Half-life2:Resistance

Well, you know what they say, better late than never. Great stuff man, great stuff...
 
good stuff, but it is still following the story in the game.


My new years resolution:
to play through half-life 2 in less than a day.
 
I do not see people's problems with it following the story of the game. I mean, this is not a new story, it is fan fiction. It is the telling of the half-life story. It will get fairly different later on, but you have to realize that I write this story for a different audiance than people aquainted with hl2. I write this story for people who have never even heard of it, particularly my freinds at my school and the people of other sites.

anyway, enough of this, here is my next chapter!

-Chapter 37, Fugitives-

Dr. Breen sat with his hands behind his head, leaning back in his leather chair. The clock on his desk clicked and then chimed. It was 8 AM, still quite early by Breen’s standards. Already he had done so many things today. Dr. Breen was a very busy man; for not only was he the mayor of City 17, but he was the ruler of the entire world. Just today he had sent police to quarantine an apartment block, looking for a mysterious fugitive. Equally, Breen had just sent a group of soldiers to gas the jungles of Southeast Asia to suppress the rebellion that had started there.

Yes, Breen was quite an important man. Yet, something still nagged him as he relaxed in his comfortable chair. He needed to give his daily report to The Overwatch, his superior on Xen. He always dreaded these reports, because The Overwatch treated him like a servant, something that was unheard of on Planet Earth.

Therefore, Breen delayed his report by recording the next BreenCast through the machine behind his desk. In his speech, Dr. Breen warned that any citizens choosing to help fugitives would be immediately enslaved or executed. Satisfied with his charismatic speech, Dr. Breen hit a button, and watched as his signal was broadcast to every Breenscreen in the city.

His voice echoed through the halls of the Citadel, and over every speaker in the whole of City-17. His face stared back at him on the screen behind his desk, and looked out over all the people of the city via the Breenscreens. It made him feel like a god.

So, basking in his own glory, Dr. Wallace Breen sat in his office doing nothing for a bit more. The office was silent, with nothing but the sound of his ticking clock and the hum of the device behind him which he used to record BreenCasts. In the faint distance, he could hear the low rumble of the machinery of the Citadel, doing his bidding and producing his armies. His office, his own personal temple, was lit generously by the light which streamed in through his barred windows, playing with the dust particles in the air.

He wondered how he had got there, how he had taken the entire world in such a short time. Wallace Breen had always been a nerd in school, always the one to be made fun of, (especially with such a name as Wallace.) He, like most of his colleagues, had graduated from an Ivy League school. His school in particular was Yale; and he had graduated with a doctorate in Theoretical Physics. He had started a small research lab in Virginia, doing privately funded research on the art of teleportation.

Once he had discovered the secret to teleporting objects from one place to another, he tried to publish his findings, and was immediately stopped by the government. The government, apparently had already regulated research on teleportation, and they moved Dr. Breen to the Black Mesa Research Facility; a large underground concrete facility in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico.

They gave him a large sum of money, his choice of skilled workers, and a lab that had already been researching teleportation for the past fifty years. All of this, of course, was compensation for the “Top Secret” sign that they had practically stamped to his forehead. He couldn’t go anywhere, he couldn’t have a family, and he had to live in the middle of the desert. He had personally found a way to get to Xen, and of course, the rest of his story was history.

Dr. Breen sat reminiscing for a few more minutes when he suddenly heard a noise. The sound loudly filled the room like a freight train, filling Dr. Breen’s mind and throwing his concentration. The noise was like the sound of thunder, zapping and churning.

Breen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a point of light, brightly shining in the corner of his office. The light cast multicolored rays across his office like some sort of fantastic disco ball. Suddenly, the point of light widened and grew. It looked as if space itself were ripping to pieces. The tear grew even wider, glowing with a white glow and outlined in a rainbow of color. All of this took much less than a second.

Then, as suddenly as the window had appeared, the figure of a man emerged from the tear, glowing in light. Breen could see that the man was dressed in some sort of strange orange suit, wore glasses and sported a goatee. No…thought Breen, it couldn’t be!

Dr. Breen hurriedly got up from his desk and flailed his arms in the air. “What is the meaning of this?” He demanded, glaring at the man in the corner of his office, “Who are you? How did you get in here?” Dr. Breen moved away from his desk and towards the man, who was still glowing.

But as soon as Breen started walking towards him, there was a flash of light, and the man disappeared. Breen practically ran over to where the man had been standing. He had been there only a moment before. Breen got down on his hands and knees, searching the carpet and finding nothing by the means of a trap door. He glanced around the room and saw nothing.

The man had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Breen went back to his desk and pushed a small red button. A distorted voice came over a speaker on his desk. “Yes, Governor?” it said. Breen put his mouth to the microphone on his desk and angrily ordered, “Get me the Overwatch! There has been a security breach!” The voice acknowledged, “Right away sir!”

Breen thought about what he had just seen. The man had been there only for a second; but that was still long enough for Breen to get a good look at him. He had been wearing a bulky orange suit, he had glasses on, and he had a goatee. His image was unmistakable. Dr. Breen grumbled in discontent.

Gordon Freeman had been in his office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Kleiner’s lab was silent as the rotors of the teleporter slowly began to stop. Dr. Kleiner continued to stare at his machine while Ian and the others stood there dumbfounded. Gordon Freeman had been lost. “Well, Doc, You seem to have really screwed up this time!” Barney commented, kicking a piece of scorched debris on the ground that apparently had come out of the teleporter.

Everyone there seemed disheartened and unknowing of what to do next. They just hung their heads low, and looked at the charred remains of the teleporter every so often. They had just lost their greatest ally only minutes after he had arrived. Ironically, Lamar the headcrab was alive and well, albeit with a few scrapes and burns.

After a few moments of this silence, the machine in front of Dr. Kleiner began beeping. The old bald scientist looked at the screen passively, and then did a double-take. “Wow, I have a lock on him, I have a lock!” He exclaimed excitedly, punching buttons and starting the teleporter back up.

“Where is he doc?” the image of Dr. Vance asked on the screen on the other wall of the room. Dr. Kleiner shook his head and gave a nervous laugh. “You’re not going to believe this Eli…but he’s in The Citadel!” Eli Vance gasped, “My God, The Citadel? You’ve got to bring him back; he’ll never survive in there!”

Ian could feel the excitement building up in the room as Dr. Kleiner hysterically pressed buttons and flipped switches on his fantastic machine. “Alright, I’ve got him! I’m attempting to bring him back now!” Dr. Kleiner exclaimed eccentrically, pressing another set of buttons.

There was a huge sound, and a sudden flash of light, and there in the teleporter appeared Gordon Freeman. There was a collective cheer from everyone in the room as the image of Gordon came into view yet again.

“Gordon!” Yelled Dr. Kleiner over the howl of the machinery, “We’re going to get you out of there! Don’t Worry!” Just as he said this, however, the image of Gordon Flickered away, and he disappeared again. “Oh, fie, I lost him again!” Kleiner said, literally beating his head against the plaster wall.

“Not quite, Isaac,” reassured the video feed of Eli Vance, “He just appeared here in the lab! Oh wait…no…now he’s gone!” Gordon had disappeared from Eli’s lab as well. Dr. Kleiner yelled out in frustration, “Lamar! This was your fault old girl! You have been a very bad headcrab.” Barney Calhoun replied, “I told you to get rid of that old head humper Dr. Kleiner. I warned you!”

Ian wondered if they would ever be able to get Gordon back. After all, their life depended on it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
“Overwatch, please tell me what is going on!” Dr. Wallace Breen pleaded to the image of the fat, ugly slug that was The Overwatch. The trans-dimensional image of the gigantic worm creature quivered, and a voice came over the speakers of Dr. Breen’s machine.

The voice was female, and had a British accent. This was always the voice that the Overwatch chose when speaking to humans. Nobody knew just how the gigantic worm-like creature produced this voice, but most of them agreed on telepathy.

“Why have you called me, Breen? I did not ask for you so soon! Explain yourself!” The Overwatch ordered menacingly. Dr. Breen hesitantly continued, “Overwatch…uh…there was an intruder only a few minutes ago. There was someone in my office. I don’t know how they got in…they simply appeared.”

