Half-life: Invasion

Hour 1: Airdrop

Icarus looked about anxiously, the Osprey's rotors roaring above him, the black blades whirring, their drone blaring. He already heard the gunfire below. The Hazardous Environments Combat Unit received a call for aid from the Bulgarian military. The earth had been ravished by war against an alien force. He had been a security guard in Black Mesa for a few years beforehand. He thought he knew why they'd come.

The pilot turned his radio on.

"Watch your six, Goose 18, there's heavy fire over here." He said.

Icarus gripped his assault rifle tight, loading the under-barrel grenade launcher. He sat near his buddies, Roka and Sven.

"Hey, Icarus. You nervous?" Sven poked fun, lighting a cigarette and dragging on it.

The commander motioned them to stand up.

"We are nearing the LZ! Prepare your parachutes!" He shouted above the roar of gunfire below.

Icarus, Roka, and Sven stood up. Roka and Sven dropped first. Icarus hesitated a moment.

Suddenly, a blue dot centered on the pilot's forehead. The pilot looked up at it. A pulse round wedged itself into his head, making him slump over on the controls. The Osprey started losing control with him on it. Icarus jumped out last and deployed his chute too soon. The aircraft plummeted spiraling into a building. The large hunk of metal burst into flames, the survivors ran about on fire, screaming in agony as their clothes melted, covered in fuel. Icarus saw the men below and heard the screams.

Icarus drifted slowly down, the blue dots shining on his parachute. The pulse rounds burnt holes into it. He started getting close to the ground, faster. A sniper hit one of the strings, Icarus grabbed onto the strings, the nylon digging in his skin, holding on as the others broke. His fingers were starting to slip. A sniper aimed at his hand. He let go as he was three feet off the ground.

His legs almost buckled from the impact.

"Icarus, thank god you made it!" Roka said.

Headless, featureless humanoid soldiers charged at them, firing pulse rounds a mile a minute. The three opened fire. Six more marines met up with them.

"We need support at Omega base, follow our lead, soldiers! We're expecting a combine raid soon!" One of them said.

They neared the base. Machine gun nests stood at the perimeter. Artillery pieces fired, lighting the air and billowing out smoke. A group of aliens advanced towards the base.

The aliens outgunned them, killing many. They opened a manhole cover and climbed down. The sounds above became muffled the lower they climbed.

 Water dripped, echoing gently.