Portal 2 - Shipwreck

She suddenly realizes that, no matter how high she jumps, she can still see the decay. 

It has always been there. It was her first memory of this place, and it will be the last. Rotting metal, broken tiles and dirt – the sight of abandon is the only constant, and it gets ever thicker.

She is not sure of when or how the awareness strikes her. It comes, after all, at the end of a long process – a heavy drop, nourished for years, that finally falls and shakes everything. 

It is only then, however, that she puts the last of the pieces together. She never focused on it before, and it surprises her. It was right under her eyes all along. 

What she is living is no longer a war between her and the rest. It  is certain ruin for everyone, with no exceptions.

The spheres show her clearly. Their stains, their fields of rust, the rain of litter that falls in the acid. There is no enemy, no savior in this game – everything that still lives in there is racing against time. 

She knows there is no real remedy to that. The one hope to win the battle is a way out. She is going to find one, whatever it costs.

Indeed, her choices to listen or ignore are mere devices. Temporary alliances, games, with the survival of unfortunate souls at stake. She makes use of her possibilities, and fast.

She has the power. If she doesn’t get out of here soon, no one else will. 

And their attitudes may be important now, but they won’t make a difference in the end. It isn’t their sympathy, or their favour, that she is interested in.

She certainly does not expect to have a choice, as long as she in there. She has to adapt to their quirks. But if pretending to care about them can save her, she is going to do it. Whatever it takes is fine.

It is true – they count in different ways. Of the three of them, she is the one who can be crushed in a moment.

But when the ship is sinking, everyone turns into scared mice.