Becoming frozen in fear wasnât something that happened to Doug all too often. Most commonly his brain would pick flight and send him galloping into the sunset before he had a chance to process the situation. Yet here there was nowhere to run; his back was up against the wall and the unexpected child was between him and the door.
He wouldâve beenâŠnot content, but less displeased to sit there and not say anything until she got bored and left like the girl was a dinosaur in Jurassic Park. Donât move and it canât see you. Yet that plan crumbled to bits when she reached out for a detached prong of the Portal device.
Far from the most volatile of bits she couldâve reached for but delicate nevertheless. Those legs of his kicked into gear and sent him flying across the room at the speed of donât fucking touch that and he grabbed her wrists with a shockingly low amount of power. She couldâve very easily wriggled free should she have chosen to.
His heart was pounding in his chest almost hard enough to be heard echoing off the clear white walls and his already pale skin was pasty an clammy. And sheâd only been there for thirty seconds or so.
âDonât,â He swallowed, caught his breath. âDonât touch that. P-put that down. Itâs dangerous. How did you get in hereâŠ?â
Startled by his sudden movements, Chell nearly dropped the item. She flinched when he grasped her wrists, though his grip was anything but tight. She stared at him, scanning his face for intent. He was still frightened. Strange. Why would it have taken him this long to adjust to her presence? Unless-
A look of annoyance spread across her face when he mentioned âdangerous.â How often had she heard that? Donât do that; itâs dangerous! Donât touch that; itâs dangerous! Donât look at that; itâs dangerous! Sheâd had it up to here with the âitâs dangerousâ excuse.
She raised an eyebrow, as if challenging that statement and ignoring his question. With a quick jerk of her arms, she freed herself from her captor, still possessing the item. Swiftly, she moved to a safe distance away. Everything, from the moment she entered the lab until now, flooded her mind.
Judging from his responses, sheâd have to either convince him to trust her or find a different scientist. She doubted the first option would be easy, but the latter one was even less likely to occur.
Her mind flitted across what sheâd observed about the man as she cradled the object in her hands. How could she convince him that he needed her, that she was essential to his success? She recalled the fear written across his face. Perhaps sheâd just have to settle for that. Maybe if she couldnât convince him to let her help, she could intimidate him to let her help.
Convincing him would have been her first choice, but it now appeared as though intimidation had a much greater chance of transpiring. Still, she realized sheâd need to convince him she could handle herself in a lab. Armed with both methods, she might have a chance at achieving her goal.
Chell raced to one of the tables, quickly skimming the pages of open books lying there. She recognized some of the symbols in the equations, but didnât understand most of it. Feeling as though sheâd lingered there too long, she cut across the room and surveyed another surface. This time, it was a workbench filled with tools and other various odds-and-ends.