Chapter Seven

Garry and Ib rushed out of the tight corridor and into the next series of rooms, desperately trying to stay ahead of what they could only assume was Mary. As happy as they were to be a room further away from Mary, the next room they entered could only be described as unsettling at best. A long corridor stretched out in front of them, lined with mannequin heads dotting floor and disturbing paintings of the same, pale-faced image lining the walls. Ib and Garry stopped in their tracks for a minute, observing their surroundings, desperately trying to maintain their constitutions.

"Do you happen to have any more of that chocolate, Ib?" Garry asked in a shaky voice. Without even looking at him, she held it up for him to take from. He broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth; however, he made a weird face after doing so.

"Does it taste bad?" Ib said, a little self-consciously. Garry looked her dead in the face with worry plastered on his.

"It doesn't taste like anything at all." he muttered. He and Ib stood in silence for a minute, trying to unravel the continuous mystery of Garry's existence and how it might be tied to the Gallery. Suddenly, Garry shook his head. "It doesn't matter right now. We really need to go. Are you with me?" he asked gently. Ib nodded, feeling her face flush slightly. Ib and Garry pushed forward in an awkward silence until they reached the next series of hallways, lined entirely in gray, depressing wallpaper. Garry let out a large sigh.

"I can't help but feel very..." he said as they walked through the passage, "annoyed with all this, I suppose." Ib frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Garry stretched a bit, releasing another sigh.

"Just having to go through all of this again. I feel like I was just here. Just doing this. Is this how it will always be, I wonder? Is this what I'm doomed to do forever?" He said melancholically. Ib began to shake her head furiously.

"No." she said a bit forcefully. Garry stared at her.

"How do you know?" he asked both sadly and gently. Before she knew what she was doing, she interlocked her hand in his.

"Because I will not leave this place without you." she said decidedly. A small, hopeful smile pulled at Garry's lips, but quickly faded.

"But-why did you leave without me the last time?" he asked, hurt evident in his tone. Ib stared at him, unable to formulate any words.

"I-I...I honestly don't know." she choked. "I would never have-"

"It's fine. I mean, you were so young, after all. This place isn't a place for children. I wouldn't have wanted you to stay here." he said. Ib shook her head in confusion.

"Wait, but you seem to remember everything about the last time I was here. You don't remember how we ended up separated?" Ib inquired a bit reproachfully. Garry seemed a little taken aback by this statement; not so much in a reproachful way, but rather he seemed as though he hadn't thought of this fact.

"I-I do, but..." He stared off into nothing. "I don't remember how we became separated." he muttered.

"Well, what is the last thing you remember-?" Ib barely made it through her sentence before the sound of shattered glass reverberated behind them. This shook them from their conversation and sent them both into a full sprint in the direction opposite of the noise. Out of the corner of Ib's eye, she noticed a door in an alcove jetting out the wall. She peeked behind her and noticed that a Woman in Red was the cause of the shattering glass noise, and she was quickly gaining on them.

"Garry!" Ib shouted and pointed to the door, motioning for him to follow her. Without hesitation, they dove headfirst through the door and into the empty room. Garry quickly locked the door behind them. There were a few bangs that followed, but eventually, the creature seemed to lose interest. Both Garry and Ib sighed in relief. Garry looked around and a small smile pulled at his face.

"Hey. This is that one room." he grinned. Ib looked around and noticed immediately the painting labelled, "Untitled". She also felt a small grin tug at the corners of her mouth. "Remember, Ib?" Ib turned to look at Garry, flashing her tiny smile. She nodded. Suddenly her smile faded.

"I also remember the nightmare I had here, but…I feel like I am remembering more of it now than I did then." Garry raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? Like there was more to that nightmare?" he asked. She nodded.

"I remember being alone. You weren't there, and fear was almost literally choking me. There was this constant ticking sound, like a clock, and I remember feeling a bit claustrophobic, like beyond the room I was in, there was nothing. No other rooms-just walls for eternity. I would move from room to room, and at the last room, I found myself surrounded by all the creatures in this Gallery. Before anything could happen though I woke up somewhere else…in a dark, red room filled with numbers that littered the floor. My rose was gone now. I looked around, just trying to move forward. I thought I saw my dad and then my mom. But they vanished as I tried to get closer to them. As I walked on, I felt myself being chased by something. When I turned around it was-well, it looked like a "Lady in Red" but this one was hollow looking. She was extremely terrifying, pale, devoid of color or essence. As she chased me, I could feel consciousness leaving me and then suddenly…" she looked directly at Garry, "I was back in here with you." Garry's look was one of anguish, sadness, and sympathy, but suddenly a dubious look crossed his face.

"But how is it you can remember all that now? Can you remember anything else?" he asked, his tone elevating with anticipation. Ib sat down, to Garry's immense surprise, and touched her hand to the floor. Memories flooded her mind from the last time her and Garry had been in this room. She could feel her face form into a grimace, which altogether shocked her because the last time she had a memory rewind, she could scarcely even remember where she was. Now she seemed to be able to ride the wave of memories while still keeping one foot in the present. The rewind came to an end, and Ib took a deep breath. Her red eyes pierced Garry's blue eyes.

"You gave me your coat. I handed it back to you. You spoke to me about the things in your life. Your choice to come to the Gallery. You remarked on how nice you thought my clothes were. You offered me your lemon candy. You were the nicest person I had ever come across in my life up to that point, and actually…" she blushed, "even up to now. You were-are-just nice. You never ask for anything in return. You're rare, Garry." She said this with such transparent earnest in her voice. She noticed Garry lower his head to where his hair covered his face, but she could see a small, almost sad smile from under the shadow that his hair formed. And she wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a tear come down from his eyes right as he turned away from her. It was quiet for a moment before Garry finally shook his head and let out a sigh.

"You needed my help, Ib. And I will always come running." He said with a smile. Ib could feel her heart flutter at his words.

"Wait, what did you just say?" she asked excitedly. He gave her a quizzical look.

"I'll always come running." He repeated. Ib's heart jumped again. She wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but she knew that she had heard that before.

"You-I think you've said that before." She said softly. Garry looked slightly surprised at first, but his expression softened and he smiled.

"I'll keep saying it…if you need me to." He replied. Ib felt her cheeks begin to burn fiercely but did her best to shake this off.

"Well," she said standing up, "We should move on, right? Luckily, it seems like I'm regaining my memory from the last time we did all this, and you still seem to remember most of it too. Maybe it won't be too bad making our way through this place this time. Another time for old time's sake?" Ib said charmingly. Garry gave her wide smile.

"I think you're right, Ib! Together, we can make our way through this place without a problem. I know we can." He said brightly. Suddenly, the lights began to flicker in the room and another, less violent type of swaying began in the room. Ib lost her footing and found herself landing in Garry's arms. Their faces were close now, and Ib could feel her breath freeze in her chest. Garry's eyes swam into hers, and their faces began to close the gap between them. Ib held her breath and was about to close her eyes when the entire room went dark.

"Ib?"

"I'm here."

The door to the room seemed to swing open, and Garry and Ib looked out of it, still grasping each other. Their attentions fell from each other and now focused on the hallway that lied in front of them. Only it wasn't the hallway they had just come from. That hallway was gone, and before them lay another path-one that made their stomachs sink. This was new. The Gallery had changed.