Escape [open]

Devon was a little taken aback at Alton's surprise that he owned his own store. He wasn't sure if it was the owning his own place, or that it was a music store. Yeah, I started it up a couple years ago, He said with a shrug. He didn't really want to make a big deal about it. Sure, when he first started the place that was almost all he talked about, but the novelty of it had worn off for him.

For him, discussing the masters was a much more interesting topic. Especially since it seemed that there could be a little learning to be done on both sides. The redhead couldn't stop the small smile as Alton seemed to misunderstand him. Don Giovanni is a play by Mozart. If it's ever in the area, we'll go see it, He said, hoping that he would get the chance to keep to that. He really would like to see the play since it was supposed to be such an amazing production and he wouldn't mind a little company that would actually appreciate it.

He would have loved to be able to keep the casual conversation up like this. It would make their trek to the front doors so much easier, better, less scary. Unfortunately, forces that were clearly against them did not want them to try and better this little adventure they were forced into. Devon's phone gave its final bit of light and shut off. The taller male stopped, sticking his hand out so that he could find Alton and vice versa.

Okay, Alton. I'm right here if you want to hold onto me, He announced. He personally thought it best that they touch each other so they could be certain to stick together, but he would rather not force anything and make Alton freak out more. Devon himself had a shiver run through him from being tossed back into the darkness. The fact that it was clearly getting colder wasn't helping.

He took a deep breath, forcing his nerves back into a cage. Can you hum your favorite Schubert song? Focus on the music and I promise I'll get you out of here, He said quietly, green eyes straining to adjust and see what was around them. He was also trying to get his mind to work and remember the basic layout of the gallery. Now, if he could manage those two things and keeping the two of them calm everything would be just peachy.

His eyes widened as soon as he realized his even bigger mistake. How foolish of him. Don Giovanni wasn't some random old, dead man, it was an opera! His face would have met his palm had it not been for how tense he had suddenly become. While he may be one for classical music, he had never actually looked into the operas or anything else made by such composers. He's probably listened to dozens of songs from different operas, but never once had he ever made the connection of what they were from.

He could feel his face flush as he murmured a my mistake below his breath, focusing his gaze on the ground--more precisely, his feet. He should just go back to elementary school. Better yet, he should just go home, but he can't do that until they find the exit. With a shaky sigh, he slowly returned his eyes back to the man before him, only to notice exactly how dim the phone light was become. Alton held his breath, biting down on his lower lip to the point where it could bleed at any moment.

Then the light went out.

And let's not forget that lovely, high pitched yelp that the boy produced as soon as the darkness swallowed him whole once more. He was trembling now, violently so, fingers curling and digging into his hoodie. This was not good. This was not good. They were going to die, and they would never know who did it! The museum was going to open to see a new piece of artwork, the one of Devon and Alton, dead on the floor.

He barely heard what Devon said next, only catching the you can hold onto me and hum your favorite Schubert song parts. It was enough to make him understand, and he nodded, despite being unseen by the cover of the darkness. The blond reached out, waving his hand slowly and aimlessly in the air until he brushed up against Devon's hand. He tensed, biting down harder on his lip so he didn't let his fears be voiced, before grabbing the man's hand. All he could do was hold onto it for dear life, probably cut off a bit of circulation, and try to remember his favorite song by Franz Schubert.

Going through the mental records list in his mind, he quickly chose a song that almost always seemed to calm his nerves when things went bump in the night. Gulping before taking a deep breath, he started his humming with hesitance, the first note coming out wrong before he stopped, shaking his head. Starting once more, the hummed notes came out in perfect pitch despite the trembles running all along his body. Ave Maria was better played on the piano in his mind, but humming would suffice for now.

Devon had to keep his breathing steady as he waited impatiently. He wanted to be able to at least see vague shapes in the darkness around them. Considering how often he had been out late at night growing up, one would think his night vision would be better. He pretended he didn't hear that little yelp of fear out of Alton, figuring it was better just to focus on the really important stuff.

Or perhaps all that fear was one of the really important things.

He couldn't help the reaction of turning his head to look at the blond. The grip on his hand seemed a bit forceful. Maybe there was more than just a simple fear of the darkness or ghosts. At least Alton was willing to take advice from a stranger. The common interest in music and his own willingness to talk about it for hours seemed to help him smooth things over with people he didn't know. Or maybe it was his loud personality. Right, yeah, sure.

