--

--

After ten minutes of running down the last hallway, Gordon became winded. His breath came out in heaves. Alyx felt the same way, her legs burning from the exertion of the sprint.

"The entryway to the dock is at the next door." GLaDOS announced, almost chipper like.

Sure enough, just ahead, a large bulkhead door stood in their path. Slowing down to a jog, Gordon took the moment to catch his breath. Alyx checked behind them, making sure nobody had followed. The hall remained empty. No pursuing footsteps echoed.

"Whew." She blew out. "Hope we don't have to run like that again anytime soon."

Gordon simply smiled before pulling his shotgun from over his shoulder.

"Dock entryway opening in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . ."

The large door rumbled before pulling apart slowly. Alyx and Gordon leveled their weapons, ready for any surprises on the other side.

They were not prepared for the surprise.

The door slid apart, revealing an awesome sight. Gordon and Alyx lowered their weapons in shock. Stepping slowly forward, Gordon entered the dock.

The "room" was in the shape of a massive silo stretching far above and below. It looked like it could hold hundreds of ships. The pair stepped upon a platform that stuck out of the side of the room. Dozens of similar platforms stuck out at different heights and areas, each one carrying other massive doorways leading to different parts of the facility. Their platform simply stopped a few steps from the door.

Gordon approached the edge cautiously. Peeking over, he found that they were hundreds of feet up in the air. At the bottom floor was, what looked like, a clear underground lake, leading through an open ice cave. A slight feeling vertigo fell upon him, causing him to step back to safety.

"Gordon." Alyx whispered. He looked over, noticing that her gaze was fixed on something. Following her eyes, he found out what she was looking at.

A few levels up, connected to a platform and dangling from support lines, hovered a single red ship.

On the side read "Borealis".

There it is, Eli. Your goal for us.

The fabled ship was rusty and old looking, not at all the symbol of unspeakable power. Sparks fell from its hold, obviously indicating that it was under repair. Unfortunately for Alyx and Gordon, their objective was conveniently on the other side of the chasm. To make matters worse, it looked like the Combine had beaten them to it.

A handful of Overwatch soldiers patrolled the ship's deck. Groups of soldiers carrying engineering equipment seemed to moved in and out of it's hull, barking orders to their subordinates.

"How are we going to get across without being noticed?" Alyx whispered, but speaking mostly to herself.

Looking around, Gordon could see big cargo boxes dangling from chains, which attached to the ceiling hundreds of feet up above them. If only . . .

He caught Alyx's attention and pointed at the boxes. She understood his plan but frowned.

"Gordon, I don't think . . ." Looking at the cargo crates, she found a path they could take overtop of them that would provide perfect cover from the guards. After heaving a big sight, she simply gave an "alright".

Gordon nodded. They both holstered their weapons and took a few steps back. The nearest cargo crate was a few yards from the platform's edge. They would have to jump pretty far.

"Okay." Alyx breathed. "On the count of three. One . . . two . . . three!"

They both moved as one, sprinting forward. Gordon pushed his legs to their limit, gaining speed with each step. The edge sped up to him. With one last burst of speed, he pushed himself from the ledge and into open air.

Soaring through the space, Gordon impacted awkwardly against the container. Alyx followed, landing next to him.

"Whoa. Now that was a jump." She giggled.

They stood and spotted the next crate. It was higher than the last, but the doors were opened, allowing a clean landing inside the cargo holder. Gordon and Alyx exchanged smiles before sprinting across their current container and jumping into thin air.

--

A wave of pain shot through Barney's wounded arm, causing him to hiss through clenched teeth. Judith, who was clinging to his supporting arm, noticed her companion's pain.

"Are you alright?"

After a few seconds of silence, the ex security guard replied. "I'll be okay. We're almost there, anyways."

They had just crossed the massive moat bridge and were now entering the last, long hallway, leading towards the exit bulkhead door. Traveling with a wounded arm and carrying broken friend across a huge facility was starting to take its toll. Exhaustion etched at his features. Even Judith began to grow fatigued. Luckily, the doorway out of the hall was just within view.

After a few more moments of limping, the pair reached the metal doorway. Low vibrations reverberated across the passageway, indicating that the battle outside was still raging outside.

Barney stopped just outside the door, allowing a few moments of rest. After leaning Judith against the wall comfortably, he activated his COM unit.

"Lambda 17, this is Calhoun. Do you copy?"

