All Will Fade to Black ... (Garry X Reader - Ib)

Chapter 16

        The next hallway was much more ominous-feeling than the last, even with the guillotine pictures ... the floor, walls, and ceiling were a deep red. As you approached the corner in front of you, there was an audible sound of footsteps. 

       Running footsteps.

       You hurriedly stepped in front of Ib, using your body to shield her from whatever was approaching, but ... as quickly as they had started up, the footsteps seemed to fade away. Carefully, you peeked around the corner to see ... nothing. Well, nothing but a large painting frame, anyway. Ib looked up at you and cocked her head a little, but didn't say anything.

       Shaking your head, you proceeded forward through the red hallway, passing by the painting titled breath and crossing through a vibrant red door. The first thing you noticed was a huge blue sculpture of (what appeared to be) a blue woman melting titled "Uh." 

       You couldn't help but chuckle a little, shaking your head as you lead Ib further into the room. Inside was a handful of paintings, another melting-woman statue, and a door on the opposite side of the room, the same vibrant red as the last door you passed through. You couldn't see all the paintings on the opposite side of the room, but you supposed you would get to that in a moment. Sighing, you mumbled, "All right. Let's see what puzzle we have to solve to get out of this room."

       The two of you first walked up to the blue and grey painting titled "Peacock Pattern." Remembering the green number on the white canvas from the last room, you had taken the time to scrutinize pattern ... though the effort had eventually made you dizzy. That's when you noticed Ib tugging a bit on your shirt. 

       "______? What does that word say?" she asked quietly, pointing to the word "Peacock." 

       "That is peacock, like the birds you see at the zoo," you said, smiling down at her.

      Ib nodded, then seemed to study the word for a little bit. You wondered if she was trying to commit it to memory. When she seemed to be finished, she smiled up at you, and the two of you moved on. 

       The red statue of a melting woman had a similar name to the blue one, "Ah."  You rolled your eyes. "They never said he was a genius when it came to naming things, I guess ..." Ib let out a little giggle next to you.

       You tried to smile back at her, but something behind the statue caught your eye. Long brown hair, a vibrant red dress, and malicious red eyes that studied you from across the room. A "Lady in Red."  What's more, she was suspiciously different from her original painting you had seen in the gallery ... her fist was clenched around something.

       "Shit ..." you muttered under your breath, careful to make sure you were quiet enough for Ib to not hear. "Hey, Ib? Do you want to go back and check the Peacock Pattern again, just to see if I missed anything." You tried your best to sound convincing. "After all, you were the one who noticed the number on the white canvas!"

       Ib gave you a bit of a quizzical look, but nodded anyways, slowly walking over to the painting. Once you were certain she was fully involved in inspecting the painting, you turned to face the Lady in Red. 

       First, you opened with the double bird. Because that felt appropriate. Then, you slowly approached the painting. You knew it was alive. There was no way this one wasn't alive. You could almost see the smirk tickling the edge of her lips. However, as you approached, something else seemed to catch your eye. Her fist, only just visible on the edge of the portrait, held a key, just as red as the dress she was wearing. 

       'It ... couldn't be that easy, could it?' you wondered, looking back into the malicious red eyes, as if to read her expression. But so far, it hadn't changed. Slowly, you reached toward the frame, ready to shake it, when the painting suddenly flashed a sharp-toothed grin and hissed as it launched off of the wall towards you. 

       "Fuck!" you screeched. "Ib, run!" You turned and almost took off running, before you heard a metallic clattering. You hesitated. That hesitation was a mistake. 

       Searing claws raked your side then latched on, ripping a scream from your lips. "_______!" you heard Ib shout. 

       "Go! Back out the door!" you barked. You wrenched the claws from your waist and kicked the painting in the face, eliciting a roar in response. The painting seemed stunned for a moment, so you hurriedly ducked down and scooped the key off the ground before turning and running full sprint to the door the two of you originally came in. Ib was already there, watching from the doorway with wide, terrified eyes.

       Once you were through the door, you whirled around to see the painting crawling furiously after you, leaving a trail of dark green paint behind her, which seemed to be dripping from her nose. Her arm reached out to grasp you once again, and you slammed the door with such force you heard an awful crack and another pained roar from the other side. 

       For a moment, you and Ib just stared at each other, at a loss for words, before a loud banging started up, causing the both of you to jump and take a few steps back from the door. A blinding flash of pain lanced up your side, down your leg and up your neck. You clenched your jaw and hissed through your teeth, stumbling forward until you were propped up against a wall. "Fuck ..." you groaned, breathing suddenly shallow in an effort to decrease the amount of pain you felt.

       With tears in her eyes, Ib approached you. "_______, why did you do that?" she said, clearly struggling to speak through her tears. 

       Giving Ib a wry smile, you lifted the red key. "See? Easy as ... pie." Despite your words, another zing of pain shot through you, and you couldn't hold back your grimace. "We'll just have to hurry to get the door open. C-Can I have you unlock the door?"  

       Ib didn't say anything, just nodded and took the key from you. You could tell she was upset, but wasn't sure what to say. 

       "We'll have to wait for the Lady in Red to go away first," you mumbled, flinching as another round of punches thundered against the doors. Slowly, you used the wall you were leaning against to lower yourself to the floor. "If it's okay, uh ... I'm going to rest, for now."

       "Y-Yeah ..." Ib said, still looking at the ground. 

       For a moment, all was silent between you two (save for the occasional banging on the door) before Ib piped up. "_______? How many petals do you have left?"

        You blinked, having almost forgotten about the strange force tying your life to the strange flower. Slowly, you pulled it from your pocket, grimacing as you watched two petals fall when you did so. "One," you said matter-of-factly, though the thought left a sinking feeling in your stomach. How were you going to make this out alive? 

        Ib nodded, before settling down beside you. Now to wait ...