At first, all he could see was darkness. All he could feel was a dull throb in his chest and legs. And he could hear nothing. Perhaps that was the worst part, he thought to himself. It was completely silent. It had been for the past…how long had it been? He did not know.
"Wake up."
He felt excitement welling up in him. Was the voice in fact real, not just his imagination? It felt real enough. He heard it again.
"Wake up…wake up, and smell the ashes," The voice said again. Definitely real. Suddenly, the dark void began to pull away from him, and a new picture slowly fell into place. A gray picture. He could feel that he was lying on a cold, hard surface, and could feel a cold breeze on the back of his neck. He lifted his head, rubbing matted black hair out of his face. He was kneeling in an alley, two brick buildings on either side of him, both looking very run down. A chain link fence blocked off one end, the other was open, though partially obscured by a dumpster. He wore a dull gray jumpsuit.
The man felt a rumbling in his stomach, and knew that he was very hungry. He fell on both hands then, vomiting up nothing, not even stomach acid. He felt dizzy, reeling, and out of breath. After a minute of lying still, he sat back up. He could remember nothing; not who he was, nor how he had gotten there. He shook his head, clearing his vision.
"Hey, citizen!" He heard a voice call. The voice was not nearly as smooth as the first, but rather rough, and saturated. He looked up, to see a black-clad figure strutting towards him, a gray mask covering its face. He noticed an odd-looking stick in the thing's hand, and saw a pistol in a holster.
"What are you doing? This is a restricted area!" The voice called, getting closer. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck raise, and he shakily got to his feet.
"You're gonna wish you never broke through the fences, whoever you are…" The voice said. The man didn't like the tone. As the soldier…was it a soldier? Yes, it certainly looked like one. It raised its hand, and blue sparks leapt to life at the end of the stick. As the hand came down, the man's own hand reached, grabbing the strange arm and twisting it. The soldier spun around, and the man's elbow came down on the base of its neck, right on the spinal cord. The soldier slumped, and the man grabbed both sides of its head, twisting until he heard a crack. He let the body slump to the pavement.
The man looked around nervously, but no one was there. He flipped the body over, drawing the pistol and checking the magazine. Noticing it was full, he went for the stick next. It was some sort of stun rod, he could see. It wasn't very long before he figured out how to work it, flicking the electricity on and off. He stuck it under his arm, and began searching the body, looking for identification, an extra weapon, anything. He found nothing, only two more pistol magazines.
"All units, this is Command. There is an intruder in the Citadel. All units, report to the Citadel!" The man started at the voice, realizing after a moment that it was coming from the soldier's mask. There must've been a radio in there, the man thought. He stepped forward, holding the pistol in one hand and the stun stick in the other. Looking around, a large, black tower, looming over the entire city, caught his eye. He decided that was the Citadel.
A boom of gunfire snapped him back into reality. He spun around, lifting both weapons. Two men and a woman, wearing jumpsuits similar to his, burst out into the streets. The woman and one man held odd looking submachine guns, while the second man carried a large Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher.
"STRIDERS!" A far off voice called, and the man wondered what a strider was. A moment later, he was answered. Three massive legs turned the corner, spiraling up to a large platform, just under the building level. Adrian saw three men on the platform, seemingly controlling the behemoth. A cannon underneath spewed blue bolts, that spattered against the surfaces, and completely obliterated the man with the RPG.
"Shit, Ben's down! Alyx, get his launcher!" The man yelled.
The woman—Alyx—dove forward, scooping up the launcher and lifting it into the air. She took aim for just a moment, ignoring the blue bolts shattering the cement around her. The man admired that, finding himself watching in awe, even as Alyx's second comrade was torn nearly in half. Alyx let loose, and the rocket twirled through the air, slamming into the side of the strider platform. The giant listed, slamming into the side of the building next to it, then toppling forward. Alyx dropped the launcher, and sprinted away, toward the man.
"MOVE!" She yelled, pointing at the man. He realized that he was in danger then, and turned and ran. He fired two pistol shots into a nearby window, diving into it. He looked up, to see that he was in an old diner. Alyx joined him a moment later, covering her head with her hands. The man did the same, as an explosion rippled through the streets, covering the entire area with dust.
"It's ok, you can get up now," The man heard, opening his eyes. He looked around, and saw Alyx standing by the shattered window, a pistol in her hands. The man wanted to ask so many questions at once, but he settled on one for now.
"Where am I?" His voice croaked from years of disuse.
"Oh…you've got to be kidding, right?" She said, giving him a look. He replied with a blank expression, obviously surprising her.
"You…you're not kidding, are you? You're in City 17. You know, Doctor Breen, combine soldiers, big black tower, ring any bells?" When the man did not answer, she looked back out the window. "You must've hit your head pretty hard on that window."
"Who…who are you?" He asked.
"Alyx Vance, People's Liberation," She said, helping him to his feet and shaking his hand, "And you?"
He thought for a moment, then, "I…I don't remember…"
Alyx gave him a look, and handed him his pistol. "Your stun rod was snapped in half, but I found this," She said, almost apologetically. He smiled, feeling his lips crack.
Alyx turned back to the window, looking out. "Oh shit!" She whispered, ducking down. The man followed suit, not liking her tone. "Combine elites…I count six. Get ready for a fight…"
Combine elites? He thought, before a smaller blue bolt shattered the tiles above his head. He cursed loudly, and stood, lifting his pistol. He opened fire, swiveling from one white target to the next. He fired two shots into a chest, then changed his aim, firing another two into another chest.
Alyx snorted, then peeked up over the windowsill, and lifting her own pistol. She brought down the closest target, but a rain of blue bolts assailed her position. She yelled, and watched the man fly back, a bolt striking him in the shoulder.
"Move in!" He heard, and the door to the diner was kicked down. Two figures, looking similar to the soldier the man killed in the alley, but in white, stormed in, holding odd looking weapons. The man lifted his pistol, barely lining up the iron sites with one's chest. He fired, but the recoil of the weapon shot waves of pain up his arm, and the pistol flew out of his hand. The closest soldier lifted his own weapon, and fired a bolt, hitting the man in the stomach. He groaned, and slowly faded into unconsciousness.