Still in the same, almost monotone voice, the Overwatch replied, “This is unacceptable, Dr. Breen. You cannot allow intruders to enter The Citadel…our secrecy is vital.” Dr. Breen shook his head, “But you must understand, Overwatch, that this…man simply teleported into this very room. There was no warning. He simply appeared for a couple of seconds and then disappeared!”

This time, the worm made a cross between a gurgle and a hiss, and retorted, “I sense that such a teleportation is not a very good thing, Breen. We must crush whoever has done this. Tell me, did you recognize this man who teleported into your office?”

Of course Breen had recognized the man. He had been sure and certain of the man’s appearance. “Yes,” he replied, “I could have sworn that it was…” Breen was cut of suddenly by another massive sound from the corner of his office, zapping and buzzing; this noise was exactly as before.

Breen shot his head around to see that the man had teleported back into his office. Breen finished his sentence with hard, annunciated anger, “Gordon Freeman.” But then, Freeman disappeared yet again.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

“Wait, I have a lock on him again!” Dr. Kleiner exclaimed, “Here, he’s back in The Citadel....” Everyone’s attention perked up yet again. They would get a second chance. “Oh…oh no, his signal is gone again! I can’t find him…” Kleiner reported hesitantly, carefully checking his readings.

Ian was getting tired of the inconsistencies with the teleporter machine. But, on the other hand, at least Gordon was staying around the City 17 area, and not going anywhere else, like, say, the top of Mount Everest.

In frustration, Kleiner yelled out, “Where is he?” It was Dr. Vance who responded from the monitor. Pointing towards Dr. Kleiner, Eli Vance responded, “Look, out there! He’s right behind you!” The group collectively looked towards the window behind Dr. Kleiner, and saw Gordon Freeman standing there with a dazed expression on his face and a rainbow glow about him.

“Oh dear,” Dr. Kleiner exclaimed in alarm. Ian too, was surprised at the sudden appearance of Gordon just outside of their window. Thinking quickly, Dr. Vance instructed Kleiner, “Quick! Shut it down before he leaves again!” Dr. Kleiner looked about the machine, and pressed a single button.

The rotors of the teleporter slowly stopped moving, and the air around Gordon stopped glowing, and he was left in a normal light. “Gordon Freeman,” said Dr. Kleiner, “It is safe to say that you have now returned to the third dimension. I hope you are alright?” Gordon freeman gave a nervous nod, but kept looking over his shoulder.

Ian watched as Gordon turned around outside of the window to face none other than two hovering scanners. Ian felt fear as he saw the two tiny machines fly up with their spotlights on. They were in danger of being seen. “Ah! Scanners! Quick, break us down!” Kleiner exclaimed, pushing a button which turned off the lights and closed a curtain in front of the window, leaving the room dark and musty.

Apparently, this had happened before, and Barney knew to shut down the machine that had Dr. Vance in its monitor and the other machines monitoring the teleporter. “God help us! I hope that they did not see us…” Dr. Kleiner whispered, crouching down beneath the window.

“Don’t worry about it, Doc, those scanners are as dumb as a brick! What we need to worry about is Gordon! I can sure as hell say that they saw him. If he stays out there too much longer then The Combine will be all over us like frat guys on a piece of pizza!” Dr. Kleiner replied, “Dear me, Calhoun, you always have the most colorful analogies! But you are right; in any case, we need to get Gordon out of here! Ian, why don’t you and Tonya escort Gordon through the canals and to Dr. Vance’s lab? I am sure, since you know the area, that such a feat could be accomplished!”

Ian thought about it for a moment. They needed to distract The Combine, and leading them in a chase through the murky canals would serve as an excellent diversion, although it would put Gordon Tonya and him all in the direct line of danger. It wasn’t a decision for him to make; they vitally needed to get The Combine to go away from Kleiner’s lab and into another part of the city.
 
“Of course I could accommodate that, Isaac. Just give me some means to defend myself, and I will gladly escort Dr. Freeman to Eli’s lab.” Ian replied, getting up from the crouching position he was in. “Dr. Kleiner, you want me to go too?” Tonya asked skeptically. Dr. Kleiner nodded, “Of course, you proved a viable fighter in Ravenholm, and I can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t excel here.” Tonya immediately smiled and had a look of excitement about her. “I can’t wait!” She exclaimed.

Barney Calhoun went over to a knee-high green crate. Calhoun lifted a handle on the crate, and opened it up, revealing a stash of submachine guns and ammunition. He took two out, loaded them, and gave one of each to Ian and Tonya. “Here, you’ll need these,” he said, handing the heavy metal objects to Ian and Tonya, “I would go with you, but I’ve got to stay here and hold the fort in case The Combine decide to crash the party.”

Ian cocked the familiar MP7 and replied to all, “Alright guys, wish me luck. I’ll try to get to Dr. Vance’s lab without too many holes in me.” Tonya went by his side as he moved towards the side door. “Good luck and God bless you both!” Dr. Kleiner said, waving them off.

Ian moved the objects from the olive drab door that he had used to block it, and opened it with a squeak. Tonya and Ian crossed out of the dark lab and into the daylight beyond. He needed to find Gordon Freeman as quickly as possible to get him to Eli’s lab. All of this had been so sudden, Ian never expected to even meet the legend that was Gordon Freeman, let alone that he would be responsible for guarding the man’s life. Ian thought about why he had come back to Dr. Kleiner’s lab in the first place. He remembered that he was supposed to be negotiating a compromise between Vance and Kleiner on the matter of the destruction of The Citadel. He doubted that such a petty conflict mattered anymore. Freeman had united them.

The morning air was fresh and inviting, and the sky had cleared up since he had last been outside. Ian’s skin was warmed by the sun which just now was reaching up to a quarter of its intended height in the sky. Ian was facing the whitewashed brick of the building immediately North of Dr. Kleiner’s lab. Gordon had last been seen in the back area of Dr. Kleiner’s lab, so Ian went to the left down the alleyway.

Even then, Ian could hear the distant sirens of the Combine police APCs and the high whirs of scanners as they buzzed about the air…looking for Gordon, looking for him. But also, in the distance, Ian could hear a very loud metallic thud sounding every couple of seconds. “Ian,” said Tonya, pointing behind Ian in the direction of the sound, “Look at that!” He looked towards the sound and saw that it was coming from the massive monolith, The Citadel, which he could clearly see over all of the buildings. The Citadel was in a state of motion, with its mechanical parts driving up and down and making a sound like a sledgehammer hitting an anvil. But the most disturbing quality of The Citadel at this moment was the black cloud of particles it was producing at an alarming rate.

The particles swirled around the citadel like a massive swarm, and fell from the Citadel around City 17 in all places. Ian had never seen anything like it. Squinting to see the particles better, Ian was shocked to see that those tiny black dots were actually scanners. The entire moving black cloud was really a massive swarm of those tiny annoying machines. Ian now understood the massive power that the Citadel had. With production power like that, he would never be able to escape The Combine’s prying eye.

“Come on Tonya, we can’t just waste time gawking at The Citadel here, we need to find Gordon.” He said, turning her away from the sight of the gigantic and terrifying Citadel. The truth was, Ian was more worried about The Citadel than anything. If it was doing this, it must mean that Gordon had been discovered. Why else would The Combine be so frantic to send out so many scanners? Ian quickened his pace a bit, and continued down the alleyway.

He came to a chain-linked fence with a doorway cut into it. On the other side, Ian could see the large metal electrical transformers that powered the lab. It appeared that Kleiner used these transformers to power his lab without it interfering with the Combine’s main power supply; it was a very clever way to avoid detection.

Ian looked beyond the chain-link fence, and by sheer luck, he saw a man with glasses and a Goatee wearing an orange suit just beyond the transformers. It was Gordon Freeman. Freeman was poised there with some sort of red crowbar in hand, whacking frantically in the air like a baseball player, trying to hit two small, yet very loud scanners which followed him and continually took pictures of his plight.

