I'm painfully sorry this has taken so long, especially after I said it wouldn't. I've had these chapters prepared for weeks but I've been working terribly hard at my job, and thus have been exhausted. I hope my hours decrease a bit in the coming days so I can upload the rest. I hope it's to everyone's liking, now on with the story!
Is it love that's on my mind or is it fantasy
Heaven is in the palm of my hand and it's waiting here for you
What am I supposed to do with a childhood tragedy
If I close my eyes forever will it all remain the same
If I close my eyes forever will it all remain unchanged
Spring appeared.
While other students experienced new romances and awaited summer with hope for adventures in their parents' cars, Gaz persevered. She began to finish all of her work at skool in order to be ready for her after-skool job. The dark teen leaned back on the courtyard table, closing her heavy-lined eyes against the bleary northern sun. A chilly breeze which carried the fresh scent of rain and new grass ghosted its way over the students that passed across campus, eating their lunches and chatting with friends. The familiar feeling was lost on Gaz, who seemed to bear a grimace of pain almost chronically now.
Ana, who sat nearby, slurped the remnants of her soda; the bottle rattled loudly. She tossed the empty container aside and it fell to the pavement with a hollow clink. Gaz opened one eye to gaze at her friend, expressionless.
"What happened to your environmentalism?" Her silvery companion waved a pale hand dismissively, her pink lips pulling into a trademark wry smile.
"The—what are they? Vortians? Yeah, well… in nearly six months they're gonna tear the place up anyway. I doubt a single Coke bottle is going to deter Earth's hopeful recovery a substantial amount. Besides," Ana's note took a quiet turn and Gaz winced, knowing the direction her friend planned to take.
"Don't," Gaz whispered, "please." Ana stopped, her face betraying the faintest hint of sorrow. She lowered her eyes and brushed her long hair over her shoulder. Gaz squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back bitter tears. A tiny, wet squeak alerted her that Ana was chewing the inside of her cheek. A pop followed and Ana inhaled deeply—thoughtfully. The table creaked as she leaned forward to pat Gaz's shoulder.
"If you're going to keep living with my family, you need to accept what's going to happen. You accepted the invasion; now please accept what that means." Gaz retreated into her mind, allowing the events of the past couple of months play over in her mind.
After her fight with Dib, Gaz had gone home with renewed determination. So, she didn't have a brother anymore? Fine; she would survive perfectly fine on her own. After all, she had told herself, she always had been alone. So after she managed to wander home in the pitchy winter darkness, she sat down at her computer and resolved that it was time to resurrect the past and actively use her abilities again.
She managed to get to the website of the real estate company that had sold Professor Membrane the house so many years ago. It had cost a lot of digging around in the dusty old filing cabinets in a forgotten corner of the lab in the basement, and more than once Gaz almost wanted to give up, but recalling the hatred in her brother's eyes spurned her on. Eventually, she found a file labeled "Home" in an elegant script that was decidedly not her father's.
But Gaz pushed that though aside. It was not the time to brood over a past time that possessed no relation to the present day. She flipped through the crepe-textured papers with a critical eye, searching for a sign of money being spent. Finally she had happened upon a bill of sale. Jackpot. After finding a surprisingly modern website boasting the same name as the one on the document, she tossed the manila file away and began to concentrate.
Please, show me your documents…the people who own your houses.
The technology resisted: a warm, crackling sizzle.
It's important, Gaz insisted, so just do it.
Like warm salt water, the deep vaults of electronic data melted away and a new list appeared on the computer monitor. Names, dates, prices… it all flashed before the young technopath's eyes. Swaying with the sudden surge of information, Gaz pressed on.
Now, show me Membrane.
The list zipped upward at an alarming speed before halting on a name.
Membrane, in 1990, shortly before Dib was born. Gaz dug the claws of her abilities into the flesh of her quarry, licking her lips.
Change it.
The printer on the desk next to her sputtered to life, the ink pad clattering back and forth as a single sheet of paper slid out into the tray. Gaz eyed it with a triumphant grin and turned back to the computer.
