Zim sat at the counter at the local saloon in Greensdale, not to far
from Vlad's town. Unlike most human prepared food of drink he was able to
swallow the drinks down without felling ill. Humans reacted to the drinks
in losing coordination and not being able to hold a decent conversation.
They were so disgusting...humans. Filthy, filthy humans. The alcohol would
start leaking through their pours and make them sink wretchedly, they began
to slur and talk about all their menial problems, forgetting that he was an
Irken and that Irkens hated their slimy guts more then they could imagine.
The drinks on the other hand, reacted very differently to the Irken body.
First they would get a little dizzy, then a surge of energy that ran though
their bodies like lightning. It was a short little boost but it made Zim
feel like a God for a few minutes. He was sick of the stinking man sitting
next to him who began to collecting flies around him. He was muttering some
non-sense about straggling some tavern whore and her pubic lice. He had
been scratching his genital area since he got in. Zim left his tab and
left the building disgusted.
As he left in involuntarily tipped his hat at a lady Irken passing bye,
this town had already been inhabited and taken over by his people. Most of
the towns in these parts were. The tallest had thought of killing off the
humans at first but found that they were quite useful for heavy labor. As
long as they had their bars and their whores, they were happy enough not to
rebel, but they complained like a bitch.
Examples were made of a few who went to far, those who needed to be reminded of their place were branded like cattle. For those who really needed to be taught a lesson, the Tallest would think of horrible ways to seal their fate. One of the favorites was internal burning where they would slit the humans open, several small incisions along the belly, and place red-hot coals in the open wounds.
Zim called his faithful yet moronic companion, GIR, who was in charge of looking after their horse. Usually Zim wouldn't leave in charge of...anything but the little robot (what's a robot doing in the old west...I don't know but I really couldn't think of an explanation without getting to bizarre so just deal with it.) befriended the horse and wouldn't let anything bad happen to it. The horse on the other hand, well, just wanted to be dead. He was tired of the little robots screaming and poking and the hours and hours of talk about nothing. He didn't know the specie's language but that voice... going on for hours and hours, and he still knew! The horse just knew that GIR's ramblings were pointless, he didn't know his language but the horse knew there was not point to what the little guy said. If he had a hand to hold a gun, he would of killed himself long ago. He did try drowning himself but GIR had knocked the water trough over spilling the precious suffocating liquid and soon soaked into the dusty ground. Just a few more seconds and he would have never have to listen to the pointless babble or suffer the relentless poking again. He was thirsty at the time too.
The horse was a tiny horse, considered inferior to the other horses. That was until they watched the horse run. He was rumored to be the fastest horse in the west if not the planet. Zim had named the horse Voot. This was unusual considering that the other Irkens named their horses by numbers and codes like V-12 or something along those lines. Perhaps because of his unusual name or his reputation, everyone recognized him and respected him, humans and Irkens alike. Admirers of horses dubbed him the Voot Runner or Voot Cruiser. He was a beautiful black horse with a shimmering mane, to bad Voot never felt any pride for him self and just wanted to die. When he ran though, he felt more alive and free then anything in the world. As much as he hated to admit it, he loved when GIR would sit quietly along Zim and just enjoy the wind. He had seen GIR's reflection once when they rode by a passing lake far away, the smile on GIR's face...it made it all worth it. He was an older horse, which made him somewhat wise and he knew what smiles meant. It was sad that they were scarce in these parts, he never saw much of them anymore. Even from GIR. All the more reason to submerge his muzzle in the cool suffocating liquid.
Before untying Voot's reins from post, Zim took a quick peek inside one particularly large saddlebag. It didn't weigh much and didn't slow the horse down but it held one of his most prized possessions. A sleeping angel. A tiny Irken child slept soundly in the makeshift bed of hey and cloth, shielded from the sun by the saddlebag cover left ajar for a sufficient amount of air. Unlike the other Irkens, she was pure white. Nothing was pure white in this place other then the sun bleached bones of carcasses littering the landscape. She was and angel, hauntingly blue eyes and perfectly curled antenna and eyelashes, a symbol of innocence in a long corrupted world. Her name was Lilly, named after the tiny bell like flowers, lily of the valley that used to grow down by the river before it dried up into dust years ago. Zim for some reason or another liked those flowers, which wasn't like him at all. He never enjoyed simple things like flowers or sunsets.
Without stirring the little Irken baby, Zim closed the bag and mounted Voot with the help of his mechanical legs. He didn't worry about the long ride ahead waking Lilly, she was used to his long journeys across the dusty land and the motion didn't stir her a bit. Zim noticed a tumbleweed rolling north out of town. That seemed about right. North. What the hell, maybe he'd finally find away out of this place. Up north there was a rich green land called Colorado, and beyond the mountains there was the chilly pine forests of Canada. Well, that was at least what he had been told by an old man who had accidentally stumbled through the badlands when he was nineteen, and had been trying to escape ever since. Just like all the others that had been born far away.
