Subject: CRM-114

Current Time: ERROR

Yargh! The monster shrieked mentally. The Nihilanth was most displeased, and that feeling was transferred to all creatures under Nihilanth's control. But CRM-114 was special; Nihilanth created it specifically designed to destroy Race-X. Race-X was a diabolical species that assimilated all creatures it deemed worthy of being in The Mother's army. The Mother. Nihilanth despised The Mother. Her every breath was an insult to Nihilanth, for Mother and Nihilanth were archenemies. Nihilanth could imagine her sinister telepathic howl of laughter echoing through the universe. She was laughing at him because he had underestimated THE MAN. THE MAN was another of Nihilanth's enemies, and had been since his birth. He was ignorant of this vendetta, and that filled Nihilanth with even more rage than even Mother.

But that was soon to change. CRM-114 was built with one goal: destroy THE MAN at whatever cost. THE MAN was the single greatest treat to the continuation of Nihilanth's existence.

With a mighty roar, CRM-114 raised its wings and lifted off towards Nihilanth's lair. He would defend Nihilanth no matter the price, because Nihilanth was God and no sane creature ever challenges the words of God.

Bullets pinged off the bulletproof Hummer. The Marines ceased firing when they realized that it would do no good. It was true all over Black Mesa - most non-civilian cars were outfitted with Kevlar.

Everyone in the Hummer under attack breathed a collective sigh of relief. For the moment, they were safe. The two Hummers raced out of the garage like coyotes across the desert. Their pursuers were two Apache helicopters and a dozen US military Hummers with fifty-caliber machine guns on their roofs.

The Apaches circled overhead, firing potshots at the first Hummer. A security guard tried to operate the machine gun on top. His shoulder was skimmed by a shot, and he retreated. Some soldiers in the Hummers pursuing the Black Mesa personnel fired RPG rounds.

Michael stepped up to the gun and tried to take down the lead pursuing Hummer, but it was mostly panic fire that bounced off. He scored a direct him on the tires and watched the Hummer veer into the canyon surrounding the road. It flipped on its side and provided an obstacle for the military chasing. One Hummer tried to plow through the carnage and suffered the consequences; it hit the flipped-over Hummer and set it into the main passenger compartment. The vehicle reemerged from the accident minus the entire top half, and was subsequently rear-ended by another Hummer, which burst into flame.

Halfway through the chase, the first Apache decided to make a gun-run from the front. It soared overhead, turned, and fired two salvos of missiles at the road in front of the first Hummer. The car lifted off the ground and exploded.

Michael's Hummer raced through the flames unscathed. It made a quick turn towards the dam. "The dam?" Michael asked Otis, who was driving.

"Yeah, the other road is blocked. It leads to the Theta sector, which is where they developed high-tech weaponry. We should stop their later, but with, ya know, stealth."

"Sure, but keep your eyes open for any military guys, Otis. I don't trust the dam to be any less dangerous than Theta sector."

"Roger that."

CRM-114 roared.

Nihilanth was angry. A new enemy approached, and it was not Mother. It was another human. It was not THE MAN, but rather a different human, a man in a blue suit. Nihilanth had not foreseen the role that this creature was to play in the coming war, but he did have a name. CALHOUN. CALHOUN was dangerous, his comrades were equally so, and CRM-114 knew now that his goal was changing. Nihilanth wanted CALHOUN and his comrades to be exterminated. THE MAN was bad enough. The other man, whose purpose was unclear to Nihilanth at this point, was even worse. The other man wore a strange outfit, a gray coat, and a white shirt with a tie. CALHOUN was adding to the problem. The other man seemed to be immune to Nihilanth, but CALHOUN did not share that luxury. CRM-114 was now going to kill CALHOUN and his comrades.

A portal to THEIR WORLD opened. Green flashes of light lashed out at objects, different than that of electricity, but when harnessed, equally lethal. It was a trademark power of Nihilanth, and one that the humans had stolen.

CRM-114 grunted as he saw the location the portal would take him too. Nihilanth sent him an image of an asphalt road, and a human vehicle racing down it. A large contraption was flying overhead, a testament to human innovation. But innovation could not combat God, and the battle of Black Mesa was ample proof of that.

"Uh, Duran," Mike shouted from the rooftop, "what the hell is that!"

Duran was about to look out the front left window when Otis pulled him back and pointed to the horizon. A gigantic ball of green light was floating in the sky, growing in size. Sparks shot off from the center of the ball. Then lightning discharged from it, hitting the Apaches. They exploded into fire, and crashed to the road behind the Black Mesa forces. The leading military Hummer's brakes screeched as their occupants exited the protection of their vehicles for a better view of this phenomenon. A lieutenant, who had been briefed before the mission began, tried to round them up.

That was when the dragon emerged. "Dragon" was the only word to describe the creature. At full length, it was roughly forty feet long. Its spine was lined with sharp spikes. Its mouth was foaming with and acidy substance, like the blood of the alien in Alien.

The ball disappeared as soon as the entire creature was out. It roared and reared back its head-

-Otis hit the acceleration-

-A huge amount of acid flooded from its mouth. It looked like it was vomiting. The acid splashed across the road and hit the soldiers. They screamed in agony as their skin melted. The Hummers were reduced to liquid on the ground as they too were dissolving. A few survivors who had stood on their cars jumped off and ran away. The dragon pursued.

Meanwhile, the Hummer raced onwards. A very bemused Mike asked the question for everyone: "What the fuck was that?"

"Jesus H. Christ, what a magnificent creature." Luther piped up.

The Hummer had run out of gas at the dam. It did not matter, because the secondary door had been wielded shut by the military. Duran, Mike, Otis, Eli, Luther, and Walter had gotten out and decided to rest. They were inside the first door. Walter had used his security clearance to open it and shut it. He locked it.

The Black Mesa people at Ninja Hill had stacked up on food and put it in their Hummers. Now the survivors feasted on candy bars and soda. It was the first thing they had had to eat in a few hours.

"What do we do now?" asked Mike.

"We'll have to break through the door if we want to get to get to the Lambda sector where the resistance is," said Luther.

"Resistance?" inquired Walter.

"Yes, there are Lambda personnel calling on secure radio frequencies. They are asking anyone for help in holding off the facility long enough for Gordon Freeman to teleport to Xen and kill the leader of the aliens, Nihilanth."

"Whoa, the leader? Why should we help them!" asked Mike.

"Because if we don't, Nihilanth will just keep sending more aliens until it controls Earth. We won't have a world anymore."

"He's right, Mike." Duran said. "We gotta do this, or else it won't matter if we escape. We will all be just as dead if the Xenians take over the Earth."

Mike thought about it. It made sense, but was it worth dying for? If you don't do it, your dead anyway you fool! The more he thought about it, the simpler it became. But deciding on your own fate was not as easy as one would think under the circumstances. "Alright, I'll go." Said Mike.

"So will I," said Walter.

"And I will too," said Eli.

"Great!" Otis said. "Now lets get moving."