The Forgotten Adventures of Shephard and Freeman!
An Unlikely Combination
Adrian Shephard had grown accustomed to nothingness after what had seemed like many years in perpetual confinement. The train he was imprisoned in seemed to drift endlessly in the void. Shephard took his time to test whether it was possible to jump at the front of the train so as to be flung backwards, providing no end of amusement in an empty void. So at a particular moment in time when a bright light burst into the carriage, the initial reaction was somewhat subdued. But when the lean, smart-dressed man stepped through the light, Shephard was overcome with hope and was quick to address the G-Man,
"Are you letting me go?"
"For a time...my employers require your co-operation..."
Before he was given a chance to respond the bright light engulfed him and took him away.
- - -
From the desk of Dr Gordon Freeman Ph.D.
Today was just like any other day in stasis, well except I've been teleported into a big city somewhere in some time by that creepy guy in the suit. Why can't he talk like a normal person? I mean he'd be a nice enough guy if he didn't insist on talking like a robot and pulling really evil faces all the time! But enough about that. I tried to find out where I was but everyone gawks at me like I'm an alien or something! I was like, "Is the zip open on my HEV suit?" Anyway, I'm off to explore now, and to find another crowbar!
- - -
The bright light faded away and Shephard landed gently on his feet but in a strangely confined space. It seemed as though the G-Man, in his seemingly limitless power had goofed and accidentally transported Shephard into a public toilet cubicle.
The slip-up meant little to Shephard who casually unlocked the door and left the cubicle. That was until a shrill high-pitched scream rattled his head and he turned around to be greeted by a distressed woman in utter confusion. Normally this would have been due to the man in the wrong restroom except that Shephard had not anticipated still being fully dressed in his marine uniform, complete with gas mask.
Shephard beat a hasty retreat before any other unfortunate souls should encounter the strange sight. His mind was clouded with anxious thoughts at that moment, so much so that he had not considered exactly where to run to and soon found himself in the middle of a busy street. Many people stopped and stared in silence at the alien individual who had appeared. The scene grew increasingly tense and increasingly quiet and so Shephard decided to answer the greatest anxiety in his head at the time. He stepped forward, tore off his gas mask and yelled,
"I'm a maniac with a gun! Everyone get out of my way!"
The wild and frantic scene he had predicted after this outburst never came to be and the majority of people simply looked blankly at the stranger except for a handful of people who found his outburst highly amusing. As the crowd dispersed, he made a rapid dash towards a clothes shop but slipped down an empty alley adjacent to the building. Thinking ahead for the first time, he removed the survival bag from his back and began to disassemble his marine equipment. Shephard was able to compact the majority of his uniform, helmet and gas mask into the bag leaving him in a particularly sweaty t-shirt, combat trousers and boots. The clothing may have been well and truly battle-worn after Black Mesa but it would suffice so as to allow him to blend into the crowds considerably more easily than before.
He slung the backpack over his shoulder and made his way to the street again. He took a fleeting glance at a newspaper stand and perusing past the headline "ARMOURED NUTCASE ARRESTED" he read the small print of the date, September 2003.
- - -
Meanwhile in a dingy interrogation room, Freeman sat at on end of a desk, still in his HEV suit. Opposite him sat a uniformed officer and a particularly stressed police captain.
The captain leaned over the desk and said in a lacklustre tone, "Okay spaceman, d'you know why we've arrested you?"
Freeman looked at the captain, not saying a word.
"...All right then I'll tell you! Officer Barnes here arrested you for vandalism and reckless behaviour. I'll be blunt here, what the hell were you playin' at smashing up crates with a rusty crowbar!"
The captain slammed his fists on the desk in anger, "I'm not even gonna ask where you got that crowbar from, but I'd love to know what the hell you were thinkin', destroying that store owner's merchandise!"
Freeman did little to appease the captain's anger, looking blankly at the policeman. He then performed an unusual feat in front of the interrogators. He picked up a glass of water and proceeded to drink from it without using his hands. The two policemen now stared blankly at Freeman and this bizarre act of apparent levitation.
