sketchy depictions of Zim during an autopsy. "Since you're an alien, isn't it ironic how you've always dreamed of aliens on an autopsy table?"
"If you want to bring it up." Dib looked irritated.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot how sensitive you are about it." Ms. Bitters noticed the 'silent conversation', and they stopped. Everything was awkward from that point on. During lunch, Dib sat alone, away from Gaz and Mel. Not able to stand the sight of the skool cafeteria food, she decided to heave it into some popular girl's face. 'Yeah...that's a plan.' Heading for the popular girls' table, Mel grinned evilly.
"Hey, you loser, why don't you go find some loser friends?" They cackled moronically, and she tried to keep a straight face as she thought of their impeding doom.
"Well, you'd better stop relying on looks for companionship, because one hit with this slop they try to pass off as food and you're face will burn right off! So...who wants to be first?" They cowered back, and she enjoyed every moment of it. "Hmm...eenie, meenie, minie, moe, which is the first popular girl to go?" She thrust it into the face of the blond-haired girl. She screamed.
"My face! My face! My beautiful face! AHHHH!"
"You're going DOWN!" Mel kicked a nearby table on its side, tossing six more trays into six more girls' faces. "I feel like going on a stuck-up popular girl horror spree! Hee, hee!"
"Wait!" She was surprised to hear Dib speak. "Wait! Mel, don't take out your anger on these...horrible people. They haven't done anything to you personally!"
"Are they ignorant and stupid?"
"Well...yes, but...that's not the point! The point is that you're angry with me, so hit me."
"I'm not angry at you! I'm fed up with ignorance and stupidity! You're my friend. My friends should not worry about me, for I am harmless to them. I never throw a punch at my friends. I might strangle you, though." They laughed, and the cafeteria havoc was forgotten.
"Can't really eat right now...where do you want to go?"
"Point Pleasant." They walked into the library, Dib still theorizing about Zim's 'evil doom plans' for Earth.
Friday afternoon. The end of the week had come sooner than expected, and Zim was still nowhere to be found. Dib was talking with Mel on the way home, mostly about Zim.
"...And it seems that he's working on some kind of project to blow up the world!"
"Hmm...fascinating. But why do you suppose that there's a monkey involved?"
"His insane robot likes monkeys."
"Ah! Yes...indeed, he does." There was a loud screeching noise as a black Cadillac turned the corner sharply, and some darts were shot from a tranquillizer gun. They ducked, for they were the targets. Just as they thought it was safe once more, the vehicle made its way back, this time shooting real bullets. They narrowly escaped, the bullets missing them by inches. The car turned the corner and sped off, never to be seen again.
"What was that about?!" Dib started to get up.
"Stay down! The coast may not be clear just yet!" They stayed there for several minutes more, trying to be as silent as possible. All was quiet; not a sound could be heard for miles except their furiously beating hearts. When at last they felt it safe enough to stand, they made a run for Dib's house. Slamming the door behind them, they headed his room, feeling more secure behind two locked doors. As soon as they had closed the door, a shot rang out and shattered the window, leaving his room blanketed in deadly shards of splintered glass. Though the bullet had evaded them, their faces and hands, both being exposed to the air, had been sliced by a volley of miniature knives. Blood was splattered in numerous places, and the ear- splitting ruckus had perturbed some latent creatures of which hid below his bed. Scorpions and tarantulas piled out from under, all poised to strike.
"Uh...Mel? Do you get the feeling that someone's trying to kill me?"
"Yeah, I'd say so. RUN!" They ran out of the room and closed the door behind them. "Let's hide in this closet." Darting into the closet, which was draped in shadows, they got the feeling that someone, something was watching them.
"It's...kind of crowded in this closet, isn't it?"
"Yeah, a little...but a little discomfort is better than death, right?"
"Man, Mel...I never noticed that your hand is so rough and prickly."
"My hand is not prickly, you doofus!"
"If that's not your hand...what am I holding?"
"Let's turn on a light." They felt for a light switch, and finally came across one. "I found it!" The closet was suddenly flooded with yellowish light. Dib looked down and saw what he was holding.
It was a prickly pear: the fruit of a cactus. "Whew! I thought it was something deadly!" Dib took her hand, and she shouted out in pain.
"Ouch! These things hurt, you know!" With her unaffected hand, she began to remove the small little needles. "Yikes! OW! Thanks a lot, Dib! First someone tries to kill you and I almost get shot, and now this! Oh, what a PLEASANT afternoon!" she said sarcastically.
"Hey, it's not MY fault!"
"Dib..."
"Yes?"
"Stop touching my head, or you'll be dead. See, I'm an excellent poet. Now stop playing with my hair."
"I'm...not playing with your hair."
"Oh, good, it must just be a spider."
"A SPIDER! Mel, get if off of you!"
"What, it's just a little spider."
"Not if it's a black widow! Those things are deadly, and you know how *lucky* we've been today!"
"Ah! Swat it!"
