J
jonesey_11
Guest
Hello everyone, this is a new piece of fiction I've started working on, it'll be up on FanFiction.Net soon, but I'd love to get some feedback from the community!
Prologue
You will see, sooner and later, great changes made,
Extreme horrors and vengeances:
For as the moon is thus led by its angel,
The heavens draw near to the reckoning.
-Nostradamus. Century 1, Quatrain 56
“Do you have anything of important concern to add, Mr…”
Breen trailed off, hoping for a name. He received another expressionless stare. The man before him was not unlike the others- a slender man in a dark suit, entering his office at an inopportune time- a bureaucrat through and through. But there was something about this man and this man in particular that made Breen uneasy. It wasn’t his raspy voice or his skeletal appearance which bothered Breen. It was his eyes. For as long as this man had been in his office, his eyes had been fixed on Breen, watching him. Studying him. In the instants when Breen’s eyes met his, Breen got the uncomfortable feeling that he was staring into something much deeper than eyes- as if all of his questions would be answered if only he could see through those steely beads.
The man spoke again. “Dr. Isaac Kleiner has requested a less… potent sample for his team’s next test. You are kindly requested to replace the sample with a safer grade.”
Breen stood up from his posh chair overlooking Black Mesa Canyon. “Absolutely out of the question. Do you know the lengths my people went to in order to obtain such a perfect sample from the… outlying world? This will be one of our most important tests. There is absolutely no chance in getting a substitution!”
The man cocked his head slightly and frowned. “There are…repercussions for non-compliance, Mr. Breen.”
“Doctor. And really, at this point, you bureaucrats have dried my patience. There is absolutely no chance that you will get such an important experiment changed.”
The man made an unnerving noise, half way between a sigh and a gulp. “I am sure a man of your… stature can understand the importance of… employee safety. We really do encourage these…experiments, but unfortunately cannot allow for this particular experiment to take place. I take it we understand each other?”
Breen leaned forward over his desk. “No we do not understand each other. You go back and tell your people that if they want to end this line of experimentation, then they can give me an official order to do so. Until then, we are proceeding as planned in the Sector C Anomalous Materials labs. And another thing, exactly which division of the US government do you work for? I know most of the others to come lurking around here have come from the CIA, but you?” Breen laughed, slinking back into his chair. “I’m guessing, straight from the Division of Advanced Research Science? Or hell, maybe you’re here on direct order from the President.”
The man raised his head a touch and made a pathetic attempt at a smile. “I serve a much… higher authority.”
With that, the man gathered his briefcase and walked promptly out of Breen’s office. No doubt he’d be prowling the facility for the next few days, Breen thought with distain. He knew that if the government wanted to have an experiment cancelled, they would do it one way or another. Unless this man…
Breen shut his eyes with a start. No, it was impossible, he reassured himself. He was a government agent, nothing more. He couldn’t possibly know about the Heirarchy, about the Synth… Still, it was not a risk worth taking.
Breen picked up his phone and dialed an extension. “Yes, Eli? We’re pushing your team’s experiment ahead…Tomorrow, if at all possible…I don’t care if your senior HEV-team member is unavailable, you will find an replacement…Yes, fine, by all means, use your latest addition, just be ready to go by tomorrow!”
Breen hung up the telephone and buried his face in his palms on the polished wooden surface of his desk. “Eli, forgive me for what I have done.”
The man walked outside of the administrator’s office, frowning. He took a seat next to a vast window overlooking the canyon, and placed his briefcase out in front of him. Opening it, he retrieved a small piece of fabric with the insignia “UU” emblazoned on it in gold. He flipped to the reverse side, seeing what he already knew was there. A handwritten message was scrawled across the back.
It was in a language that no man had any right understanding, yet the man was able to recite it back to himself in English: “To help you remember.”
U.U. The Scourge. The Universal Union. For all his power, for all his intellect, the man had failed. He had failed an employer. He had never failed an employer. And I’m not about to start, he reflected. Yes, it was possible- just barely possible, but possible nonetheless- for the United States Armed Forces to arrive in time to stop an outbreak situation. Stranger things have happened, he though, laughing the laugh of a man who had seen stranger things that, by all accounts, should never happen in all the known universe. After all, life is full of surprises.
And one man was about to prove him right.
