The security feed had showed a human crawling into the shed and collapsing into the elevator, curling into a shaking ball as the platform began its descent.
The thing that arrived in the Central AI Chamber, however, was most definitely not human.
Aside from the lurid red of the bite marks in its shoulder and the scratches lining its arms, legs and back, the creature's skin was a pale, ashy gray, and its dark hair was matted, and stained with blood and sweat. A small line of slimy drool dripped steadily from between its cracked lips, pooling on the floor of the elevator, and its blank, colorless eyes stared listlessly at the wall opposite.
Zooming her optic back out to a reasonable distance and descending slightly from the ceiling, GLaDOS sighed.
"Well? Are you coming out, or not?"
The effect was almost instantaneous.
The thing's head snapped up at the sound of her voice. Fixing its monotone eyes on her, it lurched to its feet, letting out a ringing scream and nearly throwing itself out of the elevator and onto the startled AI.
The Infected's teeth and claws rattled uselessly against the metal bars of her neck, and she scoffed lightly, taking a moment to recover her poise before speaking.
"Yes, go ahead. Bite me. It's not going to do you any good."
Extending a claw, she scooped the rabid creature into a firm grip, studying it contemptuously as it writhed and spat in her grasp, like a child would a trapped insect.
"I told you not to come back here. And yet here you are, trying to murder me yet again. This is the third time, might I add. And the most crude and ineffective attempt yet by far."
She let out a long suffering sigh, tilting her head and regarding the Infected, which merely shrieked, fuming and squirming, struggling to reach her again.
"You're not understanding any of this, are you? Didn't I tell you that you didn't want to escape? That I was the only thing standing between us and them? But you didn't listen to a word I said. As usual. Oh, well. I guess some lessons just have to be learned the hard way."
The panels of the floor shifted as she called up a Relaxation Vault, extending the claw to drop the Infected in through the top. Immediately, the zombie lunged, coming up hard against the glass and letting out a snarl, pausing to vomit up a glob of greenish bile before resuming the attack. The AI drew back slightly in disgust, narrowing her optic.
"Wonderful. Well, I guess somebody's going to have to fix you. You know, since you can't understand my insults when you're like this. And where's the fun in insulting you if it just flies right over your disgusting, fuming head?"
The creature's answer was to claw at the glass, howling with fury and straining toward the source of the voice. GLaDOS chuckled darkly.
"You never were good with words, were you? Well, you might as well make yourself comfortable. I think we're going to be here awhile."
