To whoever's still reading, sorry this chapter took so long. My internet's been down for the past few days, so I haven't had a chance to post it.
Barney had been running for almost ten minutes now, still trying to get to the damn Strider. He realized he had been much farther from it than he had originally thought. Finally, he stopped, panting for breath.
He was still rather far away, and the Strider was moving much faster than he was. He looked around for an option, his eyes settling on an old motorcycle, lying in an alley, covered in dirt and trash. He holstered his pistol, and lifted it up.
Praying that it would still run, it took him almost a minute to hotwire it. He revved the engine with a sigh of relief. Smiling, he slowly exited the alley, angling the motorcycle towards the Strider. He hoped he still knew how to ride one, and he did, setting off toward the massive monster, tearing apart the streets.
He avoided the potholes that were made where the Strider stepped, gaining ground on it. Still thinking of what he could possibly do to it with only his 9mm pistol, he soon came to a solution. Zipping under the Strider's feet, he sped along the path, headed for a tall tower, lifting over even the Strider. He skidded to a stop, parking the motorcycle next to the door. Still unnoticed by the Strider, he kicked the door in, and rushed inside.
Two Combine soldiers stood in the room, meandering pointlessly. Barney cursed, noticing the strange creatures that took a head's place: Headcrabs. The Combine zombies turned, suddenly gaining speed and power. Barney cried out, drawing his Glock and opening up. Both zombines dropped to the floor, filled with hot lead. One of the headcrabs broke loose, leaping towards Barney. He hit it with his last two bullets.
He remembered the little fuckers; boy did he remember them. Headcrab zombies had littered Black Mesa, hiding behind doors and in darkness, wherever they could find…just lurking. But, what had been more of a trouble, were the headcrabs themselves. They were even more frequent in the dark hallways and rooms, and even more dangerous. Barney remembered attempting to pull one from his friend's—Stanley? Yes, Stanley was his name—head, but in vain. The headcrab had settled, digging into poor Stanley's skull. The last coherent thing Barney had heard from the technician, had been two words: "Kill me," before descending into screams of pain and agony.
Deeply disturbed, Barney had obliged.
Shepard watched Freeman enter the mess hall, his gun aiming. Shepard knew he had the advantage, hidden in a dark corner as he was, behind a table. He smiled, and lifted his Pulse Rifle.
Suddenly, Freeman did something Shepard had not expected at all: He flicked a switch on the wall, turning on the lights. Shepard cursed, yelling it louder than he had ever yelled in his life. Freeman saw him, and fired. Shepard fired back, spraying plasma pulses at the figure in the doorway. Freeman dove into cover.
Shepard's rifle clicked, empty. He cursed, and scrambled over the table, rushing towards a door. He kicked it open, and ducked into a kitchen. 9mm bullets flew all around him, knocking a pan off a rack. Shepard ran between the aisles, flicking on several stoves. He ducked into a cabinet, shutting the door behind him.
Gordon's weapon was also empty, his last bullet knocking a frying pan to the floor. He watched the man run away, flicking on stoves. Pondering whether or not to pursue him, he hefted the Gravity Gun. The man had shot Alyx in cold blood. For that, he had to die.
Gordon stepped forward, entering the kitchen. He pressed the secondary fire button on the Gravity Gun, bringing a chair from the mess hall to hover before him. As he walked through the aisles, Shepard watched from his cabinet on high. As Gordon passed underneath him, Shepard leapt out, tackling Gordon and rolling away. Gordon grabbed the chair again, launching it at Shepard. It collided with the man, throwing him back with a cry.
Shepard lunged forward again, only to be beaten back by a cabinet door, flung from that damned gun Freeman had. He growled, and slid his combat knife from its sheath, flinging it at the man. The knife clipped Freeman on the side of the head, dragging a thin red line across the side and throwing him back.
Damn, he thought, I've never been good with knives. The Gravity Gun rolled away, and Shepard leapt forward, lifting Gordon up by the shoulders and slamming him into a wall. Gordon snapped his head forward, connecting with Shepard's jaw, and throwing him onto the ground. Shepard grabbed the side of a counter, his fingers closing around the handle of a steak knife.
Gordon turned around, rushing out of the kitchen. He turned into the mess hall, disappearing around the corner. As Shepard came into the room, Gordon hit him in the cheek with a very solid object. He stumbled, seeing Freeman holding a fire extinguisher. He hit Shepard with it again, throwing him back into the kitchen. Shepard stepped back, towards one of the stoves. As Gordon came in, he chopped him across the armpit. Gordon cried out, dropping the extinguisher.
He stepped in, lifting his boot and kicking Shepard in the chest. Shepard felt a sharp burning pain, having fallen back onto the stove. He cried out, leaping forward. Gordon hit him in the nose, grabbing him by the hair and jamming his face onto the burner. The smell of burning flesh instantly filled the room, as Gordon pressed his face up against the metal. He went limp.
