Half-life2:Resistance

I thought I would finish today, my only free day this week, but it looks like the delay is going to be a bit longer. I am now doing marching camp for school 7 hours a day in the Texas heat, and I have very little time for writing. But I will undoubtedly finish this chapter once I have a little more free time. I must finish this fanfiction! :rolling:
 
yes u must!!!!!!!
and if you dont i would pay you to finish it for me:upstare:
 
Where can I get all the chapters compiled? The last link posted doesnt work anymore.
 
I created a logo and found a good hosting site

Free Web Hosting

And the Logo. plus TOG if you want me to upload it on mine I can use my account for the hosting :D
 

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Never fear, a new chapter is coming soon. My time is growing more now that I have my schedule all worked out. So far I have finished the first 2/3rds of the chapter, and I'm about maybe 60% done with that last third...so that brings it up to...about 80% done. (I'm not going to do the bloody math :dozey: ) But all of that points to a release that is soon. In fact, I think I will write a large chunk of it now!

But, don't get your hopes up that this is going to be a massive chapter. The slowness of my work is utterly shameful, as I have only written 8,000 words in 2 months! Usually I can get that done within a week, but I have had so very little time recentley.

P.S That is a good logo, but I already have one of my own...
And I will make a full compilation .doc after the completion of this chapter...I already have a place to host it.
 
chapter 49

Chapter! I didn't quite get everything in this chapter done that I wanted to, but if I had it would have been twice as long...so you get cliffhangers :rolling: And for those of you who want a full compilation, I've got a .doc for you right here: http://www.kittsplace.com/h.doc

-Chapter 49, Chaos-

The incessant flashing and booming coming from the city square miles away drove into Dr. Breen’s brain like a jackhammer, slowly wearing away his senses with each violent explosion. His jaw clenched, and his right eyelid twitched as he muttered curses under his breath. The ground rumbled with each firing of the artillery that was attached to the citadel, and shells arched onto the horizon in a massive lightshow, targeting the rebels in the square while simultaneously assisting the battle with the Xenians on the outskirts of the city.

He knew the truth now…the Xenian invasion, the arrival of Freeman and the Revolution were not unconnected. It wasn’t simply a coincidence that his empire was being attacked at all sides at once. They had probably been planning this for months, right under his nose. When he thought that his grip had been tight, and after he had given them more protection than they could have hoped for, the hapless citizens had bitten the hand that fed them. It was both shocking and disturbing to Breen, and it left him with a feeling of emptiness.

How could they be so brainless? Did they not see that he was providing them with the greatest joy and hope in the universe: that they, pathetic in all their ways, were being granted a chance to live among the stars? It didn’t matter now…they had proven to him that they were nothing but idiotic children. Now he didn’t care of them any more, or even the entire race. If they couldn’t conform to his ways then they should die.

Breen lifted the glass of brandy he was holding to his mouth, and took another sip of the alcoholic drink. Normally he wasn’t much of a drinker…but seeing as he had to coordinate a resistance from three attacks at once, things were getting a bit stressful.

Suddenly a loud, obnoxious beeping noise began emanating from a small machine on his desk, and Breen had no choice but to move over and answer the small electronic device. Pressing a button, the screen on the intercom lit up, revealing the face of a Combine elite soldier, backed by a fiery, fierce battlefield. Noises of machine gun fire came over the speakers of the intercom machine, and the Combine elite soldier had to yell to be heard over the chaos.

“Governor Breen!” The officer shouted, the incessant battle going on behind him, “This is Corporal 13352 reporting from sector 7c, just outside of the city walls! The Xenians are breaking through, sir. There are simply too many of them for us to fend off. We’ll do all we can, but they’ll probably breach the wall within minutes, sir!”

Dr. Breen clenched his jaw even further as he heard this. This was not his plan; he hoped that the Xenians would be destroyed by his artillery fire, and would be mopped up by the task force he had sent to the outer walls. How wrong he had been…the force must have been much larger than he expected…far more resilient. No doubt the city would succumb to anarchy. Breen doubted that the idiotic population would be able to remain calm while dealing with both a revolution and an invasion at the same time.

“Sir!” the officer insisted, attempting to get Breen’s attention. “What should we do sir? Should we evacuate the citizens in this sector to avoid further casualties when the Xenians break through?”

Breen turned around and faced the window, looking at the booming in the distance that signified the arrival of the Xenian Resistance Army. With a sigh Breen replied, “No Corporal, pull your forces inside the wall and damage the Xenian force as it breaks through. Leave the citizens where they are… I want this to be a lesson to them. I want them to fear the Xenians, to see them as a threat. I want as many people as possible to die whenever the Xenians enter. This will evoke fear into the rebels, and maybe they will be more cooperative with us…” Breen took another sip of his brandy as the Combine soldier tried for a response.

The Corporal looked out over the battlefield behind him and then reluctantly replied“As you wish Fair Counselor. We’ll fall back to the wall and minimize casualty control. What do you want us to do with our striders?”


Breen didn’t hesitate to respond, “Send them into the fray. You’ll only be wasting time trying to get them back into the city. We have plenty more to crush the rebellion.” With that, he turned off the intercom device. He would leave the soldiers to take care of the situation themselves. Besides, he wasn’t a tactician but a politician. He wasn’t fit to handle things like this.

He took another sip of brandy as he watched the death and destruction unfold below him. Soon they would be his again. Soon they would see his way. If he had to do it through mass killing and intimidation he would do it…whatever it took. And if they didn’t…to hell with them…Breen had a ticket off of the planet paid for by the Combine. He didn’t need them to survive.

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Meanwhile a Combine regular, private 38577, surveyed the battlefield before him from the cover of the massive black struts that held up the monolithic outer wall of the city. He was safely high above the battlefield, behind the cover bullet proof reflective black metal. His squad had been ordered, oddly enough, to retreat back to the palisade on top of the fifty foot wall. Never questioning the infinite wisdom of the Combine commanding officers, 38577 left the front line and retreated with his squad to the palisades on the southern side of the main gate.

From this position, 38577 could see the battlefield through the blue tint of his glass eyepieces in the utmost detail. Utter pandemonium sustained itself on the vast, crater-ridden battlefield just outside of the walls. 38577 could see the Xenian forces, strange and terrifying, chasing the retreating Combine troops back towards the wall, blasting them with electricity and turning them into human pincushions with the terrible fire of the hornet guns.

The private was terrified of the hornet guns…in the past hour that he had been fighting; no fewer than twelve of his squad mates had been killed by hornet fire. The guns would fire living ammunition: loud, buzzing insects that would track their targets with greater accuracy than a missile, and then would dig themselves into the victim’s skin, eventually exploding and causing impressive tissue damage deep within their target. Twice 38577 had come close to being hit by a hornet…and they were the most terrifying moments of his life.

He looked out, and watched the few remaining striders as they formed a defensive line, and watched as the massive tripods fired their incredible space-bending blue beams into the Xenian forces, disintegrating them and setting fire to what little foliage remained on the battlefield. Gunships soared overhead, their helicopter blades buzzing in the air as they laid down a hail of plasma from their heavy machine guns onto the ground troops below that were trying to breach the wall.

As the Combine soldier was watching, a Combine gunship swooped near their position, sending a blast of air in their direction as it banked around, attempting to turn around and lay more fire down upon the invaders. But then, just as it was making its turn about ten feet away from the palisade, a strange Xenian craft plunged out of the sky like some kind of demented flying stingray. Seconds later, an orange beam of energy flew out of the alien craft in a blinding display of light, splitting the Combine gunship in two and creating a massive explosion.

The private, shocked by the sudden explosion, fell to the ground safely behind the palisade as the shrapnel from the explosion killed several of his squad mates who were unlucky enough to still be standing, clipping their upper bodies and sending them flying off of the palisade fifty feet to the ground.

Trying to remain unfazed by the deaths of his comrades, 38577 quickly stood back up and retained his post, watching the debris from the Combine gunship as it crashed to the ground in a smoldering rubbish heap of metal.

Over time, the Xenian army grew closer and closer and eventually even the striders weren’t able to hold back the onslaught of the alien horde. The soldier on the palisade gazed in terrified anticipation as the main force of Xenians moved like a black mass all around the legs of the striders, overtaking them like a flood.

The gigantic, three legged striders attempted to crush the opposition with their legs, stomping on the alien warriors as if they were nothing more than scampering insects. Even so, given enough numbers, a horde of insects can take on even the most massive of opponents.

While the striders were occupied by the horde of infantry at their feet, a few immense aliens which the soldier had heard were called “Gargantuans” moved into the fray. They were perhaps twenty feet tall, hardly even half the height of a strider, but they were heavily armored with black carapace, and looked highly menacing with their huge lobster-like claws and terrifying mandibles.

The Gargantuans moved in on one of the striders on the far right that seemed to be struggling, and like hunters confronting a beast, they encircled it, shoving aside the smaller infantry creatures with their massive claws. The pilot of the strider had no doubt noticed this, and began firing the strider’s machine gun at the massive aliens. Even so, the Gargantuans were able to close in on the huge walking machine, attempting to grab its legs within the grasp of their claws.

One of the creatures opened up its huge blue green claws and let out a charge of fire, acting like an organic blowtorch, and spouting fire from its open claws at the strider, attempting to melt its armor. While the strider attempted to kick this Gargantuan out of the way, another one grabbed the opposite leg. Pulling hard, the Gargantuan pulled the leg of the enormous machine off of the ground, and the combination of two of the three legs being unbalanced caused the strider to falter and fall. Balanced only by one leg, the strider crashed to the ground, its elongated legs folding in awkwardly like a dead spider, and its head crashing to the ground and kicking up dust.

Before the machine could right itself, the Gargantuans ripped apart the hull of the cockpit with their massive claws, and torched the Combine pilots inside with their blowtorches as if they were nothing more than human barbecue.

The Combine soldier watched in dismay as what he thought to be an indestructible machine was being ripped apart limb from limb. What would become of him then, once the Xenian forces reached the wall? If striders, the most powerful weapons in their arsenal, were knocked about like toys, then what chance would his simple infantry unit have against them? It made him consider panicking and running for his life away from the battlefield, but he was more disciplined than that… Somehow, they would persevere against the hideous alien horde.

The remaining striders continued to fight; most were attempting to kill off the Gargantuans this time, but with every passing minute they were pushed back closer and closer towards the wall as the Gargantuans outnumbered them greatly. It was like trying to hold back an avalanche.

The foot soldiers of the Xenian army were now close enough for the Combine soldiers on the wall to begin firing at them. Private 3877 looked down on the other side of the wall, fifty feet down he could see the scurrying Xenians as they attempted to take down the striders to clear a path for the Gargantuans to break through the wall.

Then, the order was given to fire. There were perhaps four hundred troops at various points on the wall, all firing down at the mass of Xenians, their bullets and plasma shells raining down on the invaders like fiery hail. Private 3877 held his Overwatch plasma rifle steady on the lip of the wall as he squeezed the trigger, spraying hot plasma down on his foes. He didn’t have to worry about accuracy, since there were so many of them down there anyway.

Once he had emptied an entire magazine, the rifle automatically reloaded itself, pulling another magazine out of a compartment with a robotic arm and placing it in the correct position while ejecting the other one. He was just about to begin firing again when the Xenians below began firing at the wall themselves.

