Physics of the Crowbar

Mother

He landed on his feet this time; he was getting better at the portal travel.

The smell hit him first.

He'd crawled up through Black Mesa's own sewer system, saturated in its waste both human-origin and chemical, but this was worse. It was an acrid organic scent, half feted compost and half anoxic decay, and the fumes were thick and burning in his nose. He tried to breathe through his mouth, through clenched teeth, as if that would filter out the stench, but it didn't keep the fumes from filling his sinuses and burning his lungs. He coughed and gagged, trying to find a balance between shallow breathing and oxygen demand.

Movement against the spongy ground. Something skittered. Parasites moved in little herds, their claws dangerously silent and their bodies camouflaged in the murk. This was their natural terrain, not cement and steel where he could hear them coming. He killed three of them and the rest drew back, showing the first sign of hesitation he'd seen in the species. Were they watching him? Wary of a new predator, or just waiting for his back to be turned?

They drew back again, clearing space, withdrawing to higher ground. Getting out of the way.

He felt ripples in the ground before he saw it, and with the sudden increase in stench, he discovered where the smell was coming from. The thing was huge, tank-sized, on spindly clawed legs. Soft body dangled obscenely between them, the folds mottled and wet.

He thought it would be slow, until it caught sight of him. Or smell of him. He didn't see anything like eyes, but as it turned, paused, and charged, he didn't question if it knew where he was.

He ran. The thing was fast. Fast as a bathroom spider, but taller than he was and with a parasite-mouth of teeth and bone knives for feet. It closed on him and he shot into the body with the shotgun as the legs caged him in. It screamed and recoiled, then lunged at him, two clawed forelegs extended. He deflected one with the crowbar and shot into its face. The other claw went high, over his shoulder, and as the body flinched back from his shot the claw slammed down on him.

He fell with the claw, letting its momentum shove him into the ground, and rolled back away from the thing. It was howling, clawing at its own face, so he shot it again. It withdrew down the slope, into the tangle of overhangs and snapping vines.

Parasites circled him, hanging back from their combat but ready to pounce. As the beast moved away they moved in. He had to follow the beast if he wanted to avoid being swarmed.

It was the alpha of the parasites, a brood-mother spawning uncounted hoards of the horrors. Pale juveniles scattered on the swarm's edge and white slick mounds of what he guessed to be egg sacs were tucked against the walls. The smell grew heavier, the air warmer and wetter, as he pursued the beast. It screeched and thrashed ahead of him, legs plowing through its own offspring, leaving a trail of their innards and its own yellow blood.

He stumbled over orange polymer and pale bone. Collections team, their flesh absorbed into the walls and floor, their armor chewed and shattered.

He had to kill it. The swarm surged around his heels, staying just clear. The beast turned at bay and roared at him. Its hot gut wind splattered his face with oily burning spit. It crouched over a webbed pit in the ground and struck at him with its claws. He shot both barrels of the shotgun into its face and ducked under the claws. It whirled to follow his movement and he added a note to his mental list. Monodirectional ocular array. A fancy way of saying it had eyes only on one end. It slashed at him with both foreclaws but didn't move without all four on the ground. Requires four points of structural stability. He dodged back from its slash, measuring his step out of its reach. Five foot attack radius without central movement. The tough hide and flesh body absorbed unbelievable amounts of damage. He shot constantly into it, knowing his ammunition was dwindling but knowing he had no choice. This thing wouldn't be killed with a crowbar.