Disclaimer: I don't own Half-Life.
Aftermath
Chapter Eight: Freeman Pontifex
Gordon found it difficult not to fuss over Alyx. He had to fight the instinct to rush over to her on every misstep and groan as they walked up the slope and around the corner going off to the left. A hole in the ground ended the corridor abruptly, a ladder providing the way down.
Victory skipped the whole thing, leaping down past the ladder. Allowing Alyx to go first, Gordon watched her climb down, a troubled frown tensing his forehead the entire time. As Gordon clambered down himself, hopping past the last few rungs, a dull, distant thumping echoed from outside.
Turning from the ladder, Gordon saw that the corridor sloped up to a doorway, bright daylight shining through. As they followed Victory out into the open, Gordon couldn't help but enjoy the fresh air that washed over his face. Alyx's obvious discomfort at having to walk uphill dampened his spirits a little, however.
They reached the top of the slope before it became an issue, emerging out onto a wooden platform overlooking a grassy quarry. Barrels and crates had been left randomly across the platform, overturned and ageing. A shelter above their heads allowed them shade from the sunlight beating down from above. Moving to the left corner, Gordon rested a hand against one of the pillars supporting the shelter. A grassy slope beside him led down to the quarry itself, which stretched off into the distance and around to the left.
On the opposite side of the quarry, Gordon saw the source of the distant thumping. Crossing a long bridge presented crossways to them, the Combine made their way forward. Striders, APCs, dropships, gunships and soldiers… all marching with uniform speed. Behind them, a strange, towering apparatus had been constructed around one of the creatures Gordon and Alyx had seen at the Citadel, the white shell glistening in the sunlight.
Alyx sat down on a wooden crate behind Gordon, hands resting on her knees. A tired groan escaped her that he did his best not to pay too much attention to, quickly followed by a gasp when she saw the bridge.
"Oh my God. The Combine's on the move."
Victory, who had taken up a position opposite to Gordon, growled ominously. "Yes… and they carry Shu'ulathoi; Advisors, still in incubation pods. They gather and unite the scattered Combine forces."
"So that's what we saw in the Citadel," Alyx said to Gordon.
He nodded. "I saw Breen talking to them even earlier than that." He looked to Victory. "And I've heard that word before. From the Nihilanth."
"Indeed. The Nihilanth was their slave, as it also once was with Vortikind." He waved a hand toward Gordon, adding a gracious, "Freed by your endeavours."
Smirking, Alyx gave Gordon a playful punch in the side. "Everybody owes you something, don't they?"
Gordon shrugged, casting his gaze back to the bridge. "I'm still waiting for that beer from Barney."
After a moment to readjust to the gravity of the situation, Alyx returned her attention to the Combine. "They're sure in a hurry."
Victory nodded gravely. "They move north with great purpose."
"North? White Forest!" Alyx groaned, and Gordon looked over to see she had leapt to her feet. After shooting an irritated glance at his over-worried expression, she addressed Victory. "We have to get there ahead of them."
"I know of humans with a vehicle not far from here," Victory said, nodding behind Gordon and to the quarry turning off to the left. "They will understand our urgent need."
"What are we waiting for?"
After one last look at the distant Combine, the automated female voice rendered incomprehensible due to the echoing quarry, Gordon led the way down the slope, wondering if maybe they would end up being sitting ducks if the Combine noticed them. As they progressed down into and then through the quarry, however, Gordon realised that what they had seen was the tail end of the Combine expedition; except for a few soldiers, the bridge was largely empty now.
The quarry had become overrun with moss that squelched beneath his feet as they followed Victory around the corner and into another long valley stretching out in front of them. Several thumpers had been erected at evenly spaced intervals, creating a trail of pit stops that pointed the way to the resistance base. A skeleton of a building frame had been erected on the cliff-side, tucked into the far right corner of the valley. Inside, Gordon could see an elevator shaft. Gordon could just make out the tip of a warehouse over the ridge of the valley, behind the elevator.
"The humans have their enclave on the rim of this canyon," Victory said, pointing out the base to Alyx. "I do not see their sentries."
Gordon's mouth became a worried, thin line. They managed to reach the first thumper without incident. As soon as they set off for the second, however, great geysers of dust and dirt erupted around them, ant-lion and acid-lion alike clambering out.
Alyx groaned, pulling out her pistol. "Ant-lions. Now I know I'm not in heaven."
They ducked, blasted and leapt their way to the second thumper, gathering around it breathlessly. Alyx rested a hand against the metal frame of the thumper, and Gordon glanced back at her with concern.
"I'm fine, Gordon," she gasped, waving him away with an exasperated tone. "Just… tired."
The sweat gathering across her pale face did nothing to reassure Gordon. Victory blasted an acid-lion, the explosion of corrosive liquid burning through several ant-lions that had been gathered around it. Half a dozen gas canisters were gathered around the thumper, heavy enough that they were unaffected by the shockwaves of the device.
"Take shelter near the next repellent device," Victory called over his shoulder, before running into the swathe of alien bugs, a Vortigaunt cry on his lips.
Gordon looked back to Alyx, putting a hand on her arm. "We have to move."
