Shot

Darkness was on every side save for a few feet of a catwalk that could be seen in the light shining from the core's optic.

Chell followed close behind Wheatley as he slowly slid across his rail. He kept his gaze fixed on the walkway, she kept up a glare, both trying to hide how scared they were.

"Oh," he stopped as they came to a dead end, looking around.

She looked at him annoyed; didn't he say he knew where he was going?

"There we go," his light reflected off something white a ways away, and white usually meant a surface the portal gun worked on.

They went back then another way. As they got closer they could see that it was white panels being carried along a rail to new test chambers. The catwalk they were on went parallel to it but he noticed the panels sometimes overlapped other walks.

"If you can portal over there," he shined his light on a catwalk, "and then I found a way to that rail we'd be set. I'm pretty sure that's probably the right way but the problem is I don't know how you're going to portal over there."

As his light moved while he talked she used it to look around, seeing a white glint below.

"Obviously you'd need two portals and I'm only seeing where to place one. Well you could place both on those panels," his gaze swept over them, Chell shooting a distant one, "but that wouldn't do you any good, you could shoot those panels all day but unless you found a way to-"

Grabbing the railing she jumped over it into the abyss.

"Ah!" his light shrunk.

She landed on a fallen panel and shot before her feet, squinting as a light shined in her face through the portal.

"Oh thank goodness. Warn me before doing things like that!"

She smirked, pointing down. He lowered his light and she jumped down as a catwalk came into view.

"Stay there," he yelled as he slid off, "I'll be right over."

As she was left in the dark she let the fear show. She watched his light grow more and more distant. Every time her and Wheatley got separated she got worried and every time she'd scold herself. She couldn't depend on anyone, she'd remind herself, especially not anyone in Aperture.

His hacking skills and flashlight were handy, and his voice broke through the eerie silence, and it was nice having someone around... She interrupted her own thoughts; he didn't really care about her, she shouldn't care about him, they just both needed help, that was all.

Reaching out she grabbed the handrail and felt her way forward.

"Where are you going?" Wheatley sounded worried. He slid passed her, turning to look back as they went on. "I told you not to wander off, or something to that effect."

She glared annoyed but he didn't know that it was at herself for feeling relieved to see him; assuming it was at him he shut up and turned to stare nervously at where they were going.

In the edges of his light stacks of white panels were scattered on either side of the catwalk.

She started to feel nervous as well, hoping he'd talk again.

"Hello?" asked a tinny voice.

His gaze jerked toward it, to an oval robot standing on one of the stacks. "Turret!"