And another chapter is added to the mix.
I'm going to say tentatively that this will be FOUR chapters.
I'm actually not very proud of this particular chapter... I don't know why.
Interesting fact: all of these chapters so far have been written in the span of three to three and a half hours. It's a record for even me. I usually wait months if I get even the least bit stuckXD The only one that's ever gone this fast was 'Unreal'...
Replies:
xclaimskype: Aw, thanks.I really try with the beginnings of the chapters. I will post regularly! As regularly as I can possible manage!
Heh, you want more Gaz? Sorry to disappoint you... but this story doesn't have much of her in it...
Maybe a different story?
Dibsthe1: You're welcome. I enjoy writing on thisthis story very much, so far, so I update very, very fast. I hope to have it finished by tomarrow night (although I will be sad that it ends...)
With the flair for writing you have, I don't think you need description XD
Even I wonder where this is going (shakes head) I still haven't decided the ending yet... it's gonna be a surprise to end all surprises.
Now... on to the story! I know you all want to read it XD
A red haze filled the sky, caused by the brightly burning orb above that was the sun, its rays no longer warm and welcoming as it descended from its highest perch in the firmament, seeming the grumble about the hours that were slowly passing, slowly forcing it to move and approach its demise along the curve of the world. The few clouds that were in the sky were lined and infused with the scarlet light, giving them a hellish and feverish look as they drifted across the heavens, their way slow and monotonous as their forms shifted and changed as they continually evaporated and reformed under the heat.
Far below, the world was quiet, the bustle of the city seeming reserved as more of its occupants tried to avoid the overwhelming heat of the sun by staying hidden inside their buildings. The roads were mostly deserted, only the thin, gaunt forms of those that were forced to stay outside in the heat by virtue of either job or lack of better things to do roaming the quiet streets. A stray dog passed by a squat, red-bricked building, it's ragged ears perking slightly and it's vacant eyes turning towards the sounds of activity within, the skin of its brow, scarred and stitched from an injury or experiment in the past, furrowing before it opened its mouth, panting. It's attention was diverted to a white shape on the sidewalk, sizzling merrily, and it padded over, sniffing at the cooked egg before it gripped it in it's teeth, dragging the morsel of food off the sidewalk and into the shade of the bushes to be eaten.
Inside the building nearby, in the most oppressively hot classroom that faced the merciless rays of the sun, the children were surprisingly quiet, their thoughts focused on the clock above the black-clad, inhuman form of the teacher, her droning voice repeating the same word over and over again as she stared off into oblivion. The minute hand of the old clock twitched, causing the students to tense in their seats, waiting desperately for their last minute of enslavement to end, waiting for their chance to be rid of the Skool building for one more glorious evening.
The teacher stopped in her rant, glaring at them, and just after the echoes of her voice faded from the student's minds the bell rang, loud and harsh in the relatively silent air. A ragged cheer swelled up, and the students leapt from their places, piling through the door and out of the windows, impatient not to waste a single moment of freedom. Two, though, remained, one still sitting in his seat, scrunched in an unnatural position and so still that it was impossible to tell if he were even alive. His black trench coat, ragged and draped over him in a haphazard manner as if it had fallen off and been put back on without any real knowledge of how to do such a thing, hung over each side of the seat.
The boy's head lay on his desk, his eyes open but unresponsive to the noise of the students. A pair of large glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, shining slightly in the red light of the sun as he stared off into the distance. His look was reminiscent of one who has been without sleep for far too long, and the depths of his eyes reflected that. Slowly, they closed, squeezing tightly shut for a moment in an effort to hide the single tear that was forming at the corner of his eye and failing as it traveled down his face. His breath left him in long, ragged heaves, the mark of one who has been in pain or anguish far too long.
The other boy left in the room had paused at the door, looking back with narrowed gaze at the limp figure behind him. He stepped towards the door, head held high, but stopped just before his booted foot passed the frame, shuddering with indecision and anger. With a final growl, the green-skinned creature whirled from the exit, stalking towards the stationary form and grabbing his foot, the same one that he had previously used to drag the boy to the Skool in the first place. Silently, he pulled, grimacing when the tightly packed body of the other stuck in place, refusing to come out of the seat. He pulled harder, yanking on the foot with all his might, and grinned with triumph when the boy slid abruptly out of the seat, large head slamming into the floor loudly and painfully, evoking a sharp cry from him. The teacher's gaze snapped up from her contemplation of her desk's surface, hissing in a sinister way that boded ill towards whomever had interrupted her.
"Zim! Dib! Skool's over! Go home!" she snapped, her voice scratchy and of a tone that would invoke terror into even the coldest heart. The green-skinned boy stiffened at the words, face conveying both impatience and fright as he dragged the scythe-haired boy as quickly as possible across the front of the classroom, throwing open the door and darting out with his charge in tow, desperate to avoid a confrontation with the terrifying teacher or the punishment that would result.
