I love this game so much. Generally speaking I am definitely a gamer girl and I love horror RPG makers, but this is one in that category of game that I just love more than the others honestly. I hope I did not disappoint with this story, so enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ib; just this little story is mine and not even all of it is technically mine as I used a lot from a scene in the game.
"Shit I need to get her out of here!" I muttered to myself scooping Ib up in my arms. I didn't see anything in the immediate area, but that didn't mean we were actually safe and I wasn't about to wait around to see if anything would show up on it's own. Racing down the hallway while being careful not to jostle her around too much, I came upon a door that was thankfully unlocked. At first I was hesitant to open it considering that any number of things could've been behind the door, but I didn't really have much of a choice either. Ib was unconscious and I needed to make sure she was in a safe place so that she could rest.
The first scope of the room revealed that there were only a few shelves with books and one painting resting on the back wall. A small square table was resting in the corner with a vase filled to the brim with water which came as an added bonus.
I made my way to the back of the room and laid her down gently before hurrying back to the door where I proceeded to shut and lock it. Relief washed over me that I had managed to find a safe place and I rested my forehead against the door for a minute letting myself calm down a little. This whole time Ib had been strong and not really letting much bother her, but I knew she couldn't hold out forever. None of this was my fault but guilt still weighed heavily on me that she was having to witness all these horrible things not knowing if she would be able to see her parents again.
My breathing back to normal I made my way back over to where Ib was passed out. She was shivering slightly, so I took off my long tattered coat and gently laid it over her making sure to move the lighter to my pants pocket so that she wouldn't be able to accidently hurt herself with it. With all the stress and terror overtaking my emotions I felt the slight ache for a cigarette. I was glad I hadn't brought any with me as it was something I really needed to quite and I didn't want to give in to temptation and ruin this precious girl's lungs with the second hand smoke.
Staring at her sleeping face she looked as exhausted as I felt and yet at the same time so peaceful. I brushed some of her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear my hand resting on the side of her face for a brief moment. "I promise I won't let anything hurt you," I murmured the promise more vowing it to myself as I knew she couldn't hear me.
The table in the corner of the room caught my eye reminding me that I should check her rose to make sure she wasn't injured. Lightly pulling the red flower out of her pocket, I turned it this way and that to see that all the petals were on it to which I let out a sigh of relief. After I replaced the rose, I stood up wanting to check the room more thoroughly to make sure there weren't any surprises waiting for us. I wasn't about to risk her safety on first impressions that was for damn sure.
"Ugh…" Ib made a groaning noise like she had a headache from her spot on the floor.
I was by her side in a second on one knee so that I could be at her eye level asking urgently, "Morning Ib, how are you feeling?"
She had sat up with a start her eyes filled with terror that tugged at my heart. "I...I had a nightmare."
In that moment I hated this place more than ever. I knew these horrifying things had to been affecting her somehow and the damned place had given her a horrible nightmare. "I see...you poor thing...can't say I'm surprised...being exposed to such frightful sights...you know?" I wanted so badly to comfort her, but I couldn't seem to think of the words to say. It was so pathetic and useless of me really. "I guess it's good you woke up. I'm sorry I didn't notice earlier…"
Ib simply looked down her eyes glazed looking as she was remembering the nightmare. A small almost inaudible whimper came from her and I felt like my heart was being crushed into a million tiny pieces.
Then, I remembered something that might cheer her up. "Ib, would you take a look in the pocket of that coat?"
Surprised yet not questioning me either, she reached into the pocket. Pulling out her hand she un-balled her tiny fist to reveal a piece of lemon candy. She looked back up at me with wide curious eyes holding the piece of candy between us.
"You can have that. Feel free to eat it." I was more thankful than ever that I was trying to quit smoking. It was the only reason I always carried around some lemon candy with me as I whenever I got a craving I would simply eat a piece of candy to dull it. "Let's rest here awhile longer before we set out again." I pushed myself up off the ground wanting to give her a moment to recuperate. I wanted to kick myself repeatedly for failing so miserably at making her feel better. What made me think I could protect her when I couldn't even comfort her after she had a nightmare?
A light tugging on my shirt brought my attention to Ib standing beside me holding out my coat to me. I gave her a soft smile as I took it from her saying, "Thank you Ib." I was caught off guard as Ib wrapped her arms around me waist burying her face in my side.
"Thank you Garry." Her voice was muffled by my shirt, but I heard her words as loud as though she had spoken them an inch from my ear.
Hugging her back I assured, "I won't let anything bad happen to you; I promise."
I hope I didn't sway Garry to the side of loving her like a brother or romantically as for this specific one-shot I wanted to leave that unclear (hence why the genre is Romance/Family; keep in mind though I do support Garry/Ib pairing even though they are so far apart in age making it kinda awkward XDD). I am thinking though about writing a story where Garry does like her romantically, but I first wanted to see if you guys even liked my writing for this game. I am also kind of unsure what to write as I don't want it to be a average guy and girl romance story, but I'm not sure I want to write the story that they go back to the museum and get trapped again as I saw another story with that as the plot and I don't want to steal someone else's idea; that's not how I roll. So if you have any ideas (I will naturally be thinking of some on my own) feel free to tell me them and I will give you credit where credit is due. If you want to see an actually story written with these please review and let me know!