See first chapter for disclaimer. I decided that these two will be the only protagonists for now. Did I capture GLaDOS's sarcasm well?
Although Dwayne needed no more confirmation than what he saw before him, a bit extra was always nice. "I know, man," he said colloquially. "It's like totally a relief to see you." Eric shook Dwayne's hand. "Yeah, nice to see you, too, but I wouldn't be relieved if I were you. Look where we are. Do you have any idea where this place is?" Eric turned away from Dwayne and looked around, as if to emphasize that he didn't know where he was, as if he had just now realized that he was lost. Dwayne shook his head. "Do you?" "No," responded Eric, not even bothering to turn around.
As though cued, a robotic voice suddenly sounded from an unidentified source, catching them both off-guard as they tumbled backwards in surprise, nearly knocking heads. "Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Center Testing Program for Children and Teenagers," the voice said. There was a loud whirr of what Eric presumed to be a hard drive and what Dwayne presumed to be at least some kind of shiny thing or another, and the voice continued. "Test subject: Dwayne Goldsmith." "Oh jeez, that's me," whispered Dwayne uncomfortably. "I know," whispered Eric equally uncomfortably. The voice continued. "Sender: Anna Goldsmith. Relation: Mother. Test subject: Eric Carson. Sender: Rick Carson. Relation: Father. Profiles loaded."
Dwayne and Eric looked at each other questioningly, as if one knew the answer and the other didn't. "Man," said Dwayne. "I knew our parents were in on this." Of course, he didn't, but Dwayne really loved saying stuff like that. "Who knows?" said Eric calmly. "If our parents really put us into this Apartridge Science Whatever Center Thing, it can't be that ba-" "Objection," interrupted Dwayne dizzily. "My parents make me do homework every night. That really, really sucks." Needless to say, Dwayne hadn't been doing too well in school these days. There was silence as they stared into each other's quizzical eyes. "Well, yeah," said Eric. "Except that's beside the point." Suddenly, there was a noise far more ominous and disturbing than the pounding of flesh on a glass wall, and it came from the clock above the door. It sounded like a million robotic screams. It probably would not have sounded so ominous if the clock itself was not so ominous; every number on it was zero. It had reached the end of its track. In the glass room, all movement ceased, and the air was still as ice and nearly as cold. "Wh-what happens n-now?" stuttered Eric as he stared up at the clock. Dwayne stared up as well, and there was a mix of puzzle and fear in his eyes. "I… I dunno, dude… Ya think somethin's gonna explode?" There was another whirring sound like a computer part, and the door creaked open.
Dwayne did not know whether to be depressed or the happiest man alive, and Eric wasn't sure that he was either; all that showed itself before them was a long metal corridor that seemed to have no end. The robotic voice sounded once more. "Again, welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Center Testing Program for Children and Teenagers. We hope you've enjoyed your stay in our complimentary glass bedrooms, designed especially for comfort and privacy." Dwayne snickered. Eric turned to him. "What?" he asked. Dwayne pointed to the corner of the room. Eric followed his finger to a toilet. A toilet. In a glass room. Privacy indeed. Eric began to snicker as well, but stopped when he realized just how serious the situation was; they still weren't entirely sure what they were doing. For all they knew, they could be committing suicide just by not running away. "Please enter the elevator at the end of the corridor in front of you to begin the test. The enrichment center apologizes that the corridor may be a bit hard to find." Dwayne stared down the corridor. It stared back with illusory metal teeth. "Ladies first," he said unsurely to Eric. Eric's eyes traveled through the corridor and saw nothing but fright and danger. He was about to mention that he wasn't a lady, but he decided not to. "You're braver than me," said Eric, actually rather sincerely. "You go." Dwayne sighed a deep sigh and started out of the room and down the corridor, with Eric following close behind.