Swallowing and taking one last deep breath, Alyx nodded. They started running, and Alyx stumbled only a few times before they reached the thumper. The resistance had seen fit to erect a miniature fortress around this particular thumper. Girders and sheets of metal had been nailed and melted together to create a secure perimeter of shielding. The gaps were thin enough that a person could clamber through, but an ant-lion would have trouble. And even if one of the creatures did get through, the thumper guaranteed it wouldn't want to stay.
Victory joined them quickly, leaping through a gap between girders like an acrobat through a flaming hoop. He rolled to a stop, then ran over to join them behind cover. Looking over at Alyx, Gordon saw that she was doing no better than before, and was now resting her back against the makeshift wall, head up and taking deep breaths through her nose.
"Dizzy," she whispered. "It'll pass."
Taking a determined breath, Gordon moved around the thumper to the other side of the improvised island, peering through two posts of metal to get a better look at the elevator. He would have to cross a railway line going from one closed off tunnel to another, both boarded up. It looked like the door to the elevator shaft was closed, maybe even locked. He looked back across the way to Alyx and Victory.
"I'll see if the door to the lift is working," he yelled, hoping he was heard over the thumper.
Alyx nodded and gave him a thumbs up. Watching the gesture intently, Victory did the same, with a toothy grin thrown in for good measure.
After a pump of the shotgun to make sure he wouldn't waste any time, Gordon turned and slipped through out of cover. He started running, trying to keep an ear out for the sound of an acid-lion spitting anything towards him. One boot touched the railway when he heard a familiar roar. Still running, Gordon glanced over his shoulder and saw the ancient guardian come exploding into the great outdoors, wood flying everywhere as it exited the tunnel closest to him.
Gordon skid to a halt at the metal shuttered door leading into the elevator shaft. It was attached to a generator.
A dead generator.
Snarling, the guardian turned on him and charged. Gordon remained where he was, managing four shots before the guardian was practically on top of him. He dove to the side, rolling and coming back up on his feet. The guardian tried to stop itself, colliding side on with the tall barbed wire fence beside the metal gate.
Not needing much more encouragement, Gordon started running back to the thumper, keenly aware of the gathering ant-lions and the loud galloping that shook through the ground. He reached the island and had to slow down to slip through a gap. Somehow, he found it difficult to concentrate on the awkward matter of lifting his leg up and over the metal girders when the guardian was pounding down towards him with increasing vigour.
A three fingered hand latched onto his arm and pulled him through, yanking with more strength than Gordon could ever have attributed to such a slight frame. The guardian slammed into the girders, hard. Dazed by the viciousness of the blow, the growling monster sat back on its rear, head spinning a little.
"The ancient guardian…" Victory said, red eye on the creature as Gordon got to his feet. "This time you may kill it without consequence."
"Yeah, thanks," he mumbled, cocking the shotgun.
Victory threw as many bolts of energy at the guardian as he could manage while Gordon unloaded the shotgun into creature. It stumbled back from the onslaught, howling in pain and anger before galloping off to the left and out of sight. A thick trail of yellow blood followed behind it, giving Gordon hope. The fact that he was hopeful he would be able to murder a wild animal made Gordon sadder than he would have thought possible. He tossed the empty shotgun away, and pulled out the revolver as he joined Alyx on the other side of the island.
Alyx was firing sporadically at the ant-lions and acid-lions gathering around them, though she occasionally stopped to take a breath before ducking out again.
"You remember their names yet?" she asked, head arched around the corner of a metal sheet.
Gordon frowned over his shoulder at her, distracted from taking aim through a gap on the other side. "What?"
"Those people at Black Mesa."
"Oh. Uh… yes."
Alyx fired off a few more shots before ducking back inside, her back to the metal sheet and now standing beside Gordon, shoulder to shoulder. "Well?"
"Uh…" he cleared his throat. "They were, uh… security guards. Wayne Philips and Veronica Bennett. Philips liked baseball and Bennett liked, uh… fighting, I suppose."
She smiled. "Even if you can't remember their names right away… so long as they're in here," she patted a finger against her temple, "they're still around. They meant something." Her eyes drifted off to the distance, her mind briefly going somewhere else. "That's what I like to think, anyway."
With that, she returned to the gap, firing off a few shots here and there. Blinking himself out of his thoughts, Gordon did the same on his side of the metal wall, searching for the guardian. No sign of it. Licking its wounds, probably. If it had a tongue. He wasn't even sure it had a mouth.
Looking back to Alyx, he seriously thought about what he was about to do. He knew it wasn't the best time, but… sometimes, there were things you just had to ask.
"Alyx…" he managed, his voice slow and uneven.
She was still concentrating on the ant-lions outside. "Yeah?"
Swallowing to help out his suddenly dry throat, Gordon glanced over at Victory, who was dancing between different gaps, blasting electricity at random intervals. "Do you… know about the man in the suit?"
A confused scowl was thrown his way for only a moment before she returned to the ant-lions. "What?"
"The man in the blue suit, with… his face, it's-"
"Gordon," she gasped, finally giving him her attention with an exasperated look, "what the hell are you talking about?"
He clamped his mouth shut. She didn't know. How could she? Judging by what He said, He rescued her when she was a child, from Black Mesa. Something else sparked in Gordon's mind, and he took a reluctant breath before finally forcing himself to just get it over with.
