TITLE CARD: MAY 15, 2009; 9:20 A.M.: RESONANCE CASCADE EVENT
As before, the lettering flickers and twitches as though from some unknown electrical interference.
INT – BLACK MESA – ANOMALOUS MATERIALS – TEST LAB
We see the safety rail of a catwalk through a dazed blurriness, from roughly floor level, and hear a woman trying to catch her breath, over the low hiss of radio static.
CLOSE ON
Dr. Cross, seen through the Plexiglas visor of her Hazard suit's helmet and illuminated by red emergency lighting. We hear a thin hiss of static from her H.E.V. Radio. She is lying on the catwalk mentioned earlier, taking a moment to get her bearings. Near her is a crowbar, presumably the same one that had been jamming the gears; the shaft of the tool is scratched and gouged.
When the world stops spinning, Dr. Cross carefully sits up and shakes her head to clear it.
DR. CROSS
"Mark IV." [The suit gives an acknowledging chirp] "Status report."
HAZARD SUIT (CROSS), v.o.
"You have no broken bones or internal injuries. Other than a small bump on the head, you are in optimum health."
DR. CROSS
"Diagnostics."
HAZARD SUIT (CROSS), v.o.
"Your headset radio has been damaged. Some communications functions may be affected. All other systems are running at optimum performance. Suit power is steady at 93 percent."
She picks up the crowbar and hooks the end over the safety rail, using it to help herself up. Peering over the railing to the lower level, she sees Dr. Green half-curled on the floor near the terminal, which appears to have been destroyed by a huge energy surge. It smokes gently, and the monitor's glass has blown out.
On the other side of the dead control terminal, we can see a blast door, stuck partially open.
Distantly we hear an inhuman bellow, and a human scream, followed by the pop-pop-pop of gunfire.
Cross's radio crackles, and we hear, thin and distant, Dr. Keller's voice through the static.
DR. KELLER, H.E.V radio
[static] "… there? Dr. Cross?" [static]" …een? Are you okay?" [static]
DR. CROSS
"I'm here! I'm okay!"
DR. KELLER, H.E.V. radio
[static] "… response. There's too much" [static] "…ence. Vital s…" [static] "… ear stable…" [static]
The signal disintegrates into static.
Dr. Green stirs and sits up, glances around, and finally spots Dr. Cross on the catwalk just as Dr. Cross reaches a ladder and starts to climb down to the lower level.
Dr. Green meets her colleague at the bottom of the ladder.
DR. GREEN
"Are you okay?"
DR. CROSS
"I think so. I got knocked on my ass, though."
DR. GREEN
"We need to get out of here. This place could collapse at any moment."
There is a clang of metal on metal, as though something has been disturbed and fallen. Both women flinch in surprise. Further screams in the distance.
DR. CROSS
:Find a weapon. We don't know what could be out there. Pure sample, remember?"
DR. GREEN
"True… but fauna migration from the borderworld is so unlikely…"
There is a louder clang, followed by the high-pitched growl of a small creature.
DR. GREEN
"Weapons. Good idea."
She picks up a fallen support strut from the floor.
DR. CROSS
"I saw an open door over there." [points] "Stay sharp."
They make their way towards the half-open door, watchful for any danger. Dr. Green half-crouches and peers through into the hallway beyond, barely illuminated by the emergency lights. Distantly we hear sirens and emergency klaxons. From just around a bend in the hallway we see the legs of a fallen scientist. He looks like he might be dead, but presently one of his legs twitches.
A small creature, superficially resembling a flesh-colored tick about the size of a cat, hops into view from around the corner. It turns itself about slowly on four jointed, crablike legs. It has no visible head. We will call this a headcrab, for reasons that will be made clear later.
DR. GREEN
"What the hell…?"
The headcrab suddenly turns, orienting itself on the sound of Dr. Green's voice. It screeches and bounds towards the half-open door, easily covering fifteen feet in a single leap.
The two scientists backpedal instinctively, retreating into the test lab.
The headcrab lands just inside the door and springs at Dr. Green's face, revealing a sharp beak on its underside which secretes a clear fluid, like saliva.
Dr. Green smacks it out of the air with her makeshift weapon. It splatters on the floor with a spray of yellow blood. It is still twitching, so Green smacks it a few more times to make sure it's dead.
Dr. Cross glances out to the corridor as she hears the screeching of more headcrabs. The legs of the dead scientist have vanished, leaving behind only a smear of blood.
DR. CROSS
"Oh my God… Colette, we need to get moving."
