Half-life: Guard Duty Created 15 years ago2009-07-16 18:55:45 UTC by Notewell

If you want her to, then yes. I intentionally leave out discriptions like that so you can form your own image of the characters.

That's mean of you. You know they can't be all smoking hot like we imagine them.

I fail to see the problem.
Although, I took inspiration for my version of Pierce from the guard in the BM trailer. He's really the most static character in terms of continuity in my mind. Paul was a slick type guy, fairly young, while West is an older sci. Also worthy of notice is that my personal version is firmly rooted in the Black Mesa version of... Black Mesa... But some minor characters are inspired by the original HL models.
And the guards are armed with Glock 17s like the original, unlike in BM, which uses 19s.

What's the difference?

Not much.

In chapter 5, you said the word justify twice really close together, change it
the writing needs a bit more refinement
the writing is exciting, but it may be a bit too exciting, as you're running out of ideas in chapter 6, for example instead of a soldier jumping out straight away as the party exit the SUV, you could have them sneaking around the soldiers and eventually getting caught and making a death defying escape
in chapter 6 part 2 dont have the characters say that they will go through a sewage canal when they don't actually know whats down there, and it just happens to be a sewage canal, could have said through a drainage system or something and then the party finding out that its a sewage canal, and then there could be an element of humour incorporated if it was appropriate
ah you did put some jokes in, good (im commenting as i read)
i like how you referenced to that scene where the grunts throw a security guard down, and you changed it, i especially like how its a girl
this novel would really appeal to half-life followers not so much people that have never played the game
will this continue throughout the whole halflife saga, hl2 and hypothetical 3
i liked the mention of linearity and architects in chapter 7
i like how they befriended an assassin, nothing like that ever happened, so it blows my mind, but it won't blow the mind of people who havent played the game
very good stuff so far, keep it comin

Thanks for the input! A few things, however:
I think the reason I used justify twice was because it was the same person saying it; People sometimes tend to use the same vocabulary when in a similar train of thought.
I probably should have had West talk about a drainage canal instead of sewage. Dunno why I didn't.
Also, in part two, that's a scientist, not a guard.

This story itself won't continue through the entire saga, but I may write a sequel someday, and I have a... Suprise... waiting at the end.

Ohk fair enough
Thats <i>justifyable</i> then
ooo i cant wait!

Noooooo! I cannot wait for the next chapter!

