A Nightmare Come True

By GS2aholic

I woke up in a dream today

To the cold of the static/and put my cold feet on the floor

Forgot all about yesterday

Remembering I'm pretending to be who I'm not anymore

A little taste of hypocrisy

And I'm left in the wake of the mistake/slow to react

So even though you're so close to me

You're still so distant/and I can't bring you back

~Linkin Park, With You

Gaz couldn't sleep for the rest of the night, visions from her dream plaguing her eyes whenever she closed them. It was an odd feeling, to be so helpless, so lonely when she always had the answers before. She shifted positions again, her brain trying to comprehend everything that had happened, every sign that could help her out. She growled to herself as she buried her fingers into her hair, frustrated with everything that moved. In the back of her mind she thanked God that she didn't have to worry about skool.

When the sun rose on the horizon and morning unfortunately came, Gaz was already up and eating in the kitchen. She poked and stirred her cereal, the marshmallows swirling in her bowl. She stopped stirring and watched the milk and swirling colors as they changed shades as quickly as they were made. She arched her eyebrows as the shades began to stay a steady red, the bits spinning faster and faster until they were merely a blur. Sleep deprived, she thought nothing of it until a few letters escaped from the whirlpool and arranged themselves into words.

'Dib is suffering Gaz,'

They seemed to sneer at her. She sat mesmerized as they sank into abyss and more came up.

'And,'

She furrowed her brow.

'It's all your FAULT!'

Gaz screamed and pushed against the table as the letters seemed to fly up at her. Her chair fell back and she landed roughly on the floor, stunned at what she had just seen. When the tornado of feelings and thoughts came to a stop, she rose from the dark tiles and stared over the chair as she picked it up.

Slowly approaching the table, she found that the milk was still and, though there were no more marshmallows, the sugarcoated bits floated innocently on the surface. Gaz grabbed the bowl and quickly dumped the contents into the sink, watching it form the deadly red tint again before washing it down with water.

Gaz turned and walked out of the kitchen, her appetite understandably lost. This event only added more confusion and her head was starting to hurt, not to mention spin wildly.

In the bathroom, Gaz opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. She subconsciously noticed that the room was now clean and void of blood: her dad probably sent a lady in to clear the evidence. She took the medicine swiftly with a cold glass of water, willing the pill to work as fast as she had taken it. Looking at the clock on the wall, Gaz saw that it was already 10 o' clock.

"Time sure flies when your having fun,' Gaz said aloud sarcastically, walking to the living room and sitting roughly on the couch.

TV control at hand, Gaz took to the task of channel surfing, disappointed to find that none of her shows were on. Tossing the remote aside, Gaz decided to watch whatever channel she had landed on. Heart sinking as she saw and heard the opening theme of Mysterious Mysteries, she wished her brother was here right now, bugging her about Zim and jabbering about his latest discoveries. As much as she appeared to hate him, she enjoyed his company more than even her games.

"I'll never give up," his voice flashed in her head. A statement he had made many times and lived up to just as easily, Gaz felt her heart lift if only slightly. If she was in his place, she knew with her whole being that he would not rest until she was safe. She hung her head in shame at what she had done so far. Pondered, merely pondered and thought and complained and whined. She hadn't acted yet. Not one little bit and she was mad at herself for that, for her attitude and laziness at her brother's suffering.

Gaz sighed and rose from her seat. It was time to visit Dib and get this party started.

~~~~

Having run most of the way, Gaz got to the hospital in only a matter of minutes. Going by memory, she got to Dib's room just as fast, glad she was inside as a smack of thunder indicated even more rain. Opening the door gingerly, her eyes automatically went to the pitiful figure that lied on the bed. They had shackled his arms to the bed, Gaz assumed to prevent more injury. His scratches and gashes were bandaged and each bruise shown brightly on his pale face.

Gaz walked quietly to his bedside, her fingers gently tracing a scratch that took up most of his hand in a rare sign of affection. A finger twitched and she quickly recoiled her own, looking at his calm, sleeping face. Pulling up a chair, Gaz sat down and laid her head on an empty area of the bed, using her arms as a pillow.

"Oh Dib, please help me figure this whole thing out. Please!" She begged in a whisper, pounding her fists lightly on the bed.

Gaz let out a sigh and closed her eyes only to get lost in thought. Soon, however, she was lost in a dream world instead.

 ~~~

Gaz looked around as a world formed in the darkness of her eyelids. At first glance, she could automatically tell that it was nothing like home. Flooded streets, blood smeared like paint on the walls, and not-to-mention an awful stench told Gaz that this place was in fact the place of her dream. Unable to believe it, she rubbed her eyes and when they readjusted, chaos ensued.

Monsters of all shapes, sizes, colors, and jaws ran free. Some laid around lazily, bathing in the mud and blood and others chased anything with legs. Horrible does not begin to describe the place that Gaz had found herself, but a ragged scream broke her from her thoughts.

"Gaz…help!" She heard her brother's voice scream. She looked around her, taking a few steps toward the voice, listening hard.

"…Dreams...real…hurts! You…" The voice was cut off again and she stopped her movement; the voices weren't from around her, they were under her.

Gaz crouched down and put her ear to the ground, not noticing the grime that lay beneath her.

"Zim…advanced… need to use! You'll understand it when you…it." For a moment the voice was strong and clear, but it began to fade and a desperate Gaz drug her head with it for every word.

"Please forgive me Gaz…anger. Mom…"

And that was all.

Gaz stood and rung out her now gooey and wet hair as she tried to put everything together. Okay, so she assumed the dreams were very real, she needed to go to Zim's for something she'd understand when she saw, and what was that about Mom? Maybe she was going nuts, but this made sense to her, if only a little.

"…Gaz, sweetie…" Was Dib talking to her again?

"Gaz, wake up."

Gaz flinched as a sudden stream of light hit her eyes violently. A redheaded nurse was shaking her gently and she realized that she had fallen asleep.

"Visiting hours are over, miss. You can come back tomorrow."

How long had she been asleep? She didn't have a chance to check the clock because she was pushed out of the room and began to walk down the hall in a daze. An itch on her face, Gaz reached up to scratch it and was horrified to feel something else besides her hand contact with her cheek. She looked at her hands and found brownish-red grime covering them thickly. Disgusted, she quickly whipped them on her dress and shoved them in her pockets.

What was going on?

To be Continued…

Author's note: I tried to make this longer, but I thought that that was a good place to end. Please review and give me tips and maybe some ideas! Oh yeah, and does anyone know how to make stories fit into the page more? I've had to edit this so many times to get all the words seen that it's driving me crazy!