There was a noise. A voice that stuttered, and there was the distinct sound of electricity arcing where it was not supposed to. As her eyelids drew open, a feeling of numbness set into her bones. W- what is this? she wondered.

Where am I? The room was filthy; ceiling tiles lay on the ground and a random ray of light illuminated the tortured, former hotel room. Painting... Heh, "Art," she recalled the computer's spiel on the subject, but now only the frame haphazardly hung on the wall with barely a scrap of the work hanging from it.

Chell tested her fingers first. They still work, I guess. Next, she wiggled her sock-covered toes.

It dawned on her that everything smelled dirty, worn, and generally disused and unkempt. How long was I really out this time?

Her despair only grew when a new voice called out, "Excuse me?"

Chell did not move from the bed; it seemed to be cradling her body nicely. Although, that feeling of familiarity could have just been the numbness still clinging on. She exhaled through her little nose, pushing dust from her upper lip; resulting in an involuntary cough.

The voice tried again, significantly interested in any response from her, "My God, you're awake! That's fantastic! Look, I can't open the door. Would you come over and open it, please?"

She rolled her blue eyes, remembering all of the normally automated functions that Aperture Laboratories had EVERYWHERE. Floors, walls, ceilings, turrets, tubes... Chell shut her blue eyes and inhaled deeply. The parts of the structure she had utilized versus what she had seen were in great disparity. She sniffled, then wiped her face with her left hand. Dust everywhere. Where's a si-

"I don't mean to be rude, well, maybe a bit, but talking through a door isn't as glamorous as it might sound." Whoever this guy was, his tone was starting to rake her nerves the wrong way.

I couldn't talk the last time I was awake. I doubt that's changed in... however long I was laying here. Chell tried to move her shoulders, but was rewarded with the pain of slight atrophy. Looks like I'll be in training again. Great. She pushed through the physical response this time, managing to maneuver her body up, then over, the edge of the bed, right onto the rotten carpeted, hard floor with a dull thud.

After a moment, she lifted her right hand into the air, mockingly punching the floor. Welp, let's get moving, kiddo. You still got SOME fight left in you. Right?

"Are you alright in there? I can't actually get in to lend you a hand, not that I have a hand, mind you. The door here is still closed." The voice never saw Chell waving her right fist in annoyance, and possibly even defiance. Not that anyone did, for that matter. She did hit the floor twice in response, though.

"Um, so, two for 'yes' and one for 'no'?"

Thud.

"Right, my bad. One for 'yes', two for 'no'."

Thud. With that, she twisted her torso, and pulled her knees toward her chest in an effort to collect herself. After a wobbly try, she managed to put her sock-clad feet between herself and the shredded remains of the carpeted floor. She was promptly rewarded with a fit of coughs. The air was still stale, even with the damage to the ceiling opposite the end of the room that contained the door.

When she finally touched the door handle to open the bloody thing, a tiny screech from each hinge tried to warn Chell to stand back. Of course, she failed to recognize the warning, and the lightweight door toppled onto her, knocking her onto the floor.

"Um, hello?" An electrical motor whirred as Wheatly rolled into the room along the track, "Are you okay in here?" His form appeared to drift into the room, not to mention, his camera completely overlooking the door concealing Chell beneath it.

Thud, thud. That made Wheatly look down in curiosity, but he shrieked and zipped out in terror.

Chell pushed the door off of herself and sat up. My feet are cold. I could swear I had some boots here somewhere. Finding a box in the closet solved her problem, and she slipped on her high tech footwear from the safety of the worn out bed. So... she started to really examine her surroundings: the refrigerator was dead, but thankfully empty, and much more than just the ceiling was damaged, more like an entire corner of the suite. She could see perhaps a few miles across the facility, and down into its depths there was a faint shimmering of water. Looking up at the facility's ceiling far, far above, she could see patches of blue sky amongst shimmering cones of sunlight.

It was beautiful, and a smile began to work itself across her soft lips, But... I caused this to happen. I killed GLaDOS. She ran this place. Kept it going. Without her... Chell's smile died in that moment.