Author's Note: Black Mesa, Barney, Otis, the Black Ops, everything from Half Life and Opposing Force is owned by Valve. The original characters are all mine however. This was originally published a few month's ago at the Half Life Writer's Block, now the Writers Block Media Group. Check us out at www.wbfanfic.com !
Black Mesa
Blake turned around, and crouched next to the corpse of the thing he had just killed.
"It's a
slave. The eggheads call it xenotherium
subservilia. That collar thing around it's neck electrocutes it if it disobeys
it's master. The manacles can shoot out electrical bolts." Came Conrad's voice
from behind him. He turned around with an expression of surprise on his face.
"You know about these things?!" he
said, surprised.
"Yeah. I worked in the xenobiology
lab, in case one of them got out. Every once in a while, they'd bring something
weird like that in, do experiments. Told me they found 'em in an island they
just discovered in the Pacific. They called it Xen. Never believed them, too
weird to be from Earth. I always figured they were genetically engineered." She
said, crouching down next to him.
"Yeah, sounds like bull to me too.
What about it's masters?" he asked, knowing that he'd need some information on
what they were facing.
"I dunno. Never brought one in.
Sorry." She admitted, sheepish.
"It's alright, we'll cross that
bridge when we come to it. How about the little thing?" he said reassuringly.
Somehow, he wasn't frustrated with her lack of knowledge.
"It's called a Headcrab. They're
pretty slow walkers, but they jump at you really fast." She said, gesturing
with her pistol.
"What happens if it catches you?" he
asked, curious.
"Not sure, never let them." She
said, a hint of humor in her voice.
"Sounds like a good plan to me." He
said, grinning. She smiled back, glad to have some relief from the tension. She
had a nice smile. It was honest, like someone who wouldn't lie to you if they
could avoid it.
"Anything else I should know about?"
he asked.
They spent a good 15 minutes talking
about the things Conrad had seen. Barnacle-like creatures that wrapped passing
creatures in their tongues and ate them. Bullsquids, large alligator-like
things that ate anything they could find and spit venom. Sonic burst emitting
pack animals called Houndeyes. Rat sized insect things called Snarks that ate
everything in sight. Giant carnivorous fish called Ichthyosaurs with natural
armor plating.
"Well, looks like we're gonna have an interesting time. This place have any armories, or just plastic Glocks?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Hey, shut up! It's a damn fine pistol." She said, trying to punch him in the arm. He easily avoided the blow. "Seriously, there's one about half an hour to the south. I was heading there before I found you"
Blake checked the compass in his PCV vest. The chamber was south. "Let's go." He said, unholstering his Desert Eagle. As an afterthought, he pulled the .45 from the small of his back.
"Here, take this. More firepower than a 9mm. Looks like you'll need it." He said, offering her his prized possession. 'Weird,' he thought, 'I don't normally let anyone near it.'
"Thanks, but no. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll probably need all the ammo I can get, even if it is smaller." She said, holding a hand up.
"Fair 'nuff." Said Blake as he holstered it. They set off, pistols held at their sides.
"Hey, what's with that armor you're wearing? Never seen anything like it before. What does PCV stand for, anyway?" she asked, gesturing toward his vest.
"Powered Combat Vest. I'd tell you more, but I'd have to kill you." He joked.
"That's not funny." She said, in a serious tone.
'Shit.'
He thought. 'That was really inappropriate. Gonna be hard to make amends
for.' For a reason he couldn't explain, he wanted Conrad to like him. 'Oh
well, probably because I just killed most of my friends.'
"Sorry, you're right." He said, feeling guilty.
"It's no big deal." She said, sounding forgiving.
"Yeah. Anyway, it's a new kind of armor they're field testing. It's made of some kind of metal fibers that can adapt to your body shape. When it's fully charged, it's almost impenetrable, but it losses it's charge fast under fire. It can instantly heal you too, but the effect only lasts about a day. Don't know how it works. Lets you carry a lot more, and makes you more agile." He said, giving her the full sales pitch. As he finished, he did a crouch jump to demonstrate.
She raised her eyebrows, impressed. Then, slowly, a look of recognition dawned on her face. "They make things like those here. HEV suits, some of the scientists wear them when it gets dangerous." She mused.
"Well, this is a research facility. Probably made the basic stuff here, developed the PCV for the combat jocks, HEV for the eggheads. Makes sense." He said as they entered the chamber. There was a shadowed balcony overlooking them to the left.
"Yeah, I guess so. You know where-" She never got the chance to finish her question, being interrupted by the sound of something falling from the balcony. "Down!" she yelled, bringing up her pistol. She fired off a series of rounds at it, being rewarded by a thump.
"We're even." Said Blake, playing his flashlight over the blackness. Nothing but a body. A disturbingly human body. Curious and at the same time repelled, he walked closer and looked down at it.
"Well, I guess we know what happens if a Headcrab catches you." He said grimly, keeping the dot of his laser sight directly on the things head.
"What?" said Conrad, confused. She came over to look at the body, and instantly wished she hadn't. "Oh my god…" she said, turning away in a wave of nausea.
The thing was a scientist, or at least it used to be. A Headcrab had latched itself onto his skull, obviously controlling him. Or it. The arms had become razor sharp, rake-like claws. It was as if the bones had changed shape and burst from the arm. And as a final horror, it's chest had become a bloody, open mess. Some organs were human. Others weren't.
Slowly, Blake put a single round between where the eyes used to be. That thing would stay dead.
Conrad came back, shaking. "Thing looks like a zombie." She said, trying to hide her horror.
"Did you know him?" Blake asked, concerned.
"I can't tell. I didn't know many scientists, but still, seeing a coworker like this…." She trailed off, fighting to keep control.
"I can't pretend I understand, but I've seen close. It's not easy. I'm here if you wanna talk." Said Blake. He didn't like seeing his newfound comrade like this.
"Maybe later. We're busy now." She said, her voice regaining it's strength.
"Alright." He said, knowing all to well how she felt. A soldier saves their tears for after the war.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, playing close attention to their surroundings. Finally, they arrived at their destination, a simple locked door marked armory. Conrad punched in the code, while Blake covered the door with his pistol. It beeped twice, and swung open.
To the untrained eye, it was a meager supply of weapons. To the frugal eye of a survivor, it was a stockpile. A rack of 5 tactical shotguns lined the wall, along with a box of grenades and a few boxes of shells. On the desk lay a few clips of 9mm ammo.
Blake ran in and grabbed a shotgun, throwing another to Conrad. He threw her an extra box of shells, while letting his PCV take the rest. Conrad stuffed the clips into her belt, while Blake took the hand grenades. It was an unspoken agreement that he take them, his military training enabling him to better use them.
He turned to Conrad with a grin on his face, and cocked his shotgun. "Now we're ready for a fight." He said hopefully.
'Yeah. Lets just hope those things feel the same way."
On that note, they headed off into the facility, no idea what to do next.