Portal 2 - Kerosene

Everything in her reminded you of fire.

You didn’t know back then, but you do now. No other destructive element is that uncontrollable, nor does anything else cause such long-lasting damage.

It wasn’t that evident at first, and there lies the problem. With a little more care, things would have gone differently. But, as it usually happens with disasters, you found out when it was too late.

She passed whatever obstacle you had in store for her, and always got closer. Her feet chewed on the distance as fire would on the woods – with no paths to break it, no sand, without a single raindrop to contain the carnage.

She was treading on dead ground, after all. All she met in her way was dry and lifeless – it only helped nourish her fear.

Every single time, she got to you fast. You had learnt to expect it. With human beings and flames, the same thing can have opposite effects – a gust of wind can save the day, or spread certain ruin farther.

Danger makes or breaks people. She did not belong in the second group for sure.

Maybe that is why she loved burning things so much. Her silence was immense as she incinerated, before the cube, every single one of your cameras – save for one, so you might watch her. Maybe that is why she ended you in that gruesome way, or why you later chose the same opening to throw her back to the chambers.

But there is no stopping things like her when they are walking their road, and you learnt to live with it. Turning everything in between to ash was just her nature.

You are glad she is gone now. She was a barrel of uneasy fuel, ready to explode and hurt you at any moment. And what she left behind her, in all honesty, is not that different – you can almost picture your space like that, all black, empty, turned to cinders and smoke. 

You will need time. That’s definitely not an issue to you – you have plenty on your hands.

What hurts the most is how long it takes burnt things to grow back.