“Dr. Freeman!” Ian called out from behind the fence while waving to gain Gordon’s attention. Gordon stopped swinging at the scanners with his red metal crowbar, and looked towards the two. “Ah, it’s you! I thought that I would be left out here alone! Could you help me with these…annoying things?” He said, pointing at the small scanners, which continued to circle him with their spotlights shining in his face.

At that moment, Ian thought of Gordon as a complete idiot. Didn’t he know that the scanners would give away his position? But then, Ian realized, no, Gordon wouldn’t take that fact into consideration. If Freeman was telling the truth, he had practically just been born that morning, and had a serious case of amnesia.

“Hold on, Dr. Freeman!” Ian shouted, “Get as far away from the scanners as you can!” Freeman acknowledged by quickly backing away from the minuscule flying machines and crouching low. Ian quickly went through the gate of the chain-link fence, and took careful aim at the scanners with his sub machine gun.

He let out two quick bursts of fire, both of which hit one of the scanners. The scanner simply exploded. There was a loud pop, and the scanner’s pieces flew away from the flame of the explosion like shrapnel, and the main body of the scanner crashed into the ground. The other machine was hit by a piece of shrapnel from the one that had exploded.

Damaged, the other scanner began to go out of control, spinning and swerving all over the place while making a loud beeping noise. It flew around for a bit more, and then crashed into one of the walls of Kleiner’s lab and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Well, Ian thought, he had no idea that those things were so effortless to destroy. He had always wanted to take a shot at one of those annoying machines. To destroy both scanners made him feel like he was fighting out against control…it was relieving.

“Is everyone alright?” He asked, once the smoke had cleared. Gordon got up from his crouching position, and got to a point where Ian could see him. “Thank you for that! I would have helped you, if I had been better equipped.” Gordon said, walking towards Ian.

“Dr. Freeman, I am ever so sorry that the teleportation went horribly wrong. I hope that nothing too bad happened during that…” Gordon shook his head, “Well,” he replied, “I was teleported directly into the office of Breen. I’m utmost certain that he knows that I am here now. No doubt he is looking for me.”

Ian opened his eyes wide, “You teleported right into Dr. Breen’s office? My God, that must have been insane! I would have loved to see the expression on that bigot’s face!” Tonya added, “Yeah, you should have taken a shot at him, Dr. Freeman!” Gordon managed a smirk, “Well, he was pretty surprised, but I didn’t have enough time to do anything, I was only there for a second. And please, call me Gordon.”

At that moment, a particularly loud thud came from the direction of the Citadel. All of them looked towards the sound, and saw a massive cloud of particles rise out of it. “Come on Gordon, we don’t have much time, Dr. Kleiner sent us out here to escort you to Dr. Vance’s lab through the canals. We have to make sure that The Combine gets on our tails so that they won’t discover Kleiner’s lab.”
“Alright, Ian, just tell me where to go. You’re a native aren’t you?” Gordon replied. Ian started to move towards the alleyway and said, “Yeah, I’ve lived in this area all my life. I know the way through the canals. It shouldn’t be far to Eli’s lab, it’s just over a mile. We should be able to get there fairly quickly.”

Gordon held out his crowbar and looked at it, “Well, I’ll help you in any way I can, but I doubt that this will do much good…” Ian laughed slightly, “Don’t worry, Gordon, we’ll cover you well enough. Tonya and I are trained marksmen!” However, Ian was not as sure of his ability as he made it out to seem.

“So you’re the real Gordon Freeman? I’ve heard so much about you! Do you have any stories to share?” Tonya asked Gordon enthusiastically, which produced a chuckle from him, “I most certainly do! But I’m afraid they’ll have to wait until we get to Dr. Vance’s lab.” Tonya sighed, “I guess so.”

“Alright Gordon, we’re going to have to go through that alleyway and get to the street. There are going to be a lot of Combine around, and it isn’t going to be easy. I’ll try to distract them with suppressive fire, and then we’ll all run across to the other side. Don’t worry about having to shoot at anything or fight anyone, I’ll take care of that. On the other side of the street there will be a drop-off into the canal. If we’re lucky, there will still be enough water in it for us to jump down into the canal and make are way through it. Eventually we’ll be able to travel through the sewer system safely, but it all depends on our ability to avoid The Combine.” Ian explained as they started around the corner of Kleiner’s lab.

“I understand,” Gordon replied with a nod, “I’ve been experienced in combat before, Ian, although I do regret it. So don’t worry about me panicking or anything…I used all of that up at Black Mesa all of those years ago…” Ian realized that Gordon was even more experienced than he in fighting both the forces of The Combine and even the Xenians. He had a point; Ian shouldn’t treat him like an inexperienced intellectual.

The group traversed the dark alleyway. As the sirens of the Combine drew nearer, they could see the light of the cobblestone street beyond. The group stood against the wall of the alleyway, poised to bolt. “Well Gordon,” said Ian, “This is it. If we don’t make it, then it was a pleasure meeting you, the legend that you are.”

Gordon shook Ian’s hand, “And it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Olbowski, but I don’t think that we are going to die today. Just cover me and we’ll do fine.” Ian shook Gordon’s hand back, and then took his hand away. He peeked out from the side of the alleyway.

In the brightness of the day, he could see four Combine APCs parked in front of Kleiner’s lab, and saw many cops milling about around there. They were lucky; none of the officers were on their side of the building. Ian assessed the situation. They would be able to make it across the street and into the canal; they just had to be fast. He wished that they could do it without distracting The Combine, but the whole point was to get them off of Kleiner’s tail.

Ian took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. This was their hour. “Alright guys, we go on three.” He said slowly. They all were poised and ready, and Gordon and Tonya looked towards Ian in anticipation. Ian took another deep breath, “One,” a tiny bead of sweat formed on his forehead, “Two,” he held his gun ready.

“Three.”
-Chapter 38, Route Canal-
 
I dontknow whether you set up this mod "Theotherguy", but if you didnt i think this guy has quite frankly ripped your story...

http://mods.moddb.com/4383/

Might be your mod, might not, but if it isnt you need to be notified of it

***Read back a few pages, it is your mod :)***
 
indeed, that mod was set up with my permission, and I am currentley in contact with diabloroker
 
Originally posted by theotherguy
indeed, that mod was set up with my permission, and I am currentley in contact with diabloroker
Click to expand...

Thats alright then, looks forward to it :)
 
I'm supposed to be mapping for the mod, but we havn't really organized anything, so we'll see. Like, honesly I've got tons of ideas on how to go about this, but the mod dev team needs to get together in a chat or somthing and discuss where to start and how.

I really would like to get the ball rolling on this mod, and I'd like to start mapping, but we need to collaborate and see how it's going.
 
i could be a voice actor for the mod!!
im voice acting for the sequel of "The Gate"
 
Good so far, but one question: wasn't resistance HQ only a few streets away from Kleiner's lab earlier in the story? Another thing I noticed is that in all books every time a different person speaks it becomes a new paragraph; just something to work on if you plan on becoming a better writer. Been reading a lot of Robert Jordan's "The Wheel Of Time" series lately, so I haven't been able to read this as much and I think it is making me more analytical about the stuff I read, so if I overcriticize(i hope this is an actual word) I'm just used to reading professional writers' work. A good thing that I can say is that you use much better diction(word choice) than some professional authors that I've read. Good work and keep it up.
 
Whew....i've read the whole thread, and i must say, theotherguy i REALLY liked your fanfic!! never read anything like it! You are truly gifted by the Gods!
I love all of the characters, and Gordon too! You've done a great job giving him a decent personality!!

keep'em comeing!!! :D....hats off mate!!
 
you know the mod might be alright, but obviously wont live to the standard of text. there are certain limitations to a mod of this size, specially constraints like relevance and connection to the REAL hl2 world, which is required to build a certain level of interest, also, the mod would be very dialogue intensive so that would increase mod size very considereably and finally, unless you guys have the worlds BEST scripted sequence animator at your disposal then all i have to say is

GOOD LUCK!

but really, all the best if it comes out any where near as good as the text then it will be a achievement to be very proud of.
best of luck
 
sorry about the MAJOR delay in chapters, drivers ed, girlfreind, and getting the flu sort of got my priorities mixed up. But never fear, because a NEW CHAPTER is here. :thumbs:

-Chapter 38, Route Canal-

Naguk-digh sunk his mandibles into the rusty metal bars of the vent in his cell; and his teeth made high pitched squealing sounds as they scraped against iron. He chewed again and again, not caring about the damage that it was doing to his teeth. He looked over his shoulder, but saw nothing but the dark and dusty interior of his lonesome chamber. He had been doing this for days now, slowly chewing away at the iron bars of the ventilation system. Whenever nobody was in his cell, he would immediately continue his frantic efforts in earnest.

