Finally it was done. It had taken her a year at the very least but it was done. Chell finally finished building herself a small wooden cabin, just big enough for her. The cabin was made of wood and it wasn't at all perfect, but it was still a livable area. The cabin had flowers sticking out of it at some places, to make it feel more comfortable. The patterns weaved in and out of small slots in the cabin, making a mesmerizing pattern. Chell found out that abstract and compact art like this comforted her, and it was good that she had the ability to make something like that. There was also a radio. Out of all the things that could've been, it was a radio. She found it behind the shed she exited out of. And it only played one song. The same annoying song that she heard when she first woke up in that wretched place. But she still had it, just in case a new song came on, or something other than static was on the radio. She was hoping for a song that she heard only once while browsing through stations, that went a bit like 'Something something- back, when they something you, no need to say goodbye'. That's all she could remember from the song, but she liked it, and when she tried to find it again it wasn't there. It was the only song that played that wasn't the exact same song over and over again. There was no bed, and nothing to keep her warm, although the cabin was more or less for if it rained. Instead, she slept on a soft patch of grass near her area she decided to make into a fireplace.

The patch she slept on was near a large forest, which had many secrets hiding. One time Chell wandered deep into the forest when she heard the smack of an axe hitting a tree. Someone was there. So Chell said the loudest 'Hello?' she could say, which wasn't very loud as yelling hurt her throat. There was a lot of rustling in the leaves and the drop of something heavy. Chell, startled, had run over to investigate, but it seemed the person was gone, and all they left was an axe. She took it and looked around, before walking off again. The person, surely wouldn't miss the axe, as they had dropped it when they ran off. Another time, she had taken a stroll and stumbled across a stone path, worn down, but still very magical looking. She followed that stone path, and it led to a lake. It was very blue, in fact, dangerously blue. Like repulsion gel had gotten into it. She had decided not to take a drink of it, for all she had known it could have been toxic chemicals. It was still satisfying to look at. That natural overgrown look that seems almost magical. She liked it there, but rarely went, in case it was toxic. She didn't want to get intoxicated.

After she had left Aperture, she stayed near the exit for a few days, but still being vigilant, in case she was snatched back down into the cold depths of Aperture. Sure, GLaDOS let her escape, but she still didn't trust her one bit. GLaDOS was cold hearted, and nothing could change that. Maybe if she hadn't deleted Caroline she'd feel a bit more safe. Caroline was the only thing reminiscent of a human she had ever known, because she was always there from the beginning. Chell had pondered a bit, thinking, was it GLaDOS that was evil, or Caroline. She shook away the feeling of dread that was hanging over her head and thought to herself that it WAS GLaDOS. A human couldn't enjoy testing that much- or could they?

Chell shook herself back into reality. She had drifted off again. This was happening a lot lately, and she needed it to stop. It doesn't help that all her flashbacks were bad. She walked over to a table made of wood and sat down on the companion cube she used for a stool. The table was not stylish, but it was one nonetheless. She had been lucky enough to find tools in the shed that contained the exit. It allowed her to build things, and she taught herself the grip of building. 'Maybe, I could be a builder' she thought to herself, 'or a mechanic-'.

"Mechanic." She shuddered at her own lips speaking those fatal word. Mechanic. It reminded her of the the things in that place. She wanted to forget all about aperture, robots, lasers, cores, testing, but that's all she's known her whole life. Testing. Yet somewhere inside her, she didn't want to forget it. She met friendly voices, that turned out evil in the end. She'd jumped on walls to get to places, gone in and out of multiple elevators and portals, oh PORTALS. She missed it. But nowhere near enough to go back. She would never go back there. Ever.

