Want You Gone

[Chapter Seven: Surprise]

"You're a predator and these tests are your prey. Speaking of which, I was researching sharks for an upcoming test. Do you know who else murders people who are only trying to help them? Did you guess 'sharks'? Because that's wrong. The correct answer is 'nobody.' Nobody but you is that pointlessly cruel." -GLaDOS

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As much as I'd have liked to completely disregard GLaDOS from that point on, she still had a way of getting my attention. The moment I would let on that I wasn't listening to her, she knew just what to say to make me look up and give her some thought. Perhaps she was lonely, too. Perhaps she just wanted my attention. I had to shake that thought. There was no way I could let myself believe for even a second that she had an ounce of sanity. 

So on the vault-ride down to the next test, of course she said something that piqued my interest. "Enjoy this next test. I'm going to go to the surface. It's a beautiful day out." I gave her my attention. After all, it was what she wanted. But this talk of the surface, it made me wonder what it looked like now. Was it the same as before? Was it all just a ruin now? I had no way of telling, so I relied on her to let me know, even if I couldn't trust her to be serious with me for once. "Yesterday I saw a deer. If you solve this next test, maybe I'll let you ride an elevator all the way up to the break room, and I'll tell you about the time I saw a deer again." I frowned at her before she signed off once more, and left me alone again. Now would be the perfect opportunity to look for Wheatley. But Wheatley didn't show up, so I finished the puzzle in silence. 

When GLaDOS returned, she talked to me about how she had seen humans on her trip to the surface just then. I leaned against the glass wall of the elevator, giving the ceiling a look of disbelief. I doubted she'd even gone to the surface. She was stuck in her mainframe, she Ould have no way of getting up there, anyhow. I took her story as just another taunt, and moved on. I told myself that I needed to stop expressing interest in what she had to say. Don't giver her that satisfaction.

Her next grand chamber involved natural light that she claimed had been pumped from the surface. "If you rubbed your cheek on one, it would be like standing outside with the sun shining on your face. It would also set your hair on fire, so don't actually do it." She told me. I realized that she was trying to tease me with talk about the surface that she planned on never letting me return to. I wasn't sure how the magical light bridges worked, but for my own sanity, I refused to believe whatever explanation she was willing to give. They were peculiar things, however, and I could feel the warmth they emitted as I walked across them and navigated the chamber. 

I stepped into the elevator as was routine at the end of the chamber, and listened to her ramble about something or other all the way until I reached the door to the next test. The door didn't open for me, however. It merely sparked and opened a fraction of the way, before slamming shut as quick as it was allowed. I eyed the faulty door, head cocked to the side. 

"Perfect, the door's malfunctioning..." GLaDOS growled."I guess somebody's going to have to repair that too. No, don't get up. I'll be right back. Don't touch anything." She said sternly. I couldn't tell if she was talking to me, or someone, else, but I was puzzled nonetheless. Who else could she have been talking to? She beeped offline, right before I heard a tapping up above me. I glanced up to locate the source of the sound, and saw a small window up near the ceiling. Behind the window, was a small, lit room, and in that room, was Wheatley. 

"Hey!Hey! Up here!" He seemed to whisper, as not to get her attention. I raised my free hand to wave at him, beaming. I knew I would see him again. "I found some bird eggs up here! Just dropped 'em right into the door mechanism! Shut it right down!" He cheered. I glanced behind him at what seemed like an angry crow. I tried to point it out to him before he was alarmed by it, but it caught him off guard anyways. "I- AGGH! Bird! Bird! Bird! Bird!" He cried in alarm and lashed around, trying to get the crow off of his case and disappearing from the room. I sighed softly and went to cover my face. How can I talk to this guy if he never sticks around longer than a moment? I expected that GLaDOS would return just then, and that I would not see Wheatley for another few chambers, but much to my surprise, he re-entered the small room, seeming out of breath, which was odd for a robot.