He slowly started forward, enjoying Alton's rendition of the Ave Maria. To try and add a little comfort, his thumb started to rub back and forth over the back of Alton's hand absently. Devon's attentions were preoccupied with listening for sounds around them and trying not to walk into anything. He would not be held responsible for what his hand was doing at the moment.

In his intense concentration, the red head faltered a step. Had those been footsteps? By this point Devon knew what their shoes sounded like on the tiles. It was possible that someone else was making their way into the area, but they had been so faint. Maybe he was just hearing things due to paranoia. One's mind did have a tendency to play tricks in such nerve wracking situations. He had to force himself not to keep listening for phantom footsteps and look forward.

Once more he turned his attention to something less worrisome. You must have an amazing ear for music. That's perfectly in tune, He commented. Yes, concentrating on music was a surefire way to keep them safe from the strange sounds coming from their environment. Right, yeah, sure.

Keeping up his humming, the blond followed after the man, trying to keep up, even with the slow pace. He was grateful for the slower pace, but he could only multitask for so long. Trying to keep in pitch, walking, and trying to keep his mind off the probably monsters lurking in the darkness was hard enough. At least he didn't have to worry about falling behind, using his hand, latched onto the other's, in order to remind him to keep moving if he even momentarily halted his steps.

Blue eyes warily glanced back and forth despite knowing he wouldn't see anything. There wasn't a light in sight, and not even the slightest ray of sunlight was able to filter in through the windows... If the sun was even up still, that is. It was probably night know, and without his watch he didn't have the smallest clue as to the time. Hours could have passed by now, though that was highly unlikely. But, who knew? Minutes could turn into hours within the blink of an eye when darkness surrounded you.

His grip on Devon's hand tightened as his humming came to an end with the song. He flinched as soon as the man started talking once more, having grown somewhat accustomed to the silence in the absence of the music. He grinned sheepishly even when he knew the other couldn't see it. "I grew up with that song." He paused, trying and utterly failing to ignore the footsteps he could have sworn he heard off in the distance. "I learned to play it on the piano when I was six, the flute when I was eight, and... Ah, s-singing it is a different story." Never having confidence with his voice, it stunted how much of a song he could learn.

Devon's eyes widened a little as Alton told him of his proficiency with musical instruments. He could play the Ave Maria at the age of six? Bloody prodigy aren't you? He said, brow raised. If he could do that, then what the hell was he doing in Immortal? With talent like that, then he should be off composing music of his own. This was not the place for someone who could play such complex music on multiple instruments at such a young age.

He didn't necessarily have to sing, though he didn't doubt that Alton could. With the ability to keep in tune like that, he thought the blond would do just fine. We'll get you to sing later. I'll take a turn in entertaining, Devon said. He mentally started shifting through all the music stored in his head. It was amazing that he could remember half of what he had heard; he had so much useless information stored away that his own mind was a maze more times than not.

Finally, he thought of something fitting and grinned as the music started to play in his head. Oh yeah, I'll tell you something I think you'll understand. When I say that something, I want to hold your hand, He sang. While he was by no means the best singer out there, Devon knew that he could at least hold a tune. His baritone voice wasn't made to sing all kinds of songs, but for this, it worked quite well.

As he continued to sing, he let the music move him literally. He started to dance down the hall, not bothering to let go of Alton's hand, or care that he was being so strange in front of a stranger. If the blond was going to start coming to his shop to learn about music after the 1800's, then he would have to get used to random dancing fits anyway.

"I wouldn't say I'm a prodigy..." He mumbled. He was thankful for the darkness for once as his face regained some of the color it had lost as soon as his fears started kicking in. He wasn't a prodigy... He just had far too much time on his hands, and it was either wait around for his sister to get home while he was younger or play the piano with his neighbor. He always chose the latter because it was far more entertaining, no matter how painful it became from hours of reaching for different keys.

He frowned, the color in his face fading once more at what the man said next. If he was really going to get him to sing later on, then he was going to need various methods of torture just to get him to sing a single note. He was not going to perform for the stranger, even if he got down on his hands and knees and begged. Turning his attention back to Devon, he blinked in confusion as the museum grew quieter for a few seconds.