**
Breen checked his watch. 9:09. It should have already happened by now. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach- what if it didn’t happen? What if the Synth had betrayed him? Despite his anxiety, Breen also felt a different emotion: hope. Maybe there would be no incident after all. Maybe he would be given a second chance. He stared back down at his hands, watching his forefinger rub his glass contemplatively. He had opened his private supply of 12-year-old scotch, which was now resting at the bottom of his finest glassware. As he watched the tinted liquid, he noticed ripples beginning to form on its surface, and looked up in a start as he came to realize that the walls were shaking in a low rumble. The warm lights which lit his mahogany desk and bookshelves flickered on and off briefly, and then steadied their stream of light as the tremors subsided. Breen took another look down at the scotch and downed the glass in one large sip. What was done could no longer be undone.
**
Eli checked his watch, as he rounded the last corner to the residential complex. 3:34. It was hard to believe that it had taken him six hours to reach topside level, but what surprised him even more was his ability to survive, despite the warring armies all around him- of both terrestrial and otherworldly origin. The tears running down his cheeks were barely noticeable against his already sweat-drenched skin. He wished, for a moment, that he had not chosen to carry such a cumbersome weapon as the shotgun he had pulled off of a recently killed soldier. He wished for a lot of things, in fact, but only one of them really mattered to him- he wished he could have saved his wife…
She had been right there, behind him, urging him forward. They had darted from column to column along the vast hallways of the Beta Labs. And then, after just another switch to a new cover- her words of encouragement had suddenly ceased. Eli remembered vividly the look on her eyes as he turned back to see her there, as she lay sprawled across the tiled floor, blood pooling up below her, a visible bullet piercing her stomach. She had looked directly into Eli’s eyes in desperation, mouthing something that he could not hear. But he knew exactly what she had said; her eyes had told him by the way they became slits at the mention of her noiseless word. “Alyx.”
He fumbled now with his set of keys, finding quickly the one that opened his apartment. He gave a quick prayer as he violently slammed the door open with a crash. He breathed an immense sigh of relief as he saw Alyx safe in her crib, crying. He dropped his shotgun in pure relief, running over to her and clutching her over his shoulder.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. Daddy’s here,” he said, turning towards the parking lot. Good. He could still see his tiny car amid the SUV’s of the residential lot. They were almost free. Alyx calmed down considerably as her father smiled.
And then, she went completely silent. Eli’s eyes went wide and he took an uneven breath as he heard the sound behind him. An animalistic sound, unlike any he had heard before that day. He turned slowly, to face what he feared to face. In his doorway, basked in the light of the hallway, stood a Vortigaunt, its body hunched forward maliciously. Eli quickly scanned the room- his shotgun was much too far away for him to grasp. He backed up slowly, into the corner of the room, and the Vortigaunt followed with equally slow, methodical footsteps. As it approached, Eli sank to his knees, still trying to comfort Alyx. Seeing his own reflection in the massive, red eye of the beast, he tried to imagine himself far away from Black Mesa. He tried to imagine himself anywhere but in his ruined apartment, clutching his infant child, and getting ready to be ripped apart by a Xenian creature. There was no hiding left to do, no more running…just him, his daughter, and the thing. The creature gave another strange vocal sound, louder this time, and wound its arm back, preparing to strike. Eli closed his eyes, preparing for the blow.
It didn’t come. He forcing himself to pry his eyes open, and saw the beast was still there. It was doing something altogether strange. The Vortigaunt raised its shackled arms before its face, twisting its forearms around as if studying the metallic contraptions. It looked back at Eli, cocking its head slightly, almost out of curiosity. Then, with one abrupt movement, the Vortigaunt gave a flick of its wrists. The metal shackles came clanging to the floor, followed quickly by the creature’s leg braces. The creature made another throaty noise, this time less hostile than the last.
Eli permitted himself to rise slowly to his feet, in awe at the event before him. The Vortigaunt looked again at Eli, and then at Alyx, and folded its two large hands together, bowing ever-so-slightly towards Eli.
“H…hello,” Eli managed to push out.
The Vortigaunt paused for a moment, and then, in a deep voice, echoed him, “Hello.”
Amazed, Eli asked, “You…do you speak English?”
Again the Vortigaunt replied, “You. Do you speak English.”
Alyx giggled. Even Eli allowed himself a smile in the face of all he had dealt with that day. In a moment of recognition, he thought of Gordon, and the rumour that he had made it to the border world at last. His grin widened.
“Freeman…”
The Vortigaunt before him, and every other living Vortigaunt, echoed him in reply.
