Chapter 3 - Welcome

Chell wakes up to the sound of the radio.

Her head is numb, her field of vision fuzzy; but her ears, the first sense she can take control of, elaborate the tune right away. It is more than familiar to her. It is a strong memory from her recent past, and it fills, with its presence, a place she has never seen before.

Chell loses herself in the pattern of the tiles; she touches the orange fabric on her skin, puzzled, amazed. This is so different from the dreams she lives in her sleep. It must be real, it must be like the voice says – but what do tests, experiments, have to do with her?

Focusing turns out to be more difficult than she thought. Definitely, there is more to it than the mystery of her position in space and time.

It is when she tries harder, step after step in the process of remembering, that it dawns on her; the chanting of the radio is, actually, the only memory she holds of a terribly long time span. It is the one bridge between two of her thoughts – the unclear present, and the last piece of past she can recall.

After the driver's seat, after the scream and the brakes, there is just darkness in her mind. That, and the pieces of music in between – at her side, constant, the very same looping theme that plays here and now.

She would like to start panicking. What stops her is an instinct – panic means lack of control, lack of control means danger. The association burns in her too hard to be mere chance.

Instead, she wonders what happened to her and to the people she loved. She chooses to look for answers, hoping that this science company, wherever it comes from, will give her some.

Lingering on fragmented memories won't get her anywhere – it is the certainty that makes her go, together with a doubt.

She can guess her sleep must have been a bit too long. And a test, hard as it might be, cannot be worse than death.

—

"Set aside the money for a moment, sir. I want you to know this is not run-of-the-mill business. Brain surgery never is, of course. Since this one operation is especially risky, I must make sure – given the chance, would you go for it anyway?"

"I see money is not the biggest problem here, doctor, and I thank you for your professional attitude. But, at any cost, I will find a way and try. I just had to watch my wife go, with my own eyes. I will do anything it takes to save my daughter."

"In that case, there might be a chance for you, sir. Would you listen to me if I offered a compromise?"

"It depends on what it is. Still, anything that is possible."

"Very well. You must have heard of Aperture Science; its facility happens to sit just a few miles from here. They recently made it known to the nearby hospitals that they are willing to pay for specific categories of surgery, in exchange for a few months of research on the subjects. They are trying to forward their neurology studies – they conduct experiments on several areas, especially reaction to stimuli in compromised brain activity. That is why I believe they might be interested in your daughter's case."

"What do I need to do, doctor?

"We might still save her. Paperwork is not the priority right now. With your permission, I can contact the laboratories immediately – were everything to go smoothly, she would be able to undergo surgery in less than one hour. We can take care of the bureaucracy after that."

"I don't think I have a better chance than this. Please contact them, doctor."

"Of course."

"I just need to know… will I see her again?"

"Well, if – if she makes it, and coma spares her, you don't need to worry, sir. They are extremely careful with the brains of subjects in such delicate conditions. If she is a survivor… well, I truly don't think anything in Aperture would keep her from you."

"Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much."

Hello, dear readers!
Go to the first chapter for more info about the nature of the story.

Chell headcanon for this chapter: She wakes up in Portal 1 and has no idea where she is. This is one of the two possible interpretations of the first game, naturally changed by Lab Rat and Portal 2, which prove Chell had surely been in touch with Aperture in the times that came before the setting of the games. I noticed it was quite a popular idea back then. So, ignoring the canon information from Lab Rat – consider this as a story I could write before knowing about it – I tried to imagine how she could wake up in a place she didn't know at all. I hope the result is not that awful. Important: this story is not in any way meant to be offensive or uneducated about the tragedies that accidents, brain damage and losses are. I wouldn't wish that for anyone EVER and I don't want to romanticize them, or assume some other rude attitude of this kind.