2 Chapter 1: The Departure, part 2

Before Gordon and Eli landed, Dr. Kleiner called in to communicate. Over Dr. Magnusson's frantic interjections, there had been a gigantic Combine caused explosion on the moon that was sending giant moon fragments. These were on a collision course with Europe and the Artic.

He told them to stay put at Crow's Foot until the "moonshower" had passed. They also received a response to their radio broadcast for Dr. Mossman. She had already infiltrated a Combine base near the Borealis. Once at the town, Gordon headed towards the known location of Aperture Science.

As he was heading there, he came across Chell. They exchanged their back stories. Chell agreed to substitute for Gordon if the Borealis had not teleported by 9:00 a. m. the next day - as time was of the essence.

As Gordon Freeman continued on his way to Aperture Science across fields of grain, he heard a low rumbling above him mixed with a vaguely English high-pitched call. Looking up into the sky while still running, he saw a large greyish-white object with a faint fiery aura surrounding it approaching the earth. As it came closer, Gordon could make out a male Australian voice frantically talking to himself.

"Oh no, oh no, this is really bad! I'm going to crash in the middle of nowhere, with no one to save me! This is blooming great! I know I acted like a monster, but do I have to die for it?! I mean, no one got hurt – I mean died from what I did after I gained control. Well, here it comes. At least it cannot get any worse than this. Goodbye cruel universe!"