Invader Zim: Living With The Enemy

La llorona - Part 1

It had been a few days since Zim had settled in the Membranes' house, and since day one, Dib couldn't sleep well.

Of course, he told Gaz and himself he would give Zim a chance, but the hard part was trusting him. He even woke up in the middle of the night and slipped a listening device under the guest room door. He thought that would make him less tense, but instead it only made him more paranoid, because he couldn't hear anything. Was Zim planning to poison him while he slept? Amputate his limbs?? Steal his brain??? Or maybe he was just sleeping? Do aliens even need to sleep?!

Dib got up after another sleepless night, his eyes stinging at the sigh of the sunlight coming through the window. Putting on his glasses, he walked to the mirror and looked at his own reflection.

"Damn, I look horrible."

He brushed his teeth, went downstairs and entered the kitchen, where Clem was eating a bowl of cereal. Literally. 

He now wore a flowered red shirt instead of a white lab coat.

"Good morning, so- ...Dib!" He immediately corrected himself, and looked very proud because of that.

"Good morning, Clem" the boy answered, though not very enthusiastic.

He just grabbed a piece of toast and prepared to go upstairs to do his homework, but when he passed through the room, Gaz called him.

"Hey, Dib, your stupid show is on."

He stopped and looked at the TV. Mysterious Mysteries of Strange Mystery was beginning. How long had been since he watched that?

He was paranoid for so long trying to discover Zim's next step that he even forgot how much he loved that show.

He was tempted to sit down and watch, but remembered the kind of "mysteries" they showed. It really was stupid, there were so many true mysteries to explore, but they wasted time showing things like a guy in a chicken suit.

True… Mysteries?..

Wait.

These guys were a fraud, but Dib was a real future paranormal investigator. It has always been his dream, and he was certainly good at it.

He then remembered the promise he made to himself days ago, about don't letting his obsession with Zim get in his way. There was still a whole world of mysteries waiting to be unraveled. That was his destiny.

"Dib?" Gaz called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You're just standing there staring at nothing with a dumb face for, like, three minutes."

"GAZ!" Dib shouted excitedly, scaring even his sister. "That's it!"

"What?" She looked at him in visible confusion.

"That!" He pointed at the TV. "That's what I needed! I can't just be stuck in here anymore, I was born to explore, and that's what I'm going to do."

Gaz rolled her eyes.

"I knew peace wasn't going to last long."

Dib didn't get offended by the comment. In fact, he didn't even pay attention. Now he was looking at the TV while the presenter mentioned stories of apparitions of a mysterious woman in the forest near the city.

"...Witnesses say they have seen figures and heard a female voice saying incomprehensible things."

The camera cut to a fat bald man. His face was blurred with a very bad edition.

"I saw figures and heard a female voice saying incomprehensible things!" He said.

"Oh, good" Gaz said, completely bored. "Dib, don't tell me you're going to-"

But before she could finish the sentence, Dib had already rushed into the bedroom.

She snorted and changed channels, then stopped to watch a Bloaty's Pizza Hog commercial.

-

With his briefcase ready and unwavering determination, Dib descended the stairs and ran for the door. He already had his hand on the doorknob when he heard his father's voice.

"Good morning son! I see you woke up excited today."

Instinctively he hid the briefcase behind his back. He turned and saw that Zim was standing beside the scientist.

"Good morning Dad. Good morning, um... Zim" he said, suddenly not as excited as before.

"I see you're going out to get some fresh air. I need to sort some things out now, what do you think about taking your friend with you?"

“But!..” Dib stammered. "Can't he stay with-"

"No," Gaz immediately interrupted as she passed through them and went to the kitchen.

"And… What about Clem?" He suggested.

"Who?" His father asked, confused.

The boy sighed. It was incredible how the mere presence of the alien could ruin everything.

But that was a very pessimistic thought. Perhaps it was a good opportunity to break down the uncomfortable mood that had set in over the past few days.

"Okay" he finally answered.

"Great! I'll be back in time for dinner. Have fun, you two!" And with that, the scientist left the room, leaving the boy alone with the alien.

"So where are we going, friend?" Asked Zim. The word sounded weird and empty coming from the alien, Dib thought, but said nothing about it.

"Uh, well, I was going out to investigate something."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah."

The two remained silent. Apparently, they had far more interesting subjects when they were enemies.

"...Let's go?" Dib asked.

"Let's go."

Dib opened the door and let the alien go first, then went out and closed it behind himself.