By GS2aholic
The sun shines and I can't avoid the light
I think I'm holding on to life too tight
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Sometimes I feel like giving up yeah
I said sometimes I feel like giving up
~Creed ~Weathered
Gaz and Zim walked on with no interruption for what seemed like hours. At every step came a flinch from the girl, her injured arm hitting her body stiffly. Zim did not dare comment for the sake of this demon's wrath and pride.
Also, with every mile or so, the landscape changed, the buildings going up as though evolution was before their very eyes.
They came to a stop at the end of this chain, Zim panting hard as a result of trying to keep up with the smaller being's steps. A large temple loomed before them, the frame of the huge entrance embroidered with gold and the steps to said entrance soaked with the result of many sacrifices.
Zim cleared his throat and the two made their way up the steps, neither daring to speak of the dangers imagined inside. It was very dark in this temple and both Gaz and Zim had to take out their flashlights to see. Upon the walls were carvings of beautiful detail, lined with precious metals and shining jewels. Gaz walked closer to these walls, her pale fingers tracing the lines of some of the art she studied. As she moved down the walls, these drawings got all the more familiar until a gasp and shuffle of feet broke the silence that had settled the area.
Zim, who had been studying the opposite wall, went to her side in alarm, questioning the girl with a quick glance.
"I…" The girl began. "This is my artwork!"
Zim glanced at the wall, the back at Gaz.
"I drew this when I was ten, right before Dim had that water balloon fight." She was talking more to herself than to the alien as she stared at the green monster pulling Dib into its mouth with its tongue.
"And… and this one before our family outing to Bloaty's." By now her eyes were wide with fright and she scanned the wall intently.
"This one was on homecoming night in 9th grade!" Zim looked at a beautiful picture of a girl, dressed fancy and hair up, on her knees surrounded with a sparkling pool of tears.
Any word, Zim was sure, would break this fragile fallen angel before him and thus he kept silent, wondering what to do. They had not gone over such a situation in Invader Training and a reluctant wave of pity took over his control. In the back of his mind, the egotistical Invader Zim cringed as his hand reached out to touch Gaz's shoulder in comfort. She whipped her eyes and turned to look at him, a small smile forming on her lips at this small gesture of comfort. She turned away and moved out of his reach, making her way through the beautiful hall and riding her face of all emotion that was once present. Zim glanced once more at the beauty in the pool of tears before following close behind.
~~~
The hallway they were in was long and exhausting. The musty smell from the aging walls mixed with that of blood made them both reluctant to stop and catch their breath. Flashing their lights on the wall frequently, the artwork seemed to last forever and Zim wondered how many pictures Gaz had drawn. No doors or windows branched off and it made the hall seem even longer, if possible, than it already was.
Zim's antennae twitched again at a soft clicking sound. Gaz seemed to hear this too and she stopped. All was void of sound for a few painful seconds until a loud rumble shook the ground. The floor beneath Zim cracked and the Irken had no chance to react as it collapsed under him. He fell for about 20 feet or so, landing hard on the ground. Weeks in the future he would remember this moment as a pain in the ass, which it was since that is where he had landed. He stood up and groaned, rubbing his hind end as he blinked the dust from his eyes. He looked above him and continued to blink, clearing his vision enough to make out Gaz's slender figure bent over the hole.
"Zim?" She questioned and was answered with an exaggerated moan from below.
Zim saw Gaz turn her head, gasp, and fling her arms over her head. He directed his flashlight beam up at her and noticed the once golden ceilings were now black and seemed to be moving.
"Bats…" He whispered and ducked down, covering his own head.
Whoever had once told him that bats were harmless was going to pay. The winged mammals swooped down at him, attacking his flesh with their sharp, miniscule fangs. He grunted, but remained still, not wanting to provoke these monstrously cute creatures. When the storm passed and peace was once again upon him, he stood and inspected his body. No permanent damage, which was a relief. He looked above him and was disappointed not to see Gaz.
"Gaz, are you there?"
"Yeah, just hold on."
A few minutes later there was a crackle as debris fell and the girl with violet hair propelled herself with her grappling hook into the abyss below. Gaz flinched as Zim directed his light into her face and held out her hand for him to take. He looked at it oddly and then pointed to his own hook.