Dr. Green finishes pulping the headcrab and glances up. She is speckled with alien blood.
Dr. Cross points to where the scientist no longer is.
DR. GREEN
[resigned] "I knew I should have stayed in bed today,"
They leave the test lab. As they exit the interference still in the lab, they hear Keller and Rosenberg talking through the Hazard suits' radios through the haze of static. They pause, straining to listen.
DR. KELLER, H.E.V. radio
[static] "… resonance cascade!"
Both Cross and Green recognize the term. They exchange a concerned glance.
DR. ROSENBERG, H.E.V. radio
"I don't understand! The dampening fields should have…"
DR KELLER, H.E.V. radio
"The dampening fields *failed*!"
DR. ROSENBERG, H.E.V. radio
"The dampening fields are designed *not* to fail! The only way this could have happened is if somebody had turned them off!"
DR. KELLER, H.E.V. radio
"They *failed*! The entire containment system has collapsed. This is a resonance cascade, Dr. Rosenberg."
DR. ROSENBERG, H.E.V. radio
[sighs] "… yes. You're right. We've got to get everyone out of here."
DR. KELLER, H.E.V. radio
"No, the dampening fields are the problem. I don't think you understand the importance of resetting them. Without them in place, the cascade will just continue."
DR. ROSENBERG, H.E.V. radio
"But if we fail, who will warn everyone else? We can have soldiers from Santego here in two hours who can secure the facility and get everyone to safety. Our concern must be with the people of Black Mesa."
DR. KELLER, H.E.V. radio
"… you're right. But first, let's wait until we know if Cross and Green are okay. I haven't been able to raise them on radio, but the Hazard suits are reporting that they're alive."
More headcrabs, having heard their compatriot's screech, bound up the hallway towards them. There are maybe a dozen of them, and they all look hungry – for what, we're not sure yet, but face appears to be on the menu.
They are smacked out of the air mid-leap as they pounce at their prey.
Yellowish blood splatters as one hit the wall.
The two scientists duck and dodge the springing headcrabs, who scramble to reverse course for another try.
One lands on Dr. Cross's helmet from behind. It hops to the top of the helmet, and we see its beak gnawing furiously (and apparently futilely) at the helmet as it apparently attempts to copulate with her head.
HAZARD SUIT (CROSS), v.o.
"Acid damage detected. Activating self-repair functions."
Dr. Cross paws frantically at the headcrab, trying to knock it off.
DR. CROSS
"Get it off me!"
Dr. Green grabs the creature and rips it off (we hear its limbs snap), spiking it against the wall. It falls to the floor, limp. We see that the creature's corrosive saliva has eaten the beginnings of a hole in Cross's helmet, but presently it starts closing up as the suit repairs itself.
They turn a corner and reach an office as they clear the patch of headcrabs. The door reads "SECURITY OFFICE". The blinds are open, and they peer inside.
Sprawled on the floor they see the corpse of a security guard in a large pool of blood, still clutching a standard issue handgun in his right hand but missing his left arm at the shoulder. We see the splattered corpse of a headcrab in the corner, apparently shot many times, but the man's arm was clearly torn off by something larger and stronger than this. Judging by the trail of blood on the floor leading up to the door, the guard appears to have dragged himself to safety and gotten his vengeance on a would-be opportunist before succumbing to his wounds. He looks like he was mauled by a tiger.
DR. CROSS
"What the hell?"
DR. GREEN
"Looks like we've got bigger things to worry about than alien spiders."
DR. CROSS
"No doubt. We're in luck, though – look."
She points to a set of shelves at one end of the office, bearing a few firearms and ammo clips locked behind metal grating.
Dr. Green tries the doorknob and finds it locked. In response to this, Dr. Cross swings her crowbar at the observation window, shattering the safety glass. She sweeps through the broken window with the crowbar, clearing the fragments, before climbing through, glancing around for any potential danger.
Once satisfied that the office is clear, she touches down on the floor, reacting in brief disgust to the proximity of the mangled guard but nonetheless crouching to search the body for the keys to the weapons lockup.
They hear the inhuman bellow we heard before, but this one is closer. Dr. Green glances over her shoulder warily.
DR. GREEN
"Gina… might want to hurry up…"
DR. CROSS
"I know."
DR. GREEN
"I'm serious. You really want to hurry up. Something's coming – it sounds either angry or hungry, and I don't want to find out which."
Dr. Cross finally emerges with a keyring, holding it up so Dr. Green can see it through the window. It jangles with keys.
DR. CROSS
"Got the keys!"