The soldier could see Vortigaunts, those scrawny but deadly aliens, as well as the grunts of the alien forces, which were around eight feet tall and heavily armored. The aliens took aim and fired their deadly organic weapons. A stream of orange hornets from the grunts weapons buzzed towards the wall, literally swarming up at them as the Vortigaunts sent out bursts of electricity.

The private ducked behind the palisade to avoid being hit by one of the electric green lighting bolts being fired from a Vortigaunt. His heart racing, the Combine regular watched as the beam of green energy zipped past him like a bolt of lighting. The soldier standing next to him took the bolt in the head, and flew off of the wall, landing on the streets fifty feet below.

Seconds later, he could hear the faint buzz of the hornets as the swarmed towards the wall. The insects flew past the palisade, orange trails of smoke following them as tracers. The private was relieved, seeing as the hornets had missed them completely. But then, the entire swarm stopped in mid air, and turned around to face them, as if the projectiles had minds of their own.

Now the Combine force was trapped behind their own palisade, and they had nowhere to go as the swarm of hornets zipped towards them. The private attempted to run in fear, but as the hornets slammed into the wall around him he felt a slight amount of pain on his forehead. Panicking, the soldier reached up to feel the forehead of his gasmask, and felt the smooth abdomen of an insect, flailing its legs and digging through the rubber mask.

Before he had time to crush the insect, it had dug its way completely through his mask. He felt another slight pinprick of pain, and then lost consciousness.
 
Meanwhile in the main square of the city, a battle like none other was raging. A strider had made its way into the fray, and was now converging on Ian’s position. The main cannon of the forty foot tripod fired its main cannon with incredible force, distorting the air around it into a liquid-like matter and shooting out a massive blue beam of pure energy towards the barricade.

Time seemed to go in slow motion for Ian as the beam slammed into the barricade, melting the metal into a fiery orange liquid, and twisting the affected part of the barricade into a twisted heap of rubble. Those unlucky enough to get caught in the blast were disintegrated, and their limp bodies levitated into the air in an other-worldly manner before disappearing in a flash of light.

In that fraction of a millisecond in which the beam fired, Ian, his cousin and his comrades were all blown into the air by the sheer force of the blast. Ian was suspended in the air momentarily as he plummeted to the ground. He could remember thinking only one thing as he was blown off his feet: he was going to die. But then, luckily, the strider’s beam had hit directly to their side, and Ian’s squad was one of the lucky ones to be blown to the side, rather than to the ground. So, they all crashed onto the metal catwalk of the barricade, rather than the hard cobblestone of the street several feet below.

Ian’s skull crashed into the slick metal catwalk as he was blown to the side by the strider’s energy weapon. Pain filled all of his senses as he was slammed against the deck. Dazed and confused, he watched in his blurred vision as the strider kicked through the barricade, sending the melted metal flying in all directions as it broke through to eradicate the rebels in the main square. The entire center portion of the barricade collapsed, leaving the two ends standing dangerously on either side with metal shards dangling off the end. It was as if the barricade was no sturdier than a tin can.

Ian only stayed conscious long enough to see the strider fire its beam once more. In the next few seconds, sounds became distorted and muted, and his vision slowly faded away.

“Ian, Ian; are you alright?” A voice urged from the darkness. Ian lifted his right hand to his temple, massaging a spot on his forehead that seared with pain. Slowly, Ian slowly opened his eyes as his vision gradually came back into focus.

It was quiet, a stark difference from the battlefield that he had just left. The only noises were of his own breathing and the crackling of a nearby fire. Again, the voice insisted, “Ian, wake up!” Turning his head, Ian saw the face of his cousin, Tonya near his own; her left cheek badly scarred and her skin dirtied. Regaining his senses, Ian sat up where he was and observed his surroundings. Where was he?

There was a low ceiling over them, unnaturally sloped and tiled with concrete. The ground was of dark dirt, and the walls appeared to be nothing more than compacted rubble. They definitely were not inside a building, as Ian could see a gap in the debris that revealed the night sky outside. A fire burned inside a barrel next to one of the rubble heap walls, and Ian could see a resistance man standing there warming his hands in the crackling orange glow.

Ian turned back to Tonya and asked, “What happened? Where are we?” Tonya’s face lit up as she replied, “Oh good, you’re awake! I thought we would have to leave you here… Ian, you’ve been unconscious for three hours. When the strider shot the barricade you were knocked out. The rest of the squad was awake, so we dragged you out of there. We put you and some other wounded onto stretchers and carried you here.”

Ian rubbed his head once more where he had landed on the metal catwalk. Thank God he hadn’t broken his neck in the fall. His arms were scraped, and so was the back of his neck. It was surprising how close he had come to death. He had missed the battle, but in a way, that was better than staying and witnessing more bloodshed.

Tonya continued, “We’re under a blown out overpass right now. The whole squad is here, and a lot of other Resistance members. It’s too far to get to Kleiner’s lab from here, so we had to make do with this little shelter.”

Ian looked out of the large crack which revealed the night sky and heard the distant booms of artillery and the much closer sounds of heavy machinegun fire. No doubt by now the entire city had become a full blown war zone.

He still had more questions, “What about the strider? Did anyone stop it? Are Calhoun and Harper alright?” Although his question was directed at Tonya, a voice from the shadows answered it. “Harper’s squad managed to destroy it, but not before it killed many of us and spread the rebels out all around the city. And don’t worry, Calhoun made it out without a scratch, he’s leading the rebellion right now, making a push towards The Citadel.” The gruff male voice belonged to Bart Avery, who moved out of the shadows and showed himself in the flickering firelight. He was now dressed in what appeared to be the standard resistance garb: the uniform blue jumpsuits of the Combine citizens with a Metro Cop bullet proof vest, an olive overcoat, and a green wool cap. Tonya was wearing this as well, and it appeared to be some sort of standard uniform for the rebels.

“So if Calhoun is out there making an assault, why are we sitting around here? Shouldn’t we be out there fighting with them?” Tonya shook her head and sighed, “we’ve been waiting for you to wake up, Ian. We couldn’t just leave you here in a war zone. You’re my cousin…”

Reliantly, Ian got up from his position on the ground and stood up under his own power. “Well, I’m up now, aren’t I? If we stay here much longer we’ll definitely get killed, so why not at least die fighting? How many people are under this overpass anyway?”

Avery looked around the dark cavern and replied, “Probably thirty…just a rag tag group of squads treating their wounded. Don’t get too ahead of yourself and go running out there to fight, Ian. We’ve already had two killed who tried to go out there without cover. There’re snipers all over the place, and we don’t have anything to counter them with. It would be so much easier if we had some kind of armor, something to move around in…but we’re basically nothing but a disorganized group of infantry. There’s not much we can do by ourselves until the Xenians arrive anyway…”

The mention of the Xenians lit up Ian’s imagination. He wondered what had become of them; if they had broken through the wall, and if they had begun their assault on the city streets. Even so, the distant booms of artillery were almost proof of their survival.

“In any case,” Tonya said, “we’re glad to have you back, Ian. But don’t run out there and get killed. We’ve come too far for brash moves like that. Let’s just wait here until you’re fully recovered and we figure out what to do about these snipers.”

Ian was frustrated, he wanted to help…and he was fully recovered! But, he stifled his emotions and decided to go along with their plan; If only he hadn’t been knocked out by that blast…he could be of far greater use to the rebellion.

Again he looked into the darkness. His eyes adjusting to the dim light under the overpass, he could see that the cavern was much larger than he had at first imagined, and it extended around fifty yards in the direction Ian was looking…more of a tunnel than the bottom of an overpass.

Fires burned here and there, and the scores of rebels stationed there used them for light and warmth as they regrouped and rejuvenated there. The place felt safe, like a small refuge of peace even as bombs shook the earth around the place.

Ian knew what it must have been like outside…no doubt their rebellion had set off a pure apocalypse across the entire Combine world…and the oppressive empire surely would not go down without an enormous fight. Ian imagined the burning buildings…the destruction and decimation that would follow. He hadn’t seen but a fraction of what was to come.

“Where are the others?” Ian asked, turning back towards Avery and Tonya. “Maybe we could plan something out. We’d better hurry; this place may seem safe now, but sooner or later we’re going to be flushed out. We’ll probably need some kind of escape plan.” Ian looked all around the area, guessing the strengths of the rubble around them and looking for an exit that would be stable and secluded enough for them to leave the cavern undetected by Combine snipers.

Avery replied, “Well Ian, you seem to be getting a bit hasty after having just come out of a mild coma…but I agree with you, for the most part.” He turned towards the groups of rebels sitting just outside of the firelight and exclaimed loudly, “Hey Yuri, Nikoli; Ian’s up! I think he may have a plan!”

Ian blushed at this…for he didn’t have a plan at all; but he had to do something, rather than sitting around inactively. The others quickly discerned the voice of Avery, and within seconds the images of Nikoli Streski and Yuri Steinberg appeared in the flickering firelight. Both were generally dirtied in their appearance, and Nikoli even had a noticeable deformity on his left ear, no doubt from the heat of the strider’s energy beam.

“Ah Ian, it’s good to see you alive and kicking. Now we can actually get something done.” Nikoli said with enthusiasm. Yuri simply glanced at Ian, and made a slight bow of his head in good will. “So now that we’re all together,” Ian asked, “What are we going to do next?”

They each looked at each other, all of them expecting someone else to answer. Avery took up the burden, and replied, “Well, Harper wanted us to rendevous with him after the battle; but we got separated by that strider. I guess our next plan of action will be to find Harper’s squad, and begin pushing into the Combine controlled areas closer to the Citadel.” Avery shook his head and continued, “I say this like there is an area that isn’t controlled by the Combine; but even here we aren’t safe. Snipers are everywhere.”

Ian agreed and continued, “Right, so we can’t even leave this area until we do something about the snipers. We’re all useless down here. Isn’t there something we can do?” Ian looked at their faces, looking for some kind of suggestion.

Yuri Steinberg, who had been silent up until this point, mildly suggested: “Well, there are a few things that we could perhaps do. We would either devise some elaborate method of cover, like a distraction of some sort. Or, we might be able to counter-snipe them, setting up snipers of our own to pick them off as the others make an escape. And I don’t know, perhaps we could use grenades as a drastic alternative.” Yuri’s timid voice and calm demeanor helped lay out these points as reasonable to the others.

After hearing Yuri, Nikoli responded, “I think it would be a good idea to counter them with snipers of our own. Aren’t Ian and Tonya pretty good snipers anyway? If we supplied them with weapons, I’m sure we would be able to clear out our sniper problem… if only, of course, we had a way of figuring out where the snipers are hidden. Ah, this would be so much easier if we had some kind of armor support…it’s one of the only things holding us back in this war.” Streski trailed off, thinking of the opportunities lost and the war he wished he was fighting.
 
Ian thought about what he said. Indeed, they would need some way of finding out where the snipers were hidden, and the only way that they could do that would be to put someone in harm’s way. Thinking of something, Ian replied, “Of course, Nikoli; we’d need some way of seeing where they were hiding. But I think I know just the thing. I was using a Combine standard sniper rifle during the beginning of the revolution. I noticed that there was a blue laser sight on it which undoubtedly is on most of the other rifles. Maybe we could use this to our advantage?”

