[Chell is lying down on a couch in her living room, after rescuing Wheatley from GLaDOS’s clutches. He is standing in front of her. She is feeling angry, betrayed and in severe pain as while they were escaping, she was shot and nearly killed by a turret all the while Wheatley nearly left her behind to die while he escaped on his own. Please only read for CHELL, other lines are provided to add context to the scene.]
CHELL: You nearly left me in there, didn’t you?
NARRATOR: Wheatley's grin vanished. He edged miserably from foot to foot, looking everywhere except her face.
WHEATLEY: Alright, granted, you do have a point there, under the circumstances I can understand why it might have, er, looked a tiny bit like I was about to up stick and leg it like some sort of spineless, ungrateful, wormy little excuse for an artificial life-form, but the thing is- it- it was a ruse, alright, that’s all, clever little ruse on my part, to- to lull Her into a false sense of security-
(Chell clears her throat.)
NARRATOR: She leaned forwards and took the map from his unresisting hand and tore it into three rough strips.
CHELL: Heard of ‘three strikes and you’re out’?
WHEATLEY: Err, yeah, I have, actually. Not a fan of the phrase, to be honest, firstly, it sort of rubs it in that you lot like hitting balls about with sticks for fun, and secondly-
CHELL: This… is for trying to kill me.
NARRATOR: She screwed up one of the strips into a small ball, and tossed it at him.
CHELL: This is for nearly leaving me behind.
NARRATOR: This time the crumpled little ball bounced off his forehead. He flinched.
CHELL: You didn’t, [holding the final strip in her hand] fine. That matters. Thank you. But one more strike-
NARRATOR: Her fingers twitched. Wheatley, who'd been following every movement of this little demonstration as if hypnotized, let out a distressed whinny and made a grab for the strip, snatching it up out of her reach as if it was a small fluffy animal she'd been on the verge of crushing.
[After Chell rescued Wheatley from Aperture, and after she has had some time to heal, Aaron questions her on what happened that could have wounded her so bad. Despite being very close, Chell has never told Aaron about her past with Aperture and is terrified to finally do so, not just for fear of endangering the town but for having to relive those memories. Please only read for CHELL, other lines are provided to add context to the scene.]
NARRATOR: Wheatley would have guessed, from Chell's pale, set face, that she didn't, not in the slightest, want to talk about it. Still, she nodded, and took a deep breath.
CHELL: There’s a- a place, about a day’s walk to the northeast. That’s where I… came from. Monday morning… I went back.
AARON: And nearly got yourself killed for your trouble. Chell, I’d be the last one in the world to make you dig up things you’d rather leave buried, but it seems to me, that if there’s something that dangerous that close to us, maybe it’d be a plan to go take a-
CHELL: NO!
NARRATOR: If he'd actually had any skin, Wheatley would have jumped out of it. It wasn't just the sudden volume- although that was unexpected enough, coming from her direction- it was the way she suddenly ignited, going from still and tense to explosive, in the same way a nuclear reaction is explosive. It was a contained explosion, under control but only just, every part of her slight body braced to snapping point by some kind of fearful inner chain of combustion, her eyes blazing in her pale face.
AARON: Hey, now-
CHELL: That place- it’s poison, Aaron. Leave it alone.
[Chell, being almost entirely silent, doesn’t speak often, but has many extra sounds such as coughing, grunting in pain, or heavy breathing. Please do a few of each style listed below, corresponding to the tone as described. Feel free to get creative and show off a bit, you can add more sounds or expand on any that you feel may be helpful to hear!]
-Heavy panicked breathing, as though you are running away from something.
-A small grunt, as though you are landing from a long fall.
-A pained yell, like you are being stabbed.
-A sharp wince in pain, like getting a small cut on your hand while cooking.
