#b.calhoun

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He looks unhappy.]

“Would tell ya to be sitting down for this, but I guess ya already are.” Barney laughs humorlessly. “Resonance Cascade was almost 20 years ago. The anniversary’s two weeks from now.”

[Portrait of Adrian Shephard, done in black and white. They look scared.]

Route 1 - Only One Barney Survives.

Route 2 - All 5 Barneys Survive, But they stay in Black Mesa.

Route 3 - All 5 Barneys Survive, And they escape from Black Mesa, but they have to deal with the Aliens, aka Half Life 2 happens in the future.

It's been a while, huh?

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He looks confused.]

Barney grabs a gun from the table nearby- just in case, and goes to open the door.

Standing there is just about the smallest Combine officer Barney’s ever seen, covered in blood and with their arms held behind their back by a nervous looking resistance member. They’re hunched forward, seemingly only held up by the grip on their arms.

[ID: A drawing done entirely in black and white linework. A person wearing a dark jumpsuit stands in a doorway, holding a hand gun off to the side. In front of them is Adrian, head hung and arms behind their back. Their face isn’t visible behind their hair at this angle. A city street is visible in the background, with a tree and apartment buildings on the right.]

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He looks stern.]

“What’s all this?”

[Portrait of an unnamed resistance member, done in black and white. They look nervous.]

“I woulda killed them sir, but they said they knew Gordon and asked for you by name. And they aren’t attacking us, or letting their… antlion do it for them.”

The aforementioned antlion, just visible behind the resistance member, trills angrily but makes no move to attack.

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He looks stern.]

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself.”

[Portrait of Adrian Shephard, done in black and white. They’re bleeding from the nose and forehead, and had blood splattered across their cheek. They look scared.] 

They jolt up to look at Barney. All they manage is a wheeze, trying to pull their arms free, but only resulting in a tightened grip and a sharp stab of pain.

Barney is stricken, not by the amount of blood on their face, but by how young they look.

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He looks stern]

“Let them go, I’ll take care of it from here.”

The resistance member gives a nod, and releases the Combine officer none too gently. They fall to their knees, and don’t get back up. The antlion crowds up next to them, nudging their shoulder.

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He looks stern]

...

[Portrait of Barney Calhoun, done in black and white. He’s sighing]