DR. GREEN
"Good! Weapons? Please?"
She has no time for niceties, let alone full sentences, because there is a roughly humanoid shape shambling towards her, like something in a George Romero movie. Its arms hang past its knees, and its hands are tipped with hooked claws.
As it shuffles into a patch of light, we notice a few important details: First, it is wearing a torn, bloodstained lab coat, with a Black Mesa identification badge. Second, its head is almost entirely obscured by the headcrab that has taken it over. The headcrab's legs have dug themselves into the flesh and bone of the unfortunate scientist's head and face.
The ruined lab coat hangs open loosely, revealing the remains of a work shirt and tie – and beyond these the thing's chest cavity opens into a vertical mouth lined with either jagged teeth or the shattered remains of the ribcage reassigned to teeth. We see no recognizable organs within.
This is a headcrab zombie. Say hi.
Dr. Green takes a step back as the thing lumbers forward, bellowing from its chest-maw and raising its claws to attack. She raises her makeshift weapon like a spear, preparing to defend herself.
There is a gunshot, hitting the thing in the throat. The zombie stops, staggers, hesitates, toddles forward. There is another tight cluster of shots to the headcrab, knocking the zombie back on its heels. It staggers a few steps, and then falls over dead.
Dr. Green glances back and sees that Dr. Cross has liberated a handgun from the locker. She is still in a firing stance, and a wisp of smoke trails from the gun's muzzle. She lowers the gun and glances over at Dr. Green, who sinks to the floor in relief.
DR. CROSS
"You okay?"
DR. GREEN
[looking a bit shell-shocked] "Yeah. I'm good. Nice shot."
DR. CROSS
"Thanks. Here." [offers a gun and some ammo clips on a belt] "You'll need these if there are more of those… things roaming around."
Dr. Green takes the gun dubiously.
DR. GREEN
"You know what my scores were on the Hazard course."
Dr. Cross shrugs, unconcerned.
DR. CROSS
"Just focus. We don't need to panic here."
DR. GREEN
"Don't panic? I just about got my face torn off by" [glances at the corpse's ID badge] "Dr. Fogler from Lab C, and you're telling me DON'T PANIC? In case you haven't noticed, this isn't a video game – this isn't some simulation that you can reset if things go to hell!"
Dr. Cross puts up a placating hand.
DR. CROSS
"Okay. Yes. I understand. Right now our priority is to get back to the control room alive. But it would be useful to find out what the hell that thing is." [points to the dead headcrab] "Do you recognize it from any of the excursions?"
Dr. Green takes a deep breath and wills herself into her analytic mode.
DR. GREEN
"Okay. I'm okay." [She looks at the headcrab, which is still cemented to its victim's skull] "I don't remember seeing this in any of the files on borderworld fauna. It might be an indigenous parasite… but not many of the species have sufficiently humanoid anatomy to make it appealing to latch on this way. Even those with a definite head don't have this shape of skull. I'll need to get it to a lab to really study it."
DR. CROSS
"Can you detach it? A sample would be handy."
DR. GREEN
"It's attached pretty firmly. It's still hanging on even after death." [She makes a face.] "If we want to take this one with, we'll have to take the head, too."
DR. CROSS
"Okay. Just leave it, then. I'm not dragging a dead body back to the control room so we can dissect an alien."
DR. GREEN
"Let's get moving, then. I hear more of those things coming."
They equip themselves from the weapons locker and head off.
INT – BLACK MESA – ANOMALOUS MATERIALS – TEST CHAMBER
Gordon lays sprawled amid the wreckage of the test chamber, dimly illuminated by the red emergency lights. Near him are the spilled contents of the toolbox we saw earlier, and the crowbar is stuck upright in a crack between two plates of shielding in the floor near Gordon's head. Electrical components intermittently spit showers of sparks. He groans and stirs, but does not get up right away.
GORDON FREEMAN
"Mark IV?" [The hazard suit gives an acknowledging chirp] "Status report."
HAZARD SUIT (FREEMAN), v.o.
"You have suffered a minor concussion and were rendered unconscious for two minutes. You have no broken bones or internal injuries, but I detect a minor strain in the tendons of your left wrist. I have applied countermeasures to minimize any potential swelling. As such, you may feel some minor stiffness in that area of the suit. I detect some residual radiation in your current environment."
GORDON FREEMAN
"Thank you. Run suit diagnostics."
Gordon sits up. We see that one earpiece of his glasses has been knocked out of place, so that the frame hangs crookedly from the other ear and his nose. He instinctively reaches up to adjust them, but then remembers the protective visor and the potential danger. He looks around, sees the crowbar, and starts working it out of the floor. As he does so:
HAZARD SUIT (FREEMAN), v.o.
