Painting the Roses Red (An Ib AU)

Chapter 5: New People

Ocean's Point of View

"U-um..." Jack mumbled as I crawled over to the red door and opened it.

"Well..." I said speechless. I walked down the hall, shudders coming over me.

"The **** was that...?" I mumbled and Jack shrugged. A crunching noise interrupted my train of thought. I looked at my shoes, where I'd just stepped on a midnight-black rose petal. Jack looked down and picked it up.

"Someone else is here...?" He gasped. I looked around, following the trail of petals. They led to a small description on the wall.

'The Blue Lady.' It states yet, there was no picture while Jack and I looked confused.

"W-what...?" He looked around. Jack walked up to a glowing blue vase and put his rose inside feeling better. I looked around for some sign that there was another person here. I stepped into the hallway, and finally found the clue. 

A man moaned in pain on the floor. A key lay just out of his grasp. He was face-down, his blue hoodie on, and hoodie up. I took the key and sprinted to Jack, spotting a door next to him and I silently opened it.

Another woman-painting, in blue, was currently biting into a midnight black rose, a single white petal in the center. I snatched it up quickly. She spotted me just as I closed the door, running away. She crashed through a nearby window and followed us, not noticing Jack pushed up against the wall in the next room. She slowed down as I sprinted into Jack's room, tossing the rose into the blue vase. It grew into a full midnight rose, three white petals in the middle like a moon.

I touched the tip of the rose, it was pretty. I wondered if this was the man in pain's rose.  I took Jack by the hand and led him to the man, still lying-in severe pain.

"Oh." Jack whispered. I stood over the man, not quite knowing what to do. I looked his shoulder awkwardly while I could hear Jack mumbling 'Pfffft' in the background.

"Mmm..." The man started looked up.

"What's this? The pain's gone... oh?" He said as he looked at me.

"****!" He said as he jumped backwards away from me, as if he was afraid.

"What is it this time?! I don't have anything left!!" He hissed, holding his hood over his face. The only thing visible was his eyes. Suddenly, his grip on the hood flattered as he stared at Jack and me.

"O-oh. A... are you from the gallery?" He asked as Jack nodded energetically, grinning playfully.

"Yeah!" He said and I nodded calmly.

"Oh! Awesome, there are people other than me and those lunatics." The man grinned, taking his mask off and reviling an olive-colored face and brown hair.

"Oh, yeah. What's you dudes' names?" The man asked.

"I'm Jack. Nice jacket." Jack grinned.

"Thanks, friend." The man smiled said as he looked at me.

"Ocean. Some people call me Wolf." I started.

"You seem cool; want to go with us? We're looking for a way out." Jack explained.

"Yeah, sure friend." The man smiled.

"I'm Rick. Sup!" He said coolly. Then I pushed the wall with my hand and was surprised to see it crumble. I stepped through, a slight feeling of fear going over me when I stepped into a near pitch-black darkness. A glint on the ground however spared my eyes. I picked up a Red Glass Ball. Not knowing what to do with it, I tossed it to Jack for him and Rick to see it as I shrugged.

"Hey, there's the snake thingy-" Jack says as he walked up to a snake painting, a hole where the eye should be.

"If this works-" Rick muttered with hope in his voice. Jack pushed the ball in, and a painting dropped at my feet.

"Behind the tree..." I said, reading the back of the painting.

"Hmm. Hey, what's this over here?" Rick said, scratching his brown hair. He pointed to a narrow and short-looking hallway. I heard something behind it, so I silently and slowly peeked around the corner to look it.

"You guys go ahead through that door." I said as I pointed to the unexplored room. I'll see what this is.

"Are you going to be, okay?" Jack said in concern, and I smiled.

"My life depends on a flower, and we're stuck in a curse gallery. I'm alright!" I whispered happily, twirling my rose. I peeked around the corner to see a single painting, deep blue flower petals surrounding it. The painting didn't notice me with its nightmarish eyes and smile, instead looking down on a body.

"Give it to me...!" The painting creepily whispered.

"I a m n o t d o n e w i t h d i n n e r." The painting smiled creepily. The body lay there, silently. Blood poured out from the back of his neck, red hair nearly covering the rose-like wound. His back was to me, in a black jacket and jeans.

"N-no!" He said weakly.

"I'd rather d-die here than e-eaten by a f-freaking flower." The man continued. I sighed in relief at the painting's lack of hands and feet. I walked up to the body the rose from his pale hand. He didn't try to take it back. Instead, he weakly laughed.

"I told y-you..." He spoke. I walked back and spotted the vase I hadn't used yet. I put the stem inside the vase and watched as the petals returned; deep blue and huge petals, pink lightly dotting them. I took it back and inspected it. I quietly walked back to the body, who was rubbing the back of his neck, the rose wound was gone. I heard a clanking sound and the noise of Jack and Rick but ignored what they found.

"Hey, what happened...?" The man said as he sat up now facing me. He didn't look at me; did he even notice me? He had glasses on his black eyes, and red hair.

"Yeah, take that you son of a *****!" He turned to the painting. He finally looked up at me, fear in his eyes.

"Whoa, ****! What the **** is it now?!" He yelled, but his aggressiveness turned to concern and sorrow.

"Oh. Wait... You're a person!" He said as he tickled my side, and a giggle escaped my lips.

"Hi! I'm Ocean but call me Wolf!" I said with a huge grin on my face... The man grinned wide; and rather silly, too.

"Thomas, friends call me Tommy" He said as we hugged for a minute.

"D-did you find anyone else here?" He asked weirdly.

"WE FOUND IT!" We heard someone say as we heard the sound of footsteps and Rick's victorious shout made Tommy jump. Jack and Rick, with smiles on their faces, came into view.

"Hey, Ocean did ya-" Jack started, but saw Tommy and he gasped.

"Tommy!" Rick said recognizing the man as well, and I was trapped in a group hug.

"Can't- Breathe!" Tommy and I choked. Jack and Rick pulled away, grinning.

"Sorry!" Jack started.

"Oh yeah." Rick revealed his hand behind his back, showing flowers.

"Oh, look at Rick! Someone's the ladies' man!" Tommy said as he whistled. Rick, with his hoodie off, instantly paled.

"Tommy, you ******!" Rick said as I then see Rick whisper into Tommy's ear, so I wouldn't hear. After that Rick punched the man's shoulder lightly and Jack chuckled.

"I'm so sorry!" Jack whispered in my ear.

"It's okay." I said as I giggled.

"Flowers... GIVE ME!" The painting roared.

"That painting's man-" Jack joked as he smirked. Rick shot him a look of pure evil before throwing the flowers into the painting and it laughed.

"Thank you...! As promised, you shall go through now." The face on the painting disappeared, showing a passageway.

"Well, this is safe." Rick sarcastically muttered before crawling through.