12 year-old Alyx tried to conceal the distilled vinegar she had stolen from the kitchen in the bustling mess hall in Black Mesa East. She walked up to the coffee mug belonging to her father. He had left his table to talk to a colleague, and was completely engrossed in his conversation.

Alyx unscrewed the cap of the vinegar bottle. She poured out some of his coffee and poured in an equivalent amount of vinegar. How ironic that his mug read, "I Love Mornings!". This would not be the most enjoyable morning for Eli Vance.

Alyx giggled and returned the vinegar bottle to the kitchen. She ran back to her table and resumed her breakfast. She kept one eye on her father at all times, waiting for him to drink the disgusting coffee. Finally, Eli wrapped up his conversation. He returned to his table and took a sip of coffee. He immediately spit it out onto the face of the unlucky person sitting across from him.

He calmly stood up and approached Alyx. "Alyx, honey, I have a surprise for you after breakfast."

She finished her breakfast hastily and ran to her father. "What's the surprise, dad?"

"Come with me." Eli walked out of the mess hall, closely followed by his daughter. They passed the Watering Hole (the "rec room") and into the living quarters. Eli went into his room and came out a few moments later with a metallic box. He handed it to Alyx.

It was relatively heavy. Alyx quickly undid the latch on the box and opened it. A black pistol with a white handle was embedded into black foam inside the box. There was a clip of ammo.

Alyx was speechless. "A gun? For me?!" Alyx dropped the box and hugged her father.

"Want to go try it out?" Eli asked.

Alyx nodded. She picked up the gun and pulled the trigger. It made a clicking sound.

"Careful, don't shoot it now."

Alyx ran to the nearest P.A microphone and proclaimed to the entire populace of Black Mesa East that she had received a gun. She then ran off to the Watering Hole to show it off.

--

"Okay, Alyx. First, you need to put on these safety glasses." Darren Hawks, the head of weapons and everything weapon-related said. "You also need these earplugs."

Eli, Alyx, and Darren were in the shooting range. They all stood around a desk that held the safety things and Alyx's gun. 50 feet in front of them was a paper target with a silhouette of a person.

Alyx stuffed the earplugs into her ears and snapped on the safety goggles.

"Now, pick up the gun and make sure there's no one in the way. Is there anyone between you and the target?"

"No."

"Good. Now make sure that the little peg at the end of the gun can be seen between the two little pegs at the back of the gun so you see three little pegs sort of standing together. Aim right below the center of the target and fire, but be careful! It gets hot if you fire for too long without stopping."

Alyx practically wasn't listening to Darren. Something about three thing standing together... whatever. Alyx opened fire on the target. She emptied one clip of ammo. The shots echoed in the long room.

"Good job, baby!" Eli exclaimed. Alyx smiled. She had a gun. Hers. Not Darren's, not Eli's, not Judith's, hers.

Darren brought the target closer. All of the bullets had hit in the central area of the target.

"NICE!" Darren exclaimed. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

--

"Alyx, baby, great job at the shooting range!" Eli was tucking Alyx into bed. "I hope you never really have to use it, but I think you're mature enough to handle it." With that, Eli gave Alyx a glass of milk and left the room.

Alyx took a sip and spit it out. It had been spiked with salt.

Eli chuckled in the hallway.

This was something I wanted to do for a while, a story about how Alyx gets her gun. I tied the whole "adding stuff into food" idea to kind of show Alyx's mean/playful side, which could have convinced Eli that she was ready for a gun. And I also added it for laughs!