The infidels would not keep him in this cage any longer…he would soon be free. It was bad enough that they thwarted his efforts to inform the Mighty Combine of their position, but now they had him locked up with nothing but his own free thoughts to accompany him; it was nearly sacrilege. With every bite and scrape on the bars, he was closer to freedom. He would make his way out through the ventilation system to escape, or better yet, to get revenge.

His mind was electrified with the notion of sinking his claws into that pitiful creature that was called the Eli Vance. That one was the cause of all his troubles and his angst, it tried to reason with him, the Eli Vance did, but it spoke of nothing but lies. The only way to the true light of contentment was through The Holy One, The Niniliath. But now The Niniliath was dead at the hands of the Eli Vance and the Gordon Freeman. Those infidels would pay, along with the one called Ian Olbowski whom discovered his attempts at contacting the mighty and glorious Combine.

He chewed ever more feverishly, and finally, after yet another scrape, he felt the bar give way. He heard a metal clank as the bar split in two and fell apart. Naguk-digh felt a wave of pleasure come over him, tingling through his center arm. This was the final bar. He could now escape.

He would have his vengeance.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon finally counting to the third number, Ian burst from the alley, sprinting with all his might towards the canal on the opposite end of the street. He heard the others pounding across the cobblestone swiftly, narrowly following him. Ian looked to his right, and saw that the Combine officers had not noticed his leaving the alleyway, and were still preoccupied with their duties.

Ian sidestepped to the right, and stopped in his tracks, allowing Gordon and Tonya to pass by him towards the canal. As planned, Ian turned towards the mass of officers in front of Kleiner’s lab, and shouted as loudly as he could, “Hey, you cops! Can’t you see your prey is getting away from you?” Upon hearing this, the gas masked officers looked towards Ian. He could imagine the surprise that they must have been feeling when they saw the three fugitives running there on the street.

He didn’t let them think about it for long, however. He put his gun up to eye level and fired upon the officer in a few short bursts. His deadly accuracy struck not one but two Combine metro cops, knocking them to the ground as they were hit by Ian’s hail of bullets. Ian then sprinted behind the others towards the other end of the street.

It was only then that The Combine reacted to Ian’s guerrilla tactics. “Overwatch, Anti-citizens spotted in this precinct, breaking to engage!” A particularly loud officer shouted just as he was beginning to fire at the three dissenters.

However, as soon as the wave of bullets reached their previous position, Ian, Tonya and Gordon had all hopped the small fence on the side of the street, and had plunged into the disgusting waters of the canal below.

Ian felt the icy, foul liquid flow over him as he plunged into the depths. There were three splashes, and then silence. Ian opened his eyes, but could see nothing in the murky waters. Surprisingly, his feet soon hit the bottom of the canal, and Ian realized that the waters must have been no more than eight feet in depth; a mere shadow of their previous state.

He kept himself at the bottom of the canal, avoiding buoyancy. He knew that if he dared surface, a tempest of bullets would overcome him. Even then, he could hear the distant and distorted sounds of gunfire. He looked up to see the refracted figures of Combine Metro Cops, staring down at them in the water. He saw almost laser-like streams of bubbles shooting off around him, and he soon realized that these bubbles represented the trial of bullets which were streaking into the water. The cops were shooting at him.

Ian was suddenly started by the light touch of a gloved hand on his left shoulder. He turned around in the water and saw the confident face of Gordon Freeman, who floated there. Freeman was breathing through some type of tube connected to his suit, and he pointed behind him, motioning for Ian to follow him.

Ian nodded, and hurriedly swam in pursuit of Gordon. Dr. Freeman was faster than he was, thanks to the power of the Hazard Suit, which kept him stabilized in the water, and aided him in his swimming. After Ian, Tonya and Gordon swam for quite a while, the sound of gunfire drew farther away, and the trails of bubbles grew less frequent, and soon disappeared.

Ian felt a burning pain in his chest that continued to worsen as he swam on. His body was starving for oxygen. Almost seeming to psychically sense Ian’s torment, Gordon Freeman stopped swimming, and offered the oxygen tube of his suit to Ian.

Ian nodded, and readily took the tube. He let out all of the air in his lungs, sending out bubbles, and put the tube in his mouth. He felt a wave of relief come over him as he breathed the life-giving oxygen into his lungs. Silently, he thanked Gordon with the “OK” symbol, making his thumb and forefinger into a circle. Ian then passed the tube to Tonya, who also breathed it in gratefully.

With renewed breath, the group swam on under the murky and disgusting waters of the canals among the trash and debris that had collected in them over the years, and which was now floating freely about them, and was a common nuisance.

Once it was clear that The Combine was confused as to their whereabouts, and was no longer following them, Gordon pointed towards the sky with his forefinger, signaling for them to surface. Upon seeing this gesture, Ian kicked off from the muddy bottom of the canal, and quickly ascended to the surface of the water.

His world was quickly filled with light and sound as his head emerged from the waters. He immediately breathed in deeply and loudly and his lungs filled with air. The others did the same as they surfaced, and treaded water at the top.

The canal walls were close on either side of them, and they could see buildings and trees over the tops of them, but luckily no Combine Police were present. The party looked at one another, in order to make sure that everyone was accounted for. All of them looked quite like drowned rats, and their hair was matted with the rancid water; but they were all alive and well.

Between breaths, Gordon suggested, “Maybe we should get to the shore…” Tonya replied while treading water, “Good idea.” Ian looked around the canals for a place where they could get out. “Did any of them follow us?” He asked. Gordon answered, “I think they might have tried, but it’s very hard to track someone moving through murky water. I don’t see anyone; I think we are safe…for now at least.” Ian looked about the canals once more, but saw nowhere where they could get on shore.

However, Ian noticed a large concrete pipe extending out into the canal. There was a waterfall of brownish water coming out of the pipe and oozing into the canal. Just from the looks of the liquid, Ian guessed that it was associated with the sewer. He remembered taking a sewer route to get from The Citadel to Dr. Vance’s lab. He checked the buildings around him, and recognized them. They were not too far from Vance’s lab. He decided that the best course of action would be to travel through the sewer system to quickly reach the lab.

“Why don’t we get into that pipe over there? I know my way through the sewers to Dr. Vance’s lab from here. I think we could make it. Plus I doubt that The Combine would be expecting it. We should be able to move easily in there.” Gordon agreed, “Good idea, Ian. Let’s see if we can get ourselves into that drainage pipe.” The three of them then began dogpaddling in a disorganized fashion towards the pipe.
Ian was the first to reach the cylindrical metal tube. It was situated on the grey brick wall very near to the waterline, and thus was easy for Ian to get his hands onto. He reached up and grabbed onto the lip of the pipe, causing a sudden rush of sewage sludge to pour over his face disgustingly. He pulled himself out of the water while grabbing onto the grooves in the metal, and finally, he was out of the water and into the sewage pipe.

He sat on the lip and looked down at the other two who were still treading water. Gordon pushed Tonya ahead of him, suggesting, “Tonya, why don’t you go first?” Tonya gladly accepted his offer and reached her arms towards Ian, who took them in his own hands and pulled her up with great effort to the lip of the pipe.

Just as Tonya was sitting on the lip of the pipe to help pull Dr. Freeman up, they heard the sudden wail of a siren coming near to their position. Ian looked towards the sound, and saw a Combine APC speed quickly up to the edge of the canal from the road above. Ian looked from the APC to Gordon and back again. “This is not good! Quick, Tonya, let’s get Gordon up here!”

