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Screaming children rushed past Gordon on their way to a nearby carnival ride. Small groups of people around him chatted about the stalls of merchandise or food they had already walked past. Calls of the next place to go to barely sounded in the air with all the commotion. Gordon was at the fair, he could clearly tell as he glanced around from the people to the stalls. That’s right, he took his son to the fair just like he did the few years before, a tradition he tried to create for his child.
Joshua. His son. He was there with Gordon, off on a kiddie ride that he begged to ride. Gordon knew this, he knew that Joshua was safe with him and yet his heart pounded, thumping relentlessly in his chest. Why did he feel so fearful as he remembered Joshua? It was probably just the fact that any small thing could happen in a second if he neglected his child, but he wouldn’t do that. He stood near the ride, he stood watch, there was nothing to worry about as he waited for the ride to finish and his son to exit it. Had he even seen Joshua get on? Now that he thought about it he really couldn’t remember. The line wasn’t even that long as Gordon noted thanks to the view he had of it. If he wasn’t panicking before he definitely was now, his body betraying his own mind that tried to keep control. Of course his kid got on the ride, where else could he be.
Gordon couldn’t help it when his body sprinted towards the ride’s line, he had to make sure Joshua was ok! On the dock of the ride, past all those in line who shouted at him for “cutting”, he reached the ride operator. “Hey! Have you seen-“ he started his shout but stopped himself upon the operator turning to him.
“Hello, Gordon!” The voice. He knew them. But how? He never saw this person before. His body ached, head pounding just as his heart, and sweat poured off him. His focus turned to their surroundings as he realized that he was no longer on the ride at the fair, instead a dark void surrounded them.
Another voice spoke out, this time jolting him awake from his nightmare. “Rise and shine,” he heard as the bright lights rushed his groggy eyes, and before he could even understand what was going on, his body was pushed down an opening. He hit the ground with a loud crash.
Gordon groaned as he sat up, “What the hell are you doing to me?!” He shouted. The dream quickly faded as the Science Team tried to explain their plan to wake him up. He wasn’t really at the fair with his son, far away from the horrors he faced at Black Mesa. He was still in the midst of an apocalyptic event with a rag tag group of scientist and one guard, all fighting to make it out alive. If only Gordon was back in at the state fair with his little Joshua, safe from all the havoc.