"What about… consequences? Uh… unforeseen, uh… cons-" he stopped himself, frustrated with his case of word salad. "Does that… mean anything to you?"
Alyx was well and truly lost now. "Should it? Gordon, you're kinda scaring me, did you get hit on the head while I was out?"
Gordon stared at her confused, deep brown eyes, studying him so intently with such genuine concern. She was a pawn, just like him. Except she knew even less than him. Should he tell her about Him? Would she believe him, or even understand? He sighed, oddly relived that she wasn't a willing part of any of this. That meant she was just Alyx. Nothing more, nothing less.
Alyx who was now staring at him like he had gone insane in her absence.
"Uh, no," he said clearly, trying his hand at a reassuring smile. "Black Mesa memories. I was just wondering if you remembered any of it."
Her head tilting to the side, and she studied him for a few moments longer before shrugging. "I don't remember much from those days. This…" she said sadly, waving her hand around in the air, "…is pretty much the world I know."
Staring down at the ground, Gordon forced his gaze up to hers. "That's a shame."
There was a brief pause between them before the snarl of the guardian brought them back to reality. They smiled in sync.
Gordon shrugged, bringing up his revolver. "Got to go to work."
"See you soon," she said quickly, whirling on the spot and returning to her ant-lions.
Gordon looked out his side of the metal sheet, and saw the guardian slowly stomping into view, its movements heavy and laboured. Blood was still pouring from its wounds, pooling at its hooves. Behind it, Gordon saw the thumper and the gas canisters gathered around it. Looking around the island, he locked onto his Vortigaunt companion, currently taking cover from acid-lion projectiles behind a low plate of metal.
"Victory!"
The Vortigaunt's head whipped up at the sound of his name. Ignoring the curious eyebrow Alyx had raised in his direction, Gordon continued shouting.
"Distract the guardian!"
His bulbous red eye darted first to the other side of the island and to the guardian, then back over to him. "It shall be done, Freeman!"
Slipping the revolver away, Gordon prepared to launch himself out into the open. He glanced back at Alyx, who just mouthed 'Victory?' incredulously.
"Later," he shouted, clambering around the corner and leaping out. His boots landed at speed on a patch of moss, and Gordon slid forward for a few seconds before recovering his footing, sprinting towards the thumper halfway down the valley. The guardian howled into the air before charging after him.
"Return to the void!" Victory snarled, and Gordon heard the guardian's steady gallop falter and stumble.
Most of the ant-lions or acid-lions that attempted to get in his way were hit by a barrage of bullets from Alyx, and Gordon managed to the dodge the rest before doing a baseball slide hands first towards the thumper. Scrambling to his feet, Gordon looked back across the valley to see Victory latched onto the guardian's head, holding steadfast while it snapped back and forth viciously.
He clambered up the ladder on the side of the thumper, heading for the control panel at the top. Standing atop the platform, he saw the ant-lions attempting to scamper towards him, but backing away with every impact from the thumper. His gaze travelled down to the gas canisters gathered at the base of the thumper.
Taking a breath, he slammed a fist down on the thick red button in front of him. An alarm sounded from the thumper as the jackhammer below him slowed to a halt. The ant-lions and acid-lions looked up at him in sudden hope.
Gordon tilted his head up. "Victory!"
The Vort's head snapped up to look at him, and Gordon jerked his head to the right. With a thumbs up gesture he clearly delighted in using, Victory leapt off from the guardian, rolling to a halt a safe distance from the creature. Freed of the troublesome Vortigaunt, the guardian shook its head about before locking on to Gordon again. After rearing up, it charged towards the thumper, head down like a bull. Gordon mounted the guardrail of the metal platform, revolver drawn. The guardian slammed into the inert thumper, shaking it from its foundation with a solid clang. Its head wavered for a few moments, having dizzied itself from the blow.
Revolver aimed down at the gas canisters, Gordon fired. He heard the bullet hit the canister with a metallic ping just as he pushed off from the guardrail, sailing down through the air as a great mountain of flame rushed up behind him. Hot air propelled him a little faster than he would have liked, and he tucked in his head and limbs. He hit the ground shoulder first, and he bounced along the ground in the best approximation of a ball that his pained body could manage. Finally skidding to a halt flat on his back on the other side of the valley, Gordon stared up at the blue sky, his glasses now down by his mouth.
He heard ant-lion legs scampering over, and tiredly lifted his head to see the blurry gang of bugs fast encroaching on him. A flash of green light made Gordon squint, and the shower of yellow blood turned it into a wince, bringing his hand up to cover his eyes.
Silhouetted by the bright blue sky, Victory looked down on him, both thumbs up in the air. "Well done, Freeman!"
After bringing his glasses to their proper position, Gordon let his head drop back to the ground and closed his eyes, returning the gesture. "Thanks." Suddenly, he jerked his head up again. "It is dead, isn't it?"
Enthused, Victory nodded. "Quite so," he said reverently, holding a hand out to display the guardian to him.