Before he could say more, Avery cut in, “You’re right Ian! Hey Yuri, don’t we have some smoke grenades lying around here somewhere? Maybe we could set off the smoke grenades out there. I know that it won’t provide much coverage, since the Combine snipers use infrared vision to detect their targets. However, we would be able to trace their laser sights back to their weapons. If we filled the area with smoke, their laser beams would be visible to us, and we could pick them off easily. We just need a few smoke grenades and someone willing enough to act as bait!”

Ian thought about Avery’s solution. It seemed feasible enough…it would minimize the number of people put in harm’s way, and it would give them a serious advantage over the Combine snipers. Perhaps then, they would be able to move out of this death trap…

The others seemed to agree with Avery’s solution, and they concluded to find sniper rifles for Ian and Tonya and to prepare a set of smoke grenades to use. Both were found soon, and Nikoli and Yuri now carried a set of smoke grenades on belts strung across their chests. Then, Avery was able to procure sniper rifles from a stolen set of weapons that they had brought with them.

Now fully equipped with ammunition and a large sniper rifle that was identical to the model he had used during the start of the rebellion, Ian decided that it would be best to tell the others under the overpass of their plan. He spoke with the other members of his squad, and agreeing with him, they stepped aside to allow him to tell everyone else what he was planning on doing.

Ian stepped into the flickering light of the fire. His voice echoing from the craggy concrete walls of the underpass, he spoke out, hushing the crowd. “Everyone, can I have your attention!” His voice echoed across the cavern, getting everyone to listen. “We all fought hard today, I can tell you that. Finally we’ve been able to stand up against The Combine; our fight has only just begun, and I’m sure we’ve made a mark on them bigger than they would have bargained for.”

Ian could see the other’s eyes twinkling in the firelight out in the cavern. They were a sorry bunch, scarred and ragged from battle and treating their wounded all about them. His voice incited an almost sarcastic cheer from someone in the back of the cavern, but otherwise the rebels were silent, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“But what are we doing here?” He asked, his voice faltering slightly as he waved his hands in a gesture of questioning. “Sure it’s safe, but we can’t stay here forever. What are we if we’re not fighting? We’re more cowards than rebels!”

A murmur began in the crowd as the rebels questioned what Ian was saying. One man, discouraged by Ian’s reasoning, shouted out a question, “But what about the snipers? I’d like to fight out there as much as every man, but I’m not retarded. Are you suggesting that we run out into open sniper fire? Do you really want to get your brains blown out?”

Another murmur continued through the crowd, and Ian replied sincerely, “Yes, we know there are snipers out there. But my squad has a plan! Rather than sitting here and waiting to die, we’ve decided to take measures in our own hands. These two here, Nikoli and Yuri, will throw out smoke grenades, confusing the snipers, and making their laser sights visible. Then Tonya Avery and I will have clear shots at them with our own sniper rifles. It’ll be easy to pick them off, and we can all get out of this place.”

The crowd then grew much louder, and several of them were arguing with each other. Some shouted out questions, citing that none of them there was as highly trained as the Combine Elites that sat behind the sniper rifles outside; and who was Ian, to give away their position to the entire Combine army?

Ian tried to calm them down, and ended with a final ultimatum, “Well, your opinion is your own. But no matter what you say, we are going to do this. This is war, not some waiting game! We have a far greater chance of getting out of here alive if we resist than we do if we just sit here like cows waiting to be slaughtered! If anyone wants to help me, then take up a weapon and fire on those snipers. If not, well…you can just sit here like you always have. Nobody’s stopping you from doing that. In the meantime, my squad will be fighting the war while you sit here and attend to your wounded.”

With that, Ian left the firelight, and moved away from the uproarious crowd of rebels along with the rest of his squad. It was amazing, how much discrepancy there was…even amongst the ranks of rebels fighting for the same cause. Ian supposed that was just one more advantage The Combine had over them…there was no arguing among the ranks of Combine soldiers. Arguing only gave the enemy more time to strike.

A few of the rebels went over with their weapons and joined Ian’s squad, but it was a sad minority. Most that were willing to help were young, and carried small submachine guns. Even so, it was better than nothing.

From there, Avery directed the newcomers on what to do, giving some of them smoke grenades to throw, and simply instructing the others to fire at whatever they saw moving outside. Their main weapon would be surprise, so their attack would have to be in unison, overwhelming the snipers.

Next, the snipers were directed to find a good place to fire from. Any protected small hole would do, and the thick rocks would provide them excellent cover against the snipers, better cover than even the Combine snipers had themselves.

So, Ian looked around the cavern, and discovered a tiny gap in the debris from which light streamed in from outside. Deciding that this would make a good firing position, Ian scaled the craggy ramp of debris which led up to the small gap. Hands shaking, Ian climbed up a particularly large concrete slab, and lied down on an outcrop immediately under the gap in the wall.

Looking around the cavern, he noticed that the other snipers were finding positions all along the debris wall, and the other rebels were hushed in anticipation of the battle which would occur just outside of the packed-debris walls. How typical, they wouldn’t participate, but they’d at least watch.

Shifting his attention back to the task at hand, Ian turned towards the miniscule crack in the wall, and placed his gun to the side as he looked out of the hole, checking out his surroundings. Outside, the shade of night had fallen across the city, and the darkness left an eerie atmosphere over the streets, setting the stage for the battle that was to come. Burning cars and massive craters lined the cobblestone street, and rubble from the surrounding buildings was strewn over everything. Cleary there had been some heavy fighting in this area, and Ian could see destroyed Combine APCs as well as the shadowy figures of unclaimed bodies lying on the sidewalk. The darkness of this grim scene was permeated every now and then by the sudden flashes of artillery fire, lighting up the area like lighting for a fraction of a second as the missiles fired like artificial suns from the crest of the Combine Citadel.

Ian saw no signs of the snipers which allegedly surrounded the area…but he could feel their watching eyes probing him like some unseen predator. The place simply didn’t seem safe. Slowly and deliberately, Ian slid the barrel of his gun into the hole, resting it on the concrete and adjusting it for a better firing position. He was careful not to make a sound, and tried to make the gun barrel as unobtrusive as possible, as if it were a natural piece of steel rebar sticking out of the pile of rubble in which he was perched.

And then, stone-like, he waited for the order to fire. It didn’t take long for the other snipers to set up their positions. They quickly and efficiently found their perches as the other rebels found holes from which to toss their smoke grenades. Silently, Ian prayed that the plan would work out. They couldn’t afford failure.

As he waited, Ian began to contract a headache. A slow pulsing of pain began to beat in his head like a time-keeping drum, and eventually it seared through him. He couldn’t have a headache now…he had to focus, he had to remain cool. Ian wiped the sweat from his brow and felt the small bump where he had collided with the barricade. Undoubtedly, this is what was causing his headache. Ian hoped that it was only temporary, and that his concussion had not caused any severe injuries to his brain. Even if it had, who was he to care? He was in the middle of a war, and in all honesty he wasn’t going to live very long anyway.

Ian shook off the pain, and grasped his rifle tighter. He had to aim true…he had to be focused. It was only a few seconds later when all of the others were finally in position. Tonya, Avery, and a couple of the others who had joined them were all crouched on rocks at various portions of the cave wall, their weapons sticking out of the small holes from which they would be firing. They only needed to clear out one side of the underpass, as they would have much cover from the snipers on the other side. So, all of the snipers were positioned on the same debris wall as Ian, training their scopes on the same set of buildings.

It would be only seconds now before the firefight started. Ian quickly placed his eye back on the scope and waited for the order. The rebels holding the smoke grenades readied themselves, preparing to throw their canisters out of the overpass at a moments notice.

Then, finally, Avery shouted, “Fire in the hole!”

Ian saw the smoke grenades as they flew out of the hole, flying through the air like sparkling gems, and then landing on the dark street outside, exploding in a massive puff of misty gray smoke which rose instantly above the road, creating a simmering cloud of impenetrable mist.

Milliseconds later, no fewer than six blue laser beams became visible in the mist, frantically searching over the street for the perpetrator who threw the smoke grenades. It was the laser sights of the Combine snipers. The smoke didn’t rise too high, and Ian still had a clear view over the top of the mist, so he had an excellent shot at any of the second or third story windows of the building across the street.

Coolly and calmly he traced one of the laser sights back to its source: the second story window of the building directly across from Ian. Looking closer, he noticed a red blinking light from which the blue laser beam emanated. This surely was the eye of the Combine sniper.

Ian didn’t hesitate, and pulled the trigger of his sniper rifle. Silenced by the special fitting at the end of Ian’s gun barrel, the bullet noiselessly careened towards the eye of the Combine elite. There was a slight crunch as the bullet shattered the glass of the window, and then the red light went off; and with it the blue laser sight.

“One sniper down,” thought Ian.

Now looking at the scene again with his naked eyes he saw that the enemy snipers were falling like flies. Every few seconds another laser would disappear. They were helpless when their enemy knew exactly where they were hiding.

Sensing that his comrades were being attacked, one of the Combine snipers ran away from his cover behind a set of boxes and attempted to escape the battlefield. He was quickly downed by a burst of submachine gun fire from one of the rebels.

The battle was over within less than a minute, and not a single rebel had been injured. As the smoke settled, Ian began to realize the enormity of what had just happened. His plan had worked perfectly, and the rebels could escape from their death trap and begin their fight anew.

Finally, thankfully, the streets outside their haven were silent, dark, and safe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Gordon Freeman stood at the metal lip of the massive drainage pipe leading into the depths of the Nova Prospekt prison facility. Sludge and sewage flowed past him ankle-deep out of the corrugated metal of the drainage pipe, hampering his movement and creating a terrible smell in the air, sickly and disturbing.

Outside, Freeman could hear the distant noises of Antlions as they battled Combine soldiers just outside on the cliffs of the coast. He had just survived an otherworldly battle. Looking further into the darkness of the drainage pipe, he felt a slight amount of fear of what might lie in the darkness ahead of him. Undoubtedly, the prison itself must have been terrifying, or the others wouldn’t have warned him so heavily against going there. He was about to advance into the fortress of the enemy…and the enemy was unforgiving.
 
Even so, he now had a fierce army of alien insects at his disposal, and they would be an absolutely necessary feature if he was to make a successful assault on the facility. Remembering his insect-like comrades, Gordon decided to rally them around to begin his espionage into the facility. Finding his way inside would be the hardest part….but after all, that was why he had decided to enter this pipeline. Somewhere, somehow, this pipe would lead into the facility. However, he would probably have to use the assistance of his Antlion friends to dig his way through the earth and spring out inside the facility.

Gordon opened his sack of alien pheromones, and grabbed one of the slimy black spheres out of it to call the Antlions to his side. Squeezing the object in his hand, Gordon let out a massive cloud of pheromones, black and swirling. It took a few seconds for the ugly black cloud of pheromones to leave the pipe and reach the Antlions, but when it had it was all but obvious.

Gordon heard a shill cry from far off outside of the pipe as the Antlions caught whiff of the pheromones. Seconds later, he heard thousands of tiny pings…the enormous insects were crawling on the corrugated metal on the other side of the pipe. Then, Gordon saw as the light from the outside was blocked as the hulking figure of an Antlion slithered into the drainage pipe, crawling upside down with its four legs on the ceiling of the pipe, using the metal ribs as footholds. Seconds later, a swarm of others followed this one, and soon the whole pipe behind Freeman was crowded with the menacing exoskeletons of Antlions.