Ian and Tonya simultaneously reached down towards the floating Dr. Freeman and grabbed him by either of his arms just as Combine police began hopping out of their APC on the edge of the canal. Gordon aided them massively as they pulled him up by placing his feet on the edge of the canal and walking up it using their support. He then grabbed onto the pipe on himself and was easily able to pull himself in on his own.

Now that Ian had a free hand, he unfastened the submachine gun from the belt on his back and pointed it at the mobilizing police. He didn’t hesitate to wait for them to fire back; he simply opened fire on their position. The popping gunshots from his firearm caused sparks to fly as they hit the APC and caused general chaos among the officers.

This was what he wanted, they needed to get the Combine to follow them and then break off later; they were trying to draw them away from Kleiner’s lab. This firefight would cause The Combine to engage in a fruitless search through the sewers.

Ian let off a few more volleys, and then fell back into the pipe. The others had already taken off, and were running down the dark interior of the sewer. Ian followed them hastily, sprinting through the ankle-deep sludge and sending the muck flying up all around him.

He soon caught up with them, and was running at their sides. Ian kept looking back over his shoulder towards the point of light that was the exit of the pipe towards the canal. He suspected that The Combine could be following him at any moment, but he neither saw nor heard anything to cause him to suppose that they were on his tail. However, he could not assume that they wouldn’t follow them. On the contrary, he suspected that The Combine would be dropping into the pipe at any moment. They would have to change their direction at the nearest pipe or sewer junction straight away, or else they would make easy prey for The Combine.

Ian was just about to suggest this when suddenly and abruptly, Gordon Freeman stopped them all in their paths. “Shhh!” He whispered, holding a hand in front of each of them. Ian was immediately stopped by Gordon’s hand, and nearly slipped over from the impact. “What, are you insane?” He asked Gordon bitterly, rubbing his ribs where he had collided with Gordon’s arm.

Gordon simply stared down the pipe, and pointed. “Look!” he whispered, pointing up at the ceiling ahead of them. Ian strained to see in the dark, and then suddenly caught a small glimmer of light, like the movement of some sort of slimy blob. He took a few steps backward. “There’s something up there!” Tonya said, apparently noticing the thing as well.

There was a slurping noise, and suddenly, a round while object fell from the ceiling and splashed down into the shallow waters, rolling straight to the feet of Tonya. Tonya looked down at the round, white object. Suddenly, her face lit up in terror and she shrieked repulsively. However, before she could fully let out a scream, Gordon covered her mouth with his glove. Curious as to what the object was, Ian observed it, and noticed with repulsion that it was a human skull, severed from it’s skeleton and laying at the feet of Tonya.

“That,” whispered Gordon, pointing to the thing in the shadows, “Is a barnacle. They were all over black mesa, and we must be very quiet and very careful to avoid them…” On the mention of this, Ian suddenly remembered an occurrence which he had experienced immediately prior to his escape from The Citadel. He visualized the room which’s ceiling had been covered in hundreds of those…things, and he remembered having to avoid their horrid swinging tentacles. He shuddered. It was an experience which he dared to remember.

“I’ve seen these things before,” Ian said, relating his experience, “There were hundreds of them…It was…disturbing to say the least.” Gordon nodded, “The first time I came into contact with a barnacle, it grabbed onto me with its tentacle and sucked me up to the ceiling. I wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for the excellent aim of Barney Calhoun which saved me that night. But don’t worry; I know how to deal with these things.”

Gordon reached down and picked up the human skull. Resting the skull in his hand, he yelled loudly. Suddenly, the barnacle’s tentacle groped for Gordon, and it was now clearly visible, and writhed like some kind of gigantic grey worm. Gordon shoved the skull towards the tentacle and quickly let go of it. In the blink of an eye, the tentacle snatched the skull and slurped it back towards its body nauseatingly.

“Quick!” Exclaimed Gordon, “While it’s still distracted, run past it!” The group quickly passed under the vile creature, and onto the opposite side of the pipe. Just as they did this, the barnacle made one bite on the skull, and finding no meat on it, the creature discarded it.

“That,” commented Tonya, “Was the most disgusting thing I have ever witnessed.” Ian replied, “Agreed.” Gordon turned around and added, “Well, Barnacles live in groups, so be prepared to expect more of them to appear. We’ll just have to be extremely careful from now on.”
 
It wasn’t until that point that Ian truly respected the experience of Dr. Freeman. It would prove to be useful, in this landscape which was now dominated by Xenian species. Ian knew that Gordon had already been to Xen; an experience which he himself couldn’t even imagine. He contemplated the alien landscape populated by those horrendous aliens and shuddered: Some day, Earth would look like Xen too…that is, if they failed in their mission. Ian was determined not to allow this outcome to come about.

They continued in darkness cautiously and carefully, no longer dashing through the pipeline; for they were terrified of what might be lurking in the shadows. All the while, Ian continued to look over his shoulder for any signs of The Combine. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the pipe seemed to make everyone paranoid, and they all looked about them for some indication of jeopardy.

After a time of continuing on, and once they had passed two more barnacles, they finally began to hear a faint and distant sound reverberating through the pipeline. At first, the noise was like that of static on a television, but as they got closer, and the sound became more distinct, Ian soon realized that it was the sound of rushing water.

The party consented to seek out this noise and see where it led them. Hopefully, it was a sign of some junction in the pipeline that would allow them to gain entry into the main sewer system. As they trudged through ankle-deep waters, Ian suddenly heard a distant reverberation from the portion of the tunnel behind them. He turned around, and squinted in the direction of the pinpoint of light that was the exit into the canal.

As he squinted, he saw a faint shadow pass over the light, and then another. He then heard the constant distant metallic thudding that was unmistakably the sound created by many pounding feet. Ian was certain that it was The Combine finally catching up to them and entering the tunnel.

“Uh, guys? Perhaps we should speed up…I think that The Combine just entered the tunnel…and they’re moving fast…very fast.” Ian suggested, getting the attention of the others. Gordon looked in the direction of the entrance, and with almost superhuman perception declared, “Yes, it’s them, there are four cops down there. I don’t believe that they can see us here in the dark, so we might as well keep going through this pipe until we get to an upcoming junction.” Tonya nodded, “Agreed.” She replied.

They quickened their pace, and the sound of the rushing water grew ever louder and louder. Soon, they could see a faint glow on the side of the pipe, its ambient light producing just enough lamination for Ian to make out a gap in the pipe some way ahead.


Both the sound of the rushing water and the pounding of policeman’s boots behind them increased in volume until the three of them were standing practically beside the junction. Ian now looked to the right and saw that the pipe indeed made an intersection here with another pipe running perpendicular to it. He saw that beyond this intersecting conduit was a vast stone archway which was adequately lit by electric lights. Sludge from the pipeline filtered out of the stone archway via very widely spaced iron bars; and fell down several feet to the cavern below.

“I think this leads into the main sewer system!” Ian exclaimed, observing the architecture of the stone archway. “Excellent, let’s see if we can make our way out of this pipe and into the sewer, shall we?” Gordon suggested, walking towards the arch.

The others followed Dr. Freeman, and took part in observing the archway. Standing near the grate now, Ian could see that the water did indeed fall several feet down into a wide and supposedly deep channel which was lined with stone walkways. This scene was undoubtedly that of the main sewer system and, by some incredible stroke of luck, Ian actually remembered this exact spot from his daring rescue of The Vortigaunts.

“I think that we could fit through these bars.” Tonya suggested while sliding in-between two bars to demonstrate that her proposal was possible. Gordon then went up to the bars and demonstrated that he too was able to slip through them. “Well,” Said Gordon Freeman, “We might as well just jump off of this little precipice and make our way to one of those stone walkways. Do you know this area, Ian?”

Ian responded, “Yes, quite surprisingly, I do recognize this very spot. I think that I will be able to guide you all to Dr. Vance’s lab rather easily; that is, if they haven’t already sealed off their hatch… But even if that were the case, I’m sure we could get someone to let us in.” Gordon seemed contented with this answer, and replied, “Well then, let’s do this!”