“Free-man.”
---
Next chapter coming soon!
Prologue
You will see, sooner and later, great changes made,
Extreme horrors and vengeances:
For as the moon is thus led by its angel,
The heavens draw near to the reckoning.
-Nostradamus. Century 1, Quatrain 56
“Do you have anything of important concern to add, Mr…”
Breen trailed off, hoping for a name. He received another expressionless stare. The man before him was not unlike the others- a slender man in a dark suit, entering his office at an inopportune time- a bureaucrat through and through. But there was something about this man and this man in particular that made Breen uneasy. It wasn’t his raspy voice or his skeletal appearance which bothered Breen. It was his eyes. For as long as this man had been in his office, his eyes had been fixed on Breen, watching him. Studying him. In the instants when Breen’s eyes met his, Breen got the uncomfortable feeling that he was staring into something much deeper than eyes- as if all of his questions would be answered if only he could see through those steely beads.
The man spoke again. “Dr. Isaac Kleiner has requested a less… potent sample for his team’s next test. You are kindly requested to replace the sample with a safer grade.”
Breen stood up from his posh chair overlooking Black Mesa Canyon. “Absolutely out of the question. Do you know the lengths my people went to in order to obtain such a perfect sample from the… outlying world? This will be one of our most important tests. There is absolutely no chance in getting a substitution!”
The man cocked his head slightly and frowned. “There are…repercussions for non-compliance, Mr. Breen.”
“Doctor. And really, at this point, you bureaucrats have dried my patience. There is absolutely no chance that you will get such an important experiment changed.”
The man made an unnerving noise, half way between a sigh and a gulp. “I am sure a man of your… stature can understand the importance of… employee safety. We really do encourage these…experiments, but unfortunately cannot allow for this particular experiment to take place. I take it we understand each other?”
Breen leaned forward over his desk. “No we do not understand each other. You go back and tell your people that if they want to end this line of experimentation, then they can give me an official order to do so. Until then, we are proceeding as planned in the Sector C Anomalous Materials labs. And another thing, exactly which division of the US government do you work for? I know most of the others to come lurking around here have come from the CIA, but you?” Breen laughed, slinking back into his chair. “I’m guessing, straight from the Division of Advanced Research Science? Or hell, maybe you’re here on direct order from the President.”
The man raised his head a touch and made a pathetic attempt at a smile. “I serve a much… higher authority.”
With that, the man gathered his briefcase and walked promptly out of Breen’s office. No doubt he’d be prowling the facility for the next few days, Breen thought with distain. He knew that if the government wanted to have an experiment cancelled, they would do it one way or another. Unless this man…
Breen shut his eyes with a start. No, it was impossible, he reassured himself. He was a government agent, nothing more. He couldn’t possibly know about the Heirarchy, about the Synth… Still, it was not a risk worth taking.
Breen picked up his phone and dialed an extension. “Yes, Eli? We’re pushing your team’s experiment ahead…Tomorrow, if at all possible…I don’t care if your senior HEV-team member is unavailable, you will find an replacement…Yes, fine, by all means, use your latest addition, just be ready to go by tomorrow!”
Breen hung up the telephone and buried his face in his palms on the polished wooden surface of his desk. “Eli, forgive me for what I have done.”
The man walked outside of the administrator’s office, frowning. He took a seat next to a vast window overlooking the canyon, and placed his briefcase out in front of him. Opening it, he retrieved a small piece of fabric with the insignia “UU” emblazoned on it in gold. He flipped to the reverse side, seeing what he already knew was there. A handwritten message was scrawled across the back.
It was in a language that no man had any right understanding, yet the man was able to recite it back to himself in English: “To help you remember.”
U.U. The Scourge. The Universal Union. For all his power, for all his intellect, the man had failed. He had failed an employer. He had never failed an employer. And I’m not about to start, he reflected. Yes, it was possible- just barely possible, but possible nonetheless- for the United States Armed Forces to arrive in time to stop an outbreak situation. Stranger things have happened, he though, laughing the laugh of a man who had seen stranger things that, by all accounts, should never happen in all the known universe. After all, life is full of surprises.
And one man was about to prove him right.
