'IB' - Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

After several minutes of just staring at the computer in complete terror, Dib turned to the platform and headed towards it. He shut off the lights on his way out, the computer’s bright monitor illuminating the room now. His head turned to look back at it, nodding once as if to thank it before stepping onto the plate in front of him. The platform rose again for him to take him back upstairs into the wreckage. Now he had an answer as to what happened and why Zim was behaving like he was. The better question was, would he regret seeing that though; seeing the complete self-destruction of his now former worst enemy and now current worst nightmare?

The thing that made seeing that video so traumatizing was that he had actually grown to some what care about Zim. Yes, they were enemies both out to stop each other at every turn, but before Zim, he didn’t have a reason to get up every day and go to school. Zim was everything he had always wanted; an alien that had found its way from the depths of space to his own planet, proving that everything he had ever believed wasn’t a lie. The Irken had always been so lively and quite the animated character, even if he was an egotistical little bastard at times. Now, he was just a hollow shell of insanity out for the boy’s blood.

And in the process of trying to destroy Dib, he, intentionally or not so, was destroying himself. Everyday he seemed to be more and more injured and screaming and choking more often. Eventually, he was destined to lose his Irken all together.

The thought of losing Zim had actually sparked a bit of sadness in Dib, even if he was causing him unbearable amounts of mental and physical distress

Zim would always be there... He just had to be...

How much longer would the Irken last in the state he was in? That was the toughest question to find an answer for. He had been deteriorating for days now, and still continued on with a slight limp in his step. Eventually, he would be practically dragging himself down the sidewalk trying to get to Dib just to weakly bat at him.

The desperate wish to save Zim rose him him now; to keep him from meeting his demise and help him recover from this deranged state. He had to look out for himself now as the attacks from surely wouldn’t stop anytime soon.

At this point, all he needed to do now was outlast his enemy. If he could outlive him, he could survive and perhaps scrape up the pieces of his sanity.

Of course, this wasn’t plausible in Dib’s head. Even with himself safe after the Irken’s death, he would still feel mental torment of being constantly isolated and alone. No matter where he went, people would still look upon him as an outcast; just the ‘insane Membrane kid.’

The only other implausible idea would be to try and fix him. Try and get that sanity to come out of him; to find that lost and alone Irken that was trapped in the insane shell that he could no longer control. But, would they ever be the same after such trauma, even with Zim’s sanity restored? The likely answer was very obvious; no, they would both never be the same. Zim would still have been abandoned here and in denial, and Dib would always be scarred by the Zim he had dealt with in that state.

Dib’s mind was  at a conflict now. One part of him wanted to save him and the other just wanted him gone. It wasn’t an easy thing to have on one’s mind, but in all of his confusion he knew he didn’t want the other dead.

There was suddenly a loud screech behind him, sounding terrified and enraged. It was apparent that Zim had awoken and managed to limp his way home, only to find his target present there.

Dib’s body tensed at the inhuman tone as he knew exactly who its source was. He looked slowly behind him to see the other standing in front of the door in the living room, his blank eyes staring directly at him.

Zim slowly began to grin wildly. "IB..." He forced gruffly. "Kills...." He spoke lowly, as he outstretched one arm for him.

Dib looked forward ahead again as he considered his options now. He almost wanted to try and talk to the Irken even though he knew it would get him nowhere. He went against his better judgement and turned to face the other full on, approaching him slowly with his hands up in submission. “Zim..” He stared as he went forward. Once he had gotten close to the other, he grabbed him firmly. “I know what happened.”

Zim screamed as he drowned out his words with his terror filled voice. He was very startled from Dib's firm grip on him. He struggled with a wild screech, wanting to get away from the other.

Dib winced at the ear piercing wail but kept his grip. "I can help you!" He squeaked desperately, practically losing himself again with the deranged Irken in his grasp.

Zim continued to thrash and scream though, not seeming to hear him at all. He was just more deranged and panicked with him clutching him.

The screams shook the boy, eventually causing him to part himself from the Irken so the screams weren’t so close to his ears. He looked up after a moment as he expected Zim to lose his balance and fall flat on his face.

Zim did stumble a bit, but caught himself on his torn couch and a hiss. He turned back to Dib with an enraged wild look, panting heavily as if he had run a mile. "IB... IB..."

