I led them back onto the road.
"What time is it?"
"Oh my," Kleiner said. "In all the excitement I completely lost track of time. Based on the position of the sun, maybe late afternoon."
"Good, it should be cooler at night."
I led them to the road, and we spent time following it. I don't know how long, but eventually it got dark. This provided little relief, as while it took off the heat, we were still dehydrated, sweating, and in a lot of pain.
Our only comfort was a flickering neon sign in the distance. As I got closer, it turned out to be a gas station. The sign needed repairs, some of the letters didn't light up and others had fallen off. It wasn't much, but at least there'd be food, maybe some water.
"Anyone got any money?" Grimsberg asked.
"You didn't bring any?" Otis asked.
"What? You think I'd go into combat with loose change in my pocket?"
The lights inside the convenience store were flickering. I walked up to the door, and looked inside. I only saw one occupant.
What remained of the person's uniform suggested that they were an employee, but with something on their head—a small creature with four legs embedded in the person's shoulders, emitting a high pitched noise.
Their fingers had grown longer and bent unnaturally toward their elbows. Their legs were bent inwards. The chest had somehow been mutated into a sideways mouth. From under the creature there was an eerie moan, that almost sounded like screaming.
I'd already seen what happens to people infected by those things. I smashed the window and emptied a clip into the employee, causing him to collapse onto the ground.
"Sweep the area," I said. "Make sure there aren't any more."
Grimsberg and Otis quickly ran in. I heard a few more gunshots.
Three employees were in the station, all of whom had been taken by headcrabs. We dragged their bodies outside. Grimsberg found some gasoline and set them on fire.
The rest of us took the opportunity to gather food. I guzzled a large bottle of water. Admittedly the food wasn't anything fancy- mostly candy and snack foods, but it was better than nothing.
We found a car in the back, and I was able to hotwire it to drive. I followed the road. The drive was quiet, but then we began to hear the sounds of thunder.
"Oh my," Kleiner said, looking out the window.
Sure enough, a storm was coming, but not like anything I'd seen. The sky was transforming into some kind of… vortex.
"What is that?" Otis said.
"It's worse than I thought," Kleiner replied. "Oh, if they'd listened. They must have thought a nuclear bomb would seal the rift, but it's only made it worse."
I finally stopped the car next outside a motel.
The place seemed abandoned, but it would serve our purposes. No doubt the owners, if they were still alive, had abandoned the place after the creatures from the facility started arriving. Any guests that were here probably did the same.
But for our purposes, it would do. At the very least, it provided shelter with a small amount of comfort. Probably better than trying to stay in the gas station. It would at least be a place to stay while we figured out where we were going.
Grimsberg quickly ran up to one of the rooms and looked at the lock. "I think I can get these doors open," he said. "Just needs a professional touch."
He immediately drew his gun and fired two shots into the lock, before casually opening the door.
I stepped into a small room with barely enough space for the four of us. There was a single bed and a television, which Kleiner immediately took note of. He turned it on. The screen displayed static.
"What are you doing?" Otis asked.
"I was hoping to find out more about what has been going on outside of Black Mesa. There's no way this incident didn't make the news."
"Let me take a look at that," Grimsberg said.
While they focused on the television, I stepped into the bathroom, where I was relieved to find a working shower and a bathrobe. The cold water seemed a huge relief after the dry environment outside.
When I was finished, I put on the bathrobe, before stepping back into the room. Grimsberg had got the television working by that point, or at least as best working as possible.
The picture was extremely grainy, almost black and white, and the audio was even worse. It sounded distorted, kept cutting out.
Kleiner had set it to a news channel. I could make out an anchorman with the accompanying headline of "portal storms."
."…We do not yet have an explanation for the appearance of these so-called 'portal storms' as of yet. Reports of this strange new phenomenon have already come in from Canada, the United States, England, Belgium, and Australia. Citizens are advised to stay indoors if they are unable to evacuate. The United States has denied rumors that these storms were caused by a secret experiment."
"Seriously?" I muttered. "Even after this, they're still covering it up?"
"Indeed, it seems they are," Kleiner said. He turned toward me. "Maya, you look hurt."
"I'm fine,"
"You look okay, but when was the last time you slept."
"Does getting knocked out by an exploding helicopter count?"
"Besides that."
"I'm not sure. How long has it been?"
"I suggest we get some sleep, then we'll figure out what to do next."
"Well, we don't have anywhere else to go," Grimsberg said. "I can unlock a couple other rooms for you."
"That works for me," Otis said.
"Well, that settles it," Kleiner said. "Tomorrow morning we will meet up again and figure out our next move."
The others quickly made their way out of the room. As soon as the door was shut behind them, I turned out the lights and climbed into the single bed.
Little did I know that would be the last time I slept so well.