T
Tycell
Guest
Two months after the citadel had fallen the Combine had pulled most of there troops out of Earth, the remaining were either captured or killed within a few weeks. With the combine gone and city 17 left in ruins the remaining human populace spread out across the wastes.
6 months after the Combine pull out...
"...*Click* Yea we have a visual on the train bridge... Can confirm that Ant Lions were here at one point, there markings all over the walls, over. *click*" Tobias lowered the radio handset from his mouth and peer through the combine binoculars once more.
"...*Click*..uhh.. Any sign of Ant Lions now? What about the colony... can you make out any human life? Can you see any survivors? Over. *click*" The voice at the other end of the radio was base camp, probably Joe or Mallik, you could never properly tell through the static on the radio. Tobias took a close look through the Combine binoculars, adjusting the wind at the top to zoom in and out. After a while of peering at the distant train bridge through the fog for a moment Tobias pulled away from the binoculars and handed them along to me. I was lying on the ground next to him, and then he lent up on one arm and lifted the radio set to his mouth.
“*Click* Negative, I can’t see any movement from this range, but there could be survivors inside the colony. Request permission to move in and investigate. Over. *click*” I peered through the ‘Com-opts’ (Combine based enhanced Optics, or Com-opts for short) at the massive train bridge about one and a half clicks away, it was well known that Gordon Freeman had passed over this bridge in a scout buggy in the revolution. Since then a large colony had been set up under the bridge on the hanging platforms and beams.
I could see the colony clear as day, many metal sheets riveted, bolted and welded together to make walls and a floor across the otherwise open beams. There were two entrances, one at each end, it was about 8:30 am and I could clearly see through the morning haze that the ‘Thumpers’ were still active at either end of the bridge. ‘Thumpers’ were small Combine based towers about two storied high, the super efficient solar panels charged batteries which in turn powered the large hydraulic ram that pounded the ground rhythmically, the large thumps frightened Ant Lions and they don’t come near the ‘thumpers’.
With both pairs at each end of the bridge active I wondered how it was Ant Lions had gotten to the colony. Looking closer at the colony it was obvious Ant Lions had been there, large tears in some of the metal sheets with blood coming out, an clear sign that an Ant Lion claw had slashed through it, evidently from the dried blood running from the hole, some poor sod had been in the way.
“*Click* Roger that, permission to scout for survivors approved, be careful out there and if you see any trouble get out of there. Command says they can send the militia to deal with the Ant Lions, you guys watch your back. Over. *click*” Tobias was smiling. It was one of those smiles that looked like trouble.
“*Click* Roger that Base, we will do a recon of the area and report back, if the areas crawling we’ll pull out and await the Militia. This is Scout 3, over and out. *click*” Tobias pushed himself up and stood next to me, I was still peering through the ‘Com-opts’.
“Alright Squad listen up! Get up and pass me those ‘Com-opts’.” I did as Tobias asked; he was after all my Squad Leader and trainer. The Elders had decided that only Squad Leaders or captains could train initiates, this kept the level of skill in our forces high. Once I had passed training with the CO I would have to go before an Elder and prove that I was ready to be a fully qualified ‘Scavenger’.
It wasn’t a pretty job, being part of the ‘Scavengers’ or ‘Scavs’ but we didn’t have any choice, out here in the wastes resources were hard to come by, scavenging deeper inland was our only option for survival and expansion. Most of our colonies ran along the coast, next to the water so that we had something to drink, the purifiers removed the toxins, salt and other contaminants, well most of them. Food and such we either scav’d for or farmed for ourselves but mainly we just salvaged building materials, loaded them onto tractor buggies and sold them to the local colonies.
I stood up and passed Tobias back his ‘Com-Opts’, turning my head I could see the other squad members getting down off our vehicle and walking towards us, answering Tobias’s summons. Velsian, Gromut, Ullalia, and Xan. Including me and Tobias that made six, all were fully fledged Scavenger members; all were carrying an SMG and a 9mm pistol as a secondary weapon. They were all wearing the Official scavenger Bug Armour, which consisted of Warrior Bug carapace lashed together in crude but effective and tough armour.
