A/N: APOLOGIES everyone! Sorry for the delay, I decided to have a little bit of a siesta. If you're reading this than that means you're still interested in this story so that's a good sign. Anyway, without further a do, on with this chapter.
-The Jordanator-
Chapter 8.0
As the elevator plunged down, so did my spirit. The events of the last few chambers were nothing I'd ever want to go through again. To think about it, I was tossed, thrown, burned, threatened and shot at. All in the space of three test chambers. Oh God, I hoped these tests get better. How many more do I have left? Who knows?
The elevator arrived at Test Chamber 08. Let's get this over with.
"To think about it, you're surviving much better than most test subjects on record. I wonder why that is...?
"Sarcasm self-test complete" Came that male announcer voice I heard in Test 05.
"Oh, I forgot to turn that Announcer offline. Although it looks like you needed it just then"
Ignore her. Just keep walking.
The Test Chamber information sign lit up. I gave it a brief glance, not anything new I thought I saw. That's when I heard the voices.
"Be careful!" A high pitch voice cried from inside the chamber. That sounded like a turret.
Then a gruff, male voice spoke. "They don't call me Danger for nothing, you know. I've got this covered."
Intrigued, I walked closer until I was in front of the locked entry door. Strangely, it didn't open.
"Someone's coming!" The turret voice squeaked.
"Hold on." Said the other voice.
A moment of silence, then; "Okay let's gets outta here!"
After a minute, the door opened.
"Interesting, the entry door must be malfunctioning. It shouldn't be, this chamber is fairly new. Oh well, carry on with the test."
Very, very, very weird.
Walking in, I noticed several things all at once. In the center of the room were three upright panels which formed a triangle, with the top of it pointed directly at me. The two panels which were angled at the side faced the left and right corners of the room nearest to me, while the base panel faced the back wall. In front of it, volts of electricity were charging from the ceiling and onto the floor metres away from where I was standing. At least they weren't laser beams I suppose. My attention was drawn however to the back of the room. There was an alcove with a low ceiling which had a port-hole stuck on the wall facing the base panel of the panelled triangle in the center of the room. The exit door was on the adjacent wall beside it. So the port-hole must open the exit door right? If this chamber was simple, I could easily portal the electricity through the panels and into the port-hole.
But of course, nothing was that simple at Aperture.
Three of those awful turrets were lined in front of the port-hole, as some sort of guard, and would shoot if I got close. And if that wasn't enough of an incentive to let me know that I shouldn't even think about trying to get past them, a blue bridge was positioned on it's side at the mouth of the alcove, so that it blocked off the portion altogether.
This is ridiculous.
On the brighter side, the turrets couldn't shoot me unless the bridge came down, although I knew that they could see me when I stepped around the triangle of panels. So that was something.
I looked to the right and noticed a button behind a glass window that I could easily step onto. As I did this, a strange swish from across the room sounded. Then in the next instant, three thin, red beams landed themselves onto the glass window. Looking up, I saw that the blue bridge was gone, and the turrets were staring straight at me. They even had their sides extended in case I stepped out from behind the window. Thank god that was there, or else I would've been pretty much screwed. So the button deactivated the bridge...okay. A cube would need to be placed here. I saw one near the other end on the side of the room I was on, but it looked like a cube which redirected lasers and electricity, so I don't think I should use that for now. Where would a normal cube be?
Ah, there's a vent at the opposite corner. That should drop me a cube. Stepping off of the button, I walked over to it. The vent latch released, and I expected a cube to drop down and fall on the ground.
Nothing happened.
"Oh brilliant. Now the cube for this chamber is missing. Suspicious. Hang on a moment while I exchange this diversity vent for another." She said.
Wow, this place really needs to work on fixing these chambers.
Suddenly, an alarm blared out. I froze in shock. The last time that alarm rang, I was in a chamber which was falling apart beneath me. What's going to happen now? Siri?
Then in a rather majestic motion, the panels in the corner of the room opened up like cards being flipped, revealing the foggy blue of outside. Apart from a few ominous shapes in the fog, there was something else that I had never seen before.
Think of a motorway. You know how busy and fast-flowing it is right? Well think of that but condensed into a one-way, one lane glass tunnel, minus the road, streetlights and signage. The 'vehicles' inside the tunnels are actually a variety of fast-flowing objects such as cubes and the familiar shapes of turrets. And these glass tunnels were a curved and long-stretched network, travelling from and to different directions. I took this all in the space of five seconds before an end of one of the tunnels moved into the gap in the chamber wall. The opened panels re-aligned themselves until they had closed off the gap. The alarm ceased. Everything was back to its original place, apart from the fact that the tunnel vent was different.
