ZADR Earthly Emotions

Pt.4

          Zim was growing tired of the silence. The stillness was making him go insane. A sudden cough was heard, and the Irken immediately grabbed the scarred chair and chucked it in its direction.
          “Ahh!” THUD! “Jeez! What was that for?!”
          “Show yourself! Zim is done with this game thing! Condition me now, or I’m leaving!”
          “How funny,” a second, more devious, voice  appeared to his far left. “A prisoner wishes to leave. You know, here at Hobo 13, there aren’t many rules about inmate treatment. I think it’s wise that you behave here, Zim.”
          “Prisoner?” Zim stepped away from the dull hanging light, hoping to conceal himself. He walked cautiously forward. “Hobo 13 is a training facility, Stupid.”
          “Oh not anymore,” the same voice was further away but had changed direction. It was now behind him.
          Zim continued a few steps, trying his best to remain silent. He suddenly became aware of many people around him.
         “You see,” Zim turned suddenly at the voice to see a male alien of the yellow bug – like race glaring at him under the light, “This facility came about shortly after that mishap of yours with Sergeant Hobo 678.” Much like Renk, this creature was quite taller than the Irken. “When you were mistakenly seen as not a defective, they wanted to place you far away from them and prove to you just how horrible of an Invader you are. Perhaps here, you’ll come out less…eccentric…and more willing to stay in the food industry as you’ve been-“
          Zim cut off the alien by running in the opposite direction.
          “Hey!” A number of feet charging after him echoed off the metal walls. Zim wasn’t sure where he was going but knew this place had to have an exit other than the door he came through. He slammed against a wall, shook his dazed head, and felt it desperately for any sign of a door. That’s when he was tackled to the ground. Zim cried out in anger.
          “Let go of me! I’m an Irken, do you know who you’re dealing with?!”
          The aliens didn’t respond but began hitting him mercilessly. Zim fought against them as best he could, but without his PAK’s legs, he was left helpless against so many opponents. He grunted and coughed with each blow to his midsection and legs. One hit to his head in particular soon sent him into complete darkness before he found himself being dragged to his feet and lead down a hallway.
          He could barely comprehend the interior. More browns blurred in his vision, and the sounds of the aliens talking was muffled. His PAK had kicked into gear, slowly repairing the damage done to his body from the inside.  His body was very weak during such extensive repairs, and all he could do was keep himself from falling over as he was pulled. A sudden shift in direction alerted him, and darkness took over once more.
          …
           Zim always forgot what waking up felt like. Such an odd feeling. His eyes still closed, he only sensed the heaviness of his small frame. He attempted to move his antennae, but even that was proving to be a challenge. He no longer hurt, so why was this so? Frustration loomed when he realized even his eyes weren’t opening nor could he make a sound. What had they done to him?! Zim’s mind reeled. Panic stricken, the Irken quickly began to run through possibilities. Was he drugged? Had they paralyzed him?
          A small hand touched his shoulder, “Hey? Zim?”
          Zim suddenly sat up in a jerk, his breathing erratic and eyes wild. He grabbed the gloved hand hard, but immediately let go. “S-Skooge?!” His attention left Skooge as soon as it’d been caught by him and took in the tight confines of the dark area. The soft blue room was so small that the only objects in it were two rounded cushions in basins, similar to Earth beds. The small amount of light leaked through an enormous window at the beds’ feet. It was nighttime.
          “Z-Zim, are you alright?”
          “Huh?” Zim’s eyes narrowed, “Where are we? What are you doing here?”
          The chubby Irken looked confused, “We’re at Hobo 13’s new prison. You got hurt pretty bad, are you okay now?”
          “Oh…” The memories were coming back with his words. Zim removed a glove and pulled back a sleeve to inspect himself. No bruising was present. He looked up at the companion he hadn’t seen in months. “So uh…” He started in a casual tone, “ Why are you here? Didn’t you, you know, die or something? Are you able to die?  I thought I saw that monster eat you.”
          Skooge only shrugged, “After it got hold of the Sergeant, it eventually lost interest and dropped me. I was lost here, and no one was answering my distress signal. But eventually the Coleks came and moved this building here. They said if I helped get the prison up, they’d give me a ride back to Irk.” His antennae drooped slightly, and he averted his eyes. “They must have forgot and assumed I was a prisoner. They said if I did a sentence of ten years, they’d let me go free. That was just a few days ago…”
          Zim was quiet for a moment before laughing hysterically and pointing at him. He continued for a few seconds till he needed air and took a deep breath, “I mean, um” Zim coughed awkwardly at Skooge’s discomfort. “So, they just built a prison over the training ground? Why?”
          “Yeah,” He said in a matter of fact tone, “I’m not sure why, but although the Irken Empire was responsible, they had the Coleks run it. They’re pretty similar to Irkens, you know.”
            “Why have I never heard of them?”
          “Well,” Skooge took a step back to sit on his own bed and face Zim. His invader uniform was battered slightly from the day of hard work. “I have a feeling their race isn’t nearly the size of Irkens. Although they have a lot in common with us…”
          “Hah, like what? They’re just dumb, and their facility is laughable at most. It’s a dump!”
          “It is, but it’s impenetrable. And without our PAK accessories, it’s even more impossible to escape. They’ve thought about having Irken inmates. There also aren’t any ships for people to leave in. The only traffic is for new prisoners or when someone is freed and escorted back home... You know, it’s kinda nice to have another Irken here.” Skooge smiled slightly and continued, “The others are okay, but I know they don’t think like we do.”
          “Of course they don’t. They’ve just brainwashed you, or you’d have gotten by them by now.” Zim hopped off his bed and stopped at the large window. His eyes peered sternly at it before bringing back a fist.
          “Zim, it won’t work.”
          Ignoring him, Zim punched as hard as he could and immediately recoiled, “Ahh!!! What are these made of?! No matter, we’ll find another way out…” The small Irken proceeded to crawl about the room, investigating for weak spots. Staying silent, Skooge merely moved his legs for him crawl under his bed and back out. “Agh!” Zim popped back up and grabbed hold of the door’s metal frame. There was no handle of any kind to let them out. He yanked on its sides  as hard as he could but nothing happened. He dropped his head, and his antennae lay flat in angered defeat.
          “Zim-“
          “It doesn’t make any sense.” Zim’s voice had faltered slightly, but he attempted to collect himself. “Why would the Tallest imprison me? This must be a mistake. They said Hobo 13 had a new training facility, not a prison.”
          Skooge was silent for a moment before speaking softly, “The Tallest…between you and me…um…”
          Zim’s antennae perked up at this, and he turned to face Skooge.
          Skooge avoided eye contact and instead looked to his hands, “I may have been the first invader of Impending Doom 2 to succeed, but…”
          “What?”
          “I uh… it’s obvious they don’t feel respect for me.”
          “Oh no, they hate you.” Zim continued to inspect the door.
          “Yeah…” Skooge’s eyes were beginning to sting a bit, but he continued, “I don’t think they care for the invaders much…”
          Zim turned and blinked blankly, “Of course they do, they just don’t like you. Perhaps you didn’t succeed in a way they wished you would have…or something.” He’d added the last part with very little interest. He cared little for comforting others, but would defend the Tallest with all he could.
          Skooge fiddled with the end of his top, “Do you think maybe they could have, you know,…lied to you about things?”
          Zim couldn’t hide the nervousness behind his weak chuckle, “Oh Skooge, the monsters here simply have placed things in your head. They tried to tell me they imprisoned me on purpose. But I won’t fall for it!” he declared. “It’s no wonder the Tallest can’t take you seriously, being that gullible.”
          “Yeah,” he whispered, more to himself. He watched as Zim proceeded to rummage through his bedding. “Hey, Zim?”
          Zim didn’t look up, “What is it?”
          “What were your planet’s dominant species like?”

