The steps of Joseph Alexanders

[The Mysterious Stranger]

 Chapter 1 - Prequel

 I walk through the desolate environment that is now called City45. I can hear the moans of those hopeless civilians who request for help but none of us are going to "volunteer" in their scenarios that they are trapped in. I look around to see stationed Civil Protection doing their work as always, asking those to move along with their horrid life or just beat them fatally for not following proper laws that were just "implemented" into daily rountines like we are brainwashed to do. I drank a can of breen waters that I was given in a ration packet and I can't remember thing about the past. I almost lost it when I was at the edge of my mind of losing the face of my girlfriend but a book of photos with a golden UU logo embroidered into the front decoyed and acted like a book. The Civil Protection didn't mind this and let me go through the city. Flipping each page, I noticed me and my girlfriend going through daily life of joy and hapiness.

 I remember when the Seven Hour War started and the Combine raided. I was fleeing with my hand tightened around my girlfriends hand but she had been shot in the calf. I couldn't bare the screams of my girlfriend and so I crouched down with her hand grasped upon mine. I looked in her eyes to see depression and panicing. She was hit in a vital artery which lead her to bleed out and go near death. I then carried her in my arms, not caring about the blood going through my clothing. She wrapped her arm around my neck and started to shiver with chills, cold running through her stuttering voice. "I... I... I..." "It's alright sweetheart. We are almost there to the safehouse!" She started to blink and blink each time, her face starting to turn pale. I couldn't hold her any longer in such a war-torn environment and so I fell to my knee with her in my arms. The echoing of gunfire in the background and screams of those.

 This was the last moment. I stared into her eyes once more to see depression and panicing. She couldn't barely speak and so we looked into both of our eyes. I kept her bloody hand in mine, kept against my chest. We stared with our noses close. I know it was romantic but it would be the last of it. Pressing my lips against hers, we kissed until death seperated us apart. After losing energy, she couldn't do it any longer and so she fell into the abyss... the abyss of darkness below that lead to death. Her body was empty and had no energy at all. Her stump limbs fell down like a dead plant. "She's... gone..." I said, a tear running down my cheek. "Be advised ahead. Anti-civilians must be captured or failure will lead to off-world location temporarily." The boots crunching against the ground gave off their location. I raised myself to my feet, only to ran off and leave her behind. I looked behind myself to see two units with their AR2 down and the body of my girlfriend. Looking behind, I tried to stop and retrieve her but it was too late. They would be hostiles against me and attack so I ran for it with all my life. How could I do such a thing to not take her with me?

 ...and now I sit in the chair looking through the photographs and writing diaries about my daily life here. Struggling with those who I can trust and those who I can't, I must find a way to survive.

 To be continued...

[The Mysterious Stranger]

 Chapter 1 - Prequel (Updated)

  // Since the revival of his girlfriend sounded retarded and he was going back. I re-constructed the story.

 I ran down the alleyway to only look left and right. It appeared that everyone was fleeing from the danger of getting hit with their screams echoing through the whole city itself. Cars were stuck in a traffic jam along with the honking of horns. Apparently, the military made a cade with their APCs and tanks guarding the far side of the road with the shooting of their L85A2s and LAWs. Intentionally, some soldiers and citizens can be seen dead with their eyes shut, signalling that they are deceased upon recognition. Looking over my shoulder to only spot a few Overwatch units aiming their AR2s at me, I had to do something about it. "<:: Anti-citizen spotted. Open fire." The shout echoed through the alleyway while I sprinted like I never before. My boots clamped against the pavement along with the crowd that I was in, disguised with them so the Overwatch couldn't bother to shoot a crowd full of people. Making my way through the crowd by pushing individuals to the side, I ran around the corner and into a shop where I could grab myself a Spas-12 in the drawer. The guy at the front counter was a friend of mine who teached me in weaponary skills but it was no use because the altered chemicals in the rations "erased" my mind. I grabbed ahold of the Spas-12 and slung it around my back which was kept in a "slide" I should say.

 There were keys on the ground once I got out of the shop. Kneeling down to snatch them up, I slowly went to the vehicle and "plugged" it into the slot with a twist. Jumping inside and using the keys once more to interact with the vehicle. The engine roared and I had to get through the traffic somehow. There was a exit to the left that was surrounded by Overwatch units. Having no choice but to push down on the accelerator slowly. Head down to the wheel itself, black matter smashed through the windshield and seats. Units start to scream about but there was one unit on the windshield. By turning the vehicle, he was latched on and was trying to take a grip on his AR2 to shoot me to death. One hand on the wheel and another hand on the black coated Spas-12, I finally raised it and shot some pellets through his forehead. It didn't effect him due to the fact his thick kevlar was protecting him but he was blinded. His vocoder abrupted with a scream as he put his hands over his head, allowing the blood to soak between his fingers. Pushing down on the accelerator in shock, I let go of the wheels and put my free hand on the pump to pull it back. A dead shell flinged from the slot and I finally released another shot by the pull of a trigger.

