Assault on City 17: Team Dunkirk

[acts_of_gord]

The group of fighters tasked with getting civilians out of the line of fire opens on an unremarkable side door of a thoroughly unremarkable building. The walls here are largely grey brick, scribbled here and there with graffiti in a mingle of languages- English, Spanish, something that might be Russian or Ukrainian. A tattered poster of a white-bearded man in a business suit hangs limply from the wall next to a roll-up garage door.

Barney leans forward to rap swiftly on the smaller door, as there's no handle to open it from the outside. The first thing anyone sees of what lies beyond is the muzzle of a shotgun. Before any hostile reaction can happen, the wielder leans forward: a bald, bespectacled, lab-coated figure, blinking in the light of day. "Barney?" he says. "Alyx? My God, when did you get here? And who are these people?"

Comments

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell, for her part, has seen plenty of 'dank,' but never anything quite this dark, even at Aperture's worst.

She's trying not to be afraid, and succeeding well, given the new circumstance.

[vance_prime]

"D0G, lights."

Bwoop. A small pair of lights mounted on either side of the robot's 'head' blink on. They're not much brighter than the rebels' flashlights, but every little bit helps.

"Right. You see anything moving that's not us, shoot it."

No offense, Kleiner, but Alyx isn't going to wait and see if the thing jumping at her head has a beak or not.

[smelltheashes]

It doesn't take long for the noises to start. Scratchy noises, spludgy noises, noises that might be things being dragged, things that might simply be echoes... it's hard to say.

But the shadows are drawing awfully thick up there.

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

Charlie studies the shadows as best he can. There's nothing to draw a bead on, but he's more and more sure that something is about to makes its move.

[acts_of_gord]

Gordon's data sheets were very, very good, but they can't really describe the screech that suddenly rings out as the first headcrab leaps out of the muck- or the vile, gorbling wail that the two half-gutted, clawed, faceless corpses make as they stagger forward under the control of the alien parasites completely encompassing their heads.

Dr. Kleiner gulps, but raises his shotgun to take aim.

[vance_prime]

"Aim for the heads!" shouts Alyx as she opens fire. "That's the only thing keeping them moving!"

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell backs away from the fight, wishing she knew how to fire a gun, and wasn't such a--

"Hey, Alyx?... have another gun?"

[vance_prime]

She shakes her head. "Just--stay out of the way!"

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell does so, careful to stay away from Kleiner.

[smelltheashes]

Probably for the best. Kleiner turns out to have decent aim with the shotgun, but poor recoil control. The first zombie he shoots down drops like a brick off the twenty-second floor, but he stumbles backwards a little himself in the process.

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell sees this, and steps in between rounds. She clips her gun to her cargo shorts, and asks, politely, "Mind if I borrow that?"

[smelltheashes]

"If you can put it to better use than I, be my guest," says Kleiner. "It's got a dickens of a kick."

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

"Hmm." She ponders this as she takes it, and then decides. "I believe I can handle kick."

After the portal gun? Any amount of kick is easy. Except maybe from some advanced military system. She carefully takes aim with the shotgun, and shoots a zombie in the side of the stomach. Then the neck. The next shot, though, hits the head square on. "Aims a little different than mine, but same basic principle." She nods.

[vance_prime]

Alyx glances in Chell's direction long enough to let out a low whistle. "Nice."

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

"It's not all that different from... my other gun?" She shrugs, honestly not seeing the big deal.

[smelltheashes]

It's all well and good, but one of the crabs got past both women and is heading straight for a leap at Charlie.

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

He shoots. Eight rapid shots, calmly if not entirely perfectly aimed. He is steady. He only hears the shots and his heart.

[smelltheashes]

Headcrabs are tougher than they look, but even they can only stand up to so much. By the time the guns' echoes die away, the headcrab- and all its associates- are dead. Some for the second time.

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell breathes a sigh of relief, and looks around. No more immediate threats. She sets down the shotgun, makes another portal, for progress. Then she waits for Alyx's signal, since she's the de facto leader.

[vance_prime]

Alyx looks around one last time, then nods. "Right. Let's keep moving, people."

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

Only now does Charlie's heart begin to race. That was more than a bit scary. And also a rush.

[smelltheashes]

"Well done, the both of you," says Dr. Kleiner to the two he doesn't know. "Shall I take that back?"

He's indicating the shotgun. Sonia and the others are already on the move, though, peering nervously through the tunnels and moving as fast as anyone can who's heavy-laden.

"Keep an eye out for the old stations," says one of the rebels. "We should be able to make a straight run for the evacuation area once we get to Grove."

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell shrugs. "Do you want it back? I wouldn't want to steal it."

[smelltheashes]

"Thank you, my dear. I'm no Dr. Freeman, but I do find it reassuring," says Kleiner as he accepts the gun back.

[vance_prime]

"How far have we gone? I always get all turned around down here..."