Barney lolled his head back against the concrete wall while blindly throwing the ball across the garage to Dog. The robot was sitting in the same position as Barney across from him about thirty feet away. He easily caught it within the charged field around his hand that acted much like that gravity gun Eli had built, although Dog's was much weaker. After a moment, Dog sent the ball back towards Barney who caught it in turn.
Barney had been desperate for something to do but was not allowed to do any work, so he went digging into the storage rooms. Hidden in a far corner was the old baseball. The laces were ripping and the skin was peeling back, but it gave him something to do and kept Dog entertained while acting as his babysitter. He didn't need a babysitter, but Dog wouldn't let him get twenty feet without following behind like… well, a dog! A ten-foot-tall dog that could rip a Combine transport in half with ease but still a dog nonetheless.
Sven had found out about him leaving the infirmary and ripped him a new one. He'd been called quite a few colorful idioms and half had not even been in English, but Barney knew he the gist of what was being said. In the end, Sven had allowed Barney to stay out of the medical wing, but he was not allowed to work until the medic said otherwise. That left Barney with one of the worst cases of cabin fever he'd ever experienced and it'd only been a day.
As a kid, Barney never liked sitting still for too long. No kid really did but he his had been to the point where'd he act up in class. He'd tried ways to cope, but it wasn't until years later that he found outlets for all his pent-up energy. Being a security guard at Black Mesa had been one of the best things for him. Sure the hours could be insane, but there was always something for him to do or people to help.
He still had bouts of restlessness and when forced to stay inside, Barney didn't do well. He'd already done what little work he could and that was performing minor maintenance on the car Gordon had arrived at White Forest in. Minor maintenance being that he tightened a few bolts and checking the engine components to see if everything was in working order. Sadly everything was perfect. So that left Barney and Dog to their own devices several yards away from the car and tossing the baseball to each other. It kept Dog entertained and gave Barney something to do with his hands that didn't involve manual labor.
"You know, Dog? Twenty years ago, I would have killed for some downtime or a nap. Hell, even ten years ago!" Barney said while tossing the ball once more. "But now that I'm being forced to rest, all I want to do is get back out there."
That's what fighting did to people he guessed. Someone would crave getting to rest and stop fighting, but once they have to stop, all they want is to get back up and fight. Even sleeping had become too much of a chore over the years. There would be days at a time where he couldn't sleep, or when he did, he'd be awakened by nightmares of Black Mesa, battle, or discovering he was being forced through the Combine upgrade process against his will. Those were the worst. In his early days undercover with the CPs, he had been so thankful for the mask because he was scared that he would be discovered. There would have been two options for him had that happened. One was instant death and the other would be that he'd be turned into a Stalker. If he could remember who he'd been, then he'd wish he was dead. That is if he even remembered who he was after the process.
"But now? I don't know what to do with myself. People have always relied on me, but they're putting me on the sidelines. I can do so much more around her to make it safer," Barney explained.
He liked venting to Dog because he didn't have to worry about being pitied or getting strange looks. He couldn't talk, but he sure would listen. Dog threw the ball while making a few long-noted sounds.
Barney rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "I wish they would let me do more. I need to do more, Dog. It's my job to keep everyone safe and I can't even do that! Had I just gotten here sooner then I would have been able to do something. Some security guard I turned out to be, huh?"
He threw the ball once more.
"Can't even do one thing right. All my fault really…"
Dog went strangely quiet.
"I mean- Oh holy SHIT!" Barney gasped as something hard hit him right in the chest. Looking down at his lap, there sat the baseball.
Looking up, Barney frowned at Dog, "Dammit, Dog. What was that for?"
Dog made another series of notes as Barney threw the ball back. "Whatever."
As soon as Dog had the ball, he threw it once more with as much force as before but this time hitting Barney in the stomach, winding him once more.
"What's the big deal?"
Dog made a few more noises, but this time they actually sounded a little angry or upset. Why would Dog be upset with him? Wait. Could he…?
"You don't like it when I put myself down?"
Dog made a long single note sound and shook his head as if to say, 'no you dumbass.'
"Geez… Think you could find a better way of telling me? That really hurt," Barney said while rubbing at his chest. He knew enough about himself that it wouldn't bruise, but the sentiment was still there.
"Would you do the same thing to Gordon or Alyx?" He smiled at the robot.
Dog nodded vigorously. That made Barney chuckle as he tossed the ball back.
Gordon and Alyx. Wonder what they are up to, he thought to himself.
Those two were an unstoppable team once they got together. They had blown up both Nova Prospekt and the Citadel, slowed down the destruction process of the Citadel to let other people escape, and brought back a data packet that allowed the Combine super portal to close up for good. No wonder people looked up to them.
Barney was a little guy compared to them and yet he'd already done so much for the resistance. Twenty years of fighting then suddenly Gordon shows up and everything turns for the better. Guess he really was the Opener of the Way as the vortigaunts called him.
"Sometimes I think people like Gordon more than me," he smiled sadly.