Propping himself up on his elbows Gordon saw the blackened remains of the guardian beside the thumper, flames roasting its still form. Aside from a few black scorch marks, the thumper was undamaged. Casting a vague look around the valley, he saw that the ant-lions and acid-lions had retreated. He really hoped that would be the last he saw of them, at least for a little while.
With a loud beep that made Gordon jump, his HEV suit sprang to life. Looking down, he saw Victory, palm outstretched towards him and a cord of green energy trickling forth. He watched the power of the suit increase as Alyx walked over to them, crouching down beside him.
"Nice work, Gordon." She slipped away her pistol. "Sorry I couldn't be more help. I'm still a little weak."
He waved a dismissive hand through the air, enjoying the rush of the morphine the rejuvenated HEV suit sent through him. It was at just about half-power when Victory stopped the recharge, his hand dropping tiredly.
The Vort grinned. "Freeman, you dispatched the guardian with great dispatch." He stretched a hand out to him. "Come now. The vehicle we seek is in the encampment above."
Sighing, Gordon slipped his revolver away and clapped his hand into Victory's, the Vort pulling him to his feet with little effort. He excitedly led the way to the elevator, though Gordon walked behind to keep apace with Alyx.
"So," she said, still visibly trying to catch her breath, "Victory, huh?"
"Well… technically, it's Victory Mine."
"Victory Mine?"
He nodded. "It's the name of the mining complex."
She let out a quiet 'oh', then frowned. "Wait… it's the 'Victory Mine' mine?"
"That's what I thought," Gordon agreed gratefully, glad that someone else appreciated the weirdness.
Victory waited for them at the elevator shaft, the door of which he had opened by charging the generator.
"This lift will carry us to where the vehicle awaits," he said, walking into the elevator ahead of them. Gesturing for her to go first, Gordon followed Alyx inside before sliding the door shut. He pressed the control for them to ascend, and the rickety elevator shook to life. Gordon moved to the front of the elevator alongside Victory, whose gaze was directed upwards.
"Puzzling," the Vort mused, "the sentries should have spotted us by now."
"You think the Combine found them?" Alyx asked.
He shook his head sadly. "Such a theory is hardly farfetched."
They all rocked simultaneously as the elevator jolted to a stop. Gordon shoved the gate aside and moved through, a cautious hand on the revolver as he moved into the shadowy corridor beyond. It took them to a half closed garage door, dented open from the bottom. After exchanging a worried glance with Alyx, Gordon drew the revolver and slipped underneath.
A dropped Combine troop transport lay in front of him, having crashed through the roof. The bright sky shining in was offset by the encroaching dark clouds, casting shadows on the rubble and dead bodies gathered around the transport. There were both rebels and Combine soldiers laying dead, their heads eviscerated by headcrabs.
"Oh God," Alyx said from behind him, sounding more tired than disgusted. "The Combine found them all right."
Victory growled down at the bodies disparagingly. "But came to no good end themselves. Headcrabs have had their way with both parties."
Trying his best not to think about the vicious three way massacre, Gordon slipped his revolver away and picked a pulse rifle up from the floor. An orange light he had never noticed on the rifle was alight, and Gordon pointed it out to Alyx questioningly.
"Means the secondary fire is charged," she said distractedly, moving past him and out the other end of the garage.
His bottom lip sticking out, Gordon nodded appreciatively. He remembered using the secondary fire against an Elite back in City 17; it was definitely effective at killing things. Gordon followed them out, dragging his eyes from the pulse rifle and to the vista stretching out before him.
They were on a stone platform attached to a warehouse on their right. A tall fence had been erected in front of the platform, running its entire width between a wall on his left and a bunker on the right, stretching out a couple of feet from the platform. There was a dark, open doorway on the warehouse beside them. A Combine console had been erected at the middle of the platform. The left side of the platform was cut off by a metal door, a small window on the wall beside it offering a view to a road on the other side, leading into a tunnel. A heavy metal door closed off the tunnel.
The platform overlooked a complex of warehouses, which stretched out beneath them for about half a mile before a thick river of sludge. It was what remained of the reservoir, blocked off by a dam on the far right, though the water had long since been replaced with a green mess. It looked positively radioactive, though that was probably Gordon's pessimism replacing good sense.
A towering white stone wall on the other side of the river led up to a grassy slope. The slope ran along the entire width of the cliffside, its height reaching just beneath a wide road bridge. It extended out of the middle of the cliffside, the end that Gordon could see leading to a caved in tunnel. Old cars had been left astray all along the bridge, the middle of which had become separate from the roads on either end, the surface cracked and broken as though from an earthquake. Whatever had caused it had left the middle section resting on a thin stone support, like an incredibly unstable seesaw.
Movement attracted Gordon's eye to the closest end of the bridge, to the road leading to the closed off tunnel he had spotted on the other side of the door. It was Him, walking away from the bridge and toward the tunnel. Gordon's mouth went dry, his hands tightening around the pulse rifle.
"Hey, look! Out on that bridge," Alyx said urgently, and Gordon marvelled over at her. She had spotted Him? Watching her, however, he saw that she was peering out at the opposite side of the bridge, where the tunnel had caved in. "I think I see the car you were talking about."