"Then you'll have spider guts on your head."
"I'll wash it out later, just kill it, you imbecile!"
"All right, all right!" He slapped her head, and the crawling stopped.
"That hurt! You hit me harder than necessary, you know!"
"Hey, I just saved you from a black widow, so you should be thanking me!"
"Okay. Thank you, Dib." Mel bopped him on the head, but pricked herself on his hair. "Geez, Dib, your head is an arsenal! A sharp one, too."
"And that's why I have a high IQ."
"Hey, you're catching on with the rhyming."
"The what?"
"Never mind. I think I can come out of the closet, now."
"I never knew that you...had those preferences. Not that there's anything wrong with that!"
"Not that there's anything wrong with that! Hey!" (Author's Note: How very true.) They stumbled out into the hallway, hoping that the madness would stop.
"What do you think this is all about?"
"I dunno..." Mel panted, "...but it's something pretty serious. Have you by any chance broken federal law lately?"
"No...have you?"
"No!"
"Then what's this about?"
"I just told you I don't know! What if there's a price on our heads?!"
"I don't think the government would openly put a price on a couple of kids...would they?"
"I guess not...Wait, we've been kinda obvious about our psychokinesis and telepathy and...stuff... Do you think it could be about that? I mean, your father is with the government, right?"
"Yeah, he's the top scientist."
"Then maybe surveillance has been installed to monitor things. You know, to make sure he isn't giving information about top secret projects."
"Wait...if they installed surveillance, does that mean they know about- -"
"Yes, Dib. I'm afraid they must. You've always wanted to capture an alien for an alien autopsy. Now it looks like the hunter has become the hunted."
It is often that fear brings people closer together, and with friendship comes a break from the fear, as things are put into their proper perspective. Fear becomes humor, but it doesn't seem to last. There always is the end to all happy and sad times--this is known. What is not known is if this swift passing and changing of emotions follow us after we die. In other words, we fear death being the same as life, and thus prolong what may be a terrifying existence due to the worst emotion next to hate.
Fear can be coped with in humans, but hate is unacceptable and will result in a quicker, yet more painful downfall to our species in self-ruination.
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.
Note: If you didn't understand the reference to Point Pleasant, then I'll tell you that it has to do with the Mothman incident. The town is called Point Pleasant. Just to let you know!
It was now another skool day, and the children attending Ms. Bitters's class slowly filed in. Zim, however, remained missing. To pass the time during the boring lectures, Dib and Mel spoke to one another telepathically.
"Isn't today boring?" Mel 'asked'.
"Yeah...I wonder what Zim is up to."
"You always think about aliens!"
"Not always!"
"Oh, sure you do. What else do you draw all day long on your papers?" Dib lifted a worksheet, which was covered with sketchy depictions of Zim during an autopsy. "Since you're an alien, isn't it ironic how you've always dreamed of aliens on an autopsy table?"
"If you want to bring it up." Dib looked irritated.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot how sensitive you are about it." Ms. Bitters noticed the 'silent conversation', and they stopped. Everything was awkward from that point on. During lunch, Dib sat alone, away from Gaz and Mel. Not able to stand the sight of the skool cafeteria food, she decided to heave it into some popular girl's face. 'Yeah...that's a plan.' Heading for the popular girls' table, Mel grinned evilly.
"Hey, you loser, why don't you go find some loser friends?" They cackled moronically, and she tried to keep a straight face as she thought of their impeding doom.
"Well, you'd better stop relying on looks for companionship, because one hit with this slop they try to pass off as food and you're face will burn right off! So...who wants to be first?" They cowered back, and she enjoyed every moment of it. "Hmm...eenie, meenie, minie, moe, which is the first popular girl to go?" She thrust it into the face of the blond-haired girl. She screamed.
"My face! My face! My beautiful face! AHHHH!"
"You're going DOWN!" Mel kicked a nearby table on its side, tossing six more trays into six more girls' faces. "I feel like going on a stuck-up popular girl horror spree! Hee, hee!"
"Wait!" She was surprised to hear Dib speak. "Wait! Mel, don't take out your anger on these...horrible people. They haven't done anything to you personally!"
"Are they ignorant and stupid?"
"Well...yes, but...that's not the point! The point is that you're angry with me, so hit me."
"I'm not angry at you! I'm fed up with ignorance and stupidity! You're my friend. My friends should not worry about me, for I am harmless to them. I never throw a punch at my friends. I might strangle you, though." They laughed, and the cafeteria havoc was forgotten.
"Can't really eat right now...where do you want to go?"
"Point Pleasant." They walked into the library, Dib still theorizing about Zim's 'evil doom plans' for Earth.
Friday afternoon. The end of the week had come sooner than expected, and Zim was still nowhere to be found. Dib was talking with Mel on the way home, mostly about Zim.
"...And it seems that he's working on some kind of project to blow up the world!"
"Hmm...fascinating. But why do you suppose that there's a monkey involved?"
"His insane robot likes monkeys."
