Chell landed gracefully on another moving platform, her heart racing and sweat dripping down her face. The platform continued to move without any further obstacles blocking her path. This test was probably over. Thank goodness.
"Congratulations on finishing the final test!"
Yes. Congrats to me. Now where are you...? Chell looked around as the platform continued to glide calmly down a narrow hallway. Acidic goop still filled the ground below.
A catchy tune was heard echoing down the Halls, celebrating Chell's victory as she slid toward an opening at the end of the tunnel.
She noticed with sudden unease that the corridor was getting warmer... the acid below was bubbling. No, boiling.
"All Aperture technologies remain safely operational up to 4000 degrees Kelvin," the woman's voice echoed in the vast chamber. An inferno lay before Chell, the platform sliding slowly into the depths of the flames.
No. No way. Chell shot to her feet and looked to the ceiling where the voice was coming from. A little crescent-shaped radio sat high near the ceiling giving off the jazzy dance tune.
She hadn't honestly thought that they would just kill her at the end of the tests. Why? Where was her father? She wanted to see him right this instant!
"Rest assured that there is absolutely no chance of a dangerous equipment malfunction prior to your victory candescence."
Chell shot a portal at the wall to her left. A bright blue portal appeared.
"Thank you for your participation in this Aperture Science enrichment activity."
Chell looked to the ledge where the little radio sat and aimed.
"Goodbye."
Fired.
"What are you doing?"
A bright orange portal blasted to life above the ledge.
"Stop that!"
Chell took the longest leap she could on the sliding platform and narrowly missed the blue portal.
Chell's boots bounced with inertia as she landed safely on the narrow ledge above. She took a few heaving breaths and stared into the fire pit below. She was baking just standing here... it was suffocating. She had to get out.
"I... I... we are pleased that you made it through the final test where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are very... very happy for your success," the woman sounded cool and collected, but Chell could practically hear her silent rage.
Chell glared up at the camera mounted to the wall on her right, picked up the loud radio, and chucked it straight at the camera, knocking it into the flames.
She looked straight to the front of the room where she had originally entered and spotted a catwalk leading up into the ceiling. Bingo.
Chell portalled her way to the catwalk, her boots ringing out as the metal screeched below her. She climbed up through the ceiling into an old room. The inner workings of the enrichment center. Chell was going to get out of here one way or another.
The horrible little test subject had just made a daring escape attempt. And it worked. No test subject had ever escaped from the incineration chamber. It just wasn't done. None had been smart enough to think past the blazing inferno.
"Why don't you be a proper little test subject and lie down with your arms at your side. We will throw you a party for your tremendous success," Glados told the subject calmly. Glados wasn't feeling particularly calm, though. The woman had escaped into the walls behind the enrichment center where Glados was practically blind. Yes, she had minimal control of the machinery and operations back there, but she had no eyes. No ears. Just a voice.
The girl was a rat and Glados had to flush her out.
"Hello? I know you're there... I can see you." A blatant lie, as Glados had no idea where the woman had headed. Hopefully she had been caught in some active machinery and was already dead. Just in case, Glados activated the few controls she had and left some sentry turrets scattered around in case the girl came snooping through. It was hazardous work, escaping.
"You haven't escaped, you know."
She wished the test subject would talk... she hadn't realized just how problematic a silent test subject would be. In the past she had dropped a talkative test subject through the floor for bugging her so much. That didn't make the scientists very happy at all... ha ha.
"You're not even going the right way."
Glados' hands were a blur trying to hack into any machinery she could and get some eyes on the escaped rat.
"I don't think you're going where you think you are going."
Chell ran desperately through the dark recesses of the enrichment center. She noted strange markings that seemed to be leading her in a certain direction. Chell decided they were safe to follow and ran the way the painted arrows went. She tried to drown out the woman's voice, constantly droning through the chambers.
"Okay, the test is over. You win. Now go back to the recovery annex for your cake."
Oh brother.
"It was a fun test and we're all impressed at how much you won. Come back for your cake."
"Target acquired." A sing-song voice warned.
Oh no... turrets.
Chell ducked behind a wall as bullets sprayed everywhere, four turrets blocking her path. She covered her head and crouched, waiting for the onslaught to stop.
"Uh oh. Somebody cut the cake. I told them to wait for you, but they did it anyway. There is still some left, though, if you hurry back."
