Chapter One - Part 2:
You Sent To Me

Like the rain on my windows late every night

Like the hope I have for us every time

It's like the whispering wind in the top of the trees

I see it sway as you come for me

A Vortigaunt helped him with the elevator and Gordon was hard pressed not to inform the kind alien that he knew how to push a damn button. In fact, if one were to look on his resume they would see pushing buttons and flipping levers were his specialty .

Following the Vortigaunt until he got to the garage, he overheard several citizens talking about populating the world and how they had been trying their hardest. With fondness, he recalled how he had driven in among them after helping a little to destroy those striders.

Those had been too much of a pain. All the damn hunters were ridiculous. He thought to himself with a frown as he slide a pistol into one of his many holsters. He really was not looking forward to meeting any today. They could just wait to attack tomorrow, his schedule was already full for the afternoon.

Gordon grabbed some ammo but could not find much else. It was not going to be enough... There was never enough.

Not in Ravenholme, not in Black Mesa. Visibly shaking his head, Gordon wanted to kick himself for getting scared at memories. I survived, didn't I? It's kind of my thing, surviving. There's always something. You know there is. There always was.

Gordon looked towards the woods and knew it was time to get going. Before it got too late. Who was he to take his time when Barney was in danger?

"Hey!"

Gordon cringed. He had almost made it out of the garage without another distraction. The clock was ticking. If they wanted to come, fine. Just hurry it up was all Gorodon was saying.

When he turned around, Gordon looked down at the young civilian soldier. True, he must have been in his early twenties, hardly a few years younger than him but that wasn't what Gordon saw. He saw the youth hidden away in narrow eyes and a set jaw.

"Another mission?" The boy asked. "I'm comin' with." This he stated rather than asked. He seemed to be a get-right-to-the-point type person and Gordon appreciated that. He picked up a faint accent and wondered which part of the globe he was originally called. If he asked, would the kid be able to answer with a name Gordon even recognized?

Still, Gordon wanted to say no. Who was he to put someone else in danger? People had an odd way of dying around him and he didn't want to be responsible for that anymore.

"What's your name kiddo?" He asked, hoping the boy would change his mind.

The kid raised an eyebrow and his mouth seemed to get straighter. Gordon wondered if this was supposed to represent anger. "All the other kids call me One-Shot Vic but you can call me Victor. Only my mum gets away with callin' me Vicky so don't get any ideas about ya."

That put Gordon in his place and reminded him why he didn't do that speaking thing. With a single nod, Gordon turned to continue out of the garage and Vic followed just as silently.

The pair of them were walking through the gates when two more citizen soldiers walked up to them.

He glanced at the medic band around the woman's arm. She smiled a small smile and said she would be going with him. Kids these days, no one here was asking him permission! The man who joined with the medic did not even smile. Or wave.

When Gordon asked their names as they headed down the path, it seemed to start up a conversation. At least between them, he was doing his well practiced not talking thing as that had recently proved disastrous.

"Will Ray. I got me two first names but I suppose that's better than havin' two last ones." The man who showed no emotions said and Gordon did not pretend he knew what that meant.

"I'm Riley." The woman said and when Gordon glanced over his shoulder he saw that she did so with a smile. He wondered if her and the emotionless man, Will Ray, were involved and if they were maybe their children would at least be a little more well balanced in the emotion department.

"Why'd your ma give you a boy's name?" Victor asked and Gordon smirked, though they would not see it as he led them into the woods. The path here was less traveled but the way was marked clearly by the symbol on his HEV suit.

"It was my dad's idea." Riley began but Gordon raised a hand for silence before she could continue. He heard something very familiar. Looking over his shoulder at them, he put a finger over his mouth and they all nodded and were obedient.

There it was. The horrible moaning of a poisonous zombie. It was worse than the others as the pain of its host was greater.

"Grenade?" He whispered to his groupies. When they all shrugged helplessly Gordon scanned their surroundings but found nothing that could do any harm when thrown at the beast.

