Insomnia -Part 1-

I own nothing but the story… Portal belongs to Valve, sadly. If it belonged to me, there would never have been a Caroline or a POTaTOS, actually… Calling her Carolyn here because that's how I thought it was spelled when writing this XD And I'm too lazy to change it. So there.

The minds of intelligent beings are highly interesting. Which is, of course, an understatement, to say the least. Until there is a word fathomable enough to describe the whole workings of the mind, however, let us stick to the phrase 'Highly Interesting', and your own subconscious can fill that in for itself. Being one of the subconsciousness being discussed, it will automatically be correct. Try to understand that with as little headache as possible. If it helps any, the mind is like a universe in it's own. Okay, not REALLY. It's actually quite different and nothing at all alike, but if it helps you understand, then yes they are actually quite alike. If that helps.

Every mind is a maze of infinite possibilities, assuming it's owner has more brains than a sack of wheat, which is nowadays a rarity. However, if you were to do the impossible and line all of the minds up, all the minds smarter than a sack of wheat would be of course, quite unfathomable and fantastic and would also each have a long story of their own. All interesting and all filled with more thoughts than your college literature book. Or in fact, the whole college library. However, among all of these fantastic minds, each with a unique tale, one stands out as strange. That is because it is, in fact, not quite ONE mind. It's not two either, but in a sort of space in between, both one mind and two at once with dashes of others occasionally dancing in. It is a collection of minds stuck into one.

Intrigued by the uniqueness within uniqueness, you take a closer look. It is very single minded, thinking about one subject at a time. It is much like the others, thinking about normal unique things. It is a mass of numbers, formulas, information, and mechanical strait-forwardness... And strange twisted emotion. All at once. Different minds all at once... This is the mind of the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System. Not GLaDOS, mind you. She's in there alright, but this is the mind of the machine as a whole. But don't look to deep, or...

That... Might... Happen...

The inside of this mind is a mass of numbers, all code... No wait... That is a real laboratory... And that is a real house. But now it isn't, it's just numbers again, coding... And a raw sense of hatred... Superiority... Lust for knowledge... And it's gone. Now there is the laboratory again. A wave of kindness. A sense of morality. A sweet nature. And gone.

Uncertainty.

Carolyn walked briskly down the dark hall. It was closing time and she felt it more than ever at that time. The sense that someone was watching her. In the back of her mind she knew she should definitely see a therapist about that. It was unnerving. But she had a job to do. She dutifully shut the facility down before leaving. Once the door was shut, she finally felt free of the gaze. She supposed it must be the security cameras around the facility. But they couldn't be watching her. She had shut GLaDOS down for the night. Besides, she never felt that way in the morning, when it was actually activated.

GLaDOS... Carolyn winced at that memory she always tried to forget. She was going to be put in that monstrosity at some point. It gave her shivers down her spine just thinking about it. She felt a horrible guilt just for a moment at the GLaDness she felt for Cave's early death. She knew it shouldn't have been a relief, but he had died just in time for her to take control over the facility and cancel the operation. It was such a rush to save her humanity, it was just a blur in her memory, which her brain filled in with a simple theory, properly titled ' Happened'.

"Mommy!"

Carolyn greeted her enthusiastic daughter with a tight embrace. She almost never got to spend quality time with her. It was always work, work, work. Carolyn tried to chase the rogue thought out, but it always came back, "Someday I won't come back to see my little girl, and she won't be little anymore..." It put her in a sad mood. Her daughter, her sweet little girl deserved more than she could give her. It would be so much easier if she had her old partner to take care of her and give her the love she needed while she was at work. Or perhaps... She would quit and he could work and she'd take care of her...

Carolyn shook the thought out of her head.

"Time to go to bed, sweetie."

"But mommy, you just got back!"

"Oh I know honey... But look, it's so late already! Why don't I read you a bedtime story?"

The dejected looking girl stuck out her lower lip, hugged her mother and agreed with a betrayed nod. Carolyn nearly choked on unreleased tears. She wanted so badly to be with her daughter... She deserved better. Carolyn scooped her up and carried her to bed.

"What story?"

"...One with a happy ending!"

"Alright. How about... Snow White and Rose Red?"