Chapter Ten

?There should be a military command centre somewhere around here?? Zoe remarked as the group snuck around inside.
?What will we do if we find it?? Frank asked.
?Kill the soldiers, and if there?s any intact computer equipment after that, see if we can track down directions to the Landing Zone.? A radio burst to life down the hall.
[i]?Mayday! Mayday! Anyone copy? This is cleanup delta-tango niner! We?re under attack! A huge blue thing just broke through a wall, its tossing cars around and breaking supports! We need cover fire here, anyone copy? Repeat, we nee-?[/i] A violent crushing sound emanated from the radio and the signal turned to static. Five soldiers burst from the room and ran out a set of doors towards the parking garage. Zoe rushed towards the doorway of the command post and peeked inside. She motioned to the men to follow.
?Looks like we?re in luck- some computers here, and a laptop that I?m [i]guessing[/i] came from the marines.? She started typing away at the computer. Pierce examined a crate that had been opened but not emptied. Inside its military green shell was a .50 calibre tripod mounted gun, ready to be assembled.
?Hey, should we set this up?? Zoe looked up from the computer.
?Hm? Yeah, might come in handy if the soldiers decide that they can?t take down the thing they?re fighting.? The three men set up the weapon and loaded it. ?Okay, looks like the landing zone is just a short tram ride away, and there?s a station right around the corner.?
?The? trams are out, are they not?? West inquired.
?Might very well be.? Pierce replied. ?In any case, we should get going.? As he turned to walk out the door, he dove down behind the .50 calibre. Three soldiers opened fire, and Pierce gladly returned it with bigger bullets.
?That all of them?? Zoe asked incredulously. ?Guess that alien?s harder to kill than I thought.? She walked out the door, past vending machines with blood smears on them, and through a set of automatic doors. ?Hurry up!? she called back to the men. Inside the tram tunnel, the air was stale and above the usual 68 degrees fahrenheit. Acid marked the walls, and yellow blood pooled out around a bullsquid. The four carefully walked along a maintenance path on the side of the tracks, giving the electrified rail a wide berth.
?Once we get to the landing zone, what do we do?? Pierce asked.
?Try to sneak into a helicopter and take off before anyone notices.? Zoe replied.
?And if we get spotted??
?Run like hell.? As they inched along the walkway, Frank realized he left the Mp5 he took from the soldier in the warehouse had been left near the dead guard back in the shipping offices. He decided to let it go. He still had plenty of rounds for his 357, and his speedloader was full as well. He never did have much fun using automatic weapons in the shooting range; he found them too inaccurate for his tastes. They group approached a tram sitting motionless on the tracks. A zombie lurched out of it, reaching for Zoe. Frank pulled his magnum out of its holster and fired. Five shots punched into the zombie with little effect, but the sixth ripped through the headcrab. The zombie fell back into the tram, which, thankfully, was empty of any other threats.
?Thanks.? Zoe panted breathlessly.
?No problem.? Frank pulled his speedloader out of his pocket and reloaded his 357. Continuing along, they passed a forgotten toolbox on the catwalk. Frank found himself staring at Zoe again. She was so? Frank shook off the thought. His only priority was to get out of the facility, he told himself. If he got caught up in something like [i]that[/i], it would only jeopardize their chances of escape.
?Are we almost there?? West asked.
?Why are you in such a hurry?? Frank replied. ?There could be soldiers in the next hallway we enter.?
?I have to use the facilities.?
?Oh. Sorry.? They climbed up over the chest high ledge separating the maintenance catwalk from the tram station, ignoring the ladder beside them. West ducked into a men?s lavatory placed on the side of the tram station, his Mp5 at the ready just in case any soldiers had felt the same need. They hadn?t. A short time later, he emerged, glad that the water was still running, and the soap dispensers were, strangely, full. In his experience, they were always running low or empty. Pierce was munching on a Tastey Bytes bar, while Frank and Zoe sipped on a Rutta Grape and Vitamin water, respectively. All three had raided the nearby vending machines by breaking them open with a nearby crowbar.
?Catch.? Pierce tossed West a soda.
?Is this? ethical?? West pondered.
?Well, I figure this place has gone to hell permanently, so might as well keep up our strength for free.?
?And yet you stopped me from taking computer equipment.? Frank interjected.
?If you want to go back and get it, be my guest.?
?Point taken.? Frank downed the rest of his drink and opened a bag of chips. ?Hey, you hear something??
?Yeah?? Zoe unholstered her pistol.
?Sounded like? another alien teleporting in.? Pierce said nervously. The sound of heavy footsteps approaching made everyone dive for their weapons. The set of doors separating the tram tunnels from the physics labs nearby were thrown off their hinges and a large three-armed monster stepped in shooting. Bullets flew towards it, most bouncing off its armour with little effect. The alien fell backwards, dead. Spent shells littered the floor- almost all the ammo Pierce, Frank, West and Zoe had in their weapons was gone. Frank pulled an alien hornet, still squirming angrily, from his arm.
?Ow. What the hell is this??
?Looks like something new. You okay?? Zoe replied. Frank nodded.
?It appears to have the same basic genetic structure as the creatures that shoot lightning.? West mused, examining the corpse. ?See this arm in the middle of the chest? I would venture a guess that the armour is added through some form of surgery, it appears to be built in. And this-? he pointed to the pulsing right appendage of the creature. ?-Appears to be a biological weapon. Perhaps if we remove it, we could-?
?Doc, we don?t have time!?
?Ah, yes. You?re right.? West retrieved his submachine gun and reloaded it. ?Alright, let?s go.? They passed a trashed anti-gravity laboratory. It appeared the ground forces for the military didn?t have the same appreciation for a quiet jet propulsion system that their superiors in the pentagon did. A ripped motivational poster on the wall advertised ?Working as a team!?
?Yeah, no shit. Work together or die alone.? Frank remarked. Down the hall, music started playing in an office. The group crept forward, warily.
?I think I speak for all of us, when I say I understand, why you folks might hesitate to submit to our demand?But here?s an FYI?? A shaky voice sang along. ?You?re all gonna [b]die screaming![/b]? A gunshot sounded out, and a quiet thump resounded through the labs. Pierce ran into the office. Blood pooled out from the scientist?s head, a military-issue pistol still in his hand.
?Oh, god. We could have helped him get out of here alive? Turn that damn thing off!? West rushed to the CD player and flicked the switch. Pierce sat down next to the corpse, head cradled in his arms. Frank stared into the carpet. West helped himself to the medical supplies from a case on the wall. His wounds had stopped bleeding a long time ago, but he didn?t want to risk them opening again.
?Is that [i]your[/i] blood?? Zoe asked concernedly.
?Some of it is.? West replied.  He bandaged himself and placed the supplies in the cabinet.
?[b][i]Dammit![/b][/i]? Pierce screamed, throwing a book across the room at a monitor hooked to a live security feed. ?It?s not [i]right![/i]?
?Henry, I know you think we could have stopped him,? Frank said, ?but-?
?No, it?s not just that.? Pierce looked up, tears flowing from his eyes. ?These guys are the finest minds of their generations. They?re [i]brilliant[/i]. It?s [b]our[/b] job to protect them, and we?ve [i]failed[/i]. Not only that, the military, the one force we should be able to count on, has turned on all of us. These scientists, who?ve spent their lives trying to better mankind, are getting ripped to shreds by aliens, who are here as a by-product of a single failed experiment, one most of the science team had nothing to do with in any way, and the [i]one[/i] source of hope for them, for all of us stuck here, are gunning them down like they?re target practice dummies. It? It?s not right, [b]DAMMIT![/b] Our own race, turned against us, because the government thinks it can be stopped. Which it can?t unless the science team are alive! And then we have black operative bastards, no offence, Zoe, trying to cover the entire thing up so the government can save face. We?re sitting on a bunch of nukes, nuclear reactors, and experimental tech that is all about to blow up in our faces, and we can?t even trust our soldiers. We have no hope whatsoever of cleaning this up, so even if we get out, we?re [i]still[/i] dead.?