Chell somersaulted towards the line of turrets, kicking one over. The turret screamed and knocked over the other three turrets. They landed on their sides and let loose dozens of more bullets. Chell assumed a fetal position, making herself a smaller target as bullets ricocheted everywhere.
"I don't blame you," was the turret's last words as it shut down.
She got up on her knees once the commotion was finished and hissed in pain as she noted a bullet had grazed her thigh. She checked herself over just in case and jumped to her feet. That really could have been much worse.
"Remember when the platform was sliding into the fire pit and I said 'Goodbye' and you were like [no way] and then I was all 'we pretended we were going to kill you'? That was great! You can come back now..."
Chell ignored the woman as she ran into another huge chamber full of sentry turrets. Was there any end to this madness?
"I feel sorry for you, honestly. You're not even in the right place."
Dozens of turret voices piped up as they spotted Chell all at once.
"Hello."
Chell shot a portal straight up into the air to the five-story high ceiling, shot a portal straight to the portal surface only feet away from her, and ran.
"Deploying."
"Target acquired."
She could practically feel the red dots painting her body as she made her mad dash to the portal.
"Activated."
"There you are."
"I see you."
Bullets were spraying through the air straight at her.
"I see you."
As Chell fell from the portal on the ridiculously high ceiling, she aimed and fired another portal directly beneath her and one on the far edge of the room. Free falling through the portal launched her at bone-crushing speed toward another catwalk leading out of the gigantic room. Bracing herself, Chell threw her boots out first and landed against the wall, bouncing back harmlessly onto the catwalk.
She scrambled to her feet and looked down to make sure the turrets weren't targeting her up here.
"Target lost."
"Where are you."
"Are you still there?"
"Searching."
Her legs wobbled in relief and she sat on the catwalk to take a brief respite.
"It's funny when you think about it actually. Someday we'll talk about this and laugh. And laugh. And laugh," the woman's voice rang out in the vast room.
Chell gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to slam the portal gun against the catwalk. She was getting frustrated and just wanted to leave.
After a good ten minute rest and enduring much of the disembodied woman's jeering, Chell got up again, ready to face the Aperture Maze of Death. She jogged down the catwalk and made her way into a bright white office. Finally, something normal.
She glanced around the abandoned room and peeked out into a long hallway that seemed to hold identical offices. Was anybody down here?
It became clear quickly that all the offices were abandoned. Chell made her way into each one. Some held large glass windows that looked down into the test chambers she had previously traversed. It was a creepy feeling and she had goosebumps. This place hadn't seen a soul in ages. Chairs were knocked over, old coffee cups lay spilt and cracked on the ground, the coffee dried long ago.
She took a few steps back out of the offices in horror. What had happened here? Where were the people?
"You're not a good person. You know that, right?"
Chell ran down the hall, desperate to find a way out. These weren't the offices she knew. Lights flickered menacingly. How do I get out?
"Good people don't end up here."
She skidded to a halt as a long arm of machinery dropped down from the ceiling and pointed straight at her.
"I can see you. It didn't have to be like this, you know."
A little metal sphere at the end of the robotic arm opened it's green optic and stared Chell down. She took a step back.
"Now I'm going to kill you and all the cake will be gone." The green optic flared to life and targeted Chell as she moved. It launched something that flew straight at her.
"And you don't even care, do you?"
Chell dodged the incoming missile as a giant window behind her shattered with the blow. Glass flew everywhere and Chell took the opportunity to run past the rocket sentry and dive into the room behind, slamming the door with as much strength as she could muster.
Unfortunately for her the rocket sentry could see her through the glass in the door and shot another missile. She ducked to the ground as the door exploded. Behind her was only a wall. There was no way out.
Chell dodged another oncoming missile and it blew a hole in the wall behind her, spraying plaster and dirt everywhere. She looked back to the wall, realizing she could see another room where the hole was. Shooting another portal through it, Chell jumped down into the floor and disappeared behind the wall and out of sight of the rocket sentry.
Her hands shook as she wiped sweat out of her eyes and checked herself over for injuries. Besides some scrapes and bruises, she thought she would live to see another day. At least for now.
"This is your last chance. Turn back now," the woman told her with icy malice. Chell openly bared her teeth at the single security camera in the room, done with the antics.
I'm coming for you.
I was going to post some more, but it's really late and I need to go to bed.
