Chapter 14

My eyes slowly began to open. I observed my new surroundings and thought that I was staring at my worst nightmare. Mannequin heads, headless statues, odd blue dolls… They were everywhere. The only bright side was that they appeared to be immobile at the moment.

I began to sit up, and I yelped, feeling pain shoot through my body. How many petals did my rose have left…? I reached into my pocket to pull it out, but there was nothing there. My rose was gone.

I started to panic. My rose – the thing that kept me alive in this place – was missing. Then, as I looked around a bit, I realized that my rose wasn't the only thing missing. Garry, Terra, and Kasey were nowhere to be found.

I stood up. My body was sore and bruised. Where was I? The toy box? Mary had pushed us in…

I decided to explore and walk around a bit, even though my aching legs screamed in protest. That's when I saw something on the ground. Petals. Red petals.

I hurried over and followed the trail of petals. An immediate relief washed over me when I spotted the crimson rose. I ran to it, as if it would disappear if I didn't get it fast enough. I turned it over in my hand, and then frowned a little. It had only one petal left.

I sighed. Oh, well. I would just have to make due until I found a vase. I stuffed the rose back in my pocket, feeling the comforting sensation of its presence return.

I scanned the area a bit more. Now that I found my rose, I needed to find Garry and my sisters.

"Ib!" someone exclaimed from behind me, nearly giving me a heart attack. I gasped and fell backwards, almost expecting to see Mary swinging her palette knife at me. I sighed of relief when I saw Kasey standing before me. She looked worried.

"Whoa, Ib, are you okay?" she asked, taking my hand and pulling me back up on my feet. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you… but…"

I gave her the best smile I could muster. She smiled back, but she still looked a little shaky. "We need to get out of here, Ib. These things… they're all over…" She shuddered. Then she said, "But first we have to find Terra and Garry. Any idea where they are?"

I shook my head, feeling my heart drop.

Kasey must've seen the panicked look on my face, because she said, "Hey, don't worry! We'll find them! They couldn't have gotten far… The exit in here is locked… Let's just hope they're still in the toy box!"

Kasey was acting much more mature, now that Terra and Garry weren't here. I admired her for it. Normally, Kasey would giggle and joke about everything, but now she was really taking charge.

She looked at me and her eyes widened. "Ib! Do you still have your rose?"

I pulled it out of my pocket and showed it to her. She breathed a shaky sigh of relief. "Okay, good." Then she pulled her pink rose out. "When I woke up, it was lying on the ground a few feet away from me. I was lucky no one snatched it while I was unconscious. But it was kind of damaged in the fall." I looked at her rose again and saw that it had only two petals left.

Then Kasey seemed to notice my rose. "Oh no… Your rose is down to its last petal…" She looked worried. "We're going to have to be extra careful, okay? Come on, let's go find Garry and Terra."

We walked around, careful to avoid any of the dangerous artwork, just in case they would suddenly come to life and attack us. When we were starting to lose hope, Kasey yelled out, "Look! There's Garry!"

We ran to him as fast as we could. He was lying on his stomach and wasn't moving. It reminded me of the first time we met him, back when we got his blue rose and placed it in the "Eternal Blessing" vase, making all the petals regrow, looking as new and healthy as ever. We'd saved him.

It made me feel brave. But as I stared at Garry now, lying motionlessly on the ground, I felt like crying. Were we too late?

"Garry?" Kasey whispered. She kneeled down beside him. When he didn't respond, she shook his shoulders and screamed in his ear, "GARRY!"

"Mmm…" Garry started to moan. Relief flooded over me. He was alive! He looked up, his lavender hair ruffling over his left eye messily. When he saw us, he jolted up. "Ib! Kasey! You're all right!"

Kasey gasped. When she seemed to register that Garry was alive and seemingly unharmed, she threw her arms around him. She sobbed into his shoulder.

"Ka… Kasey?" Garry looked completely stunned. First I'd hugged him, and now Kasey. He clearly didn't expect it, but he squeezed Kasey's shoulder and tried to comfort her until she pulled away.

Garry rose to his feet and helped Kasey up. "Okay, then. You two are safe. Do you have your roses?"

We nodded. Kasey said, "But they lost some of their petals."

"Then you need to be very careful," Garry warned. "You're much more vulnerable now."

"Do you have your rose?" Kasey asked. I'd been wondering the same thing.

