A/N: hi, I'm so thankful for all of the reveiws I've gotten they were so nice. I really hate how short I made this chapter. So please bear with me and while I've got your attention, I'm very sorry for all of the typos from the previous chapter. I'll try and fix those. Hopefully this one has less (or none would be nice)! Also, I did originally write this on paper and I just finished chapter four. Now all I have to do is type it up. I'll start writing chapter five soon too and get chapter four up for you. Also, to those who have a problem with OC's this chapter introduces two (although only one has to do with the main plot to the story.) Thank you for reading and please review! =3
Ib - Lost in Dreamland
chapter 3
The One That's Not to be Trusted
Ib stared at Mary's rose in disbelief. It was a real rose. Real and alive. Ib placed it in the vase with her red one and looked at the clock. It was almost six so Ib decided to get dressed and ready for the day. Ib put on a red pleated skirt and a T-shirt with a blue rose on it. It read: Roses are red, violets are blue, honey is sweet, but not like you. She blushed thinking of Garry since the design featured a blue and red rose. She snapped herself out of her stupor thinking No, it won't work. He's in his twenties, you're only twelve. She looked at her reflection in the mirror sadly. Besides, he probably loves someone else. Probably older and prettier than you. She slapped herself lightly in her face. Why was she even thinking like that?
Ib went downstairs. Her dad was packing a suitcase for work. "Oh, good morning Ib. You're up early, sleep okay?" Ib's dad asked. His voice was tired-sounding. He was clearly not thrilled to be up this early to leave for work.
"I slept... okay" Ib replied biting her lip as she remembered the dreadful meadow. The dreadful meadow that was now dead.
"Wonderful" he did not sound like he meant that. After, there was a long, akward silence.
"I'm going to get some cereal" Ib said shuffling over to the pantry. She quickly gathered items she needed and sat down and ate. Along with her father who was having cold, soggy toast. He made himself a bowl of cereal also, seeing as that would be a better option. They ate swiftly and mostly silent. One of them would try to strike up a conversation but it never lasted long. Ib put her dish in the sink and put the cereal away as well.
"Well, I should get going now. Love you, see you when I get home." Ib's dad said as he walked out the door to his car.
"Love you more Dad" Ib shouted out the door, stifling a laugh. With nothing left to do, Ib sat on the couch watching a pokemon marathon that just happened to be on. At around ten o'clock the phone rang. "Hello?" Ib said into the reciever.
"Hi, Ib, it's me, Stacie. What's up?" Stacie's cheerful (too cheerful for the morning) voice said from the other end.
"Watching pokemon. Ash was just about to win the last badge from Clair. Anything up with you?"
"I'm so glad you asked! My parents just so happen to be taking me to a museum or something today, and they said I could drag you along! I'm begging you to come. I'll die of boredom if I'm not rescued! Please say you can! It's not far from where you live. You could probably walk and be there in less than fifteen minutes!" Stacie pleaded from her end of the phone.
"Okay. Wait, it's not the Guertena Art Gallery is it?" Ib asked, a feeling of panic rising in her.
"Yes, actually. How did you know that? It should be fun right?" Ib's face drained of blood at the thought of dragging Stacie through anything that she had gone through with Garry and... Mary. But, if she didin't go Stacie might end up there anyway, and stay there. At least Ib knew the way out. "Ib, are you still there? Helloooooo~"
"Yeah, I'll meet you there. Bye." Ib hung up. She ran upstairs, grabbed her cellphone and a denim jacket. She decided her rose would be safer here. Just to be safe, Ib also grabbed a pocket knife out of her sock drawer. She quickly scrawled a note on the back of a spare piece of paper. She stuck it to her mother's bedroom door. It read:
Mom,
Went with Stacie to Guertena Art Gallery. Have my cellphone. I'll call when I'm coming home
Love,
Ib
Ib ran out the door and to the gallery. Her heart nearly lept out of her chest when she saw none other than paperboy from the other day leaning casually on the wall beside the door. He smiled. Today he wore a simple black T-shirt and brown cargo pants. He also donned his paperboy cap. Looking closer, Ib notice that his eyes were a beautiful, dark blue, like sapphires. The same color as Mary's nails...
"Ummm... hello there" said Ib akwardly. Had he been waiting for her?
He frowned, seeming to once again remember he was mad at Ib for something, and he glared at her. "Hi..." he had a high and lightly melodic voice, like a girl but Ib figured that saying that out loud would earn her a black eye or quite possibly the loss of a few of her teeth so she went against the idea of insulting him.
"I'm Ib" may as well act friendly she thought putting on the most dazzling smile she could conjure up. "What's your name?"
"You can call me Shay" he said. Shay, the name oddly fit him.
"Shay? That's a cool name. Is it short for something?" Ib asked interestedly.
"Yeah. Look I'm guessing you have an alterior motive for coming here, and it wasn't to meet me. Here take this" Shay produced a piece of paper from his pocket. "Come over if you've got time. We've got to talk." Before Ib could refuse or ask why he wanted to talk to her and how he even knew who she was, Shay turned and ran down the street.
"Ib!" Ib turned and saw Stacie waving at her with both hands from a car window across the street. Stacie was a tall, fair skinned girl with long black hair that feel all the way down her back and then some. She had large smiling eyes the color of jade. She donned a pir of flip-flops, denim shorts, and a blue tank top. She ran over to Ib, parents in tow, and pulled her into a hug that mgiht have crushed Ib's ribs to dust had she not pulled away fast enough. "Let's go look around" and she dragged Ib inside. While her parents flitted through pamphlets at the front desk Stacie dragged Ib into the gallery until they were on the far side of the "Abyss of the Deep" floor painting. "So who was that boy you were talking to? Is he an old friend of yours? Do you have a boyfriend you didn't tell me about?" Stacie pressed hardly pausing for breath between words. Ib laughed good-naturedly.