It made an appearance, hunched over and walking towards them on the path. No one hesitated and open fired. When the zombie grabbed one of the poisonous head crabs off its back and flung it at them, Gordon was ready and shot it. You learn after the first time you get bit by one of those things.

Of course he had used most of his ammo before the damn thing finally went down. Maybe soon he would get himself a shotgun, those were his favorite zombie killing thing. Next to saw blades. Not that he got into killing zombies like a sick demented person or anything...

"Let's get moving." Gordon reminded himself and passed it off like he was talking to the crew.

"Don't forget to reload Dr. Freeman," Riley reminded him as he was the only one who had not. Grabbing a clip, Gordon did as he was told and wasted no time replying.

When they walked on further, Gordon froze at the pair of legs sticking out from a bush. They looked like they belonged to a civilian soldier and Gordon wondered if it had been someone trying to run for help.

Dragging the body out and confirming that he was indeed dead and not a zombie, Gordon picked up the dead mans machine gun and ammo with a muttered thanks. The guy even had a med kit grasped firmly in his hand and after peeling his cold fingers away, Gordon handed it to Riley.

No one spoke during or after this act. Not that it was so uncommon but it did not make it any less somber.

For a good hour they marched on. Though the going was not easy and they encountered many flesh wounds, Gordon considered them all lucky.

"Where are they all?" Gordon mused out loud as he let the civilian soldiers take a break. He was too pumped by adrenaline to sit and instead kept an eye out.

Riley was patching up Victor's arm where a fast zombie had got the better of them all. It was the screech that always did it. No matter how calm and collected Gordon was, the screech of a fast zombie could make his trigger finger freeze for just a second too long.

"Quiet in the woods today," Will Ray said, his voice soft as he spoke.

Where is the danger Dr. Kleiner was talking about? Gordon thought to himself. Looking down, he saw that the dirt was damp and wet. It looked as though someone was attacked and the bloody footsteps in the dirt seemed to be heading south. The footsteps were odd looking, like someone was dragging their right foot.

That is a little disturbing but no where near the craziness I had been expecting.

Just as Riley finished bandaging Victor a huge explosion went off just ahead of them and all four of them jumped.

"What the hell?" Will Ray exclaimed, jumping onto his feet. It was the most animated Gordon had seen him all day.

"That has to be where Barney is." Gordon almost said, "That has to be where the fun is," but figured that would probably be inappropriate and get him a bad reputation. He didn't really mean fun anyway. It just almost slipped out. "Let's go."

Setting off in a run, Gordon only glanced over his shoulder once to make sure they were following. The more they ran the louder the gunshots and shouting got. They were obviously going the right direction so they kept running until they were at the edge of a clearing. From there they could see where civilian soldiers were busy fighting hunters and all sorts of zombies around an average looking house. Save, of course, for the huge hole in the side and a suspicious looking detonated grenade lying a few feet away.

Several unresponsive hunters and zombie were scattered the ground but there were many more running, moaning, and attacking. So many more.

"What the hell?" Will Ray muttered but Gordon wasn't wasting time asking questions. His machine gun had a grenade and he threw it with no hesitation at the two hunters heading their way.

One went down, the other wobbled but was still staggering towards them.

They all fired and when that went down they ended up going their separate ways as more enemies surrounded them. The fresh meat.

Tripping over a fallen soldier, Gordon snagged his almost empty shotgun and shot the snarling fast zombie running for him.

God those things gave him the creeps.

"There's more supplies in the house!" One of Barney's men shouted. "There are grenades inside!"

Well, Gordon didn't need to be told twice. Shooting the zombie trying to get a taste of his brain meat, Gordon sprinted inside and smashed open the nearest crate. Ammo, that was nice. Smashed another one, a revolver. That was nicer.

There was an explosion that made the house shake around him and Gordon smashed one more crate. Out poured a mother lode of grenades.

Yes. Grenades made Gordon happy.

Running outside, Gordon rejoined the fight.

