Author's Note: Sorry about it taking so long to get this all done, but inspiration turns on and off like a light switch. Still, here's the next chapter, but don't get too crazy. I'll post another chapter if I come up with more ideas.
Now that Half-Life 2 is out, I have to give spoiler warnings. Naturally, how Half-Life 2 came out, I'm going to have to add a big Spoiler Warning. This chapter alone reveals a lot of spoilers (especially near the end of the chapter) about the actual game. So, if you haven't played it, you've been warned.
Also changed will be the story line. It'll eventually branch off in a different direction that Half-Life 2 went on, but right now we're going to travel the path most worn. On to the story!
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Walking around City 17, it took me a few seconds to realize that I was missing my Hazard Suit. It seemed like I had it, but it was probably because the new civilian clothing fit so snugly against my body, much like the Hazard Suit had. There wasn't much to do in City 17. There was no entertainment, unless I felt like staring up at the one man that I really recognized from my old endeavors… outside of Barney, of course. Still, after only thirty minutes into walking through the city, I came up with a conclusion..
City 17 sucks.
The oppressive nature of the aliens, by the name of the Combine (as I learned later), made it hard for me to make my way around the city. It didn't help that I had no map, and no idea where I was going. Still, who would guess that fate would eventually lead me where I wanted to go? Who would've guessed that, as I roamed the streets, I would eventually make my way into one of the lightly guarded buildings. It was probably best to get into some sort of shelter, so I could atleast try to avoid the Combine from seeing me so much. If I remember correctly, back before at the train station, my picture had been taken several times from some strange device.
Someone would eventually come and find me, right?
I was right. As I walked slowly through the hallways, observing the results of the oppression of the Combine against the human race, I couldn't help but feel a hatred build up inside me. I wanted to fight them, but without my Hazard Suit and a sidearm, what was I in this war? I wasn't resistant to bullets, and the best I could find were blunt weapons, which the Combine could probably either resist or get back enough to plug me full of lead. As far as I could tell, I was simply a spectator… yet, the war was only beginning, and I had the feeling that I'd prove to be another gear that made the machine run.
"There he is! Get him!" The masked voices of the Combine caught my attention when I got to another spiraling stairwell. I couldn't help but curse to myself as I turned to run the other way. Bad move: Combine had caught up with me there, too, making their way down the hall as humans peeked their heads out doorways to see who was about to get busted. Namely, me. Quickly, I turned and ran the only way I could: up the stairs, and into an attic. The attic was large, filled with antiques and, thought he roof had large holes in it, the attic still retained that old dusty smell unique to attics.
I couldn't stop and enjoy a smell I even vaguely recognized. I'd have time to enjoy myself later, but for now, I had to avoid apprehension, at any cost. One of the nearby holes in the roof offered room enough for me to make a timely jump through, landing on the edge of another roof. One of my feet slipped, causing me to nearly tumble backwards to my death (much to the dismay of the Combine that had begun to pour into the attic I'd just left behind), but I quickly threw my weight forward, rolling along the roof. I had to be careful with my glasses. They were fragile, and had amazingly survived the Black Mesa incident.
The sound of gunshots rang through the air as the Combine fired their weaponry. They sounded like pistol shots, but as I clambered to a stand, I didn't bother to glance back behind me. I had to get out of the line of fire. Quickly, I made my way to the other side of the roof, sliding down (carefully) to the edge of an adjacent home. I slowly began to make my way across, towards the other side. Down below, I could see the Combine pulling up in APC-like vehicles, several of them making their way out into the streets to fire their pistols at me. It was inevitable, though, that I'd get hit by a bullet, since the whole premise behind firing a gun was to point the gun, pull the trigger, and watch things die if it gets hit. This one would only clip my left shoulder, the bullet burying itself into the wall in a spray of white paint chips and wood.
I gave a groan, but it was a pain that I had felt before. If only I had the Hazard Suit… but I knew that, if I was to survive here in City 17, especially with the Combine following my every move, I had to rely on myself and the instincts I had built in the few days I spent alone during the Black Mesa incident… and that was to survive. Again, at all costs. Quickly, I used my leg to bust one of the windows of the homes open (simply to get behind something to avoid taking any bullets), climbing into another abandoned attic. That same smell hung in the air, but it was older and stronger, since there were no real holes in the ceiling here.
Finding the nearby stairs, I quickly turned and rushed over to them, wasting no time to climb down them and head out into the hall. As luck would have it, the Combine were there on both ends of the hall. With another curse, I turned and rushed back towards the stairs. Like with all things, years of misuse will cause anything to wear down and break. The stairs would do just that, causing me to collapse in a poof of dust, and the strong smell of rotting wood. I turned around, and to my horror, the Combine were beginning to occupy my little stair area. There was only one thing left to do.
Fight.
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"What's my purpose here?" I inquired of the darkness, clutching my army-issued MP5 close to my chest. It was the only thing that I had left of the human world. Images would flash through my mind, of the hostile take-over of the Combine. As if watching a movie, a voice answered the questions I had.
"Your purpose here.." The voice called to me. "Is to sit and listen."
"I've been doing that for a few years now.." I murmured, looking around. It felt like I was floating, so how could I sit? Listening was my only other option.
"Many years ago, during the Black Mesa incident, dimensional rifts were opened. The creatures of Xen were encountered and defeated by a lone man… in the process, however, not only did the rifts attract the attention of the Covenant, but the defeat of the Nihilith meant the defeat of Xen, and the Combine's only true enemy. The war between Xen and the alien Combine have gone on for ages, as the Combine originally used dimensional rifts to hop the galaxy light years in seconds." The voice told me, pausing as the view changed to City 17. I recognized it… it was my hometown, but it was.. "Overtaken by the Combine. This is one of the most important places as far as the Combine in concerned, and this is where the battle starts. You will help, and you will make a difference this time… not just be a pawn in a tiny war."
"So, wait… where do I go when I get there?" I called to the voice, as light began to appear overhead.
"Everything you want to know will be revealed to you in time. You'll meet the one that you only got a brief glimpse of during the Black Mesa incident. Now, go, Adrian Shepard… this war cannot be won without your help." The voice commanded him.
Everything began to get brighter, to the point where I had to cover my eyes. When I was able to open them, I noticed my surroundings… cold and forbidding. I couldn't help but notice the Combine that were slowly surrounding me. Too many for me to take alone, what with them having superior weapons. My armor had all but lost its power (it was low in the first place, anyway), and it seemed I wouldn't survive. What a way to go. I finally get out of that hellhole, and I'm going to wind up dead!
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" A female human caught my eye… the only one that Combine seemed to get out of the way for. "He's finally here. We were beginning to wonder when you'd show up. You're Adrian Shepard, correct?"
"Yeah… but how'd you..?" I inquired, before looking towards where she was looking. Right. The dog tags. A dead give-away. "Right. Who might you be?"
"You can call me Judith Mossman. Please follow me. Wallace Breen wants to speak to you." Judith smiled slightly, turning to walk past the gathered Combine. I reluctantly followed, keeping my thoughts to myself. Wallace Breen? Wasn't he the old administrator of Black Mesa?
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End Chapter 3
