Story Time!

"Come on, sweetie. It's bedtime." The woman picked up the little girl and set her gently down on the small bed. The girl squirmed and protested, "But, Mommy! I'm already five! I should be able to stay up later!" The woman scoffed and pulled a blanket over the little girl.

"Well, honey, if you go to sleep earlier, you can play more tomorrow! Going to bed early is a gift. If you drift off to sleep you can have adventures in your mind as you dream!" The girl shook her head and crossed her arms. "No." she said firmly. The woman uncrossed the little girl's arms. "Yes."

The five-year-old pouted and tried a different way of reason. "But I can't go to sleep, I'm not sleepy." The mother tucked a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "Do you want me to tell you a story, Cassy?" The little one stared up at the ceiling for a bit, as of thinking. "No. You always think of boring stories! Plus, my name is Cassandra, not Cassy!"

"Well, this time I promise to make it exciting!" The girl thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"Okay, then, here I go."
"Wait! Sit on the floor."
"Okay...
There once was a young girl, quite like you. She was ambitious, brave, and-"
"Mommy, what does ambitious mean? Don't use big words I don't know!"
"Okay, sweetie.
The girl was strong, brave, and she never gave up. This little girl had a father, and her father was a very important person and he had a very important job. One day, the father brought his daughter to work to show her his accomplishments-"
"Mom, words."
"Achievements, th-"
"I don't know that word either."
"Stop interrupting!
The man had brought his daughter to work to show her all he had done. There were many other girls there too, so soon the man lost track of his daughter. He thought she was okay, for she was strong enough to travel alone. The little girl wondered hopelessly in the factory, which happened to be underground."

"Underground? Like under my feet?"

"Sort of.

Soon, the girl decided to take a break in a small room she found. She waited for someone to find her. She waited for a long time, but no one ever found her. Th-"
"Wouldn't her father have come looking for her? If I was her father I would be looking everywhere! In the elevators, the stairs, the doors, th-"
"Cassy, can I tell my story?"
"Don't call me Cassy..."
"The girl hid and waited, and she was scared too. She was alone, and it was dark, and she was hungry. After a couple of hours the girl decided to try to find her way back to her father. But, as soon as she opened the door a loud booming voice came from all around."

"Like a lion? RAWR!"

"The voice taunted her and led her to a big room through millions of hallways and-"
"Mommy, how much is a million?"
"A lot.
It led her through hallways and rooms, and not a single time did she see another person, although the facility was crowded before. The girl came upon a big room and in the very center of the room was a machine."
"A computer?"
"Kind of. This machine was like a human, it had thoughts, feelings, and the scientists had created it to be perfect. The machine was an A. I., which is-"
"It had eight eyes! Really? That's cool!"
"No honey, I said A.I., which stands for Artificial Intelligence. This robots name was GLaDOS, she-"
"I have a friend name Gladys, she was really mean all the time, but sometimes she was nice."
"This was a different person than your friend. This robot was mean though-"
"Like Gladys!"
"Yes, like Gladys. The robot made the little girl fall asleep for a long, long time-"
"Did she die?"
"No, she was still alive, she was just dreaming. When she woke up, it was seventy years later-"
"What! I don't want to sleep that long! I would be old and wrinkly, like you!"
"The thing is, the girl didn't age that much, she only looked like she was twenty-two. The robot made the little girl take tests all d-"
"Tests? Like math?"
"No, she... How do I explain... She made the girl to through obstacle courses that the girl could get hurt in. After nineteen obstacle courses, the robot decided she didn't want the girl anymore. GLaDOS tried to put her in a fire."
"A fire! Fires are hot! But there is always a small fire, but not every time."
"The girl didn't get burned though, the girl escaped and tried to get GLaDOS to stop hurting people. The girl then-"
"Mommy, I can't sleep with you talking. This story is boring. "

"…."

"Mommy... Mommy... Mommy, are you crying?"
"No sweetie, my eyes are just watering. Goodnight sweetie."
"Goodnight Mom."

"Have sweet dreams."
"Wait, Mom! Don't leave yet, could you tuck me in?"
"Sure."

...

After the woman had safely exited the room and went into her own room, was when she began to shed her tears freely. She wasn't as alone as she thought though. In the corner of her room, sat a cube with hearts on it, and in that cube of hearts, a camera lay. And behind the camera was none other than the evil machine, wishing she herself could cry with her favorite test subject.


A/N

Sorry for this chapter being so late in the weekend, but I was away and couldn't post it until now. If you can't tell, the mother is Chell and the child is just an OC. Well, the child is actually based off one of my cousins... "There is always a small fire, but not every time" and "No, sit on the floor!" are actual qoutes from her...

So... Author of the day... is... 9eggy and their story... Missed Call! It's so sad...

So, here I sign off with my signature but very important...

PLEASE REVIEW!