"Aaarrrghh..." I heard a muted moan that sounded surprisingly like my own voice.
I panicked suddenly and got up abruptly, not even knowing if I can do that. I could.
The main wall of the building we had been approaching collapsed, as in my delirious dream. I moved my head to take a better look and hissed. My ear really got hurt but to my huge relief it was nothing like in my vision, more like a big scatch. Wait...
Where's the glass? It took me about half of a minute to realize that someopne indeed pulled me away from this hell of windows falling down altogether with the already ruined wall. But I was almost surely alone among the debris. I closed my eyes for a few seconds. If there were any other people... I felt too numb to feel empathy and look for their bodies. I didn't desire to find any of the Combine soldiers either.
The horizon in front of me was displaying a delicious sight of portals ascending and receding. Recreating themselves, melting away and creating new anomalies. Everything drawn on the darkening sky background. Appearing so not-belonging-to-this-world.
How long has it been since we came back from Borealis? The hell we've unleashed from the board has been reaching its peak. Finally.
But I was late for my very own party.
***
Alyx cursed and took a glimpse at the place they had left, or more like they had to run for their lives. Now she'd to climb a high cliff of destroyes and cracked walls, bricks, pipes and rarely, furniture. No sense in returning to save Freeman. "Save the Freeman!"
"Huh!" She laughed bitterly and followed the safe route the spies found for them before. Most of Combine forces were having much more serious problems than chasing after mentally disturbed physycist with a crowbar. Or his companions...
Still, she knew that snipers never sleep. And still, she was horribly aware of Advisors following them, like unavoidable shadows. Alyx could sense them all the time, every once in a while experiencing a dull mental paralysis.
She took a deep breath and gripped her gun tightly. She knew the mission objective. down in her jacket's pocket was the thing. She herself and Gordon, took one of each, just in case one of them would not... not... She squeezed unwanted sandness under the eyelids, for later.
Constant roar coming from above was playing on everybody's nerves.
To be continued...