well, if you told me you were drowning / I would not lend a hand
The first thing she's conscious of is the feel of cold metal against her body. Not just any metal, either; Combine alloys feel like nothing ever produced by human hands. The next thing she's conscious of is the fact that, despite being immobilized by the metal bands wrapped around her body, she's moving.
( I've seen your face before, my friend / but I don't know if you know who I am )
Alyx's eyes snap open. She's trapped in one of those rolling restraints like her father had been in back in Nova Prospekt. This isn't the prison, though. She's gliding down a track through an impossibly tall and impossibly long corridor, with walls bearing the harsh, alien angles of Combine architecture. Alyx squirms frantically in her restraints; she can't see the floor and has no idea where to go if she does get out, but there has to be something--
( well, I was there and I saw what you did / I saw it with my own two eyes )
Her stomach lurches as the pod abruptly turns and starts rising. And rising. And rising. Alyx remembers her last elevator ride, back in Ray Stantz's world, and works her jaw frantically to try to equalize the pressure in her ears, which is starting to become painful. I'm in the Citadel, she realizes with a sudden chill. Nothing else could be this tall.
( so you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been / it's all been a pack of lies )
Eventually, the pod's ascent slows to a stop, and she's guided into a square chamber bathed in a glowing particle field that makes her skin itch and her eyes water. She squirms even harder as some unseen force pulls her pistol and hacking probe out of their holsters, leaving them suspended in midair in front of her.
( I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord )
"Security alert: unregistered weapons detected," says the bland voice of the Combine Dispatch computer. "Confiscation field en--"
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
The voice and the particle field both cut off abruptly, and the gun and probe clatter to the floor. A moment later, there's a sound of approaching footsteps, and a human figure steps through the door at the far end of the chamber. Alyx goes absolutely still when she sees who it is.
( I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord )
"Alyx?" It's Dr. Mossman, looking exactly as she did when she disappeared from Nova Prospekt. "My God, it really is you," she breathes. "I thought--"
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
Slowly, hesitantly, Mossman approaches the restrained woman. "Alyx... I'm truly sorry about all this. If there were any way it could have been avoided..."
( well I remember, I remember, don't worry / how could I ever forget? )
Alyx doesn't respond. She just glares levelly at her captor.
( it's the first time, the last time we ever met )
"Alyx?" Mossman's voice is softer, her tone just shy of pleading. "Talk to me."
( but I know the reason why you keep this silence up / no, you don't fool me )
Alyx remains silent.
( the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows / it's no stranger to you and me )
"Say something!" Mossman snaps, her voice caught between anger and desperation.
( I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord )
For a long moment, Alyx just keeps glaring. Then, her lips part just enough for her to growl three words:
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
"Burn. In. Hell."
( I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord )
Mossman flinches, as though she's just been slapped. Then her expression hardens. "Fine." She turns smartly on her heel, picks up Alyx's gun and hacking probe from the floor, and carries them both out of the room without a moment's hesitation.
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
Seconds later, with a mechanical whirr, the two halves of a prisoner pod shell close around Alyx. I hope Gordon's okay is her last thought before she's dragged down into the oblivion of artificial sleep.
( I've seen your face before, my friend / but I don't know if you know who I am )
Alyx's eyes snap open. She's trapped in one of those rolling restraints like her father had been in back in Nova Prospekt. This isn't the prison, though. She's gliding down a track through an impossibly tall and impossibly long corridor, with walls bearing the harsh, alien angles of Combine architecture. Alyx squirms frantically in her restraints; she can't see the floor and has no idea where to go if she does get out, but there has to be something--
( well, I was there and I saw what you did / I saw it with my own two eyes )
Her stomach lurches as the pod abruptly turns and starts rising. And rising. And rising. Alyx remembers her last elevator ride, back in Ray Stantz's world, and works her jaw frantically to try to equalize the pressure in her ears, which is starting to become painful. I'm in the Citadel, she realizes with a sudden chill. Nothing else could be this tall.
( so you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been / it's all been a pack of lies )
Eventually, the pod's ascent slows to a stop, and she's guided into a square chamber bathed in a glowing particle field that makes her skin itch and her eyes water. She squirms even harder as some unseen force pulls her pistol and hacking probe out of their holsters, leaving them suspended in midair in front of her.
( I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord )
"Security alert: unregistered weapons detected," says the bland voice of the Combine Dispatch computer. "Confiscation field en--"
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
The voice and the particle field both cut off abruptly, and the gun and probe clatter to the floor. A moment later, there's a sound of approaching footsteps, and a human figure steps through the door at the far end of the chamber. Alyx goes absolutely still when she sees who it is.
( I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord )
"Alyx?" It's Dr. Mossman, looking exactly as she did when she disappeared from Nova Prospekt. "My God, it really is you," she breathes. "I thought--"
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
Slowly, hesitantly, Mossman approaches the restrained woman. "Alyx... I'm truly sorry about all this. If there were any way it could have been avoided..."
( well I remember, I remember, don't worry / how could I ever forget? )
Alyx doesn't respond. She just glares levelly at her captor.
( it's the first time, the last time we ever met )
"Alyx?" Mossman's voice is softer, her tone just shy of pleading. "Talk to me."
( but I know the reason why you keep this silence up / no, you don't fool me )
Alyx remains silent.
( the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows / it's no stranger to you and me )
"Say something!" Mossman snaps, her voice caught between anger and desperation.
( I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord )
For a long moment, Alyx just keeps glaring. Then, her lips part just enough for her to growl three words:
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
"Burn. In. Hell."
( I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord )
Mossman flinches, as though she's just been slapped. Then her expression hardens. "Fine." She turns smartly on her heel, picks up Alyx's gun and hacking probe from the floor, and carries them both out of the room without a moment's hesitation.
( I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord )
Seconds later, with a mechanical whirr, the two halves of a prisoner pod shell close around Alyx. I hope Gordon's okay is her last thought before she's dragged down into the oblivion of artificial sleep.