That one thought that went through his mind was a very dangerous one, his desire to have something real before him. He knew that if he reached out now his thoughts would take him to that wondrous world where the painting would rise up and feel real. The texture, smooth strokes and the sweet feeling of the squishy paint on his fingertips.
If he could reach out and feel the water, would it feel like water or would it be thicker? warmer? Would it move with his hand and shine like the shifting glass sparkling in the light. Pulling himself away from his now stilled thoughts he decided that looking at the other pictures would spark something in him now that the riff raff had died down some.
But, it was quiet.
It had suddenly gone quiet.
Noiseless.
Nothing.
No chatter, no shuffling or quiet murmurs like before.
Just silence and emptiness.
It was still the art gallery they walked into, yes, but when he looked up from where he stood it had suddenly gone red, a luxurious white to a deep dark red. He wasn't sure what was going on, and he started to worry. What could have happened to this place and where was his family? Where was his sister?
"Mother! Father! Ib!" Jesse called out, and waited for his sister's call or someone to answer him no matter who it was. His voice broke the stillness for a moment before settling down again into the soft silence. He decided to call out again for anyone to answer him but this time it felt as if his voice didn't carry far. It just stopped.
What was this?
The air was blanketed in silence now not even his footsteps were heard. He felt as if he were surrounded by a cloud and if he touched it it was like cotton candy or foam. The soft crunch of him reaching out was drowned out by his need to rush and find his family. More importantly his sister. Their parents trusted him with his sister's well being. If he failed to protect her there's no telling what his parents would do.
No.
He knew what they would do.
Send a search party for her, he would try to help as much as possible but he knew his mother. He knew that she would get mad at him no matter what he did. She was his responsibility, he was suppose to look after her.
He failed as a brother.
He failed as a son.
"Fuck," he whispered to himself at how stupid he had been and yelled, "IB! Where are you! IB!"
Jesse ran frantically around the gallery, calling out to his younger sibling. Hoping that the worst hasn't happened, hoping that his mother won't call the police and file a missing child report.
His heart felt tight.
This was his fault.
He should have looked after her better.
He shouldn't have let her go alone!
How stupid he was. He tried the doors to see if she went out, but they were locked.
"Fuck!" Jesse cursed slamming his hand on the door a few times, he cursed some more. Hoping that this wasn't a lock down and that his sister was long gone, or maybe that everyone was out already and he was the only one that wasn't accounted for. He tried to calm his racing heart, hoping that was the case. He was the only one left in the building, that everyone else was safe outside.
His Mother. Out by the car with his Father holding her and Ib standing with them both holding her securely in each hand and just watching the building for him to exit with the officials that were searching for him and any stragglers. He sat on the floor back against the door.
Waiting.
Breathing.
It was empty.
The thought hasn't totally sunk in as he was waiting for someone to escort him out safely. But he knew that this place would be in an uproar at first if this was a panic situation.
It was completely silent.
Everywhere was empty.
Where there were people, they were not there anymore.
Gone.
They were all gone.
Standing now, he started to venture from the lobby to look where people could be, or coming from. He called out again but it still felt like his voice barely carried, he was just exhaling air at this point. He started to feel a prickle of panic and wondered if his family really did make it out. Calling out again would be useless at this point so he needs to start his own search. He needs to make it quick.
He ran back to the top floor windows and looked outside, there was nothing out there. He ran towards the other wall to see if there was another window that he could properly see out of. There was no windows other than the one at the stairs. Running back, when he reached the window he slammed himself against the wall hard. Then slammed his hand on the glass a few times to see if it would break. It was solid. Still glass, but very solid.
He circled around to try and find someone that could help. To tell him that his family was safe. When he reached end of the hall he hit the wall with a fist, was it a good thing that his sister wasn't here? Does it mean that she's safe with their parents?
"Please."
He ran downstairs and towards the other windows. He looked through them but this time he saw a glimpse of his sister, then all of a sudden he was covered in blue paint. It had fallen from above. "Gah! Phwa!" he spat out the paint and tried to wipe the blue off him. He looked up and seen the window covered in transparent blue. He felt relief at seeing his sister for a moment, but something was off about her. He also noticed that the place was mirrored to what he remembered of the gallery.
This wasn't the area where the lobby was.
The stairs were also in the wrong place from what he remembered.
He detected that there was something eerie about this paint as well. It was a little more runny than normal paint. No it tasted like paint, disgusting. It was paint. It was paint. Please be just paint... He started looking around the place taking in the redness of the floors.
