Warning: I do not own Half Life or Portal except for the copies I own. It is owned by the Valve Corporation.
Half Life: A Grim Hope
Chapter 2: Free Falling…
Chell for a moment drifted out of unconsciousness she saw the sky the beautiful sky... along with the falling burning wreckage of the enrichment center. She sees a rather large flaming ring fall down nearby. She struggles with all her might to stay awake, and even with everything in her body screaming 'FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE COVER' she drifts into sleep.
She is now dreaming about... well nothing. She is in a blank room with nothing around her. Darker even then when you close your eyes. The room was blank and void of noise and smell. Suddenly as if by magic a light appears above her. It was a hanging lamp like one you might find in a old warehouse. She stands to her left looking around the rim of the lamp, the chain rose but never seemed to hit a ceiling. Then another light came on and another all in a straight line down.
Eventually after another three lights go on a man appears from out of the darkness, sitting in a simple wooden chair. He is wearing a nice blue suit and matching pants. He even had a buzzed down hair cut. "Hello Ms. Legends, welcome" he spoke with a dark raspy voice. "I've seen what you've done in that play pin, very impressive" she looked at him wondering who this man could be, and how did she know she was in there, why didn't he help her?. As much as she wanted to voice her opinions she couldn't speak she just stood there listening to the man. "You see I will need someone of your... talents to help one of my... clients who will be arriving soon. The world has changed dramatically since you your day" he stood turning his back to her and towards the darkness "There will be a day when I require your abilities and you will help me, or you will pay dearly for it" he started to walk out of the light. "But for now I will depart, if you don't wake up soon, you won't be much use to anyone."
Soon Chell started to awaken from her sleep, her vision returned as her eyes peeled open. She starred onto same vision she did before she fell asleep except for one thing... there appeared to be a small creature in front of her. Not like anything she had seen before, it had small stick like legs supporting what looked like a stiff blob like body. I crouched down in a jumping stance then it jumped, showing its true face. The underbelly of the creature showed a hallow shell filled with teeth. It was heading straight for her head. Adrenaline immediately pumped in her veins and she swung her arm. Just before the creature made it into arms length her, something made contact. She was surprised to see that the portal gun was still clutched in her hand. She then looked at her feet to find she also still had the shock absorbent foot ware still on as well. 'That crazy bastard...' a small smile appeared on her lips. She looked over at the creature again it was dead with some strange fluid seeping out of the creature, it was motionless, dead. She looked around her to see where she was. She starred at the enrichment centers entrance. It was crumbling and broken down, vines have invaded almost every window, curling around every possible area. 'How long have I been gone'
She tried to stand up but immediately felt a surging pain in her leg she remembered that she hurt it in her final battle with GLaDOS. She tried again and was able to stand putting more pressure on her good leg and started for the gate. She tried her best to walk away from the facility, her sprained leg felt like it was on fire but she continued to the gate. When she got to the gate she duct under the lowered car gate. She continued down the road every muscle in her body straining against her every step of the way... 'I've got to keep moving'
Alyx watched as the smoke from the debris started to clear it had been five minutes since the climax of some sort of energy surge. Everyone was crowded around the small monitor, my father scanning the smoke for any signs of life. Soon the smoke cleared and there lied the body of a women, she was collapsed on the ground, a sigh went out from the group of people, the worst had been assumed. Then suddenly a gasp from Dr. Mossman as a head crab seemed to be eyeing the body. If she wasn't dead she would soon be a prisoner in her own body.
The body seemed to stir for a moment and the head crab prepared for the kill. 'She's alive!' Not a moment before the head crab was going to 'cuddle' with her head she sprang sitting up and making contact slamming the small creature away with some king of gun in her hand. She looked around and started to walk out of the shot looking confused and limping. I finally had enough of the silence "We need to help her shes going to be captured"
Dr. Mossman seemed to have a different plans "No Alyx it's too dangerous for you" she said in her smug voice as if she was her mother You're not my mother, and you never will be.
