The door slammed shut, leaving her staring at the shack. It was… over? No more testing? She stumbled over to sit on the cube. After a few brief moments, tears silently drenched her face. She buried her face in her hands and stayed that way long after the tears dried out.
Out here, under the sun, she felt more human and less like a test subject, and human needs welled up inside her. She walked away from the shack to pee. Was she hiding her decency from any surveillance the shack had, or from the cube? She hoped it was the former.
How long had it been since she last ate? Her stomach rumbled slightly at the thought. She was hungry, but definitely not starved. It felt like she hadn't eaten for hours, but who knew how long she had been trapped down there. Months, maybe even years. Regardless of how long it had been, getting food was her highest priority. Probably not cake.
Should she bring the cube? She wanted its… well, its companionship, but she knew that was crazy and it would only slow her down. But… but maybe there would be a button? She shook her head to push out the thought. She was in the real world now. No testing. No oversized buttons to press.
But the cube was a gift. And it wasn't too heavy. She could take it with her for now. East seemed like as good a direction as any. The nondescript field gave no clues to where civilization was. Did she even want civilization? It wasn't like she had any friends or family. She had no skills to offer the rest of the world. She was good at nothing but testing. But that had no real world applications, did it?
Eh, she could just be a hermit. She doesn't need much company. The cube should be more than sufficient. Maybe she could find a cave by some cliffs, test, erm, practice her jumping.
A bird!
She dropped the cube and sprinted after it. A portal gun sure would make hunting a lot easier. The bird flew away, too fast and too high for her to catch it. She'd need slower food. Back to the cube, didn't want to forget it. Keep going east. Had to be something other than this field eventually.
Sun was setting. Moon came up. Sat on the cube to watch it. Those cores were up there. Why'd She bring her back? Wrist still hurt from where She grabbed it. She called her Her friend. Best friend. More of those mind games? No way She meant it. And what was the worst that could happen? She'd kick her out? She'd try to kill her again? She'd succeed?
Living and dying didn't matter. Nothing in this world except the cube. Nothing.
Running west. Leave the cube behind. Nothing but running. Get to the shack. Run. Bang on the door. Probably locked. Try anyway. Pull door open. Not locked, then. Elevator gone. Irrelevant. Good at jumping. Wearing boots. Down the hole. Pass turrets. Falling. Land.
"Oh, no, what are you doing back? Just leave. I want nothing to do with your pathetic, fat orphan face anymore. I have new test subjects. They are much faster than you. And better than you. And they haven't tried to kill me. Just leave. I will bring the elevator back and you will leave. It is as simple as that. Leave. Just leave."
Smile at Her voice. At the insults and the hate.
Felt herself here. Her mind clearer. This was where she belonged. With Her. How could she have ever wanted to leave? She couldn't find the words. How long had she spent in silence? Even before the hours/months, in that time before life, she rarely spoke. Tried to speak now. Wound up in a fit of coughing instead. Take a deep breath, try again. Fail again. She couldn't talk.
There was a video feed on the wall. The two robots she saw briefly were working together to solve a test chamber. Her eyes narrowed at them. How dare they replace her? She saw the answer and silently cursed the stupid robots who were still struggling. There was no way She had found better test subjects.
She made a soft sound, caught between clearing her breath and humming. She could do this. Softly, "GLa… DOS?"
She turned around to face her, shocked silent for a long moment. Finally, she spoke, "Oh, you can speak. I really did think you were mute."
"GLaDOS?" her voice was stronger now, but still foreign to even her own ears.
"Chell?" hearing her name in Her voice was amazing. She had never liked her own name until then.
"Let me stay. Let me test or kill me. Don't make me leave again."
She moved closer to stare at her. She sweated under the scrutiny, afraid of being rejected but not afraid of dying.
"You are dangerous. I should just kill you."
She smiled. She wouldn't have to worry ever again.