Gaz held a shaking boy by his collar against the wall.

"I swear," she hissed. "If you ever try to trip me again, I will tear your intestines out and eat them in front of your dying body."

The boy shivered.

"Do you understand? Gaz asked.

"Y-yes," he whimpered.

Gaz stomped off to class.

Her fit of rage was interrupted by an announcement on the intercom.

"Good afternoon, students, faculty, staff, and visitors," it said. "At this time, I ask that you please exit the building immediately. Please go with your class if possible."

A pause.

"If you are not currently with your class, please join the class closest to your current location.
"Once you are outside, teachers, please lead your students to the underground safe houses. Students, you will wait there until you receive further instructions."

And that was all.

Gaz looked around. She joined Dib's class, even though it wasn't closest to her.

Dib looked around. His pupils were dilated.

"Zim," Gaz heard him say. "The Armada…"

Zim nodded. He also looked afraid.

"Dib," Gaz said. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain once we're safe, okay?" he answered.

Gaz opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it. It was no use arguing.

Once Gaz was outside, she noticed that her skin stung a little. She scratched it.

She gagged.

Her skin instantly broke open, the same way that a knife could cut a plastic bag of microwaved food. She stared in horror. The parts where her clothes rubbed against her skin were raw and bloody. She rubbed her arm softly. Once again, blood streamed out.

"Help!" She yelled. But when she looked around. Everyone was covered in their own blood.

"Don't breathe it in!" Someone yelled.

Kindergarteners were lying on their sides, coughing up blood.

They were dead seconds later.

Tears streamed down Gaz's face. This wasn't supposed to happen. A normal Tuesday afternoon shouldn't result in people drowning in their own blood.

When they were inside the underground safe houses, Gaz immediately spotted her father looking at monitors nearby.

She ran over to him.

"Dad," she sobbed, hugging him tightly.
"Daughter! Are you alright?" Professor Membrane spotted the blood on his daughter's body.
"Dad!" said Dib, running over. He, too, had some blood on him.
"Dad…," Gaz choked. "I-I saw l-little kids d-die."
Professor Membrane stroked Gaz's back in attempt to calm her down.
"It's alright. It wasn't your fault. Now come, both of you. Whatever was in the air is eating away people's skin. I need to get the rest of it off you."

He lead them into a room. It looked a little like a hotel room, except with a lot of computers and other monitors.

"Gaz looks like she got injured a little more, so I'll let her shower off first," Professor Membrane said, handing Gaz a pair of pajamas.
Gaz staggered into the bathroom, faint from blood loss.

In the end, Gaz couldn't even get dressed without the professor's assistance.

Professor Membrane cleaned and wrapped bandages around Gaz's bloody wrists and ankles. He set her down in the king-sized bed in the center and gave her something to eat and drink. She nibbled on the food he gave her, but the professor could tell that she was nauseated. If he saw children die and lost so much blood, he'd be, too.

"Son, it's your turn," he said, turning to Dib. He handed Dib his clothes.

Professor Membrane sat next to Gaz on the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Gaz said. But then her lip began to quiver.
"It's just not fair how those kids had to die," she said. She hiccuped.

"I know, Honey," the professor answered. Gaz hugged Professor Membrane's arm, and Professor Membrane set her down on his lap.

"What's going on, exactly?" she asked.
"We're not one-hundred percent sure," Professor Membrane answered. "Some kind of terrorist attack, obviously."
He stared off.
Gaz hugged him tighter.

Dib exited the bathroom.

Professor Membrane cleaned and bandaged Dib's wounds, too.

"Son, since I built all of this, I'm going to tell everyone where they can stay to wait all of this out. Can you stay with Gaz and make sure she's okay?"
Dib nodded.
"She hasn't lost enough blood to need a blood transfusion," he went on. "But please make sure she stays in bed. If anything serious happens, come get me, of course."
"Yeah," Dib answered. "Of course."
"I'll be back in thirty minutes or less," Professor Membrane said.

He shot one more look of concern Gaz's way before heading out the door.

Professor Membrane ran down the hallway, his large lab coat flapping behind him. He ran into the main area of the shelter. Children were standing around, some with their families, some wandering around in a daze, and some with tears streaming down their faces. Some were laying on the floor, bleeding heavily.

Professor Membrane gathered up all of his strength.

He walked up to the front of the room and took out a microphone.

"Excuse me, everyone," he said.
The commotion in the room settled a little.
"Um," he went on. "I know what a crisis we are all in. So I want you all to listen to what I am about to say."

Professor Membrane looked down at his feet for a second.

"If you don't already know, I am Professor Membrane, the man who created these safety shelters. Because I built it, I know it well."
He paused.
"If you are a doctor who works here, please walk up to the front."
A couple of people in white coats pushed through the crowds.
"Please, if you feel your child is in need of blood, or very injured, come with the doctors."

The professor turned to the doctors and said, "Make sure to fix up the kids on the floor who can't get up and don't seem to know where their parents are. When their parents come, explain to them where they are."

The doctors nodded and went off to fulfill their duties.

He motioned to the security.

"This whole place is built in a similar way that a hotel is," said Professor Membrane. "If you have a family of ten nine, or eight, line up in this line. You will get your key. Seven, six, five, you're over on this line. Four, three, two, over here. If you're alone or with a spouse, friend, or other family member, please line up here.
"Once you get inside, please stay in the hotel room until you get further instructions. There are some MRE's and water jugs in your room."
He took a deep breath.
"Now, I have to go and take care of my kids. Please listen to my instructions. My team and I are trying our best to figure out what's going on."
With that, he ran back into his hotel room.

Dib stood there, holding Gaz's hand.
"Look Gaz," he said. "There he is."

Gaz looked over, her eyes lighting up. She still looked woozy, and also tired.

"I tried to get her to take a nap," Dib explained. "But she refused. Said she was waiting for you to come back."

"Well, I came back as soon as I possibly could," Professor Membrane answered. He sat next to Gaz. He picked her up and held her like a small child.

"Rest, Gaz," he said to her.
"Okay, Dad," she answered, snuggling into him. He was so warm. It felt nice.

Without waking his sleeping daughter, he grabbed his laptop. There was work to be done.

Dib joined the professor on the opposite side of the bed with his own laptop. He received an IM from Zim.

Hey. Dib-Worm. Have you told your father yet?

Dib wrote back:

No, not yet. I'm still waiting for you. If you show him what you really are, then he'll believe me.

Another IM.

Fine.

Dib knew there were over seven-billion people on the earth, but in this moment it felt like only he, his father, and his sister existed.

I tried to add some feels in this chapter. I hope I didn't go overboard.