"We have to do something; she's hurt for gods sake" I responded with more vindication then I'd like.
"No you just got back from your supply raid" she said
Eli, my father seemed to have the final say in this conversation "No Judith she's right"
"What?" me and Mossman said at the same time. It was odd for my father to agree to let me go on a mission, or to disagree with Mossman
"The gun she's holding may be the invention Aperture Science was working on before the portal storm" Eli said rewinding the film to study the object more closely "Get a squad together and go find her Alyx"
"Great thanks dad" before Mossman could get a word in edgewise I ran for the door and went to the barracks that were really just some storage rooms with some old mattresses in them.
I walked into on of the rooms and walked in. there were six people all in some old cloths, three were just laying on their beds resting, one was reading a ratty old book, and the last two were listening to something on a near broken CD player. This was a lucky occasion, on average at least one person was reading a moldy old 'Playboy' magazine or something similar. "Come on guys we got a mission" They got dressed and grabbed some guns and we were off. 'I'm gonna find you whoever you are'.
Chell was now walking the length of the broken down highway that was chipped away, she refused to use the portal gun wanting to save the power for an emergency. She was trying to save whatever battery or energy was stored in here for emergencies. She was somewhere in eastern Europe, Belgium maybe? She couldn't remember for the life of her where she was. She just kept trudging down the road. Each step she felt a surge of pain from her leg.
After about an hour and a half of walking she heard something come from behind her, she turned her head and saw a whole bunch of people running towards her... with guns. She raised the portal device 'Crap' She held it as a gun towards them as a weapon. "Stay back" The group came to a halt about 5 feet away from away from her, the women in front who appeared to be the leader stepped forward. She came unthreateningly with her hands raised.
"Were not here to hurt you, were part of the resistance." She said as if to put me at ease 'Rebels? In Europe? how long have I been gone?' she moved closer "Now just put down the gun and-"
"I said to stay back" She barked not really trying to reason with them as to buy her some time. She turned around and shot a blue portal at such an angle to get the most distance. She fired too high and it flew off out of eyesight As soon as the device notified her that the portal had connected she shot a orange portal right under her feet.
As Chell started to drop through the cement Alyx's eyes lit up 'Portal…' without thinking she ran and jumped through the portal after her. Just as she first felt the experience of diving upwards the portal closed behind her. She landed hard on the ground and knew she would be feeling that later.
"Thank god you're here" She heard Chell say confused why she was glad she was fallowed but then she heard a hallowing voice through a muffled electronic voice "Please put the gun on the ground" Alex looked up to see a group of combine, all pointing sub-machine guns at both her and Chell. Alyx looked horrified at her situation, she looked up at Chell who looked confused "Wh-what's wrong office-" the combine squad affirmed their aim on Chell, and repeated "Put down the gun" he said as cold and calculated as before. Chell carefully placed the portal gun on the ground raising her hands. Alyx thought briefly about running for her life, back to her rebel squad. But then Chell would be captured, and the combine would have portal technology. Alyx slowly raised off the ground hands raised.
Chell looked down at the ground confused as hell at to what was going on. She looked down at the handcuffs she was wearing. A band of energy connecting the two metal restraints. She looked to her left where there was a heavily armored… man? Who was keeping an eye on the girl in front of her. She studied the girl in front of her, she defiantly didn't fit her image of a 'rebel'. She defiantly looked roughed up but not some kind of cold hearted killer. She sat there for a few minutes before looking out the window. Hundreds of feet off the ground she was trapped in a fortified helicopter. Quietly wondering if she escaped the pan only to end up in the fire. She was pulled out of her own thoughts by her fellow, unarmored inmate in this flying prison.
"Some mess you got us in her jumpsuit" Alyx said with some disdain for the girl.
Chell looked at the girl and shot her a look "Well this is what you get when you're a rebel" she said with a superior sense of morality
Alyx looked at her in disbelief, not everyone was brave enough to join the rebellion but everyone, Everyone believed in the cause. She looked pissed "What the fuck is wrong with you? Bloody Combine Lover" she said not believing the words were coming out of her mouth.
