PART 1
In the early afternoon under a gray sky, Linda went with her younger brother to an art gallery which featured only the works of Guertena. Leo ran ahead, giddy with excitement. Then, out of nowhere, Leo stopped abruptly.
"Hey sis?" He asked, spinning around.
"Yeah?" Linda replied, easily catching up to the young boy.
"You didn't bring your cigarettes, did you?" Leo asked hopefully. Linda let out a rueful laugh.
"Of course not, hun, I promised, remember?" She ruffled Leo's hair. Leo lit up and immediately responded with,
"Good! Smoking kills your brain. That's why you're a dumb dumb!" The boy grinned and then bounded into the gallery leaving behind a mockingly shocked Linda.
"Hey, meanie! Wait up! I have to check us in!" Linda ran after Leo into the gallery. The door opened to reveal a hallway and reception desk. There wasn't much else except for a huge poster advertising the gallery and stairs leading up to the left of the receptionist. The deep sea creature on the poster was what had intrigued Linda to come in the first place. It was just so mysterious. She loved it. Walking up to the reception desk, she saw Leo inching towards the end of the hall where it opened up into a part of the gallery. "Leo, stay. You need a pass or something." She turned to the gray-haired receptionist. "Hello, may I have two tickets? One adult and one child." Linda held out fifteen dollars.
"Sure thing." The receptionist took the money and reached under the desk to pull out a bracelet and a small pin. He handed the bracelet to Linda, gesturing towards Leo and then handed Linda the pin. "Please put that on your shirt where we can see it. Also, make sure to return it when you have completed your personal tour of the gallery." The receptionist grinned mysteriously at Linda as she suspiciously put the pin on the bottom of her shirt. Her black hair would've covered the pin had she put it near the top. Leo, oblivious to it all, was jumping up and down barely able to contain his excitement.
"Let's go!" Leo made a small dash towards the end of the hall.
"Come here you little rascal." Linda ran after him and grabbed his hand, took out the bracelet and wrapped it around his wrist. Leo then started tugging on Linda's shirt.
"Hey, sis. Sis. Sis. Sis!"
"What?" Linda drawled, smiling but feigning annoyance.
"I have an idea! You go look up stairs and I go over here and we look at all the cool stuff and meet back here to report things!" Leo beamed as if he had just come up with the greatest idea in the world. Linda let out a small laugh and ruffled his hair.
"Sure thing, kid." Kneeling down so that she was face to face with Leo, Linda pointed a finger at Leo and playfully cautioned, "But those reports better be top notch or I'm afraid I'll have to sever your head." She emphasized her point by taking her finger and sliding it across her neck. Leo looked frightful but nevertheless saluted Linda.
"Aye aye, captain!" Then the young boy ran straight into the exhibit.
"Hey! Make sure to not cause a ruckus!" Linda yelled after Leo. Shaking her head and laughing, she made her way upstairs. The exhibit featured many paintings on the walls and sculptures in the halls. Enthralled, Linda walked through the museum hoping to find the one depicted in the poster downstairs. She passed by couples and families enjoying the exhibit together. There were even those who just wanted to go by themselves.
Turning down a hallway, she saw three sculptures that unnerved her. They were simply mannequins, but they were headless and dark. Curious, she made her way to the stand and read the plaque out loud. "Death of an Individual. Dark," she commented before continuing on her tour. Passing a white sofa, she turned the corner to find a large abstract painting framed on the wall. The painting drew her in like a whispered promise. She found herself reaching a hand up and faintly touching it. The painting seemed to hum under her faint touch. The name plaque said, "Fabricated World", and right as the words entered her mind, the lights flickered a bit, but stayed on. Lingering on the painting, she shook her head; she was here to enjoy the gallery, not just this painting. Linda walked out of the hall and turned the corner to a part of the gallery she hadn't visited yet. That was when she noticed something off.
The eerie silence was deafening and there was nobody in the halls anymore. Linda sped down stairs in a panicked haste. The lights flickered again, but this time, they shut off. "LEO!" Linda screamed. Where did he go?! Linda groped along the walls of the gallery but eventually broke into a run after her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. However, not a single soul was to be found. Linda ran towards the entrance hoping he somehow made it outside, but the doors were bolted shut. Maybe he went upstairs without me noticing. Linda thought desperately as she clambered upstairs.
"Leo! Where are you?!" Linda cried out, on the verge of tears. She had lost the only living relative that gave a damn about her. The stress made her insane and she reached for a cigarette only to find out that she promised Leo she'd leave it at home. Linda sighed and put her hand in her pocket anyways and felt something metal. At least she had her lighter. She pulled it out and lit it, even if just to stare at the flame. It soothed her in a way. However, this time, it revealed something as well. Black footprints made their way into the darkness the lighter couldn't reach. Cautiously Linda followed the painted footprints towards the wall with the captivating painting. Fabricated World seemed to glisten as she neared with her lighter. Fearing that she would set the painting to flames, Linda closed her lighter and placed it back in her pocket. While she was looking at the painting, she suddenly noticed that paint was leaking from the edge of the frame, spilling onto the floor a little. However, when Linda neared the paint to inspect it, most of the paint had seeped into the wall, leaving behind some words.
"come down below linda
if you ever want to leave this
Hell.
The black paint dripped down from the word 'Hell' and sank into the ground. Suddenly, letters seeped up from the ground. All in all, the letters spelled,"COME LINDA".{A/N: Well, they were supposed to spell COME LINDA with spaces between all the letters, but apparently, this website can't handle the spaces...}
"Down below, as in downstairs?" She whispered to herself as she got up and slowly treaded into the downstairs gallery. There was a small sign next to a painting titled "A Well-Meaning Hell". The sign read,
"Welcome to the World of Guertena"
We truly thank you for attending today.
We're currently holding an exhibition
for the great artist Weiss Guertena.
We hope you deeply enjoy the art of
the late Guertena, whose creations
carry such mystery and beauty both.
This time, the word 'both' was streaked with black paint and rewritten over it were the words 'and LIFE.' Linda had no idea what that meant, but it scared her. Turning around, she saw, in the middle of the floor, was the very painting she had wanted to see in the first place. Even though she was on high alert, she found herself walking around to the plaque and reading the inscription.
"Abyss of the Deep"
A world where man will never stand…
To realize that world, I decided that
I would engrave it within the canvas.
Then, the ground shook as one of the velvet ropes that had formed a barrier around the painting fell off and landed on the ground with a loud thunk. The paint seeped up again spelling "C O M E". Linda walked around to where the rope fell off. This painting in the ground also seemed to glisten, but it also seemed to ripple like water. Linda looked around one last time, hoping to spot any living thing and desperately wishing that it was all some sick, elaborate prank, but alas, the dark gallery sustained its eerie silence all around her. Well, she thought, I can only escape if I actually begin. And with that thought, Linda plunged into the shadowy waters of the painting and everything went black.
A/N: Woo hoo! I HAVE FINALLY BEGUN! All those days of just thinking about this and now it's a reality... :'D It's all thanks to Camp Nanowrimo really. Haha, well, actually, it more all thanks to my cabin mates at Camp Nanowrimo XD Without them, this story would've gotten nowhere... Well, now that it has begun, I hope you guys enjoy it! Feedback is welcome! Even negative feedback, but only if it's called for. Unnecessary, mean feedback is mean. D:
Big thanks to InuChimera7410 for being an awesome beta!
EDIT: Since I can't really reply to those guest reviewers, I am going to start those replies at the bottom of whatever chapter you reviewed so it would be easier to get back to you guys!