Hƛlf-Life 2 (Feat. Indigo)

A Red Letter Day

A Red Letter Day

"Funny, you showing up on this day in particular."

Alyx pressed a few buttons on a control pad, opening the handle-less door in front of us. She walked through and hopped over some railing.

"Geez, slow down," I went around and took the stairs, since I was carrying an unconscious lady in my arms.

"We've been helping people escape the city on foot. It's a dangerous route to my father's lab, through the old canals." She continued down a hallway towards a doorway.

"'We' as in you and Kleiner?" I asked her, my arms getting sore. This lady must've eaten just before we ran away from the Combines.

"Yeah, and Barney and my dad, Eli. You should remember him from Black Mesa. Here, let me buy you a drink," she walked up to a vending machine labeled "DR. BREEN'S PRIVATE RESERVE." It had a large, orange, spray painted symbol on the wall next to it. I recognized it as a lambda, the symbol that the rebels in Half-Life 2 used to represent themselves. It was like a capital A, without the middle bar, but still with some smaller spokes poking out at the top and bottom.

<A/N> for more details on what it looks like, Wiki "Lambda." Or look it: λ

Alyx pressed a few buttons on the vending machine, and hit the side twice. The front of the machine swung open to reveal a room beyond.

"And by the way," Alyx walked through the doorway, "Nice to finally meet you."

I followed her through, and my jaw dropped. We were in a large, warehouse-like room, with large tubes of orange liquid and mini models of strange science thingies. Multiple desks filled with various papers and computers lined the room. A balding man in a lab coat peered inside a cat carrier, oblivious to our arrival.

"Blast. Where did she get to? Lamar? Come out of there!" he banged the cat carrier with his palm.

Alyx walked up to him, "Uh-oh. Everything all right, Dr. Kleiner?" she glanced back at me sarcastically.

Kleiner stood up straight and adjusted his glasses, "oh, hello Alyx. Well, almost alright. Lamar has gotten out of her crate again. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect Barney of trapping and--" he seemed to notice me and the lady in my arms for the first time. "My goodness. Gordon Freeman!"

"Well, actually, I'm --" I lifted a finger to correct him, but he just kept rambling.

"It really is you, isn't it? Why didn't you give me any warning of your arrival? I suspect you wish to use our resurrected teleport to go to Eli's with Alex. I could've had it waiting for you when you arrived if I had any forewarning at all."

"Well actually, I found him wandering around outside. He didn't really seem to know where he was going." Alyx attempted to defend me.

"But I'm not really --" I was interrupted again by Kleiner.

"We owe a great deal to you, Mr. Freeman, even if trouble does tend to follow in your wake." He walked over to his desk without pausing for a breath. "I must say, Gordon, you've come at a very opportune time. Alyx has recently installed the final piece for our teleport."

"I can't take any credit for the breakthrough, doctor . . ." Alyx dismissed the comment.

"Nonsense. Your talents surpass your loveliness."

She chuckled awkwardly, "Let's just see if this thing works, okay?"

I was about to take the break in Kleiner's string of words and say something when Barney waltzed in, "Hey, Gordon! I finally found you. Why didn't you wait for me in the plaza?"