Author's Note: Alright so here's Entry 6. I had fun writing this one, but writing in journal format can be kind of hard detail wise. I still hope that all of my readers enjoy this story anyway! Read and review pleeeeeaaaase. :D
Entry 6, To the Lab!
The trip to Kleiner's laboratory really isn't all that long. It is however very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. I've known this by heart for almost a year now, and I knew when I started off on my little trip I'd have to choose capable Resistance members to accompany me on the way. At Station Twelve there aren't a whole bunch of people that fall into that category, no offense to them. In the end I chose my two closest and able friends that went by the names Steve and Mary. Steve is second in command and an excellent field man, while Mary is a medic and mostly stays at Station Twelve to help those in need. The two absolutely hate each other, but pretend they don't in my presence.
We set off on our journey around the middle of the night. There are pros and cons of leaving at night just like there is any other time of the day. For one, the Combine don't patrol as much at night, and if they do it's rarely in our area. On the other hand, more zombies come out during the night and Barnacles are harder to spot. Bah Barnacles…probably the most annoying creatures that inhabit the dark and damp areas of City 17. Maybe some other time I'll take the time to explain them in more detail, but not now.
Anyways, right after we left, we hit the mini 'Barnacle field' that lies about 12 feet away from Station Twelve. Now Steve and I can see pretty well in the dark, and the constant patrolling has caused at least me to memorize exactly where each Barnacle is. However Mary seemed to lack both these abilities. Shortly after about a minute of entering the area the Barnacles inhabit, Mary had somehow managed to have herself caught by one. Surprisingly enough, it was Steve who rushed to her rescue by attempting to pull her down. This of course led to no victory, so he ended up pulling his .357 Magnum out and shooting the damned thing. It all happened so fast and I'm glad Steve acted when he did. I also think that may have caused a bonding moment for the two but who knows.
After Mary fell from the height she did (landing on Steve in the process), she ended up twisting her ankle. Steve knew almost little to nothing about anything involving medical subjects, so I ended up wrapping her ankle. Luckily since we had not gotten too far from Station Twelve, we were able to walk her back and continue on our trip. After clearing the Barnacles, we came to an area I like to call the box car pileup. The best way to describe what this area looks like is well, like a bunch of train cars crashed up on each other. Anyway Steve and I took turns helping each other lift ourselves up onto the box cars, until we finally reached the box car in which Joe lived and kept look out in. Joe is a pretty cool Resistance member who lives with a Vortigaunt by a name I can't seem to recall. After talking for a bit, Joe helped hoist us up so that we could continue on.
Getting through the next areas was pretty easy. Once we got to the train freight yard, all we had to do was simply stack wooden crates to reach a ledge that would guide me directly on a path to Kleiner's secret lab. Upon completing this task, I bid a farewell to Steve and wished him well on his journey back. Traveling with Steve was pleasant, but I was glad to finally be alone to take in the night air and be able to actually hear myself think; Steve can really talk your ear off if you don't tell him to hush. It didn't take long to arrive at Kleiner's after that, and it made it even better that Alyx was waiting for me. We exchanged greetings and then went inside through the secret entrance which I will NOT reveal!
Meeting up with Kleiner this time was quite different. The last time I saw him was only about a month ago, but I think it was the fact that I would actually be staying there that made it a much more joyful reunion. Shortly upon arriving, Alyx took off to parts unknown while Kleiner went away to the other room to make some tea. This gave me a chance to get familiar with his lab once again.
The first thing I noticed was that many new contraptions had been constructed. The main invention that attracted me was what looked to be a miniature teleporter. Of course my curiosity got me and I had to try it. My efforts to attempt to use the device were cut short as Kleiner came back with two cups of tea. When Kleiner saw me standing next to the mechanism, I think he forgot he was holding the cups because he nearly dropped them as he rushed over to me. The look on his face told me I was in for a long conversation on what the device did. However I was excited because this was exactly like what we were working on in Sector F of Black Mesa.
After about an hour of talking about what I guessed to be right (a mini-teleporter) and testing its abilities, we decided to hit the sack and begin work the next day. You can probably believe my shock when I was led to a medium sized room with four mattresses…above the ground. I think I either squealed or squeaked as I jumped onto one of the mattresses which to my surprise already had someone, well something sleeping on it.
As I lifted up the blankets I saw the familiar shape of Lamarr, Dr. Kleiner's de-beaked pet headcrab, and immediately reached under to grab her out. After I got Lamarr out I gave her, or tried to give her, a huge hug. I absolutely adore Lamarr or as Kleiner likes to call her, Hedy. I still have no idea how Kleiner was able to capture, let alone de-beak her but oh well she's one hundred percent safe to be around. Sometimes she will try to attach herself onto my head (like every headcrab would), but I really dislike when she does that since she kind of slobbers on my hair. Seeing as how Kleiner has little to no hair I can see why he doesn't mind it.
Shortly after the discovery of Lamarr, Kleiner went off to fetch her some food (which consists of watermelons). Even though it's only been thirty minutes, I think I'll go check on him to make sure everything is O.K. or to see if I can help in any way.
– Val