Hello folks, apologies for the two day blank (still a lot quicker than many writers though, eh?). I don't particularly like this chapter, it's a bit of a filler. It was going to be quite a short chapter, but I wanted to get it to a certain point and I couldn't do it very quickly. There isn't much character development for Chell in there, but hey, the chapter does what I wanted it to do - move Chell's story on. Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming please! Not my charcters folks. Little reference to my favourite books in there - can you spot it?

Inhibition

It did not take Chell long to reach the wall, but she didn't feel any sense of achievement for having done it. The Companion Cube was downright upset for having been forced to be carried for longer. Being closer to the wall, she saw from the grass and rubble around her that what she was looking at would have been the inside of the far-facing wall from where she'd been stood by the hedge. Standing next to the wall, she would have been inside the building. Warehouse, probably, though its contents had long been removed or stolen. Chell looked around. Amongst the twisted metal, there were shards and wires that looked like they would have belonged to machinery.

Chell turned, and walked to the edge of the wall, where the corner began to connect to a second wall, but this wall had been destroyed. Jumping the low, ragged metal that would have been the base of the wall, Chell was outside of the building. If one wall and no roof made a house, that is. The Companion Cube gave Chell a mental sigh; it didn't care about her musings.

The other side of the wall was greyed, but it had not always been so. It was the grey of white paint that had been dulled by time and lack of care. Chell turned her gaze up towards the wall, and saw again the segmented circle, blazoned in cracked black paint. Slowly, she stared down at the same symbol, printed against the white of her shirt along with the words 'Aperture Laboratories'. Switching back to the wall, she squinted closely. She saw a similar message –

APE

SCIENCE

The remaining letters of Aperture were nowhere to be seen. Underneath the words had been drawn a crude face. It did not look human. Its ears were too big, its nose flattened, and it seemed to be covered in dark fur. Perhaps it was some sort of animal. It was by no means a work of art; probably sprayed on in mockery. Chell allowed herself a small sense of satisfaction, which didn't go down well with the Companion Cube. She was, she surmised, on the same side as Aperture now.

She turned, and saw.. a person. It was unexpected to say the least. Chell had not seen a person since the Bring Your Daughter To Work Day at Aperture; however long ago that was. Since then she had been sheparded around and through the facility by AIs. Of course, they were advanced to the point of human sentience, but they were robots. Machines.

Chell did not know how to react, but react she did. She crouched, brought the portal gun up and placed a portal under the feet of the man. He himself, did not react to the change in his own safety. Chell analysed him. He was old, perhaps around sixty. Late sixties. He was wearing thick leather boots, course brown trousers and a tweed jacket. On his head was a hat of the same material of his jacket. His face was old, his eyes those of a man with a conscience.

He looked slowly down at the blue oval at his feet, and then back at Chell.

"Please, reset your device. I am a farmer; I have lived here on my own since the incident. I am just gone to check my fields."

Chell looked at the man, surmising the threat he posed. She summarised the situation safe. Slowly, she shook the device, and rose again to her full height. The portal at the feet of the man winked out of existence.

"Ah, thank you", said the farmer, "Name's John. S'all I've got. M'name, m'crop and m'house. I don't know how the hells you come to be here, nobody's come out of the godforsaken place since the incident, but it's my duty to keep you good and send you on your way, as I did for the others. You don't look like t'others. All white coats and specs they were. Don't think you had it easy like them. S'at right? Wha's your name gal?"

Again, nobody had directed a question at Chell since Before. She continued to stare at the old man, and did not reply. The Companion Cube lay at her feet where it had been dropped in her surprise, and it seemed to be quivering in anticipation. After a few minutes of silence, the farmer spoke up again.

"Eh.. well, anyways. I will walk back to my house now. Comes with me and I'll have you a meal and a drink. Give you a bed for tonight, and set you on your way. Not one to interfere, I's not."

He turned, and began to walk back. He did not check whether Chell was following. Chell did not want to go with the man, but she had no choice, really. She did not know the way to anywhere, and the fact that this simple farmer was not worried by the technology she had accidentally showed to him could mean that the portal gun was old stock, familiar. She looked to the Companion Cube, and it seemed it was telling her to go.

She picked it up with the portal device, and started to follow the old man; though she made no attempt to catch up with him.

Upon reaching his house ten minutes later, she hesitated on the doorstep for a moment, unsure. The man turned back, his grey eyes meeting hers – Chell stepped inside. The man led her into a room, old but seemingly cosy.

"I have pie in the oven. There's nobody here, if you're wondering. I'm alone. Sit wherever, and I'll bring it to you soon." He told her, and walked out.

Chell stood awkwardly for a minute, then set down a disgruntled Companion Cube and sat on it. In seemingly no time a plate of hot pie was set in front of her. The man left her again. He did not seem to be comfortable in staying with her. Slowly, she ate the pie. It was good, but she could not name whatever was in it. She wondered if it was the furry creature on the Ape Science sign.

When she was finished, the farmer relieved her of her plate.

"Hope you enjoyed it" he said, and sat down.

"Look, I'm so sorry. I'm not a bad man. I lost my whole family in the incident, and I wanted to move away. They wouldn't let me though. Told me to stay here, let them know if and when anyone came out from that place. They paid me a lot of money to do it see; and I'm a poor man. Helped me scraped by enough to start the wheat field."

At this point, Chell heard a vehicle pull up outside. She stood up, fast. Her heart thudded through her chest; immediately on full alert.

"Forgive me." The man whispered, tears in his eyes.

At this moment, two men strode through the door into the room. Shades, black suits and shaven heads. On the breast of their shirt was a circle, with the bottom filled in with an irregular shape.

Sorry for the dodgy description of the last symbol, but if you know what I mean, feel free to review with a better description and I'll edit it in. Anyway - all will be revealed in the next chapter! Please keep reviews coming :D

~daT.