Author's Note: I present Entry 4, which has been split up into three different parts. I did this for a few reasons. First reason is that the subject of the incident was just too large to try and cram into one entry, besides I do try to keep my entries realistic size wise (1 - 3 pages). Part 1 will deal with the events leading up to the incident; Part 2 & 3 (which will be published farther along in the story) will deal with the actual incident. This is the smallest entry I've written so far, but I hope you still enjoy and review it!!!

Entry 4, the Black Mesa Incident Part 1

So I've been hearing rumors about Gordon Freeman. While some say he probably perished at Black Mesa or was killed by the Combine, others disagree and say that one day he will return. I personally think he will return. I mean this guy literally went through Hell to close the inter-dimensional rift between Earth and Xen. He's going to be hard to kill. Anyway I promised myself I'd get the guts to finally write about the Black Mesa Incident so might as well start now before I chicken out. I'll start with the events leading up to the incident.

So about a few months before the incident the administrator announced that research in Sector C (Anomalous Materials Lab) would be the main focus of Black Mesa. This of course made some people suspicious. I remember speaking to a few of the research associates in Sector C. Most were indeed happy that research had gone up because like me they had a huge thirst for knowledge. However, others were upset they weren't being told the real reasons of what was actually going on. During these times, I often debated with other scientists and research associates of all areas of Black Mesa. The big question was what the researchers in Sector C would do to achieve more success with the crystal samples brought from Xen. The crystals had incredible abilities but the devices that were currently being used (like the Anti-mass Spectrometer) did not possess the power to scan the samples more in-depth. So basically the scientists were thinking of raising the scanners on the Anti-mass Spectrometer to a more 'efficient' level. However this had never ever happened because the chances of a Resonance Cascade occurring would be very high. Back at Sector F, fewer and fewer Hazard Team members had been returning from Xen. Most of the time we were lucky to receive a small crystal sample, but the chances of a live specimen being brought back had become almost little to none. This meant that the alien races on Xen weren't putting up with strangers in their home anymore; they were fighting back.

On May 5 200X (sorry can't recall the year), Dr Kleiner got back in touch with Gordon Freeman and recommended him to the administrator of Black Mesa. Dr. Breen was impressed and offered Gordon a job in the Anomalous Materials Laboratories of Sector C. Of course he accepted and I was thrilled when I heard he got his acceptance letters. I remember meeting up with him in Level 3 as he was newly moving into his personal Dorm numbered 309. He was still as quiet as ever but there was one thing he just couldn't stop talking about; his previous job. He had become extremely upset with how slow the research had been going in the academy he worked at. It was such a coincidence that Kleiner had still kept Gordon's number and just decided one day to call and catch up. It seemed almost too perfect for Gordon especially since the research in the Anomalous Materials had just increased fivefold. I often wonder if it was all planned by a higher force…

Sometime around the middle of May, the senior staff and administrator decided to change the crystal sample EP-0021 to the GG-3883 crystal sample for the next Anti-mass Spectrometer analysis. This is when people got extremely curious, including me. Gordon was just as clueless as I but he did tell me that it was the largest and purest sample collected so far. He also told me that many of the scientists in Sector C had complained to the administrator stating that pushing the Anti Spectrometer scanning levels AND using a sample as pure as GG-3883 would be far too dangerous. The days leading up to May 16 consisted of many people quitting their jobs and other people being laid off.

A few days later in the early morning of May 16th (day of experiment in Sector C), a system wide computer crash occurred. When this happened the only thing I kept doing was thanking myself for taking a few computer classes in college. Every man and his dog in Black Mesa were calling up the technicians all throughout the morning. Even after the computer technicians were able to bring back the computer network, they still had problems to fix like the security system. Other problems like the electronic doors caused the maintenance workers to have a turn receiving calls from desperate scientists. That morning was so crazy but the worst had yet to happen.

Hmm, that's different. A Resistance member just handed me a letter from one of the other leaders. This might be important, so I'll continue about Black Mesa a bit later.

-Val

Author's Final Note: Hope that you've enjoyed the story so far! Please feel free to when and if you review to give any tips, ideas, spell checks, etc. Any help I can get I would greatly appreciate, thank you! ^_^