Gordon clapped his gloves together, and then slid through the bars. He then prepared himself, and then leaped off of the small cliff. There was a second of delay, and then a splash as Dr. Freeman hit the water. Seconds later, Ian observed him pulling himself up to the stone walkway on the other side of the sewer canal.

Ian then offered for Tonya to go ahead of him, and she readily accepted his offer. She too, slid through the bars and made her daring leap to the water below. Ian gave her enough time to swim away from the wall so that he would not land on her; next, he turned sideways and sucked in his gut so that he could slide past the iron bars. He turned towards the water, tensed himself, and jumped off of the edge.

Seconds later, Ian was in the water. He felt it coolly rush over his head, and then he kicked for the surface. The water here was quite a bit cleaner than the sludge of the pipeline, and thus Ian received it as a welcome submersion. He surfaced, and then swam over to the area of the stone walkway where Gordon and Tonya were standing.

They helped him out of the water and onto the walkway, and he was soon standing next to them. “Alright,” Ian continued, “We should hurry: The Combine could be here at any minute. If I recall correctly, we should go to the left here, and continue on to the next junction and make a right. We’re actually pretty close to Dr. Vance’s lab, and we shouldn’t really run into much trouble from here.”

“You take the point, my friend.” Gordon said, waving his hand to the left. Ian passed by him, and continued down the narrow walkway in that direction while the others followed. It was hard to walk along this slender path, especially since the ceiling curved annoyingly towards the center of the canal. Ian did his best not to fall, and kept his balance by putting his hand against the grimy stone wall.

Thus, the party continued down the forgotten and abysmal depths of the sewer system, ignorant to what lay ahead of them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, a Combine reconnaissance team in a remote tower was observing a growing cloud of dust appearing on the horizon about twenty to thirty miles from City-17. “What is that?” One of the officers asked, pointing through the glass at the thick brown cloud. The other officer squinted into the distance. He could see nothing but a cloud of particles in the distance.

“I’m not certain,” he assessed, “But it’s growing larger as we speak. Perhaps we should check it out? Maybe we could send a team over that hill there to get a better view of what we’re dealing with.” The officer shook his head. “It’s probably nothing.” He said casually, still watching the cloud, “Perhaps it’s just a storm.” The other officer was a little uneasy about the lead officer’s unreasonable assessment, “But sir, shouldn’t we contact Governor Breen about this?”

Apathetically, the other officer replied, “He has a bit too much on his plate already; we should just let him be…” Suddenly, the machines in the tower started beeping manically, and several of the other troops in the tower starting frantically hitting buttons and looking at machines.

“Sir,” exclaimed one of the troops sitting at a terminal, “There’s something on the radar, like a hundred specks coming towards us! It’s as if the whole Combine Imperial Fleet is upon us!” Now, the lead officer was less apathetic, “Let me get a look at that!” He resolved, running over to the display.

The officer indeed saw that there were hundreds if not thousands of radar pings approaching them at rapid speed. “My God,” he exclaimed, “Contact Breen immediately! We have to…” He was cut off by an intense reverberation from above. The dots on the radar screen were directly above their position. He looked out of the window to see thousands of black dots in the sky and a new set of indistinguishable shapes appear out of the cloud of dust. The officer saw a black figure swoop down from the sky towards them. “Oh no…” he managed to utter. Then, there was a flash of orange light, and the tower disintegrated.

There was simply nothing left but the smoking black foundation of the tower. The Xenian Resistance Army merely marched past, and continued on towards the city.
-Chapter 39, Hydras and Helicopters-
 
nice. very nice! finally some change and a lot of change at that. I don't picture actual scenes from the game any more when i read this now(which is good).I completely forgot about the deal they made with the xenians earlier in the story. :thumbs:
 
Absolutely amazing. Keep it up and hope life is well with you.
 
Seriously though guys, if you want me to do some voice acting for your mod i would love 2. Im currently doing voices for the sequel to "The Gate" and a mod about what happened to Sheppard.
So if you want me in just e-mail me at [email protected]
 
i havent updated the site yet but i have lots done....but the people that were helping me aka TheOtherGuy(Story) and his friend are laggin' like seniors.... i mean i told them to do something long time ago and still havent got it....

i have created 2 versions that i made for my friends to test...
one is the beginning...where it would be confusing to show the future and then continue the story....

it seems like it works out in movies but not in games

if you want to help me.... you email ME! not I email you! its just better that way for me....

but you halflifeguy ill be emailling you...lol!

my email is: [email protected]
 
Well, I still think we all need to get in a chat together or somthing and discuss how to start this. I mean, I want to help map this, but honestly I don' tknow where to start.

Like I can map, but I don't know how to scripted sequences with the characters from the story or somthing. We need to agree on a 'mod plot' that follows the story but at the same time is game friendly enough so that it's possible to map and sequence it.
 
good idea
i can start a thread in the mapping and coding section if you want
 
Anynews on the next chapter? I really like this, I dont' want it to die off
 
uhh.... first thing...............................................

u guys arent in the mod to be "help mapping"

2nd.... dont even bother.... if u want to really help... you would have emailed me, not post up in forums that you do...
 
uhhh... first thing............................

I was helping out with the mod, well trying to, but never was able to coordinate with others.....

second.... I did indeed really want to help, but was told to just 'start mapping anywhere' and with a mod like this, that doesn't reallly cut it...whatever, i'll just wait for you to finish it i guess...
 
hmm, i dont remember anyone called thesimpster... and theres only 3 people total... and 2 of those people are just there...they didnt do jack shit...

so its a solo job....
 
can someone please e-mail me with news of the mod. I applied for a voice acting job but nobody e-mailed me to tell me if i got it
 
oh yeah.. i emailed u awhile ago... u didnt send me a sample of your voice yet
 
Update:
http://resistance.hl2files.com/

within the next week there will be a new layout and screenshots... the new layout should have been out already but I seen that it had problems in firefox... but looks perfect in IE 6
 
ah, and after 3 weeks of laboring over this chapter, I have finally decided to cut it off here, because it is already twice as long as the average chapter, and since they never encountered any "hydras or helicopters" in the entire 6,000 words, I decided to change the title to "manhacks" and save hydras and helicopters for the next chapter.

Chapter 39, Manhacks-

The sound of dripping water incessantly continued to bore into Ian’s psyche as he continued down the narrow walkway that lined the main channel of the sewer system; but this was the only sound that perforated the silence of the sewer; for luckily there were no Combine officers or Xenian aliens of any sort to keep them occupied for the time being. They had nothing but each other to console themselves and assure them that all was well.

They had been traveling for quite some time, perhaps twenty minutes, without any interruption through the sewers; and in that time, nobody has said a word, for fear that they would be discovered by The Combine. It was Ian who broke this silent bliss, and continued conversation amongst the three of them.

“It seems,” he said, “that they have lost our trail. I assume that they will be having difficulties looking for us in the sewers, and will waste loads of time and effort fruitlessly searching these caverns. I think that we now are very near to an exit which is in the vicinity of Dr. Vance’s lab. Even so, there is no telling what we should face out there. For all we know, there could be an entire Combine battalion out there waiting for us…”

Gordon looked towards Ian and spoke in a low voice, “You’re right, if indeed they are as powerful and omniscient as everyone claims, then they have doubtless been tracking our progress through these sewers, and would then send a squad out to the nearest sewer exit to capture us. Is there, then, some other more direct entrance to Dr. Vance’s lab, like a direct sewer line? Perhaps we could get in immediately from this sewer, instead of having to risk going out to the surface.”

Ian thought about the entrance that he had used the last time they had gone into the sewers. He remembered the hatch that had led the rescue party into and out of the tunnels. However, that entrance had been welded shut when The Combine began searching the sewers. However, they might be able to get someone on the inside to let them back into the lab if they made loud noises on the other side of the hatch.

Ian then replied, “There used to be a hatch into the lab, but I doubt that we will be able to get in; as it has long been welded shut. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t hurt to try knocking on it until someone had the nerve to let us in.” Gordon seemed content with this conjecture, and with a nod, added agreeably, “Then it’s settled? We will try to get into the lab via some underground route, and if that does not work, we will go to the surface?”

