Chapter 5: Ravenholm
Adrian emerged from the sewer into an empty canal. Collins, Chang, and Yuri were kneeling behind the wreckage of a small boat so he sprinted toward them with Kaitlyn over his shoulder. When he reached them he sat Kaitlyn up against the wreckage and took cover next to her. He looked at her to make sure she was alright but she shot him a look of anger and malice so he backed off, confident she was fine. He turned toward the group to ask what they were waiting for.
"Collins, what are we waiting for?" asked Shepard.
"This is one of our secondary extraction points," answered Collins, "a ride should be here any time now to pick us up." Just as he said that a burst of machinegun fire caught their attention. Shepard looked up at a path leading off a bridge into the canal being traversed by a small car, a truck with a mounted machinegun, and an armored car that resembled an old World War I style assault vehicle. The vehicle was covered in a dull gray metal with a small cockpit sporting a machinegun about in the middle of the structure. A soldier was inside the cockpit firing at the vehicles ahead of it. The truck was returning fire but the bullets seemed to bounce off the armored car. The gunner on the truck was suddenly struck by several bullets and was thrown from the truck only to be ran over by the pursuing vehicle.
Without a word, Chang came out from behind the wreckage and fired a rocket from his RPG at the Combine vehicle. The missile hit right above the left front tire. The ensuing explosion blew the front axle to pieces and the car went straight into the canal wall. Several soldiers poured out of the rear door only to be gunned down by Chang's steady, well aimed machinegun fire.
The car and truck pulled up to the small group of rebels. The drivers motioned for them to get in.
"Chang, get in the car," Collins ordered, "Yuri and Shepard, get in the truck, hurry." Just as he finished Adrian saw two more armored cars coming down the path straight toward them. Collins and Chang got in the sedan as Yuri got in the passenger seat of the truck. Adrian picked up Kaitlyn and lifted her into the trunk of the truck. Adrian then jumped in with her just as the driver hit the accelerator and the truck took off. Their pursuers were only about thirty yards behind them and the gunners were shooting at them. Bullets were striking the truck but they were for the most part inaccurate. The bumpy surface of the canal was throwing off the gunners' aim.
"Adrian!" Yuri shouted from inside the truck, "shoot back, dammit," Shepard nodded and slowly stood up to man the machinegun. It was an M-60, an old American light machinegun propped on a five foot pole. There was a belt that the gunner could wear in order to stand on the truck without falling off but it had been shot to pieces when the original gunner was killed. Adrian finally managed to take hold of the gun, cocked it, and fired back at his pursuers. He aimed at the armored cars' cockpit turrets but the glass was seemed to be bullet proof when bullets bounced off that as well. Without warning the truck turned hard to the right. They had barely missed the wreckage of a large truck but the lead armored car wasn't so lucky. It tried to swerve out of the way but it smashed into the side of the wreckage. It spun around only to be struck by the by the vehicle behind it.
The lead car turned onto a path leading onto another bridge as the truck followed. They crossed the bridge into a large forest. If the armored cars were able to recover they must have lost them. They continued through the forest when Adrian sawthey were coming up onto an old, decrypted town that appeared to be abandoned.
"Adrian," said Yuri from inside, "we're coming up on Ravenholm. Be on your guard, this town is infested with zombies." Adrian didn't really know what he meant until they drove past a small group of creatures. These creatures wore civilian clothing, but they had long arms with five clawed finger and even more startling was a small, white sack with four legs covering their heads. These were the same creatures Adrian had encountered at Black Mesa. Those creatures were human, but were infected by the headcrabs on the faces and slowly turned into zombies. They were slow, stupid, and posed no threat while they were riding in the truck so Adrian did not shot them.
"Creepers!" Yuri yelled. Adrian turned to see a dozen creatures sprinting at them. These things were infected by the head crabs apparent from them on their faces. But their skin was gone, revealing their muscles and bones. They looked more like jackals as they raced on all fours toward the truck. Adrian pulled the trigger of the M-60 and began firing in one long, continuous stream bullets. Several of these creepers were torn apart but they others kept coming, even if they had been shot several times.
