Don't be afraid
Chapter 1, City 17
Andrew opened his eyes. His wish came true. He did have a good dream about Joan. He was happy about that, and right after he woke up he smiled, still thinking about the dream.
Andrew slowly got out of his bed, stretching when he finally did. His apartment is like every other one in City 17, destroyed. The door was just a sheet of plywood. His kitchen had a big hole right above the sink, so that you could see into the hallway. This didn't bother him though, his last apartment was worse then this.
As soon as Andrew finished getting dressed there was a knock on the door. He wondered who it could be since he had just moved in (if you consider moving in just a suitcase). Andrew opened the door to find a young man standing there.
"Hey, um, I'm Ryan, your neighbor, well only your only neighbor for this block".
Andrew noticed a sad tone in his voice.
"What happened to the rest?" asked Andrew.
"Civil Protection deemed it necessary to take them all in for "questioning" said Ryan.
"What for?"
"Well rumor has it that Gordon Freeman is coming back, and rebels are springing up everywhere" said Ryan. He laughed afterwards, giving Andrew a weird feeling.
"Oh yeah, one more thing…"
"And that is?" asked Andrew.
"Don't drink the water, they put something in it to make you forget"
After Ryan left Andrew laughed out loud. He had known about the memory suppressant water, that's why the only thing that Andrew does wrong is get his own supply of water. Oringal water. He hides it under some tiles in his bathroom, and will continue to unless he gets caught.
Andrew had to go get his daily rations, hopping to meet someone new, a new friend. Ryan seemed odd to Andrew, and he wanted someone, Normal. When Andrew stepped outside, he found that City 17 was just as worse as his apartment. The only thing that was noticeable, and better looking then the rest of the town was the town square was destroyed from bombing and portal holes during The 7 Hour War. Andrew ignored all of this though, and continued to get his rations.
Andrew got his rations but did not meet anyone new. Everyone he saw was melancholy. As Andrew started to walk out of the building someone ran into him.
"Excuse me!" shouted Andrew.
The man stops in his steps, and turns around to stare Andrew in the eye.
"I-I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"
"Mean to what?" asked the man with fury.
"Mean to be such a jerk about you running into me…"
"Oh, Don't be. It was my fault I'm the one who is sorry. I am just rushing somewhere and I didn't see you." stated the man.
Andrew paused for a moment, thinking about where the man can possibly be running to in this city. So he asked.
"Where were you going so fast? If you don't mind me asking."
The man looked around quickly, making sure no one was listening to their conversation.
"Dr. Kleiner's lab, rumor has it-"
"The Gordon Freeman is back?" asked Andrew.
The man paused, confused on how Andrew could know about Gordon Freeman.
"My neighbor told me that Civil Protection was arresting people."
"Oh, I see. Well come with me I will take you to the lab."
Andrew followed the man through the back alleys and abandoned houses through the city until they finally reach the lab.
"So we are here, sorry for running so fast" stated the man, trying to catch his breath.
"Don't worry about it" said Andrew.
"So my name is Victor, and well, I am a rebel. I had always wanted to say that, just never found a time when it was right" Victor laughed.
"My name is Andrew, and don't worry about it. So what is going on?" asked Andrew.
"We are going to force off the combine, and well, see if the rumor is true" said Victor.
Andrew and Victor walked into the lab. It was packed from wall to wall. There was a big screen in the middle of the room. The lights were off, and everyone was silent. Andrew and Victor were late.
"Looks like we missed the introduction, oh well" said Victor
On the screen was a man, he was talking about Gordon Freeman , The man finished his statement then introduced a young women. The women was wearing a jean jacket that was black. It had a big Lambda on the left arm. She was holding a Smg and was talking about pushing the combine back to the Citadel. The women finished her statement and let the man in the tie take over again. Then the man said something, Andrew couldn't hear what he said so he whispered to Victor.
"What did he say?" asked Andrew
"He said thank you Joan."
Andrew froze when he heard this. Could it be? Could it be the women he met that one fateful day during freshmen year? Could it be his wife? Andrew came out of his daze at just the right time, the combine were storming the building. He had to get out of there, and fast. Only problem was, all the doors were blocked, there was no way out. Andrew raised his hands slowly. Everyone else followed the same suit.
"We are so fucked" stated Victor.
"That, that we are. That we are."
End of Chapter 1.