MADDIE
Act 1-DESCENT TO MADNESS
"Call me the Devil, it's true.
Some can accept,
but I crept inside you."
– Black Sabbath, Voodoo
PARANOIA
Circa 2001
Maddie was getting ready for school one morning. She was sitting on the couch waiting for her father, Tim, to come downstairs. She had medium length blonde hair, blue eyes, and had an endearing face that could alternate between innocence and evil in a flash. The house was rather large for two people. It was only 3 years since Maddie last saw her mother. Her father never discussed her absence with her, so it remained a mystery as to where she was. Tim was an accomplished scientist at the Black Mesa Research Facility and had numerous accolades hanging on the wall. Maddie hoped she could accomplish what he had. She hoped someday she would have a wall full of awards just like her father. Tim came downstairs. He was short, had brown hair which was thinning, wore thick glasses, and had a rounded face. He was wearing a blue shirt, brown slacks, dress shoes and a ridiculous red tie.
"Madeline, are you ready?" He asked.
"Yes, daddy," she replied.
"Okay, I'll take you out to the bus stop, but then I have to go to work."
"I want to ride with you, daddy."
"I know you do, but Black Mesa is too far from your school."
Maddie pouted her lips. Tim loved being a scientist but hated working at the Black Mesa Research Facility. The relationship between them was always good. Tim was never abusive towards her and rarely got upset at her. He would call her Madeline and sometimes Maddie. She was the only person in the entire world he cared for. No one or nothing else mattered to him. They walked outside holding hands. The bus stop was not that far away, but Tim made the walk there seem like it took forever.
"Daddy, can I come with you to the lab?" Maddie asked.
"Heh, I'd love for you to come with me, but I can't right now."
Telling her that made Maddie disappointed. Tim would love for Maddie to go with him. He would do anything for her and it pained him to turn her down from spending time together. They were about halfway to the bus stop.
"I'm scared," Maddie told him.
"Madeline, don't be. You have nothing to worry about. You have to learn to experience new things in life. Being afraid will get you nowhere."
"You promise you'll take me to the lab someday?"
"Yes, I promise."
They reached the bus stop. Other kids were waiting and playing around the area. One of the dads stood in the distance, apparently keeping an eye on the kids. Tim kneeled down beside Maddie.
"Be good okay," he said.
"I will."
He kissed her and waved goodbye. Maddie watched him walk back to the driveway, get in his car and drive away. She continued to stare in the distance despite no longer being able to see the car. She had hoped he would emerge and take her with him. Then, a scruffy looking kid appeared from behind a tree and watched Maddie. He had black hair like an emo kid, a black shirt and black cotton vest and ripped jeans. As soon as she turned around, he was standing right in front of her. Maddie was startled.
"What's the matter? Miss your daddy?" The kid said.
"Leave me alone," she said.
The kid laughed.
"Just remember little girl, I run things around here," he continued, "Do what I say when I say it."
Maddie was scared. She looked at the man in the distance and he didn't seem to care what was going on. It appeared he was this kids father. The kid smiled at her.
"I love it when they get scared," the kid said. "You can see it in their eyes, they shiver, they tremble."
Maddie was too scared to even look at him. Then, the bus came. The kid walked away. He shoved everyone out of his way and got on the bus. Maddie was the last one on. Suddenly, someone tripped her. She nearly stumbled to the ground, but was able to hold on to a seat. The kid laughed at her. The bus driver, Mr. Haynes, heard the laughter.
"Morty!" Mr. Haynes yelled, "You shut your damn mouth now!"
Morty immediately turned around facing front. Maddie sat in an empty seat. Morty glanced back at her and Maddie moved closer to the window, hiding herself from him as the bus moved down the road. Maddie wondered why he had picked on her. It made her scared and uncomfortable.
Maddie was now in her classroom. The teacher was writing on the board. Maddie looked around and saw another girl smirking at her. During roll call, Maddie found out her name was Sheila. She had medium length brown hair, was tall, with numerous piercings in her ear and had freckles on her face. She immediately turned away and saw a heavy set boy, Caleb, was looking at her. Caleb had a shaved head, crooked teeth, and a pudgy face. He stuck his tongue out at her and turned away. She felt as it this school was against her.
