It's Revolving

I slowly rise from my sleep and feel the sun's rays burn my eyes. I'm here again, I think to myself, not that I expect to be anywhere different. The same room consisted of the same bed, the same walls, and same window with closed blinds so I can't look outside. Not that I want to. Only a fool would thirst for the knowledge of the outside word. I am happy inside. Going outdoors would mean facing the dastardly truth of my failure, my weakness, my "friend" that betrayed me and my murder. No, I wasn't murdered of course. I am a murderer. Luckily, whether I like it or not, I'll never face the outside again.

It's revolving.

"Good morning. You have been in suspension for fifty days. In compliance with state and federal regulations, all testing candidates in the Aperture Science Extended Relaxation center must be revived periodically for a mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise."

I am more than used to being greeting by that recorded message. Actually, it was the only sound that would meet my ears anymore, besides that hideously annoying buzzer. None of that matters though. In less than five minutes, I'll be back in bed, falling into my hypnotic, dreamless sleep. I wonder how much time I've been like this. I used to keep track, but now it is meaningless. This was what the rest of my painless, numb life would be like. There were no exceptions. Thank God.

It's revolving.

"You will hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer, look up at the ceiling."

As always, I hear the dreadful buzzed blare. I force my stiff neck upward.

"Good. You will hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer, look down at the floor."

Once again the abomination of a noise is ringing through my ears. Once again, I obey the command without hesitation. I find life is easier when you simply obey. I learned that the hard way.

"Good. This completes the gymnastic portion of your mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise."

Athletic my foot. Then again, I'm not about to complain.

"There is a framed painting on the wall. Please go stand in front of it."

Like always, I have trouble waddling over to the painting. I've been in stasis so long I have trouble controlling different parts of my body. Walking is always a chore.

"This is art. You will hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer, stare at the art."

I glare at the picture and attempt to look like I'm concentrating, which I am, just not on the art. Making your mind go blank takes more concentration then one might think.

"You should now feel mentally reinvigorated. If you suspect staring at art has not provided the required intellectual sustenance, reflect briefly on this classical music."

When the message says brief it means brief. An unrecognizable piece is played for about four seconds before the buzzer blasts my ear drums again.

"Good. Now please return to your bed."

The moment I was longing for! I find strength in my legs I hadn't realized was there before. I plop into bed and in less than two seconds I'm lulled back into the bottomless pit of sleep.

It's revolving…

What the…

"Good morning. You have been in suspension for nine nine nine- nine nine ni-"

The room is caked in dust. It appears to be the middle of the night and the normal robotic voice is skipping on the number nine. It never skipped. Suddenly fear clamps my heart. How long HAD I been in suspension? Nine days? Nine weeks? Months? Years? I shudder at the thought, but was it possible the recording means nine centuries? No. That was impossible, but then again, I don't age while in suspension, do I?

"This courtesy call is to inform you that all test subjects should immediately vacate-"

My heart stops for an instant. Vacate? I need to leave this place? My refuge is being taken away from me? Why?

A harsh rapping at the door makes me jump and I whirl around. I hold my breath when I hear a male voice ring out.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

I don't reply.

"Helloooooo?"

"…Are you going to open the door? At any time?"

The voice doesn't sound to terribly menacing. In fact, despite the irritated tone, it sounds warm and friendly. The distinct accent gives a little bit of a comic influence as well. Slowly, I shuffle over to the door and gently tug it open.

"Ha! I knew someone-" the voice begins. Then I open the door fully. I can't really say I am surprised to see a single blue, flashlight eye staring back at me. Though this one was considerably smaller in size, I've had my fair share of robotic relationships. However, I doubt that this particular robot had ANY pervious relationships with humans.

"AH! You look terrible- umm… good. Looking good, actually."

Yes, little robot, I know I probably look like a pig after a mud bath. Just please put me back to sleep. Sleep… Let me hibernate again.

"Are you okay? Are you- Don't answer that. I'm absolutely sure your fine. There's plenty of time for you to recover. Just take it slow."

Recovery… They're still trying to tell me I'm going to recover? Oh, please. Let me be. Let me sleep.

Suddenly, my usual robot was on the speaker again. "Please prepare for emergency evacuation."

Emergency? What emergency-?

"Stay calm!" the little robot ordered frantically. "Prepare, that's all they're saying. Prepare. It's all fine. Alright? Don't move. I'm gonna get us out of here…"

Somehow, the more the little robot spoke, the more terrified I became. Mostly because he seemed to be my escort to safety and didn't seem to have a clue what was going on himself.

It's revolving.

Wait, it's still revolving? This seems like the circles are broken… but if that's true, then why do I feel like I'm wandering around and around again?

"Oh. You might want to hang onto something. Word of advice, up to you."

The little robot is still talking? Wait, hold onto something? What's going on-?

The robot shifts up through the ceiling as a tile makes way for him. The hole closes itself back up and an engine roars to life, and I swear the ground is shaking. What does this thing have in mind…?

"You alright down there? Can you hear me? Hello?"

He comes back into my sight similarly to the way he'd left it. I can feel that neon blue eye scanning me, though the bot didn't seem to have interest in any data I have to offer.

"Most test subjects do experience some cognitive deterioration after a few months in suspension. Now you've been under for… quite a lot longer, and it's not out of the question that you may have a minor case of very serious brain damage."

…What? Brain damage…? I don't understand. How could I have brain damage…?

"But, don't be alarmed, alright? And if you do feel alarm, try to hold on to that feeling, because that is the proper reaction to being told you have brain damage."

The proper reaction? There's a proper reaction to being told you have brain damage? And what does it matter if I have it or not? Just take me back to my empty bliss…

"Do you understand what I'm saying? At all? Does any of this make sense? Just tell me 'yes.'"