?Henry?? Zoe said, sitting down next to him. ?There is one person? A scientist from sector C has been fighting a lot of soldiers, and last I heard, he was working on getting to the? Lambda Complex, I think it was. He?s trying to clean this up, and he?s doing a damn fine job. He launched a rocket just around the time I left my squad, and? I think it?s supposed to fix this. If anyone can fix this, he can. We just have to get out of here and out of his way.? Pierce looked at her.
?What?s his name??
?Gordon Freeman.? Magnusson?s words echoed through Pierce?s mind.
?That fool Freeman probably shoved the sample in too fast for the system to handle!?
?A rocket??
?The only way to fix this is to launch the Lambda team?s satellite, and then start a resonance reversal!? Pierce?s heart rose.
?He?s launched the satellite. They can do a reversal.? Piece stared off into the monitor on the far side of the room. The view was devoid of life, the leg of a dead soldier just barely visible, a truck sitting in the middle of the asphalt expanse the monitor showed. Then? For the briefest of moments, less than a split second, a silhouette appeared, no more than a shadow of something that Pierce felt he was never meant to see. A man?s face, wrinkled yet strong, hair in a widow?s peak and the only colour he could make out being the green of his eyes. In the fraction of a second in which he appeared, Piece saw two facial expressions. First a sympathetic look, followed by a devious smirk. Then, the figure was gone, leaving Pierce staring blankly at the monitor. In the seconds after the figure disappeared, he realized that he would most likely remember the image for the rest of his life, and be haunted by the question of who, or what, it was.

?Let?s go.? Pierce sat up, and grabbed his Mp5. ?We?ve got ass to kick.?

I'm glad you're still updating this despite the relatively small number of readers. Keep it up!

Yeah, I'm almost done, so I might as well finish. I'm thinking of putting it on some fanfiction site when it's done.

I like this. Will you make a film off it after it's finished?

Maybe someday, if I get into the film industry instead of the game industry.
Of course, getting worthy CGI and a licence might be hard.

CGI? Just drive down to some abandoned silo/research facility in New Mexico. There sure will be plenty of green radioactive goo, fragile rusty catwalks and other death-threatening hazards, so you'll save a lot in CGI!

Hahaha, Here's G-man coming into the story now.

Can't wait for the next chapter. And DiscoStu, you are a genius.

Throw some animals in that goo and you probably wouldn't have to worry as much about the CGI for the aliens, too.

I thought the GMan was written in to the story rather well. It was very reminiscent of his appearence near the end of Episode 2.

Oh yeah, he does that in Ep2, doesn't he?
I'd have probably realized that if I had it.