"All right then, now to sell." She smirked at the ease she had transferred the deed to her own name as she typed out a simpering email, asking for the company's best agent to help a "poor single girl" sell the house her frivolous father had purchased for her on a whim. Her very famous father. A picture of a doting father painted to create the image of a spoiled young girl trying to break out of the mold. If she didn't know better, Gaz would have believed it herself. The best part was: no one would argue with a Membrane. The fact that the house belonged to the world-famous scientist would be a major selling feature.
The computer beeped quietly and Gaz opened the new email. It was a realtor gushing with how honored they would be to sell the home owned by the illustrious Professor Membrane.
It was only a matter of waiting after that.
There was a veritable line of potential buyers and Gaz, looking for an easy way out, simply sold the house to the highest bidder. With two weeks left of February, she packed all of the items she felt were hers and made plans to live with Ana's family until she found a place of her own.
Things did get a bit awkward when Zim arrived on moving day to gather Dib's things, however. As Gaz opened the door to take some boxes out to her newly-repaired car, Zim raised his hand to knock and ended up nearly punching the girl in the process. He jumped back off the steps in surprise.
"G-Gaz! I…um…sorry."
Gaz blinked lazily, not quite opening her eyes all the way, "Well… that's fine I guess." The pair stood in the door way a little longer before Gaz shifted her weight and stepped past Zim onto the pavement. She began trying to arrange the large box she had to fit in her trunk. Zim deliberated for a moment before following her. He kept a careful distance.
"So… have you been all right, Gaz-human?" The alien spoke cautiously, unsure how Gaz was taking her situation. He placed a finger to his mouth, squeakily chewing his rubber glove with his strange zipper teeth. Gaz didn't answer right away. Instead, her face became unreadable. She furrowed her brows yet… at the same time her eyes remained gentle. Zim wondered if she might cry and somewhere deep inside of him a small voice hoped for another kiss.
The violet-haired girl finally managed to fit the packing box into her small car and shut the trunk fiercely. Zim jolted, his wig bouncing in sync. Gaz stepped by him again, not making eye contact. She finally spat a reply over her shoulder.
"I'm fine, Zim…. I really am." However, the tremor in her voice alerted the alien that she was not "fine". She was probably hurting from being separated from her human sibling; she was probably dying inside missing her family! She was probably—
"Zim, I know what you're thinking, but I really am totally okay. I just have a bit of a cold."
She was…probably okay. Zim's frantically boiling innards wilted, calm once more. He followed Gaz into the house, wringing his hands like an old woman.
"But, if you get sick then you might miss skool and if you miss skool then the foolish human educators might suspend you and if they suspend you, you will just stay home and mope!" Zim paused for breath and Gaz looked up from the box she was filling with game console components, an eyebrow raised. Zim exhaled calmly and shrugged his narrow shoulders. Gaz rolled her eyes and continued sorting through videogames. Zim—in the silence—grew fixated on the girl's black, fan-like lashes and the way they curled against her rosy, porcelain cheeks. He briefly imagined what it might be like to watch her sleep in the early morning when warm sunlight would filter through the window, highlighting stray strands of hair into vibrant purple hues. He then imagined what it might be like to wake up right next to that glowing, resting face….
"Weren't you here for Dib's crap?" The venomous question roused Zim from his embarrassing fantasy and he nodded quickly, trying to hide his goofy grin. As he turned to jog up the stairs, Gaz idly wondered why his face was so flushed and if she might have another chance to speak with him. However, she had finished packing long ago and since she had already cleaned, pillaged and locked up her father's home-based lab, she wouldn't be returning. She tried to stall for time, giving the kitchen a second comb-through, but Zim's muffled noises from Dib's room were still in full force. Sighing from disappointment, Gaz hung the keys on the peg in the entryway and stood in the doorway, allowing the sunset to illuminate the home where she had spent her sixteen years. She scuffed the toe of a boot against the floor.
"Screw this place."
"Gaz, I know you're enjoying spacing out, but lunch is over and you have History next. I'll see you in Geometry."
"Okay…." By the time Gaz opened her salt-encrusted eyes, Ana had already disappeared. She sat up, pulling her bag across her shoulder and sliding off the table with a squish. The late-March rain had soaked the campus grass beds to bursting, littering the skool grounds with spongy mud and pockmarks of scummy puddles. Of course, Gaz's boots ignored that. The only thing that really bothered her at this time of year was when the rain spattered up and soaked through her stockings.
