C
CrimsonAnger
Guest
City by the Sea - Part 1
City 17 spread out before him, the rotting corpse of a once-beautiful maiden. Small parts of the city seemed untouched by the chaos that reigned there. Most of it was blackened and burnt, and fires dotted the city like a blanket of yellow stars. The Combine tower jutted up from the city’s center like a finger of God lightly caressing the Earth’s surface, wreaking havoc and devastation in its wake. Beyond the city he saw the ocean reflecting the last rays of the sun as it burnt itself out in the water. The city by the sea, the city of death. The end of mankind.
Staff Sergeant Kyle Levitz breathed heavily and grimaced at the acrid taste the air left in his mouth. The smell reminded him of Black Mesa—now just a charred ruin in the desert, thanks to that mad scientist Gordon Freeman. His unit had been sent into the research facility to contain the outbreak that Freeman had set loose, and to capture the scientist so he could be punished for opening the Pandora’s box that had let in the swarm of aliens. Freeman murdered dozens of Kyle’s fellow Marines while protecting his filthy alien allies, and somehow managed to escape, most likely with the Combine’s help.
But now Freeman was back.
Two days ago reports had come in from sleeper cells within the city. Gordon Freeman was in City 17, and apparently waging war on the Combine. No one knew why Freeman would turn on his allies, what treachery they had bestowed upon him, but Kyle wasn’t surprised. What did he expect from the Combine? Money? Power?
It didn’t matter. The last remnants of the formerly powerful United States Armed Services all agreed: Freeman must be captured. He held the key. He knew how to send them back. They just had to get their hands on him.
When the Captain asked for volunteers to pursue and capture Freeman, Kyle was the first to step forward. His qualifications made him a suitable match for the assignment. He had spent years as a recon Marine and had survived Black Mesa. He knew what he was up against.
Kyle turned and got back into his tattered humvee. He steered the vehicle toward the jagged edge of Highway 17, the only road left that went into the city. Finding Freeman would be easy. All he had to do was ask one of the ragtag rebel elements that thought Freeman was some sort of savior, and they would eventually point him in the right direction. Of course, they might require a little… persuasion, but Kyle knew how to get information out of the enemy. It was taking Freeman that would be the hard part. The man had some kind of freakish luck. He was a scientist, not a soldier, but he always managed to outwit, outmaneuver or outgun any resistance thrown at him. Kyle suspected the Combine’s involvement.
Kyle drove the humvee through clouds of dark smoke that drifted up from the city and steered through the crumbled ruins of cars, trucks and semis. In some places the highway disappeared completely, huge chunks of the concrete and asphalt blown away. He had to be careful here, he knew, lest he wake the sleeping antlions beneath the surface.
As he passed the first buildings that lined the outer edges of City 17, the hair on the back of Kyle’s neck stood. He caught a glimpse of movement off to his right, something moving within the remains of a house. A loud pop, then his windshield splintered into a thousand cracks. He veered to the left, ducking his head low to avoid the gunfire. Another bang, but this time it was one of his tires. The humvee jerked hard. Kyle lost control, hit a mangled vehicle on the side of the road, and the humvee flipped.
The world became a kaleidoscope of spinning colors and shapes. The humvee landed on its roof, skidding across the pavement and sending sparks flying. The windshield shattered. Kyle heard the relentless gunfire, and winced as it bore holes into the humvee. All he needed was for a round to puncture the gas tank, and he would forget about Gordon Freeman forever.
The vehicle finally scraped to a halt and Kyle scrambled out as fast as he could manage. Pain burst in his right thigh. He looked down to see a shard of the windshield poking out of him. He clenched his jaw and pulled it out. The world went black for a moment as the pain increased to an almost unbearable pique. Kyle forced the darkness back, and when his vision cleared he stumbled for the protection of a couple of junked semi trucks a few hundred feet away.
Pounding footsteps followed him. He risked a look over his shoulder and saw three Combine troops giving chase. With them so close, the semi trucks would prove useless. Kyle reached for his holster and drew his 9mm pistol. When the Combine saw his weapon, they halted and opened fire. Kyle dropped to the ground and returned fire, feeling naked with nothing to give him cover. One of the Combine went down with Kyle’s bullet lodged in its brain, and the other two began a slow retreat. Kyle had a moment to be thankful when he saw four more Combine stream out of the house.
Cursing, he rose, continuing to fire and trying not to scream from the pain in his thigh. He stumbled backwards a few steps before his leg gave out and he fell.
Then they were on him.
________________________________________________________________
Hi. I was brwosing the HL2 forum and came across this thread for Fan Fiction. I like to write, and I like the game, so I thought I would submit something. I have only played through the game once, and am currently playing through it a second time. If you see any inaccuracies in the above (or any subsequent) posts, please let me know. Thanks!