I keep seeing him in new places in HL1 repeat plays. I wonder how many times does he appear.

About five or six, I think.

I've decided that instead of splitting the finale into one and a half chapters, I'll just make a large final chapter.
Then I'll double post for the Epilouge. Hang on, it's coming.

Chapter eleven
Pierce walked out of the office and down the hall, motioning for the others to follow.
?Which way do we go from here?? He asked Zoe.
?Left, right, and then down the hall, through a reception area, and then into some kind of plaza or something. Then, the LZ is just behind a set of large doors.? She replied. ?You ready??
?As I?ll ever be.?
?Yup.? Frank replied.
?Indubitably.? West confirmed. ?Shall we?? They dashed through the halls, and burst through the doors into the reception area. A squad of Soldiers jumped up and overturned a metal table to use as cover, and started firing. Everyone took cover on the sides of the doorway. Pierce fumbled into his pocket, pulling out keys, gum, and a five dollar bill that had gone through the wash multiple times, finally coming up with his prize. Pushing the grenade into his submachine gun?s M203 launcher, he muttered to himself.
?I?ve got something for you guys.? He slid into the open, aimed, and fired. The grenade flew directly on top of a soldier taking aim, and bodies flew from behind the table, which itself was flung through a plate-glass window. Pierce wandered out into the room, kicking the only fully intact corpse he could find. ?Let?s go.? They opened the glass doors, and walked out into the concrete field. Pierce recognized the area from the security monitor- And he could now see what killed the soldier; the entire top half of the man?s body was missing.
?Oh, gross.? Frank gagged. ?Looks like? He was eaten.? The soldier?s shotgun lay over 10 feet away, a small pool of blood next to it, and droplets between the pool and the corpse.
?Should we? Check that truck for supplies?? West inquired, motioning towards the vehicle near the legs.
?Yeah.? Zoe pulled out her pistol and sauntered towards the truck. Looking in the back, then turning to the men, she reported. ?RPG launcher and an ordinance crate. We shouldn?t need it unless an Apache shows up to the party. We can leave it here.? As if on cure, the ground shook with the heaviest footsteps the group had heard so far. A huge blue beast lumbered out of a tunnel they had previously ignored. The group fired at the Gargantua, leaving no marks on the creature?s carapace. It suddenly dawned on Pierce what had eaten the soldier, and how the dismembered legs had gotten so far from the place of his death.