"Your radio has been critically damaged in the event. You will not be able to send or received radio messages until it is replaced. All other functions are running at optimum performance. Current power levels are steady at 85%. How does your head feel?"
GORDON FREEMAN
"Hurts like hell."
He manages to yank the crowbar free with one final tug.
HAZARD SUIT (FREEMAN), v.o.
"This is normal. If you start feeling any dizziness, it is recommended that you sit down as soon as possible and place your head between your knees to increase blood circulation to your brain."
GORDON FREEMAN
"Thank you. Remind me to thank your designer."
HAZARD SUIT (FREEMAN), v.o.
"The Mark IV Hazardous Environment protection system was designed by Dr. Gina Cross, who works in the Black Mesa Anomalous Materials Laboratory."
GORDON FREEMAN
[brightly] "Excellent. I'm definitely buying her a book on trans-dimensional wormholes as soon as this is over."
HAZARD SUIT (FREEMAN), v.o.
"You are a true romantic at heart, Dr. Freeman."
GORDON FREEMAN
[slightly flustered by the idea] "Flatterer."
HAZARD SUIT (FREEMAN), v.o.
"I aim to please, sir."
He gets to his feet and heads for the door. He bends to peer at the keypad, triggering the proximity sensor. It scans his eyes, and then gives an affirmative beep (to his puzzlement). The door hisses open, and he ventures through into...
INT – BLACK MESA – ANOMALOUS MATERIALS – CORRIDOR
Gordon pauses in the corridor, raising the visor on his Hazard suit and taking off his glasses. Behind him we see (but he doesn't) a bloody smear on the wall, looking like it started as a handprint before the owner was dragged off. He squints at his glasses, inspecting the frames and lenses for damage. Finally, satisfied that they are undamaged, he puts them back on, settles them in place with a final poke to the bridge, and lowers the Hazard suit visor again.
Behind him, in the shadows, a door opens. The G-Man steps out, glances at Gordon, checks his watch, nods with satisfaction, and moves on through another door opposite.
Gordon cautiously makes his way back up the corridor towards the elevator, but as he reaches it he jumps back a step as the elevator car plunges past, filled with panicked screaming, cut short when the whole mess hits the bottom of the shaft with a crash two floors later. Gordon cautiously leans out to peer down the shaft at the silent wreckage, and winces. A bit disquieted, he skirts the shaft and begins nimbly climbing the utility ladder alongside it.
INT – BLACK MESA – TESTING LAB
We see Dr. Vance kneeling on the ground next to the scientist we saw with him earlier. The latter is cradling an injured arm. There is a makeshift splint on his leg.
DR. VANCE
"Why didn't they listen? We tried to warn them."
SCIENTIST #4
"I never thought I'd see a resonance cascade, let alone create one."
DR. VANCE
"Just try to stay calm. We'll get through—"
They both jump as, presently, the electronic sliding door behind them lurches open a few inches, accompanied by a grunt of effort from someone on the other side. The curved end of a crowbar hooks around the edge of the door, and it is pried open, with some difficulty. When it is about halfway open, Gordon pokes his helmeted head around the edge and looks in. Dr. Vance gets to his feet in astonishment.
DR. VANCE
"Gordon! You're alive! Thank God for that hazard suit."
GORDON FREEMAN
"Good to see you, too. One moment—"
He grabs the edge of the door with his gloved hands and hauls it the rest of the way open with a screech of metal and final grunt of effort. He enters the test lab and surveys the scene, and then glances at Dr. Vance.
GORDON FREEMAN
"Any theories on what happened down there?"
DR. VANCE
"It was the worst case scenario… a million to one fluke… a resonance cascade!"
GORDON FREEMAN
[realizing the dire implications of this] "Jesus. That would tear open a dimensional rift, letting God-knows-what through."
DR. VANCE
"Indeed – and judging from the sounds I've been hearing outside, I'm not even sure He knows. Listen, our phones are out and I'm afraid to move him." [indicates the injured scientist on the floor] "We need you to find your way to the surface and let somebody know we're stranded down here."
GORDON FREEMAN
"I can do that. I'll even see if I can dig up some supplies for you."
DR. VANCE
"Hopefully we won't be down here that long… but you can never tell. Fortunately, the retinal scanner still works over here, so that should keep the worst out. I'll let you out and lock it behind you. Just bang on the door if you've found something we can use."