And then Devon started singing. Sure, he had said it was his turn to entertain, but he hadn't expected the man to sing to him. It was a song he didn't know, of course, but the lyrics alone were enough to bring the color back to his face once more. Ah, sweet darkness, for once you are a life saver. The blond tensed as the stranger's hand tugged him forwards as he--wait... Was he dancing? He was! This was very weird. He didn't know how to react to the dancing, only to let himself be tugged along, stumbling every so often while trying to make sure he didn't fall flat on his face.

Devon let out a snort, shaking his head. You are the only person I know that played classical music when they were six. Hell, I wasn't even thinking of picking up an instrument at six. It was a few years after that age that he had even touched his first guitar. He had been too busy messing with bugs and causing childish havoc, like picking on his little sister.

Now he was content with dancing to the music in his own head and singing for no reason other than it made them feel better. It was making them forget that they were in the dark, possibly followed by something that might not like them very much. The spirits probably didn't appreciate the fact that someone was singing so loudly in a place that was typically considered a place for quiet observation.

The lights went out and so did reason! Now Devon was just enjoying himself, dancing as he went along. He forgot that he was somewhat dragging Alton along until the notes died off and the silence filled his mind once more. He finally remembered that he was holding Alton's hand, the reason for his choice in tunes. Sorry. Just gotta grove with some songs, He said with a shrug.

Now that his Beatles mood had passed, Devon was back to watching for apparitions. Again, those footsteps sounded. It might only be him, but it was unsettling as hell. He couldn't resist the urge to look behind them. He saw nothing, but then again, he didn't see anything ahead of them either. He really didn't want to alarm Alton by asking if he heard the sounds as well.

He would just have to suffer his own mind making him feel crazy in silence. So, other than being so musically talented, what else are you into? He asked, still searching for something that might not actually be visible. Might as well try to keep one of them calm while he freaked out inside.

Alton didn't find it so weird that he could play classical songs at such a young age. He grew up around the music, so it was only natural that he would catch on to the rhythm and notes easily. If you sat him down in front of a piano now, however, he might have a little trouble remembering which finger goes where at first. He wasn't able to get near a piano since the move, and a few months could easily throw you off balance. Oh, if only they brought the piano with them when they moved...

He fixed his gaze on the darkness before him, blinking when Devon continued to speak. "I-it's not a problem." He mumbled, cringing at how loud his voice seemed to be, despite such a low volume, when his sense of sight was cut off. The blond bit down on his lip, chewing the flesh. He should really stop doing that when he was even the slightest bit uncomfortable. He might bite open his lip, have blood spew out, make a mess, and--he stopped as his fears began to bubble within him once more.

He attempted to glance around once more before giving up on finding some source of light of life. For now, he would just have to let himself be guided by the stranger and hope for the best. Hope. Hah. That was something he seemed to have little to none of. Snapping his attention back to Devon, he thought for a moment. What exactly was he into? There was no way in hell he was going to tell the man that he collected stuffed animals and slept in a pile of them at night. That would just seem weird.

"I, uh... I like stories, I guess." Jeez, he was really unsure about himself. As for the stories, he had really only listened to his sister's stories and any he could find entertaining in books. "Spoken stories, that is." He quickly added. He preferred spoken stories to what he had to read because he could normally picture things a little better. You could always tell a good story teller from a bad one by their tone of voice and how into it they became. He loved it. "What about you?"

The redhead let the song he had been singing start to replay in his head, using that as distraction while Alton was quiet. There seemed to be only so much conversation to be had right now. Given that his attentions had to be on multiple things currently, he didn't feel like he could offer the best conversation at the moment. He would much rather be sitting around, music playing in the background, and letting their minds wander wherever they liked.

As the blond expressed his interest in stories, he frowned a little. Stories? Did he mean books, movies perhaps? Movies had plenty of words, though some of the "stories" were mediocre at best. That was being nice. However, books were much better stories on average. Those could be spoken if someone were reading them aloud. He made a small, inquisitive sound, curious about why that particular specification needed to be made.

I enjoy a good book here and there. I play video games, too, Devon replied, brow furrowing as he looked around. He was willing to talk about their interests, but something was off. He stopped in his tracks, staring at painting near him. He couldn't make out a good deal of detail, but his night vision had finally settled in and he wasn't so worried about running into things.