?Get in the back of the truck! [i]Run[/i]!? He screamed. He finished unloading his clip to give the others the chance to get to safety, then followed suit. 
?That thing?s going to kill us.? Frank moaned. ?If it can toss a soldier that far while chewing on half of him, it can sure smash a truck. Hell, that?s probably the blue thing that was tossing cars around at that cleanup squad!? Pierce stared at the RPG Launcher.
?Oh, my god, we?re doomed!? West screamed. Pierce looked at the metal crate. It read ?Rockets?, and there was a thick padlock on it.
?Will you two be quiet?? Zoe whispered. ?If it doesn?t hear us, it might not be able to find us.? Pierce stood up. The Gargantua shoved the truck on its side, and Pierce went flying into Zoe. Getting up, he grabbed his Mp5, removed the clip, and started attacking the lock viciously. ?What the hell are you doing?? Zoe hissed. Pierce ignored her, smashing the lock with increased vigour. The grenade launcher on the submachine gun snapped off. The Gargantua outside roared, shaking the truck.
?Henry! What are you doing?? Frank demanded.
?We?ve come this far, and I?ll be [b][i]damned[/b][/i] if we?re gonna die in this hellhole!? The lock snapped off, and Pierce tossed his warped, cracked, and now thoroughly useless Mp5 aside. He bent over the upwards facing front and kicked the door open. Rockets in canisters spilled out, and he started tossing them outside the truck.
?Henry, no! It?s suicide!? Zoe pleaded.
?Think, man! Think!? West interjected, ?If that beast can do that much damage to a that many soldiers without so much as breaking a sweat, you wouldn?t last a se-? Pierce picked up the RPG launcher and jumped out of the truck. Unscrewing the cap off one of the rocket canisters and loading it in, he aimed the launcher at the Alien, who had its back momentarily turned. Pierce deactivated the laser sight, and tightened his finger on the trigger. The RPG exploded out of the launcher, homing in on its target with breathtaking speed. A magnificent explosion landed on the Gargantua, and the smell of singed alien flesh filled the air.
?[b]Hey! [i]Heeey![/b][/i]? Pierce screamed, loading another rocket into his launcher. ?Eat this, you bastard!? Another explosion, catching the creature in the face. It squealed with pain, but not from a mortal wound. Pierce fired another rocket. And another. The Gargantua closed in with every shot, even trying to catch one of the rockets with its natural flamethrowers. Pierce shot again. He loaded another rocket into the launcher, running backwards as he did so. He steadied the RPG Launcher on his shoulders, and fired. The Gargantua was visibly bleeding now, and Pierce realized it was almost dead, but not close enough to stop being a threat. If anything it would keep fighting until it died. He reached for another rocket? And his hand found nothing but the hot ground. Quickly looking around, he saw nothing but empty plastic containers, and the occasional layer of padding that had come out with one of the rockets. The creature was closing in on him.
?Shit.?
?Pierce!? Frank waved a full storage tube. Unscrewing the cap and quickly pulling out the rocket inside, he prepared his right arm. ?Catch!? Frank tossed the rocket, and it gracefully soared through the air towards it?s intended target. Pierce caught the gleaming rocket in a perfect catch, one he would have wished for during any softball game in his childhood. The Gargantua was preparing to release a huge burst of alien heat. He loaded the rocket up, steadied his am, and fired. The rocket flew out of the Launcher, and hit the Gargantua. It stumbled backwards, began to collapse, and then, as if it was infused with dynamite, exploded, the fuel in its body igniting as the creature?s heart stopped pumping. Pieces of the Gargantua fell all around Piece and the truck, blood and flesh being propelled by the final ignition the creature emitted. Aside from the ringing in Pierce?s ears, the empty plaza was silent. His legs gave in, and he collapsed onto the asphalt.
?Henry!? Frank climbed out of the back of the truck and ran to his fallen friend. ?Henry, are you okay??
?Fine.? Pierce breathed. ?Just? I need to rest for a bit.? He gulped air, getting more oxygen into his system.
?Henry, I have collected your weapon for you,? West stuck his hand out, the battered Mp5 gripped firmly. ??Or, what is left of it.?
?Thanks, but I doubt it could still fire without exploding in my face. We?re almost out, I?ll make do with my pistol.? Zoe handed him the magazine from the Mp5.
?Figured you might want the ammo.?
?Thanks.? He got to his feet and put the 9mm bullets into spare pistol magazines. ?Let?s go.? Getting to his feet, Pierce unholstered his pistol. West ran to retrieve his Mp5, while the others walked to the large set of doors separating the plaza from the military?s makeshift landing zone.
?I?m ready.? West stated.
?Then let?s go.? Pierce pressed the button next to the door and lifted his Glock. The doors opened, revealing a small fleet of Osprey helicopters, and apache, and a lot of military equipment. The landing zone was devoid of life.
?I smell an ambush.? Frank said. ?We?d better be careful.? Despite Frank?s warning, Zoe dashed towards the Apache, rolled a grenade underneath, and ran back. The grenade blew, catching the missiles mounted on the left wing. The attack helicopter exploded vibrantly, damaging the ospreys that were landed next to it. ?What the hell were you thinking?!? Frank screamed.
?They?re all gone. When that thing,? Zoe gestured towards the spot where the Gargantua had exploded, ?Came near here, they all ran. And if they were here, we wouldn?t want them to get in that and start firing the gun off.? Frank stood there, stunned.
?Point taken.?
?Let?s go, handsome.? Zoe began walking towards the osprey furthest from what was left of the Apache. ?I can fly this out of here. Get in.? The men climbed in after her.
?Finally, we can get out of here and tell the world what has happened.? West sat down in the back and buckled up, confident that he would see no more combat without prior warning.
?I?m gonna march right up to the pentagon and demand they reveal this. Or else I?ll blow the lid right off, as well as a couple of heads.? Frank told Pierce.
??I?ll be able to see Megan again. That?s the first thing I?ll do. I?ll go straight to her apartment and walk in that door.? The helicopters engines started up, and the Osprey lifted off the ground. Zoe piloted the troop carrier out of the Landing Zone and towards the main road headed out of the facility.
?Looks like we?re not the only ones getting out of here.? She told the men over the loudspeakers. ?Look out to the right.? A convoy of Black Mesa security vehicles were driving out, joining the main road from a side route. Pierce could just make out spots of white and a single spot of security blue inside the vehicles.
?West, you have to see this!? He glanced over at the back. West was sound asleep, the adrenaline of the journey finally fading from his body. His chest rose and fell slowly. ?Ah, hell. I?ll tell him about it later.? Frank opened the cockpit door.
?Where to, boys?? Zoe inquired. In unison, but not for the same reason, or with knowledge of what the other would say, Pierce and Frank told her.
?Washington.? The looked at each other, and smiled. They were out of Black Mesa, the cleanup of the resonance cascade was being handled, and they were headed the same way.