However the amazement soon turned to anger at Freeman's reluctance to speak. The captain grew increasingly agitated at Freeman so Barnes now accompanied the captain's questions and looking Freeman directly in the eye, he shouted, "Answer the damn questions, maggot!"
The captain stood up and marched towards the door. He spoke to the Officer, "Forget it. The shopkeeper won't press charges anyway, just get rid of him before I do somethin' I might regret!"
The captain stormed down the corridor to his office and promptly closed the door behind him with a bang. Officer Barnes led Freeman to the exit.
- - -
Shephard stood in one of the changing rooms of the clothes shop. He had changed out of the well-used marine uniform and was now wearing a suit and a pair of formal shoes. As he admired the snappy ensemble in the mirror a thought struck him: he didn't have any money. Shephard's mind rushed back to Boot Camp, to his foot locker, where inside he had left his wallet for safekeeping before the mission at Black Mesa.
He thumped the wall in anger at the unfortunate incident. He began to unlace the shiny shoes when an idea struck him. Standing up on the seat he peeped over the door of the cubicle and scoured the shop floor. Numerous clothes racks were positioned in a convenient order around the room and a shop assistant strolled between them. He then looked towards the opposite corner of the shop and spied the fire exit. The target was set and he devised a cunning scheme to escape from the enemy fortress.
He waited for the assistant to walk far enough from the changing rooms and then gently unlocked the door and opened it slowly. He crept alongside the changing rooms, keeping low enough to not be spotted. He stopped momentarily next to the last changing room to survey the fire exit. Just as he was about to make his last few silent steps, the door of the cubicle swung open, whacking him on the head. A loud "ow" slipped from his mouth, attracting the attention of the shop assistant.
"Is there something wrong over there?"
Shephard froze in panic, "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap" he thought as the assistant began to approach the cubicle. Regaining his senses he made a final stealthy dash for the exit and burst through the door, closing it behind him gently. Mission successful...
He breathed a long sigh of relief as he leaned on the door. However by chance, at almost the exact moment, a door opened at the other end of the alleyway next to the shop and Gordon Freeman stumbled out. The back door of the police station slammed shut behind him.
Both men began to walk their own way, neither having properly recognised the other. As they drew nearer both simultaneously realised just who they were looking at.
Both had the same initial reaction although it was unsurprisingly Shephard who said, "You again!"
Each glared furiously at the other before they approached each other. Within seconds, a violent and clumsy fist fight ensued as Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shephard vented their anger on each other. Amongst the flailing attacks, Shephard miraculously landed a punch right on Freeman's jaw while Freeman retaliated promptly with a brutal, misguided punch into the stomach. After an absurd moment of wild, inaccurate punches, Shephard managed to capture Freeman in a headlock and said, "I've been looking forward to this for six years you son of a..."
Freeman hauled Shephard to the floor and repeatedly punched him in the stomach while still caught in a headlock. The ridiculous scene continued until the back doors of both the police station and the clothes shop opened and the pair were surrounded by various policemen and the shop owner. They paused and looked at one officer holding a set of handcuffs.
Shephard released Freeman from his headlock, "Oops."
- - -
Back inside the police station, Freeman and Shephard sat opposite each other in a holding cell, bruised and scarred and not saying a word. It was hard to believe that the events of one particular day for two people could have exactly coincided in the way they did.
After a great deal of time had passed in total silence, the police captain appeared outside the cell and said, "I've been speakin' with your lawyer and I've agreed to let you two go, if you'll do us a favour..."
Shephard spoke to the captain, "What lawyer?"
"Never seen him before. Creepy guy, he's got a bit of a problem talkin' normal. Said his name is Mr G. Mann."
Freeman and Shephard looked at each other curiously. Then from a windowed office behind the captain, the G-Man came into view. He glanced at the hopeless pair then characteristically straightened his tie and strolled out of sight again.
"Well that's just great..."