Author's Note: Like Entry 10, Entry 11 will have a more detailed approach. Writing about Val's past can be sometimes hard in diary form...but I think what I've been doing so far is good. Entry 12 I think many of you will like, but I'm not saying a word. As a final note, I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read through or review my story. Thank you! ^^
Entry 11, the Black Mesa Incident Part 3
Sorry for ending last night's entry so abruptly. Barney dropped by for visit to have a quick chat with Kliener and I. It was going fine until Markey landed perfectly onto Barney's skull and began to slobber profusely. Barney absolutely hates headcrabs, in fact I can't think of anything else he hates more. He even has a nickname for them, 'head humpers'. Anyways, I don't think I have to go into detail about how upset he was to discover that the lab now had an extra headcrab roaming around, one that was head happy as well. Dr. Kleiner tried to explain that Markey just needed to be disciplined better but Barney just stormed out. I'm sure he will come back soon.
Anyway, where did I leave off yesterday…ah yes entering the Lambda Complex. When the doors opened to the complex, a huge wave of anger and grief swept over me like a tidal wave. A large number of the scientists and research associates that I had worked closely with had been murdered. Even if I didn't like all of them, no one deserved a death like that, no one. Many of the doors and passageways that led to the main teleportation chamber had been blocked by bits of wreckage or had just caved in all together. This made it hard for me to chart where I would try to head to in order to arrive at the main teleporter. However in the end I chose hallway A-63, a path that would lead me directly to Level A of the Lambda Complex.
Upon venturing down the passage I ran into a friend, or so I had thought at the time. Spot was facing in the other direction, his tail swaying almost like it was in harmony. Taking a few steps closer I realized that he was feasting on the corpse of David Williams; a friend of mine who was a highly trained and considerate security guard. Seeing this caused me to be overcome with rage but I wasn't sure what to do. A good friend of mine was being devoured by another friend, even if that friend was a bullsquid.
I quickly made up my mind that I would have to end up using a weapon for the first time. I aimed the pistol steadily at Spot and fired. Spot leapt into the air a few feet as if though he had been frightened. He turned around slowly giving me a look of confusion and shock. I'm not sure if he remembered who I was or not, but none the less his animal instinct eventually took over. Our fight began like a demented dance. Spot quickly shot out bile colored acid from his mouth as I desperately tried to dodge the material. At the same time I was trying my best to shoot Spot, but unfortunately I wasn't very good at aiming back then. After what seemed like an hour, Spot finally fell to the ground with a whining sound.
Shortly after our fight I fell to the ground as well, weeping. Not only because of the pain but because of everything that had happened. I tried my best to lift the melted armor off, but I was too weak from the other acidic wounds I had obtained. My skin felt like it was on fire, my armor was completely destroyed, my weapon chamber was empty and I had no spare ammo. I wasn't going to make it. I told myself this over and over before finally I hit the cold ground, hoping that I soon would be able to join Spot and David. Then everything went black…
I'm not sure how long I lay on that hard linoleum, but at some point my rescuer came. I remember waking up to see Dr. Kliener wrapping my wounds, and then glancing over to see a few other scientists. Even though I was still out of it, I did my best to take in what Kleiner had been telling me. He started off by telling me how he made it out of Sector C and arrived at Sector F. He, like myself, figured he would be able to use the main teleport chamber in Level A to forever escape the facility. Once he had made it into the Lambda Complex he found me and thought I was dead. He then went on to say he saw that I was still breathing and took me back to the area we were currently in at the time, Level A.
Once I had finally fully awoken, Kleiner did his best to explain what had caused everything to happen. A Resonance Cascade had occurred due to the purity and the unstableness of the GG-3883 Xen crystal sample. In other words, an inter-dimensional rift had been formed between Earth and Xen causing beings from both dimensions to exist on both plains. He also went on to say that if someone didn't somehow close the rift soon, then the cascade would spread throughout the rest of our world. Luckily however, Kleiner told me that he heard that some members of the Hazard Team had stayed behind to do two things. The first was to call in the military to help evacuate Black Mesa, and the second was to prepare a rocket that when launched, would close the rift. In my mind both of these plans seemed almost too good to be true, but Kleiner seemed satisfied so we proceeded to head to one of the smaller chambers instead of the main one. I'm still not sure why he was so stubborn on using a different chamber but oh well. I'll have to ask him about it someday.
The short trip to Teleportation Chamber #7-1 was fortunately uneventful alien wise. However zombie wise it was not. My first encounter with the zombies was like it had been with Spot. Some of these men had been my friends, how could I kill them? Kleiner however had no problems using his SPAS-12 shotgun to take off their heads. Now trying to picture someone as clumsy and absent minded as Kliener with a weapon was a thought that would have never crossed my mind until that day. However I quickly reminded myself that Kleiner was indeed on the Survey Team. Therefore he would have to have some sort of knowledge on how to use different weapons, and maybe even some combat tactics. Surprising I know…
Anyway after the zombies had been exterminated by Kleiner, we successfully made it into the chamber. That's when disaster struck. The scientists that had been traveling with us were anxious to escape the facility. Foolishly they rushed into the chamber room only to be attacked by headcrabs. Only one out of the four survived since the fourth headcrab missed the scientist's head. Kleiner rushed in to aid them as he tossed the shotgun to me, hopping that I would have the guts to kill the lone headcrab. This time I had no issues wanting to kill a living creature; in fact I wanted to kill it. As I carefully took aim, I fired a single shot sending the headscarf lifeless body to fly a few feet across the floor with a squirt of yellow blood. I was not used to using such a powerful weapon, and upon shooting my body jerked back causing my arm to feel like it had been dislocated. Surprisingly it felt good, it made me want to kill more.
There was a brief moment of silence before Kleiner told me that there was nothing that could be done to save the scientists. The best we could do for the poor souls would be to put them to rest. Not even five seconds had passed before I aimed the shotgun at each scientist's head and fired. At this point I think something like a door opened within myself, a door that was better off being closed always. New emotions began to rush through me as older ones seemed to vanish. All that was left was anger, hate, and the need to survive.
Kleiner must have noticed that something in my expression had changed for he took the weapon out of my hands and gave me a few quick comforting words. I'm not sure what they were, but it was enough to temporarily close that door. Sometimes even today that door reopens when I'm fighting against rouge Xen forces and zombies. It can be handy to have when you're trying to survive but it's best to shut it immediately after a battle. Who knows how screwed up I might get if it were to remain open…
But, as close as I am to finishing about Black Mesa I'm too tired to want to write anymore. Besides tomorrow is a big day and I'll need sleep to be able to think clearly. Good night.
– Val