Red Paint: Ib

B

"[Y/N], Watch out!" Someone grabbed your forearm and wretched you to the left, your body colliding with theirs and sending you both to floor. Groaning in pain, you rolled off and stood up to see the vines curling into the ceiling where you had just been standing. Ib and Mary were slowly standing up as well, rubbing their arms where your body had slammed into it- funny, they was actually pretty comfortable to collapse on top of... You shook your head sharply and squinted through the leafy tendrils keeping you and the girls from being united with Garry. They joined you at the vines as Garry hollered through them from the other side as if you were blocked by more than just plants. "Are you alright?" Mary shivered and snatched up Ib's hand, her blue eyes wide and rolling. "Ahhhh, that scared me!" The brunette hummed in agreement. "Garry? A-are you hurt?" You squeezed the vines and found that they wouldn't budge, but to your relief, Garry shouted back, "No, I'm alright!" Pulling away, you sighed and tilted your head back towards the ceiling.

"G...good. But with these things in the way, we can't get over there. Maybe we can cut it down?" During your musings, Garry had been inspecting the branches as throughly as he possibly could, finally grabbing hold of a stalk and yanking at it with all of his might. It didn't move. "What's this?!" He fell back and stared down at his hands which were now slightly red with white creases from pulling so hard. "These vines are made of stone!" Eyes widening, you tried your luck as well, despair washing over you and making your vision spike a few times. "What... What do we do now?"

The girls had been silent the whole time, Mary twisting her blonde curls around her fingers while Ib twirled the key that she had found earlier like a baton. "Hey Ib... You got a key in that room, right?" Mary stopped fiddling with her hair and peered down at the glimmering object curiously. "Maybe that key opens that door to the right wing then? We might find something to get rid of these things in another room. Should we go look?" Ib's bright red eyes met with Garry's through the greenery, silently asking him for permission. "Hmm... Well... I wonder if you'll be okay..."

Scoffing at Garry's concerns, Mary grinned and threw an arm around Ib's shoulder. "We'll be fine! There's nothing to worry about! Right Ib? Right [Y/n]?" She smiled as well and nodded. "Right! We'll be okay!" You sighed and leaned against the wall, peering at the two girls who were linking arms beside you. "They're right, there's nothing else for us to do that seems viable." Garry followed suit and ran a hand through his lavender hair, the darker streaks near the top sticking up slightly as if charged with electricity. "Fine... If you three don't find anything, make sure that you come straight back, okay? Then we can rethink about what we should do."

"Yup! Got it!"
"Mmhmm!"
"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Garry pressed his face against the thick green vines until you, Mary, and Ib disappeared through the previously locked door, doubt gnawing at your stomach. "I sure hope that he'll be okay on his own..." Mary glanced up at you curiously, her head listed to the side. "What was that?" Smiling, you waved it away. "Don't worry about it, I'm just thinking out loud." She smiled in turn and nodded, "Okaaaaay!"

The locked door lead into a storage-room area that was filled with cardboard boxes as well as a few still mannequin women near the back. Ib glanced to the left and jumped as she came face-to-stomach with another mannequin women- luckily, she also didn't seem dangerous. "This looks like it would break if you hit it..." Mary looked up and down at the statue and poked it arm gently, pulling away when she was content. "Way too heavy to move though..." You nodded quietly, vaguely wondering if it would be smart to try and break it... You pushed the thought away. You would only break it if you absolutely had to.

You then moved away and peered into the boxes, nothing really seemed all that useful. There was yellowing drawing paper, sets of paint, and even a box that was filled to the brim with painting and carving tools- just like the one that you had found that pocket knife in... Curious, you sifted around in it until two pairs of hands joined yours, Mary pulling out an old rusted palette knife. "I don't think that this can cut those vines but... If we can't get them out, we'll need something for protection..." Her face was a little white as she gripped the tool in her hands, flexing her muscles and finally relaxing and tucking it away inside her sleeve. "Mary, you don't have to, I have a knife." To make your point, you flicked open the pocket knife and she shied away, her face going even paler. "It's just to be safe!" You weren't all that hyped about letting a kid have a weapon, but she was right. If you got separated from them, they would need to have some way of defending themselves.

Once searching the room in its entirety, you and the others sighed and leaned against the browning wallpaper. "I don't think that we can use anything here..." The blonde huffed in annoyance and threw her hands into the air. "Ugh! I just want to get out of here already! Why does that have to be so difficult!" Ib smiled reassuringly and patted her shoulder. "It's alright, let's go back for now." Mary sighed deeply and nodded, her eyes going downcast. "Yeah, let's go." She seemed to be getting better at not being afraid. You couldn't help but notice how Ib took control, how she managed to make Mary be quiet so quickly- you couldn't help but feel proud of her. Hand in hand, your group walked back to the entrance, weaving around boxes and ducking to avoid some low-hanging appendages that stuck of from the stacks. Suddenly, the lights flickered out.

With no windows, the room was completely black and someone gasped. Ib's grip on your hand tightened and she was holding Mary's hand, so you guessed that she had been the one who had gasped- it certainly wasn't you or Ib. Luckily, the lights sparked back to life, however you were not pleased.

The red mannequin which had previously been pressed against the wall was now standing firm in front of the door and it showed no inclination of moving. "Huh?!" Mary cried, "The exit! W-when did that move? Wasn't it just up against the wall? Let's move it!" The brunette and you nodded, faces going pale. You suddenly had an awful feeling that formed in the pit of your growling stomach, tightening like something was wrapping around your body and squeezing like a snake. You all put your hands against the statue's torso and pushed, grunting and panting and straining your muscles. It seemed to be heavier than the ones that you and Garry have moved, and as a result it didn't move an inch. Mary backed away and rested her hands on her knees that were covered in slightly ripped black tights, gasping for air. "It's no good!" Ib fell back and did the same, wiping sweat from her forehead. "It won't even budge! What do we do now, [Y/n]? We can't get out!" The two took a few moments longer to catch their breath, you finally stumbling to the far side of the room where you had ignored a door that led onwards. Honestly, you hadn't pointed it out sooner because you didn't want to go any farther without collecting Garry. "Not much else we can do other than keep going..." Mary nodded in agreement and you stepped through into a twisting hallway.

That hallway was riddled with stairs. Up one flight, past two windows, down another flight. Despite the constant ups and downs, it seemed that you were in a higher elevation than before. All the while a faint clunk, clunk, clunk drifted through the walls. Past a painted called "Fallen Star" and Ib leapt back as a red ball splattered against the wall beside her- it seemed that it had been the source of the sound as it rolled down the stairs. Your group traded uncertain looks as you traveled up the longest flight of stairs yet, a path sticking out to the left at the top of it with another painting titled "Clown" that was missing a nose hung above them.

As you walked left towards the door at the end of the hallway, yellow paint slashed against the wall in a series of messages.

"I want you to die, [Y/n]."

"Give up and let me bury you in this world so you can finally sleep."

"You'll be together with him."

"You, him, and my friends."

You shivered as surged through the door with Ib staring wide-eyed at the message,
Mary hanging back for a moment to tap her chin curiously. "I wonder who wrote those, and why am I and Ib left out? Seems weird that they only want to get rid of you, don't ya think?" Letting out a long sigh, you pinched your nose and finally looked up and arched a perfect eyebrow. "I think that you need to get your priorities straight..." The blonde shrugged nonchalantly and smiled, then frowned. "Anyway, I wonder how Garry is doing, we kinda left him behind..."

A/N: Please go to the chapter labeled "Fun with Ropes (B)" to continue