Chapter 9
Chell, in hindsight, really didn't mentally prepare herself.
She thought she would just be ready to waltz back in there again. however, there she stood at the very edge of the wheat field, staring at the border between the crops and the road, and for a moment, she didn't move a muscle. She only listened as cars passed behind them. Sometimes, she could hear the music from the cars, growing in volume before fading. A hand, warm and comforting, reached out and touched her shoulder gently, and that touch alone sobered her, brought her back to reality.
"This is where you found me." She said suddenly, without being prompted.
There was a nod from Luke, "It is..."
She looked to him, "what did you think...the first time we met?"
He took a step forward, now standing adjacent to his shorter counterpart as he looked up at the blanket of stars above them, "Well, at first, I was terrified. I mean, you practically jumped right in front of me." The man smiled, though the grin fell after a moment, "I had never seen anyone that terrified before..."
"...why did you take me in?"
He glanced at her for a moment before staring back up at the night sky, "I don't think I can give you a straight answer... I'm not even sure to this day... I just felt like I needed to help you."
It was silent after that, not even cars passing. The only sound that filled the air was the loud chirping of crickets. Luke stared at Chell, seeing her hesitance.
"Chell..." he said, seeking her gaze.
She looked to the older man, her the moon making a glare in her brown eyes.
His eyebrows furrowed, "Whatever happens down there... We'll go through it together."
She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. Luke squeezed her shoulder a bit, moving his hand to the top of her head for a gentle pat.
"Let's go, Kiddo." He said, gesturing to the wheat field.
Chell sighed, her eyes lifting to the field. She watched the strands of wheat dance in the wind. Her internal monologue told her she could do this. She could do this.
"I can do this..." Chell mumbled quietly to herself, sighing before she stepped into the field.
She pushed the crops out of the way as she walked, taking deep breaths. The woman could hear Luke marching behind her, following her every move. They kept moving like this for what seemed like forever. The only thing that gave her any hint that they were actually moving was the fading or the car sounds, and even that was gone after a while. God, she couldn't even remember how long she had walked the last time.
One foot after the other, the woman kept herself going through sheer momentum, going on autopilot as she buried herself in her mind again. Luke watched her look up at the sky, then towards the invisible horizon line before them. He wished she could tell him everything that happened down there. He wished she could at least try to explain the horrors she had experienced.
"It was lonely." She said, finally.
Luke blinked his thoughts away, "Pardon?" he asked, not quite sure what she was talking about.
"Down there," She pointed in a general direction underground, "Aperture." She sighed, "It was lonely. There was no one there. I was the only human there. Everything else there tried to kill me, or would want to eventually.." She sighed, "It'll be good to not be alone down there." She looked back at him with a smile.
He smiled back, though didn't say anything in response as she looked forward. After a few steps, her head dropped.
"Cara must feel so alone." She said, "Five years... five years, she's been like this..." She looked up, tears in her eyes, "She never was much of a social butterfly. She liked the company of a book over the company of the girls her age, but even still... Those, big, empty rooms... You can't help but to feel so small, so alone..." Her arms wrapped around her, trying to comfort herself with a hug.
Without hesitation, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Everything's going to be fine." He said, finality in his voice, "We're going to find her, we're going to get her back."
She felt a few tears escape, looking back to Luke, " You know, you don't have to say those things. You can just say how much all of this sucks."
Luke smiled, "Since when has talking like that ever helped?"
Chell was silent, knowing the correctness of the statement.
He sighed, "Look, we need to keep positive. The only way that we can do this is to see that everything will be okay. Okay?"
Chell smiled, turning forward, "Okay."
