{Chapter 1: Calm Before the Cascade}
A scientist with a nice fine, ironed coat is getting ready for the day. He shall be called Joe, as he
did not want to be named in this story. Joe was friends with one of his co-workers at his job at Black Mesa, his co-worker shall be called Tom, for he also did not want to be named. Joe was aboard the train ride to his job at Black Mesa, always on time. Tom was the same as Joe, always on time, was a good employee, and handled equipment well, but his coat was not ironed, instead it was wrinkly and wasn't well kempt. Joe met up with Tom at the same place everyday, the locker room. They would chat and work on the day's experiments by helping around the lab. "Today's the big day. We finally get to help around the lab with big things due to today's experiment, they're going to need lots of help," Joe said. A tall man quietly walks into the hazmat room. "Oh hello Gordon," Gordon Freeman was the quiet type and didn't talk alot but he was very energetic. Joe went back to his conversation with Tom, "Well we should probably get going, don't want to be late for our big experiment." They had walked out of the room, just before Gordon had left in his Hazmat Suit. They had taken the elevator to the lab upwards for the experiment, taking some time on the way there to admire the rooms, they hadn't been in these areas before, it was fascinating to them. They had finally gotten into the lab, a little late. "Ah, seems like you two are a bit late. Gordon has already put in the specimen, come over and watch the results with us and take notes," said one of the scientists. Tom and Joe had come over to watch as the machinery was whirring and the barrel like shapes on the machine for the crystal had started sparking lasers, the only problem was that the machinery inside the lab had also been sparking. They had been shouting for Gordon to get out of there, but the blast doors were already locked. Tom and Joe had been banging on the lab doors, trying to get out. Suddenly, everything went dark.