"Don't be difficult, Zim. You wouldn't be able to hook it on anything anyway." She flexed her hand and Zim reluctantly took it. They both scaled the wall and made it up with little trouble. Gaz unhooked the rope and put it away before picking up her flashlight and continuing down the hall as though nothing happened.
As soon as they began walking, they stopped, finally coming to the end of the lengthy hallway. There were no more drawings, but instead off hieroglyphics that were none like either had ever seen. They formed and were to be read not left to right, but in a spiral and a harsh gash indicated where to start. In the middle of this display were two arrows pointing two ways and labels beneath both. On the left and right were two doors, both identical in magnificence and worth, but different in design and meaning.
Gaz and Zim took to studying these pictures, both at separate doors. Gaz was not shocked to find that these pictures were also of her creation. The door she studied had a picture of the Vampire Piggy Hunter whose sword impaled the infamous Vampire Piggy Queen in the chest. At closer study, Gaz found that the blood streaks began here and knew that this room was for the sacrifices. Not exactly wanting to go into this room, Gaz walked to Zim's door, where the blood began to fade but none-the-less went into. This door had a carving of two perfect hands clasped together, blood running down their wrists and the body of some poor creature lying beneath.
"You are very… odd, Gaz." Zim dared to say. Naturally he did not survive unharmed after such a comment and Gaz grinded his foot into the ground as best she could. She with the opened the door hands before more could be said and was greeted by about 10 graves. Golden crosses marked each and batched of black roses were planted in the heart of the plots. Gaz stayed still and did not make a sound, as though in fear of waking the dead. Zim, however, walked closer and studied the area with interest.
"Three are empty." Zim said and at closer glance Gaz found this to be true. He lit the stones up with his flashlight and read the names aloud.
"Justin Marcus," He moved to the next one. "Ell Membrane." A
gasp escaped the poor girl once again and Zim looked at her.
"That's my mom." She gulped. "Read the next one."
"Dib Membrane. That's all… Wait, here's another that hasn't been put up yet." He scooted along the ground and blew the dust from the before mentioned cross. "It says Zim." He shuddered and stood up.
"Let's go. I can't take much more of this." Gaz's voice cracked as she spoke and she turned to leave.
Zim turned around to follow but was stopped by a horribly ugly creature that blocked the doorway. He dropped his flashlight in surprise and it clicked off. He bent down and picked it up, but did not turn it back on.
"You're not going anywhere," The being said in a high-pitched voice. As soon as he finished, Zim heard a click and the whole room got dark.
"Argh! Turn the light back on!"
There was a hurried shuffle, the door slammed and a hand gripped his shoulder.
"Get up and hurry!" Gaz's hushed voice commanded. Zim obeyed and he was dragged the opposite direction by Gaz, his hand clasped with her's. It was a wonder they did not lose their grip, as both hands were sweaty and shaky with nerves. Even more oddly, she stumbled and fell often, scurrying up as though being pulled along.
"Quickly, in here," A voice hissed at them and Zim knew that it wasn't Gaz who had been leading. They were heaved up a wall and into what seemed like a vent that smelled absolutely retched. The door to this vent closed and the voice urged them on. They both crawled as fast as they could, breathing ragged and harsh until they came to the end of this long tunnel. A larger vent was before them and Zim crawled up closer to peer through it.
"Hello fellow beings and welcome to another sacrifice to our beautiful Goddess. This sacrifice is a 161/2 year old boy who angered out Goddess for days on end with his laziness."
"Damn Bastard!" A snarling voice yelled and this led to an uproar in the room.
"SILENCE!" The previous voice roared and all obeyed.
"Let the ceremony begin!" The sound of drums filled the room and thousands of candles were lit as the body of a boy Gaz has previously thought was eaten was carried into the room. This was not what Gaz and Zim were looking at, however. Illuminated by the light of the candles was a huge carving on the wall of none other than…
Gaz.
To be continued…Author's note: Well, this was a pain to type up, but it's done. Please, please, if you read, review! I cannot emphasize this enough. I would also like predictions on what might happen, or what you want to happen. Who knows, I might just use them!