Half-life: Resist

Chapter 4: Underground Railroad

Icarus climbed down into the canals, heading back to the area the rebels set up camp.

Icarus turned on the walkie-talkie.

"Hey, anybody out there? The device has been delivered." He said into it.

"Roger that, we're sending some scouts to your location."

He waited for what seemed like hours. Eventually the walkie-talkie turned on again.

"Station 12 come in! Station 12 do you read?" Was barely intelligible, heavy amounts of static,

"This is Station 8! ...heard 12 go down and out. Surigcal strike... Railway Stations! Civil Protection is coming down... We're already getting refugees from 9... Looks like we're-" The radio signal cut out.

Icarus hit the button on the side of the walkie-talkie, He was trained in radio operation during the war.

"Station 8! Do you read? Come in station 8!"

There was only static. He pocketed the radio just in case he needed it. He took out his magnum and trudged through the muck of the canals.

A parasite lay hidden underneath the mud. Icarus stepped on it without noticing, the parasite crying out in pain before being killed underfoot.

A hunter chopper flew by low, the water rippling under it. Shells crashed into the canals. Icarus crawled into a drainage tunnel to keep away from the parasite-containing shells. A corpse lay in a sitting position, the face rotted off, hair and other skin still on. Icarus reloaded his revolver.

He crawled through the tunnel, a foul smell of rot and sewage overtaking his senses. The tunnel grew dark, eventually wrapping around a corner. For a mysterious purpose flares lit up the tunnels. He followed them. The upper half of a zombie crawled toward him, gurgling. He fired the magnum into its head the muzzle flash lit up the tunnel for a brief moment and the barrel smoked. He had taken the advice Father Grigori had given him.

The tunnel opened up into a room where a radio sat on a table, several fresh corpses lay there, throats all slit, some having multiple cuts in other places. Some had lead pipes or other blunt weapons laying near them. Some ammunition boxes were broken, revealing a few MP7 sub-machine guns and a shotgun with a sling.

Icarus climbed down a ladder and went to the radio. He took the microphone and switched it on.

"Any stations, come in! If any station gets this message, check in!"

There was some static, but eventually a station did come in.

"This is station 5! We heard several stations go down! Who's this?" The other end said.

"I found this station, I don't know which one this is. Should I go to your locale?"

"Stay there! I know this callsign. We're sending people to find you! Just hold out until then! Stay on the radio."

"Roger that."

Icarus took an MP7 from the ammunition box and put the shotgun on his back, loading them. He heard the whirring of a drone coming from the tunnel he entered through. A small drone flew In, suddenly opening its sides, the rotor blades visibly sharp.

Icarus shot it down with the MP7. More of the drones came in, Icarus shot them down too. Several Civil Protection officers rappelled down from a higher up tunnel, wielding mp7s as well.

Icarus unslung the shotgun and fired into the group of officers. A chopper flew above the station.

Icarus got onto the radio again.

"The action's getting hot over here! where are those scouts?" Icarus asked, firing the shotgun into a mass of drones.

"They're nearing your location, just stay there!"

A few more drones flew in. He shot them down.

Some rebels crawled in through the tunnel. Icarus slung the shotgun, still holding the MP7.

One of the scouts gave Icarus a holster for the MP7. Icarus put it on, holstering the gun and unslinging his shotgun.

A rebel got onto the mic.

"We've found him, station 5. Where next?"

"Head back here, we'll be waiting."

He turned the mic off.

"Alright, let's get you out of here." The same rebel said.

They crawled back into the tunnel, the station suddenly being bombarded with shells. They exited the tunnel, heading back to station 5. An APC rolled in on a bridge going over the canals. A group of Civil Protection officers got out of it, they were equipped with MP7s.

The scouts fired at them. Some drones came flying in from behind them. They killed two of the five scouts.

The Civil Protection officers fired on them, killing another rebel. Icarus took out the magnum and fired into an officer's head. The officer fell over into the canal. Icarus ran to the officer and took what looked to be a grenade for the SMG. He loaded it in, firing on the group of officers. The blast killed them.

The APC exploded from the damage, catching fire.

"We'd better hurry, they've caught on to our location." A rebel advised.

"Right." Icarus said, holstering the SMG and unslinging his shotgun.

The three hurried on, eventually making it to Station 5.