Zim smiled, of all the things Dib believed in, of all the things he had seen that others were blind to...he had no idea. Zim kicked Voot gently to motion him forward, he had a lot more time to ride now. Within a few short minutes the town shrank behind them, it was kinda hard to see thorough the dust that Voot had kicked up behind him. Zim knew well enough that the crossroads would appear before him in a few hours and now he could go in whichever direction he pleased now that Tallest had banished him...again. Maybe, just maybe he could escape this time.
Examples were made of a few who went to far, those who needed to be reminded of their place were branded like cattle. For those who really needed to be taught a lesson, the Tallest would think of horrible ways to seal their fate. One of the favorites was internal burning where they would slit the humans open, several small incisions along the belly, and place red-hot coals in the open wounds.
Zim called his faithful yet moronic companion, GIR, who was in charge of looking after their horse. Usually Zim wouldn't leave in charge of...anything but the little robot (what's a robot doing in the old west...I don't know but I really couldn't think of an explanation without getting to bizarre so just deal with it.) befriended the horse and wouldn't let anything bad happen to it. The horse on the other hand, well, just wanted to be dead. He was tired of the little robots screaming and poking and the hours and hours of talk about nothing. He didn't know the specie's language but that voice... going on for hours and hours, and he still knew! The horse just knew that GIR's ramblings were pointless, he didn't know his language but the horse knew there was not point to what the little guy said. If he had a hand to hold a gun, he would of killed himself long ago. He did try drowning himself but GIR had knocked the water trough over spilling the precious suffocating liquid and soon soaked into the dusty ground. Just a few more seconds and he would have never have to listen to the pointless babble or suffer the relentless poking again. He was thirsty at the time too.
The horse was a tiny horse, considered inferior to the other horses. That was until they watched the horse run. He was rumored to be the fastest horse in the west if not the planet. Zim had named the horse Voot. This was unusual considering that the other Irkens named their horses by numbers and codes like V-12 or something along those lines. Perhaps because of his unusual name or his reputation, everyone recognized him and respected him, humans and Irkens alike. Admirers of horses dubbed him the Voot Runner or Voot Cruiser. He was a beautiful black horse with a shimmering mane, to bad Voot never felt any pride for him self and just wanted to die. When he ran though, he felt more alive and free then anything in the world. As much as he hated to admit it, he loved when GIR would sit quietly along Zim and just enjoy the wind. He had seen GIR's reflection once when they rode by a passing lake far away, the smile on GIR's face...it made it all worth it. He was an older horse, which made him somewhat wise and he knew what smiles meant. It was sad that they were scarce in these parts, he never saw much of them anymore. Even from GIR. All the more reason to submerge his muzzle in the cool suffocating liquid.
Before untying Voot's reins from post, Zim took a quick peek inside one particularly large saddlebag. It didn't weigh much and didn't slow the horse down but it held one of his most prized possessions. A sleeping angel. A tiny Irken child slept soundly in the makeshift bed of hey and cloth, shielded from the sun by the saddlebag cover left ajar for a sufficient amount of air. Unlike the other Irkens, she was pure white. Nothing was pure white in this place other then the sun bleached bones of carcasses littering the landscape. She was and angel, hauntingly blue eyes and perfectly curled antenna and eyelashes, a symbol of innocence in a long corrupted world. Her name was Lilly, named after the tiny bell like flowers, lily of the valley that used to grow down by the river before it dried up into dust years ago. Zim for some reason or another liked those flowers, which wasn't like him at all. He never enjoyed simple things like flowers or sunsets.
Without stirring the little Irken baby, Zim closed the bag and mounted Voot with the help of his mechanical legs. He didn't worry about the long ride ahead waking Lilly, she was used to his long journeys across the dusty land and the motion didn't stir her a bit. Zim noticed a tumbleweed rolling north out of town. That seemed about right. North. What the hell, maybe he'd finally find away out of this place. Up north there was a rich green land called Colorado, and beyond the mountains there was the chilly pine forests of Canada. Well, that was at least what he had been told by an old man who had accidentally stumbled through the badlands when he was nineteen, and had been trying to escape ever since. Just like all the others that had been born far away.
Zim smiled, of all the things Dib believed in, of all the things he had seen that others were blind to...he had no idea. Zim kicked Voot gently to motion him forward, he had a lot more time to ride now. Within a few short minutes the town shrank behind them, it was kinda hard to see thorough the dust that Voot had kicked up behind him. Zim knew well enough that the crossroads would appear before him in a few hours and now he could go in whichever direction he pleased now that Tallest had banished him...again. Maybe, just maybe he could escape this time.