        ~  “Dib fell asleep in his breakfast again,” mumbled Gaz.
          Dib’s head shot up, “Huh?! What?” He brushed toast crumbs out of his hair.
          “I need you kids to be awake and sharp today,” Professor Membrane lowered his newspaper a bit, “We don’t get many weekends together, and we’re looking at the MUSEUM OF SCIENCE today! …Dib!”
          “Oh! Uh, yeah?” he’d already dozed off while rested on his hand.
          His father’s eyes peered at him, “This is an important trip, Son. You and your sister are young, but I hope this will inspire you to be the best scientists you can be.”
          Gaz hopped out of her chair and headed for the living room, “Scientists are stupid.”
          “Yeah,” Dib stopped, “Well, wait, no…they’re smart… But we’ve been to the museum multiple times, Dad. Can’t we just stay home?” Dib wanted to get back to the feed of Zim’s vanished base.
          “Hahahaha ohhhhh of course not, Son!”

         Dib stared absently out of the car window for the entire trip, his mind not leaving Zim. He needed to get back to the live feed. He needed to see if the Irken had come back yet. His heavy eyes were barely able to stay open. ‘Why did you get rid of your base, Zim?’ he thought. ‘It's not like I'd just give up looking for you if you disappeared. And what was the point in wiping everyone’s minds? You could have wiped mine too. Now everyone just thinks I’m crazier than they used to…’
          “That’s it!” Dib yelled gleefully, his energy rushing back like a switch had been hit. Gaz and their father jumped at his sudden outburst in the back seat. “Zim’s just messing with me! That has to be it! He’s trying to make me go insane with him gone! He thinks he can get rid of me that easily, he’s wrong!” He raised his fist in a burst of confidence, “I’ll never give up finding that lizard! He can’t make me crazy!”
          “Because you already are.”
          Dib ignored Gaz's comment and grinned as the car stopped at their destination.  ‘I know your little plan, Zim. Don’t worry, I’ll always be prepared for your return.’ His heart raced with excitement at the thought. “I can’t wait to laugh when you see how ready I am…’ He entered through the large revolving doors of the exhibit. Space paraphernalia spread across the walls and in displays. They passed a large NASA logo and photos of known galaxy types .  ‘In fact…’ Dib stopped and his eyes focused on the model space ship hanging above the lobby's desk. His smile became dubious, ‘I’m going to find you before that…’