Chapter 3: The Station

Cory, Cindy, and Leon stood in the courtyard that preceded the City-15 train station, all of them with their weapons in hand (and Cory with his crowbar still attached to his belt loop). The station had been desolate ever since transportation to City-17 had been cut off, and everyone knew that the railroad tunnels had a headcrab infestation. Occasionally, worker crews had been lost to the headcrabs in the tunnels, and so had some security crews sent in to rescue them. The three of them knew this meant it was very likely they'd come across some headcrab zombies.

"So, we're really going to take the tunnels?" asked Leon nervously.

"Yup, it's the fastest, safest way to City-17," replied Cindy.

"Safe? It's probably knee-deep in headcrabs and zombies," stated Cory.

"Like I said, the safest way. Even if it is knee deep with the bastards, it's still safer then walking the streets or the highways. The Combine and the Mets must be jumpy now if they were willing to shell out our entire block," said Cindy.

"Well, lets quit stalling and get to it," said Cory, with a hint that he was slightly unwilling to set foot into the railroad tunnels.

The three of them entered the train station. The rotating door in the front was so rusted that Cory cut his hand trying to open it. Luckily for him, it was only a scratch. The room was rectangular with light only seeping through the skylight in the roof. A perfect square of light was in the center of the room; it was as if the lights shined down from heaven itself. The light also exposed something grotesque. In the center of the lit square was a body. It was the body of a commoner in a businessman's suit that was now soaked in blood. His face couldn't be seen because a headcrab had attached itself to his face.

Cory motioned his friend to stop moving as he pointed in the direction of the body. Cory noticed that the mans veins were already bulging; the headcrab had been attached for quite some time. Leon and Cindy drew their weapons, expecting the man to climb to his feet and attack.

"No! We can't spare our ammo. Don't shoot!" said Cory in a loud whisper.

"We also can't spare our lives, which is it going to be? The bullets or our lives?" protested Leon.

"It'll be both if we don't conserve our ammo, we don't have any spare clips," said Cindy, agreeing with Cory.

"What are we supposed to do then? Our only alternative is Cory's crowbar and we only have one of those," said Leon angrily. He was not in the mood to lose his life for what he thought was a stupid decision.

"We'll have to make do, our guns are reserved for the Combine," said Cory.

"Shit, look alive, he's getting up," said Cindy.

The man with the business suit was climbing to his feet. Cory, Cindy, and Leon backed away. Cory had the crowbar; it was his duty to put the creature down. He tucked his gun into the back of his pants and brought his crowbar to the ready.

The zombie began to scream. Though it was muffled by the headcrab, it still sent a horrible sensation down Cory's spine. The scream made Cory feel intimidated, he felt as if this was a fight he couldn't win. It was then that a voice in his head decided to speak up.

(You didn't come this far to stop now. Gordon Freeman is out there, and your going to meet him, your journey will not end here…"

The zombie was only a few feet away from Cory now. He knew that if he let the zombie take the first strike he'd be done for. He had to take the fight to the zombie. Using the hook end of the crowbar, he approached the zombie and swung with all his might into the zombie's side, breaking a few ribs. The zombie however, did not stop. It kept walking.

(Try something new…)

Cory brought the crowbar up and over his head, ready for another powerful swing. The hook flew down with great force and into the zombies shoulder. Tainted yellow blood spewed onto Cory and his crowbar. The zombie kept moving. Cory took the pointed end of the crowbar and harpooned the zombie straight in the chest, where he had assumed the heart would be. Finally, the zombie fell to the ground.

Cory's victorious feelings died immediately when he saw that the headcrab was attempting to detach itself from its host. Cory didn't want to deal with it once it was mobile, so he impaled it in mere seconds. The crowbar went straight through the headcrab and into the tile floor. When he removed the crowbar, it was obvious the headcrab was dead.

(Congratulations to the victor!)

When the adrenalin slowed down, the ringing in Cory's ears stopped. When that happened he noticed a clapping noise. He had been given a round of applause from his two friends.

"Good show! Couldn't have done it better myself," said Leon.

"Your on zombie duty from now on Cory," said Cindy, admiring Cory.

Cory was going to thank them, but more wailing noises interrupted him. There were more zombies present. Leon and Cindy scrambled into the lit rectangle in the center of the room. It sounded as if there were several of them. Cory was already fatigued from the previous fight, he'd need his friend's assistance in this one, and luckily both Leon and Cindy knew this.

The three of them waited in the light in a triangular formation for their enemies to emerge from the darkness. They moved in a circle, waiting for the very first zombie to step forward.

"There!" yelled Cindy.

"Aim for the head!" said Cory, tossing the crowbar to Cindy. Cindy gracefully caught the crowbar and ran forward to the very edge where the light met darkness. It was there that Cory witnesses Cindy whack a zombie in the head several times quickly, downing it fast.

