'IB' - Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Dib found himself completely frozen again as the other approached him slowly. It was almost as if time had just stopped completely as each step created more and more anticipation and fear. He could hardly even bat an eye as his gaze was glued on to Zim with no intention of looking anywhere else.

Zim took agonizingly slow steps to him, the laughing dying down to weak 'e' sounds of an eerie laugh. He stopped when he had reached him, eyes turning wild almost instantly. He leaned forward and continued that grin of insanity, looking like he was a wrong breath away from a total meltdown. "I...want to....." The rest turned into garbled nonsense, but he paused, as if he were waiting for an answer now.

Dib didn't seem to catch on to this though as he was too intently focused on the other's horrifying expression, sending shivers down his spine the longer he stared at it. He considered running, but of course his body wouldn't even allow him to move a finger as he stood perfectly still. It was as if he were playing dead while standing there against the wall.

That smile soon strained more as the other remained quiet. His eyes narrowed faintly as he listened to the silence. "..ANSWER!! ANSWER!!" He suddenly screeched at him, gripping onto his collar and yanking at him so hard it ripped the material. "ANSWER!!!"

The boy's eyes slammed shut at the sudden yank as a small cry escaped his throat. He took a moment to comprehend what was being screamed at him before opening his left eye very slowly, his body tensing up in the other's grip. "I-I don't know what you want.." Dib grumbled through gritted teeth.

Zim seemed even more unhappy with this, screaming as he continued to yank at him. "ANSWER!!!" He shouted as he threw his body weight against him and began tearing at his hair, pulling out small clumps as he did before moved his target to his arm again. Claws sank right back into the skin and flesh of it before he bit down hard and erased that expression momentarily to attempt to tear off a chunk.

Dib gasped deeply as his hair was torn at mercilessly as he didn't even attempt to scream. That is, until his arm was being torn at again. A terrible shriek of pain emanated from his lips as the teeth sunk into his flesh and he thrashed against the grip several times, but it only made his situation worse. Each movement only let the teeth squirm deeper into his soft flesh and the pain was making his desperate to get away. With that, Dib used his free arm to reach under Zim's wig and grab a hold of one of the long antenna that lay under it. Without another moment of hesitation, he yanked down on it several times. Hard.


Zim let go immediately and screeched in pain, collapsing down onto his side on the dirty floor of the cafeteria. His sides heaved with the effort of each individual breath he took, eyes still staring out blankly. "...Away.." He breathed weakly, as if all the air rushed from his lungs all at once.

Dib was finally able to bring himself to move as he wasted no time in throwing himself off of the wall and slamming through the double doors of the cafeteria. He ran as fast as he could through the vacant hallway, not even bothering to enter his class room as he rushed right past it. He found himself at the main entrance of the skool within seconds and slammed right through those as well. Once outside, he stopped to catch his breath and paced around the top step anxiously as he examined the seeping wound on his fore arm, letting out a soft groan as he did so.

"It's fine, Dib.. It's fine." The boy muttered to himself as he checked behind him several times to make sure Zim wasn't behind him.


But now, he had given Zim another motive to come at him again in homicidal rage. He had yanked on the most sensitive organ an Irken possessed, and Zim had clearly expressed he had means of trying to hurt him anyway. It hadn't even taken Zim that long to pull himself back up from the ground, wanting to find the human again. He wanted to say things to him, but in no way would his mind let him. The longer he spoke, the more enraged he became with him.

However, Dib remained outside of the building for several moments. He made himself believe that Zim was still squirming around on the floor and the thought of it seemed to settled him. He continued to check the door though as he stood outside because in the back of his mind he knew Zim had to be close behind him.

"Soon..." He whispered, again to himself, "All of this will be over soon..."

Eventually, when he turned around, there he did stand. Zim gave him the same vacant look, that smile more aggressive now. "IB... BE DEAD..." He forced, looking strained to get it completely out of his throat and past that toxic grin that looked very strained as well now.

Dib jumped and turned around so he was facing the other now. His breathing had begun to grow rapidly again at the sight of the haunting smile on Zim's face. Those words rang through his head several times, but he didn't understand them at first. After a moment, he figured out that 'IB' was in fact him. Somehow, Zim was unable to form the boy's full name, and that only intensified the horror of the sitation now as he comprehended that the Irken wanted him dead. After standing still for a moment, he began to take small steps backward, raising his hands in submission as he did so.

"Z-Zim.. Please.. I know this isn't you.. Y-You don't want me dead.." He protested.