"There we are. Try it now." She announced.
As I stepped closer to the vent, it released a cube and it dropped to the floor with a clank. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head. I didn't even want to know what just happened. Let's just get on with this.
I picked up the cube and carried it back to the button. As the cube pushed down the button, I looked over to see the blue bridge blockade dissipate, the turrets behind it keenly concentrated on my position behind the window. So how do I take them out?
What annoyed me was the fact that the surrounding area had black panels on which I couldn't place a portal. I stared in thought for a moment. Then my gaze eased toward the cube which moves lasers and electric volts, and to the electricity volts at hand. Pieces of the puzzle linked together and a theory formed in my head. Let's see if this works. If not, I'm dead.
I placed a portal underneath the cube I was wanting at the far side of the room and placed another on the wall beside me. The cube spilled through and onto the floor next to me. Good. For the time being, I took the normal cube off the button so that I wouldn't step out onto a firing squad. Once I did that I moved closer to the electric charge and fired a portal on where it hit the floor. Instantly, a loud crackle was heard behind me. I looked behind and nearly jumped in fright. JESUS! I forgot that I had placed that portal on the wall beside me! Shoot! Okay, uh let's move that portal…right here.
I shot the portal on the floor so that the electrical charge shot upwards instead of directly behind my head. Better. Now what if I grabbed that cube which moves the electricity, and see if I can do this?
I picked up the cube and held it in the electric current. The volts instantly shot toward the far wall instead of up at the ceiling. Its aim was only metres away from the prying eyes of the turrets. Okay, so if I move the cube so that the current swings closer to them…oh goddamit I left that other cube off the button! That bridge is still blocking off the turrets.
I quickly put down the cube I was holding with the portal device, shoved the normal cube on the button, and redid my previous attempt. That's better, no bridge, exposed turrets. Now I can just swing that deadly electric current into the first of the turrets and I'm sure things will suddenly get shocking for them.
I nearly laughed maniacally at that. Before I did, I realised I must be starting to go crazy so I just concentrated my aim as the current edged to the first turret.
As soon as the two connected, an amazing anomaly occurred. The small computer mind of the turret with its thin-edged shell was no match for the charging, furious rage of the electric current. Even from afar, I could see the pale white shell tremor and convulse. It let out a shriek so terrible it murdered my ears, even as its circuit's fried. I tensed and blocked my ears with my hands, moving to turn the electric current.
And then the turret exploded.
Scalded turret remains showered the chamber. A piece crashed directly in front of me, and I stared down in it. It creeped me out, especially when the turret's eye was still glowing with life, even though it was in millions of pieces. It gazed at me in what seemed like shock and misunderstanding. And then the eye went dark.
A moment past and I was still standing there, still catching my breath. That was weird, and quite intense. But I still have a couple more to electrify before I can complete the chamber. I went to move the cube so that the current could move. But just before the charge could reach the middle turret, the edge of the window blocked the view. Dammit. I'll have to move. OH YES, I just got a brilliant idea, okay, okay…
If I just drop my cube-that-moves-lasers-and-electricity for a moment, and place that normal cube back on that button so that the blue bridge reactivates…there we are. Now I can freely move out, place some portals in strategic spots. Now the electric current was zapping at the blue bridge in front of the turret. Yes, good. And now I simply move back behind the glass and lift the cube and voilà!
The middle turret screamed as lethal volts surged through its body, before it exploded as the first turret did. I looked away so that I wouldn't start to feel sorry for the thing. Okay, no more explosion, put the cube back onto the button, and onto the last turret.
A minute later, the last turret was reduced to smithereens and the electrical charge successfully met the outlet it was destined to connect with.
"Good job. Pre-test camera recordings reveal that there has been a breach of test chamber security by intruders. These intruders have been the cause of minor interferences affecting the overall performance and well-being of this fairly new test chamber. We ask that if you can identify or recognize these intruders, that you immediately inform us of this. Thank you for your cooperation."
Oh, so I wasn't imagining things. Those voices I had heard before the test were real. And if there are intruders, which means that there are other here. And if there are others here, than I'm not alone. They might be the key to both finding out the truth and getting out of here.
As I walked out of the chamber door in the alcove, I made a resolution. Find those intruders.
The elevator opened for me and I stepped from the small staircase into it. At that moment, a thought, a terrible thought crossed my mind. It was okay saying to find these people.
But I had to try and not get myself killed in this gauntlet of science first.
Chapter 9: 'Love at first cube' coming soon.