"Where's Barney?" He shouted to a civilian soldier over the dead body of a zombine. The man shrugged and began shooting a hunter. Gordon helped him take that one down before scanning the area.

Turning around, he shot another zombie in the head and as that hit the ground with a sickening moan he spotted Barney. Leaning against a tree away from the fight.

Without thinking it over, Gordon ran over to his buddy and slid down onto the ground beside him like his was in the fifth grade again and sliding into home base. With wide eyes, he raised his hands defensively when Barney aimed his gun at him. The gun shook in Barney's hand and it was obvious how weak he was.

Dropping the shotgun with a grunt, Barney looked up at Gordon sternly. "Thought you were a zombie or a damn hunter... They're getting weaker you know. Running out of forces... I almost shot you, Gordon. You idiot."

"Feeling alright then, huh Barney?" Gordon tried to will his voice to stop shaking as he surveyed his buddy's wounds. They were many and they were serious but Gordon couldn't think of leaving him despite the screams of civilian soldiers in the distance. "Guess that was you in charge of the explosion."

"You bet your ass, there was three times as many zombies before you showed up. Think this must be some sorta -" Barney had to stop as he was having a coughing fit and Gordon frowned down at him, not sure what to do to help him. Always a trooper, Barney continued on with his story, "Some sorta hang out place for freakazoids of nature we accidentally stumbled on. Then, with our luck, a bunch of scouting hunters came to join in on the fun."

Gordon smirked but knew Barney could not stay there. He needed to get out of sight more, so none of the hunters would find him. Those things were smarter than the zombies and he wasn't sure if zombies could smell you or hear you... he was pretty sure they couldn't see but was not about to bet on that.

Hooking his hands under Barney's arms, he dragged him further away from the fighting but definitely not into the woods. That was just asking for trouble.

"Stop worrying man, I'm not gonna croak on ya. I still owe you that beer don't I?"

Laughing a little to humor him, Gordon nodded. He had probably dragged him far enough away. Setting him down gently, he scanned the area for supplies. The explosion had sent all sorts of med kits into the woods as well as ammo clips.

"Go kick some ass. I got my gun. I got bullets." Barney struggled to say this and Gordon quickly ran to gather as many supplies as he could carry.

Running back to Barney's side, Gordon dumped the supplies beside him and set to work bandaging the wounds he could see. They really needed to be cleaned but as Gordon reached for his canister of water, Barney grabbed his arm. He could hardly feel the weak grip through his HEV suit.

"Knock it off. They need you more than me. I'm a little hurt but they're dying."

Gordon heard the gunshots and the screaming but he ignored it. It did not matter. Not when Barney was on the ground dying.

Shaking his head, Gordon finally looked Barney in the eye, "I can't save everyone." He had never had the time to doubt himself but now as he looked down at his bleeding friend he was starting to feel something. Something he worried might be fear.

"That's never stopped you from trying, has it? Never stopped me either." Barney sat up but the movement caused him to clench up from the pain. "Get outta here." He growled out and shoved Gordon's arm away from him. Gordon hesitated but only for a minute then he was off and he didn't let himself look back.

With renewed motivation, Gordon once more rejoined the battle.

A hunter spotted him and underestimate the lone prey. Gordon aimed and fired. The hunter staggered. It retaliated and shot blue bullets towards him and he dived behind a pile of rubble. He heard that gleeful noise the damn thing made a second before it leaped through the air and over Gordon. Before it could land, Gordon aimed right in the sweet spot and plugged it full of ammo. The blue bastard never landed so gracefully.

Not wanting to give the impression that he was lying down on the job, Gordon jumped up and followed another hunter as it ran through the house. Snatching up a new machine gun full of ammo, Gordon wasted no time and unloaded it into the back of the hunter. When it was not enough, he finished it off with the revolver. One more.

This one he had no chance with. Just as he was taking aim, he heard a shot gun blast and saw the hunter fall to the ground with a whimper. Victor stood over his prize and smirked for only a second before turning to bludgeon a zombie that had the bad idea of sneaking up on him.

