Now You're Thinking with Portals | W.I.P

Philophobia | 1

The fear of not being loved.

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Chell's hands twitched, as her eyes snapped open, darting around. How long had she been in suspension? She wasn't sure. Her arms and legs felt sore as she slowly got up, everything looked, so much more... broken down. That's all she could say. Slowly, she picked up her head when she heard something bump into the door.

"Ah, sorry!" A small voice chirped, "Is.. anyone still kickin' down there?"

Chell opened her mouth, just as the door swung open.

    "Hello!" Sputtered a core, dangling from the rails, bright orange optic darting around, before settling back on Chell. The scuffed, dark grey and orange paint were littered with small details and scratches, making the core look all the more lively. She could merely stand and stare, her eyes softening as she calmed. The core seemed interesting enough. Chell's mind rung, as she slowly stepped forward.

    "Great to see someone down here is still kickin'! What a gosh-darn relief!" The jumpy Core squealed, emitting a clapping sound, despite having no hands.

Chell watched in wonder, as the core spun around, and chirped some other nonsense at her. She found this quiet amusing, although everything seemed so.. off.

  She watched as the core slowly calmed down, their orange optic narrowing on her. "Ok! I guess I should introduce myself! I'm Caroline." The crow chirped.

  Chell nodded, stepping forward and trying to inspect the little core. The metal plates were very well made, and the screws, nuts and bolts were well concealed on the outside. Within the small gaps, she had gotten a good look at a few wires, maybe even a circuit board. Machines were complex, more than what she could put into words.

   Caroline paused, giving the wall an insightful look. "Consider you've been in suspension for such a long time, I think you might have a.. mighty severe head issue. Which I know, is concerning, but at least you have every motor function!" The Core seemingly mumbled, the optic covers flicking up and down in swift movements. They were trying to imitate a blink, but were obviously failing.

   The orange core slid backwards on the rail, huffing. "We should probably find a way out of this place, considering the backup generator for the relaxation centre has.. gone out." She grumbled, looking around. Slowly, the orange optic widened, before going absolutely tiny. "So many subjects are probably dead. This isn't good."

   Chell nodded, looking away, before her head snapped up at rattles shook the room. Her hands twitched, knuckles growing white as she made tight fists. It was far too annoying for her to stand much longer, but thankfully Coraline seemed to share the same idea.

  "I will.. take control and try to find a docking station." The Core added an exhausted sigh to the end of the sentence, as everything rattled once again. "You might want to hold onto something." She whispered, yet loud enough for Chell to hear.

  Why was caroline acting like someone was watching her every move? She didn't know. Chell felt, a strong connecting to her already, oddly. Love, like a mother and daughter's, two friends. Caroline cared, and that's all that mattered to Chell.

  But she was afraid that Platonic love could turn to something much, much worse.