The warning bell rang its gloomy drone and Gaz began to make her way towards the global studies building. The empty courtyard suddenly seemed eerily grey; thick clouds rolled overhead, a small breeze carried a plastic bag across the filthy earth and somewhere a raven cried in a mournful tone. A chill went up Gaz's spine and she pulled her jacket around her tighter.
Then, everything went silent and Gaz's vision filled with a bright red, inky color. Crows began to caw in a macabre chorus of death and the sounds of a flight of helicopters above drowned out what noises Gaz might have heard.
What's happening?
But she already knew: it was another vision of the future. Rain began to pour in unmerciful buckets and it soaked through Gaz's thin coat almost instantly. The thunderous sounds of stampeding sneakers echoed from the direction of the building behind Gaz. She turned stiffly towards the sound to meet with the sight of hundreds of students flooding from the doors. They were all extremely gaunt, but the real horror was their sizzling skin; it bubbled and blistered where it could be seen. Gaz gaped, not knowing why she was still shocked by the gore at this point. She felt her fingers begin to tremble as her eyes locked with countless other pairs, all glassy-grey and streaming tears. Their very souls seemed to be shrieking in terror.
"Please… Stop it!" She tried to look away, but she couldn't turn her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and jammed her hands over her ears.
"Stop! I'm begging you!" Her knees gave way and she slipped into the mud. The students parted around her like water around a stone.
The noise! The screaming!
"Please…just stop… please…." Gaz began to sob, wracking her body with tremors.
She screamed.
"Foolish human… maybe next time she'll listen to the almighty Zim and take care of herself…." Gaz pried her eyes open and blinked several times against the blurriness. It was in vain, so she closed her eyes again. Her tongue felt fuzzy and thick and she could tell her sinus had cracked a few times. She stretched her stiff fingers.
"What… where…?"
"Shh… You are safe now." Rubbery fingers closed over her hand, filling it with warmth. It was strange to describe Zim's voice as comforting, yet somehow, knowing that the alien was with her made her feel safe. It made the pillow she rested on feel softer, the blankets seem warmer, and the burning fear in her stomach subside.
"Would you like to sit up?" Zim asked.
"Yes, please." Gaz winced at her unattractive, hoarse voice. Then she berated herself for worrying about such a thing. Zim's hand disappeared for a moment a clinical, metallic scrape followed by a beep began the process of Gaz's bed rising to a comfortable angle. She squirmed to readjust.
"Don't strain yourself, human." The girl felt Zim's slender fingers slide around her arms with a gentle touch and he pulled her up, "There." Gaz opened her eyes to find that her vision had cleared and she observed the fluorescent lit hospital room. Memory of her latest nightmare and subsequent black out were called to mind. She looked at Zim in the chair by her bed. His normally bright eyes were shadowed by a dark, purple-red color in half-moons below them.
"How long have you been here?" Gaz asked wildly. Zim smirked and looked away, rubbing the nub where his nose would be if he was human.
"For as long as you were asleep."
"How long was that?"
"A couple Earth days."
"What? Go home and sleep already!"
Zim pulled out a strange device from his PAK and grinned, "Zim has a spare PAK charge! He will not surrender to useless sleep!"
Gaz tried to swipe at him, but her arms were too short. Zim wiggled his wormlike tongue at her indignantly. Gaz growled.
"Go home, Zim. I'm fine."
"Yes… that's what you said before…."
"I was fine then and I'm fine now! I don't need you spying on me for Dib."
Zim looked offended, frowning before turning his gaze to the doorway, "Zim is done arguing. Besides: they're releasing you today and I'm going to drive you to your female friend's house." Gaz's face fell. Ana… she must be worried sick. Zim continued quietly, "Zim found it odd that the Ana-human wasn't deterred by his skin like so many others." Gaz blushed.
"Yeah, well… she already knew about you.?
"You've been talking about me?" The cocky expression on the alien's face made Gaz simultaneously want to kiss him and punch him in the face. She just had to decide the order.