He was more of a survivor than Gordon could probably ever hope to be and that was perfectly fine with him.

The zombies were a piece of cake after those hunters they just took care of. Sure, one poisonous head crab probably came way too close for comfort but all that mattered was the fact that they were all dead in the end.

When the dust settled, Gordon wasted no time in returning to Barney's side. Only he wasn't moving. He was not coughing or swearing at Gordon for taking too long or aiming his gun at him or... anything.

Feeling his neck in desperation, Gordon breathed easier when he felt the faint pulse. That was good enough. There was life in the old bastard yet.

Struggling to lift Barney up, two soldiers saw the trouble he was having and ran over to him. The three of them easily got Barney to the make shift hospital area in the basement. All the medics in the group were teaming up but none of them had any good news for Barney.

"He's got serious injuries doc. It's gonna be a miracle if we can save him." The man had scars on his face and blood on his jacket. He was apparently the best in the group but Gordon was finding it hard to believe if that was his diagnosis. He looked to Riley for help but she was carefully avoiding eye contact.

Gordon thought back on how the Vortigaunts had saved Alyx and shook his head. "I know it's possible, even if it takes days, if it takes more people. More supplies. I don't care what it takes."

"Well we do! Barney was one of the bravest men we could ask for but not anything is possible just because Gordon Freeman says it is!"

Gordon was losing his patience and beginning to see red, all he wanted to do was shout and curse and squeeze the idiot's neck. This desire to display so much emotion was rare for him.

It had been a while since he had felt anything but numb, but every time he thought back on the sound of Alyx's sobs and every moment he recalled his dream, the more there started to be something weird happening to him. There were emotions rising up in him and filling him up, he could feel them bubbling into his chest. Now he had wants. More than just the wants of the people around him. More than just the wants of those who controlled him. They were his.

I'm not a tool.

The feel of the ground vibrating beneath their feet put a stop to Gordon's angry brooding.

"Oh shit!" One of the medics exclaimed, racing for the stairs. "Now what?"

Gordon followed quickly and when the Head Medic began to follow as well, Gordon shook his head at the man angrily. "You stay down here with your patients."

To his surprise the vibrations were not that of more hunters. They were the vibrations of Dog galloping towards the house with a stoic looking Alyx riding his back. Gordon could hardly contain his smile at the sight.

Just seeing her gave him an immense feeling of relief and something that was much bigger. Something that he could not quite name and he was hoping perhaps maybe she would run up and hug him again. Then give him that shy smile once she pulled away.

Dog stopped in front of the house and Alyx jumped off his back. Before Gordon could register the look of fury on her face, she swung her fist, decked him, and then Gordon met the ground.

Groaning, Gordon rolled over onto his back and realized he probably deserved that. Not sure what for, but he was pretty sure Alyx would not go punching people in the face for shits and giggles.

Alyx knelt down beside him and he could see the tears threatening to spill. Gordon wanted to apologize, to reach up and brush the tears away that she seemed unaware of as they streamed down her cheeks.

"You left me Gordon." She whispered and he felt ten inches tall when her voice cracked. "You left me." She frowned and began to shake her head a little as she said, "But that's fine." She tried to smile but it was a shaky smile, one corner of her lips were twitching. "I don't need to be looked after anymore. Not by anyone."

Then she stood up and was gone while Gordon lay on the ground feeling about as shitty as anyone possibly could in his situation.

"Where's Barney, huh?" He heard her ask someone as she walked away. "I haven't seen the goof in weeks."

He slowly started to get up, avoiding the gazes and ignoring the snickers of the few people still outside.

Everyone froze and looked towards the building when there came an angry shout.

"What do you mean 'letting him go'!? He isn't a mutt!"

It suddenly made him feel ten times better that someone else was facing the wrath of Alyx, especially if it was the person in charge of taking care of Barney.

Maybe she was not at her happiest when she saw him but despite his sore cheek, Gordon was truly happy she was there. It was the happiest he had felt in a while.