One jumped on top of the car but Chang shot it off with his RPD. Three jumped toward the truck but Yuri and Adrian were able to kill them. Just as the driver of the car thought they were all dead another appeared right in front of the car. He swerved around at as it tried to leap onto the car. The creeper missed but saw the truck coming straight for it. It jumped at the truck but missed the hood and went straight through the windshield, landing on top of the driver. He lost control of the truck and went straight into a tree. Adrian crashed into the passenger section of the truck as Kaitlyn landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. The creeper slashed at the driver, cutting his throat open with one of its claws. It continued to hack at the man until Yuri emptied an entire clip into the beast, killing it.
"Turn around," Chang ordered the driver, "we've gotta help them."
"No," said Collins, "if we go back we won't be able to help. We'll all die. You know the risks when traveling in and around Ravenholm," he said in a soft, sad voice. He did not like to do this but he had no choice. So the driver continued on, heading for Black Mesa East.
Adrian gently lifted Kaitlyn off him. She has small cut on her head but no other visible wounds.
"Are you okay?" Adrian asked. She nodded yes and looked into his eyes. Her bright blues eyes showed only distress, as if they were asking him to let her go. Adrian wanted to give in and release her. He felt a great attraction toward her, not just because of her beauty but the way she able to portray her characteristics while bound and gagged. She was a resilient girl, about the same age as Adrian but she was filled with fight and did not easily give up. He even he wanted to untie her and imagined being her knight in shining armor but he decided against it. She was still their prisoner and she did threaten him with torture before his interrogation. He hopped out of the trunk and went to see if Yuri was fine. He got out of the truck and appeared to be unhurt.
"Are you okay?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah," he responded, "the driver's dead though. We gotta get moving before anymore zombies show up."
"Wait, what were those creepers?"
"They're like other zombies but they were infected by a different kind of headcrab, one that moves fast, causing its host to move like a predator." This filled Adrian with dread. Not only was this place filled with zombies and headcrabs but these creepers as well.
"We can't take her with us," Yuri said pointing at Kaitlyn, "we have to leave her."
"No, she comes with us."
"Fine, but if she holds you up I'm not waiting for you," Yuri said angrily.
"She won't hold me up," Adrian said as he went to her and drew his combat knife. Her eyes filled with fear as she anticipated what was about to happen. Instead of having her throat slit the tape binding her feet was cut. Adrian then ripped the duct tape off her mouth as she yelped from the pain.
"If I take the cuffs off and arm you…" Adrian was cut off by Yuri.
"You can't arm her," he cried.
"Shut up!" Adrian snapped. "If I arm you will you follow us and do everything we tell you."
"Yes," she whispered in a soft but scared, innocent voice.
"You better, because I don't think you can survive out here without us," said Adrian. She nodded in agreement.
"Good. Yuri, you have any keys." He shook his head no.
"Dammit." Adrian said as he lifted Kaitlyn out of the trunk.
"Kaitlyn," Adrian said, "I need you to turn around, spread your hands as far apart as possible, and don't move," he said as he took out his pistol. She nodded but she was very frightened. She turned around but she couldn't stop shaking. Adrian moved to her side, pointed the gun down and away from her and fired. The chain blew apart, freeing her hands. She began rubbing her wrists but stopped when Adrian handed the pistol to her. She took it and the two extra clips Adrian provided for her.
"You know how to use this?"
"Yes," she said.
"Good," Adrian said, "Yuri, where should we go?"
"This way," he said angrily, obviously not comfortable with an armed Combine following them. "We have to get to Black Mesa East. It's entrance is on the other side of the town, about a mile or two. We should be able to avoid the zombies, but watch out for creepers."
He lead them down a dark alley that led to a separate street. They walked along the street, staying close to the buildings. They would occasionally see a zombie or a head crab but they were able to either sneak by them or just run past them. At one point they encountered a pair of fast headcrabs but Yuri dispatched them before they got too close. Yuri was right, thought Shepard, these headcrabs can run quickly and jump far. They appear to have the same muscle strength as a grown man.
"What happened here Yuri? Why is this place infested with these zombies?" asked Adrian.
"Why don't you ask her," Yuri said, motioning toward Kaitlyn.
"Kaitlyn?" Adrian asked.