Ian nodded in agreement, “Yes, let’s do that then. We will not have to alter our course; we’ll simply keep going in this direction for some time until we get to the juncture that leads outside. At that point, we will continue in this direction until we reach the hatch which leads into Dr. Vance’s lab. But we should be wary, however, because the Combine tore up the tunnel pretty badly when I was last down here, there could still be openings to the surface if we continue.”

Gordon rejoined, “You keep mentioning an incident in which you were down here in these sewers recently. From what I understand, you were involved in the rescue of Vortigaunts? Man, I could have never associated with such low beings as the Vortigaunts. What has caused them to come around to our side?” Ian sensed prejudice in Gordon’s words. However, unlike Gordon, Ian had never been in conflict with the Vortigaunts, aside from Naguk-digh, of course. Gordon’s prejudice was understandable then, since all that he had seen were Vortigaunts possessed by the mad frenzy endowed upon them by The Nialith.

“Yes, I liberated a group of enslaved Vortigaunts from The Citadel. As for their change of heart, I’m sure that it can be attributed to the demise of their lord, The Nialith. However, a few of them were not as grateful as the ones whom I rescued. Several even curse your name, Gordon, for destroying their leader. One even attacked and betrayed me some days ago. I can understand your prejudice towards them; but the majority of Vortigaunts are now our allies.” After saying this, Ian came to an intersection, and Ian suggested that they go right, and continue on their journey.

Once they had turned the corner, Gordon made a heavy sigh, and continued the conversation. “Much has changed,” he said dismally, “since I left here. A lot of the changes I do not understand, but I am sure that all will be answered in due time. In my day, Vortigaunts were creatures to be abhorred and feared. They spoke gibberish, and murdered several of my colleagues without purpose with their sharp claws and deadly electricity. Is it not right for me to fear them? And now, they’re our allies. It blows my mind. But then again, I should have seen all of this in 1998, back when I was ambitious and selfish. I thought that capturing and studying the creatures of Xen would provide humanity with vast quantities of knowledge, and would lead us to become a higher civilization. I should have seen, when I pushed that sample of Xenian rock into the anti-mass spectrometer; that it would all eventually lead to the race’s destruction. Therefore I blame myself for the holocaust which has resulted from the deeds at Black Mesa. I had the decision to simply not come into work that day; and none of this would have happened if I had chosen to do so.”

Ian was shocked by the gush of passion which came forth from Dr. Freeman at this point in time. So it seemed that Gordon blamed himself for that horrible event which occurred so many years ago and was the result of all their lamentations… It was disturbing to Ian that Gordon should feel so, since all of the members of the resistance regarded Dr. Freeman as a savior and a hero.

It was Tonya who answered Dr. Freeman’s expression of remorse. “Don’t blame yourself,” she consoled, “You had no idea that your actions would cause such trouble. You were just following orders. It’s Dr. Breen who you should hate and blame; not yourself. Besides, all of that was many years ago; and with time the race can forgive you for what happened.”

Gordon shook his head, “Don’t you see?” he retorted, “For you, that may have been years ago, but for a man like me, who remembers nothing of the past twelve years, it was only a few days ago that I caused the resonance cascade. It was only last night that I killed the Nialith, and only yesterday afternoon that I embarked to Xen! To me, the remorse is recent, and all the more absolute. And when I look at a young person like you, it pains me to think that my actions have directly deprived you of a happy life. But; you’re right… now is the time for us to unite and fight Dr. Breen for his malevolence. You are right that it is all ultimately his fault. I remember his orders to speed up, and his memos that promised pay raises to any scientist who could discover a way to maintain a permanent connection with Xen. Even today, I can see the lies that were in his orders, and I wonder why he made them. To see him seated in a…throne up there in that terrifying Citadel has finally explained to me the causes behind his actions. Therefore, you are right, I must not blame myself, but use my remorse to further the cause of the resistance.”
 
Ian, for one, was surprised by the eloquence in which Gordon delivered this long winded speech. Until this moment in time, he had not realized the extent of how the events at Black Mesa had troubled Dr. Freeman. He had always assumed, ignorantly, that Gordon was some kind of all-powerful hero without emotions, as he was portrayed in the press. However, this conversation proved to Ian that Gordon was very affected by the cataclysm of events indeed.

Thus, Ian replied, “Nicely said, Gordon. I had never though about how much this has affected you. One day, you must explain to us the details of the Black Mesa incident; but for now, we must focus on the task at hand. We are coming up to the intersection of which I spoke earlier, where we will either have to choose to go to the surface or go directly to the lab. And I trust that it has already been settled that we will set our sights on the latter direction.” And so, they continued in their direction over the slimy path of the sewer, their images reflecting in the murky water.

After a short time, the group came to a large and pronounced intersection of the stone arched tunnels. The water now flowed in right angles ahead of them, with a dark passageway to their left, and more of the same tunnel directly ahead. However, the most interesting path which was possible to take was the tunnel to the right.

There, Ian could see that the lip of the sewer rose up at least fifteen feet, and there was a vast semicircular arch at the top of the lip from which water dripped. There was bright, clear daylight streaming through this crescent arch, and they could see the clouds and buildings of the surface. The passageway to the outside of the tunnel was crossed vertically with what at first looked like metal bars to Ian.

However, on closer inspection, Ian noticed with utmost agitation that the vertical spires were none other than the writing tentacles of perhaps twenty barnacles, which were packed on the roof of the arch. It was a disturbing sight at which Ian practically gasped with disgust.

“Well,” he said in a surprised tone, “We’re obviously not going to be departing in that direction! What would posess so many barnacles to latch onto the arch like that?” Gordon shook his head. “I don’t know,” he replied, “they usually gather at places where they can find the most food. You’re right; however, it would be a bit too risky to go to the surface through that exit. Let’s just hope that the sewers are not as extremely populated by barnacles as this arch…”

Just as Dr. Freeman said this, Ian heard the cawing of a crow from outside. The obnoxious noise grew louder and louder until Ian could clearly see the form of the bird on the outside of the tunnel. Its black feathered form flew strait towards the group, but just as it began to cross the threshold of the tunnel, it was snatched by a barnacle, and was entangled in its tentacle. The crow squawked loudly and frantically, but the barnacle sucked it up as if it were eating spaghetti.

The barnacle slurped the whole mess, tentacle and bird alike, into its horrific jaws, and chomped firmly onto the body of the bird, producing an intense crunching noise. The squawking of the crow ceased, and nothing could be heard but the slimy sounds of the barnacle as it digested its prey.

Disgusted, Tonya rejoined, “I guess that answers your question, Ian… That was pretty disturbing… Maybe we should leave now?” Shuddering, Ian replied, “I think so too. Come on, let’s continue towards the lab and quit this horrible tunnel.”

The three of them then went to the right, in order to continue to follow the path around the sewer. They continued on the walkway around the channel on the right side, and then accordingly sustained their previous path towards Dr. Vance’s lab.

They walked on in the same manner for a long time…Ian recognized this area from his previous travels in the sewers, and concluded that they were very near to their destination. However, as they persisted along, Ian began to notice small cracks and holes in the ceiling from which daylight streamed through, and from which water dripped. On further assessment of these crevices, Ian could see the sides of a canal on the outside, and concluded that the pipe in which they traveled ran directly under a canal, and that it was crumbling in this spot.

It was at that moment that Ian remembered from his last excursion in the sewers that The Combine had begun breaking through the roof of the sewer, and had ambushed his rescue party by coming down on ropes. It must be very near this spot that they had ambushed Ian’s party. He knew by experience that this meant that they were much closer to Dr. Vance’s lab than he had first expected.

He was still curious as to why The Combine had not yet intercepted them. They had been going in a relatively straight line the entire time, and it would be a matter of child’s play for The Combine to hunt them down like a pack of rodents. He thought with dismay that The Combine must have had some other devious trick in store for his party. They would just have to wait and see.