"I actually just met him for the first time a minute ago" Ib explained. Stacie didn't seen to be satisfyed with this explanation but she didn't let on about it. Instead she dragged Ib around the gallery. Stacie stopped to look at anything and everything that was romotely interesting or had pigment to it. They spent a long amount of time looking at the accessories imagining themselves decked out in the glittering jewels. Stacie and Ib were eyeing "Your Dark Figure" talking about how cute the cat was. Ib complained that her parents wouldn't buy her a cat and Stacie insisting that the painting depicted her kitten, Cheshire. Ib giggled as they passed "The Coughing Man." She also cringed when they made their way back to "Abyss of the Deep" and Stacie had leaned so far over the railing she might fall in. But they proceeded fairly quickly.
They went up the stairs and looked at all of the paintings and sculptures Ib keeping her distance from "The Hanging Man" and his glowing red eyes. Stacie looked at "The Tase-Cleansing Tree" commenting on how it looked very much like glowsticks. Tasty glowsticks. Logic. They stopped once again at the large rose sculpture "Embodiment of Spirit." Ib read the name aloud for once not feeling akward about a piece of art in this gallery. Of course that only applied to this one piece. She was still fairly certain that "The Lady in Red" or blue or green or even purple for that matter were out for vengence.
"I wonder if my spirit's as pretty as that" Stacie said awe-struck.
"If it is I'm sure that yours is every color under the sun and then some" Ib commented.
"Think so?" Stacie said winking at her "Then yours has to be red. It's your favorite."
Ib giggled "Yeah, probably." They walked around the gallery's ground floor all the while ooooohing and aaaaahing when they passed something they liked. After looking at everything on the ground floor they ran up the stairs. Stacie's parents were looking at "The Hanging Man" and said "hi" as they passed. While Stacie eyed the "Reserved Seat" sculpture, Ib's face paled when "Fabricated World" once again caught her eye. Ib tried to push past it, insisting that it was a really boring painting and a complete waste of time to look at. But the large painting caught Stacie's eye and she did stop to look at it. "I know, it's huge, can we move on now? I really want to see "The Lady in Red."" Ib did not even want to be remotely near "The Lady in Red" but it was only painting she could think of. She pulled desperately at Stacie's arm.
"Just a minute, this is really interesting. It's just a painting, Ib, you act like it's gonna bite my head off or something" Stacie said idignantly. Ib silently cursed her ignorance as well at stubbornness. Before Ib could pray for nothing to happen something did. Yellow paint dripped from behind the painting on the far side of the wall.
"Do- do you see that?" Ib asked pointing with shaky hands.
"See what? The wall? It's nice but the paintings are far more attractive and white is so overused for walls. It might attract some more attention if it was a nice beige or perhaps a light shade of violet?" Stacie said dissmissively as she once again examined the deadly painting. She couldn't see it. The message was for Ib, and only Ib. She reluctantly walked over to it. "Ib" it read "Don't trust The Man in the Mask - Mary" "OMG! Ib, are you okay?" Stacie asked worriedly. Ib hadn't noticed that she'd sunk onto her knees.
"Fine" Ib lied. The message dissapeared. The Man in the Mask? What man? I don't know any man who wears a mask. Unless dad on Halloween counts... probably not. Is it someone I know or not? Ib thought as Stacie helped her to her feet.
"Do you want to go home? You look like your gonna faint" Stacie said, Ib still leaning on her heavily. Ib shook her head. No need to ruin Stacie's good time. They continued on in the gallery. Ib paled again when they reached "The Lady in Red," wishing of all paintings she hadn't said that one for she was certain that the painting would hop off the wall once their backs were turned and they would be chased down and killed. Ib stayed on her feet though, she was determined to make it through this gallery. Her resolve was broken as they looked to stop at the three headless statues donning blue, red, and yellow dresses. "Death of the Individual" Stacie read aloud. Ib couldn't remember much after that because she fainted.
She awoke in the back of Stacie's parents car. "Wha 'appen" Ib said groggily.
"You fainted. We're almost at your house" Stacie said as they pulled into the driveway. "I stand corrected. We are at your house." Stacie walked Ib to the door and inside the house.
"Oh, Ib, I was just about to call you" said her mother as Stacie carted Ib through the door. Ib's mother checked her over and decided that all she needed was a good nap. Stacie helped her up the stairs.
"You sure you'll be okay?" Stacie asked as Ib sat on her bed.
"Yeah. You heard my mom all I need is a nap and I'll be fine." Ib said, trying to cheer Stacie up.
"Call me when you get a chance." Stacie said and with a final glance, after making absolutely certain that Ib was alright, she left.
Ib lay on her bed as her eyes flitted to the yellow rose which was the embodiment of Mary's spirit and the only evidence that she was still okay. The rose continued to glow with health, letting Ib know that wherever Mary was she was safe and unharmed. "Mary... wherever you are... I promise i'll find you" Ib said to herself as her eyelids got heavy and she slipped into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
I've noticed I like to end the chapters with Ib falling alseep or a dream. Hopefully I can end that habbit in chapter five because I'm already done with chapter four. Plz review and thank you oh so very much for reading. I hope there's no more typos...