"About two years ago, we discovered that Ravenholm was harboring a large contingent of rebel troops. So we attacked it, but I had no idea this is what they did," she said sadly.
"Bullshit," responded Yuri, "you and your Combine not only killed soldiers but hundreds of innocent people living here by bombing this place with shells full of headcrabs. You're all murderers."
"I said I didn't know Yuri," she said, "I'm no killer."
"Okay, I believe you," Yuri said sarcastically. Kaitlyn just looked down. It appeared she wanted to cry, maybe she wasn't a killer and didn't know about this, Adrian thought.
He finally decided to speak, "Kaitlyn," she looked up at him, "how did you get involved with the Combine if you don't mind me asking? You don't appear to be someone who would join them willingly."
She let a small smile part her lips, revealing straight, white teeth. She liked this man, she thought. Even though she was his prisoner he was always kind to her. When she had squeezed his testicles in order to get free he did not harm her after Chang had forced her to let go.
"I used to live in America; Tampa Bay, Florida actually. Six years ago my family was moved from City-4 on the East Coast to here. I had to leave everything behind, I was only fourteen," she said, her voice hinted a tone of sorrow. "Three years ago my parents were arrested and taken to the Citadel because they helped supply the rebels. My older brother, Mike, was taken to join the Overwatch. They took me and made me a secretary for an administrator of a C.P. station. Then, four months ago they made me an interrogator. Those years I worked for them I was indoctrinated with their propaganda. I accepted it but always had trouble believing it."
She stopped speaking, Adrian looked upon her with sadness. Her entire family was taken away from her. He didn't care what Yuri thought, this woman was good. She was just blinded by the real enemy. His attraction for her increased, most likely from the pity he felt for her. She reminded him of his old high school girlfriend but Kaityln had more character to her he discovered in the past few hours he was with her than his old sweetheart had in the years he knew her. He was brought back to reality when she began speaking again.
"Now I know what the Combine truly is," Kaitlyn said, "they said they were protecting us from these creatures. But they're just using them against us. This town proves it," she said adamantly. Yuri looked at her differently, it appeared he was beginning to respect her Adrian thought.
He was about to speak when a hand smashed through a door and pulled Adrian inside. He was thrown to the ground, surrounded by five zombies. One grunted and swung its clawed hands at Shepard. Before they could find their target Yuri had burst in and fired until his MP-7 ran out of ammo. One was still alive so he pulled out his sidearm and killed it with a double tap to the head. He offered Adrian a hand and helped him to his feet. When he got up Adrian noticed that Kaitlyn was missing.
"Where's Kaitlyn?" Adrian asked. Yuri looked around before answering.
"That bitch ran off. I told you not to untie her. Now she's gonna go back and tell the Combine where they can find our base." Adrian knew he was right, he shouldn't have let her go. How could he have fallen for her story. He had always been a sucker for a beautiful woman but he had never been tricked by one this seriously. Suddenly, two more zombies burst out of a dark room and went straight for them. Yuri fired but his pistol jammed. While he frantically tried to fix his weapon Adrian realized his gun was behind the two zombies. They were standing off to the side of the room and were now cornered by the creatures. Yuri was not going to be able to reload in time and to fight them hand to hand would be suicide. He knew they were doomed.
Two shots rang out and both zombies heads burst apart. Adrian could see a figure covered in shadow walk down the stairs on the other end of the room. When the figure descended the stairs the shadow was lifted to reveal its identity. Standing before them was a short, bald, middle-aged man. His facewas covered in an unkempt black beard and moustache, his clothes resembled that of an Orthodox priest. He was wearing a dull black coat, faded, torn gray pants, and old red sneakers. In his hands rested a Winchester rifle. His eyes were brown and seemed full of sadness and regret. Large dark blue bags were forming just beneath his dark eyes.
"You two should be more careful here, my brothers," he said in a Russian accent, "I am Father Grigori. Why have you come to disturb my flock. Cannot yousee their true faces, they must be redeemed."
Yuri was speechless but Adrian managed to speak, "My name is Adrian Shepard, this is my friend, Yuri Olev. We're just trying to get to Black Mesa East. Do you know where that is?" he asked only to receive a sharp look from Yuri for revealing their destination.
