As the dust settled, Gordon's vision slowly regained. He groaned as he rose from the broken ground, spitting out glob of red fluid. The grenade had almost killed him, but luckily, the Hazard Suit took most of the blow. A plethora of dents and scratches lined the H.E.V., remnants from the blast. He shook the remaining dust off of his shoulders before retrieving his fallen gun from the ground.
Near Gordon's position, Barney picked himself off of the ground.
"Wow." He stated, still a bit dizzy. "That hurt."
Before the pair could celebrate their good fortune, the clamber of Combine chatter filled the air. Gordon spun around to spot dozens of soldiers running towards their position. He felt his arm being pulled and turned to see Barney tugging at his elbow.
"Come on!" Barney shouted. "Let's go!"
Gordon obeyed, keeping pace with his companion. He then felt the air around him light up with pulse rifle fire. They kept low, dodging the incoming enemy fire, ducking in between cover. They were almost to the edge of town and the mountain when a lone Hunter jumped out from a nearby house, crashing through its front door. It gave out a loud screech towards its incoming prey. Gordon and Barney immediately ducked for cover, landing in a large impact crater. Now, the Combine soldiers were slowly advancing from behind, while a Hunter blocked the pair's way forward.
Gordon peeked over the edge of the crater, trying to find a way out. The Hunter spotted the top of his head and attacked, sending Explosive fletches towards Gordon. To his own amazement, Gordon was able to crouch down in time, allowing the darts to fly harmlessly over the crater.
"Nope," Gordon thought. "No way out."
Suddenly, he heard a loud crash. He looked up in time to see a hot rod ram into the Hunter, killing it instantly. The occupants of the car cheered as the monster crumpled to the ground. Both Gordon and Barney cheered as well, both exiting the crater. The driver of the vehicle exited the car, smiling at Gordon. He then waved jokingly at the car.
"Your chariot, good sir."
Gordon walked up and rested his hand on the young rebel, his eyes full of joy.
"Thank you, Kenny. I owe you one."
"Oh, yes you do. Now get going. She's waiting for you." Kenny chuckled. Five other rebel soldiers pilled out of the small, yellow hot rod, allowing Gordon to take the ride. He eased in behind the wheel. As he shifted the gears into 'reverse', Gordon smiled, knowing the last time he had driven this car was about a year ago, when he and Alyx raced D0g to White Forest. It was still in good shape. It was fitted with the standard radio and radar, along with an ammo canister connected to the back. It even had a Magnusson devise cradled on the back bumper.
He started to pull away, when Barney waved his good-bye.
"Don't worry, Gordon! We'll handle things here. Just give Alyx my love!"
Gordon nodded. He then pushed the gas pedal, sending the car into a roaring spin, pointing towards the mountains. His hand pushed the stick shift towards to 'drive' gear. He then pushed the pedal again, sending the car forward.
---
Gordon was halfway to Green Base when a horrible realization hit him. He stopped the car, screeching in the middle of the ascending mountain road. Dr. Kliener had said there were three Striders. However, only two attacked the town. That would mean . . .
He suddenly threw the stick into reverse, moving the car around to return to Ken town.
Suddenly, a low hum vibrated through the air. Gordon strained to hear the noise, but was unable to hear over the garble of the engine. He turned the car off, so as to hear more clearly. The hum was echoing across the mountains, so it was difficult to pin down its origin.
He exited the car, looking across the vast forests and mountains, hoping for a glimpse of approaching sound. After scanning the open area for a moment, he remembered what made that humming noise. It was a Combine dropship. As soon as he came to this realization, he spotted the bug-like dropship gliding between some nearby mountains. What horrified Gordon was the last Strider, dangling from the dropship's claws. The dropship . . . was heading towards Green Base.
Gordon jumped back into the car and sped forward, praying to beat the aircraft before it reached Alyx.
---
The car felt slow. At least, it felt slow for Gordon. He was actually taking extreme turns at high speeds, almost flying off of the mountain a few times. Inside, he knew he was being reckless, but he needed to get to Green base before the dropship. A few minutes passed and Gordon finally spotted the gravel road leading towards the Base, moving deeper within a mountain forest.
The car jolted over each large rock he drove over, rattling his teeth each time. He was about to celebrate, thinking that he would win this race. He was wrong.
To his left, past the trees, Gordon could see the dropship lift from the forest floor, leaving the Strider to unfold. The behemoth groaned as it lifted from the leafy ground, towering over the treetops. It then began to crouch, ready to make a sprint for Green Base. The Strider moved forward, pulling ahead of Gordon, who cursed at its uncanny speed. He followed the monster farther up the mountain, unable to keep up. It pushed forward, making contact with the base.
Gordon could hear the loud sirens erupt up ahead, signaling that the Strider had arrived at his home. He tried pushing the car as fast as he could, but the vehicle sputtered, straining to gain speed. After a few seconds, the car flew out of the trees and into a small field. At the far end of the field was the entrance to the underground base: a concrete wall surrounding an oval bunker leading farther into the mountain. To Gordon's dismay, the Strider was casually walking up to the wall. The defending rebel's only had one rocket and all the Magnusson devises were being directed to the forces down at Ken Town. It would be easy pickings for the Strider.
Gordon could hear and see gunfire erupting from the tall wall, each bullet bouncing off of the Strider's armored bodice. The tripod gave out a loud moan before standing completely still in front of the base. Gordon's eyes grew wide with fear, knowing what was about to occur. It was about to send an energy blast towards the bunker, which would destroy half of the base, crushing it under the peak. Gordon activated the turbo on the car, sending the vehicle forward at blinding speed. He had no idea what he was going to do, but didn't want to stand around while the ones he loved got blown to bits. As he was rapidly approaching the Strider, Gordon could see his engine turn bright red with heat. The Strider's main gun looked like it was sucking the air around it, drawing energy towards its core. Gordon was now underneath the monster, when he carried out his half-brained plan.
Gordon jumped out of the car, turning his body in mid air. As the car was still moving, he flipped the Gravity gun from his back, pointing it at the Magnusson devise connected to the bumper as it passed. He pressed the primary trigger, drawing the explosive orb to his gun. His back then bounced off of the ground, sending pain down his spine. The female voice in his suit reminded the wearer of his fracture. He pushed the pain from his mind and pointed the explosive towards the Strider. In unison, Gordon pulled the secondary trigger, sending the devise towards the Strider's body. It stuck and let out a loud chirp signaling so. In one split second, he pulled his pistol out and pointed it at the bomb, gritting his teeth in fury.
"Good riddance."
He pulled the trigger, sending one bullet flying . . . strait into the Magnusson devise. The Strider gave out a triumphant whoot, before erupting in a shockwave filled with fire and debris. Flaming Strider parts and dark purple liquid flew in different directions, like a glorious firework display. Gordon sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head back into the tall grass.
'M.I.T.,' he thought. 'How did I go from M.I.T. graduate to this?'
In his mind, he chuckled. Suddenly, he remembered why he traveled up here in the first place.
He rose from the grass and ran towards the gate. The rebels patrolling the top of the wall cheered and clapped as Gordon sprinted through the large metal doors and across the small courtyard towards the Bunker.