Through the Picture Frame 9

Chapter 9 – Blue

*****The text between < and > are your thoughts

A young man lay sprawled out in the middle of the hallway. He wore a dark blue hoodie, tan khakis, and black converse. His sandy hair was untidy and had a cowlick sticking up.
<Holy cow, this guy is DEAD! Shoot! I’m going to die! He’s been murdered or…> You looked around, trying to spot out a Lady in Red.  You cautiously went up to him and nudged his arm with your foot. He groaned. <This guy…he’s still alive!>

“Hello? Um, are you alright?” you asked. No response. A blue key gleamed in his hand, and you grabbed it. “Sorry,” you murmured, “I’ll be back. Ummm…try to hang on. I’ll see if Oliver can do anything to help.”

You went to the locked door and shoved the key in. With the satisfying click, the door squeaked open, and you peered inside. Blue petals littered the ground and led up to a door. You walked past the door and the window next to it to the other end of the room. There was a large splotch of blood. Your heart leapt, and your gaze shifted ahead. The wall ahead was empty, except for a small plaque reading “The Lady in Blue”.

<Shoot, another one of those things. Must be trapped behind that door or something.> You pressed your ear up against the wall and heard a demented voice.

“He loves him, he loves him not…ehehehehe,” you shivered at the demonic laughter. <I don’t want to go in there but…> You recalled from what you read in the book. Likely, the lady stole a rose. <Could be that guy’s or…> You stiffened.  <It could be Oliver’s!> Your mind gave you the image of him collapsed on the ground; his eyes closed and skin pale white. <No! I have to get that rose.>

You scanned the room for a potential weapon and zeroed in on a mahogany table with a vase on it in the far corner. <Perfect.> You gently placed the vase on the ground and gripped the chair’s legs, its flat surface facing away from you.

<Okay, Name, just use this to hit her on the head. It’ll at least stun her while you grab the rose.> Your hand gripped the door knob as you slowly opened the door.

The lady was plucking the petals whilst muttering to herself. She was so immersed with the rose that she didn’t take notice as you crept closer and raised the table. You brought it down with as much force as you could muster and, with a sickening crack, she flew to the other side of the room and hit the wall. You dropped the table, pried the rose out of her grasp, and made a beeline for the door as she was beginning to crawl after you. You slammed it shut and pressed all your weight against it. Fortunately, the door help up and her scratches and growls waned.

<Phew, that scared me to death. I wonder whose rose this belongs to…> You heard a tapping noise from the window.

Before you could turn to look, the window smashed open and the Lady in Blue crawled out. She snarled and made a grab for you, but missed. You let out a squeak of surprise and ran to the hallway door with her hot on your heels. You slammed the door and heard a laud thump as she collided with the flat surface.

<Better get out of here fast.> Your gaze shifted to the blue rose. Three petals clung on to the wilted stem. <Let’s put this one in water.> You dropped it in the crystal vase and it gave off a sapphire light. It had been restored to full health.

<Okay, let’s see whose this belongs to.> You thought, eying the rose. You went into the other hallway. The man still lay there, unmoving. You kneeled near him and gently shook his shoulder.

“Hey,” you murmured, “wake up. You’ll catch a cold from sleeping on the ground.” He moaned and looked up, his glasses askew on his nose.

“Hey, the pain stopped,” he said to himself and caught sight of you. He let out a high pitched, almost feminine, scream and stumbled back. “St-stay away!” he cried, “I don’t have anything else! Wait a minute…” His gaze drifted towards the blue rose in your hand.
As a sign of friendship, you held it out to him.

“Be careful,” you warned, “you lose your health if the petals fall off. I took it back from the Lady in Blue. Don’t let any of the monsters take it.” He took the rose and gave you a thankful smile.

“Hey, my name’s Alfred but call me Al. Are you from the gallery?” he asked. You were shocked.

“You’re from there too? How did you get in? My name’s Name.”

“I was looking at some painting and the lights went out. When they came back on, everyone was gone,” Al shivered, “There was this headless statue that chased me down a flight of stairs. Then, I was attacked by that thing .I ran away, but I collapsed until you came along.”

You raised an eyebrow. This guy wasn’t familiar to you, but you know you’ve heard his name somewhere.

“Hey,” you said, “I’m from the gallery too. I also found someone else here; his name’s Oliver, but we got separated. I’m trying to find him and a way out. Do you remember where you came from?”

Al let out a disappointed sigh. “The stairs vanished when I tried to run back.”

“Same for me,” you said sympathetically. <Al’s from the gallery too. Maybe I can convince him to help me search for Oliver or the way out.> “Hey, do you want to come with me? We can search for Oliver and the exit together.”

A relieved smile appeared on Al’s face. He got up and started to walk to the other end of the hall. A paining spat at him, missing him by a centimeter. He let out another girlish shriek and fell back. You giggled.

“Right!” he exclaimed, getting to his feet with his face red with embarrassment, “It’s awful for a hero to leave a damsel in distress.”

Omake

You stood over the man, unsure what to do. Then, you noticed a bundle of walking sticks nearby. <Perfect! Just what I need.> You gripped one of the sticks and began to poke his head, looking for signs of life. After a few minutes if constant pokes to the head from the stick, the man shifted.

<Guess that means that he’s alive.>

“Just get the rose,” he muttered.