Zim stared for a long time, shakily raising a hand up to himself and weakly pointing. "Zim..." He spoke, that being the easiest thing to come off his tongue. He took small, hobbling steps to keep the distance somewhat the same. "Zim... Ib..." He pointed weakly at him now, that smile coming back again. "Zim... kills..." He spoke, as if it were cheerful, but it came out in a much more sinister tone.

Dib shook his head rapidly a few times as he continued backward down the steps, still speaking in protest. "N-no... You don't want me dead.." He replied with a small and obviously fearful chuckle.

Zim tensed his hands to fists a moment at this. "IB... MUST..." He forced again, seeming to almost be physically hurt through each word he got out. He made it down each step after a small struggle, eyes locked onto Dib. He held both hands up about ear high to his head, holding them out a bit where his shoulders would end. "ZIM... KILLS.."

What else was the boy going to do but run after his life had been threatened? So run he did. He spun again on his heel and made a mad sprint down the sidewalk with no intent on slowing down. Dib didn't think Zim could run, so perhaps he could escape him now. He checked behind him several times as he continued down the sidewalk, dodging everyone in his path.

Despite how slow and clumsy Zim was on his two feet, he was anything but slow on fours. He gave the chase, screeching garbled clashes of words at his retreating form as he only became more frustrated the more he ran.

To his horror, the Irken had started to gain on Dib quicker than he ever thought possible. The boy searched in distress for a place to hide since his body was growing more exhausted the longer he ran. Soon enough, the park came up to his right and he wasted no time in taking a sharp turn into it. He stopped in his tracks once he had gotten down into the middle of it and searched frantically for a place to hide himself. He couldn't climb due to his wounded arm, so he sought refuge in a thick bush near by which of course was covered in thorns. The boy groaned in agony as he adjusted himself inside of the bush so he was completely covered now. He was able to look through the small spaces though as he stared in distress for the Irken who was sure to be close behind him by now.

Zim couldn't skid to a stop quick enough and crashed into a few garbage cans sitting out. He rushed into the park after recovering from his spill, getting back to his feet again. He gave weak cynical laughs as he began to hobble in through the park now, but didn't seem to remember why he was even there. He crossed over to the swings and sat on one, staring at the gravel down below it.

Dib felt a wave of relief as Zim stopped his search now, but there was no way he was going to reveal himself. He found himself staring at the other just as intently as he had earlier in the cafeteria, only this scene was a lot more eerie to watch than the other and just simply creepy. His legs were starting to get sore though from the awkward position he was in so he very slowly adjusted himself, causing the leaves to rustle lowly as he did so. His eyes widened at this and he held his breath, snapping his head up to look at Zim.

Zim looked up sharply at the sound of rustling leaves as a result of his shifting to adjust his position. "KILLS!!" He screeched toward the garden, getting to his feet as if to go straight to where he knew Dib was. But the information was soon all tangled with everything else that was stuck in his mind, and he began looking around now in disorientation.

Dib refused to breath now since the other was so close to him at this point. Though, he was forced to take small gasps as he started to grow rather needy for air. His eyes stayed glued to Zim though, hoping that perhaps he would grow weary of standing here and leave.

Zim didn't seem to get bored though, but what could be described as lost. He hissed weakly with a frustrated cry of anguish as he couldn't figure out where the human had gone to. His mind knew enough to figure out that he would be at his home at some point though. He needed to wait simply, and waiting is something his mind could easily cope with and do without stressing.

At this point, Dib found he would be stuck here a bit longer, and sitting there completely still was starting to wear on his body. He closed his eyes as he tried to block out the pain he was in since running out of the pointed shrub just wasn't an option.

Zim finally lumbered out through where he had found the exit had been now. He could autopilot back to his base for now, but he'd need to struggle to the human's house whenever his mind could fully wrap around the idea. He knew what he wanted and how to do it, but his brain was not sending it correctly to him, but more muddling with the rest of his thoughts. For now, he would sit on the couch beside the broken Gir, whom he had yanked apart days before.

When he was sure Zim was completely gone, Dib pulled himself slowly from the bush, but of course this didn't prevent any of the thorns from catching on to his jacket and ripping through to the skin. Though, this hardly meant anything to him as he sprung out and made another dash towards his house where he had expected Zim to be by now. But from what it seemed, Zim had not come back to his home. There was no telling if he had tried to get into his house after he had left the park, and if he had, there were no marks telling him so.