Chapter 4
A Secret Path Revealed
A few days later, Jack and Lydia were well enough to get up and move about. "A few days ago, you said we should look for ways into the Washington Monument. Why?" asked Adrian. "Because," replied Lydia, "The combine had used the monument as a gateway to the citadel, which is only accessible through teleportation. The monument houses a teleportation device that can bring us to the citadel." Adrian was amazed. "Had used?" he asked. Lydia nodded. "After they had time to fully situate themselves, they installed a larger and more powerful teleportation device in the capitol. The one in the Washington monument has not been used for several months. If it's still active, we might be able to use it to reach the citadel." "Right! Well, no point standing around doing nothing." said Jack, his face giving only a hint of the excitement that he must have felt. "Let's get to work on these books!" They toiled away for hours, searching every corner of the library for a hint into an entrance to the monument. At last, after many hours of searching, Adrian came upon a book that hinted at the existence of a service tunnel running from the library into the basement of the Monument. "What do you think?" Adrian asked Lydia. She eyed the book closely. "This….. just might work. However, if the combine have discovered it, they will have most likely barricaded it or destroyed it. You up for this?" Jack looked thrilled. "Hell yeah I am! It looks secret, right? The combine won't even notice us as we seek under their noses!" Jack was excited, but Adrian had a troubled look on his face. "Even if we make it," he said slowly, "What are the chances of us getting to the core?" Lydia seemed to share his concern. "Not very good. There are probably hundreds of soldiers stationed in the citadel right now. We'll have to be careful. If they catch us, death will be the least of our worries." They took their leave of the rebels the next morning. They seemed sorry to see them go, but were adamant in the fact that they must bring down the citadel. "If you guys can bring down the citadel, we will be able to drive the combine out of the city." said the resistance commander. Adrian assured them that they would bring it down or die trying. "Ah, well that's good to hear. Good luck!" They descended into the basement of the library and, a short time later, located the secret passage. The passage was dark and musty. Luckily, they had their suits' night vision to aid them. When they finally reached the other end, they found that the passage had been barricaded with a large amount of barrels containing some kind of explosives. "Well, what do we do now?" asked Jack. Adrian paused to think. "It seems our only way forward would be to blow up the barrels. But if we do that…." Lydia voiced his concerns. "In addition to alerting the combine, it could bring the whole tunnel crashing down on us." Jack looked worried. "Maybe we could move them?" he hazarded. Adrian looked at all the barrels. "They're too volatile to move. They probably have nitroglycerin in them. We don't want to take the chance of having them explode while we are carrying them." Jack's worried expression grew more pronounced. "Well then," said Lydia, "We may as well take the chance. Adrian, do you have a satchel charge?" Adrian nodded. "Good. Set it up by the base of the foremost barrels." Adrian did as he was told. As soon as he had laid the charge, they retreated to inside a break room. "Alright." Lydia said, anticipation tingeing her voice. "Let's do this." Adrian nodded and pushed the detonation button. A massive explosion occurred, sending shockwaves out across the tunnel. Cracks began to appear by the dozens in the roof and walls. "This place is coming down!" yelled Jack. "Run!" shouted Adrian. They sprinted towards the tunnel exit that had previously been blocked. They made it just in time, as the tunnel, with a final rumble, caved in behind them. They stood panting, shocked by the fact that they had made it out alive. "Well, we aren't coming back this way." said Jack. Suddenly, 5 combine appeared on the stairwell and opened fire. Adrian and Lydia darted behind some fallen rubble, whereas Jack dashed into an adjoining room. The Combine threw a grenade in after jack, which exploded after a few seconds. Quickly, Adrian and Lydia dispatched the combine and went to check on Jack. They found him lying on the floor, dazed but otherwise appearing sound. "You ok?" asked Adrian. Jack shook himself. "Yeah, I think so. Damn Combine! Could've brought the whole room down." Lydia looked rather cheerless. "The Combine don't care how many of their own die. As long as they complete their mission, they will throw hundreds of lives away." Lydia was troubled but Adrian was more jubilant. "Well, we made it." he said. "Now lets get ready and move out!"