And thus began Carolyn's favorite time of any day. The only time of day she got quality time with her little girl. She kissed her goodnight at the end of the story, and the two curled up to sleep.

Carolyn almost screamed. Still biting her hand in terror, she flicked on the light. Carolyn looked at herself, only not quite. She had cold white flawless skin. Her hair was unnaturally black. Her features were perfect. And her eyes were the coldest, cruelest of yellow. Carolyn blinked and the apparition was gone. She realized she had forgotten to take her pills. She had been diagnosed with schizophrenia after the GLaDOS incident and had to take the pills to stop herself from hallucinating. She took the pill as soon as she regained her breath, and fell back into a sleep full of nightmares.

She was in the laboratory. That woman was watching her and she couldn't get away. She tried as hard as she could. She hid in places only she could know of. Places she snuck into the test chambers for subjects to take a recluse. But the woman was always there. The woman smiled at her.

"You cannot hide from me"

Carolyne was depressed at work. Her co workers asked her if she was alright, but she barely noticed them. She couldn't even recall what they looked like. The whole world looked bleak that day. She couldn't get the haunting image of the terrifying anti-Carolyn out of her head. She saw her wherever she turned. She was watching her from the test chambers and GLaDOS's chamber. Always behind glass, but Carolyn knew glass didn't matter for her. She was just a figment of her imagination... Soon to go away...

She concentrated on her work. The day went by more slowly then most. This time, Carolyn asked her assistant David to close the laboratory down. As she walked out of the laboratory, she had to pass through GLaDOS's chamber, which she hated every time.

"You can't deny me forever, Carolyn."

The construct rarely even acknowledged Carolyn's presence in the room, let alone speak. Shocked at the computer's reaction, Carolyn ran.

Carolyn took her pill. 'No more apparitions tonight.' She settled down, still uneasy. "What story tonight, honey"

"...How about one with a sad ending?"

"But is that the best thing to listen to before we sleep?"

"Um... Yes. I always hear the happy ones."

"Alright. Sad story. You got it, kiddo."

Once upon a time there was a little girl and her mother. They loved each other very much. But one day, the mother met an evil man, who put a curse on her, and turned her into a terrible dragon. But the mother didn't know she was a dragon, and she accidentally hurt people when she tried to get back to her daughter. The people tried to take her daughter away from her, because they were afraid of the dragon. But the dragon wouldn't let them. She took a deep breath and breathed her flame-

"That's enough mommy. That was too sad."

Carolyn looked at the little girl's sad face. She gave her a tight hug. "Oh honey, don't worry. It's just a story, and I'm sorry."

"Mommy, you're not going to let anyone turn you into a dragon and keep me away from you. Okay?"

"Of course, baby."

Carolyn nearly had a heart attack. That woman was there.

"Baby," Carolyn spoke calmly, "Why don't we go somewhere else for a little while? I think we should go on vacation for a while. Where do you want to go?"

Carolyn was still staring at the woman. She hated these illusions.

"How about the beach? Mommy... What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just thought we could be together for a little while. How does that sound?"

The anti-Carolyn smirked and shook her head as if in disappointment. Her eyes were oddly reflective in the dark, like they had a light of their own. She waved her finger as if chastising her. Then she leaned by her ear and whispered, "Carolyn, I'm the only one you can't hide from. You'll never get away, Carolyn. It's time to give up, Carolyn."

Carolyn wondered in despair why her mind was torturing her like this.

"Mommy, what was that?"

"What was what?"

She broke out of her mother's embrace and turned around. Her eyes went wide in terror.

"Mommy, who is that?"

She was running. Holding her child and running as quickly as she could, she had to get away. Her daughter saw the woman too. All along, what she thought was her imagination... There really was someone following her. She had been in so much danger all along! And her little girl too!

She dove into her car, buckling herself and her girl in. She drove into the storm and onto the highway. She would go far away. She would go to the beach and she'd spend time with her baby, and she'd get the police to arrest that horrible woman and everything would be perfect again. So why didn't she feel like it ever would be sunny again?

Thus ends part one! I have the whole thing finished, actually, so expect the rest soon! Thank you all! And please do leave a review- I love feedback! Except for the kind you get in microphones, anyway.