NO THIS IS NOT ABOUT VAMPIRES OR WEREWOLVES OR OTHER ONLY HALF-DEAD THINGS, THIS IS SCI-FI.
Half-Life: The Railroad
Year: 2015
Earth, London, England City 17
The year was 2015, fifteen years after mysterious creatures appeared on Earth. The Combine, an inter-dimensional empire who had enslaved millions, if not billions of worlds had invaded earth. On the outskirts of a place called City 17 was a canal which had dried up enough for rebels to create an underground railroad of other rebels trying to escape the Combine invasion. Two of these rebels lived in an old rusty red shipping crate halfway through the canal. One of these rebels was a human, the other, an alien who the rebels and scientists called Vortigaunts. Together, they worked to help rebels to the Black Mesa East facility, a place of safety and freedom.
May 19, 11: 47 AM
The Man awoke and looked outside the doors. All sides were clear, and not a gunship could be seen. It was a nice day. There was no breakfast, as nobody passed through that night bringing food. He turned on the radio, which woke up the Vortigaunt.
"The gunships do not pass this day."It said, thoroughly awoken. "It is quiet."
"Indeed."The Man replied. "This is unusual for a day like today. There were supposed to be raids on the Metro. I wonder what the Combine could be planning."
Birds flew by, looking around at the ground for a small insect. Even a bird's eye could not find food, as there was not even a roach. The radio started up, tuned to the Black Mesa East broadcasting channel.
"Hello!"A scientist started over the radio. "My name is Dr. Kleiner, and as you can probably tell, we have a little power today! Some scientists working under Dr. Magnusson upgraded our generators, and we can now bring you some news! Uh, um, let's see here... "
Dr Kleiner fuddled a little with the papers on his desk and started reading:
"Today is another standard Combine raid on the Metro today, and while it was scheduled, rebels that have come in are baffled by the lack of troops and gunships in the air today. Another Combine scout was seen stumbling upon the Black Mesa East facility, but was quickly shot on sight by our crack team of snipers. Good job, fellas! Ha, ha!"
There were a few moments of silence on the radio, Kleiner mumbling something about 'resonance cascades' to a fellow scientist.
"Ah, here we go!"Kleiner finally started again. "Today's statistics to brighten your day!"
Kleiner continued like this as the Man and the Vortigaunt continued to listen, until a man carrying a heavy box stumbled in. He was panting and wet, he'd obviously been underwater.
"Th-the headhuggers. They're rampant today. Well,"The visitor stopped to take a breath, and set the crate on the floor. "Well, here's your junk. I picked it up from some more supplied stations a ways back. Let's see what you got here..."
He opened the box with a crowbar, and dust flew everywhere in the dimly lit hut.
"Rice, pancake mix, a couple TV dinners, a pistol, a-"
The Man stopped him mid-sentence.
"A pistol?!"He exclaimed. "Impossible, how did you get this?!"
"Metro cop's corpse at the bottom of the Big Pond."
"That's amazing. You should get going. Thanks so much."
"You're welcome. Remember to keep that thing loaded, the crate's got quite a bit of ammo in it."
"Will do. Take care!"
The man walked off, seeming happier, with a pep in his step.
"The friend is now unarmed."The Vortigaunt said. "I see that he will survive still."
"He left his crowbar." The Man replied. "God help him."
May 19, 9:06 PM
"Come now. We have been given a bounty, let us enjoy."
The two dug into bowls of moist rice and apples. The table was made of scraps of nearby buildings and the bowls were empty tin cans. They were able to eat for a couple minutes before they heard the telltale whistle of a Combine raid. They assumed to hear screaming from the Metro, but instead they heard some from the south of the Canal.
"HAAAACKS!"A far-off voice screamed.
They heard a buzzing from that direction. The Combine had to have raided the Railroad, finding at least one outpost. The Man and the Vortigaunt turned off the lamp in the box, and they sat in opposite corners, waiting for the raid to pass. They dared not take a breath, lest the Metro Police find them. A small, flying object, glowing red, entered the hut. It looked to be a Manhack, a flying machine that used its rotors to track and injure rebels. The Man shot it out of the sky, and it clinked to the bottom of the box. They waited for what seemed like hours, and the raid finally stopped. The Man and the Vortigaunt peeked their heads out the window, and both sides looked clear. They walked out into the night, and stopped to set on some rubble looking out at the Metro.
"It seems,"The Vortigaunt started. "That the sky is most quiet after the storm."
"Yeah."The Man replied. "You know, that Metro would actually be beautiful if it weren't for the genocidal maniacs trying to kill us every step of the way."
"War tears apart worlds. Why do we continue if this is the case?"
"All beings crave power, whether we like it or not.
The world was quiet for the rest of the night, and the two rested for the next day, and the next, and the next. For they were the embodiment of hope of all mankind.
"The one free man,"The Vortigaunt said before they slept. "Is awake."