"Yes, yes, I know where and what you seek. However, wolves shouldn'ytrouble the flock when the shepherd is near. The ones where you seek know this. That makes you the wolves of the Tower. Ha ha hahaha," he laughed. Adrian knew this man was crazy but what was worse was he thought they were the Combine. The Tower he is referring to must be the Citadel.
"No, we are not…" Adrian was cut off by the priest.
"Silence, you have sent my flock's souls into purgatory. As their shepherd it is my duty to redeem them…as well as purifying their grazing field of demons," he said as he raised his rifle at them, "Goodbye my fellow brethren. May your souls by redeemed by God."
From behind him, Grigori heard a click and then felt a cold barrel placed on the back of his head.
"Drop the gun, Father," said a feminine voice, "and step forward." The priest stepped forward and from the shadows emerged Kaitlyn, pointing her gun at Grigori.
"Are you guys alright," she said to Adrian and Yuri.
"Yes. Where the hell did you go," shouted Yuri.
"Oh, sorry. When we were attacked another tried to grab me from a window so I ducked inside the house next door. There were several of them in there so I had to sneak out without them noticing. Sorry about that," she said with a weak smile on her face.
"Don't worry. Thanks to you we're good," said Adrian, "Father Grigori," he said stepping up to the priest, "we are not the Combine. We are not here to hurt you or your flock. If you could guide us to Black Mesa East we would be very grateful."
The priest turned to look at Kaitlyn and smiled, "How could I refusethose whoare in the company of one of God's most beautiful creatures. Very well, I will show you the way. Perhaps you can help me redeem this town along the way." Adrian nodded in agreement wondering what this crazy priest was talking about.
"Follow me my brothers. Let us make haste. The flock has grown unruly as of late." Holding his rifle he walked out the door followed by Yuri, Adrian, and Kaitlyn.
"Thanks," Adrian said to Kaitlyn as they were following the priest.
"Oh, yea, no problem," she said, seemingly embarrassed.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. Just, everything is changing for me right now. At times I did believe everything would turn out okay with the Combine. So much has changed in the past few hours," she said. It was obvious that she was overcome with grief for being apart of something Adrian had little knowledge of but knew they were only causing death and destruction.
"Listen Kaitlyn," Adrian said not knowing where he was going to go with this, "I'm sorry if I hurt or scared you at all…I think you're a good person. Don't worry about what Yuri thinks of you because I think you are doing the right thing. And when we meet up with these rebels I'm sure they will forgive." She looked up at him and smiled, happy to know someone cared about her.
God she was beautiful he thought. Her eyes were like blue oceans, her hair was as dark as night, her lips were full and luscious; her entire body was beautiful. Adrian pictured her naked in his mind and smiled.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing. I just never thought I would be talking to a beautiful woman in a situation like this," he lied. He kicked himself mentally. What a terrible thing to say he thought. She won't go for something like that. She may be young but not stupid.
"Why thank you," she said, surprising Adrian, "You know, you're a very nice guy. I haven't met very many people like you since all of this began."
"That's probably because I wasn't around for all this," he said.
She looked at him curiously, "What do you mean, Adrian."
"I'll explain when we get to this Black Mesa East," he said. Then it suddenly struck him. Black Mesa East. Black Mesa was where these creatures first appeared. This had to be connected somehow he thought. He was pulled back to reality when he heard a sharp crack of a rifle.
"Haha, another redeemed," Father Grigori said referring to the dead creeper lying several yards ahead of him. "You must tread lightly here my friends. We are close but many impure souls lie ahead."
They walked along the street for another three-hundred yards until they came upon an a clearing. There were houses on each side of the field but at the end, about a hundred yards away was a small, rundown shack separate from the other buildings.
"That shack will lead away from this forsaken place. I must stay however as God's instrument. For I am bound to this place 'till he sets foot upon this place himself. Now go my…"
He was cut off by several loud screeching moans. Atop the roofs appeared dozens of creepers. Behind them a large group of zombies gathered, coming straight for them.
"Hurry my friends," Father Grigori shouted as he began running toward the shack. The others followed but Kaitlyn was having trouble keeping up because she still had her four-inch heels on. They were strapped heels so she could not just pull them off. Adrian, Yuri, and the priest quickly reached the shack but Kaitlyn was only two-thirds of the way there. Several creepers were quickly gaining on her.