Dib backed up to the wall and wrapped his arms over his chest as he examined the other, then his eyes met the small amount of light coming from the cracked door being Zim. He could run, but for some reason he didn’t want to now. If anything, he seemed to be shutting down as remorse still filled his mind.

Dib’s body jolted with a violent shiver, then he spoke quietly. “Zim?”

Zim's limp lekku quirked forward as that menacing grin returned to his face. "IB." He replied to his name, sounding almost excited at Dib's state and remembrance of his name.

“I’m sorry...” He continued, looking back up at the Irken’s twisted expression.

Zim parted those jagged teeth with a low hissing sound of the air rushing from his lungs. Saliva and blood dripped from those sharp razors, looking ready to devour his IB alive.

Dib whined at the sight of the terrifying teeth, raising his hands over his face slowly in defence. “N-no..” he pleaded.

Zim just stared at him with those wild and frightening eyes as he kept his claws flexed and curved a bit like a cartoonish dinosaur would have. He kept approaching him like one as well, seeming very determined to show no mercy.

Dib took a shallow breath as he examined the Irken's stance. The boy his lip and curled himself into a fetal position as he prepared for the pain he was expecting to endure.

Zim growled as he got onto all fours after a moment and narrowed his eyes. He approached Dib a bit slower, as if noticing his strange behavior. He hissed and clawed at his shoulder, recoiling back to see what would happen.

Dib looked up slowly at the other’s touch, raising a brow almost in confusion since he had been expecting something more painful that that. He didn’t say anything in fear of provoking him. He just simply stared at the other.

Zim still continued to growl and bare his teeth to him viciously, but seemed put off by Dib's terrified demeanor compared to how he had been either fight or flight recently. He continued to sway unsteadily on all fours, staring wildly at Dib.

Dib’s eyes narrowed a bit at as the other glared at him as if doing so would make the terrifying expression disappear. He remained very still as he didn’t know what to expect from Zim now.

Zim cringed away from him as he looked up at him, screeching in outrage as if Dib had somehow offended him. He pounced forward and slammed him back by the shoulders as he practically screamed in his face.

Dib screamed at the sudden attack though he fell silent as he made contact with the wall behind him. He turned his head to the side and ducked a little to avoid the sharp teeth that were dangerously close now..

Zim brought his hand up in a readied clawing position, swiping it down and crashing it on the side of his face. His glasses were knocked off and skidded across the smooth floor out of reach to Dib.

Dib’s mouth gaped at the stinging pain almost as if he were trying to cry out, but he just couldn’t. Crimson blood seeped from the deep cuts and ran down to his chin ever so slowly, creating long thin streaks down his face. He squinted through his blurry vision now as he searched desperately for his glasses now. That, however,  wasn’t too important to him now.

Zim screamed as well, startled by the others unexpected shriek of pain. He grabbed him by the front of his shirt and began to shake him violently again as he simultaneously ripped the already tattered fabric. "IB!!"

Dib stiffened his body to try and prevent his head from beating against the wall once again, though it had about once or twice. He only let out small whimpers, but he remained relatively quiet as he waited out the attack despite the pain.

Zim was not about to let him go again, and he made that very clear by the depths of his claws in Dib's arms. He just screeched and thrashed Dib around in a jerky, uneven and unsteady way in pure temperamental insanity.

A loud squeal finally escaped Dib’s throat as the claws struck him as it only added to the discomfort from being thrashed around so violently.

Zim continued to thrash him around for a while as he screeched, frustrated his hands wouldn't tear him apart. "IB!!" He screamed, choking as flecks of blood splattered onto the human's face. The Irken had paused his thrashing now, panting shallowly as the blood dripped from his bottom lip.

Dib breathed unevenly now as Zim stopped, his left eye opening slowly to see the Irken with translucent-pink liquid dribbling from his lips. This would have been a perfect time to run since it seemed he was losing his strength.He still remained, completely still in the other’s grip and  watching him through widened eyes.

Zim made that gurgling sound again as he coughed up more blood. It became apparent that the gurgling sound all along had been him choking on his own blood, even at school when he had started losing his mind about a month previously.

