Chapter Text
“Alright,” Alyx huffed, her breath fogging in the chilly air. “We made it.”
With catlike reflexes, she jumped down a stack of crates into the slurry-filled canal below. Barney, who had unflatteringly discovered his first gray hair that month, ambled down the boxes more gingerly.
Now fully below ground level and out of the wind, Barney wrinkled his nose at the smell of waste. “Have you really been running around in the sewers making friends with strangers?”
“We met by accident,” Alyx explained. “I needed to lie low at the time... sewers are low.”
She led him to the nearest tunnel which was decorated on each flank by a pair of headcrabs impaled on pikes. Barney prodded the nearest skewered creature. “Sheesh. You weren’t kidding about this Vort being the real deal.”
“Oh yeah, Black Mesa East won’t have to worry with an infestation as long as he’s around!”
They traveled further into the sewer, passing by a few luminescent murals peeking through the Xenian undergrowth. After a myriad of twists and turns, they happened upon a large interior chamber. Corrugated metal sheets and planks of wood spiraled around them; half-architecture, half-art installation. Barney whistled. They approached the focal point at the end of the spiral: a simple door with an antique fire bell by its side. Alyx rang it. A flurry of footsteps grew closer before a privacy shutter slid open, revealing a giant red eye.
“Ah, the Alyx Vance!” The Vortigaunt unlatched the lock, welcoming his guests into his home. “I have not been expecting you!”
“Hey Gary,” she greeted. “How are you?”
“I have been well. There are less sewage leaks than last winter.” The Vortigaunt surveyed the man at Alyx’s side with his three good eyes. “And this is...?”
“Barney.” The man in question shook the Vortigaunt’s thoracic limb, as was customary. “Nice to meet you, Gary.”
“It is nice to meet you as well! Come, I have a fire going.” The alien led them to a small fire pit he had been tending, an unfortunate headcrab roasting above it. He turned his meal over, cursing under his breath at the blackened hide. “Do not be shy, sit.” He motioned to the stools surrounding the blaze, occupying one himself. His guests did so, warming their freezing digits by the flames.
“Now,” Gary spoke, fingers steepled, “what brings you both to my humble abode?”
“On business, actually!” Alyx explained. “We’ve been constructing this base of operations for the Resistance, but lately we’ve been having trouble reclaiming it from the local Xen wildlife…” She looked grimly at the slowly roasting parasite above the fire. “Namely headcrabs. You were the first person that I thought of to ask for help.”
“Plus,” Barney chimed in, “it’s a much nicer place to live in than the sewers. It’s just a few miles down the river, in an old hydroelectric plant.”
“Hmm… I do not know…” Gary spoke gravely, rubbing at his chin. “I choose to be by myself because it is too painful to be with my kin... I would rather be alone with myself, than be alone with others.”
Alyx frowned, watching the Combine machinery embedded in the alien’s skin glitter in the light of the fire.
“Well, we only have a few Vortigaunts living there,” she said, then gestured between herself and Barney. “It’s mostly humans. I mean, none of our kind are connected with the Vortessence either.”
“Yeah,” Barney agreed. “We could commiserate in being… not telepathic or whatever.”
“Hmm. Perhaps you are right,” Gary mused. “A change of scenery is good from time to time. And you say I may continue to render my trapping services?”
“As much as you like!” Alyx promised.
“Then it is a deal!” Gary said, rubbing his hands together. “When shall I depart for this place?”
“We’ve got a convoy ready next Tuesday on the Underground Railroad, at the crack of dawn,” Alyx explained. “You know where Vitosha Boulevard crosses the canal? There’s a bakery on the corner, just enter it and they’ll show you Station 1. You got that?”
“Tuesday at dawn! Vitosha Boulevard!” Gary recited. “I have it.”
With their work finished, Barney and Alyx stood up from the fire.
“Are you leaving so soon?” Gary asked, shocked. “You have only just arrived!”
Alyx sheepishly scratched the back of her head.“Well, you aren’t the only person we’re recruiting for the cause.”
“She’s right,” Barney said, throwing a thumb back towards the door. “We got a bunch more people to invite before sun down.”
“Oh, but surely you must stay for lunch?” Gary asked, motioning to the partially-cooked headcrab.
The two humans stood there for a beat, the fire crackling in the silence.
“Actually, we already ate,” Barney lied, side-eyeing his companion.
“Oh, yeah, right!” Alyx exclaimed. She slapped her knee. “Shucks! What a bummer.”
“That is alright!” Gary said, smiling brightly. “I will make the Alyx Vance and the Barney a wonderful dinner when I am settled in my new home! See you then!”
“That’s… great!” Barney spoke through gritted teeth. “See you then!”
They departed the same way they came in, traversing the tunnel in complete silence. Once out in the open canal and under the gray sky, Alyx let out a sigh.
“Well, we solved the infestation problem,” she said, scratching her head.
Barney didn’t respond, choosing instead to give the canal a thousand yard stare. Snowflakes silently settled in his dark hair, as if conspiring with new gray strands.
“We can talk ourselves out of it—” Alyx grabbed him, shaking him out of his stupor. “Barney, we can talk ourselves of it! It’s fine.”
“You better be right, ‘cause I already lost my appetite.” He looked over to the skewered headcrab, watching the flies settle on the decaying flesh. “I’m skipping lunch.”