Gordon's heart sank, and he turned back to the window. Eyes focused ahead, He just continued walking from right to left until He vanished out of Gordon's field of vision. Walking at the pace He was, He would have bumped face first into the door of the tunnel. Of course, Gordon knew Him better by now. There was probably a portal at His command, shaped like a gleaming white doorway. Looking left, Gordon saw another window in the metal wall there, allowing him a view of a control booth, presumably for the metal door blocking their way.
Alyx's tapping on the Combine control panel brought him back to reality, and Gordon turned to join them at the monitor. He saw a camera atop the bunker on the right of the platform twist around, red light beneath the lens flashing. Eyes on the monitor, he saw it zoom in on a yellow car trapped on the far side of the bridge, barricaded in by several others. Unlike most of the vehicles Gordon had seen in and around City 17, this one had wheels, and headlights that weren't cracked. Such a thing seemed impossible to him.
"It appears they attempted an escape," Victory said contemplatively, "but made it no farther than the abyss."
Nodding, Alyx looked over to Gordon. "Well if they got it over there, maybe we can jump it back onto this side," she suggested lightly, swooshing her arm through the air in a manner that made Gordon's stomach tighten just thinking about it.
Silent for a moment, Victory held out a hand towards Gordon. "We recommend the Freeman for this task."
Gordon's eyebrows shot up.
Her face dropping, Alyx addressed Victory. "Hey, I'm feeling a lot better," she said defensively, though her heart clearly wasn't in it.
Victory closed his eye and shook his head. "That condition will not last long if you plunge into the toxins below. We would do well to lend our protection from above, while Freeman skirts the hazards in the pit."
Gordon had started nodding while Victory had been talking, and stepped forward to talk to Alyx once he was done. "He's right. You should-" he frowned at Victory. "Toxins?"
The Vortigaunt had already turned away, however, sauntering over to the bunker on the other side of the platform, stopping at the entrance. "This mounted gun may prove useful," Victory murmured, disappearing inside.
Shrugging at Alyx, Gordon followed along with her, revealing the sniper rifle mounted in the corner of the bunker, giving it a view of pretty much the entire maze of warehouses beneath them. Victory was knelt beside it, inspecting the barrel. "The gun would appear to be powerless." He double-glanced at Gordon before shooting him an almost irritated look. "Go, Freeman. I will look after the Alyx Vance."
That was seemingly the end of the conversation, as Victory returned to the machinegun to recharge it. The green glow emanating from Victory's palm lit Alyx's face as she looked at him with a resigned smile.
"Well, Gordon… I guess it's all up to you."
His shoulders slumped, he sighed. "Seems like it."
With a wry smile, she put both hands on his shoulders and turned him around so he was facing the doorway. "Careful now," she said, her tone evidencing far more enjoyment than was really necessary. She gave him a light shove through the threshold, and he stumbled into the darkness.
The corridors were cramped at first, cold and made of stone. Gordon moved on down the stairs into an even darker room. Flicking the flashlight on, he searched around before settling on the entrance to an old elevator shaft. The shaft was empty, the elevator creaking further above him. With a struggle that sounded more mighty than it actually was, Gordon managed to wedge the elevator doors open and squeeze through. He was only a couple of levels up, and managed to leap to the floor without too much difficulty.
Navigating through the complex wasn't as complicated as he had originally anticipated, and only the occasional zombie offered any difficulty. Most made so much noise as they approached him, he probably would have been able to blast them apart without his flashlight illuminating them.
His seemingly aimless wandering eventually brought him back outside, entering a stairwell ensconced in grated metal plating. Moving around to descend further, he saw a zombie clambering to its feet halfway down the stairwell. A thin blue laser appeared through a gap in the metal plating, zeroing in on the zombie's headcrab. A gunshot cracked through the air, and the headcrab exploded in a cloud of yellow mist. The zombie collapsed to the floor at Gordon's feet.
Alyx's voice echoed out from above. "Hey, we got the rifle charged up."
Sneaking further down the steps, Gordon peeked up through the gap in the plating and saw the other side of the sniper bunker just above him. He waved gratefully before turning around and proceeding down the rest of the stairs. They led to another door taking him back inside, and Gordon couldn't help the tired sigh before he moved inside.
The next ten minutes were taken up with ducking in and out or darkened corridors and murky outdoor passageways. Zombies and zombines lurched out of every corner and doorway, and Gordon managed to dodge, shove and generally avoid most of them, leading them outside long enough for Alyx to take aim.
He finally navigated his way outdoors permanently, coming out into a deep white trench. Memories of the City 17 canals rushed back to him. Taking a deep breath, he promptly gagged and coughed at the rank smell drifting over to him from… somewhere. Ah. Even more memories of the City 17 canals.
A ladder took him up and away from the sludge around his ankles, though the smell remained, presumably coming from the river that he was gradually approaching. His journey mainly consisted of squeezing his way through narrow corridors between warehouses and shimmying along the smallest of ledges.
Another series of ladders led to small, cramped platforms, eventually taking him to the ceiling of a sprawling warehouse. A patchwork of corrugated metal sheets stretched out across the angular ceiling, though some seemed looser than others. Right above him was the cracked edge of the bridge, though the grey clouds above were making it difficult to tell where the crack was exactly.
"There you are!" Alyx called out.