I, being the initiate, only got the very scrappy Worker Bug carapace, it wasn’t really armour, it was more padding and it wouldn’t stop even a workers blow unlike the warrior armour witch could withstand small arms fire in some spots without penetration. I only had a 9mm pistol and a crowbar to my name, until I passed initiation of course and got better weapons. I focused my mind on the scouting task at hand, if I killed my first bug, or helped the squad kill a few bugs, and listened to everything Tobias said, I would be ready for the Elders Trial.
“Alright, we lost contact with ‘Train Bridge Colony’ about two hours ago as you know, I can’t see any activity but it looks at though Ant Lions were here, so keep your eyes open, were going to move in and scout for survivors. Any questions?” I stood next to Tobias just behind him. The rest of the squad looked laid back and calm, apart from Ullallia who just looked damn fine in my eyes. Not that I could see her face through the home made mask but the figure fitted and those MUST have been at least F’s.
“Yea I got a question, this another pansy from the City 17 colonies or is this guy any good with a gun, You ever killed anyone son?” Gromut was a big burley lad, not too smart but he was a good fighter and a loyal Scav. I had killed before, back in the migration days when my family stumbled across a couple of remaining Combine, I had been the only one left my fathers blood still dripping from the pistol I killed the two Combine soldiers with, but I wasn’t about to tell them that. Instead I just smiled at Gromut and he sort of smiled back.
“No I’m not from the City 17 Colonies, I’m from a small settlement in the old bombed hydro plant, next to Ravendale.” Nasty arse hole end of no where out there, not far from City 17 but not many people around, place is too close to ‘Zombie City’.
“YOU used to live next to Ravendale?” Gromut probed, probably thinking I was lying. I drew my pendant out from under my top, it had many Head crab claw ends stuck to it, all polished bone and cleaned, I was proud of my collection.
“Damn, that’s a lot of dead head crabs kid, I hear the Ravendale colonies spawn some of the best shooters in the world, you any good with a gun?” From what I could tell Velsian was the comedian of the squad, he wasn’t as big as Gromut but he had a sharp tongue and a sharper wit, he seemed to be more of a traveler than a Scav.
“It isn’t diffucutl to kill head crabs once you learn there be-“ I was cut off mid sentence.
“OK! Enough chit chat, we got a job to do, get onto the truck.” Tobias, as usual, enforcing is authority, he was the kind of guy who could pull it off as well, he had a very strong character that you felt happy following. We all began jogging over to the truck, it was a stripped down Combine truck in BAD condition, it had at one point been obliterated by a rocket launcher shot an a huge hole in the side had been covered up with welded metal plating.
It looked nothing like a Combine vehicle now except for the wheels and front, the rest looked like a scrap yard escapee. We all got on board, it was nearly impossible to talk while the engine was running, the engine had taken sever damage, perhaps when it was hit with a rocket. The loud drumming sound blurred out everything apart from the sound of rocks cracking under the wheels. A short trip later the Vehicle came to a stop. Me in the back with Velsian, Gromut, and Ullalia, Tobias in the front with Xan driving, Xan was a damn good driver, and she was kind of cute, she had a nice figure and was very handy with a monkey wrench, of course if you crossed her she would probably hit you with it.
The truck pulled to a stop by some old building ruins, I could see this because the door at the back had already been opened by Gromut. Me and the others clambered out of the back, I made a quick tactical sweep of the area my pistol drawn and pointing as I slowly spun round, I came to the conclusion rather quickly that this had been at one point part of the settlement under the bridge. There were some long ripped down building ruins and some old concrete foundations. The top of the bridge looked right down onto this place and I could see a small dirt path big enough for a truck leading up to the rail roads.
“Alright, Xan, Velsian, you two stay with the truck, Xan get on the gun up top, we might come back in a hurry, Valsian, keep the engine running.” Tobias’s voice was riddled with charisma.
“What? Shouldn’t I be driving?” Xan seemed pissed off that she wasn’t behind the wheel.
“Yea common ‘T’, I’ve been itching to use that puppy.” Velsian seemed a little off in what he said and the way he was lightly hopping from one foot to the other.
“No way, I saw you sniffing that shit before you came out, and the other day I heard you did magic mushrooms with old man Dallas. You start tripping with that gun behind you and you’re going to get one of us killed. If the shit hits the fan, you just open the door and I’ll be driving.” Tobias had a punishing glow in his eyes. Velsiand fell quiet, probably from either spinning out or embarrassment.
