Bitten

Ch. 1

It was truly a bad habit. Sure, going after paranormal and strange creatures was what being a self-proclaimed paranormal investigator was all about- but this was ridiculous! He always got hurt somehow, and he was quite sick of it, to be honest. But this time, this case- they had taken the cake. It was that damn vampire’s fault! The eighteenth-century pretty boy had wasted no time in sneaking up on Dib and bestowing upon him the kiss of death. Death of his human life, anyways . .  . Now he was doomed to roam about an immortal, blood-thirsty savage; and that, Dib decided, was something he did not want to do. 

So, as he knew that his father would simply call him crazy, he had to enlist his enemy to save him. After all, Zim had the best lab in the city (well, probably the world with his Irken technology), and Dib needed him. Boy, did that knowledge hurt going down! But the inevitable was inevitable, and Dib sighed as he knocked on the purple door to Zim’s base, wondering how many times he had done that in the past seven years the alien had taken up residence here on Earth.

To the relief of Dib’s inner coward, it was not the alien who opened the door, but his slightly dysfunctional robot, Gir, who made strange but kick-ass waffles. The peppy little robot squealed at the site of the lanky teen, paying no mind to the new paleness and fangs as he hugged him around the middle and said “It’s been so long since you’ve been here, Mary! Why doesn’t you visit no more? You make my piggy and my master sad! After all, master-”

“ENOUGH, GIR!!”

The familiar screech made Dib sigh, and he turned to behold the green Irken, Zim, crossing his arms and studying him curiously. Dib gulped- he wasn’t used to being stared at so intently. It made him uncomfortable. And hot . . . Not that he’d admit that. Maybe it was just the temperature inside the base . . . Sure, that was it. At any rate, something needed to be said, and Zim was never one to be short on words.

“So, Dib-stink, what brings you to my base? I haven’t seen you in, what has it been, three months now?”

Dib nodded. “Almost seven, actually. I mean, with so many paranormal cases popping up, you can’t expect me to stay at hi-skool and listen to teachers drone on about doom all day, right?” he laughed nervously, rubbing the scars on the side of his neck nervously. What he had said was true, but his evasion was not going unnoticed.

Zim raised a brow inquisitively. “Though I have grown accustomed to your ramblings, hyuman, I warn you that my patience wears thin. Spit it out! You must have a reason for getting past the re-vamped security gnomes just to see me. I know you do! What is it, human- tell me now!”

Dib smiled sadly and said “Actually, you can’t insult me by calling me a human anymore.”

Zim’s antennae popped out of his wig in surprise. “What? What are you saying, Dib? Is this a trick?!” Zim hissed, antennae flattening against his skull. Dib shook his head gravely, and in the blink of an eye went from standing outside to the center of Zim’s living room, and back again to stand beside Zim. The Irken gasped and flinched at Dib‘s sudden appearance, and Gir giggled manically. 

“You fast now!! Hee-hee!”

“What are you?” Zim whispered. Dib turned to face him directly, and opened his mouth to reveal a set of glistening, razor-sharp teeth. He then reached behind his glasses, and pulled out a honey-colored contact, revealing his now crimson irises. “A v-vampire?” Zim gaped and took a small, involuntary step back. “Why did you come here?!” he demanded, feeling slightly scared and confused as all hell.

Dib looked at him morosely, and said “Zim, I need your help. Please.”

“And why do you think I would assist YOU, Earthling?” Zim snarled.