A Place in Our World - Invader Zim Fan Fiction

Chapter Three - Chase

There was no way Dib could outrun Zim like this.

Dib ducked behind a vial of pink fluid as the scraping of Zim's PAK legs drew too close. The vial shattered as the jagged tip of a spider-like leg burst through the glass. It barely missed Dib's back.

The pink goo flooded everywhere. Dib managed to keep his footing and kept running.

Zim spluttered in anger at the mess of fluid, but pursued Dib. "I've got you now, you pathetic worm-baby!"

Dib could not help but shout back, "We'll see about that!"

Zim cackled viciously and Dib glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a large metal slab flying his way.

Dib yelped and ducked out of the way, slipping on a stray cord and falling face first onto the cold tile. The metal slab had left a dent in the alien contraption ahead. It had almost damaged the elevator.

Zim loomed over Dib, chuckling menacingly. "Who's laughing now, pig smelly!" He aimed another PAK leg at Dib's head.

Dib raised his case up at the last second, blocking the blow. The tip of the leg stuck through, inches away from Dib's glasses.

Thinking quickly, Dib twisted the case and the leg with it, throwing Zim off balance long enough for Dib to scramble to his feet and dart for the elevator.

Zim roared with anger and ran after Dib, case still stuck on his robotic leg and clanking loudly on the ground with each step.

Dib stepped in the elevator and hit the button just in time, as Zim's PAK legs tried to pierce through the closing door.

The elevator shot upwards and Dib braced himself on the edges of the cylinder.

"That was a little too close..." Dib panted. His adrenaline and heart beat was sky high. But this was not the deadliest of his battles with Zim, so he kept a level head.

As soon as the elevator opened up into the trash can, Dib leapt out and ran for the kitchen door. The moose was nowhere in sight and the smoke had drifted away. He half expected Zim to come crawling up through one of the other lab exits, but there was no sign of the green head.

Dib made it to the front door without resistance. He did not stop running until he was at the edge of Zim's lawn. He tried to catch his breath and glanced over his shoulder.

Zim would not chase him out here without his disguise in broad daylight, so Dib was safe from alien technology. But he expected Zim to at least... hurl an insult or something from the door.

Zim had not left the lab. The door was still open. The house was quiet.

Dib stared at the house, not sure what to make of it. Zim just... gave up chasing him? "Zim? Hello?"

"Nyah!" The purple moose was suddenly behind Dib again.

"Ack!" Dib yelped, jumping away from the hovering contraption.

The moose floated past Dib and back into the house. The door slammed shut behind it, and then it was quiet again.

Dib sighed. "Well, there goes my stuff. I'll have to come back for it tomorrow... Gaz is going to kill me."

He ran down the street, casting one last look at Zim's house as it shrunk out of sight. He would figure out how to expose Zim... without putting the entire planet in jeopardy again. But he still had one day left in the weekend to figure it out. He would just get an early start tomorrow.

After a quick jog back home, Dib burst into the house and ran upstairs.

"Dib!" Gaz growled from the sofa. "You're cutting it close!"