A Place In The West is a long-running Half-Life comic that first appeared on Steam in 2016. Set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, the story follows a man named Albert Kempinski, who is searching for his kidnapped daughter with the help of a human scientist, Leyla Poirier, and vortigaunt named Dreyfus. Their hunt leads them to a mysterious city called New Franklin, which may hold the key to defeating the alien invasion.
The officially licensed Half-Life comic has just released the seventh chapter in the saga, called The Dark Between the Stars. According to the comic's creators, it marks the halfway point of the story, in which the city of New Franklin descends into civil war.
"Leonard Banks, the power plant foreman, issues an ultimatum to Cormac Long and Sejal Rajani: relinquish control of the city or he will start deactivating its defences" reads the chapter's synopsis on Steam. "When neither Long nor Rajani submit to his demands, Banks makes good on his threat, unleashing hordes of antlions on the city's borders. As Long scrambles to defend the breach, Rajani sees one last chance to capture Long and assume control of the city, and rallies the Opposition for an all-out assault on City Hall."
If you've never read the comic, you can download and read the first chapter for free, while additional chapters (including the new Chapter 7) will cost you $1.99 each. An interlude, Chapter 7.5, will focus on Leyla's origins in Eastern Europe, and is planned for later this year.