Epilogue
Unknown time
City 17
Approximately 20 years later
Henry Pierce put down his book. It wasn?t really his book, it had come with the cramped apartment. God only knows what happened to the original owner. He turned to the man next to him.

?Remember when we thought Black Mesa was as bad as it could get?? Beside him, Frank smiled.
?If only we were right.?
?I miss West.?
?I?m sure he?s doing fine back in 12.?
?Yeah.? The sound of two female voices humming in unison came from the kitchen. ?Maybe we should break up that fight.? He whispered. Frank chuckled.
?What?s so funny?? Zoe?s head poked out from the doorway.
?Nothing, honey.? Frank replied. ?How?s the meal coming along??
?As well as it can, being made of watermelon and rations.? Zoe disappeared into the depths of the kitchen to get back to helping Megan dice the only fresh fruit available in the city.
?That?s the terror of knowing what this world is about, watching some good friends scream ?Let me out!??
?What?s that?? Frank asked.
?Just trying to remember how that song they were humming went. I think it was by Queen.?
?Ah.? A man coughed in the apartment down the hall. ?Do you ever get the urge to? just fight them??
?The combine?? Pierce asked.
?Yeah.? Pierce sighed, thinking of a reply.
?Sometimes I do. But it wouldn?t make much of a difference, would it? I mean, what can one man do??
?Freeman did a lot.?
?True. If there [i]was[/i] an uprising, I?d help. I?d do all I could, even if it meant I?d die for it. As long as it meant we were going to all be free, I?d die a happy man.?
?Yeah. If he ever comes back, I?ll grab a crowbar and fight with him.?
?We?ll see if it ever happens. Maybe someday. Not today.?
?Yeah.? A scanner flew past their window, pausing for just a second to glance inside. Across the street, on the other side of a small substation, a young woman in a leather jacket found the mechanical part she was looking for. The scanner didn?t notice her, and flew down the street, towards the train station. It passed a man raving about how he loved the city, past an empty queue, a man mumbling something about trains, and into the boarding platform. A train came into the station on schedule, and two men carrying suitcases came out, followed by a man who had become a legend.

Gordon Freeman stepped out. Bleary-eyed and confused about where he was, what he was wearing, and why his Administrator was on a giant screen.

That was very good.

As if on cure

Did you mean: As if on cue?

If you hadn't played any of the Half-Life series, I'm not sure you'd appreciate this story. But the fact you're posting it here says that the intended audience is people who have, so that's irrelevant.
Very nice.

Thanks.

You sir, are made of Winrar-ness

http://www.twhl.co.za/journals.php?id=6407
Please put your comments in my journal until it dissapears from the front page, as to not clog up the thread.
Thank you for your time and feedback.
EDIT:
Note from the author
So, it's done. They got out of Black Mesa, and now have a comfortable life in City 17. (Or as comfortable as you can have in a combine-controlled city)
Will Henry, Frank, West and Zoe ever return? I have no idea. I'm not really inclined to write a sequel at the moment, but I may have cameos or references in further stories. We'll see.
I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

I rather enjoyed that. It was very good.

It passed a man raving about how he loved the city

Frohman?

[Edit] Wait, he wasn't in City 17 when Freeman arrived, was he? Never mind.

The scanner in the epilouge and the scanner in the comic are one and the same- When he's raving, it passes him, goes in the train, and you see a pair of legs that belongs to freeman exiting the train.
In the next comic (?) You can see his legs climbing the ladder on the fire excape in the alley.

What comic exactly? I'm afraid I'm a bit lost here.

http://www.hlcomic.com/view.php?date=2006-05-08
^That one.
Beginning:
http://www.hlcomic.com/index.php?date=2005-05-01

There's no way I'd have remembered that particular episode without help.