Red Paint: Ib

2. Prank them

A wry smile twisted on your lips as you slowly bent down to retrieve the dropped book. You slipped it back on the shelf and taking soft, slow steps across the carpet, you crept up to where you presumed Garry to be. "Where are you?" With a trembling voice, Ib began calling out desperately as if talking any faster or louder would magically make the lights come back on. "Garry? [Y/n]? Where did you go? It's scary! I don't like the dark!"

"It's alright, Ib, I'm here, it's going to be fine."

"You sure about that?" Being absolutely certain to slip a sing-song tone into your voice, you roughly grabbed the cloth where Garry's shoulders were, pulling him back against your chest and making him shriek like a small child. He flailed around like a fish out of water and already laughing, you released your hold on him and stepped away to grip your stomach, tears forming in your eyes from the pain that it caused. "What happened?"

"H-hold o-on! I-I've g-got a lighter!" Tripping over the entire sentence, Garry managed to whip out his old, silver cigarette lighter, flicking it on to cast a small, wavering flame into the blackness.

With the tiny ounce of light that had lit up the room, you noticed with a hint of interest that it seemed to be just enough to brighten up each wall with at least a sliver of orange, though that wasn't where your attention was directed.

Ib was clinging to Garry's leg while he glared at you with the venom equal to that of a lethal snake. His eyes were narrowed and his hands were shaking so badly that the flame almost went out. "That... That wasn't funny, [Y/n]! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Smiling guiltily, you shrugged and locked your hands behind your back, winking at him devilishly. "Aw, c'mon! Did wittle [Y/n] give big old Garry a fright?" His expression soured. "I said that isn't funny! Stop fooling around, this is serious!" Eyes downcast, Ib suddenly let out a choked gasp, her whole body visibly trembling in what seemed to be fear. "Hey," Garry lowered the lighter, "What's wrong Ib? [Y/n] didn't scare you too, did she?" The child hesitated and shook her head. Now you were concerned, of course, your prank had been ill timed and immature, but it had all been in good fun. If your little scare wasn't the source of her terror, what was? She silently raised her arm and pointed at the floor, "That," she whispered and moved her arm to point at the wall, "And that," she moved her arm again, pointing this way and that while saying "and that" each time.

Covering the room from floor to ceiling was an array of spray paint depicting messages like "don't kill me," "help," "no," "stop," "don't," and other unsettling sentences. "Huh?" The light from Garry's lighter seemed to burn brighter until the shadows seemed to fully shrink away, allowing you to stare in shock at the words painted down on the floor while you were blinded. "Wh-what is this?" Your voice came out as a dry rasp, and as one, your group slowly walked to the center of the room and spun in a wide circle. Still trembling, Ib grasped your clammy hand in hers and squeezed it like one would a stress ball. You hardly felt the pain. Garry pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply, squeezing his eyes shut before exhaling and murmuring, "I don't think this is good for my mental health..." You couldn't have agreed more.

"Let's just go..." Nothing was stopping you from leaving, so once Ib and Garry linked their hands together you all but dragged them out the door- not that they showed any resistance that is. Once back out in the hallway, you nearly collapsed back into the door as a female voice that sounded like the stereotypical voice of a flight attendant drifted down the halls.

"A notice to all visitors, there is a strict ban on fire-starting implements in the Gallery. We request that you please report the use of any matches, lighters, or the like. Should the use of any such implements be reported to the staff..." Her voice trailed off to mindless garble and eventually into silence, the entire time Garry had been staring down at his lighter with a pale complexion and an expression that would equate to seeing a ghost. Catching your stare, he stuffed it back into his pocket and silently walked over to the mirror, staring into it and rubbing his eyes as if to clear the circles of gray beneath them. All at once, a gasp stuck in your throat as you stared into the reflective mirror, the three of you blinking dumbly at the sight.

The images changed and flicked back and forth every few sentences, the sight turning your blood cold. Despite being thoroughly creeped out, none of you could react properly. You just stood there and watched. First, your eyes had been blacked out as if someone had scribbled a black marker on the mirror. Then the ink disappeared and was replaced with red that covered the plane of glass reading "eyes, eyes, eyes." At one point, your eyes were filled in again except this time Garry's whole head was encompassed in smoke. Red text ran the the mirror, "Play?" Or it would change to say, "NOFIRENOFIRENOFIRE," over and over again.

"Can we go now?" Tugging at your hand, Ib looked at the mirror sideways, her cheeks were sunken in and she looked really hungry. One day without eating was a whole lot more painful than you had originally thought it would be. Turning right, you nodded silently and gently tapped Garry's shoulder, jerking him out of his daze. His eyes were locked on the mirror, watching as the cloud of smoke followed him to the edge and disappeared. "Damn it..." He whispered softly, his knuckles popping as he curled his hands into fists. "Try not to worry," you murmured quietly so that Ib wouldn't hear you reassuring the other "adult." "Think about something else, for now, we need to get out. Okay?"

A/N: WOWWWW. THAT WAS RUUUDE! You seriously decided that now was a good time for a prank? Ah haha, what a jerk you are! (I'm kidding, don't get pissed.) anyway, ATTENTION. PLEASE NOTE SOMEWHERE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE THAT YOU "PRANKED THE GROUP." This is very important to figuring out your ending, so don't forget! Now then, please head on over to the chapter labeled "Sugar is Sweet" to continue! Also, I realize that this is a short chapter but WHATEVER. I DO WHAT I WANT. IVE MADE THIS SPEECH BEFORE BUT I FEEL THE NEED TO REINFORCE IT ANYWAY. :3