Something caught my eye as I looked out across the river; there was also a great of crosses marking at least 30 graves by the cliff side. I started at the graves for a moment letting my thoughts wonder back to Ravendale, having reassured myself that the area was clear and that I was in no present danger.
“Used to be the finest brothel for miles, shame it was just out of range of the thumpers, damn bugs came up right under the place in the middle of a party. No one left.” Gromut patted my back and carried on his way walking towards Tobias. Tobias was already making the decent down a cliff path; I followed in the middle of the squad, right behind Gromut. Tobias lead us round a thin cliff path that lead to one of the sides of the base pillars of the Train Bridge. The path had clearly seen many feet and had been expanded in some places to make travel easier; there was also a home built barricade at about waist height stopping a rather lethal plunge into the rocks and water below.
As we neared the base of the Bridge Tobias stopped, he raised his 9mm SMG and motioned the squad to follow, I wondered what was wrong with him, then when I had walked a few more feet I could see a body, crammed in one of the nooks of the cliff. It was fresh and was in a sitting up position. The legs had been torn off from the pockets down and there was a thick trail of blood leading to a small metal door, the entrance to the Bridge Colony. I figured they had crawled out here on the adrenalin of having both legs torn off and then bled to death before they could get any further.
“Poor basted, no way for a woman to die.” Ullalia commented as we passed. Tobias pushed open the metal door after quickly twisting the handle, he peered inside, the lights were off and it was too dark to see from where I was.
“Flashlighs.” Tobias said. I didn’t have a flashlight so I had to count on Tobias, Gromut and Ullalia’s lights behind me. I followed Gromut in, straight away I considered this a “clean up” rather than a search and rescue. There were remains of civilian guards and the floor way slippery with blood. I couldn’t see any weapons in the darkness which was odd but I figured they must have been buried or smashed anyway looking at the bodies.
We proceeded through the side door that leads us onto a small walkway; there is clearly a large colony of some sort up ahead. Made from scrap and fitted onto the original structure, many small huts and such line the sides with one large hut deeper in. Tobias led the way as we proceeded towards the main walkway that lead to the center of the colony.
=================================================
Like what you've read? Want to read more? tell me.
Ok so theres no action yet but there will be if you guys like it and I carry on.
6 months after the Combine pull out...
"...*Click* Yea we have a visual on the train bridge... Can confirm that Ant Lions were here at one point, there markings all over the walls, over. *click*" Tobias lowered the radio handset from his mouth and peer through the combine binoculars once more.
"...*Click*..uhh.. Any sign of Ant Lions now? What about the colony... can you make out any human life? Can you see any survivors? Over. *click*" The voice at the other end of the radio was base camp, probably Joe or Mallik, you could never properly tell through the static on the radio. Tobias took a close look through the Combine binoculars, adjusting the wind at the top to zoom in and out. After a while of peering at the distant train bridge through the fog for a moment Tobias pulled away from the binoculars and handed them along to me. I was lying on the ground next to him, and then he lent up on one arm and lifted the radio set to his mouth.
“*Click* Negative, I can’t see any movement from this range, but there could be survivors inside the colony. Request permission to move in and investigate. Over. *click*” I peered through the ‘Com-opts’ (Combine based enhanced Optics, or Com-opts for short) at the massive train bridge about one and a half clicks away, it was well known that Gordon Freeman had passed over this bridge in a scout buggy in the revolution. Since then a large colony had been set up under the bridge on the hanging platforms and beams.
I could see the colony clear as day, many metal sheets riveted, bolted and welded together to make walls and a floor across the otherwise open beams. There were two entrances, one at each end, it was about 8:30 am and I could clearly see through the morning haze that the ‘Thumpers’ were still active at either end of the bridge. ‘Thumpers’ were small Combine based towers about two storied high, the super efficient solar panels charged batteries which in turn powered the large hydraulic ram that pounded the ground rhythmically, the large thumps frightened Ant Lions and they don’t come near the ‘thumpers’.
With both pairs at each end of the bridge active I wondered how it was Ant Lions had gotten to the colony. Looking closer at the colony it was obvious Ant Lions had been there, large tears in some of the metal sheets with blood coming out, an clear sign that an Ant Lion claw had slashed through it, evidently from the dried blood running from the hole, some poor sod had been in the way.
