Chapter 2

Old Memories

The time was now 10:52pm, Ib had barely gotten any sleep since she heard voices. After knowing that it wasn't just her imagination, fear had taken control of her. Ib knew for a fact she wasn't going crazy but there was this feeling she should return to the gallery. There was really no reason in mind, she just had this strange desire to investigate.

Are you alright, Ib?

The voice grew more frequent and clear, as the girl sat down beside her bed. She was scared but the voices sounded familiar. Ib had tried to remember what the voices had sounded like but failed to grasp the missing memory. So she just sat at the end of her bed, thinking whether or not she should check out the gallery. She thought over how it would be a good idea to investigate during daylight but the whole place would be restricted from the public.

"Mom and Dad will be mad.." She uttered to herself in worry that her parents will discover that she snuck out.

Given a few minutes to rethink it over she had made up her mind and decided to investigate the gallery. Ib knew she wouldn't find anything special but for some reason the place itself was almost calling her. As if the gallery wanted her back. With the final decision, Ib quickly changed into her regular attire. Just as she was finished, Ib carefully opened the door in hopes her parents wouldn't hear her. Taking it slow, Ib made a few steps into the main hallway, completely muffed she continued down the hall where she ended up passing by her parents bedroom. Making her way, Ib slipped on her dark red shoes and carefully unlocked the locks on the front door. Her heart pounded as she slowly turned the knob. Pulling the door open but just enough for her to squeeze through, Ib closed the door behind her and locked it back up with the house key.

With a sigh of relief that she had made it outside, the girl turned and faced the empty street where there was not a single life in sight. It felt like the whole people in town had disappeared.

"Okay, here we go." She told herself as Ib walked across the front lawn and hit the sidewalk where she made her way down the street. Pulling her hood up from her black and red striped hoodie, she stuck her hands into the pockets of the sweater.

While on her way to the gallery she would think of the last time she was there. All Ib could remember were various paintings and sculptures created by Guertena but one piece of art she was particularly fond of was the large rose.

Making it at the end of the street she came into a four way stop; looking both ways for any cars and with none in sight. She crossed the street, where Ib walked down another few blocks then took a left turn at the end. The town she live in wasn't big nor small so getting around on foot never took long. The art gallery was on the other side of town and travelling by foot took about thirty or forty minutes. Maybe an hour at best. Which she didn't mind.

It wasn't till she had begun to get minor flashbacks of her time spent at the gallery, Ib could clearly remember the first time she walked through those doors. She could still remember how eager she was to check out the different pieces of art. Although at the time she couldn't read some of the titles or figure out the art's true meaning. There was one painting that she could barely remember, just the thought made her shiver. But no matter how hard she tried to picture the painting inside her head, the more she felt like her memory had been erased. It irritated her that she couldn't remember, but hopefully she'll be able to find the answers at the gallery. Ib would also think about the man in her dreams, what was his name? She recalled in her head; over and over.

Making way through the town, she had passed by many closed shops, where she finally reached town center. Just in the distance she could see the gallery still standing. It's chard walls made it look like it was haunted by paranormal beings. But to Ib, it was just plain creepy.
Turning around the corner and passing by an ally, the horn of a vehicle honked as the car quickly stopped right in front of Ib. Without any time to react she just stood there while the girl's heart tightened up. She could hear the sound of the door opening but since the front lights were blocking her vision, all she could see was a tall figure exiting the driver's seat.

"Hey!"

The sound of the man's voice startled her and by instinct, Ib began to sprint down the street, now running from the man behind her.

"Wait! Stop!"

But she couldn't. It was like her mom always said in the past, "Never talk to strangers" she took that advice to heart as she got older and started to realize that was world was messed up.
Not looking back, Ib just kept running until she felt it was safe or at least when her lungs finally gave out. Just a few minutes before almost runned over, Ib found a place near the public park to catch her breath.

"..That.. should be.. far.. enough.." Talking through her short breathing, Ib's heart started to race from that quick sprint. Taking slow but deep breaths to steady her breathing, she checked the street both ways for that man's vehicle. With the all clear she headed up to 9th street where the gallery was.

Checking the time on her wrist watch, it was now 11:30pm, which surprised her since she was almost on the other side of town. Walking up the road which lead right to the art gallery. Now standing in front of the gallery, the building itself was a lot creeper in person. The outer walls were burnt to a crisp, and parts of the roof had collapsed. Just being inside made her feel sketchy of the place, fearing that the rest of the roof will collapse right under her. Swallowing her fear, Ib placed her hand on the door and without thinking she pushed it open.

Inside she could see debris scattered around the main lobby but despite the gallery's poor condition Ib could clearly remember how it originally was before.
Walking towards the front desk, her soft fingers rubbed against the burnt wood as nostalgic memories came flooding back. It was strange, but she could hear the voices and the company of the people who attended.

Sighing, the girl had begun to explore the rest of the building starting with the first floor. In the first room there was barely anything except for the burnt paintings left behind. She guessed they had no value anymore since they are beyond recognition. But the large one in the middle she could remember. Looking back at it, the painting was a large fish in the deep sea, along with the title..

"The Abyss of the Deep.." She recalled.

Back then, Ib couldn't fully understand what that meant but even now she had a good idea what the purpose was. Leaving the room she turned left down the hallway where many other paintings and sculptures scattered across the floor. Just walking over them made her feel bad for Guertena. All of his hard work and legacy being trampled on under the girl's foot.
Coming into the room where the large rose was, she discovered that the beautiful rose was no longer there as she seen the large pile of ashes. It was disappointing for her, Ib was fond of that rose for some reason and seeing it being nothing but a pile of ashes broke her heart.

Come down, come down Ib!

Startled by the voice once again, Ib had nearly tripped over her own feet, and this time it wasn't a voice from earlier. Shaken up, the girl had begun to hear footsteps at the end of the hallway where she came from. Quickly she hid behind the corner where she seen the shadow of a figure illuminating from the moon's light. Not moving an inch, Ib watched the shadow closely as the person just stood there.

Ib had attempted to move back slowly; taking few steps back as her foot had crunched the frame of a painting underneath. Her heart pounded at an alarming rate by the sound she made and with her mistake the shadowed figure had begun to walk into her direction. Desperate to get away, Ib turned and tried to run down the opposite direction but tripped over the burnt frames. Landing on her knees and making even more noise, the sound of foot steps behind her had sped up as she seen a dark figure closing in.

Scared to death on what might happen to her, the feeling in her legs had lost due to the fear, so she just sat there, helplessly.

End Chapter

Author's notes: Hope you enjoyed this chapter as I had fun writing it on my late nights. If anyone has any questions to the story or my inspirations & influences. Feel free to leave a message. And with that, I'll see you in the next chapter. -TSK