Wheatley's Story: Part C
Chapter Nine
I had decided to leave the other Cores to look at what they could from Her quick-save data, and I went to my office to try and piece together what I'd seen so far.
The voice I'd heard in the parking lot sounded very much like Doug. And there was no doubt that he'd have gotten out of the area as soon as he was out of Aperture. And yet, for some reason, he was tucked away in a stasis pod after he had hooked up the reserve power to the test subject's Relaxation Chamber.
He had the chance to stop me from taking the test subject back inside when he was in the parking lot, assuming he was the one I heard shouting out in the parking lot. And he had another chance to break her out instead of simply hooking her Relaxation Chamber to the reserve power.
Of course, he might have been able to find out that she was in a critical condition after being blasted out of the facility. And based on the fact that blood was found where the power controls were, he was probably in no fit shape to escort the test subject out of there.
Not to mention that aliens were swarming the surface world, so it wouldn't be safe to be outside for too long.
My mobile phone rang, interrupting my train of thought. It was Victor.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Pendleton. We got a hold of Her quick-save data."
"Great. Has anyone had a chance to look through it?"
"Yeah. We did get data from the time after She got thrown up to the surface."
"Alright."
"We found the part you had mentioned, and here's what we got from it. You might want to roll up your sleeve to look at your monitor."
I proceeded to do so. "Ready."
The screen flashed on, revealing a view of the vacant lot from the ground, as was to be expected from a camera lying on the ground.
I could see me picking up the test subject and dragging her away, followed by a voice in the distance shouting "FREEDOM!".
Looking at the spot where I had heard the sound, I heard the voice say "Sh! I hear something!"
I saw Doug scamper behind a large piece of debris out of my sight and watch me drag the test subject back inside.
"No!" he gasped. "It's dragging her back inside!"
As soon as I had disappeared through the door, he stood up and walked toward the door, a Weighted Companion Cube on his back.
"I can't just walk away!" he shouted abruptly.
He stopped and looked back and forth between the road leading away from the parking lot and the door back down to Aperture.
"Running's what I've been doing; running and hiding." It was at that point I realised that he must have been talking to a voice that only he could hear.
He looked over his shoulder to look at the camera, i.e. Her face plate, before snapping back to the door. "You don't understand; it's my fault she's down there! I'm not leaving her! I'd be trapped forever if not for her!"
That's when he started marching for the door. "So be it! But I'm done running! I have to at least try to save her!"
And with that, he was gone.