Circling around, Gordon saw the sniper bunker, now even further up and at an angle to him. He gave a little salute, freezing in place when he heard a collection of zombie groans from the warehouse beneath him. Crouching down beside an open gap between metal sheets, Gordon saw zombies gathering from all corners of the empty space below. After glancing back at Alyx, Gordon brought the Gravity Gun around. He pulled the loose sheets of metal towards him and fired them off into the distance.
Without a word, Alyx aimed and fired through each gap as he moved around the warehouse ceiling, systematically yanking two rows of metal sheets and shooting them off out sight. They echoed distantly, clanging between unseen warehouse walls. Gordon watched patiently while Alyx cleared the room below. A zombine pulled a grenade from its belt, which took out several of its brethren and jolted loose the section of roof Gordon was sat upon.
Not even given the time to scramble for a grip, Gordon tumbled down into the darkness, landing on a cushion of three zombie bodies. Blinking in surprise at the soft landing, Gordon clambered to his feet, only to be confronted with a circle of yet more zombies and zombines lurching towards him from doorways all around the warehouse.
A blue laser came to rest against a zombine's headcrab, promptly exploding with an echoing bang.
"I got your back, Gordon!"
Bringing the pulse rifle up, Gordon started firing, concentrating on the zombies in front of and walking towards them as he did so, putting distance between him and those coming at him from behind. With Alyx's help, they were down before Gordon had even reached them, and he turned to face the horde of zombies coming at him from the other side of the warehouse. Amongst them was the limping, moaning form of a poison headcrab zombie, red raw body swollen and hunched over. He only managed to kill one zombie before the pulse rifle clicked, empty.
Cricking his neck, Gordon ran to the far side of the room, putting the group of zombies at an angle to him. He pressed the glowing button beside the trigger guard on the pulse rifle, and gripped it steadfast as a low whine built in pitch. With a kickback that made him stumble a little, the secondary fire of the pulse rifle ejected forth, the glowing orb ploughing through the creatures and leaving only ethereal blurs behind.
The zombies not hit by the orb didn't miss a beat, continuing their slow journey towards him even as the energy sphere exploded above their heads, showering sparks down upon them. Gordon tossed the useless pulse rifle away. There were only half a dozen or so left, and with a slightly impatient gesture towards the crowd, he looked up at Alyx.
"Okay, okay, don't worry…"
The familiar blue laser hovered into view, and several piercing gunshots later, Gordon was alone in the warehouse. After giving Alyx a grateful little salute, he retreated out the back door, continuing on his navigation of the ladders and makeshift platforms that made up the canals around the complex.
After what felt like twenty minutes of aimless exploration, Gordon found himself at the river of sludge he had spied from the platform. Looking back, he saw that Alyx and Victory were barely as big as flies at this distance.
"You're almost there!" Alyx's voice echoed out.
Waving his hand around to signal that he had heard, Gordon looked back to the river. His HEV suit's Geiger counter crackled, warning him of radioactive material nearby. So he had been right. Gordon felt an odd pride at his earlier cynicism paying off. It was dampened by the fact that he would somehow have to cross said river of radioactive sludge. On the other side, Gordon could see an almost submerged platform on the opposite side, a ladder leading up the immense white wall and onto the slope just beneath the bridge.
Old cars that had fallen from the bridge overhead were half submerged in the bubbling mess. He looked down at the Gravity Gun, and promptly felt a light bulb switch on above his head.
Backing up on the concrete floor, Gordon took a running jump for the nearest car, landing feet first on the trunk and face-planting on the top of the car. Readjusting his glasses and scrambling to his feet, Gordon noted with some level of urgency that the car was sinking. Another car was close, diagonally parallel to him. Gravity Gun raised, Gordon blasted it further forward until it was out of range.
Crouching down at the back of the sinking car, Gordon ran and leapt to the next. Close enough now to chance a leap for the platform, Gordon backed up and did the best running jump he could manage on a car half covered in radioactive, viscous slime. His upper body landed on the platform, no problem, though his legs ended up splashing in the liquid and prompting a panicked series of beeps and flashing warnings from the HEV suit. Gordon clambered out, and noticed that the sludge had managed to drain about ten percent of his power.
He groaned. This car better be amazing.
The ladder was a very long, drudging affair, his legs aching as he approached the top. Gasping for air and wondering what happened to the fitness he had attained from hours spent on the treadmill and the running track (not to mention running for his life five days straight), Gordon collapsed to the grassy slope.
"Good work!" Alyx shouted, her voice even more distant. "You're almost to the car!"
"Oh… am I…" he croaked, tired eyes focused on a cloud that looked like the nose of a mark 2V anti-mass spectrometer. Blinking the scientific thoughts away, Gordon tilted his head to the right, and saw the bridge looming not far from him. Rolling over, Gordon rested his forehead against the grass before heaving himself to his feet yet again. He looked forward to the day that simply getting up off the floor would stop being a titanic effort.
Grass crunching beneath his boots, Gordon trudged up the slope and to the ladder leading to a maintenance walkway just beside the tall safety barriers of the bridge. He clambered up and walked out through a gap in the barriers, stepping out onto the road attached to the bridge. Well, sort of attached.
