Chapter Six
Going into stasis was always odd for Chell.
It wasn't like falling asleep. It wasn't like anything. With sleep, you can, in most cases, register that time was passing. With stasis, it was nothing. It wasn't blackness, it wasn't floating, it wasn't comatose. It was closing your eyes and opening them in a different place, a different time. She had always hated it, how often She had used it to keep her at bay while she waited for more tests.
What she hated the most was the she would open her eyes and not know where she was or how long she had been there. The stasis preserved her, kept her alive, kept her from aging while they waited. Because of this, Chell didn't even know how old she was. It haunted her, made her question everything. She questioned whether her real parents really abandoned her, or if they were dead and had been for a long time.
Of course she couldn't question any of that now, seeing as she is in another stasis. When the buss arrived at the town, she had been checked into the hospital. There she stayed, motionless save for her slow breathing. Five years, she was like this. Five years of nurses coming in and out to check vitals, to refile saline drips, to give sponge baths. Doctors said she would never wake up. Until now, at least...
Chell's eyes snapped open as she gasped back to life, the nurse that was in the room letting out an eardrum-rupturing scream. The former test subjects first instinct was to try and get up, panic overtaking her. Though, she couldnt go far. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines. The nurse rushed to her side, also seeming to panic.
"ma'am! ma'am, I need you to keep in bed! " she said, trying to lay her back down.
Chell fought against her, her voice cracking and wavering as she tried to remember how to speak, "H... o.. w lo.. ng? " she asked.
"ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't know what youre trying to tell me- Can I get a doctor in here?! " she called out the door over her shoulder before turning back to Chell, "Please, ma'am you have to get back in bed you shouldn't be on your feet! "
Her eyebrows furrowed as she made distressed noises, continuing to try to form words, "ho.. w.. lon.. g.. h.. ow.. long? How.. long? How long?! "
"How long? How long were you out?" she asked.
She nodded as relief washed over her; thank God someone understood her.
"Ma'am youve been in a coma for five years. "
The relief was now replaced with more panic, "f.. iv... e... " Her struggling increased, "kuh! aara! Cara! " she called, fighting against the nurse.
"I need a doctor in here right now! I have an agitated coma patient!" The nurse called out the door again.
This time, people did come. Two nurses and a doctor rushed in, and they imediately began to pin Chell down on the hospital bed. Despite her continuous effort and screaming, they still managed to keep her down as the doctor added a sedative to her saline drip. She couldnt help but panic as she began to lose control again, the sedative taking its course.
"Ca.. ra.. " she rasped, her throat already sore from her screaming.
It wasn't long before she was out again.
Wheatley quietly entered Cara's relaxation chamber, sighing with relief as he saw her sleeping figure. Good, she didn't notice him leave. He takes his place in the chair by the bed, picking up the book he was failing to read. He had found it one day when he was looking through one of the rooms, "Of Mice and Men. " The beautiful illustration on the cover had caught his eye, and he thought it was a picture book. Opening the book, he was mistaken.
"No pictures in this bloody thing... How do people even know what's going on? " he muttered to him, trying to focus on interpereting the words.
After a while, Cara stirred awake. Her eyes opened and she sat up to see Wheatley squinting at the page as if to scan it.
"Wheatley? What are you doing? " She asked.
"Trying to read this bloody book. Seriously, no pictures at all? It's mad! How is anyone supposed to understand what's going on? " He gave a defeated groan.
Cara furrowed her eyebrows, standing and walking over, "Here, let me see if I can help." She pointed to the first line of the page, reading it off, "'A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.'"
Wheatley looked to Cara as she read to him, wonder in his eyes.
"So, right now, the writer is setting the stage. The story is going to take place either near or at this river. After all, it's the first two sentences in the book. "
"You can just read that easily? And understand it?" His eyes nearly sparkled, "That's bloody brilliant! How do you do that? "
She blushed, "Years and years of practicing. I actually used to be a big reader back in middle school. "
"So you can just read anything? " He asked, becoming almost like a child in his curiosity.
She chuckled, "Not everything. There are still a lot of words I don't know, but my teacher taught me tricks so that I dont have to ask every time I see a knew word. Like... " she searched the page for a word I don't know. Finally, she found one and pointed to it, "This one! I can take the letters and spell it out. So... Re-cum-bant, or 'recumbent'. Now, I'm really not sure what it means, but I can use the rest of the sentence to piece together what it could mean. "
He listened as she explained context clues. It was so interesting how much she knew, hearing her babble on and on about reading.
"... This is the first time I heard you talk about something that wasn't testing. " He pointed out, and she fell silent.
Her hands tugged at the sleeves of her jumpsuit, shyly smiling, "Sorry... I get really carried away when it comes to reading. " she apologized.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he put his book down, "Why are you apologizing? It was the first time I've seen you get passionate about anything... Come to think of it, I don't even know anything about you, save that youre excellent at testing... "
"Well... there's really not much to know." Cara said, going back to sit on the bed.
"Of course there is!" He stood, pacing, "What's your favorite animal? What are your pet peeves? Uh... " he tried to think of more, "Do you have any allergies? "
She giggled, "Allergies? really? " she asked, quirking her eyebrow up.
He turned a deep red and laughed, "That's not fair, you put me on the spot!" he averted his gaze.
It was silent for a moment before Cara sighed, "pineapple. "
He looked to her, "I'm sorry, what? " he asked, wondering where that had come from.
"You asked me if I had any allergies. I'm allergic to pineapple." She smiled.
He nodded, scratching the back of his head, "Favorite animal?"
"Cat. "
"Favorite color? "
"Pink, but not a bright-ass pink. The color the sky makes when the sun rises, that pink. " She explained, a dreamy look in her eye.
"The sky turns pink when the sun rises?" Wheatley asked, "That sounds beautiful... "
She nodded, "It's gorgeous... Wait. " she looked to him, almost a sad look in her eye, "You haven't seen the sunrise before? "
"Never seen the sun before... only the moon. " He said quietly.
She mad an "oh" shape with her mouth as the room fell deadly silent once more. The only sounds that could be heard were the echoes of the facility. The clanging and metal sounds were sobering, reminding Cara there was still work to be done. Standing up, she looked back at Wheatley.
"Now, this break was nice, but I think I should be getting back to testing." She smiled sheepishly.
His attention snapped back to her, "Hm? Oh, right this way!"
He grabbed her by the hand and walked out of the room. As they traversed the labyrinth of catwalks, They passed by the control center. Wheatley couldn't help but sneak a peak at the large moniter.
Sedation Terminated: Subject Now Alert and Stable.
He smiled to himself, though he knew She was going to have his head for this. He just hoped this would be worth it.