Now as they continued, bits of debris from the ceiling were scattered on the ground in places, sticking out of the water, and sitting on the walkways. As they continued on, the debris became more frequent, and the stones were more common and larger. Eventually, it was very hard to pass by all of the wreckage.

Curious as to why all of this debris was lying around, Ian looked towards the ceiling and expected to see massive holes, but saw nothing but the smooth surface of the sewer ceiling. This was puzzling. How could the ceiling be in full repair and yet there is debris everywhere?

Then, the logic of it all struck Ian. Of course…The Combine had repaired the roads above, but they had not cleared out the debris. In typical Combine fashion, the government had cut corners to save time and money. However, their malpractice presented a serious roadblock for the travelers.

“What’s going on here?” Gordon asked angrily, placing his hand on a piece of rocky debris in his path. Ian related his musings to Gordon, “When the Combine blew out the ceiling in order to get down to us, they repaired the street, but didn’t bother to clear out the debris. I’m afraid that we will have to bypass all of this junk to get to our destination.”

In frustration, Gordon retorted, “Well that’s just great, this Combine of yours is such a wonderful government, the best Earth has to offer, eh?” Gordon sighed, “It doesn’t matter. We still have to get around this, and it shouldn’t be too hard. Let’s just climb over these pieces of debris on the walkway, and if it gets to be too much, we could always swim.”

Upon saying this, Dr. Freeman powerfully climbed over the debris and landed on the other side. Ian and Tonya did the same with some difficulty, and landed on the opposite side of the debris. Ian wiped the dust from his jacket, and continued along the walkway.

They had to surmount three more pieces of debris in succession like this; and the prevalence of junk became more and more dense until they were forced to jump into the sewer and swim. Soon, however, the water suddenly became shallow in the sewer, and they were walking in ankle deep water.

“How close are we now?” Gordon asked as they sloshed through the water and passed by a gigantic piece of debris. Ian assessed their position, and said, “We are extremely close now, just around this bend we should be in visible distance of the hatch to the lab.” Ian sensed that both Gordon and Tonya were satisfied with this, and they quickened their pace through the rock garden of debris.

Here the sewer curved at a slight angle to the right, but nevertheless obscured the vision of the travelers. It was dimly lit by sulfur-yellow electric lights which, for some reason, were perpetually lit in the sewers. The sound of rushing water triumphed over all others, save for the sloshing sounds made by the wet feet of the party.

Ian was cold, his clothes were wet and sticking to his skin, and he reeked of the stench of the sewer. Gordon, however, was still dry (thanks to his suit) and had little signs that he had even gone through the same ordeal as Ian and Tonya about him. It was odd, Ian thought, how these superhero types never even seemed to get their hair ruffled in tough situations…but he attributed this to Gordon’s wonderful suit.

They quickly overcame the curve in the sewers, eager to get to Dr. Vance’s lab. However, as they came around the bend, they were suddenly stopped in their tracks by something that was exceptionally disappointing.

Their path, it seemed, was now blocked by an exceedingly large concentration of debris. It filled the cavern of the sewer completely, and overflowed into their path. It appeared that the tunnel was sealed off completely here. There was no way around, over or under this mountain of rubble. Ian’s heart sank as he stood there, unbelieving of their miserable misfortune, and wondered what to do next.

“What…what’s this?” asked Tonya hysterically, “That is…a lot of debris! Ian, how are we supposed to get past this? It’s as if the sewer has been practically sealed shut!” Tonya walked up to the massive pile of junk that was flowing out of the cavern beyond, and placed her hand on a large metal bar, and turned back to Ian questioningly.

“My God, how did all of this get here? If we can’t get past here, there is no way we are getting into Dr. Vance’s Lab. Maybe we should search the debris for the hatch,” Gordon suggested, walking too towards the gigantic overflowing pile. Ian was dumbstruck. He had no idea how this mass of debris had gotten here. The Combine had blasted their way into the sewers a long way from here; there was no way that the debris could have scattered this far.

Unless… A strange thought now crossed through Ian’s mind. “What if The Resistance put this wall of debris here to keep The Combine from entering the lab? What if this debris were purposefully put here to keep The Combine from discovering HQ? After all, The Combine had seen the entire rescue party, and probably would have been able to track us back through the sewers… It was just common sense for The Resistance to keep them from finding us by blasting the walls with dynamite and creating this roadblock. I know for a fact that the hatch is right on the other side of this debris wall…it’s just all too coincidental.”

Gordon looked over the wall, and commented, “Well, that’s just great. What are we going to do now? Backtrack to that junction which led outside? It could take us a very long time to do that, and The Combine could very well be on our tail!” Gordon shook his head.

Ian thought about his proposal for a moment. Gordon was right, their only option would be to get to the surface and go from there; but still, that could end up being incredibly dangerous. They would waste much time, giving The Combine all the more opportunity to track them. “I’m afraid,” he concluded, “That backtracking is our only option…”

Suddenly, Ian was cut off by his cousin Tonya, who was standing on the far side of the cave wall examining the wreckage. “Maybe not,” she yelled, “I think I found a door over here! Maybe we can go around the wreckage through here!” Ian and Gordon both quickly looked towards where Tonya was standing, and saw that she was pointing towards a green metal door on the side of sewer that was only partially obscured by rubble.

“Give me a hand moving this wreckage!” she said, attempting to move a heavy concrete block out of the way of the door. Ian and Gordon were both delighted by her find, and Ian said, “Nice find Tonya! I’m sure we can find a way around through there, it looks like some kind of maintenance hallway.”

Gordon and Ian both rushed to where Tonya was standing, and Gordon, with the power assist on his suit, was easily able to clear wreckage away from the door by simply picking objects up and throwing them. Once Gordon had cleared away the rubble, the green door was clearly visible; along with the word “Maintenance” which was spray painted onto it.

“Excellent. This will allow us to bypass this whole mess. Good work Tonya!” Ian said, moving towards the door. He placed his hand on the metal handle, and was overjoyed when he found that the door was unlocked, and it squeakily swung outwards. “Come on guys,” he said, “Let’s see where this thing takes us.” Then together, they all crossed into the hall beyond.

Once the three had passed through the entrance, Gordon shut the heavy metal door behind them with a thud. Ian looked into the hallway, and saw that it was made of crumbling concrete, and was dimly lit by an overhead light. The floor was made of dirt, but because of the moisture, it was presently mud. In this narrow hallway, there were several stacked boxes which looked like they had been there for ages, as well as a few empty oil drums.

“Alright,” said Ian, his voice echoing off of the concrete walls, “From here, I am sure that this maintenance area has some outlet on the other side of that massive rubble heap… If not, there must be some way to the surface from down here. We should stick together, and see what we can find out by exploring this area.” Ian immediately began moving off down the hallway.

“Alright Ian,” replied Gordon, “I’ll just follow behind and hope that we can find some path out of here…” So with that, the three of them set off down the maintenance hallway in hopes of a detour; yet whatever lurked in the depths of the sewers was still a mystery to them…

They passed several of the stacked boxes, which appeared to contain nothing of use for them, and they passed a shelf which had wrenches, welders, and other odds and ends of a sewer maintenance person. The top corners of the hallway were lined with rusty metal pipes; some of which shot steam out of them in random bursts.

They came to the end of the hallway, which was only about thirty feet distant from the entrance, and there was another identical green door at that end. Once they had gotten close enough to the door, Ian could hear a faint hiss, like the static of a television set. Curious, why would such a sound be here so deep in the sewers? Ian was worried; he sensed some kind of trap. He held up his hand, signaling for the others to stop.

“What’s that noise?” Tonya whispered. “I don’t know,” replied Ian, “it could be anything, but we ought to be careful. I’ll open the door and peek inside to see what’s going on.” Ian opened the door, and barley put his head through.

The next room was small and square-like, and had small windows near the ceiling that barely broke the surface and from which an abysmal amount of light streamed through. Dust particles floated in the air and played with one another. Ian looked around the small room for the source of the static sound, and discovered that it was emanating from a small grey radio on a table in the corner; and a black man in a blue jumpsuit stood over it, fiddling with the knobs. He appeared to be a citizen, and not a cop. Still, Ian had to be careful.
 
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