Dib followed the green splashes on the sidewalk quickly, rainwater already blurring them. As much as he might have wanted to leave it alone, just turn around and leave this city and everything in it behind, he couldn't ignore that the alien had risked it's life several times for him now. He needed to know why.
The agency knew of the alien's hideout now, his lab, technology, and the humans.. They would be rescued. No, they would be killed. The agency would never allow them to live after what they'd seen. Dib's mouth set in a grim line as he thought about the things he had done while working for them. The lives he'd ruined. It dawned on him that maybe he wasn't the good guy in this story. Maybe someone else was. Maybe no one was.
The trail of blood led him behind the neighborhood and towards the river. Pausing before a road, Dib glanced down at the staggering boot prints in the mud of the small embankment, sliding and slipping in their hasten to flee. He kept going. The trail was all but gone now and he stopped to look around, panting. The river rushed beneath the bridge before him and he started to cross it but something caught his eye. Grass, mud, and debris told where had recently tumbled and slid down the embankment. Cautious of his footing, Dib followed the streaks down. Once under the cover of the bridge, he pushed his hair back out of his face and looked around.
Claw marks and blood smudged halfway up one of the cement support pillars. Dib stepped back and looked up, trying to spy the alien. He started to circle it but suddenly spotted a figure huddled between a lean of plywood and the wall. Dib approached slowly and knelt down, reaching to touch him.
Zim's head snapped up and he lashed out. Dib grabbed his wrist before claws wrecked his face.
"Hey, it's ok, it's me." Not that that was of any consolation, really. Who was he but another human that had hunted this creature?
Zim bared his teeth and drew away, wrapping his arms around himself as he settled further beneath his little shelter. Dib sat down against the wall and looked at him. The alien's skin was singed and blistered, blood dripping to the dirt slowly. What the hell had caused that? He looked out over the river, swelled and rushing. The rain had nearly stopped, no more than a quiet whisper on the bridge above them. Dib brushed a drip of water from his brow and turned to the alien again.
His head was down, tucked into his arms, and he shivered silently. Dib hesitated, then stood and moved the plywood board. He scooped the alien up carefully and started walking.
Zim's head lolled against his chest and he cracked his eyes open, unseeing. Warmth, soft heartbeat murmuring against his cheek, familiar but alien scent of the human gracing his antennae. He closed his eyes again.