Alone: A Portal Fanfic

Chapter 5 - The Escape

Chell

It was nice to see Wheatley again. I only got a few snippets of his story before GLaDOS lowered the ceiling. However, what little I heard did sound interesting. Thankfully, he showed up again a few test chambers later.

"Good news, GLaDOS stated when I arrived in Chamber 12. "I figured out what to do with all the money I save recycling your one roomful of air. When you die, I'm going to laminate your skeleton and pose you in the lobby. That way future generations can learn from you how not to have your unfortunate bone structure."

The door leading to the actual test wouldn't open. Causing the AI to sigh. "Perfect, the door's malfunctioning. I guess somebody's going to have to repair that too. No, don't get up. I'll be right back. Don't touch anything."

That's when I saw Wheatley in a nearby window. "I found some bird eggs up here," he explained. "Just dropped 'em into the door mechanism. Shut it right down. I..." he was cut off by a bird attacking him. "AGH! BIRD! BIRD! BIRD! BIRD!"

I struggled to resist the urge to giggle as he went out of sight. Wheatley was a dork, but he also was the closest thing I had to a friend.

Before long, he came back into sight. He sounded out of breath. "Okay. That's probably the bird, isn't it? That laid the eggs! Livid!"

I chuckled, then nodded in agreement.

"Okay, look, the point is, we're gonna break out of here! Very soon, I promise, I promise! I just have to figure out how. To break us out of here. Before Selene wakes up." Before I could even think, he said, "Here she comes! Keep testing! Remember: you never saw me! Never saw me!"

He left, and I heard GLaDOS. "I went and spoke with the door mainframe. Let's just say he won't be... well, living anymore. Anyway, back to testing."

I briefly glanced at the window, then entered the test chamber. I'm counting on you, Wheatley. I thought.

—

As much as I hated Selene, I had to admit she did stop GLaDOS from going too far with her tricks and insults. At one point the AI mentioned a surprise, but she quickly canceled it by the time I got to the next test chamber. She never explained why, but I suspected it touched upon a sensitive subject for Selene. It was interesting to overhear just how much the homicidal AI cared about her.

After a few test chambers, I arrived in Chamber 21. GLaDOS was in a good mood when she asked, "Guess who just woke up?"

I held back a sigh. Is it Selene?

"Morning lunatic!" Selene chirped.

This time, I did sigh. Called it.

"I'm in a good mood this morning, so guess what? We have a surprise for you!"

"Not a fake, tragic surprise that like the one I almost make the mistake of going through with," GLaDOS added. "This is a real surprise, with tragic consequences."

"And we've got real confetti for it!" Selene sang. "It's the good stuff. Our last bag. Part of me is going to miss it, but at the end of the day it was just taking up space. I think you'll enjoy this as much as we are."

I shook my head, then flipped off the nearest camera. I highly doubt that, you maniac.

I had just started doing the test when the lights turned off. "What's going on?!" Selene shrieked. "Who the fuck turned off the lights?!"

One of the walls opened up to reveal Wheatley, who was above a catwalk. "Hey, buddy!" He said with an exaggerated Texan drawl. "I'm speaking in an accent that is beyond their range of hearing... I know I'm early, but we have to go right now!"