Of Monsters And Men
… It was a small victory, but a victory none the less.
Chell, the only alive human being as far as what the corrupted AI had told her, slid down the side of the shed and gazed up contentedly at the night sky above. She'd always wondered what the world was like at night, how bright the stars would shine, and now… She knew.
She knew.
She could see the grass sway ever so lightly in the breeze, smell the wheat that scattered the fields, feel the texture of moist earth beneath her fingertips… And it felt so real, so free, so… Alive.
She'd dreamed of this since she was first placed in that damned facility known as Aperture. The constant mechanical assistance, the endless amounts of mental exercise labeled as 'tests', and that horrible, horrible robot of a woman that managed to start it all.
But she was free. Bindless, floating, able to see the sun every morning and feel the moon every night. She was free.
But… Something was wrong. Missing.
An object? No. A destination? Not quite. A friend.
A bumbling, spherical, idiot of a friend that helped her stay sane. Stay hopeful, strong, and desperate to see the outside just once. Together.
But as Chell sat, she realized that though her freedom was a success, she had not progressed any further than she had in the facility. She was missing something. Or rather, someone.
She was alone.
The stars had no comparison to the way that Wheatley's optic glowed with such intense emotion, something that a machine shouldn't even have in the first place, and it was enough to make Chell glance away and swell with guilt.
She missed him. Her only companion, her only source of finding redemption within herself by listening to his constant rambling…
The tiny core took up almost every inch within Chell's mind, ruining her chance at a happy ever ending, plaguing the human's dreams with being left behind and forgotten in the bowels of space.
She would never forget him. Not even after death.
With heavy eyes, Chell redirected her attention to the stars and violet-obsidian skies above.
And, even through the haze of her exhausted mind, Chell could've sworn she saw a shine of blue far off into the night.
(Recently got into Portal 2! And… Chelley… Er. Pointless, extremely short drabble~)