Gordon held him down for almost a minute longer, before dropping the body. With one more kick for good measure, he walked to the Gravity Gun, scooping it up. He stepped over Shepard's body, rejoining Alyx in the corridor.
Barney kicked the door open, spilling out onto the roof of the building. He saw the Strider, dangerously close to his position. Rushing forward, Barney stepped out onto the edge of the room, watching the monstrous machine lumber towards him. Through the open top, he saw four Combine soldiers and a Stalker manning positions. He lifted his Glock, and took aim.
Two of the soldiers went down instantly, the Stalker soon to follow. Barney hit the third soldier in the side, knocking him back. His gun clicked. With a whoop, he leapt down, landing on the platform. His hand went out, blocking the attack of the fourth soldier. But they were strong…very strong. It felt like the soldier had hit him with a hammer, and all the wind flew from his lungs. He staggered back, gasping for breath.
The soldier reached for his sidearm, leveling it at Barney. He fell over, still trying to breathe. His hand closed around the barrel of a pistol, drawing it and aiming at the soldier. Barney squeezed the trigger, his four shots catching the man in the chest and dropping him.
Barney clambered to his feet, swiveling his gun to focus on the third soldier. The man was not attacking anymore, simply trying to keep his intestines in. Barney stepped forward, kicking him over the edge. He plummeted to the street below.
"Now…how do you operate one of these things?" Barney pondered, putting his hands on his hips. Still thinking, he dumped the bodies over the edge, to join their comrade below. Once that was done, he turned to face the control panel.
"Huh."
Gordon and Alyx ran down the corridors of the Citadel, Gordon supporting Alyx to the best of his ability. They turned a corner, to see several Combine soldiers marching toward them, led by an Elite. Alyx cursed, lifting her pistol.
Gordon let go, and lifted the Gravity Gun. They had passed through a disarming field a few minutes ago, warping it. Gordon liked this version better, frankly. It was much more powerful, with the ability to pick up and shoot live beings as well as inanimate objects.
He let loose a burst, scattering the soldiers and killing many. Alyx opened up as well, dropping three of them before having to reload. Gordon loosed another burst, killing the remaining soldiers.
"Poor bastards…" Alyx commented, "Didn't have a chance."
Gordon snorted, and the two continued on.
Eli Vance grabbed his friend Isaac by the shoulders, attempting to force him out of the lab.
"We have to go, damn it!" He yelled, but Isaac was not listening, but calling for that damn headcrab of his.
"We cannot leave without Lamarr! Lamarr! Lamarr!" He rushed across the lab, still shouting its name. The resistance fighter at the door sighed.
"Just give him a minute, ok?" Eli grunted, limping after the other scientist.
"I hear Striders!" The fighter called, cocking his MP7 machine gun, "If we don't leave now Doctor Kleiner, we're fucked."
"He's right, you know," Eli remarked. Isaac shrugged him off. He yelled, when Lamarr leapt down from the rafters, settling on his head.
"There you are, Lamarr! Come on now, we have to get out of here!" He rushed out past Eli, Lamarr purring on his head. The three men stepped outside, the fighter first. He cursed very loudly, a Strider very nearly upon them.
"Howdy fellas!" The speaker called, stopping all three men in their tracks. The Strider stopped, "Need a lift?"
"Barney?" Isaac asked, "What the hell are you doing up there?"
"I nicked it! Pretty neat, huh?" He giggled. Eli rolled his eyes.
"Well how do you expect us to get up there?" He asked, sitting on a bench.
"Well uh…you know, I honestly couldn't tell you, Doc. They've got a rope ladder up here, but it's kinda flimsy."
"Throw it down anyway!" Eli barked. Barney grumbled over the speaker, and the rope ladder unfolded a moment later. Isaac went up first, Lamarr digging into his shoulder.
"Christ Doc, why'd ya have to bring that damn thing?" Barney asked, shaking his head. Isaac and Lamarr settled down, as Eli began the climb. With only one leg, the climb took almost twice as long as Isaac's had. When he was finally settled into a station, the fighter scaled the ladder.
"All aboard?" Barney asked, starting the Strider up again. While he turned it around, he glanced back at his companions.
"So where're we headed?" He asked.
"The Citadel," Eli said, "We have to get Alyx and Gordon out of there!"
Barney looked at Isaac, who shook his head subtly. He nodded, and looked back at the controls. Ten minutes later, they stood before the train station.
"Why are we here?" Eli asked, "The Citadel is over there damn it!"
"We gotta get you two out of the city," Barney replied, lowering the platform down near the ground, "I'll go back for Alyx and Gordon."
Isaac and the fighter helped Eli out of the Strider, and had to almost drag him to a train.
"They'll be fine!" Barney yelled to them, "Just get out of the city!"
He watched them board the train, and saw it set off several minutes later. He turned to the Strider, just as two missiles flew out of nowhere, slamming into it. The explosion ripped through the air, tossing Barney to the ground with a curse. He watched as a gunship flew over him.
"Son of a bitch!"