Leon suddenly sprinted forth into the darkness as well, speechless. Leon was unarmed, and he was still attempting to fight the zombies.

(Help him out you chicken shit.)

Cory rushed to help his unarmed friend, but fell to his knees after only a few steps. He was too tired from the previous fight; he had moved to fast and became lightheaded. Cory felt that he was going to pass out. He couldn't risk the possibility of losing one of his closest friends though, he willed himself to his feet.

He saw that Leon was fighting a group of about three zombies with nothing but his fists and feet. He was holding his own pretty well, but Cory knew it wouldn't last. When he glanced back at Cindy, he saw she was holding off a single zombie. Cory figured she could hold her own for a few seconds.

"Cindy! Crowbar!" yelled Cory.

Cindy understood the situation even though she was in the heat of combat. She tossed the weapon in Cory's direction. Cory didn't waste any time catching it and rushing to Leon's aid. Cory came up behind Leon and saw that he had caught a zombie in a headlock and successfully broken its neck. As the body fell to the floor Leon stomped on the headcrab to make sure it wouldn't spring to life.

One of the remaining two zombies was coming up behind Leon, and Cory took this opportunity to swat the zombie behind its legs, bringing it to its knees. When it fell to its knees Cory sunk the pointed end into its skull, killing the zombie and the headcrab. When Cory looked in Leon's direction, he saw that he was struggling with the last zombie.

"Leon!" yelled Cory. When Leon looked in Cory's direction, he tossed the crowbar at him. Leon missed the catch and the crowbar slid across the floor right by him. The zombie slapped its hands on top of Leon's shoulders and sunk its fingernails into his back. Leon fell to his knees and screamed in pain. The time for messing around was over; this was getting serious. Cory drew his handgun and took careful aim at the zombie; he wanted to make sure he hit it in the head with only one shot for fear of wasting ammo. The front sight was pointed directly at the zombie's head; Cory took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked.

Cory noticed the guns safety was accidentally switched on. He switched it back into the firing position and retook aim. Without hesitation, the moment the front sight was lined up with the zombies head, Cory again pulled the trigger. A defining explosion was heard as Cory put a round right into the headcrab controlling the zombie. It fell instantly.

Leon removed the creature's hands from his shoulders. He was bleeding a little, but it didn't look serious, at leas not to Cory. Leon climbed to his feet, and did something that Cory was not expecting; Leon drew his gun and pointed it directly in Cory's direction.

Cory threw his hands into the air, wondering why Leon would betray him. "Whoa what are you doing man?" said Cory.

Leon did not reply; he only fired his weapon. It was at this point that time stopped for Cory. He felt that he could see the bullet slowly gliding in his direction. Being trapped in time, helpless, all he could do was stand and watch and wait. The bullet flew closer and closer, until it passed right by Cory's head. He could hear its zing as it passed.

Time resumed to its natural state.

Cory looked at Leon. Leon did not fire a second round. Cory looked behind him, and noticed that this wasn't a backstabbing attempt. What Cory saw was Cindy, crying as a zombie fell on its back right next to her. Leon had put a bullet in its headcrab before it had a chance to seriously harm Cindy.

Cory looked back at Leon, feeling like an asshole for ever suspecting that Leon would pointlessly betray him. Leon lowered his weapon.

"Did you think I was going to shoot you?" asked Leon.

"No, you just kind of scared me that's all," replied Cory.

"So you did think I was going to shoot you, did you forget about Cindy over there? You took her crowbar and left her to fight hand to hand? What's wrong with you? And besides, you know how good a shot I am, I never miss," said Leon slightly enraged.

"You thought Leon was going to shoot you Cory?" asked Cindy, still in tears.

"No I didn't!" insisted Cory.

"Listen, I guess it's okay if you did, I mean what's a guy supposed to think when his friend points a gun at him?" said Leon.

"But I didn't think you would!" said Cory.

"Fine, whatever, lets just get out of here before anymore zombies show up," said Leon.

Cory walked over to where the crowbar had slid and picked it up, reattaching it to his belt loop. After that, he approached Cindy who was now sitting on the floor sobbing.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" asked Cory.

"It bit me, its not deep though don't worry," said Cindy.

"Your lucky Cindy, if these were like the zombies from the movies, you'd be fucked. Luckily for you, people only turn into zombies if a headcrab gets on their head. You should be grateful," said Cory convincingly.

"I guess your right," said Cindy, still sobbing.

"Please don't cry Cindy, you know how it makes me feel," said Cory.

"No, how does it make you feel?" asked Cindy.

"C'mon guys, we got to go, the suns coming up and I want to make it to the other side of the tunnels before it goes down again," yelled Leon.

Cory glanced at Leon, then back at Cindy. Cory was searching for the correct words to use but couldn't find them. Instead he reached out his hand to help Cindy to her feet. She took it willingly.

"Lets head out," she said.