Now with the confidence of having an alien army at his side, Freeman was ready to advance through the pipe and take on the Combine ahead of him. He looked into the darkness in front of his face, and could see nothing but the cold reflections on the metal just a few feet ahead of him. Wishing to see more, Gordon pressed a button on his right forearm, which immediately lit a flashlight on it, lighting the way ahead of him. With new light, Gordon advanced into the darkness, the multiple legs of the Antlions clicking as they followed him diligently.

The Combine plasma rifle resting firmly in his gloved hands, Freeman sloshed through the horrible muck, advancing further into the depths of the tunnel. Within the course of several minutes, Freeman made his way past the bends of the sewer, growing ever closer to the sounds of the battle taking place ahead of him in the facility. As he walked, the Antlions seemed to grow more and more restless behind him, as if they were being held back from something they desperately wanted to participate in.

Sensing their impatience, Gordon moved to the side of the tunnel, and allowed them to pass by him in a mass, zipping by on their four legs and shrieking in desperation. Soon, all of the Antlions had left him, and had swarmed their way further down the sewer line.

Wondering why they had become so eager for battle, Gordon hurried down the pipeline, heavy boots clanking against the corrugated metal. His flashlight revealed only a slight amount of the tunnel at a time, and the rest was hidden in shadow… this disturbed him; he wouldn’t want to be caught off guard by something jumping out of the shadows ahead of him. Gordon kept his weapon on guard…just in case.

But then, to his relief, Gordon’s flashlight fell upon a vast hole in the side of the pipe, which was ripped to shreds by the claws of Antlions. Beyond this hole, Freeman could see that a tunnel had been dug into the swath of dirt which lay beyond. Finally, beyond this tunnel was the flickering light of a security office. He was just yards from the interior of the prison.

His breath faltering, Freeman turned off his flashlight, and prepared to enter the tunnel which the Antlions had made. Light from the security office flickered into the pipe, making shadows dance upon the curved metal walls.

From beyond the tunnel Gordon could hear the muffled sounds of the battle beyond. Machine gun fire popped away, and he could hear the distorted screams of Combine soldiers as they met their fate at the claws of the swarm of Antlions. No doubt Gordon had let out an utter wave of destruction upon the facility, as it was indeed built directly over a massive Antlion hive. The Combine had probably held this area for years using the Thumpers, but it was only through Gordon’s intervention that the creatures had finally invaded the prison.

For a moment, Gordon feared for the life of the innocent prisoners, who would be unjustly trapped in their cells as the ravenous Antlions invaded the area. It was this thought that drove Gordon on, and shook his apprehension away as he crawled into the earthen tunnel ahead of him.

Moving along on his hands and knees, Gordon made his way from the sewage pipe into the security office through a ragged tunnel not designed for human beings. Then, after he had crawled through it, Gordon slid out of the tunnel backwards, falling four feet to the tile floor below him. He was in.

Looking around him, the HEV suit wearing Dr. Freeman observed his surroundings. He was clearly inside a security office—he knew this since before he had even entered the room from the multiple security monitors on the opposite wall which showed the battle occurring all around the facility. The floor of the security office was of black and white checkered tile that was worn and covered in grime. No doubt the original prison was built at least fifty years before…even though the Combine portion was practically new.

This dichotomy was made evident by the multiple pieces of Combine technology which thrived the area. There were several black metal Combine gun racks on the wall which held an arsenal of Combine weaponry. Also, wires snaked along the ground like the roots of a tree and ended at the base of a menacing Combine power generator, humming with power.

Gordon noticed with a slight illustration of disgust the body of a dead Combine prison guard, which was clutching a shotgun and which was literally ripped to shreds by Gordon’s horde of Antlions which had passed through the area.

The battle was clearly still raging, as Freeman could hear the distant reverberating booms of grenades and machine gun fire as the Combine guards desperately attempted to hold the fort against thousands of Antlions.

Indeed, Gordon observed on the security monitors the utter anarchy that was occurring throughout the facility. On the pixilated black-and-white screens Gordon could see the images of several squads of Combine soldiers setting up ground turrets and barricades, attempting to hold off the swarm of alien insects. Seconds later, those same troops were instantly overcome as an Antlion Guard, one of the colossal warrior insects of the Antlion clan, burst out of the ground beneath them, its massive carapace and claws ripping up their defenses and brutally destroying any resistance… and this destruction was confined to only one screen.

Gordon watched as similar scenes unfolded on the dozen or so screens on the wall, and observed the destruction of the Combine defenses as the ravenous Antlions descended upon the facility. But then, when Freeman looked at the lower left screen, he saw something extremely strange Amidst the chaos of the battle, there stood a single man…going seemingly unnoticed by both the Antlions and the Combine soldiers around him, the man stood there in a completely calm demeanor. Freeman recognized him instantly by his briefcase and dark tie…it was none other than the Man in the Suit who had brought him into this mess in the first place.

Gordon’s attention now turned totally on this one screen, and he stood transfixed staring at it. Did the Man in the Suit know that Freeman was watching him? Or an even better question…had he been watching Gordon all along? Gordon observed as the Man in the Suit looked directly at the camera, adjusted his tie, and then walked off screen.

The suited man was playing with him…like some sick cat and mouse game, the Man in the Suit was screwing with his mind, letting Dr. Freeman know that the only reason he was still alive was because of his benefactor…and at this moment he was nothing more than the suited man’s tool. Gordon searched the screen with his eyes over and over again…but it was clear that his tormentor had disappeared… Freeman would have liked to believe that he had free will, that he had some kind of control over his destiny. That’s what he had thought…that’s the way it had always been. But now, even in this seeming freedom and fame, he was nothing but a slave, a mercenary to the sinister Man in the Suit. Again, Gordon shook of his thoughts of the strange suited man, and continued with his assault. If he was to be a slave to the Man in the Suit, he would at least do his job right.

Dr. Freeman looked out of the bulletproof windows which surrounded the security office, observing his immediate surroundings. The office was on the second of three floors, and hung over a hallway of the first floor. Clearly the office had been used to observe passing prisoners, but now it was Freeman’s stronghold. The light around the facility was dim, and had a blue tint, giving the entire area an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere…perfect for a prison. The floor far below on the first level was made of more black-and-white tile- it seemed to be a staple of the prison. Looking above him, Gordon saw that the third level was made of a metal catwalk, on which hundreds of doors to cells were stationed. However, Gordon doubted that the prisoners of the facility were actually being kept in the old cells…most likely they were in high-tech holding devices deep within the prison.

All around him, Freeman could see signs of battle. The bars which blocked off the various cellblocks from each other had all been torn to pieces by the sharp claws of the Antlion horde. They had passed through here quickly, destroying everything in their path and advancing further into the facility to devour the Combine which had so long kept their colony in check. After seeing what destruction they could cause, Freeman nervously checked his pheromone spores to make sure he had enough to complete his mission.

His goal was clear: he would find out where Dr. Vance and Dr. Mossman were being kept, and he would somehow smuggle them out of the facility in the confusion. If possible, he would then free as many of the prisoners as he could, which would strike a major blow on the Combine operations in the area.

So, he left the security station through a door in the corner, and moved out onto the metal catwalk around it. He then traveled over the dark, shadowy area until he reached a decrepit set of stairs that led up to the 3rd level. Wires from various Combine devices snaked down the stairway like vines, pulsating with light and making strange, alien noises.

Freeman ascended the stairway, and was now at a corner on the 3rd level. He turned left from the landing, and then moved along the third-level catwalk which was daintily suspended from the plaster ceiling by several black steel wires. Freeman had chosen to move along the 3rd level because it had most likely been a pathway that the guards had taken to observe the activity of prisoners below, so it would probably bypass most of the security gates between cellblocks, unlike the lower levels which were blocked off by fencing.

High above the tiled floor, Gordon quickly moved along the third level catwalk across the huge cavity of the cellblock. Tiny prison cells lined the walls around him, and he could see that they had been long since abandoned. On the ceiling Freeman could see several massive skylights, and he could make out the moon just outside, obscured by clouds. Within seconds, Freeman had crossed the hall, and came to another corner. As he stepped into the corner, he could hear the pops of gunfire getting closer and closer. He was nearing the battle.

Preparing himself for what lay ahead, Gordon readied his plasma rifle in hand, and cautiously looked around the corner into the next cellblock. Peering beyond the steel wires through the dusty air, Freeman could see the flashing lights of a firing gun, which peppered away at some unseen enemy in the distance. However, this gun never moved, and it made a strange sound. Looking at it closer, Gordon realized that the gunfire belonged to not a Combine soldier, but to an automated floor turret, which was positioned on the floor on a small tripod, and which turned in all directions, firing at whatever moved.

Continuing his cautious advancement, Gordon crouched down and moved along the plaster wall and onto the next catwalk. Luckily, the automated turret didn’t notice him, and continued firing at its target. Seeing that he was safe, Gordon looked around the area at the skirmish that was occurring.

Two parallel turrets were set up by the Combine directly beneath him, and they were both firing simultaneously at a group of Antlions that were crawling on the wall opposite of Freeman. The Antlions leaped from wall to wall, level to level, avoiding the constant barrages of the automated turrets, which fired a steady stream of plasma shells at them, blasting holes into the wall and shattering the glass windows on the wall opposite of Freeman.

Gordon could see that all of the Combine soldiers in the area had already been dispatched by the Antlions, and their bodies were strewn about the area, along with the carcasses of Antlions that had been killed by The Combine. Now, the only combatants left were two Antlions and two floor turrets. The Antlions seemed to be having trouble at defeating both of the turrets, but there was nothing Freeman could do for them…seeking to avoid any confrontation, Gordon quickly ran over the catwalk and crossed the cellblock, passing by a set of bars that signified the begging of the next cellblock; all without even being recognized by the floor turrets.

Looking around the area at his surroundings, Freeman now realized that he was at another security station, and that he was no longer in an open-air cellblock. The walls of this area were all solid brick, and there were more Combine wires strewn all over the area, covering the floors and walls. From this Gordon assumed that he was nearing a centralized security area. Indeed, at the end of the hallway he could see a large metal door from which all of the wires came. It was barricaded by huge Combine latches, and had “Security” written in English on the front.

Moving quickly through the dimly lit hallway, Gordon searched for a place where he would undoubtedly find a schematic of the facility, and from that he could discover where Eli Vance was being held captive… how lucky of him to have stumbled upon a central security office. Gordon pushed his way though the wires, and finally came to the security door. Naturally, the door was heavily secured, and was latched firmly in place by a Combine lock. However, a simple lock was nothing compared to a plasma shell…

Gordon placed the barrel of his plasma rifle squarely on the blinking red light of the electronic Combine lock, and fired a stream of plasma shells into it, melting it, and causing it to fall off of the hinges of the door. After the smoke cleared, Freeman kicked the now-flimsy door in with his foot, slamming it into the wall in front of him.

Gordon had expected the security office to be full occupied by Combine guards, and thus he had his plasma rifle ready in his hands, pointing into the office at whatever threat might await him…

Freeman turned the corner into the office, and came face to face with the barrel of a shotgun.



-Chapter 50, Rendevous-
 
wewt!

