Chapter Text
Chapter One
Estevez blinked. He took one quick glance around, then blinked again. Nothing changed. He tried a third blink, just to be sure. The scene remained the same.
A strange opaque haze clouded his vision, limiting his field of view to a one foot radius. Vague silhouettes moved within that fog, just out of sight. Within his shortened field of view stood a familiar figure, face slightly blurred by the pervasive haze.
Zimmerfield.
It took a few moments of concentration to bring the name to memory. The dim light and otherworldly silence seemed to have dimmed his mind as well. Once the name surfaced in his wandering mind, he felt a surge of joy so intense it caught him quite off-guard. Why was he so happy at the sight of his old friend? There must be a reason. He tried to recall his recent history, but came up blank.
He looked over at his friend. Zim looked back, his placid, stoic expression achingly familiar. A bittersweet well of emotion sprang up in his chest at the sight, making his eyes water treacherously.
'Hey, man' was all he could muster by way of greeting
'Hey back. It's good to see you,' came the reply after a moment's silence.
'So, what you doing, Zim?' Estevez asked.
'Doing? I'm waiting' Zimmerfield said, as though this should have been obvious.
'What you waiting for?' Estevez asked, when it was clear that no more information was coming his way.
'I dunno,' Zim said, 'for someone. I think. Someone will come.'
'So, what do I do? Wait with you?'
'Wait with me' Zimmerfield echoed 'seems like it.'
They stood in silence, and the shadowy figures ahead receded further into the shrouding mist. The detectives shuffled forwards a few steps until they brought their vague companions back into view.
Estevez let his mind wander. It seemed to want to do that in this strange place. He had no idea why he was here, or what had come before. All attempts to remember were fruitless, vague snatches of memory emerging briefly from the depths of his mind, just to sink beneath the surface again, too quickly to grasp at any meaning to them.
His mind's eye pictured a man in a bright jacket, his face wearing an even brighter smile, slightly inane looking. A girl with a vacant expression, a woman with the most incredible hair and a beautiful smile. A dog. Was that significant? Why would he think of a dog?
Estevez cleared his throat.
'Zim?'
'Yep?'
'How did we get here?' he asked. He couldn't remember, but maybe his old friend had figured it out.
'Get here?' Zimmerfield replied, 'I dunno, man. I think I've always been here. Haven't we always been here?'
'I...' Estevez stopped, confused, and tried to concentrate, to think of … what was he trying to think of?
'Yeah,' he continued, 'yeah, that's right. We're here, we always have been. Where else would we be, right? Nowhere else TO be. That's right. Right here. As always.' He felt as though he was trying to convince himself of this self-evident fact. He briefly recalled the dog. He couldn't see a dog anywhere. Couldn't see anything except Zimmerfield, the ever present white mist and a few dark silhouettes ahead.