He pulled out the dark blue rose from inside his coat. "Yes, I've still got it." He carefully put it back, and then looked at us. His eyes moved from me to Kasey and then back to me. Suddenly, he looked very alarmed. "W… Wait. Where's Terra?"

Just the way he said her name made it clear that he cared deeply for her.

"She's… still missing," Kasey said slowly. "We haven't found her yet."

"What?! We must find her! Right this second!" Garry marched away. Kasey and I hurried to keep up with him.

Thankfully, we found her shortly after. We helped her up. She looked grateful that we found her. But she seemed different. Her eyes looked sunken, and she seemed to be in pain.

Garry noticed, too. He placed a gentle hand on her arm, and she winced. "Terra? What's wrong?"

"It's… nothing," she managed.

Garry eyed her for a moment. Then he said, "You… You still have your rose, right?"

She didn't respond.

"Terra?" he pressed.

"I…" She sighed. "I lost my rose."

"You lost your… what?!" Garry exclaimed. He accidently squeezed Terra's arm too tightly, and he quickly pulled away, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

Terra shook her head. "No, it's okay, Garry. And really, I'm fine. I… I'll manage. Let's just find a way out of here, okay?"

"We are not stepping one foot out of this place until we find your rose," Garry replied, looking determined. He narrowed his eyes when Terra opened her mouth to protest. "I mean it, Terra. Even if I have to carry you until we find it, we're going to get that rose."

Terra glanced at me and Kasey. Kasey crossed her arms, nodded, and said, "He's right. We're finding it, and that's the end of that."

Suddenly they were all looking at me, waiting for me to pick a side. I shuffled uncomfortably and nodded, telling them that I agreed with Garry and Kasey.

Sensing defeat, Terra muttered, "Fine." Garry took her hand. She resisted at first, but it was obvious that she couldn't stay mad at him. Kasey took her other hand, and Garry took mine with his free hand.

We walked all over, but we couldn't find it. Terra, looking frustrated, said, "Okay, we've looked far enough. It's time we get out of here."

"We're not leaving," Garry snapped. "We're going to find it."

"Garry, there's nothing left in this stupid toy box!" Terra retorted. "We need to get out of here before these things start to attack us!"

"We're going to find that damn rose, and everything will be fine," Garry said through clenched teeth.

Kasey and I fell silent. Garry's face reddened. "I… I'm sorry, girls."

Terra sighed. "Garry… Why do you care so much? It's just a rose. Maybe I can find another. But have you ever thought about Kasey and Ib? What if we can't escape fast enough because we wasted all our time on the rose?"

Garry looked angry. "Don't talk like that! I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to Kasey or Ib!" Then his voice softened, and he closed his eyes. "But you… Terra, you have no idea how much I —"

"Look!" Kasey suddenly blurted out. She was pointing at something in the distance. "Maybe that's Terra's rose!"

We ran toward it, Garry's sentence unfinished and his words hanging in the air. I hoped that it really was Terra's rose. She was my sister, and I couldn't let anything happen to her.

As we came closer, my heart sank. It wasn't her rose. Kasey picked up the object and turned it over in her hand. "It's… a key," she said finally.

Terra's face lit up. "All right! Now we can —"

"Ooh, what's this? A present for me?" squealed another voice. A voice that sent chills down my spine. I looked over my shoulder, and then wished I hadn't.

It was Mary. She was talking to one of the blue dolls. And in her hands was Terra's rose. "Yaaay, it's so preeetty! Can I have it? Oh, thank you!"

Garry was muttering something under his breath. Without warning, he bolted away from us and straight toward Mary. Terra, Kasey, and I followed suit. When Mary saw us, she tilted her head. "Kasey? Ib? …Garry. And Terra. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Garry glared at her.

"But anyway, lookit!" Mary giggled. "I just got this! Pretty, isn't it?"

"Mary… that rose…" Garry started.

"Huh? …Ahh! You mean this is Terra's?" she said. "I thought I'd seen it before!"

"Mary, please… Give that back to Terra."

"Hmm…" Mary frowned. She turned to my sister. "Terra… You want this back?"

The white rose had three petals left. Terra stared at it. After a moment's pause, she set her jaw and nodded.

"Well… Hmm…" Mary paused. "Wanna trade Garry's rose?"

Garry took a step back, clearly startled by her offer. "Wh–What?!"

"I like white and all, but I love blue even more!" Mary said cheerfully. "See, this doll's blue, too! Ib said she's cute, remember? And I know Kasey likes to pet cute things!"

