[A/N]
Another long chapter! Hurray!
Also, sorry if any of the stuff about the Combine, and other things from Half-Life are a bit off, I haven't played Half-Life for myself yet. If so, you can correct me in a review. Any reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!
The old TV flickered a little as she inserted the tape. She heard some whirring from inside it, and waited patiently for it to start.
A few seconds later, the whirring intensified, and the screen showed the Aperture logo, before cutting to Cave Johnson himself. He was in the same basement she was in now, with the only difference being that all of the items in the room seemed brand new.
The man on the screen was old. Even older than the portrait she saw, back in old Aperture. The man started talking.
Cave Jonson here. I've got some bad news.
He spoke seriously, in contrast to the pride and motivation heard in old Aperture's test chambers. He sounded hoarse, and old.
As you all know, the Combine took over the Earth during the Seven Hour War, a few years ago. In an attempt to stop that, we will be deploying nine atomic bombs onto the surface of the Earth. We have armed some of our Aperture Science Military Grade Tactical Satellites with nukes, and we'll be dropping them onto the surface within a few hours.
Dropping bombs? The Combine? What's he talking about?, she asked herself.
Now you're asking yourself, 'Cave, how would you wanna save humanity destroying it?'
What is it with Aperture and mind reading?
Well here's the answer; I have ordered the lab boys down in Aperture to save my genetic material. If Aperture stays operational, we can bring ourselves back!
Well, Aperture Science is, at least, somewhat operational. And, wait, what does he mean by 'genetic mat-' She turned bright red. She ordered herself to stop thinking about it and to keep watching.
If this tape is not found at Aperture, than obviously someone didn't do their job properly, and he's FIRED!
She flinched.
Not you, viewer. Now, if this tape's not at Aperture and Greg's lost his job, send this tape to Aperture Science.
A code appeared on the screen.
On the screen now should be an access code to some genetic material, including mine and some other 'producers', as the lab boys prefer to call 'em.
A timer went off. The girl panicked slightly, looking for where it came from, until realising that it came from the TV itself.
Well, I gotta stop the recording here. Goodbye.
Cave Johnson, we're done here.
And with that, the recording stopped. She ejected the tape, and tried to comprehend what she just saw.
So, she thought to herself, 'the Combine', whatever that is, took the planet, and Cave wiped Humanity off the surface of the Earth.
She took a moment to realise.
There's no one left. THERES NOONE LEFT! If she hadn't panicked before, she sure was panicking now. She shot up, not knowing what to do. She looked back at the lifeless body of Cave Johnson, panicked even more, and promptly fainted.
She slowly woke up. She tried her earnest to remember why she was asleep, but she couldn't. Why am I sweating?, she asked herself. She opened her eyes, seeing that old TV, and remembered.
There's no one left. What do I do?
She just sat there, trying to see what to do. There had always been a goal. In Aperture, it had been to stay alive, to get out of there. Then it was finding other humans. And now… she didn't know. Again. But there had to be something! There always was.
She payed another look at the old TV, now turned off. She tried to recall exactly what he'd said. Something about bombs, something about the 'Combine', and….
That's it! Genetic material- Right. A bit more than genetic material. She gagged at the thought. Quickly refocusing on the subject, she went over her options.
She closed her eyes again. She couldn't think properly. Not yet, at least. She opened her eyes again, slowly got up, and made her way up the metal ladder.
To her relief, the hatch was still open, and she climbed out. Nothing seemed to have changed. The cabin was still empty, and some of the cabinets were open how she'd left them.
Taking a glance out the window, she saw that it'd become dark. That, and it was raining. She figured she could stay here for a while, as long as she didn't have to go down the hatch again.
She picked up her satchel and took a can of food. She hadn't bothered to check if it was still good, she was happy with it anyway. There must be a label somewhere, she thought.
She flipped the can upside down, and saw a glorified Aperture logo on the bottom, along with some text.
'Aperture Science Ever-Lasting Food Supplement'
Well, that answers that question. She now could remember seeing these cans in the secret dens, hidden in the test chambers. She never found anything to heat food up with in those dens, so she figured she should eat it raw.
Upon opening it, she realised just how weird it looked. It looked a lot like beans, but had a peculiar colour.
She eventually decided against eating it. Maybe that's what killed Cave. Either that or radiation. Who knows.
She went on eating some of the berries she collected along the trip, and went back to thinking. She decided to keep the cans anyway, though.
After about half an hour of considering her chances, she gave in. She had to come back to Aperture.