Nightfall did not come quickly enough as Dib explored his floor of the building, testing every possible angle. He found an elevator he'd previously overlooked and as the last of the daylight twinkled away he slid the cage door open and looked down into the darkness. The elevator itself was two floors down, but there was a ladder to the right of the opening he could use to climb down to the next floor. Hopefully the stairs from there on down would be unblemished and he could make his escape.
He paced to the cave-in and listened a long moment, though the alien was silent as a cat he assured himself that he was alone. He hadn't seen the alien since the meat delivery and hoped that maybe it had just grown bored of him. Returning to the elevator, he reached in and touched a rung of the ladder. Something crackled behind him and he turned quickly, eyes wide in the fading light. The silhouette of a boy stood in the hallway, watching him.
"Hey," Dib released the rung and stepped towards him. "Hey, are you alright? Are you trapped here too?"
The boy's head tilted slightly and Dib stopped. Crimson gleamed from his eyes and the figure transformed before him, shaggy hair giving way to a smooth head, two stalks of antennae emerging as if from a glamour. Dib backed away quickly and turned to reach inside the elevator but misjudged the proximity of the opening. His foot slipped over the edge and he fell forward, striking his head on the edge as he fell. His hands grasped blindly in the darkness, briefly touching the elevator cables and then he landed. Pain burst through his left leg and side and he tried to scream but the impact had driven the breath from him. The alien head appeared at the opening, staring down at him, eyes shining in the darkness almost like a nocturnal animal's. Dib closed his eyes a moment, then tried to get up. Pain shot up his leg and he did scream, curling inward as his empty stomach turned. He heard something crunch and briefly remembered the mirror shard in his pocket, likely shattered into a million pieces now.
A shadow moved overhead and scraping sounds echoed in the tight space as the alien entered the elevator shaft and made his way downward. Dib reached into his pocket and grasped a piece of the mirror, drawing it out and pushing himself up on his free arm. The elevator shifted as the alien landed on it softly. For a span, he heard nothing but is own harsh breathing and then a cold hand touched his arm. He slashed the shard forward, feeling it make contact with a tear of fabric and meaty cut of flesh. The alien hissed and removed his hand, the elevator bouncing again as he moved back. Dib heard him to his left and slashed again, missing. Zim grabbed his wrist but he twisted away, slashing and stabbing wildly. He buried the shard as deep as he could and let go, scrambling to get away. He felt the wall behind him, finding the edge only two feet up, and reached to slide the gate open. It screeched reluctantly and he used his arms to pull himself up, crawling from the elevator shaft and slamming the gate shut behind him, latching it with fumbling fingers. Dib tried to get to his feet but spilled to the floor uselessly, gasping. He scrambled in the dark towards what he hoped were the stairs, propelling himself on hands and one good leg.
Just as he reached the door to the stairwell, it slammed open and a shadow rushed out, seizing him and throwing him against the wall. Dib caught a glimpse of slender metallic legs as the alien snatched him up and threw him to the opposite wall. Dib twisted and crawled for the door but the alien knocked him away again. Zim crouched down over him, slamming one extension into the wall above his head, sending a flurry of plaster onto him. He leaned down and hissed loudly into Dib's face, teeth clicking. The human shut his eyes and stayed still, trembling. The alien stayed for a long moment then pulled away, raining more plaster onto his face. Dib looked up as he dropped to the floor, extensions disappearing, and crouched down by the window. Street light filtered in between the boards, illuminating the Irken in a pale yellow as he sat, staring at the wall.
Dib pushed himself up after awhile and looked to the stairwell, then at the alien. He started crawling slowly, quietly, though he knew the alien was not unaware of him. He paused in the doorway as his hand touched something wet and looked down, lifting his hand to the light. A light-greenish liquid stained his palm. More was dripped on the floor through the stairwell and over by the alien. He crawled into the stairwell and sat inside the doorway, leaning against the wall. Dib shut his eye and pressed a hand to his ribs, wheezing. After gathering his nerve, he ran a hand down his thigh and leg until he touched something sharp and quickly pulled his hand away, shaking his head slightly. Nope, no, not bothering that. He swallowed hard, throat clicking, and leaned to look into the hall towards the window. The alien was gone. Dib leaned back against the wall and sighed. A fine mess this is.