"Ah! Yes...indeed, he does." There was a loud screeching noise as a black Cadillac turned the corner sharply, and some darts were shot from a tranquillizer gun. They ducked, for they were the targets. Just as they thought it was safe once more, the vehicle made its way back, this time shooting real bullets. They narrowly escaped, the bullets missing them by inches. The car turned the corner and sped off, never to be seen again.
"What was that about?!" Dib started to get up.
"Stay down! The coast may not be clear just yet!" They stayed there for several minutes more, trying to be as silent as possible. All was quiet; not a sound could be heard for miles except their furiously beating hearts. When at last they felt it safe enough to stand, they made a run for Dib's house. Slamming the door behind them, they headed his room, feeling more secure behind two locked doors. As soon as they had closed the door, a shot rang out and shattered the window, leaving his room blanketed in deadly shards of splintered glass. Though the bullet had evaded them, their faces and hands, both being exposed to the air, had been sliced by a volley of miniature knives. Blood was splattered in numerous places, and the ear- splitting ruckus had perturbed some latent creatures of which hid below his bed. Scorpions and tarantulas piled out from under, all poised to strike.
"Uh...Mel? Do you get the feeling that someone's trying to kill me?"
"Yeah, I'd say so. RUN!" They ran out of the room and closed the door behind them. "Let's hide in this closet." Darting into the closet, which was draped in shadows, they got the feeling that someone, something was watching them.
"It's...kind of crowded in this closet, isn't it?"
"Yeah, a little...but a little discomfort is better than death, right?"
"Man, Mel...I never noticed that your hand is so rough and prickly."
"My hand is not prickly, you doofus!"
"If that's not your hand...what am I holding?"
"Let's turn on a light." They felt for a light switch, and finally came across one. "I found it!" The closet was suddenly flooded with yellowish light. Dib looked down and saw what he was holding.
It was a prickly pear: the fruit of a cactus. "Whew! I thought it was something deadly!" Dib took her hand, and she shouted out in pain.
"Ouch! These things hurt, you know!" With her unaffected hand, she began to remove the small little needles. "Yikes! OW! Thanks a lot, Dib! First someone tries to kill you and I almost get shot, and now this! Oh, what a PLEASANT afternoon!" she said sarcastically.
"Hey, it's not MY fault!"
"Dib..."
"Yes?"
"Stop touching my head, or you'll be dead. See, I'm an excellent poet. Now stop playing with my hair."
"I'm...not playing with your hair."
"Oh, good, it must just be a spider."
"A SPIDER! Mel, get if off of you!"
"What, it's just a little spider."
"Not if it's a black widow! Those things are deadly, and you know how *lucky* we've been today!"
"Ah! Swat it!"
"Then you'll have spider guts on your head."
"I'll wash it out later, just kill it, you imbecile!"
"All right, all right!" He slapped her head, and the crawling stopped.
"That hurt! You hit me harder than necessary, you know!"
"Hey, I just saved you from a black widow, so you should be thanking me!"
"Okay. Thank you, Dib." Mel bopped him on the head, but pricked herself on his hair. "Geez, Dib, your head is an arsenal! A sharp one, too."
"And that's why I have a high IQ."
"Hey, you're catching on with the rhyming."
"The what?"
"Never mind. I think I can come out of the closet, now."
"I never knew that you...had those preferences. Not that there's anything wrong with that!"
"Not that there's anything wrong with that! Hey!" (Author's Note: How very true.) They stumbled out into the hallway, hoping that the madness would stop.
"What do you think this is all about?"
"I dunno..." Mel panted, "...but it's something pretty serious. Have you by any chance broken federal law lately?"
"No...have you?"
"No!"
"Then what's this about?"
"I just told you I don't know! What if there's a price on our heads?!"
"I don't think the government would openly put a price on a couple of kids...would they?"
"I guess not...Wait, we've been kinda obvious about our psychokinesis and telepathy and...stuff... Do you think it could be about that? I mean, your father is with the government, right?"
"Yeah, he's the top scientist."
"Then maybe surveillance has been installed to monitor things. You know, to make sure he isn't giving information about top secret projects."
"Wait...if they installed surveillance, does that mean they know about- -"
"Yes, Dib. I'm afraid they must. You've always wanted to capture an alien for an alien autopsy. Now it looks like the hunter has become the hunted."
It is often that fear brings people closer together, and with friendship comes a break from the fear, as things are put into their proper perspective. Fear becomes humor, but it doesn't seem to last. There always is the end to all happy and sad times--this is known. What is not known is if this swift passing and changing of emotions follow us after we die. In other words, we fear death being the same as life, and thus prolong what may be a terrifying existence due to the worst emotion next to hate.
Fear can be coped with in humans, but hate is unacceptable and will result in a quicker, yet more painful downfall to our species in self-ruination.
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.
Note: If you didn't understand the reference to Point Pleasant, then I'll tell you that it has to do with the Mothman incident. The town is called Point Pleasant. Just to let you know!