Shepards Tale

Dag

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Sorry, but I'm new, and couldn't find out how to edit the first story, so I'm just starting it again, because the first one made Shepard sound Like a Total wuss.

Half-Life 2- Shepard’s Tale

Chap. 1

Adrian Shepard sat, hip-deep in water, and neck-deep in shit. He had dragged himself onto the roof of a car, which kept him out of any water that was above his neck. The water was murky, and had god knows what in it. Shepard looked to the right, and saw the floating body of what looked to be a person, only their fingers were elongated, and deadly sharp, and looked to be made of muscle, no skin. Also, there was a gash in its torso, lined with teeth, through which you could see all of the vile creatures internal organs. Its head resembled that of a persons, yet it was scraped clean of skin, its eyeballs sucked out. And floating next to it was what looked more or less like a blob, with two extremely sharp twigs for arms. This creature had a large hole protruding through its front, a testament of Adrian’s .50 through it. Adrian surveyed the scene, and what he saw didn’t please him.

He was stuck in an underground tunnel, presumably a four-lane highway, before the revolution. There was a truck to the right of the car, up against the wall, its headlights glaring in his face, and casting an eerie lighting over the scene. But he was glad for it, as it would show him were his targets were, for the groaning alone would not help him find his target, the zombie. Though not a Zombie by normal standards, rising from the grave, ect. These were controlled by those blobs with sticks for arms, which were affectionately named “Head-Humpers”, or Headcrabs. They sat atop the head, controlled and mutilated the body, but yet kept their host alive, and in obvious pain, a testament he learned from the constant screaming a zombie would give off, or at least the human was. These kinds didn’t scare him much though, it was the Howlers that really chilled him. Those god-awful mutations haunted his sleep. They always preferred dark areas, or to come out hunting at night, which was a good thing, as their body was not a beauty-statement. Horribly mangled, its Head-Humper was its only recognizable feature. The body vaguely resembled a humans, if you cut off all the skin, buried it, and dug it up a week later. But its appearance was not what Adrian feared, it was its abilities. Able to sprint at the speed of a Cheetah, and able to propel itself 100, sometimes 150 ft. into the air, you often had little to no warning that the beasts were coming. And when you did hear the horrible howls that emanated from it, the fear paralyzed you long enough for it to make you its prey.

Adrian turned his head to the left, to gaze at the opposite wall. Embedded in it was a door which led to the corridors which would lead him back up to the city, and back into the waging war between the Combine and Resistance. But to cross that 25 ft. of neck deep muck, which would most likely set the zombies he knew to be in there into a riot, in his condition would be foolish. His left leg had been left immobilized by the last Zombie frenzy, which meant he could not run from them. He had only one shot left in his now ancient Desert Eagle, so that would be little help. So how then was he to make it out of this alive?

As he pondered this question, figures appeared in the window to the right of the door. He was saved!! “HEY!” he called frantically. The figures slowly advanced down the hallway, with an ominous feeling about them. Shepard ignored that feeling, and screamed at them. When the figures reached the door, Shepard saw the handle turn. I’m going to live!, Thought Shepard.

The door slowly swung open, draining the tunnel enough so that the car Shepard sat on was visible. That’s when one, then two, then four figures emerged from the water, howling their god-awful howl. He was right, there were Zombies in the Muck, and this movement had set them off. But a volley of fire from the figures in the doorway put the poor head-crabbed victims to rest. That’s when Shepard saw it, and his heart skipped a beat. His savior was not a Blue-fatigued figure wearing an old army helmet. This figure was dressed in all white armor, which seemed to flow over his body, making the armor seem as if it was this creatures second skin. And in the place of its face was a gasmask, with a single, red glowing eyepiece. Shepard fired his last shot into the white-clad figure, the “Combine Elite”. It staggered back, but unhurt by the shot. Another figure emerged behind that one, this one dressed in dark blue fatigues, over which a vest of alien material rested, presumably like Kevlar. Its face was covered by a gasmask, but this one was a more human looking gas mask, with two eyes, although they glowed yellow. In its was a rifle that was silver and had glowing strips of red upon it. Shepard knew the power of this rifle, know as a “Pulse Rifle”. “We have a live one.” Grunted the Elite in a distorted computerized sounding voice. “Affirmative, taking back to the transport for questioning.” Another soldier arrived, just like the second one, and each grabbed Adrian’s arm. Adrian was to shocked with fear to move.