Chell rolled her eyes resting her head on her hand, which was propped on her knee "Combine… nice name, dehumanizing a bunch of government officials" she said feeling she was on the right track to understanding what was going on.
Alyx looked at her with a dumbfounded look on his face "… I don't have to dehumanize them… their not human…" she said with a look of absolute seriousness on her face. She looked at Chell up and down "…Where have you been for the last twenty years?" she asked with a worried look on her face. Was she really trapped in that old building for her entire life?
Chell heard her words and wasn't sure what she meant; but she could hear the emotion in her voice. She was about to speak when the two 'Combine' soldiers turned to them and in the same, deep electronic voice spoke "Quiet Humans" Chell's eyes went wide with fear, forget what country she was in, what fucking world did she drop into? She looked slightly to the right to see where her portal gun was, it was at the front of the chopper next to the door. There was 4 combine in the chopper, one was the driver, one was in the passenger seat to help with the weapons system, and the two who were sitting right next to her and the rebel girl to guard them. Chell took in a deep breath to regain her mind, about to act. She looked to Alyx, she simply tilted her head toward the door as a message of 'Let's get the fuck outa here'. Chell then leaned back.
"Wow it's stuffy in here ain't it?" she said unbuttoning one of the buttons on her top. Alyx looked at her wearily, not sure what she was planning. Then she saw the light gleam of metal that was barely visible at the top of her neckline. In what seemed to be a blur of what was a swift and brutal attack; Chell took out her hidden wrench and bashed in the helmet of the nearest combine soldier. She continued to hit the same combine who was unable to respond to the onslaught. Alyx tackled the second one just before he got a shot off into Chell. She pushed him onto the ground and struggled to grab the pistol from the aliens belt. Before she could get it, she looked up at the door leading to the cockpit. A combine focused a pistol to Alyx's head only a few feet away, her mind went nearly blank with fear. She shut her eyes tight waiting for whatever it was to happen. She head some stumbling and reopened her eyes, she saw the battered combine Chell was working on stumbling into the one with a gun to her head. She finally got the pistol from the mans belt, it was pretty heavily modified. She was about to pull off a round to the combines head when the entire flying fortress tilted as the two tripping combine crashed into the pilot. Chell fell to the opposite wall and made her way to the door. Alyx was struggling to do the same, tripping over the flailing soldier under her. Chell grabbed her portal gun and activated it. She put all of her power into opening the door, she was already back to thinking with portals. She planned to shoot one to the ground then aim one in the helicopter itself. Jump through it with rebel girl and close it the hell down.
It did not work out that way.
Alyx finally got up at had a gun pointed at the cockpit, trusting that Chell knew what she was doing. Chell was busy trying to place a portal on the ground, but both of them were right next to the 4000 foot drop to the ground. She thought she had the situation under control ready to put down anyone who thought they were faster then her. Turns out the pilot thought he was. He seemed to believe their guests had overstayed their welcome. He tilted the controls, tossing Alyx into Chell, throwing them both to their plummeting deaths. She felt her life pass before her eyes. Her mother holding her, the hell that was the black mesa incident. Her childhood spent in a combine occupied America. Her first period while on a grueling cross Atlantic ride to Europe. Her permanent status of outcast, with almost no one in the rebellion anywhere near her age. She was beginning to accept her fate, never seeing her squad mates again, never seeing father Grigori again… Never seeing her father… She stared crying the tears flying abover as she fell from the sky. Then she felt a hand on her wrist. She looked up and saw Chell. Or what she assumed to be her. She saw the outline of a human behind them the bright sun overshadowing her. She spoke but she couldn't hear base the rush of air past her ears. But the face was unmistakable. It spoke to her 'Don't give up you freakin wuss'
Chapter 2 End
Ok finally I have finished another chapter. Sorry for taking so long, I just got totally distracted from everything. I would like to thank the reviewers who are the reason I decided to finish it. Heres hoping I don't take so long this time. ^^