So when can I buy the paperback edition?:E I was going to print this off...but I havent got enough paper:D
 
ehhhh.... sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but the link is not working. 404. Thank you.

Btw: keep it up!
 
its been so long since the last chapter i had to read it all again :D

Took forever too
 
Good news, marching band is over, so I have more time to finish this novel once and for all. I am working on the next chapter right now, and should expect to be finished soon.
 
Hurray for new chapter! ;D Boo for finishing! :(
 
I'm going for my nerdy post of the day

One concurs to the fullest comprahensable complements to the resident posting member thebleeding
 
Lots of reading to do.

I havent seen this since before I was blowing the weeks away before Hl2's release. I didnt read it after that because I played Half-Life 2 for about 4 months straight (Jb's mod, garrys mod, finding secrets, being a nerd). I've got a lot of reading to do!
 
New chapter.

-Chapter 50, Rendezvous-

The clinking of shattered glass filled the helmet of the Combine elite sniper as he fell to the ground, clutching his left bicep and crying out in agony. He didn’t know what had hit him…one second he was staring through thick smoke towards the suspected rebel outpost, and the next he was laying on the floor in extreme pain amidst a pile of shattered glass and spatters of his own blood. Subsequently, the sniper rifle he had been holding fell off of the window sill and landed on his legs, thumping with a metallic sound and then bouncing onto the wooden floorboards.

He had been shot…that was for certain; but by who, and how? He had been trained for the last few years to be undetectable, a perfect shot and an even better spy. This sort of thing couldn’t happen; not to an experienced elite like himself. Regaining his wits, he realized what had happened…the treacherous rebels had thrown out smoke grenades and used it to trace his laser sight back to his hideout. They had used the element of surprise to undo him. It was dishonorable…even for a sniper.

The elite sat up with much difficulty, still clutching his bicep where he had been shot. Looking down at his pure white Kevlar uniform, the sniper could see under his black leather glove a stain of blood that was growing from where he had been shot. The bullet had not passed through, and it was now likely lodged in the bone of his arm. It wasn’t a very easy wound to fix…but then again at least he had not been hit in a vital area. In any case, the bionic implants of his nervous and circulatory systems quickly reacted to the damage, and they injected local painkillers into the area, instantly numbing his arm so that the implants could then begin the slow and painful process of cauterizing the wound and dissolving the damaged bone and bullet fragments with hydrochloric acid.

Still clutching his numb arm, the elite slowly stood up, crushing the fragments of glass from the broken window with his boots as he slowly stumbled towards the corner of the abandoned apartment, where he would be safe from further fire. Wondering about the whereabouts of his squad, the sniper pulled his radio off of his belt, and clicked the transmission switch. Silently he whispered into the radio. “Attention S-179, this is sniper two: requesting back up, please respond.” Hands shaking, he waited for a response…but got nothing. He would have to take matters into his own hands.

Smoke curled into the dark apartment from outside, the last remnants of the smoke from the firefight. The sniper knew that he had to be silent and poised, as not to draw attention to the window. It was utterly important that the rebels think him dead; for if they saw the slightest bit of movement at his post, they would be sure to toss a grenade into the window. The sniper wasn’t going to let that happen.

Slowly and deliberately he crouched and moved towards the window, still grasping his wounded arm. Still remaining beneath the windowsill, the sniper grabbed his rifle up from the floor, and painfully he grasped it in his good hand. Depleted yet determined, the sniper dragged his wounded arm across the floor as he cautiously moved up to the window sill. Placing his gun back on the sill, the sniper got into firing position.

He would strike them back, exacting his revenge upon the treacherous rebels. With an air of vengeance in his breath, the elite sniper put his eye to the scope, and waited for his prey to come out into the open.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweet and clean, silence filled the air, like the most beautiful of music. Gunfire no longer erupted from the apartment windows, and the deaths of men no longer underscored the violence in the immediate area. All was calm, cool and still.

His heart racing, Ian pulled his head away from the gap in the wall, and for those few seconds of silence gazed out upon the crowd of rebels waiting in the cavern amidst the flickering light of the fire. Then, when the firefight had been over for several seconds, one of the rebel snipers yelled out, “It’s all clear! The snipers are dead!”, and from the silence burst forth a cacophony of sound.

The rebels cheered in victory as it became apparent that the enemy snipers were defeated, and they rushed towards the outside walls to try and catch a glimpse of the aftermath of the small firefight. Ian was moved by the excitement. He could almost not believe that his plan had succeeded himself. To be honest, he hadn’t quite planned anything of importance to happen…but here he was, sitting the victor as the others rewarded his success with exhilaration.

Ian and the other snipers quickly moved away from their firing positions and converged back towards the other rebels who were now moving in a mass towards the exit of the cavern. Ian knew that if they moved too quickly, their plan would fail as the rebels became an unorganized mass. At the same time, if they moved too slowly, they would probably fall victim to whatever reinforcements arrived to avenge the deaths of the Combine snipers.

Ian moved into the mass of rebels which gathered excitedly at the exit of the cavern, speaking with one another animatedly. Ian caught a few phrases from the crowd as the pushed through them to reach the rest of his squad, sniper rifle bouncing on his hip.

“Did you see what our boys did back there?” One of them exclaimed to his comrade. “Amazing isn’t it? I didn’t think any of us would get out of here alive!”

Ian pushed on further, looking for Avery or Tonya, when suddenly he saw the figure of Avery rose over the crowd on a pile of stones surrounded by Nikoli and Yuri, who both carried submachine guns. “Hey!” Avery shouted, attempting to get the attention of the other rebels. “I know everyone’s eager to get out of here, and we have every right to leave as quickly as possible! We’ve all got to be organized. Everyone should know where exactly they’re going, or it’ll be chaos! My squad is going to rendezvous with Colonel Harper somewhere along Baltic Avenue, where he was last seen. I would suggest that all of the squads stay in close proximity as we leave so that we’ll stand a better chance if we’re ambushed by Combine soldiers. Now, I know everyone’s getting impatient, but it’s really very important that we remain calm…”

Pulsing with a mix of excitement and fear, the crowed pushed in on the resolute Avery, eager to leave the cavern and move on to safer fortifications. Ian didn’t find it odd that Avery had taken a leadership role amongst the rebels that day, it seemed only natural that such a charismatic man should rise above the rest and give sense and direction to the ragged crowd. Indeed, even Ian was able to provide a public idea that worked. Perhaps it was the circumstances which brought out the best and worst of people…where natural leaders rise to the occasion and where natural followers are the most willing to try new ideas.

Attempting to bypass the crowd and find the rest of his squad, Ian moved near the wall of the cavern, and slowly made his way around the noisy crowd. Eventually, he came to the front of the crowd, where he could see Avery, Nikoli, Tonya and Yuri standing: waiting for him to arrive. While Avery began to delegate the rebel’s means of leaving the cavern, Ian slipped in next to Tonya and Yuri amidst the flickering firelight of the underpass.

“Ian!” Tonya exclaimed as he came nearer, “that firefight was incredible! I never thought the resistance could win a battle so easily…I bet those Combine snipers thought they were all big and bad, but we really showed them, didn’t we?”

Ian smirked, amused by her enthusiasm, and replied to his cousin, “It wasn’t easy, Tonya. I think it was more out of luck than skill that our plan made it through.” As Ian tried to humbly downplay his role in the small victory, Nikoli came up and patted him on the back deviating, “No Ian, it was your plan. You were the one who everyone listened to back there; not Avery. We won because of your brilliance and skill, I can guarantee you.”

Ian blushed at this; he didn’t want to admit that he had taken such a role in the victory. He saw himself more as a footnote in the history of the revolution than a chapter. That is, if such a history would ever be written.

As he spoke with the others, Avery began ordering people to get into their pre-assigned squads, and assigned groups of people to squads if their comrades had already perished. Ian’s group quickly moved to the front of the crowd next to Avery, and when it was time to go Avery signaled to them all, “Alright, let’s move out!”, he yelled. “One squad will come out of this hole every few seconds, and I want everyone to stay as close to the buildings as possible. Do not go out into the open. I don’t want anyone getting killed out there.”

And with that, Ian’s squad was the first to leave, scrambling up the hill of debris to the five foot hole which led out to the street. As they passed into the open night air, Ian could sense the flashes of light created by the shelling from the Combine Citadel over the darkness, lighting the façade of the buildings opposite of the underpass for milliseconds at a time, creating a strobe effect with each successive boom.

Scampering out of their hole Ian, Nikoli, Tonya, Avery and Yuri hesitantly moved onto the cobblestone street and ran with their heads down to the nearest building, keeping close to the wall and covering their heads with their hands. Such stealth was an utmost necessity in such a dangerous place. After they had made it about five yards, Avery signaled for them to halt, and breathless they waited with their backs against the wall for the next wave of rebels to come out of the cavern.

Indeed, after only a few seconds six rebels ran out of the hole, hunkered low and covering their faces while gripping their weapons tightly against their chests. Then, six more came, and six more. At this point, Avery determined that there were enough of them in one place to take on any Combine patrols that they might come across, and he signaled silently for them to move out.

Subsequently, the squads intermingled and moved slowly in a two file line down the street. Ian stood next to an older man who moved with a staggering gait and carried a huge plasma rifle which he undoubtedly captured from a Combine soldier during the initial battle. Ian locked his eyes with the tired gaze of the man, and they both gave a slight nod of recognition.

At that moment, the man suddenly tripped over himself, and careened to the ground, his gun clattering out of his hands and striking Ian’s feet. Ian was taken aback by the man’s sudden fall, and he backed up to the wall, shouting out in surprise.

At that moment, a woman who had been standing behind Ian yelped in alarm, for she had been friends with the older man who had tripped. As she ran over to him to give him assistance and lift him from the ground, Ian noticed suddenly that a dark pool of red blood was running from the man’s head and pooling all over the pavement. The man hadn’t tripped, he had been shot.

“Wait!” Ian cried out to the woman…but it was too late. Ian felt a rush of air on the side of his head as a bullet whizzed by him and struck the woman in the neck, collapsing her onto the dead body of her comrade. They were under attack.

“Snipers!” Someone in another squad screamed, just as another person fell to the ground from the sniper’s silent shot.

Heart racing and adrenaline coursing through his veins, Ian shot away from the wall and zigzagged like a madman away from the scene of the shootings. Self perseverance was his only current goal. The others did the same, running in a confused and panicked manner around the streets, determined not to be the next victim.

Ian didn’t know how it could have happened; he thought that all of the snipers had been defeated during the firefight. But apparently, he had made a deadly mistake in his reasoning. He scanned the windows, searching determinately for some sign of the gunman.

“Take cover!” Avery yelled, diving behind a parked car as the others ran about in confusion. Still looking up at the shattered windows of the opposite building, Ian caught a glimpse of a blinking red light, which appeared for only a moment as another rebel fell to the sniper. That was him, Ian thought, the sniper was hiding in the third story window of the building immediately on the opposite side of the street.

“I see him! The sniper’s up there!” Ian screamed, pointing towards the window. “Smoke him out!” Someone else suggested, pulling out a grenade. Instantly after it became apparent that the sniper was hiding in the particular window Ian had pointed out, a hail of bullets came from every direction towards the sniper’s hideout, shattering what little glass remained and ricocheting around the window, chipping the stone and sending sparks flying.