The combine were never known for their peaceful methods, and interrogation by combine would be known to put interrogation by Stalin to shame. In his horror, he was vaguely aware of being dragged out of the tunnel, up a flight of stairs, and into broad daylight. He was on a street, cobblestone, which was flanked by tall residential buildings on each side. In the middle of the street stood a vehicle, similar to a shiny box on wheels, with a tapered front end, and a heavy pulse rifle on the top, equivalent to a small cannon, albeit it was automatic. Despite its comical appearance, Shepard knew these were weapons to be feared. A door opened in the back, and a Combine soldier jumped out. A football sized machine flew out from around the street. It was composed of many fans which kept it aloft, and on its front side, there was a lens. Shepard looked at it wearily, and was instantly blinded. When he regained his vision, he could see in the back one of the Combine soldiers was typing something on a computer in the vehicles apartment, and faces were flashing by on a screen. Finally, after 5 minutes of being pinned by a Combine officer against the wall, he heard an audible, distorted laugh. “This one is the ‘Shepard’?” he heard the voice say. “Bring him here.”

Shepard felt himself being lifted up off the ground, then being plunked down on a bench, inside the Vehicle, more commonly known as the feared soldiers APC. He was chained to the seat, and kept his eyes on the ground. He could feel fear welling up inside him, but tried to keep it from showing. A hand grabbed his chin, and he could feel his face being pulled up, until he was looking at the red of the Elite. I’m being questioned by an elite?! Shepard thought. He knew it was bad, but not this bad. Feared for their ferociousness in combat, and their ability to turn the tide of any battle, seeing them on the front line was bad enough. But they were also know for being the most horrendous of questionnaires, bar the scientists working deep within the confines of Nova Prospekt. “Are you Adrian Shepard?” asked the disembodied voice of the white clad elite. “Please…” Sighed Shepard. But then his ribs exploded with pain, and he felt cold metal collide with his head, and his vision blurred. “YES, YES!! Damn!” Exploded Shepard, lest he incur more than annoyance from this monster. He heard it laugh, then get up, and motion to the guards out back.

“What’s happening?” Asked Shepard, “Where are you taking me?” He heard a laugh from the soldiers, and the white clad figure spoke up. “Dr. Breen would like to see you personally, and the interrogators at the Citadel have a special treatment for you…” This incurred a howl of laugh from the guards, and the door of the APC slammed shut. Shepard’s heart almost gave out. The Citadel? No, no. The Citadel was even worse than Nova Prospekt. He had heard rumors of the most horrible things happening there. To go there was worse than to be headcrabbed. He had even seen one of the stalkers that came out of that place. His breath became sharper and faster, and his chest began to ache. “The Citadel." Adrian grunted to himself. But the only sounds that greeted him were the starting of the vehicles engines, and the squealing of tires on the Cobblestone pavement. He didn't look forward to the next few hours.

P.S. Don't bite my head off for posting it again, I'm new. Tell if you guys like it.
 
Chap. 2

This is the second Chapter to the series.

Chap. 2

Much, much, Earlier.

Chap. 2

Much, much, Earlier.

Bam! Corporal Adrian Shepard’s eyes flew open. He picked his head out of his hands, and looked up. There in front of him stood the scene of the inside of a V-2 Harrier. Just like the one he had been on, before Black Mesa, before he had been blasted out of the sky, and his horrible journey started. Outside of the open door, he could see images flashing by. Smoking tubes, space, the alien world known as Xen. But the most intriguing thing about his surroundings was the man standing in front of him.

He wore a blue suit and white undershirt, with slicked back, jet black, hair. He had a very mysterious, menacing look, and held a special “place” in Adrian’s mind. This man had pulled him out of Black Mesa, after the battle with that, Gene worm. He had told him he was to be put in containment. Then he had walked off through one of those portals, which he heard tell that the science team in Black Mesa had been experimenting on. Now he was back, and it was just like when he had been pulled out of Black Mesa.