As soon as he was out, Zim let out a long breath that was immediately utilized to utter several harsh grumbles and mutters. He marched through the hall with single-minded determination, feet digging into the floor while he forcefully dragged the limp form behind him, consciously trying to hit every unpleasant object lying in the hall as he went to make the trip even worse upon the one who was being pulled. Zim seemed to be in his own little world as he let loose a invective rant, free arm flailing in wild gestures as he growled, grunted, hissed, and cursed as he exited the school. He continued nonstop for the entire distance to his home, at which point he stopped, stared at the freakish green walls and purple door, looked back at the one whom he was dragging, and began ranting once more, this time narrowing the subject matter to the one whom he was pulling as he passed by his own house, heading down the street and onward to another, more technologically based dwelling.
The electric fence crackled with power as Zim came near it; it's glowing blue-white light forcing the alien to approach the front door. Before Zim could turn to enter the walkway leading to Dib's front door, however, a large security guard stepped in the way, brandishing a long metal device that crackled at the end with the same power that the fence was charged with. Zim looked up at the guard, his blue-violet eyes narrowing as he growled. A pause in his tirade of words had been forced upon him with this encounter, a fact that he was visibly irritated about.
"OUT OF ZIM'S WAY!" he yelled, his voice deafening.
"You have security clearance?" the guard asked, his expression behind the visor unreadable but his tone condescending. Zim bristled.
"ZIM needs no… clearance," he growled, "Move out of ZIM'S way, FILTHY human!"
"All people wishing to enter the Membrane home have to have security clearance, boy," the guard replied, brandishing his electric prod threateningly, "No clearance, no entry."
"ARRRRGGGH!" before Zim could demand entry again, the guard shoved the stick into his midsection, causing several hundred volts of electricity to course through the alien's body and, through his connection to Dib, the boy's body as well. Zim recovered in an instant, his gaze promising painful death, as smoke tendrils rose off from his body to disappear into the air above.
"You dare invoke the wrath of ZIM! PITIF- AHHHHHH! GAHHHH, IT HURTS!"
Again smoking from the shock, Zim sent another glare at the human, who only raised the cattle prod once more; it's end sparking dangerously as it approached him. Snarling in wordless anger, Zim picked up the limp foot that he had dropped while he was being shocked a second time, shoulders hunched and every movement of his body angry and pained as he dragged the boy away, grumbling under his breath once more and cursing the security guard, who watched him go with a victorious stance. People, coming out of their homes now that the sun was less harsh, stared in puzzlement at the scene before going about their business, ignoring the passing boy and the one whom he was dragging as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Dib opened his eyes slightly as cool tile replaced harsh, burning sidewalk below him, his eyes blinking dazedly as he stared up at a mass of gray and magenta wires. The grip on his foot loosened, allowing the limb to drop limply to the floor, and Dib could faintly hear the familiar muttering of his enemy over the background noise of an overly loud television. A childish squeal of delight ripped through the air, and the scythe-haired boy flinched as a weight jumped upon his stomach, his sight invaded by two brightly glowing aqua eyes. With a yelp, the boy scrambled back, his back slamming into the door as he suddenly realized where he was. Pain flared in all his limbs as the residue from the shock presented itself.
The robot tumbled off him and hit the floor face first, giggling insanely, and Dib looked at it warily for a moment before his gaze traveled upwards, meeting the angry blue-violet glare of the green-skinned alien that stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Zim narrowed his eyes at Dib's gaze for a moment, looking reproachful, before the Irken turned, marching into the other room as if his mortal enemy wasn't sitting in a stupor just inside his door.
"GIR! Watch the human! I'm going down into the lab!"
"Yaaaay! Bacon!" the robot squealed happily, running around the middle of the floor with the energy of a hyperactive rabbit. Dib stared, brow furrowing, before he sighed and hunched back against the wall, eyes lidding over and mind withdrawing within itself as he hugged his knees, trying to ignore the stiffness and pain. There was silence from the kitchen, and then an incomprehensible mutter –probably replying to the robot's strange exclamation- and the sound of a toilet flushing. Zim had gone to his lab, leaving Dib alone in his base.
It was a hurtful blow to the young boy, and one that struck hard; Zim no longer thought of him as a threat to his mission. Dib choked back a sob, closing his eyes tightly and willing himself not to cry, not to show any more weakness. He told himself over and over again that it would all be over soon.
"Awwww…. What's the matter?" Dib opened his eyes slowly, looking up into the innocent face of the robot, which wasn't even disguised. He shook his head tiredly, not wanting to answer, "I know what yoooooou neeeeed! Come watch TV with me!"
With that, the scythe-haired boy found himself being dragged towards the couch so fast that he barely touched the floor. The little robot giggled manically, setting Dib onto the couch and jumping up beside him, putting both hands onto its chin and setting its elbows on its knees as it stared at the television screen, entranced. The image of a growling monkey stared back, occasionally making a sound or action, at which the Gir would scream with joy and laughter. Dib, not interested in the show or anything else, stared at the ceiling with a miserable expression, his glasses crooked on his face. Not even the robot's repeated screams could penetrate his moping, nor the softer repetitions of, "I love this show."
