I held onto Garry's hand tightly as we walked deeper into the dark corridors of this alternate art gallery we had stumbled into.
"I wonder how we got here?" asked Garry.
"I'm not sure... All I know is the lights started to flicker and then I was alone," I replies, looking around at all he strange paintings on the wall. Suddenly, an idea dawned on me, and I pulled Garry to a stop.
"What is it, Elizabeth?" he asked, looking puzzled and a bit frightened.
"I have my cell phone! Maybe I could call someone and get us out of here!" I said, smiling from ear to ear.
"Brilliant! Wait, why didn't you think of that before?"
I ignored Garry's question and hastily dialed 9-1-1 on the tiny key pad. It rang twice ad then I heard someone pick up. My heart jumped in my chest.
"H-Hello? Is anyone there? We're trapped here in the art gallery an--"
A piercing static noise filled the speaker and a voice found it's way over it.
"YOU ARE TRAPPED... THERE'S NO WAY OUT UNLESS YOU DEFEAT YOUR DEMONS AND FIND THE PASSAGE BACK... GOOD LUCK, THEIF..."
The noise stopped and the line was disconnected. Garry was waiting eagerly as I closed my phone, looking off into space with a blank expression of horror and confusion.
"Well?" asked Garry, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"It said we're trapped here, Pewds. There is no way out unless we defeat our demons and find the passage back..." The voice still rang in my head, and it was still settling in. I had to save myself once again, and hopefully this time, I wouldn't have to hide. Hopefully this time, I saved myself effectively.
"Oh no, Elizabeth..." Garry said, running a hand through his violet bangs, beginning to panic. he paced around in hysterical thought until banging his hands on the wall, leaning against it in hopeless anger. "There has to be another way out! I'm slowly losing my sanity in this fucking hell hole, and I don't know if I can even trust you, or if you're even really there! I don't even know if I'm really here..." Garry began to sob and I carefully placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"Garry..." I started, "You can trust me. I'm as confused as you are, and maybe together we can find a way out. I know it's scary, but if we stick together, we'll be okay. I promise. Just believe me, Garry. We'll make it out of here alive. Or we'll go down together." I watched him with hopeful eyes, and he turned to me with tear-brimmed ones.
"You really mean that?" he asked. I nodded.
He turned to me and embraced me in a swift, unexpected hug and I blushed lightly.
"I will protect you, Elizabeth. Don't you worry about a damn thing, girl," he said, pulling away to give me a sweet smile. He began to lean in, and I could feel my heart racing quickly. I kept still and he inched ever closer. Our lips were centimeters away, almost touching, our breath brushing each other's before we heard it.
There was a terrible, horrifying screech and a huge thump, followed by a dragging noise. I could hear gurgling and hissing, but I couldn't find from which direction it came from.
"Garry...?" I whispered, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway, sprinting as fast as he could.
We slid around a corner and I nearly lost my balance, having to catch myself on the wall before continuing running. I could hear the sound move closer and I looked behind for only a swift second to catch a glimpse of out foe. It was the lady in green that I had saw in the picture earlier. She was dragging herself quite quickly along the floor towards us, an evil, determined look on her face as she chased us.
"In here!" Garry yelled, yanking open a red door and flinging me inside before bounding in himself and closing the door behind him. "Quick, push that over here," he ordered me, nodding to an empty, overturned bookcase propped on the wall next to the door.
I ran to it an placed my hands on its corners, pushing with all I had, strength and body weight combined. "It won't budge, Garry!" I said through clenched teeth.
"Push harder, Lizabeth! I know you can do it, just try!"
I took a deep breath and pushed as hard as I could. I thought it wasn't going to budge, but it served me wrong. Suddenly, it gave way, moving along the floor with ease until it was under Garry's arms, across the width of the door. Garry moved away, grabbing a few chairs to prop up there as well. I looked at him once he was finished and he gave me a slight smile.
"I think we lost her," he said. I exhaled a sigh of relief and looked around.
This room was large, the walls lined with a deep green wallpaper, the floors the same beige-white carpet that was in the hall. There were a few bookshelves, no paintings, and a recliner in the corner of the room. There was no light, but there was a lamp on the right wall with sufficient oil to light and burn for a few good hours. In the corner closest to the door was a small table with a blue vase on it filled with water. I took my rose out of my pocket and put it in there, taking Garry's and doing the same.
"I wonder why we got these?" Garry asked me, examining my red rose carefully. I shrugged and started to the recliner, sitting down in it's velvety arms and kicked off my shoes.
"I think it determines our hearts. If the rose withers and dies, then so will we. At least , that's what I believe," I responded. Garry nodded, silently satisfied with that explanation.
He put his hands in his pockets and began to walk around, observing the surroundings. He came to a bookcase and took on hand out of it's pocket and began to examine the books.
"I wonder if this room was meant to be a library?" he said, tracing the spines of several books with his long, thin finger.
"Maybe. I guess we'll never know," I responded, smiling at him when he turned to me. He smiled back and came to sit with me.
"May I pop a squat next to you, my dear?" he asked, smiling down at me. I nodded and he sat down. It was a bit cramped, but we would manage. "May I ask you why you were at the gallery?"
I thought for a moment, contemplating how I would start my explanation for being at the gallery that day. Should I start from the very beginning?
"Well, it all started when I was at my home, living with my father and his assistant-- he's a scientist of sorts-- after my mother had died. One night, his experiments came back to life to kill him, as part of my mother's revenge as a curse to kill him or take him back to the underworld with her. Well, after finding him with the ghost of my dead mother, I saved him, but I later found out that he had killed her and wanted to turn me into one of his dolls. After chasing me around with a chainsaw, he finally caught me, but Maria, his assistant, helped me escape and locked me I my room, replacing me with a doll. I poisoned him slowly, and he died last night. I was free, and I decided to come to town for a little fresh air, but it landed me here," I told him. He looked at me curiously.
"You've been through a lot..." he said, hugging me close.
"It's all normal to me."
Garry pulled my chin up so he could look into my eyes. "You are amazing..." he whispered. I blushed at looked down for a moment, but he pulled me back up, letting his soft lips collide with mine. I kissed him back, and he smiled through our kiss.
"Thank you, Garry..." I said, smiling slightly.
** I really could have written more for this chapter, but I have school tomorrow and it's late and 'blah. blah. bleh.' So, I hope you enjoyed and please, vote, follow, comment... whatever you have to do. xD Please stay and watch this play out, okay? :)