"Gordon!" Alyx called. "Can you see the car yet?"
He looked up and down, and spotted the large yellow car, waiting patiently for him. Gordon walked over to it, running a hand over the top. It was really only the back of the vehicle that was yellow, everything from the midsection of the car onwards having been removed, leaving only the skeleton of an automobile. A large engine sat in the front of the car, and two worn leather seats had been placed in the cab.
Hand on the metal bar that would have once been the doorframe, Gordon looked over the dashboard. Three pedals, wheel, more buttons than were necessary… a red one had a label atop it that read 'turbo'. Interesting. Judging by the gear stick, it was manual, with a thick handbrake behind that. The state of the vehicle reminded him of the buggy he had driven along the coast roads, though this car was much bigger. Whether that was a good thing or not, Gordon didn't know. Was this a good car?
Thunder grumbled in the distance, and Gordon's eye was drawn to the horizon. At least half the size of what it had been before, Gordon could see the tendril of bright portal energy from the Citadel twisting and thrashing about from where it connected to the clouds. A white flash blinded him for a moment, and Gordon winced, putting up his hand in front of his face. He knew what was coming.
When he brought his hand back down, he sighed expectantly at the dome of blue energy that shot out towards him. He crouched down as he had seen Alyx do last time, and the wave brushed over him without much incident. With an impressed grunt, Gordon got back to his feet.
That wasn't so-
The ground shook beneath him, and Gordon scowled, looking at the Citadel portal irritably. Another portal storm? As his eyes drifted down, however, he saw that the quakes were coming from something much closer. The bridge, separate from the roads that had once joined it on either end, was tilting on the support based at its middle. Ever so slightly agape, Gordon could only watch with wide eyes as he saw the end of the bridge in front of him tilt up, and far higher than any car could manage.
"…ah," he said, his voice a disappointed monotone.
Blowing out an exasperated breath, Gordon looked back and forth between the bridge and the car. He moved to the metal barrier on the other side of the road and clambered up on top. Arms outstretched on either side, he walked along the narrow path of ageing red metal. He stopped where the metal had broken away from the rest of the bridge, the cracked road at eye level.
He patted the ledge with his hands a few times to test its dexterity before leaping, slamming his forearms down on the road and heaving himself up. It brought him up on the right-hand corner of the bridge, and as he got to his feet, the ground beneath him began to crack. The metal support beams that arched over both sides of the road creaked and groaned ominously. Finally, with a snapping noise unlike any other Gordon had heard before, the supports on the right side of the road collapsed away, taking a section of the road away with it.
Wobbling back, Gordon swung his arms about frantically before rushing to the left, the ground falling away from his feet with each stumbling step. Finally, he leapt, rolling along the ground until he ended up lying on his side, watching the support beams fall away into the river below. The water rumbled and hissed beneath him, the low noise merging with the thunder of the Citadel portal.
"Okay," he muttered, pushing himself to his feet and looking down the slope the bridge had become. About a dozen rusting cars and vans were gathered at the far end, almost as though they were weighing the bridge down.
Another light bulb lit up above his head, and Gordon slowly made his way down with the Gravity Gun. He blasted the cars away, tipping them off the bridge and onto the warehouses below. There was an almost continuous series of metallic crashes and groans beneath him while he knocked the cars from the bridge. Only three were left when the bridge began to tip back. Gordon kept on blasting the cars, paranoid they would slide back onto him.
When the final cars had been removed, Gordon moved back down the bridge, leaning back to accommodate for the sudden opposite slant, taking him down the towards the road where the car waited. Once at the bottom, Gordon managed to clamber up onto the road and made his way to the car. When he attempted to slip inside, Gordon sat on the Gravity Gun. Yelping, he promptly leapt up again, glaring down at the seat while he rubbed his backside. Removing the Gravity Gun strap from his shoulders, Gordon slipped it over the headrest of the chair so that the device itself was resting on the metal framework below.
Satisfied, Gordon sat down, the leather chair creaking beneath him. He shuffled about a little, reaching underneath and adjusting the chair, sliding back and forward until he was comfortable. The ignition was a button beneath the wheel where the keyhole would have been. Pressing it in, Gordon was momentarily shocked by the volume of the engine, the roar it let out making his head jerk back. It thrummed and vibrated through the entire car. Gordon wrapped both hands around the steering wheel.
Yeah. This was a good car.
He reversed up, the car shooting back with more speed and power than Gordon had been expecting. Coming to a stop at the mouth of the caved in tunnel, Gordon stared forward with a wide, breathless expression. He smiled. Definitely a good car. Checking ahead, he made sure the car was lined up with the ramp the bridge had become. Taking a deep breath and holding it, Gordon rammed it into first and slammed his foot down. The car launched forward with a burst of speed that slammed his head back into the headrest.
The car easily hurtled over the gap between the road and the lower surface of the bridge. It began to lose speed as it moved up the bridge and towards the other side, and Gordon glanced down at the turbo button. Shrugging, he pressed it.
