literature

Portal 2 Remember: 1

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What does one do when stuck in the middle of nowhere, having no memory of being in the outside world before, standing in a large field and clutching to a burnt cube that has been your only memorable friend? Where does one go? Where could one go? Did they even have a family, a home or someone they knew to help them? The chances of finding at least some sort of civilization would take days, even weeks of continuous walking. That meant no food, no water and even pushing their way through the night just to get moving. One had to start off somewhere… even with that one tug inside the heart that gave hope on where to go and what to do, it was better than nothing. One step is all it takes to start the journey of one's lifetime… even if what they can remember of their life was just bits and pieces of lost memories. With this in mind, a step was taken and the tired girl with the giant cube began her long walk to where her heart was telling her to be… somewhere safe… somewhere warm… somewhere… familiar.

---

Every day was a routine… never changed, never would change. He would wake up every morning at five, shower, ate cold cereal and coffee with many scoops of sugar inside before heading to work. He never attended the social events his company had. He just bent down and worked, the job's pay being good, it put food on the table and entertainment on the television, but he never bothered anyone for a raise, even if getting employee of the month for six months in a row.

Lunch lasted an hour. He'd have egg salad sandwich, a pear, and tea with the tea bag he brought from home. After he ate, he'd sit in the corner of the break room with a book and stayed silent as everyone mingled, talked and laughed. They tried to be social with him, they really did! They all tried to bring back the chatterbox he once was! They did all they could.

"Hey, you wanna come get drinks with us after work?" one man asked.

"How about we go to that new place for lunch tomorrow?" another would offer.

"How about you and me go see a dinner and a movie?" a sweet girl asked him once.

"No thank you, I've got plans," was all he said.

When work would end, he drove to his small, white, two story home surrounded by rose bushes by the porch and a bird feeder on the branches of the old oak tree at the side. He lived alone in his house… no pets, no family… no girl. Depending on what day it was, he'd either do laundry, vacuum and dust the place, take a long walk to burn off some calories (and stress) or tend to the garden he had. He never grew flowers before and it seemed odd that a man who lived alone and never had a date with a girl in almost two years, owned a garden with roses in it. It was a peaceful sort of hobby… plus, the sweet, soft beauty just reminded him of… her.

He'd eat a frozen dinner with club soda while watching television and sometimes when things were just too painful, he'd sneak a cookie from his stash he oh so cleverly named "stressed desserts," and munch on it while either rereading one of the thousands of books he had lying around or keep watching television until it was bedtime, usually around nine or ten.

Always the same routine… it would never change.

It was raining that night, with him watching some crime show with a bag of popcorn on his side. He never got fat… for one thing, he burned off all the fatty foods he consumed every day. The other thing was… well, high metabolism. He sighed and stared at the bright screen, feet on the coffee table and rubbing his eyes, now dark from lack of sleep and… depression. He didn't want to go to sleep yet and the show was actually intriguing… somewhat scary too… crime shows always based their cases off of real events and he shuddered, too nervous to think about what really happened.

As soon as a dead body with a missing head toppled out of the closet on screen, a loud thud was heard outside his door, making him yelp and hide behind his couch. When he thought everything was safe, he peered over the arm of the couch and stared at the door with wide, frightened eyes. Good God, did the wind knock a branch into his door or did someone fling a… raccoon or something at his house!?! His hand fumbled to grab something as a weapon, finding a frying pan from the stove and slowly crept to the door.  Whatever it was… even with him having a "weapon," he knew he could not fight the bloody thing off… even if it was a branch. Yes, he was that pathetic.

He gripped the door knob tightly, now shaking with nervousness and threw it open, letting out a weak battle cry, eyes closed tightly while swinging the pan downward, hitting something that seemed like smacking the pan against a brick wall. It sent violent vibrations up his arms and made his teeth clatter as he gripped the pan to his chest to look down at what he hit.