“*Click* Roger that, permission to scout for survivors approved, be careful out there and if you see any trouble get out of there. Command says they can send the militia to deal with the Ant Lions, you guys watch your back. Over. *click*” Tobias was smiling. It was one of those smiles that looked like trouble.
“*Click* Roger that Base, we will do a recon of the area and report back, if the areas crawling we’ll pull out and await the Militia. This is Scout 3, over and out. *click*” Tobias pushed himself up and stood next to me, I was still peering through the ‘Com-opts’.
“Alright Squad listen up! Get up and pass me those ‘Com-opts’.” I did as Tobias asked; he was after all my Squad Leader and trainer. The Elders had decided that only Squad Leaders or captains could train initiates, this kept the level of skill in our forces high. Once I had passed training with the CO I would have to go before an Elder and prove that I was ready to be a fully qualified ‘Scavenger’.
It wasn’t a pretty job, being part of the ‘Scavengers’ or ‘Scavs’ but we didn’t have any choice, out here in the wastes resources were hard to come by, scavenging deeper inland was our only option for survival and expansion. Most of our colonies ran along the coast, next to the water so that we had something to drink, the purifiers removed the toxins, salt and other contaminants, well most of them. Food and such we either scav’d for or farmed for ourselves but mainly we just salvaged building materials, loaded them onto tractor buggies and sold them to the local colonies.
I stood up and passed Tobias back his ‘Com-Opts’, turning my head I could see the other squad members getting down off our vehicle and walking towards us, answering Tobias’s summons. Velsian, Gromut, Ullalia, and Xan. Including me and Tobias that made six, all were fully fledged Scavenger members; all were carrying an SMG and a 9mm pistol as a secondary weapon. They were all wearing the Official scavenger Bug Armour, which consisted of Warrior Bug carapace lashed together in crude but effective and tough armour.
I, being the initiate, only got the very scrappy Worker Bug carapace, it wasn’t really armour, it was more padding and it wouldn’t stop even a workers blow unlike the warrior armour witch could withstand small arms fire in some spots without penetration. I only had a 9mm pistol and a crowbar to my name, until I passed initiation of course and got better weapons. I focused my mind on the scouting task at hand, if I killed my first bug, or helped the squad kill a few bugs, and listened to everything Tobias said, I would be ready for the Elders Trial.
“Alright, we lost contact with ‘Train Bridge Colony’ about two hours ago as you know, I can’t see any activity but it looks at though Ant Lions were here, so keep your eyes open, were going to move in and scout for survivors. Any questions?” I stood next to Tobias just behind him. The rest of the squad looked laid back and calm, apart from Ullallia who just looked damn fine in my eyes. Not that I could see her face through the home made mask but the figure fitted and those MUST have been at least F’s.
“Yea I got a question, this another pansy from the City 17 colonies or is this guy any good with a gun, You ever killed anyone son?” Gromut was a big burley lad, not too smart but he was a good fighter and a loyal Scav. I had killed before, back in the migration days when my family stumbled across a couple of remaining Combine, I had been the only one left my fathers blood still dripping from the pistol I killed the two Combine soldiers with, but I wasn’t about to tell them that. Instead I just smiled at Gromut and he sort of smiled back.
“No I’m not from the City 17 Colonies, I’m from a small settlement in the old bombed hydro plant, next to Ravendale.” Nasty arse hole end of no where out there, not far from City 17 but not many people around, place is too close to ‘Zombie City’.
“YOU used to live next to Ravendale?” Gromut probed, probably thinking I was lying. I drew my pendant out from under my top, it had many Head crab claw ends stuck to it, all polished bone and cleaned, I was proud of my collection.
“Damn, that’s a lot of dead head crabs kid, I hear the Ravendale colonies spawn some of the best shooters in the world, you any good with a gun?” From what I could tell Velsian was the comedian of the squad, he wasn’t as big as Gromut but he had a sharp tongue and a sharper wit, he seemed to be more of a traveler than a Scav.
“It isn’t diffucutl to kill head crabs once you learn there be-“ I was cut off mid sentence.