He let out a frustrated noise, keeping hold of Alton's hand while he turned around. I feel like we've been here before. We only made one turn so that should be impossible. That seemed reasonable. One turn, new hallway, no way of circling back without making more turns, right? Having walked the museum in the light, he knew that there were no circular floors here.

A pale eyebrow arched in confusion at the small noise that emitted from the man before him. What was that supposed to be? He didn't know, and it would probably be rude to ask. Mentally filing the question away for a later date that would probably never come because he would forget, the blond tuned back into what the man was saying before he missed anything. So he played video games and read a few books? He was surprised, to say the least. You could say Alton was starting to judge, but he would have expected someone who ran a music store to focus on music only. The video games wasn't too surprising, but the books were. Comic books, maybe? A possibility, but now he was just getting down to stereotypes.

Alton quickly came to a halt to keep himself from ramming into Devon as the dark form before him seemed to stop. Tilting his head in confusion, he sidestepped so he could stand beside the stranger. He reached out his free hand, taking a step forwards until his hand brushed up against the rough texture of a painting. He shivered, clenching his teeth to keep himself from producing any high pitched noises he had made earlier due to the texture of a painting. Keeping his hand on the painting, not really caring if you weren't supposed to touch the artwork, the boy hummed to himself.

Glancing over his shoulder in the direction Devon was in, guided by the fact that they were still holding hands, the blond, once more, bit down on his lip as if trying to decide upon something. After a few moments of not responding to the man, he slowly loosened his death grip on the other's hand before swiftly breaking contact with Devon. It was a risky move, and the thousands of scenarios that flashed in his mind brought forth a violent tremble. He shook his head, bringing his now-free hand towards the painting. Now was not the time to be frightened. He needed to figure out if what Devon said was true.

Shuffling his feet, he made his way down, hands ghosting over the painting. The texture was definitely familiar. And it was long. Once he found the end of the painting, Alton gulped. It went the entire length of the wall. There were only a few paintings that were this long in the museum, as far as he knew, but all the other ones were on the other side of the gallery. They couldn't have walked that far in such a short time. Turning back towards where he assumed Devon still was, he called out. "D-Devon? We're back wh-where we started."

Devon frowned as he tried to figure out where they were. Yes, he knew that he had passed the painting once already, but where were they in relation to when they decided to try and find the exit? The darkness made it difficult to figure out what piece of artwork was in front of him by the vague shapes that the light and dark paint gave.

Alton seemed to have an idea. It made his stomach turn a little as his companion pulled away. This was the boy that had yelped when the lights went out and now he was wandering into the darkness by himself. He chewed on his lip a little, waiting to find out why he had been left standing there. The only sound he listened for was Alton's shoes on the tiles.

Unknowingly, he was holding his breath as he waited for something to happen. Finally Alton spoke. The words were not comforting. In relation to where they started was a thought of the past. Being back at the beginning so to speak was not something he wanted to hear. Turning away from the sound of Alton's voice, Devon scowled at the nothingness. What the hell? What is the purpose of making us walk in a circle, hm? He demanded of the spirits.

Yes, he realized he sounded insane. However, due to this being impossible, it was only reasonable now to assume that ghosts had altered their reality in order to spin them around like this. If we're going to get turned around like this, I'm not really sure what to do, Devon admitted, hating that he was at a loss. He wanted to get them home, but if there was nothing but a big circle to walk that was going to be a good deal more difficult than he anticipated.

Alton tried his best to ignore the man's momentary insanity. It wasn't that he was insane--he would be questioning the spirits and whatever else might be listening as well. It was just an odd thing to do since one might not get a response. The boy shook his head to clear the thoughts away, instead focusing his attention on running his hands along the painting to try and remember what it looked like. He could only vaguely remember the colors--various shades of warm and cool colors, mostly dominated by the warm colors--but the actual image it was supposed to be was lost to him. He had stared a good ten maybe fifteen minutes at the painting, yet it was still lost to him. He could make out lines that felt more like the creator took out a large crayon and drew on it. Art was so strange when you couldn't see it.