His eyes widened and he lowered the pan to get a better look. Was this… a Companion Cube? He reached over and wiped his hand on the top of the familiar large box, pushing the soot and mud off of it, loosened from the rain, to see the faded pink heart. It was… but how on earth… correction, why on earth was it here? He huffed and shook his head, it possibly being a prank from a former employee who must have done this to piss him off… isn't the first time this has happened. Tossing the pan behind him, he squatted to lift the cube with a grunt, preparing himself to drag it inside and be used as a nightstand or a-.

The box completely slipped from his hands and into a rose bush, crushing the plant and damaging it terribly… but that was the last thing on his mind. "CHELL!?!" He quickly bent down towards the thin, limp and soaked body of the one girl he loved and checked her pulse, seeing she was alive but was out cold from exhaustion and hunger. "O-oh God… o-oh my God!" He was shaking badly, unsure if this was a dream or not, but to finally see her again after so long… it was so unreal! She must have escaped… she must have and remembered him! Yes, that was it! No wait, she had brain damage, she was supposed to forget almost everything… what other problems does she have if she's brain damaged!?!

She twitched slightly and had her eyebrows wrinkle while trying to wake, knocking him back to reality and away from his panicked thoughts. Okay, get her inside and… do something useful!!! He scooped her up carefully, wincing inwardly at how light she was and scrambled inside, almost tripping over the mess he made over the past two years. What would one expect from a pathetic, depressed bachelor!?! He shoved his shoulder into the bedroom door, groaned to realize it was closed firmly and used his socked foot to awkwardly turn the knob while balancing on his free leg and still clutching to Chell, finally getting the door open and running inside.

"Chell… Ch-Chell, are you okay!?!" he cried, laying her on the bed and checking for any wounds. Mostly cuts and bruises but she was soaked to the bone. "Oh G-God, why am I even asking you that, you can't speak!" He sped to his closet and grabbed one of his shirts and boxers, running back to try and strip her of the cold, wet clothes she had, not wanting her to get sick but… oh God, how long has it been since he saw her naked? Okay, push the long awaited horniness aside and take care of her, moron!!! "God, you probably don't understand a word I am saying, I mean, with the brain damage and it being more than two bloody years since we last saw each other… wait, you don't remember that either, God!" He smacked himself after having her dressed and ran to his bathroom to grab a clean towel. "Still it's a bloody wonder how you came all the way from there and even found my house, so you must have remembered something about me or I was just a random bloody house you just HAD to come to… it must have taken weeks for you to even come here and find this place… oh God, you must be so hungry and need a bath! Oh God, Chell…"

He sat on the edge of the bed, with her tucked in, mostly dry and still struggling to wake up. No, of course she didn't remember… she looked so weak, so helpless… but God, she's hardly changed since he last saw her. He covered his face and trembled, now hitting him that he finally had her back in his arms. But… it wasn't going to be HER. It would be this… girl that looks like her that has no memory of him and brain damage that could possibly make her act like a child and have to learn EVERYTHING over again. A whimper escaped from his mouth and he shook his head, face still covered. So his long awaited dream, those endless prayers… they had been answered and were coming true… but no, he didn't want it like this. Not like this…

---

"No Jerry, I can't come to work today!" he huffed, pacing back and forth in the kitchen. Chell didn't wake up at all that night and he ended up sleeping on the couch downstairs. He couldn't go into work today, she must need him and he had to take care of her! He had a lot of sick days saved up… he could get away with an entire week with how many days he's saved up! "Because I am sick, that's why!" He leaned against the kitchen counter and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I really am sick… I vomited, I got the chills… yes, they're multiplying… am I losing control? Oh, damn it Jerry, I don't have time for that! You know I hate that movie!" He huffed and smacked the back of his head against the wall. "Look, I'll probably be out for three or four days… maybe… well, I have never been sick before until now Jerry!" He glanced to the side and yelped, almost dropping the phone and fumbling with it wildly for a full minute before shoving it back to his ear. Chell apparently woke up and made her way downstairs, still wearing his shirt and boxers and looking at him curiously. God, she looked so adorable in that loose shirt… DISTRACTED! "G-gotta go Jerry I… have the runs!" He slammed the phone, blinked and smacked himself in the forehead for what he just said. Moron…