 A dish served cold... with no revenge included I thought as the blood splattered over the windshield. Turning a quick left, I was out of the city alive. Apparently, the desert surrounded me in the cold night. Las Vegas was a casino invaded by... something and my life was ruined. Our vacation was ruined along with the death of my girlfriend. I had nothing to do to stop them since I was overwhelmed.

 The unit fell from the roof of the vehicle and slid away onto the road, only to leave behind some dust. Dark crimson blood was seen on the roof along with the smashing of the windshield. The gas gauge was pretty high because some owner of this car filled it right up just before the invasion. My heart thumped against my chest while I was filled with depression. I felt like throwing the car into the tree and leaving it there to let me die of dehydration, starvation and the hot sun shining over me due to my girlfriend dying. My name is Joseph Alexanders and this is the story of the Combine invasion just before I arrived in City 45.

 

[The Mysterious Stranger]

Chapter 2 - Traverse

 The engine started to choke and cough as the vehicle itself began to slow down. Intentionally, the eletricity was flickering off and on the monitor that showed gasoline, MPH and so forth continously. Looking down the road, I noticed some abandoned vehicles with corpses. The desert terrain just to the side of the road was endless it seemed and I could see dust everywhere. I slowly creaked open the door and made my way into the trunk where a gasoline tank that someone left was put in there just before I escaped. "Alright, let's see what is inside 'ere." Opening the trunk with my rough hands, I noticed a somewhat red gasoline tank. Grasping ahold of it and opening the cap, I noticed that the tank was almost full. "Who the fuck would leave a good tank filled up?" Nodding and then chuckling afterwards, I went over to the side of the vehicle and began to refill the tank using the gasoline tank. After noticing how much gasoline went into the vehicle, I threw away the gasoline tank into the trunk and went into the driver seat. Looking into the crack mirror, I noticed... what appeared to be a gunship.

 "Ah fuck!" Yelling with agression and depression, I was startled so spinning the keys seemed to bring the vehicle to life. Pushing down on the accelerator intentionally and spinning the wheel to the right, the vehicle powered up. The gunship in the mirror appeared to come closer and closer until the cannon finally started shooting plasma rounds. One of the plasma went right through the back window and penetrated the passenger seat, only to leave a somewhat burn. "Oh fuck." Using the wheel to my advantage, the vehicle zig-zagged right and left to dodge each plasma round. Apparently, I was out of luck. The plasma round hit the back tire and penetrated the rubber, therefore allowing it to the explode. The vehicle flew over on it's side over and over until the last turn went onto its top. I was looking upside down, barely consious to stay awake. The gunship flew away from the scene and therefore I was alone to rot in the desert sun.

 His vision blurred and he was left in the desert... alone. The horizone sun was starting to lower and lower as the desert felt cold like a winter approach. Kicking open the passenger door using my boot, it finally flew off it's hinges. Crawling out with Spas-12 kept in hand, I looked around the desert terrain. Everything was blue... and dark too. The road was covered with abandoned vehicles and corpses, nothing was seen in sight but except that... life too. Walking down the road seemed terrifying to see the sights of the abandoned vehicles. It was like someone laid a junktown onto the road itself. "What a mess..." I whispered in exhaustion.

 After walking through the night of the desert, I noticed two lights approaching down the road in between the vehicles. Crawling into the vehicle seemed to be a good and fair chance to not be seen. The windshield was cracked so they couldn't see my figurine at all... maybe? The vehicle screeched on it's tires and drifted, the lights only staring at me. "Hey, buddy! You okay?" I kept the Spas-12 close to my chest and tried to act dead. "I know you are alive. You can't hide from us. We are friendly." I responded with exhaustion, "Yeah, I'm fine." Crawling out of the driver seat and looking torwards the three individuals. One of the trucks was painted in white and even though it was in bad condition, it seemed to be great for a drive. "You are heading to the city?" "Nah, the city is fucked right now. Girlfriend is dead at the moment." He nodded and went into the truck along with the other individuals. "Hop in. We are heading back into the town just behind us there. Some abandoned shacks along with a population of 50 people. It's safe there." Nodding and making my into the back of the truck, I felt like I was protected. Before that, I grasped ahold of a black dufflebag filled with two plastic dynamites and some live ammunition in stock. The truck roared to life and therefore went down the road.

 In exhaustion and in the back of the truck, I closed the two doors and slowly looked around. There was a metallic case there, some matresses and fresh clothing along with a dog who apparently was sleeping. The window was cracked but I could see the three individuals right through it. In the back of the truck, I was alone so I fell into a deep sleep. The desert had no life into it and we seemed to be in a bad location for death by starvation and dehydration. Atleast I was filled with luck.