Realizing this made the boy shudder as more blood continued to stream almost endlessly from Zim’s lips, creating quite the horrifying sight. He made the decision to part himself from Zim’s grip and push him off of him, which sent the Irken flying back onto the floor. He lept up and rushed towards the door, reaching out for it and opening it halfway before pausing to look back at the gurgling Irken behind him almost in pity.

Zim had collapsed onto his side where Dib had carelessly tossed him. He clawed at the floor as blood still trickled in a thin stream from the corner of his mouth to the scarred floor, eyes staring blank and dead at the overturned TV as he gasped like a fish out of water. One hand inched forward, just above his head, as if he were trying to reach out to Dib; physically and subconsciously trying to reach him.

Dib groaned and closed his eyes in a brief pause to collect himself, drawing in a deep breath. He turned and closed the door to a small crack again before approaching the other slowly, standing over him a moment before allowing himself to sink to the Irken’s level. He outstretched a shaking hand towards Zim’s body and pulled hiim into his arms, lifting his head a bit it a bit to try and rid him from the choking. “Z-Zim..?”

Zim convulsed a bit in his arms, but for once it was due to the massive stress he had been putting on his body to keep moving at the condition he was in. When his head was tilted up enough, he gagged a bit and choked up a mouthful of blood. He did not possess the strength or mentality to spit it out though, letting it pour from parted jaws and drip onto both his shirt and Dib's arms.

Dib whined as he came to terms with the fact that the blood had to come out. Zim being unable to spit it out could result in him suffocating and ultimately his demise, which he already decided couldn’t happen. He looked up now and scanned the dark room through narrowed eyes for something he could use to remove the liquid from his throat. His eyes ended up landing on a filthy straw not too far from his reach. A chilling idea filled his mind now as he stared at the straw through strained eyes. Within a moment, he had reached over and grasped it in his hand, his body progressively shivering more severely as he started from the straw and back to Zim. Then, without hesitation, he stuck the straw into Zim’s parted mouth and began to suck the other’s blood from his throat. When his mouth was full, he would empty it on the floor with a scream of pure terror and agony before repeating the process about three more times. By that time, he threw the straw down and squealed in trepidation. Some of the other’s blood had began to trickle down his throat, leaving a scaring taste in his mouth.

Zim tensed his body as he felt him shove the straw down his throat. He convulsed weakly as Dib sucked out the blood. By the time he pulled away completely, Zim was gasping heavily for the air he had been deprived of for a while.

Dib only stared blankly down at the other as small beads of blood continued to trickle both out of his mouth and down his throat. He was barely phased by the fact that Zim could breathe now as the horror and shock of what he had just done seemed to keep him frozen there for several moments.

Zim was resting weakly now, though he was far from thankful or even responsive. Those blank eyes still stared off without focusing even for a second. He still gave small sounds like his vocal chords couldn't stop the shrilling high pitched sound that made them smack against each other rapidly.

Dib hardly flinched at the sounds as he continued to stare blankly himself, his jaw still hanging open as he panted very shallowly.

Zim didn't have the energy to try and maim the human again, though his claws did weakly flail at him. They did nothing more than leave annoying prickles on his skin. He soon just went completely limp in his arms, head lolled back as he weakly gasped. "I..b.."

Dib’s only response to this was to look down at Zim almost with a faint expression of annoyance towards the other’s claws on his skin. He simply sat there with the other held loosely in his arms, waiting for the other to pass out which he was sure would happen soon. A small, disturbed smile creased his lips now as he watched Zim.

The blood was dried on his green cheek and jaw, the same blood that Dib had been sucking out from the back of his throat. Any other person would have gotten violently sick and at the very least vomited, but the boy appeared just as intermittent as Zim, but in a separate way.

After about five minutes or so, Dib was finally able to bring himself to move his limbs again. He worked the Irken out of his arms and back down on to the littered floor beneath them as he figured Zim would be alright for now. With that, he unsteadily pulled himself from the floor and walked mindlessly towards the door again. He almost seemed unaware of what his body was doing though.

As he approached the door, he opened it halfway and turned his head stiffly to look back at the Irken on the floor before finally heading out of the eerie base and towards his own house which held its own set of horrors now.

Zim did not follow him this time, or even make any hissing sounds on his way out. For now, it looked like the disturbed human was safe from the alien. That, however, did not mean he was safe from the attempts to destroy him.