She got off of the ground in front of the table and set for the forest once again. And this time, not to cut down trees. She had been lucky enough to find a semi-large area in the forest which grew raspberries, blueberries, apples, pears and coincidentally- potatoes. She would've picked potatoes as well, but she didn't have a pot to boil them in. So she grabbed a few apples and berries and head off. She put them into her makeshift sack made from her Aperture Jumpsuit and headed back to the cabin to eat something for lunch. She deserved it anyways, after all of her hard work.

Two robots, one small, one tall, high-fived each other as they exited the chamber. They went through the longest test they had ever been given, with lasers, buttons, light bridges, faith plates and so much more. It made them combine all that hey had learned from past chambers and use them to their advantage! It was a tough feat, but they did it, and they were sure as hell proud of it! They did a little victory dance but slowed when the heard the cold, drooling voice of her.


"Good job. You got through the last chamber. There will be no need for you at the moment, so I will have to ask you to leave."

And with that, the two robots exploded, leaving only dust and rubble in their leave.

The robots had been used for testing, ever since that mute lunatic who goes by the name of Chell left. The robots surely did have a lot of confidence in themselves and each other. Which can be a quality. But because of their foolish comradely they often joked around, killing each other as a prank. They were stupid, but they did the job. Although, without a human, it wasn't exciting. Scratch that, without Chell it wasn't the same. Sure, she was glad she left. Because after all, the best option is the easiest one. But testing wasn't the same.

Those robots were created for her to test. They were programmed to test. It wouldn't matter of what they did, they'd always get it done in the end, with no interruptions or breakdowns. Humans would slack in some areas, break under stress or frustration. Humans have emotions, so when given rude remarks, they will most likely react to it in a way. She could toy with their emotions, make them angry, sad, bursting with rage or drowning in tears. And then there is the occasional one that believes everything she says. Those ones are usually very rare. The point was, it wasn't fun. She needed to get a human back, any human. It just wasn't the same.

It was going to be hard finding a human. From her knowledge, all the humans in the facility were dead, or had escaped. So there wasn't much chance she was going to find any humans in Aperture, as she had looked through cryosleep several times. So she decided to take a look at the surveillance systems, and all the exits, to see if she was still around. And then she saw it. Movement. Someone slowly walking up to the shed and slumping beside the door.

"This will be perfect" she said


As Chell finished up the last of her berries, she got up and left for 'The Exit'. She went back there at least once a month, and it was about time that she did it again. She don't know why she came back there, she had the risk of being taken. It was just familiar, with all of the hums and whirs. And it was the spot where she'd think about things, create ideas, and remember. She didn't like it when she remembered things. Most of the time she imagined, but there were times when she remembered Aperture, Portals, her, Cores, robots. The list could honestly go on and on. But it was nice there. She liked it.

She was thinking this time. Thinking about the future and what it may hold. She had never adventured to far out, but there had to have been civilization somewhere right? After all, what was maintaining the crops? It didn't rain much, so someone had to have been watering them, and sometimes the crops weren't there. It could've easily been animal wildlife, but that didn't explain how they were being maintained or why there was an axe by some of trees near the small garden. The axe had been from a human, no doubt about it. What kind of animal carries around an axe? Depicted by the rustling, the person was very good at running, or they were very scared. It could easily be both. The blue water wasn't explained either. Was it a source for repulsion gel? Was it just there from a repulsion gel pipe leak? Or was it not even repulsion gel? Was it just that extremely blue because of how Earth had changed when she was in cryosleep?

Earth was beautiful to her. Natural, artificial. Not man-made, all mother nature. The wheat field she had been dumped out in was massive. It stretched on for what seemed like forever. But had Earth changed? That was a question she kept on asking herself, alongside the question, 'How long was I asleep for?'. It had been 999999- something. Years? It could've seemed like it. Cryogenic sleep barely ages you. It'd explain all the worn down environment and the overgrowth invading the facilt-

THWAK.

Chell was knocked out cold. The only noise heard was the clash of metal on concrete, and the words she never wished to hear again in her life-

"Thank you for assuming the party escort submission position."

And then it all faded to black.