Dog was quiet. He had expected another hit from the baseball, but when he looked up, Dog was frozen in place. Barney was about to call out to him and ask if he was alright but then he noticed that the baseball was frozen in place as well. It was stuck in midair and still on a trajectory with Dog's waiting hand. Paw? Claw? Didn't matter as time was frozen in place. What was going on?
"That is to be expected when it comes to symbols of hope, Mr. Calhoun," someone said.
The voice came from nowhere yet everywhere at once. It sounded both far away and right in his ear at the same time.
Then a figure started walking forward, but something was wrong with them. They began as a silhouette, but they were approaching from behind Dog which shouldn't have been possible because he had been sitting against the wall like Barney. The figure looked as if they were walking down a corridor that wasn't even there. They walked at a leisurely pace and as they approached, Barney could make out their features.
It looked like a man. He was in a dark blue suit with a deep purple tie and carried a briefcase. He had a rectangular face but at the same time had sharp features. His cheekbones were high and his face shrunken to look almost gaunt. His skin was pale. Nearly as pale as the Combine Soldiers beneath their armor but not to that extreme. The paleness was still unsettling. His hair was a short black crew cut that made his head look even more rectangular than it already was.
Once he walked through Dog, Barney noticed the man was transparent as he could see Dog through the man. This was probably the most terrifying thing Barney had experienced in his forty-six years of life. He stopped to poke at the baseball that was still frozen in midair as if brushing some dust from it then turned to look at Barney.
That's when Barney saw his eyes. They were an unnatural shade of green as they practically glowed with how bright they looked. They struck Barney to his very being and had made Barney stop struggling altogether. When had he started fighting to move? Why couldn't he move in the first place?
The man. No. The Man. This was not some ordinary every-day person and he wasn't normal. Barney had to make the distinction between everyone and Him.
The Man smirked as he looked down at Barney. "Long time, no see. It has been a while, I know, but it was for the best I assure you."
The way He talked was unnatural. There were pauses that shouldn't be and inflections on the wrong syllables. He had all the words but none of the natural flow that language should have. It reminded Barney of an old text to speech machine. They had all the words, but couldn't say them as well as a person.
Barney tried to speak, but no words came out. He was entirely at the mercy of the Man in front of him. Barney opted to glare at the Man instead.
"I can tell by your expression that you are not pleased to see me. I had thought we would be on… better terms considering all I have done for the resistance and yourself. As for Dr. Freeman. He is alive for the time being."
As He had been talking, the scenery changed from the White Forest garage to a black void then slowly changed to a long corridor. Barney could see through the man that two people were moving down the corridor. Their backs were to Barney, but he would recognize the HEV suit anywhere. So that meant the person in the beanie and heavy coat to the right side of the corridor would by Alyx. They had guns drawn and moved slowly, careful of anything they might encounter. Seeing nothing, Alyx lowered her weapon and turned to Gordon. She nodded to him before they jogged around the corner and out of sight.
The scenery changed once more, and they were back in the black void. "Your methods of survival have not gone unnoticed, Mr. Calhoun. They remind me of another."
Barney suddenly remembered Him. He'd seen Him once before at Black Mesa! Then again years later. That day was fuzzy in his mind, but he knew he'd seen the Man before.
"That's why I have decided to provide you with a gift, despite what my… employers say. It should be very beneficial and aid you in aiding others."
Barney started to struggle once more. He remembered what this Man was now. He was the one who kidnapped Gordon all those years ago!
Back in City 17, Barney had been checking in with Dr. Kleiner when the Man had appeared to them. He had brought Gordon's HEV suit. There could have only been one way that He could have gotten that, and Barney wanted answers. The Man had only given Barney a smirk before going on to explain that Dr. Freeman was unharmed and in safe hands. Barney had called bullshit on that. He'd left the HEV suit behind for Kleiner and left them with parting words that Gordon would be returning in the near future.
When he had left, Barney's memory had been fuzzy about the whole thing and he'd discovered the HEV suit all tucked into a crate. When he asked Kleiner about it, the man seemed ignorant about it and didn't know where it had come from. Kleiner had modified it to use Combine energy outlets and only a few days after that was completed did Gordon show up at the train station.
Barney remembered that with anger in his heart. How dare He mess with their memories like that and use them as puppets. But the question remained as to what the gift would be? Was he going to take Barney away like he did Gordon? He couldn't do that! Barney still had so much to do at White Forest.
"Before I take my leave, remember that this conversation is a private matter," He said before slowly fading away. Color started to return to the world and Barney found himself sitting in the same place as before, but time was still frozen.
A few more seconds passed when everything came back online. The ball moved, Dog caught the ball, and Barney gasped. He put a hand to his head and found sweat had broken out across his forehead.
Dog was on his feet and at Barney's side in an instant, checking him over for injury.
"I'm alright, Dog. Just fine. Just spooked myself is all," Barney lied. He remembered the Man. He remembered everything about him. Barney was not going to forget him again.