The doll bounced up and down, clearly enjoying the compliments.

I was confused. I never said the doll was cute. I only remembered saying that the bunnies were cute. By the look on Kasey's face, I could tell she was baffled, too.

Then I remembered something I read when we were at the bunny room. It said something about hallucinations. Were the bunnies… hallucinations? Maybe that was why Garry and Terra were so freaked out by them. But why was Mary able to see them for what they really were? Was it because she was actually a painting?

"…So? Wanna trade?"

"I… I..." Garry began.

Mary's face darkened for a second. "Of course, I could just keep it…" She plucked one of the petals from the white rose. Terra yelped in pain and dropped to the floor.

Before Kasey and I could even think, Garry was crouching down next to her. He took Terra's hand and helped her up. He didn't let go, and Terra didn't, either. He just stood there, glaring at Mary. His eyes flashed with hot anger.

"Garry…" Terra said hoarsely, putting her hand on his shoulder.

He didn't listen to her. Instead, he took a step toward Mary. "Understood. Please give me Terra's rose in exchange for mine."

"What?" Terra gasped. "No…! Garry, don't!"

Garry ignored her. He took his blue rose out from his coat and looked at Mary expectedly.

"Really?" Mary said, looking surprised. "Are you sure?"

"No!" Terra exclaimed. "Not a chance!" She shoved Garry aside and shot Mary a look. "I'm sorry, Mary, but it seems that Garry has lost his mind. So I'm afraid the answer is —"

Before she had even finished speaking, Mary ripped another petal off. Terra screamed as more cuts and bruises appeared on her body. Her white rose was down to its last petal.

Terra fell backwards into Garry's arms. He steadied her and then glared at Mary again before holding out his hand. "The rose, please," he said tightly.

Mary slowly handed him Terra's rose. Then she snatched Garry's rose away. "Heehee… Yaaay! …Pretty pretty flower…" She had an evil grin on her face. Then she ran out of the room.

"No!" Terra screeched. "Garry, what the hell?!"

I shuffled uncomfortably and Kasey bit her lip. Garry looked at her calmly. "Terra, don't worry," he said. "We'll get my rose back. We just need to catch up with Mary, and —"

His words trailed off when the room started to change. It felt like the whole room was vibrating, and then it darkened. It was suddenly really cold.

"This is just like last time…" Garry murmured.

"We have to get out of here!" Terra exclaimed, grabbing mine and Kasey's hand.

"What's gotten into these guys?" Garry demanded. "You three, stay away from them!"

"Really?" Terra said, feigning surprise. "Thanks for the heads-up, Sherlock!" She was clearly still mad at him, which I didn't understand. Garry had just saved her, hadn't he? Why was she so angry at him?

Garry exhaled. "Let's get going."

All of the mannequin heads, headless statues, blue dolls, and whatever else was in the toy box sprang to life. They all ran toward us, trying to snatch our roses away. Terra pulled me and Kasey out of their grasp, and whenever one of the things got near us, Garry kicked them away, which was unusually brave of him. (No offense, Garry.)

The exit was now open. We ran through the door and slammed it shut behind us. We panted and paused for a little before continuing.

We kept walking. I noticed blue petals on the ground, and I heard a voice in the distance saying, "Loves me… Loves me not… Loves me…"

Garry suddenly stopped walking. He leaned against the wall.

"G–Garry?" said Kasey, looking concerned.

"I… I'm a bit tired," Garry choked out. "Is it okay if I rest here for a bit?"

"No…" Terra muttered. Her eyes started to water. "No… No! NO! NOOOOO!" She shook her head frantically and dropped down to her knees. "Don't you dare do this, Garry! Not now!"

"Terra…" He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I… I'll be —"

Suddenly, he clutched his side and cried out in pain.

"Loves me not…"

Garry sank to the floor. Terra stared at him with tearful eyes. Then she shut them tight and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Her eyes flashed open, gleaming a dangerously bright red, and she bolted away.

"Terra!" Kasey called after her. She looked back at Garry.

"Go on… without me," Garry choked out. "Go after… her."

"We're not leaving you," Kasey said firmly. I nodded in agreement.

Where was Terra going? She looked extremely angry for a second, and it really frightened me. I hoped she knew what she was doing...

A/N: Warning: The next chapter will be a bit violent.
Reviews and feedback would be appreciated.