Troubled Minds

Chapter Two: Slice of Heaven

The moon had started to rise, Chell and Michelle's shift was almost over. Soon two more army-clad people would take over, leaving Chell to worry about her little shack in the distance.

When Chell had first arrived at the compound and got the position at the lookout, she didn't want to leave the post; she practically had to be torn away from her spot on the great wall. After constant reassurances that she'd be the first to know if anything happened, Chell was willing to leave the post on her own free will.

Michelle's back was against the wall, she was half-asleep and her combat boots had been kicked off and thrown off to the side. Her bare feet wiggled every now and then in the cool evening air. Chell smiled as Michelle's toes curled slightly as a gust of wind blew past them.

Chell had always wondered why they were given military uniforms. It seemed strange; there had been no sign of the military in years, but she had never thought to ask. There was a rumor going around at one point that the uniforms had come from a special military unit that had caused the zombie outbreak. But those rumors were put to rest when one of the more elderly patrons spoke about how the military had lost so many soldiers that they were donating the uniforms to cities like theirs as extra clothing for survivors. Of course, this was only a rumor as well, and Chell wasn't sure if she should believe either story.

Chell took a quick glance at the now sleeping Michelle, taking a deep breath in and turning back to her binoculars. "I'll just let her sleep. She deserves it,"Chell thought, her smile fading slightly.

Sitting cross-legged, Chell stared straight at her little shack, watching it like a hawk watched it's prey. The shack was tiny and barely visible to the naked eye, but when using her binoculars, Chell could see every tiny detail. From the minuscule Aperture Science logo above the shabby, rusted door, to the inexplicable dents and burn marks all over it.

The sky was getting darker, and she watched as the horizon went from bright blue to a whimsical shade of pink. Chell enjoyed nights like these. She loved the sound of the crickets chirping in the long grass and the sound of Michelle snoring softly. Every night was like this and Chell couldn't wait to sit out and watch the sky change colours. She felt like she watching a painting being made especially for her; her own little slice of heaven.

The dark-haired mute sat admiring the sky when suddenly she noticed movement near her shack. She immediately focused her binoculars on the shack, thinking it was only an animal or the rare zombie that had found its way into the fields. After a few moments of watching it though, Chell noticed a large cube-like figure peeking up from the long, dry grass; bobbing up and down as if it was floating in a very large sea of gold.

Upon further investigation, Chell could see a tiny, glowing, pink heart on each side of the cube figure. She took the binoculars away from her face as she realized what was going on. Her jaw dropped and her eyes became wide.

"A Companion Cube?" She mouthed, staring at it in awe. She reached over a poked Michelle in the ribs.

Michelle awoke with an audible gasp and immediately looked through her binoculars out into the field. "wha... CHELL! IT'S YOUR CUBE! Someone's stealing it!"

Chell shook her head no and scribbled furiously on the pad of paper: "It's him..."

Michelle gave her friend a concerned, but thoughtful look before saying, "Go. I'll look after everything here... Just go!"

Author's Note: Sorry for such a short chapter... Things are starting to get interesting!
Thanks again to VampireLady666 on tumblr for helping me edit this! Hopefully the next few chapters aren't as short! xD

Characters (C) Valve

Michelle (C) Me