a sheep to lead the flock

encountering the wolves

//tw for mildly described gore//

When Adrian thought of Combine, he expected something like aliens - some sort of odd spider creature with multiple legs or multiple eyes or tentacles.

This was objectively worse.

Because Combine didn't look like aliens. They looked like people.

When Adrian stepped outside with the group of Resistance and took a look at the Combine, MP5 clutched in hand, his heart felt like it stopped for a second. The gas masks made him think of having to turn on his own men because they turned into zombies or because they decided to betray him. 

"Don't just stand there, Shephard! Fight!" Elliott shouted at him from where he was shooting at some of the Combine coming at them.

Adrian blinked back into existence, taking a gasping breath before quickly raising his MP5 and shooting at the Combine. He was starting to really regret not putting his bulletproof vest on for this- but to be fair, he didn't know the world would be like this.

"You said they were aliens!" Adrian shouted at Elliott as he ducked behind one of the makeshift hiding spots that cars provided.

"They are aliens, just not the kind you're used to!" Elliott shouted back. 

"What, aliens look like people now?!" Adrian sniped back, firing at one of the combine who got a little too close to the little house the teens were hunkered down in. Were those... children? Yeah, there were definitely children in there now. 

Thankfully, before Adrian and Elliott could get into a full-blown fight, Anya stepped in. "You two! Stop fighting and start shooting!" She shouted. She wasn't using any weapons like guns, she seemed to be almost fistfighting the things. Adrian could see at least three different forms of martial arts in there.

Badass.

"Got it, ma'am!" Adrian shouted back before looking over one of the cars and pointing his gun, mowing down a good five combine before having to reload. He winced some at the sound of all the guns firing, and took a second to reach up to turn off his hearing aids.

Everything went silent, right as Elliott turned to him with a panicked expression and mouthed something. Adrian could read his lips. 

"What the hell are you doing, you dumbass?!" 

Adrian turned and suddenly hissed as one of the combine slammed the butt of their gun into his jaw, knocking him back.

He took no time in reloading and pressing the MP5 to the soldier's neck, angling it upwards to point between their neck and head. 

And then he pulled the trigger.

He's seen blood and gore in Black Mesa, but this... this somehow seemed worse, as he was shooting as a humanoid. He got the same horrible nauseating feeling he got whenever he had to kill headcrab zombies or even his own teammates so they wouldn't kill him first.

The reaction as he pulled the trigger was almost instantaneous. There was a choking noise as the bullets rapidly fired into the Combine's skull, sending blood and viscera everywhere. The helmet they were wearing damn near exploded.

Adrian felt their blood splatter on his mask and hand, and then pulled the gun away, letting them drop to the floor. 

Apparently that was the last Combine, because he looked up to see everyone staring at him. After a moment, he turned his hearing aids back on. "Uhh... what'd I miss?"

Some expressions were of horror and disgust, but Elliott was the first one who spoke. "Dude. That was badass. Where'd you learn to do that?" He had a wicked grin on his face, leading everyone back into the rundown house.