Hello everyone! I created this story because when I played the game I felt as though Ib would have chose to save her 'friends' rather than herself.
I began writing it a while back but had to abandon it due to uni work. Now that things have quietened down I have picked it up again.

Please let me know what you think and drop a follow/comment if you are enjoying the story.

EDIT 13/2/14.

I am redoing the formatting so that it looks slightly less abysmal and correcting some minor grammatical/spelling errors. As well as tidying up afew lines here and there.

"No…Absolutely not"

Garry delivered the words with an uncharacteristic firmness, his relentless pacing continuing without pause, as it had been for several minutes.

Beside him, Ib watched in silence. It worried her to see Garry so stressed, an angry tone lurking beneath his words. In their journey through the twisted world that was Guertenas' gallery , she had never seen him like this. Scared – yes. They both had been, but she had always gotten the impression that he was forcing himself to maintain a calm front for her sake. Now the illusion was shattered, Garry's face was rigid, all traces of his usual kind demeanour gone, his blue eyes wide and panicked as he strode back and forth in front of the painting which barred their way, searching for an answer to their problem when one did not exist.

"Garry…" Ib said quietly, keeping her voice down so as not to alert the exhibits of their position.
During the silence they could be heard, searching each area of the gallery for a sign of their prey, getting closer with each passing moment.
"There's no other way…" Ib said, her voice small.
"To hell there isn't!" Garry exploded, stopping his pacing at last and slamming the side of his fist into the wooden paneling of the wall.
Silence reigned over them once more as Garry flexed his hand, having injured it with the force of the blow.
Taking a step back from him, Ib cast a furtive glance to her left and right, trying to penetrate the unnatural gloom which held the gallery in its grip. There was no doubt that the sound of the impact, echoing along the dark corridors, had been heard.
Garry,however, did not seem to realize this, he rounded upon Mary, pointing an accusing finger at where she sat hunched against the wall opposite them, her head in her arms.
"She says there isn't" he said harshly, "But why should we believe her?"
"Garry…" Ib began, walking over to where the tall youth stood and placing a hand upon his arm.

He shook her off.

"After all she's done…" he continued, his voice turning hard, "After…" he paused for a moment, "She would have killed me…would have killed you Ib. There's no limit to what she…no…it…would do to get out of here …"
Ib stared up at him, alarmed by the direction Garry's' line of thought was taking him. But he continued still, oblivious.
"I can't forgive her…I can't trust her…" Garry said, his eyes narrowing, "We should leave her here."
"GARRY" Ib shouted.
Looking down at her, his expression turning to one of surprise, Garry found that Ib was not looking at him, but instead over to her right.

Garry fell silent as he followed her gaze to where Mary sat crumpled, sobbing uncontrollably into her dress.

"It's not her fault…" Ib said, walking over to Mary and laying an arm across the girls' shoulder, "Tell me you wouldn't have done the same…if you were in her position…"
Garry opened his mouth to protest but said nothing, after looking down at the two girls for a long moment he closed it again, looking ashamed.
"Sorry…" he murmured, eyes downcast.

"No…don't be…" Mary replied, her voice tiny, "You're right….it's my fault you're here…I should be the one who stays…"
Mary spoke the words without looking up. Ib, on the other hand, shot a glance at Garry, who turned his back on her, pretending to inspect the painting.

The silence stretched on for a time, broken occasionally by Marys' sobs and the sound of the exhibits shuffling through the corridors, slowly closing in upon them. It was clear that time was running out – and still Garry made no move, his thoughts to Marys' earlier words.

The gallery won't let us all leave….one of us has to stay.

Garry could not deny that Mary had agreed to what he wanted. The idea of her running free in the 'real world' whilst himself or Ib remained here repulsed him. She was crazy, manipulative…dangerous. And yet even as he tried to justify the decision to himself, Ibs' argument reverberated inhis skull, giving doubts to what had seemed such a simple decision.

Dammit. Garry thought, Why me…

People weren't meant to have to deal with this. This sort of horrible decision was best left to actors on TV, reading their scripts with practiced bravado and horror, not real people. It was absurd.

And yet…

There's only one thing I can do. Garry thought sadly as he turned to face the two girls.

"I'll stay" he announced in a solemn voice.
"Wha…what…?"
Mary stumbled over the words, not believing that she had heard him speak them.
"You two go. I'll stay here" he said, reiterating.
Marys' eyes, reddened and glazed with tears, went wide as he said this, whilst Ib beside her simply stared up at him, looking sad.
"You would do that…for me?" Mary asked.
"I…" Garry hesitated, he was throwing his life away, for what - Some crazy girl?

He couldn't do it.

"I…"
"It's ok Garry" Ib said, finally standing, she walked over to Garry and hugged him around the waist, "You don't need to stay here. I will."
Ib said the words with conviction, far more than Garry had mustered.
"You can't" he argued instinctively.
"Garry. It's the only way. You know it is"
"I won't leave you…" Garry argued stubbornly, but deep down he began to feel the despair, part of him knew that his words were hollow,
pointless…
But still he argued, desperate to find some way.
"I'm older. It's my responsibility!" he said, breaking free of Ibs' embrace so as to look at her face.
"Then who will look after Mary?" Ib asked, her voice staying steady.
"You can do it as well as I!" Gary replied, his own voice growing more strained with each passing second.
"You don't want to stay!" Ib cried, looking up at Garry as the words bit into him like daggers.

Garry stepped back, shaken to hear the truth spoken aloud, as if some taboo had been broken.
"Neither do you…" he whispered.
"But I will" Ib replied, "For Mary…and for you…"
Garry stared down at her, stricken.
"I…" he paused, the look of conviction in Ibs' eyes was absolute, it was pointless to argue, as he had known all along.

Ib took his silence as ascent, walking over to Mary she lay a hand on the other girls' shoulder, "Be good. Try not to drive Garry up the wall", she turned and forced a half smile onto her face, "I'm sure you will anyway though…"
Mary gave a wail of sorrow slammed her head into Ibs' chest, crying once more.
"Garry…" Ib began, her voice soft, as if she were comforting him, "I'm glad we met…" she said simply, leading Mary across to where he stood.

Garry watched here approach, speechless, there were no words he could offer her, nothing he could do for her now.

"I…" he began, once Mary was by his side, clinging to his arm for support, "I won't abandon you."
He said, voice ringing with conviction, "I'll spend every day, every moment, looking for a way to rescue you. And once I find one, I'll come back…and get you out of here…" he said.
"I look forward to it…I guess I'll have to return your coat then" Ib replied, giving him a blatantly false smile and doing a brief twirl, causing Garrys' blue coat to flutter about her.
"This is not goodbye…" Garry said, casting a despairing look upon the painting as he clambered awkwardly into it with Mary in tow.

The last brief glimpse Garry got of the gallery was a lone girl, standing in the darkness, her fake smile mangling upon her face as she watched her companions leave her alone in the dark.

"It is…" she whispered.