He came to the 'Abyss of the Deep' mural once more, noticing that it was now unblocked right where he was standing before it grew silent.
"What?" whispering as he tentatively stepped to the edge of the picture, then took a few more steps. Not realizing that the blue paint was now to his shoes and dripping onto the now white floor. The sudden urge to touch the art was overwhelming he felt the pull toward the painting he was entranced, "Whoa..."
He dare not mess up the picture with his blueness but he was so amazed that he didn't realize that the place was lighter now. He felt the pull even stronger now and before he knew it his hand was reaching out to the water that he had admired for so long.
The texture was like thick water, he glided his hand through the liquid like substance, then he noticed that the beast was not moving when the wet paint rippled. The beast blinked at him and started to swim away to the edge of the painting disappearing for the moment. Jesse retracted his hand quickly, but then the beast sprang out growling menacingly from its deep dark waters.
Jesse's eyes went wide, body frozen where he knelt, as it growled at him again and made a move to eat him. He realized that he should move out of the way and his only thought was to go into he water. He dove into the water head first in his panicked escape only realizing it now that this was where the monster lived. Stopping he looked around and could only think to swim back up for air.
He tried to swim up but he felt something pulling him down and drag him under, deeper into the world he voluntarily went head first into. Soon him being dragged was no more than him falling. He felt like he fell for hours but the fall was quick and soon water turned to a solid surface. Stairs, once he landed he started rolling down them leaving a trail of blue behind him.
Finally he landed hard on a carpeted floor. His senses knocked out of him, Jesse laid there for a moment, trying to figure out how to breath again. Eyes shut tight, face distorted in pain. The world was peaceful for him once again but so was the silence that came in like a thick fog to surround him again but tightly.
He moved on his side once he got control of himself, trying to ease his breathing. He tried taking in deep breaths but his body ached. He rolled a bit and looked up at the dark ceiling. 'What the hell is this place?' he thought seeing only a black ceiling. He pushed his body up by his elbows, and looked around. He was in a small greenish room, he looked up towards the stairs and noticed that the blue streak he left behind was like a body being dragged up... or down. He shuddered at the thought.
Now wasn't the time to be thinking of being carried off by a maniac.
A low groan escaped his lips as the ache started again, then he sat up fully and glancing around himself taking in more of the bright forest colored room, "If more things are like that monster in that painting, then I probably won't last long here. I hope Ib is safe and away from this nightmare."
Jesse remained seated and inspected himself rubbing his left arm lightly, it was painful but manageable. He tried flexing his hand next but it was more painful then touching it, "Damn, must have sprained it. . . I hope it's not broken."
He carefully slipped off his bag and set it down beside him. He tucked his arm close to him and dug into his bag with one hand, taking out the first aid kit that his mother had made him bring. "For once, I love your over bearing self, mother." he said taking out a gauze bandage and then wrapped it around his hurt wrist. He winced in pain but tried to continue as best as he could.
Once done, he put the first aid kit back in his bag. Jesse gave a soft sigh, and looked at himself. His dark pant legs looked like they were attacked by bright blue bubbles, his jacket was dripping blue against dark red. He didn't know about his hair or face... he hoped he could find a reflective surface soon. He also didn't want to see his shirt, 'Actually, I'll just button up,' he thought and did just that.
He knew that the wool was ruined but it wouldn't do him any good to leave his jacket here and freeze. So he started wiping as much of the left over paint off with his own handkerchief. He got up and slung his splattered blue bag over his shoulder.
"This place is creepy. . . I hope Ib is okay, if she is here. . . god I hope she's not," worry started gripping his heart in an iron like grasp. "Please, be okay. . . I need to get out of here, mom and dad might also worry."
Jesse said and put his backpack on properly and walked out the only door from the room. What it lead to was a white hallway, to his left was nothing but a wall, but on the right it looked as if it went on forever, preparing himself he started walking down the ominous echoing corridor. The blue paint from his jacket and shoes falling behind him with each step.
He felt like he has been walking forever without going anywhere.
It was a few more moments until he realized that he saw blue prints on the floor of the white hallway. His heart nearly sank but still hopeful that he was going in the right direction. "Great, this is fine. It's no big deal."
He started walking again refusing to look back in hopes that he was far from the door he came out of and towards an exit.
The silence had returned.
His footsteps were soon acompanied by his second set and soon a third.
"How am I going to get out of here?" he sighed and looked to his sides to see if he had missed something.
Nothing.