**
Breen checked his watch. 9:09. It should have already happened by now. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach- what if it didn’t happen? What if the Synth had betrayed him? Despite his anxiety, Breen also felt a different emotion: hope. Maybe there would be no incident after all. Maybe he would be given a second chance. He stared back down at his hands, watching his forefinger rub his glass contemplatively. He had opened his private supply of 12-year-old scotch, which was now resting at the bottom of his finest glassware. As he watched the tinted liquid, he noticed ripples beginning to form on its surface, and looked up in a start as he came to realize that the walls were shaking in a low rumble. The warm lights which lit his mahogany desk and bookshelves flickered on and off briefly, and then steadied their stream of light as the tremors subsided. Breen took another look down at the scotch and downed the glass in one large sip. What was done could no longer be undone.
**
Eli checked his watch, as he rounded the last corner to the residential complex. 3:34. It was hard to believe that it had taken him six hours to reach topside level, but what surprised him even more was his ability to survive, despite the warring armies all around him- of both terrestrial and otherworldly origin. The tears running down his cheeks were barely noticeable against his already sweat-drenched skin. He wished, for a moment, that he had not chosen to carry such a cumbersome weapon as the shotgun he had pulled off of a recently killed soldier. He wished for a lot of things, in fact, but only one of them really mattered to him- he wished he could have saved his wife…
She had been right there, behind him, urging him forward. They had darted from column to column along the vast hallways of the Beta Labs. And then, after just another switch to a new cover- her words of encouragement had suddenly ceased. Eli remembered vividly the look on her eyes as he turned back to see her there, as she lay sprawled across the tiled floor, blood pooling up below her, a visible bullet piercing her stomach. She had looked directly into Eli’s eyes in desperation, mouthing something that he could not hear. But he knew exactly what she had said; her eyes had told him by the way they became slits at the mention of her noiseless word. “Alyx.”
He fumbled now with his set of keys, finding quickly the one that opened his apartment. He gave a quick prayer as he violently slammed the door open with a crash. He breathed an immense sigh of relief as he saw Alyx safe in her crib, crying. He dropped his shotgun in pure relief, running over to her and clutching her over his shoulder.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. Daddy’s here,” he said, turning towards the parking lot. Good. He could still see his tiny car amid the SUV’s of the residential lot. They were almost free. Alyx calmed down considerably as her father smiled.
And then, she went completely silent. Eli’s eyes went wide and he took an uneven breath as he heard the sound behind him. An animalistic sound, unlike any he had heard before that day. He turned slowly, to face what he feared to face. In his doorway, basked in the light of the hallway, stood a Vortigaunt, its body hunched forward maliciously. Eli quickly scanned the room- his shotgun was much too far away for him to grasp. He backed up slowly, into the corner of the room, and the Vortigaunt followed with equally slow, methodical footsteps. As it approached, Eli sank to his knees, still trying to comfort Alyx. Seeing his own reflection in the massive, red eye of the beast, he tried to imagine himself far away from Black Mesa. He tried to imagine himself anywhere but in his ruined apartment, clutching his infant child, and getting ready to be ripped apart by a Xenian creature. There was no hiding left to do, no more running…just him, his daughter, and the thing. The creature gave another strange vocal sound, louder this time, and wound its arm back, preparing to strike. Eli closed his eyes, preparing for the blow.
It didn’t come. He forcing himself to pry his eyes open, and saw the beast was still there. It was doing something altogether strange. The Vortigaunt raised its shackled arms before its face, twisting its forearms around as if studying the metallic contraptions. It looked back at Eli, cocking its head slightly, almost out of curiosity. Then, with one abrupt movement, the Vortigaunt gave a flick of its wrists. The metal shackles came clanging to the floor, followed quickly by the creature’s leg braces. The creature made another throaty noise, this time less hostile than the last.
Eli permitted himself to rise slowly to his feet, in awe at the event before him. The Vortigaunt looked again at Eli, and then at Alyx, and folded its two large hands together, bowing ever-so-slightly towards Eli.
“H…hello,” Eli managed to push out.
The Vortigaunt paused for a moment, and then, in a deep voice, echoed him, “Hello.”
Amazed, Eli asked, “You…do you speak English?”
Again the Vortigaunt replied, “You. Do you speak English.”
Alyx giggled. Even Eli allowed himself a smile in the face of all he had dealt with that day. In a moment of recognition, he thought of Gordon, and the rumour that he had made it to the border world at last. His grin widened.
“Freeman…”
The Vortigaunt before him, and every other living Vortigaunt, echoed him in reply.
“Free-man.”
---
Next chapter coming soon!