“OK! Enough chit chat, we got a job to do, get onto the truck.” Tobias, as usual, enforcing is authority, he was the kind of guy who could pull it off as well, he had a very strong character that you felt happy following. We all began jogging over to the truck, it was a stripped down Combine truck in BAD condition, it had at one point been obliterated by a rocket launcher shot an a huge hole in the side had been covered up with welded metal plating.
It looked nothing like a Combine vehicle now except for the wheels and front, the rest looked like a scrap yard escapee. We all got on board, it was nearly impossible to talk while the engine was running, the engine had taken sever damage, perhaps when it was hit with a rocket. The loud drumming sound blurred out everything apart from the sound of rocks cracking under the wheels. A short trip later the Vehicle came to a stop. Me in the back with Velsian, Gromut, and Ullalia, Tobias in the front with Xan driving, Xan was a damn good driver, and she was kind of cute, she had a nice figure and was very handy with a monkey wrench, of course if you crossed her she would probably hit you with it.
The truck pulled to a stop by some old building ruins, I could see this because the door at the back had already been opened by Gromut. Me and the others clambered out of the back, I made a quick tactical sweep of the area my pistol drawn and pointing as I slowly spun round, I came to the conclusion rather quickly that this had been at one point part of the settlement under the bridge. There were some long ripped down building ruins and some old concrete foundations. The top of the bridge looked right down onto this place and I could see a small dirt path big enough for a truck leading up to the rail roads.
“Alright, Xan, Velsian, you two stay with the truck, Xan get on the gun up top, we might come back in a hurry, Valsian, keep the engine running.” Tobias’s voice was riddled with charisma.
“What? Shouldn’t I be driving?” Xan seemed pissed off that she wasn’t behind the wheel.
“Yea common ‘T’, I’ve been itching to use that puppy.” Velsian seemed a little off in what he said and the way he was lightly hopping from one foot to the other.
“No way, I saw you sniffing that shit before you came out, and the other day I heard you did magic mushrooms with old man Dallas. You start tripping with that gun behind you and you’re going to get one of us killed. If the shit hits the fan, you just open the door and I’ll be driving.” Tobias had a punishing glow in his eyes. Velsiand fell quiet, probably from either spinning out or embarrassment.
Something caught my eye as I looked out across the river; there was also a great of crosses marking at least 30 graves by the cliff side. I started at the graves for a moment letting my thoughts wonder back to Ravendale, having reassured myself that the area was clear and that I was in no present danger.
“Used to be the finest brothel for miles, shame it was just out of range of the thumpers, damn bugs came up right under the place in the middle of a party. No one left.” Gromut patted my back and carried on his way walking towards Tobias. Tobias was already making the decent down a cliff path; I followed in the middle of the squad, right behind Gromut. Tobias lead us round a thin cliff path that lead to one of the sides of the base pillars of the Train Bridge. The path had clearly seen many feet and had been expanded in some places to make travel easier; there was also a home built barricade at about waist height stopping a rather lethal plunge into the rocks and water below.
As we neared the base of the Bridge Tobias stopped, he raised his 9mm SMG and motioned the squad to follow, I wondered what was wrong with him, then when I had walked a few more feet I could see a body, crammed in one of the nooks of the cliff. It was fresh and was in a sitting up position. The legs had been torn off from the pockets down and there was a thick trail of blood leading to a small metal door, the entrance to the Bridge Colony. I figured they had crawled out here on the adrenalin of having both legs torn off and then bled to death before they could get any further.
“Poor basted, no way for a woman to die.” Ullalia commented as we passed. Tobias pushed open the metal door after quickly twisting the handle, he peered inside, the lights were off and it was too dark to see from where I was.
“Flashlighs.” Tobias said. I didn’t have a flashlight so I had to count on Tobias, Gromut and Ullalia’s lights behind me. I followed Gromut in, straight away I considered this a “clean up” rather than a search and rescue. There were remains of civilian guards and the floor way slippery with blood. I couldn’t see any weapons in the darkness which was odd but I figured they must have been buried or smashed anyway looking at the bodies.
We proceeded through the side door that leads us onto a small walkway; there is clearly a large colony of some sort up ahead. Made from scrap and fitted onto the original structure, many small huts and such line the sides with one large hut deeper in. Tobias led the way as we proceeded towards the main walkway that lead to the center of the colony.
=================================================
Like what you've read? Want to read more? tell me.
Ok so theres no action yet but there will be if you guys like it and I carry on.