Only static filled the unit.

"Lambda 17, are you there?"

"He . . .do . . . Barney Cal . . ."

"Lambda 17!"

"Yeah . . . We're here."

Finally. "I need immediate extraction."

"Oh God. Alright, where are you?"

"East side back door."

"Okay. Well, I can be there in three minutes. Just be careful. It's hell out here."

"We'll be out there to meet you. Thanks."

After deactivating the conversation, Barney slipped the unit onto his belt and leaned back against the wall. Checking the wound, he found that the gash in his shoulder was already starting to clog. That's gonna hurt tomorrow.

"Do you think they will make it?"

The sound of Judith's voice caught Barney's attention.

"I'm sorry?" Barney replied. "Who are you talking about?"

A tear fell from Mossman's eyes. "Gordon and Alyx."

Oh. Barney didn't know how to reply. "Um, well, they have made it this far."

Judith glanced at her companion before hugging her knees. "I didn't want to leave them."

Inside, he felt the same way. He scooted closer, bringing his gaze into her eyes. "They have survived some of the worst things in this world. I'm pretty sure they'll come out of this alive."

Judith nodded, feeling a bit relieved.

"Alright," He continued. "Now listen. Once we get out there, I want you to keep your eyes on me. Don't look around no matter what. Okay?"

Judith nodded again.

"Okay. I'm gonna carry you. Just keep your eyes on me."

He slipped his arms under her body and lifted her up comfortably. Then, after punching the "open" button on the nearby panel, he looked back into his companion's eyes.

"Just hold on."

The doors separated, revealing hell itself.

Barney sprinted forward, crunching across the newly fallen snow. Instantly, a wave of heat and pressure passed over his body as a nearby explosion impacted into the ground. All around them, rebels were behind the cover of large cargo containers, shooting around the perimeter of the large facility. Along the outer rim of the crater were thousands of Combine troops, trying to make their way towards the defending rebel line. Hundreds of Striders grumbled down towards the opposing force, punching holes into the line with it's powerful main canon. Above, the air was filled with aircraft from both sides. Combine drop ships cruised through the air, providing horrible fire from above. Captured rebel helicopters provided some air support, along with troop copters allowing reinforcements once and a while.

Barney ducked to the ground as two enemy dropships made a pass over the camp, raining plasma fire upon the defenseless rebels below. Covering Judith, he screamed as the dangerous ammunition impacted the ground around them, but thankfully, missing the pair entirely. Barney resumed his run, moving towards the flat plain where rebel dropships were landing. Sure enough, two helicopter ships flew out from the rising smoke, traveling towards the landing area. The aircraft landed, allowing fresh troops to pile out of their holds. Barney approached the nearest one, it being labeled across it's side "Lambda 17".

The open side allowed him to rest Judith comfortably on the benches lining the inside. Just as he jumped in himself, the accompanying helicopter nearby exploded in a ball of flame. A nearby Strider had struck it with it's main canon.

"Go, go, go!" Barney screamed at the pilot.

Not one to argue, the aircraft lifted off of the ground and into higher airspace, away from the dangerous ground fire. Fortunately, they managed to slip away from the Combine gunships, unharmed.

Looking out the open door, Barney could see the surrounding area. Hundreds upon thousands of enemy troops and vehicles occupied the northern side of the crater, and where making their way to the facility, pushing the rebels back. Dozens of enemy landing zones pocketed the snowy landscape, each one active with never-ending dropships, allowing enemy reinforcements to take the place of their fallen comrades.

The rebels wouldn't hold out for long.

Gordon. Please hurry.

A low, humming sound pierced through the noises of battle. Barney directed is gaze to the southern part of the crater. His heart jumped with elation.

What looked like an army of five hundred vortigaunts marched towards the rebels. Each one shouted their war cries, shrilling and guttural across the massive battleground. In front of the army were the commanders, riding atop train antlions and carrying large staffs. With one last cry from the commanders, the massive horde ran forward, each glowing with electrical energy. The Combine troops began to panic, but soon directed their fire upon the advancing aliens. They retaliated in turn, sending energy bolt after energy bolt at their foes.

Barney couldn't help but shout for joy.

Well, that will buy Gordon some time!

--

Whew. :D Hoped you liked it guys. Sorry it took so long. I've been having some school issues, so I've missed out on some writing opportunities. Pleas review! It helps a lot. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more. Thanks again guys, for stickin' with me.