A late-night post when I should in fact be doing coursework? SHAW THANG. ---------- Spy had left the room, and Chell, splayed across its floor, before the Demoman tentatively spoke. “Ah think ‘e fookin broke ‘er.†There was the sound of shifting feet and a foot nudged Chell’s side none too lightly, rolling her onto her back. She stared dimly into the strip lighting above her, wanting nothing more than to scream at these people. I never want to get up. Never let it be said that anyone ever cared about what Chell wanted. The Engineer leant over her and offered her a helping hand to get up, all animosity on his behalf apparently lost. She accepted it after a long enough pause to make things awkward, and hauled herself up to a standing position. Her legs were wobbly, like jelly, and she’d let go of the Engineer as quickly as possible, still unused to human contact of the positive kind. The Long Fall Boots’ heels made her totter comically as she was led out of the room and along a corridor, the Scout and Engineer in front of her, Scout stealing glances at her unashamedly. It took two minutes of uninterrupted silence before the Scout whirled around to face her, jabbing his bat into her ribcage threateningly. “Why the fuck ain’t ya talkin’ none?†He spat. “It’s creepin’ me the fuck out.†He looked to his friend for confirmation. “Tell ‘er, hardhat.†“Now, son,†the other man replied with all the patience and benevolence he could gather, “You can’t just make the lady speak. It ain’t how the world works. We ain’t exactly bein’ the best company ourselves, and we ain’t made the best first impressions neither.†The southerner wiped his hand clumsily on his overalls, smearing grease everywhere, before offering it to her for a handshake. “Name’s Engineer. You can call me Engie.†Chell eyed up the hand suspiciously before accepting it with a grimace. When her hand came away it was covered in oil; she quickly shook the Scout’s hand and smirked as she saw his bandages come away smeared black. “Now we’ve introduced ahselves,†the Scout pointed out rather redundantly. “Fuckin’ speak up already.†Chell rolled her eyes rather pronouncedly. Trust me, I would if I could. Instead, she tried her hand at something she’d learned over the past six months in speech therapy. The two men in front of her exchanged looks. “…The fuck is she doin’, Engie?†“Looks like-- Miss, can you talk?†Chell nearly cried from joy, although she couldn’t believe two men could be so slow. She shook her head violently. “Ah thought that looked kinda like the signals we use in battle, but… Well, nobody on base speak sign language, Miss, ‘cept maybe Pyro…†She shrugged. She was used to people not understanding her. Engineer reached out as if to clap her on the shoulder, before realising that her luggage was clasped firmly in his hand, so it fell to his side uncomfortably. They all stood in their inelegant triangle for a moment longer before Scout started fidgeting, eager to move on. Chell shared his exact sentiments. “Well,†the Engineer started again, after several more minutes of lazy walking. “Where would you like to head to first? Your room or the canteen?†Chell pondered for a moment, before looking down at her tummy anxiously, prodding it from the side, sighing. Just as she was about to signal she wanted a nap, the Engineer interrupted her. “Canteen it is.†She struggled against him as he pulled her arm in the direction that Scout had already headed off in, but he just pulled harder. “You ain’t nothin’ but skin and bones, son- I mean, miss. It ain’t right.†Chell flexed her free arm in front of him, as if to say, not just skin and bones – muscle too. “That ain’t nothin’, son.†The Engineer chuckled at her display before doing the same. “Check out those guns. Ought ta be illegal to be in possession of firearms of such high calibre.†Chell found herself smiling before she realised she was being pulled in the direction of the canteen once again. The Engineer’s gloved hand felt warm and unyielding tucked firmly into the crook of her elbow, and she realised she didn’t mind the feeling so much. Maybe eating wouldn’t be so bad. Ten minutes was all she needed to realise how wrong she’d been. Maybe the Engineer had been brought up well enough, had matured enough, to see past her gender, but the other men… Maybe it was her imagination making her feel that way, but she’d never felt more uncomfortable, more like a piece of meat, in her life. The stares… they weren’t necessarily hungry in that lustful, animal way, but they were still fully focused on her, with the intensity of a predator examining its prey. It threw her back to her time in Aperture – it may have been lacking a particular presence, but the pervading feeling of being watched remained. A soft touch on the elbow from Engineer anchored her in the real world, and she allowed herself to be pushed into a chair as he went off to find some form of sustenance for them. She allowed herself to be distracted by her thoughts, and only looked up when she noticed another person ease himself into the seat opposite hers. She stared at him, wide-eyed. He didn’t make any move to speak to her, instead plonking a bowl of stew down onto the table and fishing out an old porno mag from one of the pockets of his vest. She continued staring at him, eyes flickering between the front cover and his face. It was long, slightly sunburnt, and very annoyed. “Are you going to keep on staring at me or are you going to start mindin’ your own business?†She continued looking at him. He visibly shrunk under her gaze. “…I’m reading it for the articles, you wan—you.†She shrugged and was about to wave his excuses off, before Engineer came by, nearly dropping her bowl into her lap in shock when he saw her choice of company, and his choice of reading material. “Sniper, Ah don’t think tha’s exactly what y’all’d call appropriate ta read given present company.†Sniper scoffed. “I don’t follow.†“What I’m tryin’ ta say is that I think y’all should take your erotic lit-er-a-ture elsewhere. It’s not right ta read that in the presence of a lady.†“It’s not lit-er-a-ture, mate, it’s porn. And I don’t see this lady yer talking ‘bout. All I see is some impolite moron that won’t deign to even introduce her highness-†“She can’t speak.†“She what now?†“She can’t speak.†There was a long pause before Sniper broke it. “Well, fuck.â€