Innocent《Chelley》

Chapter 17

The test room was gloriously normal. There were no screens or cameras. The potato was absent. She was alone, and the test was solvable. She could get out alive.

Chell took her time in finding the solution. The ambient noise of the facility soothed her as she worked. The portal gun sat, weighty and familiar, in her hands.

After a while, Chell found herself on the opposite end of the test chamber. She felt a slight shock going through the Emancipation Grid as usual. No voice commented on her test-solving skills or her weight.

She realized no one was watching her.

As she approached the corner leading to the elevator chamber, she began to relax. All she had to worry about was escaping. No one would impede her progress save for the turrets. She was home free.

But when she turned the corner, she found herself staring at an empty room. There was no elevator.

Chell crept forward, a warm dread slowly overtaking her.

"Going somewhere?"

And a panel smashed her into the wall.

Chell sat upright.

Same bed. Same room. Same sun high in the sky and same borrowed clothes on her back. Same nightmare.

She pounded the bed with her fist, hissing through her teeth.

She had been so close. The dream had been peaceful until the very end, when she had heard his voice and promptly gotten killed. He was still there, despite Wheatley's efforts from last night. Nothing was working.

Chell threw the covers off herself and ran towards the door. She wrenched it open and nearly slammed into Wheatley.

"Woah, hey!" He moved a plate piled high with food out of reach. "Careful, now! I'm right here."

Chell stumbled back and stared at him. He had made her breakfast again.

Wheatley tiptoed into the room and eyed the messy bed. He turned toward her, took in her wild hair and bloodshot eyes. "What's happened?"

Chell bit her lip and looked away from him, her hands balling into fists.

Wheatley understood immediately. "Oh, no, again?"

She nodded.

He ushered her towards the bed, where she slipped under the covers and sat upright against the headboard. She buried her face in her hands. He put the plate of food in her lap and held out a fork, which she eventually took. Wheatley could cook a decent breakfast, and she was normally starving when she woke up, but the knot in her stomach kept her from eating anything.

He sat on the edge of the bed. "So you're still having the nightmares." There was dread in his voice.

She nodded. Her vision blurred, and she looked up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.

Wheatley touched her arm. "We could try something else."

Chell closed her eyes and shook her head. She picked up the fork and shoveled burnt potatoes into her mouth.