After the last test, I was a little scared for what was coming, to say the least. I thought back to the time she almost burned me in a fiery pit, how I barely managed to portal my way out. That was when I first started testing, in what I called Phase One. Phase Two began after my long, long sleep, after I killed GLaDOS for the first time. When I woke up, and accidentally helped wake her up, she looked, sounded, and acted a little differently, a little more human. But just as dangerous, if not more so. I figured this was the start of Phase Three. I wondered if I would manage to kill her for a third time, or if I would even be able to survive for that long. How long would I have to continue doing this? GLaDOS has said multiple times it would be for the rest of my life, but I wasn't so sure.
"Okay, that's been long enough. Unlike me, your life is finite, which means that we can't wait forever. Get back to testing," she said. I gritted my teeth. She didn't have the morality core anymore, so she didn't have any sense of right from wrong. She literally cannot intentionally act morally. But still, this was nice for her. I stood up and walked down the single hallway.
"I decided normal testing was getting a bit boring, so I'm making it more interesting for both of us," GLaDOS said. "You seem to enjoy killing relentlessly, so I think you'll enjoy this next test. Also, there's two things you may find surprising. First, there will be other humans involved, all of them completely alive! The second is that you get to kill them! Honestly, I almost wish I was you right now. Almost. I'll open up a portal for you to go through, hold on a second." Soon, an orange portal opened at the end of the hallway. I could see what looked like an arena on the other side. Knowing I had no choice, I stepped through.
I walked around the arena. It was very small, maybe twenty yards in diameter. I walked to an edge, and saw that that there was a pool of green liquid. I remembered this liquid from previous tests. If you touched it, you would die very quickly, so I knew that I wouldn't want to fall down. I backed away, towards the center of the arena.
Suddenly, four blue portals opened up around me, and one person stepped out of each. There was two girls and two guys. They all looked around my age, twenty or so, all wearing orange jumpsuits identical to mine. I looked at them in awe. In all of my testing, which began a while ago, I haven't seen a single other person (minus pictures of Cave Johnson and Caroline in the old Aperture Science). I don't have any memories from before I woke up the first time in the relaxation vault, so I have no idea if I've ever seen someone else before then.
I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. I wasn't mute like GLaDOS said, but I simply never wanted to give her the satisfaction of a reply, so I never talk. I don't even know what I sound like. I heard her voice from a speaker on the ceiling, bringing me back to reality.
"The rules are simple," she started. "You can either kill these other test subjects, or be killed yourself. If you manage to win, you will be rewarded with cake. Except this time, I'm not lying, there is actually cake for you if you survive." I knew there wouldn't be cake. She promised cake at the end of testing in Phase One, and I never got any.
The people looked wearily. They didn't seem to like this either. Except for one of the guys. He ran straight for me with anger in his eyes. I tried to dodge to the right, but he was fast. He tackled me to the ground and wrapped an arm around my neck.
"Oh my god!" screamed one girl. She and the other 2 ran toward me and the guy. He started choking me. I couldn't breath. The others weren't able to pull him off me, until one of the girls kicked him in the face, hard. He yelled, let go of my neck, and grabbed the girl who kicked him. She screamed as he pulled her toward the edge of the arena. I wanted to help, but I was still dizzy. They were at the edge. The other guy tried to push him in, but with abnormal speed he moved out of the way. He pushed the guy in, and threw the girl in after.
I watched in horror as they sank into the liquid, both screaming. The one who pushed them in was watching too. I got up, anger overloading my brain.. He turned around, grinned, and started walking my way. I backed up to the edge of the arena. He started sprinting toward me, ready to push me in next. At the last second, I dropped to the ground. Unable to stop his momentum, he fell into the liquid, barely making a noise as he sank down. I realized what I had done. I spoke for the first time in a long, long time.
"I killed him. I actually killed him." I knew he killed the other two without hesitation, but I didn't think that made it right. I looked at the other girl, who I couldn't read the expression of. GLaDOS spoke over the speakers, breaking the silence.
"Good job. You managed to kill of the first three. And I'll admit I was wrong, I thought you were mute. I'm not going to make you two kill each other, I'm getting bored of this too, now. Just move on." A bridge came up from under the liquid, connecting the arena to the wall, and a portal opened on the other side. I looked at the girl, and she nodded. We crossed the bridge and went through the portal.