"A-ah yes well… hello," he mumbled weakly, rubbing the back of his head as she just stared. "Well uhh… good morning then I-I… w-well… a-are you… feeling all right?" She didn't move or even nod. "Is that a YES…" he nodded his head very slowly, "Or a NO?" He shook his head, feeling like a bloody idiot. Her eyebrows furrowed and after a moment, she slowly nodded, not exaggerating like what he did, but it was still noticeable that she was learning.  "Ah, good! All right, we got yes and no down… now a billion more to go, oh God." He sat back and rubbed his temples as she walked over, scaring him when he looked up to see her so close. "Ah, wh-what are… y-you're a quiet one, you know that! A-all right now you… must be starving, right? Oh of course you are, you're as thin as a rail!" He took her arm and guided her into the kitchen, surprised how easily she followed without any hesitation or questioning.

"All right, have a seat! Let's see, what do we have here?" He bent down and rummaged through the cabinets and fridge, putting a loaf of bread, a box of crackers and some raisins on the table to make more room to look. "Let's see… got some oatmeal that's probably not good anymore… and cereal, and… well, let's see what's in the-." He stood and blinked to see she opened up the bread bag and was chewing on a piece, an adorable, curious look on her face as she watched him. "Ah… right, bread is good… not toasted, no butter or jelly? No? Ah, those are fine… but only have two pieces though, I need to save that for when I go to work… oh God, I have to go to work! W-well not now, but eventually! What will you do while I'm gone!?! I can't leave you alone here like a prison like how you last were, but if you go out, something is bound to happen and it'll be bad! Ah God… I-I have so much to teach you and so little time, my God!" He collapsed into a chair, saying all that in one breath and was now exhausted.

Something poked his face and he glanced up, seeing her trying to offer a piece of bread to him. "Oh… thank you…" He took it and chewed on it slowly, still deep in thought on what to do. He felt so stressed yet relieved and happy yet upset… ugh, it was making him sick. He looked at her again as she watched, still chewing. "Look… this is going to be a bloody pain to do… helping you remember, if that's possible, or at least… reteach every bloody thing you have to know… God, this will take months… years… and I still got work to do and buy you clothes and now get food for the both of us and we'll have to have you registered since you probably don't exist in this planet, so social security numbers and finding you a birthday and a last name and God, this means we'll be living together and you don't even remember me and probably don't even want me, probably wanting someone more attractive and less of a-."

She kissed him on the cheek and his jaw clenched tightly, shutting up. Something clicked in her mind, as he babbled on and on in his state of panic, that this was the way to keep him calm and quiet. Why a kiss and to this particular man whom she hardly knew, she didn't know. But as she watched him stare at the wall with wide eyes and a red face, the girl had a good feeling about this man… that he could help her and would never harm her. How she came to this conclusion was a wonder to her, but where else was she to go? Besides, he fed her, clothed her, brought her into his house and let her sleep in his bed… and seemed too much of a nervous babbling wreck to do anything along the lines of putting someone in danger.

He seemed to sense she only kissed him to shut him up and nothing more, now looking down and biting his lip. "What am I going to do?" he muttered and ran a hand through his hair. He glanced up and felt his heart shudder to see she now looked slightly guilty from how distressed and sad he was, thinking it was her fault. He pulled a soft smile, leaned over and patted her arm gently. "Hey, i-it's all right… we'll figure something out… somehow." She gave him a very small, very light smile, the first one he's seen from her in years that completely warmed his heart. "Heh well… one step at a time they say, huh? I think we got a chance to help you, don't we?" She nodded and he grinned. One step at a time…
I kept telling myself... I shouldn't do this... I really shouldn't do this... but I did. Portal is such a hard thing to write... yet I am going to keep coming back to it!

This a sequel to this story I wrote: [link] and due to all the tears my readers have shed... I knew I had to write a sequel, hating to make people cry. Don't worry, this won't make people cry, I promise... and more chapters are to come!
© 2011 - 2024 Hana-Bakemono
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RageGamingFan's avatar
Adora-frickin-bubble

And you're an awesome writer

I love this