"Kaitlyn, hurry!" shouted Shepard. Grigori came up and shot three of them dead with three shots. Yuri looked upon him, astonished that a priest could be such a good shot.
He noticed Yuri was looking at him and with a strange yet humorous expression upon his face he said, "God is my hands, child. Perhaps I should let him be yours. Ha ha ha," he let out his loud laugh of a lunatic. Kaitlyn finally caught up with them as Adrian and Grigori killed a dozen more creepers. They went into the shack to find a small manhole with a ladder leading down a deep pit.
"Do not worry, this does not lead to hell my brothers," said the priest, "Now go, reach your salvation. God will protect you now."
"Aren't you coming?" asked Yuri.
"I cannot. I must tend to my flock," he answered. Yuri went down first followed by Kaitlyn. Adrian went up to the priest as the dozens of zombies slowly got closer to them.
"Thank you Father Grigori," Shepard said.
"Do not thank me, thank God," responded the crazy priest as he ran toward the swarm of zombies, shooting them as he went.
Adrian crawled down the ladder hearing Grigori scream, "I am coming my children. It is time for the shepherd to purify your souls," followed by several gunshots and his psychotic laugh.
The pit was at least fifty yards deep and when he finally got to the bottom he landed in shallow, sludge filled water. Several dead zombies and creepers lay still in the water. When he turned he saw Yuri and Kaitlyn facing a wall with their hands up. The wall they faced had two machineguns mounted to it. They must have been commanded remotely with a camera because they both pointed to him when he stepped toward his two companions.
"Hold it," a deep voice said, "Put your hands up and identify yourself."
Adrian placed his hands on his head and said, "Corporal Adrian Shepard, 81st Hazardous Environment Combat Regiment, United States Marine Corps."
"Kaitlyn O'Rourke," she said without revealing her connection to the Combine.
"Private Yuri Olev of outpost Point Mesa," Yuri said. They got no response and the guns still held them in their sights. After several excruciating moments several figures rounded the corner to the left of the guns.
"I'm glad to see you all made it here okay," said Collins, accompanied by Chang and several other rebel soldiers. Adrian smiled in relief. It was good to know that he and Kaitlyn were safe for the time being.
"Miss O'Rourke," Collins said as he stepped up to her, "please give me your weapon and turn around." She handed him the pistol and slowly turned around, looking at Adrian with a scared expression on her face. Collins grabbed her arms and handcuffed them together and led her off, turning the corner and disappearing from sight. Adrian only looked on in fear and regret. They still viewed her as a Combine, he thought, but they'll figure out the truth about her.
"Shepard, good to see that you made it. Yuri, these men will lead you to a debrief, follow them," Chang said as Yuri complied, "Shepard, follow me." Adrian followed him as he rounded the corner. They walked for another hundred yards till they reached the end of the tunnel. When he left the tunnel a large steel door closed, sealing the base off from Ravenholm. He continued to follow Chang through this underground complex. It appeared to be a large military bunker. They came up to a small iron door which Chang opened. They entered the room and Adrian felt uneasy. It was a small concrete room with a wooden table and a wooden chair on one side and two others on the other side. Chang beckoned him to sit down and Adrian followed his instruction.
"I need your weapons," Chang said. Adrian reluctantly gave up all his weapons and then Chang left the room, closed the door and locked it, sealing Adrian inside. Several minutes went by as Adrian began to feel more uncomfortable. This was exactly how his interrogation at the Combine headquarters started except there was no guard in this room. He began to feel as if these rebels were just as cruel as the Combine.
He heard the lock snap and the door squeak open as two men came in the room. One was Collins and another was an aging but tall, black man. His hair was gray but his beard was black but graying in several spots. His right leg below his knee was missing, only to be replaced a metal prosthetic limb. He was wearing khaki pants, a Harvard sweater, and an old, tattered green vest over it. He sat down in the chair opposite Adrian and looked at him with a look of hate in his eyes.
"Hello Corporal Shepard," he said with a hint of malice on his voice, "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Dr. Eli Vance originally of the Black Mesa Research Facility. Let's talk."