He decided that turning around would be best and started his way back from where he came from. As he walked he noticed something writen on the walls. "'When the rose wilts, so too will you rot away.' What does that mean? What rose?"
He decided to go further, until he heard a click behind him. He turned around and saw a door where there used to be a wall. "Ah, it's one of those nightmares..."
He took a breath in and started for the door he could see his past footsteps where they overlapped and end in a certain spot. He opened the mysterious door gently and shifted his eyes from side to side taking in the surroundings.
The hall was long, only a few of Guertena's works were hanging on the elaborate red wallpaper. But they weren't from the gallery, they look to be previous works, possibly the ones that might have caught fire, or was washed out in the flood. He couldn't place the names of the pictures, and they had no titles. He stepped further into the room and the door shut behind him. "Yeah, those nightmares... They are not real, the monsters are not real... Please be no monsters..."
He went further into the room and looked at the paintings. So far it was quiet, nothing exciting. A few wiggling here and there, but nothing that jumped out at him. He walked into a room and seen a vase with a nice looking rose in it. It was a nice lime green color.
It was beautiful.
Almost like his gold rose necklace. Took his breath away for a moment especially with water droplets on the soft green petals. On the inside it had streaks of rose gold, his world stilled as he looked at the flower.
"Wow, wait... could you be the rose that sign was talking about?" He looked up and seen another sign, he walked over and read it, "'You and the rose are unified know the weight of your own life.' Well I guess you are mine little flower. You do look like you are missing a few petals." he tucked the flower in his jacket than walked out of the room.
Again it changed colors.
It also wasn't a long hallway, it was shorter now. Also no way of escaping.
He sighed and looked in the room he walked out of. Still a blank room aside from the table with the vase and the sign. He walked out and looked around the room like hall. He than noticed a divot in the wall. Almost like ladder steps. "I guess up is my only way."
With great effort, he hauled himself over the edge of the walk-like ladder and laid on the floor of a different colored room. He heaved out a sigh and rested awhile longer. He couldn't remember a climb like that in his occasional trips to the rock climbing gym. No harness, no safety net, during that whole climb. He nearly slipped back down a few times although he caught himself he hoped to never do that again.
He heaved out a sigh and sat up to see where he was. The room was only half of one, the other was the now black hole he escaped from. There was a door there but he figured that he should get something to drink before continuing. He set his bag down and rummaged through it to fetch a bottle of water. He took a small sip and soon after he heard screeching. He quickly put the water away in his bag and ran in the direction away from the pit he literally crawled out of. He heard growls coming from behind him. He slipped the bag back on and continued his run towards who knows where.
He reached a large room filled with different paintings and artworks, he closed the door behind him and relaxed a bit but still on guard for whatever was in the room with him. Jesse breathed hard as he rested against the door. He looked down at himself and realized that he was still covered in blue. It was slightly dry now because of the run, but it still looked dripping. He shuddered at the redness of his jacket and wondered how his mother will react to his choice of colors now.
Chuckling, he knewthat she would throw a fit at the ruined coat and how that blue doesn't suit him in any way shape or form.
He walked past the paintings not bothering with them at all until he came in contact with the only door out, it was currently locked.
"Fuck," he sighed and started his search on the floor where someone might have dropped a key. Once that prove to be useless he decided to look at the paintings to see if there would be a key placed there.
"The Sky seen from a Hill" was nothing of interest.
"Bitter Fruit" was also useless. 'Splat', looking back he seen that an orange fell from the picture. 'Well if the monster from the mural was able to move than these ones can as well.'
"Worry" was what he was currently doing.
"Lady taking the Newspaper" lost it's charm. He sighed and decided to look behind the paintings.
Nothing. He searched the floor, again.
Nothing. He tried the door he walked in from.
Locked.
"Great... What am I suppose to do?" He asked no one and searched the walls for maybe a way to climb out.
Useless. Nothing in here gave him clues, until he noticed something against a blank wall. He walked closer and noticed that he could go through it. "Well shit. This is some labyrinth stuff right here."
He looked around some more and got used to walking through walls, feeling for air, and found a painting called "Echo's" He touched it and it sounded like a radar. He touched it again and looked around to see what it would look like. The place waved once and was normal again.
"Interesting," he said and wondered if he could take the picture.
He could.
He walked around and used "Echo's" as a navigator, where it wasn't wrinkling he walked through. He came across a picture he knew as "Lady in Red" and next to it was "Lady in Blue". He lifted the pictures and out popped a key. He picked it up and all of a sudden the lights flickered and he heard growls.