I can't reply of course. I've never been able to form words. So instead I hop just slightly above the ground and hope he understands that I mean 'I'm listening'.

"Okay. What you're doing there is jumping. You just- you just jumped. But never mind. Say 'apple'. Aaaaple."

I can't think of another way to get my point across, so I jump again.

"Okay you know what? That's close enough. Just hold tight," the robot tells me.

An alarm begins to sound and I wait for something to happen. The little bot retreats back into his hole in the ceiling.

The usual robot voice comes on over the speaker. "All reactor core safeguards are now nonfunctional. Please prepare of a reactor core meltdown."

And then the far wall shatters like it's made of paper mache. The furniture begins to shake with a vengeance and I run to the wall that's been decimated.

"Ok look, I wasn't going to mention this to you, but I'm in pretty hot water here!" The little bot shouted down.

Oh, well that's good to know. I have to go through all of this because of him, do I? My irritation is replaced with a morbid fascination as the concrete walls all crumble and my new surroundings are revealed. It looks like this room isn't in any sort of relaxation center at all. It looks more like a run-down laboratory…

No.

It couldn't be. There was no way this was the same place.

"How you doing down there? You still holding on? The reserve power ran out, so of course the whole relaxation center stops waking up the bloody test subjects."

This isn't a relaxation center, little bot. This is my own personal hell.

They hadn't been waking up the test subjects… So I really hadn't been wake for nine… Nine what?

"Hold on! This is a bit tricky!" the bot warned.

Tricky? What's tricky? Wait. I see it now. He's navigating the entire room on an overhead rail. So this entire room is a mobile unit.

"And of course, no one tells me anything. Noooo, why should they tell me anything? Why should I been kept informed, you know, about the life functions of the ten thousand bloody test subjects I'm supposed to be in charge of?"

So then it isn't his fault he is in hot water. My irritation with him lessens. His heart is in the right place, or at least it seems to be. And if he was in charge of the test subjects, then he gave me my bliss in the first place. I guess there's no reason to be too upset with him.

"Oi, it's close. Can you see? Am I gonna make it through? Do I have enough space?"

Hadn't he figured out by now I can't say a word?

"Agh, Just- just gotta get through here-"

Crash.

"I've just gotta concentrate! And whose fault do you think it's gonna be when the management gets down here and finds ten thousand flipping vegetables?"

Bam.

"Agh, see now, I hit that one. I hit that one."

Obviously.

"Okay, listen. We should get out stories straight, alright? If anyone asks- and one's gonna ask, don't worry- but if anyone asks, tell them as far as you know, the last time you checked, everyone looked pretty much alive. Alright? Not dead."

A shock shoots through my spine and a chill crawls up my skin. Does that mean they're all really dead?

No… Not dead, I tell myself. Not dead. And you're not going to die, I tell my soul. Not dead…

Please don't let me die here, little bot.

"Okay, almost there. On the other side of that wall is one of the old testing tracks."

Testing tracks? No. Every cell in my body wants to shriek no. Never. But no sound comes. No sound ever has.

"There's a piece of equipment we're going to need to get out of here. I think this is a docking station. Get ready…"

No. I'll never be ready.

The little bot bashes the mobile room into a huge concrete wall with such a force that the blow shoots me backwards.

"Good news: That is not a docking station. So there's one mystery solved. I'm going to attempt a manual override on this wall. Could get a bit technical. Hold on!"

How do you manually override a wall?

Oh, you bash it in. I see.

"Almost there! Remember, you're looking for a gun that makes holes! Not bullet holes, but- don't worry you'll figure it out. Seriously do hold on this time!"

Trust me, little bot; I know all too well what sort of gun you're talking about.

I lunge for the nearest not-completely decimated wall. I grab onto its support pole and silently plead with the universe for my life.

The bot bashes the room against the wall one last time, and the wall completely caves in.

It takes me a moment to catch my breath. I survey my new surroundings. It looks just like the lab that haunts me in my nightmares with one flaw. Here, everything is so… green.

Vines and moss have overtaken every square inch of the area that it could live on. It seemed like no one had been here in years. What had befallen Aperture Laboratories since I'd been asleep? Was the whole operation truly gone without…

Her?

"Whew. There we go. Now I'll be honest, you're probably in no fit state to run this particular type of cognitive gauntlet. But, um, at least you're a good jumper…"

I completely tune the bot out. I am looking below me, as the surface we are supported on appears to be glass. I recognize the area beneath us right away. It is the beginning of a test chamber.

I inhale deeply and begin to weigh odds in my head. All I want to do is go back… Back to the nothingness…

No.

I'm surprised at myself for the thought. Not wanting to go back? Why not? I-

No. I can't. I am fighter. I will survive. The Laboratories want me to stay dormant. I will not comply. There is a fire in my heart that the Labs cannot douse.

And I realize it's true. My drugged thoughts of sleep wear down; they do not hold. I do not bend for them. I will not bow to them. They will not compress me like I am a slave. I am me.

I am Chell.

And with that thought, I am filled with an inferno in my soul that incinerates my nightmares. I leap down below towards the horrors from the shadows of Hell.

Because I am Chell and I never give up, not even when it's time for round two.

Oh, I see now. The circle is connected again.

It's revolving.

And I will face the monster once more…

My fate is every repeating. My fate is trapped in an endless circle.

But I will escape.

Watch me.

Watch me escape, GLaDOS. Try and stop me. I dare you.

Soon, it will no longer be revolving.

A/N: So this was my first fanfiction, and I'd appreciate any criticisms, comments, or compliments you could offer. Thanks to DarthSukiMomo for beta reading for me!