Ib (invader zim)

Ch.16

Chapter Sixteen

Dib bit down firmly on his lip before shakily stepping forward and pulling him slowly up the creaky stairs. Since it was dark, he squinted his eyes in an attempt to see a bit clearer in the small amount of light that he had. As he slowly made his way up the stairs, whispering the Irken's name in an attempt to draw him out from his hiding place. In a situation such as this, Dib preferred to know where Zim was rather than him be out of sight with the possibility of a surprise attack.

After a minute of crawling painfully slow up the stairs, he finally made it to the top with the sight of the illuminated room at the end of the hallway; the same room his sister's decomposing body lay on the metal table.That light was still on, but there weren't any sounds. Either the Irken was being especially quiet, or he wasn't there at all.

Dib's feet were planted deeply where he stood, hesitating to go any closer to the room. Memories and dreadful images of what lay in that room began to torture him again the longer he stood staring at that room. He wouldn't budge any further towards the room now, so he began to make small noises to try and coax the other from wherever it was that he was hiding.

Zim was not coming or responding to the sounds, not even with hisses or gurgles that he usually made. It was just quiet, but there was a small shift in the shadow in the room at the end of the hall.

Dib squinted his eyes a bit more as the shadow shifted. He remained completely still for about thirty seconds before his undying curiosity got the best of him and he forced his foot forward in a small step. Before his mind even had a moment to protest, he was stepping silently towards the dreaded room ever so slowly as not to cause anymore noise. The closer he got, the more he could see the shadow moving. Back and forth, but it never seemed to shift to get up and leave the room.

Dib was in front of the doorway now, though he stood off to the side just so his left eye poked around the corner to look into the room. He breathed slowly and quietly as he took in everything he saw now.

Zim was in there, in full view as he stared off at the wall. And there lie Gaz's body, parts eaten away and her clothing in shreds. The deranged Irken's hand shakily moved through her hair, petting it back slowly as he stared at the wall.

The chilling scene caused Dib's eyes to widen and his mouth the gape slightly, a small chill running down his spine. His breathing grew a little stiff and shallow for a moment but it had never gotten too loud as to give his position away.

Zim seemed too busy with the female though, stroking over her hair. The normal purple color was matted together with dried blood, her fierce aggression no more. Zim leaned down to her neck, almost seeming to be kissing it at first glance.

Though horrified, Dib couldn't help but be a little curious as well. The scene was almost sentimental, though horrible nonetheless. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through Zim's deranged mind in this moment, or even if anything was going through his mind at all.

It was strange to see the calm in the beast after brutally killing her. He continued to stroke her hair, face pressed slightly to her cut neck as his lekku lowered back almost in a soothed manner.

Dib wasn't focused on his sister's mangled body now, but more on the Irken's state now. Zim combed through her hair almost affectionately as he laid there. Maybe a small part of his surviving conscious forced him to feel a bit of remorse toward his actions.

Even as he avoided gazing at Gaz's body, the stench was something that just couldn't be ignored. Dib had held himself from causing too much of a fuss over it, but now it was unbearable. As much as he tried to hold back, he couldn't suppress the audible gag that escaped his throat. His eyes widened as all of his movement ceased as he knew Zim surely took notice of such a disturbance.