Epilogue

Everything was so still, so hushed; perhaps too quiet, even for such a secret place, forgotten by civilization years ago. The faint ripple of wind whisperered to the golden stalks of wheat, which swayed ever so slightly in reply. The sun watched from above, it's warm glare reflected by the bright lead roof of an old, overgrown shed. The pressure of the silence alone was overwhelming; not even the faintest bird song caught the wind.

As the warm breeze died down and the air became hot and still again, the faintest, most distant rustling could be heard. As it grew louder, two slim figures in black broke over the horizon and walked gravely through the wheat towards the shack ahead of them.

One of them was carrying a core in her arms. It's bright blue optic flashed nervously at the wheat below. The other held an Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube, her arms thrown around it protectively. She stroked it's familiar, scratched surfaces with her fingers for the last time as the two women sat next to each other by the shed.

"Well, it's only been a few weeks, now, since - well..." The first woman trailed off, looking across at her sister carefully. "Chell... How did you know in the end? How did you know it was him?"

Her sister shook her head speechlessly and lowered it, her hair hiding her face from view.

"Do you... do you remember what he was like? Before that day...?" The first woman asked tentatively. The core in her arms stared on quietly, seemingly not trusting itself to speak.

The second woman nodded her head and tightened her grip on the strange box in her arms.

The two sisters and the core sat in silence, staring through the crack in the door of the shed. Tears ran down the second sister's face as she stared fixedly at the heart on the top of the cube that she held closely in her arms.

Finally, the core couldn't help itself and broke the silence. "So- so are you... are you going to do it?"

The girl nodded slowly and hesitatantly pulled herself up, dragging her heels as she walked towards the shed, her grip on the cube ever tighter. The door opened with a creak as she pushed it forward and walked inside. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she leaned over a ledge and stared into a deep pit below her. Opening her eyes, the girl gasped another shuddering breath and held the cube in front of her, above the dark opening.

She stood there for some time, breathing uneasily as she stared from the cube to the pit.

"Let it go now," The other sister with the core in her arms told her soothingly. "It's all behind you now. It will help you leave it behind. I promise."

Hands shaking, her grip on the cube slackened and it fell into the darkness below, a loud clatter sounding as it hit the bottom. The younger sister let out a sigh of grief as she turned and looked across at her two companions through tear-stained eyes.

"Well done," Her sister praised quietly. "That must have been hard. Does it feel better?"

The second woman nodded shakily in reply and walked backwards towards her sister. Stroking the core with a sweaty hand, she started to breathe easily again.

"We're sorry, Doug," The first woman with the core stated quietly. "At - at least you... at least you were happy when you... in the end."

Her sister nodded in agreement, wiping tears from her eyes roughly with her sleeve and sniffing.

"Can- can we go now, please?" The core stammered fearfully, breaking the tense silence once again. "Let's just go back to the car, the ghost might come after me!"

"I've already told you, ghosts don't exist," The first woman replied, smiling grimly. "But the police are probably on their way. If they find us before we leave the country, we'll be in deep trouble."

Silently, the two sisters turned away from the old tattered shed and marched towards the horizon, their figures dissapearing into the distance.

The wheat remained still again, and the breeze sighed gently. The shed stood on furtively as if hiding something secret below it's rotting foundations.

Hours later when the sun had fallen below the horizon, when the breeze held it's breath, the slightest disturbance from below echoed up to the surface. The wheat rippled secretly as a cry of glee broke out, only to be hushed by the wind.

Small chatters and murmers sounded from below as a cold breeze started to pick up; the moon stared as the muttering grew louder.

Suddenly, inside the old tumble-down shed, a Weighted Companion Cube was pushed out of the darkness and landed on the concrete floor with a clunk. Two hands crept onto the ground after it; a matted mop of hair followed, falling over two bright blue eyes. The old man's shadowy features were lit with awe as his shining eyes reflected the moon, and his trembling lips could only shape one word;

"Freedom."