It stretched on forever, this void.
It never ended. Sometimes it consisted of utter, pitch darkness that completely dominated his vision, to the point where he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Other times it was full of a searing white light that wreaked havoc on his retinas and made it hurt to open his eyes. Sometimes it was dark, but punctuated by soft white lights that flickered in the air and streamed past his floating body like shooting stars. He could never decide which was worst; after being confined in this hellish realm for so long he had exhausted his mind with constant thinking. It was the only activity available to him in this void, and he had seized upon it desperately, like a drowning man to a life jacket. However, now it had gotten to the point where even thinking had lost its appeal.
So he floated along in the ever-changing landscape, limp and devoid of energy, as he watched the darkness change to light, the light to darkness, and everything in between. At first he had yelled for help, screamed until his throat was aching and raw, but it made no difference. No one came. He had long since stopped speaking, but he did mutter a few words here and there, just to hear the sound of his own voice, to assure himself he was still there. Each time his gravelly voice grew weaker, less distinct. Sometimes it would echo around him infinitely, rebounding off nothing. Other times the sound would simply vanish out of the air like wind snuffing out a candle flame. One more asset lost to him.
So he floated.
Days turned into weeks, weeks to months, months to years – ha! What years? he asked himself. Does time even exist here? No, my good friend, amigo, comrade, ha ha – time has packed its bags and left down, caught the last train headed to nowhere, ridin' the rails to –
"Rise and shine, Mister Freeman. Rise and… shine."
The sound was so unexpected, so alien, that Gordon jolted in surprise. He opened his eyes and saw a figure before him, outlined and magnified by the shooting bands of white light that streamed past him. A crisp blue/grey business suit covering a very tall and thin physique, a dark red tie fastened at the neck of extremely pale skin, short-cropped brown hair in a military crew cut, an inconspicuous briefcase clutched in his right hand – it was him, the G-Man.
"Not… that I wish to imply you have been sleeping on… the job. No one is more deserving of a restttt. And all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until… well, let's just say your hour has… come again."
What the hell is he talking about? Gordan wondered, staring into the G-Man's icy blue-green eyes. His voice twitched and started in that peculiar fashion of his, and Gordan speculated, not for the first time, exactly what kind of creature he was. For he was certainly not human; that had been proven a long time ago.
Gordan suddenly realized that images were flashing behind the G-Man, who was now almost transparent: a strange electrical beam piercing a metal apparatus (Gordan felt an uncomfortable wrench in his stomach as he realized it resembled the resonance cascade), giant hulking transport tubes that moved silently along a dark metal rail, dark blue ridged walls extending up as high as he could see, and moving along below in the darkness the thin, razor-like shape of a train…
The G-Man was speaking again. "The right man in the wrong place can make all the dif-ferrence… in the world."
A strange heaviness began to overcome his floating body. "What are you doing?" Gordan tried to shout, panicked, but his voice failed him; after all, he hadn't used it for the better part of a year. Then again, he really had no idea how long ago he had used it. It could have been a day for all he knew. He had no concept of time in that endless void.
The G-Man did not answer, merely gave him a cryptic smile as his outline solidified and slowly began to drift into the distance. "So wake up, Missster Freeman. Wake up and… smell the ashes."
"Wait!" he tried to call, but suddenly the G-Man was gone, and he was enveloped in a blinding white light…
x x x x
Someplace either close or far, another dormant figure drifted off through nothingness. His eyes were shut tightly. Where am I? he wondered, for the millionth time. What is this place?
He couldn't even describe it. It hurt to try. The constant isolation and silence of this place tore at his nerves, his mind, his heart. It would have consumed a lesser man long ago, but he refused to lose himself to this deadened void. The only thing tying him to his humanity was his burning, unquenchable desire to be free.
He tried to picture Earth in his mind. A sunlit park, a laughing couple reclining under a tree as rain poured from the sky, his mother sliding a slightly burnt chicken from the oven and placing it before him as a small boy…
Don't.
He gritted his teeth, the desire to be home nearly insatiable. I need to be out of this. Out of here. God, let me out of this forsaken hellhole…
And like an answer to his prayers, the voice spoke.
"Well, well, you ssseeem to have… drifted off there for a second. Now is not the time to be relaxing."
He opened his eyes to stare contemptuously at the figure before him. The G-Man smiled slightly, and the man felt a sharp twinge of fear. The smile wasn't benevolent or encouraging, it was a grimace.
"I agree that you have earned the right to resttttt, but there are matters at… hand which require immediate… concentration," the G-Man continued. "I require a further indulgence on your part. Rather than allowing you the illusion of… choice, you will be sent to finish your… job. There are worse alternativesssss, of course."
The man still didn't reply, but instead glared at the G-Man in a manner that clearly stated he wished him a painful death. His helpless anger seemed to amuse the G-Man, and he snickered. The sound was like twigs cracking.
"Still full of attitude, I… see. My employers require your attendance at the presssent moment." His body suddenly felt unbearably heavy. White light began to envelop him, and the G-Man was soon lost to its glare.
"You still have a part… to play… Adrian Shephard."