Prelude
The creature screeched again, recoiling from the gunfire that blinded it's eyes. It reared up desperately, the fleshy membrane exposing the beast's core opening up. And for the last time as well.
The young Marine, positioned at the guard rails near the turret that took out its eyes (at least he thought they were eyes), took aim, his eye aiming through the scope in his sniper rifle. He only had one shot. One shot.
And one shot was all that he needed.
He inhaled.
Then exhaled.
Then fired.
BOOM!
The gun shot reverberated across the room, echoing into the halls like ripples in a pond. The bullet soared through the air, flying from the nozzle, all the way to the beast's core, hitting it. The monstrosity wailed in agony, the core compromised, the only thing keeping it anchored to the Earth severed. It screeched loudly in defeat, one last time, before fading into obscurity. And only then did the young trooper knew. It was over. The monstrosity that was ravaging the world above. Was gone.
However, it didn't came with repercussions.
Suddenly, the ground below him rumbled, as if the monster was attempting to bring down the trooper with it. Green balls of energy flew from the gateway the monster originally came through, flying wildly and hitting anything and everything, zapping the object away to who knows where. The catwalk that the Marine was one suddenly began to cave, collapsing completely under him. He then grabbed the barnacle that accompanied him throughout his journey, and fired at the nearest Xenian membrane. The barnacles tongue shot out, flying a good distance before hitting its mark, latching onto the membrane and flinging him across the room and away from the abyss. He swinger with as much momentum as he could muster, and released the tongue. The barnacle tongue detached from the membrane, traveling back to the owner as the trooper did a combat roll and landed on the asphalt pavement.
He tucked away the barnacle, silently thanking it, then began to run to the doorway in front of him, hoping to find a way out, only for a piece of the ceiling to fall from above and crash into the doorway, blocking it out.
He was trapped.
He fell to his knees. Then chuckled.
"Well….. that's unfortunate", the Marine quipped. Then, he undid his mask, and took it off. A youthful face lied beneath the veneer of threatening ominousness (was that even a word?) as he calmly laid down the mask to the side.
He then heard a chitter. A large blue bug the size of his forearm crawled across his back and onto his chest, then shriveled into a small frame, as if it were hugging its owner for the last time. He hugged it back.
"I know buddy, I know… just stay close to me, alright? I'm here… I'm here..", he assured the bug, knowing that it couldn't understand him verbally. But the two had shared a connection. A deep bond. One that the bug hadn't formed in a long while. Between picking a new master or staying to die, it'd remain loyal to the end. As it always had. The other creature, a green lizard of sorts, lied idly on his shoulder, as if accepting what's to come. Loyal to the end.
Then, the Marine looked up, into the ceiling, smiling, a tear falling down his cheek.
"Hey guys?", he said, addressing his fallen comrades. "I'll be up there in a bit, and I still owe you that beer. All of you".
Then the entire room collapsed. And the last thing he saw was a flash of green.
Oh the irony.
Just when he thought he and his compatriots were about to go out, another, more sinister force, wanted him alive.
He knew that immediately when his vision slowly began to return to him. As did his other senses. He began to rub his eye, when his hands met glass and rubber. His mask was on.
Huh, he thought. Is this the hereafter?
He immediately took stock of his surroundings. The metal floor, the rubber seat beneath his butt, the scenery passing through the doorway in front of him, and the familiar rhythm of rotors spinning told him all that he needed to know. He was back on the Osprey. The very same one that was shot down when he arrived. If this was hereafter, why was he back up here.
His eyes shot up. And then he saw… him.
The wrinkled face, the suit and tie, the shiny black shoes, the suitcase. It was really him.
The first time he saw him was back in boot camp. He remembered seeing him on top of the watchtowers presiding over the camp, talking to one of the high ups there. He hadn't thought much of it then…
Until he began showing up everywhere. The acid room, the hangar, the parking area, where he last saw him fiddling with the bomb he had just defused. If I'm dead, the Marine thought, why is he here?
"So, Corporal Shepherd, we meet at last", the man says, brushing off nonexistent dirt off his suit.
"Don't think I've been avoiding you for some time, for a great many other problems required my attention, and I have always focused on the task at hand. Of course, the biggest embarrassment was Black Mesa, however…", the man paused, humming. "I believe that has been taken care of by itself".
Suddenly, a deafening boom echoes through the Osprey, and a bright flash temporarily takes out Shepherd's vision. When sight returns to him, he looks out into the desert in horror. An all too familiar shape of a mushroom cloud materializes in the distance, the top reaching out to the sky.
Tears threatening to cascade down Shepherd's eyes were shut out in rage. That man… he had defused the bomb. And his squad mates, the scientists, Otis! What of them? Did they make it out? Where they too late? Shepherd prayed it wasn't the latter.
"Quite so.", the man said nonchalantly, infuriating the Corporal even further.
A sudden green flash shoots through Adrian's vision. When his sight recovers, he was still on the Osprey with the man, except the deserts of New Mexico were replaced by the floating platforms of Xen.
"Of course there is still the underlying issue of witnesses", he says matter-of-factly.
"If you wanna kill me, go ahead. I've nothing to lose anymore", Adrian angrily responds, glaring hatefully. He wanted to clock the sucker in the face, but somehow couldn't move. He was stuck on the chair, as if someone had superglued him to the chair.
The man let out a strangely awkward laugh, as if he hadn't done one before. "Corporal Shepherd, If I had wanted that, I would've just let you die in that room with the beast!", he says. Then his face twists into a smile. "No. I have other plans for you. Bigger plans."
He snaps his fingers, and a green and yellow portal materializes at the door leading to the cockpit of the Osprey.
"Corporal Shepherd, you said you have nothing to lose now. Well, I believe you're the perfect man for the job", the man says, adjusting the tie. "You are a man of extraordinary feats. A man able to beat the odds. Your… experience will prove useful in your new assignment."
Adrian glared still, then thought… no one close to him knows that he lived. They'd all thought he'd died in that accursed facility, just like the others. He has no one. Dad's dead, mom's dead, Maggie could care less about her own brother, and Annie…. Annie would've wanted the best. For him.
He sighed… and exhaled.
"Fine", he said at last. "I accept your assignment."
The man's smile widened. "Very wisely chosen, Corporal Shepherd! Now, do note that, when you go through, I will make some changes."
"Changes?", Adrian asked skeptically.
"Your current apparel is passable, and you will be allowed to keep your weapons. However, if you wish to accomplish the task with ease, it's best if you don't do it in your current form", the man cryptically replied. "When you go through, you'll see."
Adrian wanted to argue. But kept his mouth shut.
But then a question escaped his mouth before he could reel it back in.
"What's my assignment?"
The man quizzically looked at him, then answered:
"Save the world that lies beyond. And you will be granted freedom."
Shepherd thought… and nodded
"Sounds good to me."
Then he feels his body releasing, mobility returning to him. He gets up from his seat, tall and proud, and ready to take on a new threat…and a new world.
"Good luck, Corporal Shepherd", the man says one last time.
And with that, the Marine stomps past, and goes through the portal, disappearing from sight. Spirited away…
To a whole new world.