Bringing himself to resurface from his world of trying to figure things out like a blind person, the blond turned his attention to Devon once more. Alton was only able to stay the least bit calm because he wasn't alone, but now that the only thread of stability was admitting defeat... A tremble shook Alton to the bone, causing his teeth to clatter. He clenched his jaw to keep the clattering from becoming too loud, bringing his hands from the painting and around himself. It wasn't the cold that was effecting him now. No, the thread was close to breaking.

"D-Devon?" He questioned, crouching down to the floor like he had went the lights first went out. His arms found their way around his knees once more, fingers digging into his jeans. "What if..." He trailed off, lost in his own world of nightmares and terrors. What if the lights never turned back on? What if they were trapped forever? What if the stories were one hundred percent true? What if they died? Would his sister miss him? Would his parents? What about Devon? Did he have anyone who would miss him?

Devon gave a small sigh, running his hands through his hair. This was a headache that he hadn't been prepared for. Why had he agreed to coming out to this place? Granted, the one good thing that was coming out of this was meeting Alton since he finally found someone that could appreciate music that wasn't coming from teenagers with fake problems. Hell, the fact that the blond's favorite music was classical gave him hope that not all was lost in the world.

He didn't want anything to happen to either of them and he had to think of something to make the situation better. He tried to follow the sounds of shifting clothing as Alton moved around. He raised a brow as the blond started to express his concerns. Clearly he thought that the situation was going to be dire and expected the worst.

Don't worry, Tony. We'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes to think of something, He said, taking a seat himself. He leaned back on his hands, legs stretched in front of him as his mind started to wander as it liked. Unlike some, he didn't think that focusing so hard on a problem like this would gain him a solution.

This was so far out of the ordinary that they needed to let the unreasonable answer come to them. Devon let his mind wander so far that he actually started to sing again. When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

As he sang, the red head simply laid down, spreading out while he stared at the ceiling. Maybe something would show itself if it liked the Beatles enough. Everyone loved them so there was no reason not to be friendly and join in. Or maybe, somewhere in the random song outburst he would find him the answer they were looking for. Genius!

Tony? Who the hell was Tony? Wasn't that the, uh, tiger thing for some breakfast cereal? He didn't know for sure, not really being one to pay attention to commercials on television, but he did know that there was no one named Tony around here. Unless he was referring to some spirit or monster lurking in the darkness. Alton shivered at the thought, pushing it out of his head. He should really stop letting his imagination run wild.

He could only assume that the man was referring to him. It was the safest solution to his internal debate. He decided not to answer, letting Devon think without his interruption. He tuned into the silence engulfed them once more, listening in for any footsteps, shifting pieces of artwork, or anything else out of the ordinary. He was still trembling, put the pain in his legs from squeezing them so hard helped calm the shaking... Somewhat.

Alton flinched, turning his head to the side in search of Devon when he started singing again. The blond gulped, resting his cheek on his knees as he listened to the stranger's voice. He sure liked to sing when they were trapped in a gallery. It was strange but nice. At least it kept his mind off the dangers lurking around every corner, like moving mannequins and--whoops. There he went again. Bringing his knees closer to his chest, the blond took to clearing his mind, just listening to the man's voice. It was another song he didn't know, but, at this point, he really shouldn't be surprised with how little he knew about the songs of the past century.

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me. Shine until tomorrow, Devon let the song sort of die off right there. He wondered if his phone would work again. Spirits didn't have to suck on the electrical energy the entire time. Also, if the thing was well and truly dead until he got home, then there would be nothing for them to feed off of. Shifting on the floor, the redhead reached for his phone once more.

He turned his head as he did so in the direction that he thought Alton was still in. I think I thought of something, He announced. He pulled the small device out and blindly searched for the power button along the side. For a moment he worried that it wasn't going to go on. Biting his lip, he continued to press on that one button that held all his hope.

Finally, the screen came back to life. They had light once more! Rolling over with a broad grin on his face, he crawled closer to the blond. Okay, so we were brought back to this spot for a reason. Well, I'm guessing we were. He flicked through the apps on his screen for that flashlight again. Obviously the floor layout has changed, so maybe other things have changed too. We just need to figure what it is and hopefully get a clue.

Yeah, that all sounded like it was some brilliant revelation. Now, the only issue was if he was right. What if there wasn't a change? What if there wasn't a clue to puzzle out so they could get out? Devon shook his head, ignoring those questions. He had to hope for the best and just insist that there was something new here to see.