One of the rebels then tossed a grenade high into the air and into the window. A moment later Ian could hear the sniper yelling through his gas mask, attempting to get away from the grenade…but his attempts were in vain.

There was an extremely loud boom, and a flash of light erupted from the window as the grenade exploded inside. After the initial explosion had ended, smoke curled out of the opening of the window into the night air, twisting with the wind and signifying the death of their adversary.

His heart still racing, Ian backed off and hid behind the same parked car that Avery had taken refuge behind. He couldn’t be sure if they had taken care of all the snipers in the area. It was so unbelievable, so surprising that they had been attacked just moments after they had exited the cavern. It made continuing on seem that much more dangerous and impossible.

“Damn it, what just happened?” Avery asked, his back against the car door. Ian replied, “I don’t know…I guess we weren’t able to eliminate all of the snipers. This one must have gotten smart and he didn’t turn on his laser sight. God, I really wasn’t expecting that. How many did we lose? Is everyone in our squad alright?”

Ian looked about the area, checking all of the rebels and judging from their locations if they were alright. He saw at least five people lying on the cobblestone street dead…luckily he recognized none of their faces, but he was nonetheless crushed at the loss of life. This had been his error, his fault. He should have known to check to see if all of the snipers had been killed.

“I don’t think anyone in our squad is dead…” replied Avery, “Thank God for that. But damn, we really got a pounding. I tell you what Ian, I’m going run over to that other parked car on the other side of the street where Nikoli is hiding, and if I get shot at, I want you to find out where the shots are coming from, okay?”
 
Ian nodded his head in affirmation, and Avery got up from his spot and sprinted to the other side of the street, his head low and covered. Luckily, no shots came towards him, and to test this, he ran back to where Ian was kneeling. “Well, it doesn’t seem like there are any more snipers in the area Ian. I think it’s safe to regroup and move on.”

Indeed, after a time all of them left their hiding places and when nobody got shot, they all breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and they regrouped in their squads and discussed the situation. Soon it was evident that all of the rebels who had been shot by the sniper had died, and their friends mourned them and wept over their corpses while the others decided what to do next.

Avery concluded that while the other squads were exiting the cavern, he would send a rebel into the building where the sniper had been firing from to check for any survivors. If indeed all of the snipers had been neutralized, the scout was to gather all of their equipment for use by the resistance.

So, a man from another squad volunteered for the job, and he was sent into the building with nothing but a submachine gun. Several minutes later, he came out of the building carrying flak jackets, grenades and several sniper rifles slung over his back. He reported that all of the snipers had indeed been killed, and Avery concluded that they would continue on and rendezvous with Colonel Harper and the rest of the rebel forces.

Thus, the rebels took their dead comrades and hastily threw them under the overpass where they had been held out, and burned their corpses. Sadly, funeral rites were impossible in such an environment. After they had performed this sad act the mass of rebels cautiously made their way down the street, checking out all of the areas around them for any suspicious signs of Combine activity.

Aside from the occasional sweep of a Combine gunship, the rebels encountered no Combine forces. It appeared that the battle had already moved through this section of the city, and all that was left was badly shelled, and there were bodies of Combine soldiers and rebels alike. Likewise, no civilians could be found, and Ian assumed that all had either died or joined the resistance…he couldn’t imagine who would simply do nothing at such a time as this, as even children and the elderly were joined with Avery’s band of rebels.

After a period of about an hour, the group had traversed a great distance, and the booms of battle grew louder and louder as they came upon the last supposed position of Colonel Harper. It was cold, and still very dark as the rebels filtered through the bombed out buildings and decrepit city streets towards the rendezvous point. Avery silently reminded his squad to prepare for the worst, and Ian readied his weapons in preparation for the coming battle.

The scattered group of rebels came upon a blockage in the road caused by an apartment building which had collapsed from the firing of an artillery shell across the street, and which created a massive hill of debris across street, blocking their path.

Coming upon this hindrance, the rebels simply stood there, staring in the air above the hill of debris. They did this not because the blockage seemed impossible to pass, but because of what was happening on the other side of the hill of debris…

The dusty air just over the blockage flashed with the red fire of explosions and the blue bursts of plasma which were the signs of a massive battle just on the other side of the debris. Ringing and thunderous, the booms of explosions and gunshots resonated audibly in the near distance, signifying the intense battle that was to come.

Tension saturated the air like moisture, clinging to the hearts of the anxious rebels as they neared the wall of debris. Many of them began conferring with one another on what to do next, and whether or not they should turn back. Their breaths appeared as clouds in the cold autumn air as anxiety began to fill all of them.

Avery pulled his squad from the others onto a sidewalk next to the shattered glass of the windows of an abandoned bakery. In his leader-like voice Avery conferred with them, “I’m fairly certain that Harper and a great deal of the resistance is on the other side of that debris over there. Right now they’re probably in a desperate battle, and they’re going to need our help. We’ve got at least two or three hundred armed people with us here, and I’m sure we could turn the tide of the battle if we can get over there. But we can’t just rush into the area like madmen…we’d get ourselves killed.”

“So what should we do? Are we to sit here like cows waiting for the slaughter?” Nikoli Streski contended, his burly arms waving in frustration. “Of course not,” Avery continued, “I think we should send half of our forces up on the hill, and the other half should take a secondary route, and we should both attack at the same time.”

Ian agreed with Avery’s philosophy, a flanking maneuver would be far more powerful against the no doubt already burdened Combine forces on the other side of the debris field. However, time was paramount, and they couldn’t risk losing more time by performing complex maneuvers.

During a pause in the conversation Ian added, “Well, I would consent to that, as long as we can do it fast. People are dying over there Avery, and they need us to come to their rescue. If we can move half of our people to their flanks in time, we can win this. Otherwise, we’re just wasting lives.”

Nodding his head in concurrence, Avery agreed. Tonya and Yuri also expressed their agreement in this point. So, Avery concluded that the squads flanking the enemy would have to move very fast, sprinting the entire time, to get to the enemy.

As not to delay anything any further, Avery immediately shouted his plans to the rest of the group, hastily reporting that he wanted some of the forces to go on the street to left while the rest would scale the hill of debris.

Determined and surely rushed, the rebels quickly complied with his plans, and roughly half of them decided to go left. Disorganized and bustling, the rabble moved along at a fairly quick pace through the night, disappearing behind a row of buildings as they attempted to flank the Combine forces on the other side of the pile of the debris.

After the other half of the rebels had been gone for about thirty seconds, Avery declared to the rest: “Get ready! We’re about to charge the hill!” and everyone there gathered in a mass at the base of the haphazard pile of debris which lay in their path like a thicket of concrete thorns.

Ian was pressed into the crowd against his cousin, Tonya, who looked at him with confidence shining in her eyes. Although Ian did not share her utmost confidence, he was determined to make a dent on what Combine forces might lie on the other side of the hill. He gave his cousin a slight nod, hoping to God that she might survive the battle ahead; that they all might survive.

But who was he kidding? Death was inevitable. If not in this battle, then in another battle, his closest friends would probably die. Such was the fate of a rebel…someone who would die so that others might live in happiness.

At this point Ian began to think about his role in all of this, and what he would have done if there had been no invasion. He envisioned himself graduating high school and perhaps going to college in Western Europe or America…if he could afford it. His life would have been easier, and more fulfilling. But it wouldn’t be a worthwhile life, because it wouldn’t be a remembered one.

Then, Avery yelled at the top of his lungs, “Charge!”

Ian ran up to the pile of the debris and with the others easily climbed the huge, flat pieces of concrete which made it up, ascending the jagged hill to face his enemies. The other rebels did the same, albeit at slightly different rates, but all of them ended up at the peak of the hill at roughly the same time.

Ian placed his half-gloved right hand on a piece of concrete at the top of the hill. Grabbing a piece of rebar with his left hand, he pulled himself forcibly up to the top of the hill, and stood up, observing the dark battlefield before him.

Flashes of light from various explosions filled his vision, and he could now clearly see the progress of the battle between Harper’s forces and The Combine. He could see several of Harper’s downtrodden rebels barely holding out at the base of the hill, backed up like cornered animals and hiding behind pieces of debris and demolished cars and firing madly at the Combine forces ahead of them. The Combine troops, unlike the rebels were far more fortified behind a four foot metal barricade which had been strung hastily in front of an intersection in the road just a few yards ahead, firing their machine guns and lobbing grenades at the rebels from behind their barricaded bunkers. The Combine troops also possessed two APC’s, and most terrifyingly, a huge black tank which lumbered on its treads towards the helpless and cornered rebels…The reinforcements couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

Seeing the state of their comrades below, Avery’s rebels began firing at the Combine troops behind the barricade from above, no doubt surprising them greatly, and causing their attention to turn away from Harper’s forces at the base of the hill.

Ian pulled the submachine gun from the strap on his belt and fired an inaccurate burst towards one of the gunners on the short barricade, failing to hit the gunner, but at least getting his attention. Instantly a hail of plasma fire sprayed towards his position from the gunner, the hot projectiles slicing through the air around him like a swarm of bees.

But by the time the gunner could get a good shot at Ian, a burst of gunfire came from Ian’s left, clear and resonant. It had been a shot from his cousin Tonya’s sniper rifle, and the machine gunner instantly fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his chest.

Ian gave a nod of recognition to his cousin, and immediately began his task of getting down to the bottom of the hill. Although it was true that the high ground gave a definite advantage in battle, that advantage was negated by the fact that there was no cover at the top of the hill, making the rebels easy targets. The reinforcements would do Harper no good if they were all dead.

As rockets, grenades and bullets poured from the top of the hill, Ian half slid, half ran down the dangerously jumbled hill of concrete debris, making sure not to lose his balance, and keeping his eyes out constantly for the danger all around him.

In the night around him, fires burned throughout the buildings that would have otherwise have provided cover, and blue beams of plasma and bullet tracers from the crossfire of the two forces lit up the air like miniature sparks of fire.

Just as Ian reached the base of the hill unscathed, the other rebels began to see that they were helpless on top of the hill, and began to filter down the hill, all the while firing on the Combine forces ahead of them.

Just then, Ian noticed that on the other side of the barricade, the Combine soldiers began firing to the left, rather than ahead of them at Harper and Avery’s rebels. This was rather confusing, yet a relief, as fewer bullets flitted through the air. Upon further observation of the situation, Ian realized that the Combine forces were firing on the other half of Avery’s rebels, who had been sent to flank the Combine troops.

So their plan had worked! Ian observed carefully from behind a huge concrete rock as a Combine APC on the other side of the barricade turned its gun to the left, firing at an unseen foe. Suddenly, several rockets from rebel RPG launchers blasted into it from a distance, creating a huge flash of light and a massive boom and flipping the armored vehicle over from the force.

A cheer from both Harper and Avery’s forces at the sight of this clear victory against a Combine war machine behind the barricade, and their fighting morale increased dramatically. Finally seeing that they were being reinforced, Harper’s rebel forces left their hiding places and began to advance upon the barricade, almost charging in their new confidence.

Ian was excited as well. He hadn’t even effectively fired upon anyone in the battle, and already it felt like he was winning. Perhaps they could defeat the Combine! They could defeat them here and keep on advancing, straight to the Citadel, straight to Breen!