"Aww… the big-head boy still sad!" the robot said, finally noticing that Dib wasn't watching the television along with it. In a rare moment of clarity, Gir shut the TV off, something unheard of for the little robot to do, and turned on the couch, watching Dib with the same type of fascination that it had been watching the disturbing primate with. Dib didn't move except to blink, his eyes remaining closed for a long, painful moment before cracking open slightly, a ragged breath escaping him. The robot cocked his head in a dog-like manner, "Cooooome ooooooon big-head boy! Say sumthin!"
"Why? You wouldn't understand," Dib replied, turning his head to look at Gir, amazed by how large the aqua eyes looked, and how much innocent soul was fit into them. The robot squealed again, taking a stuffed moose out of his head and squeezing it, and Dib knew that that would be the end of the conversation. He turned his eyes back to the wall, sniffing.
"Try me!" Gir said suddenly, smiling. Dib flinched; looking back at the robot as it promptly ate the stuffed moose, eyes pinched into a delighted expression.
"What?" he asked, startled.
"Annnnnd, then we can go to the moon in a flyin' banana! And I can dance nekkid with taquitos! I needs me a new moose!" Gir screamed incoherently for a moment, "Annnd I wanna listen to big-head boy! His head's big… like a taco! TAAAAACCCCCCOOOOOSSSS!" With that, a robotic arm came out of the robot's head, this time holding a taco, and Gir squeaked with delight, shoving the food unnecessarily messily into his mouth. Dib looked back at him, one eyebrow raised, his curiosity beating back the fatigue he was feeling.
"Okay…" he said hesitantly, looking into Gir's huge eyes, "I guess I can tell you…"
"YAAAY! PIGGY WANTS TO HEAR, TOO!" Gir screamed deafeningly, jumping up and running to get a stuffed pig off from the floor, then jumping back on the couch, eyes wide and entranced as it sat, watching Dib like it would a television show. The boy hesitated for a moment, but then began speaking, his voice uncertain, stumbling in places, but slowly growing in strength as he told the robot everything. Everything that had hurt him, everything he felt and why he hated the world so much, came out in his words. In the middle of his speech, he stood, pacing in front of the couch, unable to stay still. The little robot listened through all of it, eyes wide, occasionally squeezing the stuffed pig it held tightly as Dib reached a particularly sad or tormenting part.
"And… and I'm tired of it all," Dib said finally, his voice fading to a whisper, "I… I don't want to have to face it anymore. I don't know if you'd understand, Gir, but it's hard to have no one care about you. I could disappear off the face of the Earth and no one would notice I'm missing… so I will. I'm… having Zim do me a favor tonight; he said he would. I'll make him do it even if I have to attack him…" Dib sat on the couch one more, his head in his hands, looking like walking death. He squeezed his eyes closed, unable to stop the tears as he choked out the last, finishing sentences to his story, "I… Gir, I don't want to live anymore! I want to die!"
There was silence after the remnants of his voice faded from the room, and Dib sighed heavily, breath hitching in his chest. The robot didn't understand or care, either. He was cursed; he would never be understood, believed, cared about, or otherwise noticed. He would be doing the world a favor by having Zim kill him, as much as he hated the thought of doing anything for the world that had rejected him. It wasn't as if he would be changing anything by dying, anyway.
"IIII feeeel a hug in meeeeeeee," a voice beside him cut through his thoughts, and Dib looked up just in time to see Gir jump at him, its robotic arms encircling his neck as it squealed and nuzzled against him, the stuffed pig forgotten. Dib stiffened, shocked, and reached up immediately to push the robot off him. His hands, however, trembled to a stop as something within him responded to the comfort that Gir was trying to give him, and instead of pushing Gir off, he wrapped his arms tightly around the little metal body, crying openly as the tiny robot waited astonishingly patiently, eyes lit up at its successful attempt to reach out to the boy.
Finally, Dib's racking sobs faded, and he looked down in his arms, red-rimmed eyes still tired, but less anguished than before. Gir mumbled contentedly, fast asleep and curled up in the boy's arms like a cat in a warm lap. With an amused smile, Dib set the robot down on the couch by its pig, looking at the window and seeing the sun beginning to set. His eyes clouded, the temporary lift to his spirits plummeting. The rest of the house was silent, almost oppressive now that the main force of life within it was asleep, and the ever-lengthening shadows outside began to pervade the slight glow of the lights above, creeping in through the window like a carpet of swarming spiders. Dib shivered, wishing with all his heart that the moon would rise, that he could go outside and feel that cold light one last time before he forced Zim into killing him.
But it wasn't night yet. Dib reached up slightly, moving his glasses into place, and curled up into a corner of the couch, his trench coat spread around him like a blanket as he glanced one last time at the small robot across from him, feeling grateful. He closed his eyes, prepared to have the last dreams of his young and tragic life.
"Thank you, Gir," he murmured before he fell down into oblivion, allowing the darkness to take him.
Let's all say it together! AWWWWWWWWWWWWW...
XD
C'mon, you KNOW you all wanted to see more Gir.
Also a first for me writing that character, too. Hm... Hope I did okay.