Into the Deep Blue - An Ib Fanfiction by Herringway
"Pull me under, I'm not afraid."
Pull Me Under, by Dream Theater
She wasn't quite sure what had just happened. She was enamored with the painting before her; an intricate mess of colors and shapes on the canvas that seemed to make a lot of nothing. But... at this same time, this nothing was something... big. Something unknown and frightening. Little did she know that this giant, scary something would change her life, forever.
When she stepped away, the lights flickered for a moment (just a moment), and the din-filled museum was suddenly filled with silence. She shivered slightly; a chill running up her spine. Looking around, there wasn't a soul in the building. She had never been to an art gallery before, and now, on her first trip, she felt lost and alone. Even descending the stairs, and trying to leave, she found the doors were locked, leaving her not only lonesome, but abandoned, trapped.
She was certain her senses were playing tricks on her. As she explored the now darkened museum, out of the corner of her eye, she could swear she saw the paintings moving. Moving! Of all the ridiculous notions! Everyone knows paintings don't move, she thought to herself as she ventured back up the stairs, wondering if she truly was alone here. As she wandered the corridors, her footsteps echoing throughout the building, the sense of foreboding was something she couldn't shake.
Yes, Ib was all alone in the gallery. All alone with nothing but the paintings for company, and nobody to...
Oh God, did one of them just cough?
She ran back down the stairs, her heart jumping a million beats a minute as she was certain she was starting to hallucinate. A painting of a cat mewled, a fruit fell out of a basket... A window shattered upstairs. She tried to wipe her moistening eyes with her sleeve as one thought resonated in her mind. "Home... I want to go home!" But nothing would answer her pleas in the gallery.
She hiccuped, letting her feet lead her back to the main display at the gallery: A blue painting that took up most of the floor, with a title she didn't fully know: Something of the Deep. A small noise of confusion left her lips, as she swore she could hear a faint sound... Almost like the lapping of a tide rolling in and out on a beach. There was a feeling of trepidation as her gaze lingered on the painting before her, the same feeling that was present with the large painting upstairs.
She had no idea that leaping into the deep blue of the painting would take her to another world, or the dangers that awaited her there.
She wouldn't have guess that a strange, but kindly older man in a blue coat would accompany her in there, putting on a brave face to make her feel better.
She couldn't have foreseen the little blonde girl in the green dress who would try to keep them there.
She didn't know about how much of a toll this would take on her mind and body.
She couldn't have known that everything she did, everything she said, would impact her leaving the new world.
With hesitation, she looked back to the gallery doors.
With determination, she looked back to the painting.
She held her breath, and took the plunge...