Caught up in the confusion, Ian hastily moved along with the other rebels along the dilapidated streets, charging towards the Combine barricade, and yelling his lungs out in a battle cry. However, running out from behind a huge piece of debris, Ian was stopped in his tracks as he came face to face with a huge lumbering mechanical beast.

His confidence instantly eroded as he came directly in the path of a Combine tank.
_________________________________________________________________________________

The shotgun cocked, clicking twice loudly directly in Gordon Freeman’s face. Surprised, he flew back voluntarily, pulling his plasma rifle up to the level of his eye to quickly defend against whoever was holding the shotgun before they killed him first.

But then, just as he was about to pull the trigger, a recognizable female voice questioned him, “Gordon? Is that you?”

His adrenaline clearing from his veins, Gordon looked closer to see who was holding the shotgun. It was none other than Alyx Vance.

“Alyx? Thank God it’s you!” He replied in relief, putting his gun down at his side. Alyx put down her weapon as well, dropping the shotgun on the body of a Combine prison guard that she had neutralized earlier.

“Gordon, I really didn’t expect to find you here! I thought for sure you would have died during the Combine assault on my father’s lab, or even in the journey here… I guess you’re here to rescue my father too, huh?”

Gordon nodded, his glasses reflecting the dim light of the security office. “Yes. Your father was a dear friend of mine when I used to work for Dr. Breen at the Black Mesa facility; I have no choice but to rescue him. It was really pretty hard getting here…it’s a long story. How did you get here, might I ask?”

Alyx turned away from him, and kicking the dead guard aside to get to the buzzing Combine computers on the wall she replied, “I rode one of the prisoner trains here that runs through the wasteland. It was tough staying put in that horrible train…I didn’t think I would make it out alive. I escaped from the train as it pulled into Nova Prospekt just in time to find the facility under attack by Antlions. I should have known you would be behind something like this, Dr. Freeman.”

Gordon took a pheromone spore out of his bag and showed it to her. “Let’s just say I have a way with the bugs…” he suggested, placing it back in his bag of spores.

“So what do we do now? Do you think we could tap into the security system to find out where your father and Dr. Mossman?” Gordon asked, looking around the room.

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Alyx replied, tapping on a keyboard and sifting through the various Combine menus which appeared on a huge blue holographic screen in front of her on the wall. Gordon watched this process, fascinated at her ability to sift through mounds of alien data and come up with clear facts. Gordon was also impressed at her ability to get here undetected on a train, while he had suffered much by manually driving there. Perhaps he should have been on that train, rather than effectively fighting his way across the wastelands around city 17.
 
Within a few seconds, Alyx had come up with a match. “I haven’t found my father yet,” she exclaimed, “but I have a match for Judith Mossman. Hmm, that’s odd; it says she wasn’t put in a cell. I’m bringing up the closest security camera. Let’s see if we can find her.

Alyx pressed a button on the security console and sure enough an image flashed onto the holographic screen. The face of Dr. Mossman filled the screen, her eyes looking at something unseen nearby. Her face was overdone with makeup and her mouth was contorted into a grimace as she spoke passionately to some unseen person off-screen.

“You promised he wouldn’t be hurt!” She exclaimed, almost spitting with anger at whoever she was talking to.

Another voice echoed on the speakers of the Combine holographic station, “Now, now Judith,” the voice asserted, calm and resonant, “you know he’s a revolutionary…a political criminal. I can’t jut set him free to roam the facility. Although I admired his work at the Black Mesa facility, I refuse to set him free until he has been properly…evaluated. Now I have known Dr. Vance as long as you have Judith, and when you handed him over to me I had very good intentions for both you and him. I promise you he won’t be harmed.”

Gordon instantly recognized the voice as that of Dr. Breen. He could feel a wave of disbelief and revelation flooding over him, and he could see it overcoming Alyx as well. Mossman had betrayed them.

“I’ve seen enough.” Alyx exclaimed bitterly, flipping off of the channel and continuing her search for her father. “This is completely unbelievable,” she continued nearly crying with emotion, “I can’t believe that…that… how…why?” She trailed off, her words disappearing into an angry silence.

Gordon placed his gloved hand on her shoulder, commiserating with her, “I know. It’s clear now…we knew someone on the inside had to have betrayed us to The Combine. I think she had at least had good intentions… we’ll show her.”

Alyx grimaced and replied, “Yeah, we’ll teach her where her allegiances should lie… but first I have to find my father.” Now with a twinge of violence in her fingers, Alyx typed on the Combine keyboard vigorously and soon was able to find a hint of her father somewhere in the facility.

“Here he is. He’s being held in one of the prison pods in cellblock 4A. It’s just a short distance from here. Follow me and we’ll go there together,” she suggested, flipping off the screen and picking up her things to go and seek out her father.

Gordon felt sorry for her. He had no idea what she was going through, seeing her father betrayed by a close friend. Gordon suddenly remembered his own father…he had promised to go to his retirement party the month before the…incident at Black Mesa. His father had worked for NASA as a supervisor of shuttle launch operations. But none of that mattered now, for Gordon was sure that his father had died during the invasion.

Gordon agreed to help Alyx find her father, and he followed her with his plasma rifle in hand out of the security office and onto the multiple catwalks that spider-webbed the facility. They walked side by side, keeping their weapons ready in front of them and their eyes focused on what danger might lie around them.
Luckily, the Antlions had already passed through the immediate area, and had taken care of most of the Combine prison guards, leaving only decimated barricades and the masked carcasses of dead Combine guards. Silently, Alyx and Gordon made their way through the abandoned facility towards the cellblock where Dr. Vance was being held.

Gordon thought about what they would do after they had rescued Dr. Vance from his prison pod… they certainly couldn’t just take him out of the facility on their own. Also, what were they going to do about Dr. Mossman? Gordon thought it would be too barbaric to kill her for her betrayal, but they couldn’t just let her go either. He supposed that they would at least take her back to the rebels in city-17 and have them do what they may with her. He had heard of some kind of teleportation device being in the facility. Perhaps they could use that to escape.

In the next few minutes, Alyx and Gordon had traversed a great distance without coming to any resistance to hamper their progress. But, as Gordon reasoned, they were long overdue for a Combine squad to descend upon them at any moment. It was when they began to hear distant gunshots ringing off of the concrete walls that his fears were realized.

“Dr. Freeman,” Alyx uttered quietly, “I think we’re about to come to a battle between your Antlions and the combine prison guards. Now, we’re very near the place where my father is being held, and I don’t want to screw up just before we get there. I would really like to avoid these Combine troops up ahead, but I’m afraid we might not have a choice but to fight them… So here is what I want you to do: when we get to the place where they’re fighting, I want you to toss in a few of those spores you have, and we’ll use them as a distraction as we cross the cellblock. Do you understand?”

Gordon obliged and responded, “Yeah that sounds like the best Idea. I could imagine that there are a bunch of Antlions on the roof, as I can see and hear them. I think I’ll shoot out one of the skylights and then throw the spore so they’ll come though and take care of those Combine troops for us. Just don’t worry about it Alyx, I’ll take care of everything.”

So, determined and resolute, the two of them continued across their current cellblock over the catwalk and towards the next cellblock, where Alyx determined Dr. Vance was being held. Passing around the concrete wall which signified the beginning of the next block, Freeman and Alyx came upon a raging battle.

In the blue tinged moonlight of the cellblock, Gordon could see along the walkways and the tiled cellblock floor several combine prison guards, dressed in their dark uniforms and black gas masks and firing their weaponry around the room like madmen as the yellow Antlion insects came at them from all sides, ferociously clawing at them in a rage and attempting to corner the outgunned guards into small groups.

Gordon had no hesitation. He immediately fired a burst of plasma shells towards the skylight in the ceiling, from which he could see the cloudy night sky and the moon. His fire blasted into the skylight, shattering the glass and causing it to fall as glittering shards onto the ground like snow. Then, he removed a spore from his bag and threw it to the ground below the catwalk.

The spore exploded amongst a group of unsuspecting Combine soldiers, and a black cloud of Antlion pheromones quickly rose up and dissipated in the air around them. Instantly thereafter, Freeman heard the high pitched shriek of several Antlions on top of the roof, and even more of the massive insects began pouncing through the hole in the skylight Freeman had made, hovering on their wings onto the heads of the horribly unfortunate Combine troops below.

“Quick, let’s go!” Alyx exclaimed, sprinting across the catwalk as the Combine guards were distracted by the horde of Antlions who ripped them to shreds with their sharp claws and mandibles. Gordon followed her, his boots clanking against the metal catwalk, his heart racing.

Unfortunately, one of the Combine guards on another catwalk hadn’t been affected by the Antlion onslaught, and he noticed them running across the cellblock. “We’ve got a code one on Freeman! Repeat, code one Freeman!” He yelled through his gasmask, firing on their position.

Bullets screamed past them, and Alyx pulled out her automatic pistol from its holster, and began a firefight with the Combine soldier. Her accuracy was impressive, and she easily picked him off in one burst, sending his body over the rail of the catwalk and causing it to fall in the fray below.

Alyx and Gordon continued, and came to a huge black metal door with the words, “MAXIMUM SECURITY CONFINEMENT” emblazoned on them in huge white letters. “Quick, we’ve got to get this open!” Freeman exclaimed, looking back at the cellblock they had just crossed for any sign of Combine troops coming their way.

“I’ve got it under control,” Alyx explained, taking some sort of strange Combine tool out of her pocket. She stepped forward, towards the door, and used her tool on a small panel nearby, sending out a tiny energy beam towards it and decoding whatever was used to keep the door locked.

Suddenly, on the far side of the catwalk, Gordon could see a squad of Combine soldiers entering the cellblock, looking for them. “Uh oh, we’ve got company! Hurry up!” Freeman exclaimed, firing at the Combine troops as they advanced onto the catwalk.

“Almost there…” she mumbled nervousness on her breath. Seconds later, there was an earsplitting screech, and the door opened slowly with clunky mechanical motion. “There, I got it! Get in here Freeman!” She practically screamed, rushing into the doorway with bullets flitting around her and ricocheting off of the metal panels around the door.

Gordon fired a few more inaccurate shots at the Combine soldiers at the far end of the room, and then quickly backed into the doorway. Her mind alert, Alyx pressed a button on the panel and the door closed behind him, shrieking and thumping metallically.

“Oh God, Alyx,” Freeman exclaimed, “how are we going to keep them from getting in here?” Alyx pulled out her pistol and fired point-blank at the electronic panel that controlled the door’s movement, sending sparks flying and causing the system to become inactive. “This ought to take care of them for a while…” She suggested, taking her attention off of the door and moving into the room that they had just come into.

Gordon followed suit, and turned his attention on his surroundings. They were in a relatively small room that was dominated by a huge metal device in the center of the room that looked like some sort of massive test tube holder, tall and cylindrical.

Behind this device was a row of large pane-glass windows that revealed what lay beyond: an enormous cavern lined in literally thousands of tiny prisoner pods on an innumerable number of racks up to the ceiling of the cavern, perhaps a hundred feet higher than where they were standing.

“My God, there must be thousands of prisoners in there!” Gordon exclaimed. Alyx nodded and replied, “Yeah, and my father is one of them. Come on, I’ll get him in here so we can talk to him.” Alyx walked over to a security console next to the large pod holder in the center of the room, and typed a few keys on the keyboard of the device.