“My, Ssshepard, itsss been awhile, hasss it not?” Said the Blue suited man. Adrian just sat, speechless. “It ssseemsss that my…employersss have agreed to let me implement you into my, plansss, ssshall we ssay? Well, if you ssshow good work ethic here, Mr. Ssshepard, maybe, just maybe, I can convince my employersss to keep you. Ssso do good Ssshepard, do Good.”
With that, a crack was heard, Shepard was blinded, and when his vision came back, he appeared to be sitting on a train. A dingy train it was too. Noone else seemed to be on his car. He helplessly stared out of the window, watching factories, apartments, and highways go by. Where am I? He thought. How did I get from Black Mesa, to…Here? He was left to his thoughts for another 20 minutes, until the train slowly ground to a halt. The door opened, revealing a dingy, wrecked train station. Knowing this was the only way to go, he stepped off the train.
Upon leaving the car, he heard a whirring, and had just enough time to notice a football sized machine before it flashed him with blinding light. Regaining his vision he stepped around the Locomotive engine, which seemed quite old for 1998. This was when he noticed the figure standing in the corner. He wore a Black flak jacket, green pants striped with silver, and a green jacket beneath the jacket. But most intriguing of all was the White gasmask he wore over his head. Shepard stopped dead in his tracks. Since when have Cops wore gasmasks? What have I missed in, “Containment?”

Shepard decided to turn around and try to bypass this guard, but when he did turn around, he got another, larger shock. There, standing on the other side of a chain link fence, maybe 10 feet away, stood a Vortigaunt. Instinctivly, Shepard reached for his gun, but upon feeling only his dingy BDUs, and no gun, he looked up again. The Voritgaunt paid Shepard no attention. It was being supervised by another of those Futuristic Cops. At this time, Shepard felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, followed by the blurring of his vision. He was flipped around by the first futuristic cop, who yelled at him in a garbled, electronic voice. “Citizen, stop fooling around, go to the checkpoint.” Shepard stood stunned, and the cop raised his satanistic looking shock stick. “Ok, ok, I’m going.” As Shepard walked toward the hallway, thoughts raced through his head. Not even MP’s were that strict. What’s going on? And where am I?, this place is a dump.
He passed a fellow mumbling to himself, something about trains leaving and going and disappearing people, and another blabbing about not drinking the water. Something is very wrong here. Thought Shepard. As he walked down a hall of Chain link fence, he came upon an intersection, and each entrance was guarded by two guards. One of them came up to Shepard and said in its eerily garbled voice. “Identification.” “Uh…” replied Shepard. “Who are you citizen?” said the cop. “Shepard, Adrian Shepard” He replied. The cop walked over to a futuristic looking computer panel in the wall, and typed in some characters. Faces flashed through the screen about the panel. When Adrian walked up to look at them, he was promptly whacked with the shock stick from another guard, so he decided to wait this out by the door.

After a good 5 minutes passed, the cop at the terminal looked up, then at Adrian. He then turned to the two guards at one entrance and said “This one goes to Nova Prospekt. See if they can’t find something for him.” The two guards moved in on Shepard. Seeing this, Adrian swung out at his first captor, who dodged the blow and was whacked repeatedly with their shock sticks. Falling limp, he was carried through the passage way, to what looked like another train station. But the new engines parked there were sleek and black, as compared to the old engine he had ridden in on. And all of its cars were thin, and carried rows upon rows of strange, human sized pods. Sensing danger, yet unable to do anything about it from his recent “treatment”.

A mechanical arm swung down from the ceiling, carrying one of those pods, but this one was open, cracked right down the middle. Both cops shoved Shepard in, and promptly, the tube closed. Swathed in darkness, he felt himself being hauled onto the train, and then 8 minutes later, he felt the train start up and pull out. The next hour fell into a hazy darkness, and Adrian felt as if this horrible journey would go on forever. He was starting to lose feelings in his limbs from being locked up for such a long time. Finally, he felt the train come to a stop. Thinking maybe this was all just a dream, he was soon to be sorely mistaken when he felt a crane lift his pod up, then down, and crack open. But what he saw didn’t give him much hope at all.
 
I liked it but I lost track a couple of times. Maybe some paragraphs might be better? *shrug* Keep it up though.
 
Use paragraphs. Its impossible to read it like it is now.
 
I guess all the formations and paragraphs from word don't carry over into here, at least not when you copy and paste it. Any better now?
 
Much better. I like. :)
 
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