Gordon nods, and the two of them head for the door. Dr. Vance punches in his code, and allows himself to be scanned. The door hisses open. The hallway beyond is dark, lacking even the emergency lighting of other places.
Gordon turns on a helmet-mounted flashlight on his hazard suit, checking the corridor in both directions.
GORDON FREEMAN
"It's clear."
DR. VANCE
"Be careful."
Dr. Vance gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and Gordon cautiously heads out into the darkness. The door hisses shut behind him.
INT – BLACK MESA – ANOMALOUS MATERIALS
Dr. Green and Dr. Cross head up a flight of stairs. Both have added ammunition belts over their Hazard suits. They head down a short hallway at the top and see, through a window, a security guard backing away from a trio of howling alien creatures, each about the size of a dog, with three legs and a single huge red compound eye where the head should be. These are houndeyes.
He fires frantically, but not accurately enough to take them out in time. Blood dribbles from his ears, and he starts spasming, firing wildly; a bullet hits the safety glass of the door, and it smashes into opacity a split second before we see (in silhouette) the guard's head explode, splattering the door with red before the glass disintegrates. The guard remains standing, headless, for a beat before falling to the floor. The houndeyes pounce and begin feeding, their eyes turning blue-black.
Green and Cross recoil in horror and continue running up the stairs.
They burst through an access door – the final stretch before the control room. They head up a curved flight of stairs; around the first bend they encounter a lone houndeye. It turns, startled, and begins its howl—
—only to be cut off when Green shoots it. Yellow-green blood spatters as it dies.
They reach the top of the stairs at a dead run and turn down a short hallway, at the end of which is the door to the control room. Opposite this hallway there is a server room, and as they head for the control room there is a hideous bellow behind them.
Cross turns to see the threat, and two headcrab zombies in science team uniforms lurch out of the server room, claws raised.
She jog-skips backwards, firing at the zombies as Green reaches the door. It is tightly shut. She bangs on it with the crowbar that Cross had been using
DR. GREEN
"Open the door! Dr. Rosenberg, it's us! Open up! Please!"
One of the zombies falls under Cross' fire. The other steps over its companion and continues forward, roaring.
DR. ROSENBERG, within
"Dr. Green, is that you? Thank God! Just let me get the door open."
Dr. Cross's gun clicks dry, but the zombie is nearly on her – no time to reload. She grabs the thing by its bloodstained lab coat, brings an armored knee up sharply between its legs – once, twice, three times – and then snaps her helmeted head forward, as hard as she can, into the alien passenger on its head.
The door hisses open as the zombie staggers back, injured and disoriented, and Cross follows Green into the control room.
INT – BLACK MESA – ANOMALOUS MATERIALS – CONTROL ROOM
Dr. Rosenberg steps aside as Green and Cross hurry in to safety; he is wielding a fire axe. He shuts the door after them, and they slump in relief, trying to catch their breath. Dr. Keller is also there, sitting at the console in his wheelchair. They both appear frazzled but unhurt.
DR. ROSENBERG
"Thank goodness you survived. Those H.E.V suits of yours are well-designed, Dr. Cross."
DR. CROSS
"Thank you, Dr. Rosenberg."
DR. GREEN
"Unfortunately, we've observed an increasing number of borderworld fauna in the research facility. If the cascade continues as it has been, the population of alien life-forms will only increase as more of them wander into the affected zone. We'll be overwhelmed in less than a day."
DR. KELLER
[nods] "We understand that. Fortunately, doctors, we have formulated a plan. You need to escort Dr. Rosenberg to the surface, so he can call for help. I couldn't possibly make it in my chair. I'll stay behind and assess the damage to our equipment, and the extent of the cascade. Maybe I can find a clue as to what went wrong."
DR. ROSENBERG
"I don't like the idea of leaving you here, but it seems we have no choice."
DR. KELLER
"Let me activate the service lift. There's a shortcut through the training area that will get you to the surface. Good luck."
The lift doors hiss open behind them.
DR. ROSENBERG
"All right – let's go."
Rosenberg, Cross, and Green enter the lift. The doors close.
End of Part 2.
Editor's note: I've been having fun trying to match up the different points where the timelines cross. I was going to have Barney in his chapter, until I realized that he won't be up and around until after the HECU arrive (NPCs refer to Cpl Shepherd's apparent demise in the chapter "Duty Calls"), placing the chopper crash somewhat before Barney wakes up in the crashed elevator.
Whether Gordon hopes for more than a professional relationship with Gina Cross I will leave as an exercise for the reader.