As she was doing this, Gordon heard a massive bang on the doors. The Combine soldiers were trying to break the doors down. “You better hurry up,” Freeman told her, “I don’t think we have much time.”

Alyx simply muttered something under her breath and continued typing. “Here he comes,” she said, stepping away from the console and looking out of the huge glass windows at the rows and rows of prisoner pods. Looking for any sign of movement, Gordon saw a crane picking one of the pods out of the innumerable others, and bringing it forward, towards the glass. Then with a hiss, one of the glass panels lifted up, and allowed the dark metal pod to enter into the glass tube for observation.

Alyx pressed a button next to the tube, and another robotic arm extended from the ceiling and flipped up the metal cover on the front of the round metal pod, exposing the prisoner underneath. Gordon instantly recognized the degraded figure inside the pod as Dr. Eli Vance, his face ashen and his demeanor melancholy.

When he saw Freeman and Alyx however, his face lit up. “Alyx, Gordon! It really is you! I thought you would leave me here for good, but you’ve come to rescue me! Is everyone alright?”

Alyx pressed near to the glass and spoke excitedly, “Dad! I came here on one of the trains, and Gordon took your buggy. Most of the rebels were able to escape Black Mesa East, and now they’re in the middle of a revolution! I’m going to get you out of here dad, I promise.”

Vance smiled at this and then asked, “And Mossman? Is she alright?” Gordon watched as Alyx’s face contorted in anger, and he took the opportunity to respond to Dr. Vance himself, “Mossman is fine…I’m sorry to tell you this, but she was the one who betrayed our position to the Combine, Dr. Vance. She was the one who set us all up.”

“Hmm,” Vance groaned in disbelief, “I can’t believe it! She’s always been my faithful colleague, and this is how she repays me?” Alyx nodded and replied, “I know father, I know. Don’t worry about her, she’s just being used by Breen now. I’m going to move you to the teleporter chamber, okay dad? We don’t have much time, and I can’t leave you here. I’ll meet with you there and we’ll all teleport back to Kleiner’s lab together.”

“Alright honey,” he consented, “I’ll see you there. Stay safe, and keep Dr. Freeman close. I’ll just have to have a talk with Judith Mossman myself.”

Alyx kissed the glass, and pressed the button, sending Dr. Vance back into the room of pods, where he was then transferred to the teleport chamber. There was another thud on the metal doorway, loud and piercing. “We don’t have much time,” Alyx concluding, jogging over to another door next to the security console, “we can get to the teleporter through here. Just beyond this door is the room where we first saw Mossman on the security monitor. I’m sure she’s still in there. You just let me do the talking and we’ll get her to help us get out of here.”

Gordon consented, and just as the Combine troops broke through the security doors with a colossal smash, they had gone through the other security door and locked it behind them. Now they were on a short stairwell above a small room. Ahead of them was a glass paneled wall behind which various Combine machines were buzzing. Standing in front of the rows of machines was Dr. Mossman, her hands draped across her chest and tears streaming down her face.

Seeing her there, Alyx stomped angrily up to the glass, and attempted to open a door which would lead into the enclave, but she found it locked. “Let me in!” She screamed, beating on the glass and getting Mossman’s attention.

The redheaded traitor looked up, surprised. “Alyx…?” she mouthed in disbelief. She ran over to the door and opened it, allowing Alyx and Gordon to enter.

“Oh thank God you’re here!” She said in a fake tone of concern, “they captured me and…” She was cut off,

“Shut up.” Alyx demanded, “You betrayed all of us. You’re the one who brought my father here. You’re nothing but a liar and a cheat!”

Mossman put her hand up to her mouth in shock and replied, “Alyx, I was only trying to save my own life…Breen discovered us earlier, and I bargained with him so that he would let us live. He just wanted us to work on the teleporter for him…”

“Likely story,” Alyx snapped, “how do you explain that Breen was about to torture him then? I don’t trust you for one second you lying snake! I would kill you now if I had the chance… but I need you. You’re going to operate the teleporter for us and take me, my father and Freeman with you back to Kleiner’s lab, got it?”
 
Mossman had an eerie smile on her face as she responded, “Of course Alyx. Dr. Breen was starting to frighten me anyway. I really regret giving away the information…Breen’s just not the same man I’ve known. His personality has changed with power. I truly thought he was going to kill us all…But why use me for the teleporter,” she looked at Gordon in disdain, “when you’ve got him? Isn’t he more qualified than I at operating a teleporter device?”

Freeman was about to reply when Alyx cut him off, “We all know you’re jealous of Freeman and his role at Black Mesa, Judith. But this little escapade isn’t about that, it’s about you and your greed! Come on, you’re coming with us to the teleporter.”

Alyx held her pistol to Mossman’s head and together all three of them came up to a door emblazoned with the words, “CAUTION: TELEPORTER, RADIATION HAZARD. BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED!” and Alyx forced Mossman to place her hand on a biometric scanner right next to the door. It beeped, and the door opened to accept them, allowing them to enter the teleporter chamber.

The Combine teleporter was massive, perhaps twice the size of Dr. Kleiner’s teleporter, but still much smaller than the Lambda teleporter at Black Mesa. It was comprised of about a dozen teleporter rings, a personnel platform, and a gigantic teleportation beam convergence device, which acted like a huge mirror to sequence and magnify beams of quantum particles to create the teleportation portal. Gordon was intrigued by the device, but frankly he was a bit more concerned with his survival at the time.

The three of them walked up to the platform in front of the teleporter, and Alyx suggested, “Right, now that we’re here I’ll get my father’s pod transferred to the teleporter. Mossman, you will set up the parameters while I make sure you do it right. While we’re at it, why don’t you set up some floor turrets for us to protect us from the Combine guards that will probably get in here, Gordon?”

Gordon looked about the room, and discovered several cabinets lined with turrets which could be mounted on tripods and set automatically to attack specific targets. “Alright, I’ll take care of it,” he responded, quickly getting on his task and moving towards the turrets.

While he was doing this, Alyx and Mossman began fiddling on separate consoles, attempting to get the teleporter started and Dr. Vance into the room. Seconds later, there was a loud mechanical cranking noise, and a pod entered the room from a hole in the ceiling, suspended on a metal track with its front cover open, revealing the face of Dr. Eli Vance.

“So this is the Combine teleporter,” he remarked, “It’s smaller than I imagined!” His pod moved along the track until it came to the main platform of the teleporter, where it was turned around and placed inside the teleportation rings. “Don’t worry dad,” Alyx said, “We’ll be getting you out of here in no time.”

As all of this was going on, Gordon took several floor turrets off of their racks and began setting them up in strategic positions, aimed towards the entrances to the teleporter chamber. He didn’t want any Combine soldiers to make it through to the teleporter, and he ensured that they would have a hellish time getting past the crossfire of several floor turrets.

Once he had done this, Gordon came back to the main platform. “All of the turrets have been set up. I think we should have an easy time staying covered now.” He reported, going over to the console where Alyx was working.

“Excellent.” She replied, “I think I have a connection with Dr. Kleiner. Can you hear me, doctor?” She spoke into a microphone on top of the console, trying to maintain radio contact with him. Suddenly, his pristine voice came crackling over the radio, “Oh Alyx, its you! I thought for sure you wouldn’t have been able to make it this far. Are you in the teleportation chamber?”

Alyx responded that they were indeed in the teleportation chamber, and that she needed the codes for teleportation to his lab. He gave them to her. But then, just when they thought they were going to get out of there, something strange happened.

“I’m sorry,” Mossman said from somewhere behind them, a condescending overtone in her voice, “But I just can’t let you do this.” Alyx and Gordon turned around in surprise to see the teleportation rings spinning, and Mossman and Vance both standing on the teleporter platform, glowing with energy.

Before either Alyx or Gordon could say anything, they had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

”That conniving bitch!” Alyx shrieked, running up to the teleporter and beating the air where they had been before they disappeared. “Where did they go?” Gordon asked into the microphone, demanding a response from Kleiner on the situation.

“I don’t know,” came the response, “She seems to have switched the codes at the last second. They could be anywhere…”

The reality began to set in on them…the people that they had come there to save had disappeared; probably to some other Combine prison. Now, they were alone in a teleportation chamber with nowhere to go, and with hundreds of Combine soldiers coming for them.

“Dear God,” Gordon exclaimed, “What are we going to do Alyx?” She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, and then began typing furiously on the console, “We’ll teleport out of here ourselves. I’m designing it so that it’ll cause a resonance cascade just as we leave. It’s risky, but I think we can do it and still survive. If we can’t get my father back, we might as well blow these bastards up in the process.”

A resonance cascade…she wanted to cause the one thing that had ruined the world in the first place. Perhaps though, in this context, a cascade wouldn’t be the worst of offenses. The Combine teleporter was just a general teleporter, not a trans-dimensional teleporter. At worst a cascade would simply cause a catastrophic explosion about equal to that of an atomic bomb…it was nothing too serious to worry about.

“Alright,” Gordon consented, “Just tell me when we can go.” Alyx continued typing on the keyboard and responded, “I’ll just be a few minutes. I’ll have it soon.” Then, suddenly, there was a huge bang as the Combine troops broke through one of the security doors leading into the teleportation chamber. Smoke poured into the room as several Combine elite troops, dressed in all white with singular red eyes on their white gas masks began running in to the room, taking a massive stream of fire from the floor turrets Gordon had placed all around the room.

“Gordon, hold them off! We just have 30 seconds before the teleporter is operation again! Just don’t let them get to us!” Alyx screamed beyond the gunfire…but Gordon didn’t need her to tell him what to do: he was already firing a steady stream of plasma at the squad of Combine soldiers that was already getting wasted by the crossfire from all the turrets Gordon had placed in the room.

Just as Gordon began to run out of ammunition, Alyx exclaimed, “Alright, teleporter power is at 100 percent! Quick, you better get in before the cascade starts!”

Gordon backed up, still firing at the Combine troops, and stepped onto the teleporter platform with Alyx at his side. The teleporter rings began to spin, and Gordon saw through their blurry light that the Combine soldiers were knocking over his turrets, and more and more were storming the room.

And then, just as a series of explosions began rattling the room from the beginnings of a resonance cascade, the two of them disappeared into the void.

-Chapter 51, The War-
 
*Claps* nicely done , Best way of getting Gordon to talk I've ever heard in a Story
 
Terrible news...due to some unfortunate parental intervention due to legal/privacy issues, the future of this fanfiction lies in jeapordy. An investigation into the whereabouts of this site is pending, and I may be able to continue this fanfiction, but until I have clear answers, the next chapter is delayed indefinatley.
 
Wuh-wuh-what? Nooo.

..

Nooo. Lamer. :(
 
Yes, it could go either way. It might just all blow over, or I might run into serious problems. For now, I will continue to write my chapters but will refrain from posting them until I get a confirmation.
 
theotherguy said:
Terrible news...due to some unfortunate parental intervention due to legal/privacy issues, the future of this fanfiction lies in jeapordy. An investigation into the whereabouts of this site is pending, and I may be able to continue this fanfiction, but until I have clear answers, the next chapter is delayed indefinatley.
Click to expand...

Wait...what? Your parents want to investigate this site o_O?
 
yes. They are technophobic and beleive everyone on the internet is attempting to steal my identity. They also think that hl2.net has a secret plot to steal my fanfiction and publish it.

*sigh* parents.
 
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