A roar from the engine made Gordon's eyes bulge as his body almost sank into the chair, the wind pressing against his face as the car shot forwards, finally hurtling itself over the abyss and bouncing to the ground on the other side. Gordon slammed a foot down on the brake as the car continued to charge towards the closed metal gate in front of the tunnel. The engine seemed to calm itself the harder he pressed on the pedal, and it finally came to a stop with the front bumper just an inch or so from the gate.
Letting out the breath he realised he had been holding the entire time, Gordon slumped back in the chair, his hands falling away from the wheel. He glanced around the area, and saw the steps on the left that led up to the other side of the metal door that had blocked their path on the platform. Beside it was a small, metal, office-like compartment, which he guessed was the control booth he had seen earlier. Just beside the gate was a series of stone steps leading to an inert portable generator atop a fenced platform.
After yanking up the handbrake and switching off the car, Gordon moved to the booth. Once inside, he saw Alyx on the other side. She smiled, rapping the back of her finger against the window. With a small smile and a wave, Gordon moved to the control panel beneath the dirty window and pressed what he assumed was the release button. The door slid into the roof silently, and he watched Alyx and Victory move through.
Gordon moved out of the booth to meet them, reuniting beside the car. He leant against the back of the car, arms folded. Grinning, Alyx nodded appreciatively.
"Great driving, Gordon!"
"Well done, Freeman!" Victory enthused.
Alyx's expression slowly changed when her eyes settled on the car. Almost entranced, Alyx moved past Gordon and walked slowly around the car, inspecting it with hands on her knees.
"Oh my God…"
Unsure of whether that was good or bad, Gordon exchanged a look with Victory, who just smiled politely, clearly confused as to why anyone would have an opinion on a car.
"Look at this car." Alyx turned to Gordon, grinning. "We scored."
Feeling proud for some reason, Gordon shrugged and adjusted his glasses. "Well… it does go fast."
"Shotgun!" Alyx announced excitedly, and Gordon frowned.
Wait, what? He was driving? Not that Gordon couldn't drive, but… driving in front of Alyx? That required a level of confidence he wasn't quite sure he had.
Suddenly remembering Victory behind her, Alyx turned to face him, hands up apologetically. "Oh… unless you want it."
Red eye cast on the ground sadly, Victory shook his head. "I fear a more urgent errand demands our attention; there are Advisors yet unhatched."
Letting out an 'ah' of understanding that indicated an earlier conversation Gordon hadn't been around for, Alyx nodded. "We'll keep on the lookout."
With a grand gesture of his hand towards the tunnel, Victory looked to them both. "This road will take you near to White Forest, but be wary that others may use it as well."
Nodding again, Alyx clutched her hands together in front of her, staring at the Vortigaunt hesitantly. "I can't tell you how grateful I am."
Victory shook his head, waving a dismissive hand through the air. "Our bonds are of nature, and require no gratitude."
Her mouth hung open for a moment unsurely before she reached over to Victory, gently pulling him towards her and kissing him lightly on the cheek. The pale brown of his face became a light yet distinct shade of pink before the Vortigaunt wiggled his head from side to side, averting his gaze in an almost embarrassed gesture. With a kind smile, Alyx rubbed Victory's arm before walking around to the other side of the car and slipping inside.
Glancing back at her, Gordon moved off from the car, letting his hands drop down by his sides. Victory's blush had quickly faded, which was good. It would have just made Gordon feel even more awkward. Expressing genuine emotions to an alien slug with an innocent, bulbous red eye was weird enough.
"I, uh…" He cleared his throat, took a breath, and started again. "I wanted to thank you. You helped Alyx, and… that's important. She's… important."
"Indeed," Victory growled, bowing his head. He fixed Gordon with a grateful stare, hands clasped together in front of him. "Thank you for my name, Freeman."
Gordon shrugged. "Don't mention it. But you can stop using it now, if you want."
"Certainly not," he scoffed, sounding distinctly Magnusson-like. "To be named by the Freeman! Others linked through the Vortessence shall experience emotions not unlike what you call jealousy."
"Oh. I… don't know how to take that."
Tilting his head to the side as though that were the end of the conversation, Victory jogged up the stairs to the generator, and pressed his hands to the top. Befuddled, Gordon blinked a few times before hopping into the car. He pressed the ignition as Victory charged the generator. The gate slid up in front of them, groaning in a very worrying manner as it ascended.
Alyx raised a hand to Victory. "Stay safe."
"Likewise, and farewell," the Vortigaunt called out, waving a cheerful arm. "It has been an honour."
Smiling contentedly at the new friend they had made and hoping it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other, Gordon put the car in gear and lowered the handbrake. He eased the pedals, and-
The car jerked forward, the engine stalling and leaving them in silence. Gordon stared straight down the tunnel. He could feel Alyx and Victory staring at him. The Citadel portal rumbled in the distance.
Taking a breath, Gordon looked from Victory, to Alyx, then down the tunnel again. "Let's pretend that never happened."
He pressed the ignition, and the car thrummed to life. Hands gripping the wheel, and still keeping his gaze straight ahead, Gordon moved the pedals, carefully this time, and took them into the darkened tunnel, heading for the arch of sunlight gleaming in the distance.
Gordon attempted not to sulk too much when he noticed Alyx desperately trying not to laugh.
(A/N: Hey, thanks for all the reviews, everyone! Keep it up!)