City 17 spread out before him, the rotting corpse of a once-beautiful maiden. Small parts of the city seemed untouched by the chaos that reigned there. Most of it was blackened and burnt, and fires dotted the city like a blanket of yellow stars. The Combine tower jutted up from the city’s center like a finger of God lightly caressing the Earth’s surface, wreaking havoc and devastation in its wake. Beyond the city he saw the ocean reflecting the last rays of the sun as it burnt itself out in the water. The city by the sea, the city of death. The end of mankind.
Staff Sergeant Kyle Levitz breathed heavily and grimaced at the acrid taste the air left in his mouth. The smell reminded him of Black Mesa—now just a charred ruin in the desert, thanks to that mad scientist Gordon Freeman. His unit had been sent into the research facility to contain the outbreak that Freeman had set loose, and to capture the scientist so he could be punished for opening the Pandora’s box that had let in the swarm of aliens. Freeman murdered dozens of Kyle’s fellow Marines while protecting his filthy alien allies, and somehow managed to escape, most likely with the Combine’s help.
But now Freeman was back.
Two days ago reports had come in from sleeper cells within the city. Gordon Freeman was in City 17, and apparently waging war on the Combine. No one knew why Freeman would turn on his allies, what treachery they had bestowed upon him, but Kyle wasn’t surprised. What did he expect from the Combine? Money? Power?
It didn’t matter. The last remnants of the formerly powerful United States Armed Services all agreed: Freeman must be captured. He held the key. He knew how to send them back. They just had to get their hands on him.
When the Captain asked for volunteers to pursue and capture Freeman, Kyle was the first to step forward. His qualifications made him a suitable match for the assignment. He had spent years as a recon Marine and had survived Black Mesa. He knew what he was up against.
Kyle turned and got back into his tattered humvee. He steered the vehicle toward the jagged edge of Highway 17, the only road left that went into the city. Finding Freeman would be easy. All he had to do was ask one of the ragtag rebel elements that thought Freeman was some sort of savior, and they would eventually point him in the right direction. Of course, they might require a little… persuasion, but Kyle knew how to get information out of the enemy. It was taking Freeman that would be the hard part. The man had some kind of freakish luck. He was a scientist, not a soldier, but he always managed to outwit, outmaneuver or outgun any resistance thrown at him. Kyle suspected the Combine’s involvement.
Kyle drove the humvee through clouds of dark smoke that drifted up from the city and steered through the crumbled ruins of cars, trucks and semis. In some places the highway disappeared completely, huge chunks of the concrete and asphalt blown away. He had to be careful here, he knew, lest he wake the sleeping antlions beneath the surface.
As he passed the first buildings that lined the outer edges of City 17, the hair on the back of Kyle’s neck stood. He caught a glimpse of movement off to his right, something moving within the remains of a house. A loud pop, then his windshield splintered into a thousand cracks. He veered to the left, ducking his head low to avoid the gunfire. Another bang, but this time it was one of his tires. The humvee jerked hard. Kyle lost control, hit a mangled vehicle on the side of the road, and the humvee flipped.
The world became a kaleidoscope of spinning colors and shapes. The humvee landed on its roof, skidding across the pavement and sending sparks flying. The windshield shattered. Kyle heard the relentless gunfire, and winced as it bore holes into the humvee. All he needed was for a round to puncture the gas tank, and he would forget about Gordon Freeman forever.
The vehicle finally scraped to a halt and Kyle scrambled out as fast as he could manage. Pain burst in his right thigh. He looked down to see a shard of the windshield poking out of him. He clenched his jaw and pulled it out. The world went black for a moment as the pain increased to an almost unbearable pique. Kyle forced the darkness back, and when his vision cleared he stumbled for the protection of a couple of junked semi trucks a few hundred feet away.
Pounding footsteps followed him. He risked a look over his shoulder and saw three Combine troops giving chase. With them so close, the semi trucks would prove useless. Kyle reached for his holster and drew his 9mm pistol. When the Combine saw his weapon, they halted and opened fire. Kyle dropped to the ground and returned fire, feeling naked with nothing to give him cover. One of the Combine went down with Kyle’s bullet lodged in its brain, and the other two began a slow retreat. Kyle had a moment to be thankful when he saw four more Combine stream out of the house.
Cursing, he rose, continuing to fire and trying not to scream from the pain in his thigh. He stumbled backwards a few steps before his leg gave out and he fell.
Then they were on him.
________________________________________________________________
Hi. I was brwosing the HL2 forum and came across this thread for Fan Fiction. I like to write, and I like the game, so I thought I would submit something. I have only played through the game once, and am currently playing through it a second time. If you see any inaccuracies in the above (or any subsequent) posts, please let me know. Thanks!
