Painting the Roses Red (An Ib AU)

Chapter 13: They are after Us

Ocean's Point of View

I ducked back in the shadows, slamming a hand over Tommy's confused mouth silently, a male voice rang out through the house.

"Jack? Barry? Tommy? Where are you? It's me, Mark!" I hears as I pushed myself up against the wall until I felt as flat as a pancake. Tommy was still half-confused as to what just happened.

"Ocean? Come on... Just come out...!" Mark's voice rang through the home as he sounded disappointed. I was thinking of stepping out, but Tommy gripped my hand like it was the end of the world. I heard the door open and heard Mark leave. We all stepped out and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was Mark...!" Toby said as my throat started to hurt again.

"Let's just hurry and get out of here." I said in a small voice as Tommy looked at me sighing

"Ocean's right. Let's go." Tommy said as we were exploring the place a bit, I stumbled upon a flower that hasn't bloomed. Of course, it was the size of me, but still.

"Aww! Poor guy..." Jack whispered as I remembered the pond up ahead.

"Hey, we can water it with the bucket we found!" I said happily.

"Yeah!" Tommy said agreeing with me.

"Not sure how could that help..." I heard someone say as I watered the tulip. The tulip bloomed, something falling through its petals, and I obtained a Gallery Key.

"The Gallery! That building with the pallet thingy on top!" Barry remembered as he sprinted back the other way.

"Barry...!" Jack called running after him as Tommy and Toby walked after them. Rick looked at me, and then walked away, while I followed, stepping into the gallery. The first thing I saw was the blinding light, that's for starters. 

When the light cleared, I saw the white walls. It had drawings of all of us; and they weren't that bad. In the center of it all, sat a box, Pandora's Box. Rick stared it down for a minute.

"Let's open it!" He spoke.

'Why not?' I thought as I opened the box. Soon, shapes of all colors of the rainbow were all around us like waves of the ocean. I thought a pink seahorse was there.

"The **** was that?" Jack asked as he smiled. Me, still spaced out from the incident, blinked and ignored it. With a small mirror was in my hands.

"W... What...?" I whispered kind of blind.

"Okay, come on..." Tommy laughed, walking towards me, sweeping me off my feet, and carrying me to the next place. After we exited the bright gallery, I suddenly realizing that I was in someone's arms.

"Tommy?" I asked as I realized where I was.

"What?" He asked as he laughed.

"You're going to throw me off the edge?" I asked him jokingly.

"What makes you think that?" He asked me as he smiled.

"Eh. Fine! Less exercise!" I said as I threw my hands in the air, accidently hitting Tommy's nose by accident and I chuckled.

"Oops." I said while I smiled.

"Are you drunk?" He asked me jokingly as he walks towards a building with a patch sunlight in front of it, and ice blocking the doors.

"Nah. I'm just tired." I answered honestly as I smiled before rolling out of his arms and placing the mirror down in the sunlight. Tommy and Toby helped me to put the mirror in so it will hit the doorknob.

"Thanks." I said as I smiled at the two.

"No problem!" Toby grinned in a goofy way.

"I lived in a log cabin for a while! I know how this works!" Tommy giggled. Yet in the center of the blue room lay a key in the middle of switches and puzzles, as if they'd already been solved. We decided to keep going with caution as I grabbed the kay and got out.

Obtained the Plastic Key. We all decided to check the locked home next to this building; the key worked, and we walked in. All that was in the small white and pink room was a large box far wall. 'Toy Box'.

"It said there was a key in here.... wait. How deep is this thing?" Barry asked, moving his hands around inside the dark box.

"Wanna see?"

A sweet voice said behind me. I turned around and saw a familiar face. Amy. Liz. I saw her sad smiled at me.

'Sorry' She mouthed and before I could fight her; she shoved everyone into the Toy Box. I could see Amy's sad smile as I fell through the pitch darkness, the only light quickly fading away as we all fell down the Toy Box. My eyes widened as my head starting to hurt, making me black out.