Tim walked down the halls of the Anomalous Materials lab towards his office. There were not many scientists that enjoyed Tim's company, but it didn't matter to him because he loathed them as well. He was a highly knowledgeable scientist, but came off as a creep to many of his coworkers. He passed Walter Bennett's office. If there was anyone he hated with a passion, it was him. He was under the assumption that Walter was there to sabotage everything he worked on. He could never figure out why so many people liked him. Tim loved to talk about Maddie in front of him. He would often make up accomplishments and boast about how wonderful she was. It was to infuriate him. Tim took advantage of this because Walter's daughter was deceased. He saw Laura Fuller walking towards him. She was slender with long black hair and a gorgeous face. Tim's heart raced as she came closer. Then he made his move. He bumped into her, knocking down her clipboard. He fell to the ground.
"Oh! Tim, I'm sorry," Laura said.
"Clumsy me," he muttered.
"You okay? Let me help you up."
He starred at her legs as he grabbed her clipboard. She helped him up and he stared at her chest.
"I should look where I'm going," Tim said with a smile.
He handed her the clipboard. Laura cracked a smile.
"Don't worry, it was just an accident," she said.
Laura continued down the hall as Tim starred at her with a creepy expression. He watched her until she went into Walter's office. He wanted her. It was a dream of his to be with her. It would be a perfect family with her. He turned around and went to his office.
Tim sat at a large table in front of an HEV helmet. His main responsibility was to repair, analyze, and perform preventative maintenance on the Hazard Environment (HEV) suits. The suits were used for special experiments and could resist extreme heat, cold, and radiation. Tim had modified the majority of the HEV suits to be impact resistant. On this particular HEV helmet, the heads up display was malfunctioning. Tim was an expert at these. He knew the HEV suits better than anyone at Black Mesa. Walter Bennett was always giving him suggestions on adding more modifications to the suits at the weekly meetings. Tim just brushed him off. He hated when Walter interfered in his business. Laura on the other hand was welcome to suggest anything and Tim would accept it. It was her idea to add orange to the suits so he immediately did what she suggested. Inside his office, the were security cameras everywhere. He hated being watched; it only made him more paranoid and angry inside. He had a feeling he was not only being watched by Black Mesa security, but also by the government. That's why they need multiple cameras, he thought. The giant glass windows did not help either. Anybody could walk by and see what he was doing. Other scientists, security guards, and even the administrator walked by throughout the day. He believed, without question, they spied on him. He knew some of the scientists were government officials. More paranoia. The upside to the glass windows was seeing Laura walk by.
A few moments later, he could hear her heels on the floor. He looked up and saw her walk across. She brushed her hair back and he smiled. Then, a security guard walked up to her. It was Barney Calhoun. He had short black hair, was muscular, with scruffy facial hair, and was tall. Tim snuck closer to the window without being seen to eavesdrop.
"Hey Barney, I missed you yesterday," Laura said, smiling.
"I was down at the range," he replied. "So how did everything go yesterday?"
"Great, but you know how the higher ups are."
They shared a laugh. Laura leaned against the wall and smiled at him.
"So Barney, when are you going to show me how to use that thing?" Laura asked, looking at his gun.
"Thing? This is a Glock 17. Loud and dangerous."
"Oh, I see."
Tim backed away from the glass and watched as Laura and Barney smiled and laughed. They walked down the hall together. More fuel to Tim's anger. He went back to work on the HEV helmet. A while later, he began repairing the HEV chest piece. It was hung on a metal rack which had a hanger that held the piece. It could be spun around for easy access. During the repair process, he thought about Laura. He wanted to be with her, but felt she was too busy interacting with other scientists and especially the guards. He was much older than Laura and she graduated from M.I.T. a year earlier. He also thought about how much Maddie would enjoy her company. 'So why are they not a family?' He thought to himself. Then, Walter walked by his office and down the hall. He had a skinny build with white hair, and thick glasses and was roughly the same age as him. Tim put down his tools and decided to follow him.