The spaceship landed on the brown planet.

Swamp Thing watched as it nestled down onto the boggy marsh.

"We have visitors," he told his double. He sighed. "I certainly hope they're friendly."

The ship's landing board came down with a WHOOSH! From inside, two little men appeared. They tentatively took steps away from the ship, looking around at the vegetation.

"I'll go to meet them," the Swamp Thing said to himself.

He strode across the ground towards them. Instantly, they pulled little guns from their holsters. The Swamp Thing stopped.

"I'm your friend," he told them. "There's no need for guns."

He studied them as they holstered their weapons. Both of them stood up to his knees. They were outfitted in identical orange spacesuits. Air filters were strapped to their backs. But the starkest visions of them were the globes around their heads. Their skulls, bug-eyed and naked of flesh, floated about in the domes. Little bubbles burst and popped in the green globs.

"We come in peace," one of them said.

"As do I," replied Swamp Thing.

"I am Xandor," said the little spaceman. "And this is Grundix."

Swamp Thing nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you," he told them.

"Our planet was destroyed," said Xandor. "The Diamens took it to be their own. We're the only two that survived."

"I'm sorry to hear of your plight," said Swamp Thing.

"We are tired of death and destruction," said Xandor. "Is this a peaceful planet?"

"It is very much so, indeed. Please, take a look around."

As Grundix went off to explore the bayou, Xandor approached the Swamp Thing. He held out his little hand to be shaken. Swamp Thing accepted the courtesy.

"And who is this?" Xandor pointed to the replicate Swamp Thing who stood off to the side. "Is he friendly?"

"Of course," said Swamp Thing. "I created him in my own image to have a friend. This planet is so peaceful that it can sometimes damage your nerves with loneliness."

"That is good," said Xandor. "It sounds exactly like what we're looking for."

Suddenly, from the direction that Grundix had taken, a loud scream penetrated the silence of the brown planet. Both Swamp Thing and Xandor looked at the same time

"What is that?" asked Xandor.

"I don't know," said Swamp Thing. "But it can't be good."

The two of them ran off in the direction of the shriek.

When they reached the swamp, they stopped. Trapped in the jaws of a mighty alligator was Grundix. He was struggling, vainly attempting to escape the frenzied animal, but he was failing miserably. Already the gator had torn away one of his arms. Blood spurted into the tepid air as the fangs buried their way into his chest cavity.

Xandor pulled his pistol. He fired a blast at the gator, hitting it in the eye. It POPPED from the force. But still it did not let go of its grip on Grundix.

"I'll take care of this," said Swamp Thing.

He hurried into the bayou. He quickly grabbed the gator's jaws. He pulled them apart, ignoring the bits of flesh and bone that spewed onto him. From its maw, Grundix's corpse fell away.

Swamp Thing threw the gator back into the everglades. It swam away, content with its meal.

Xandor pulled away Grundix's cadaver from the water. He knelt down over his fallen comrade.

Swamp Thing looked down at him. He noticed the tears coursing from the floating skull.

"I can repair him," said Swamp Thing. "I can make him as good as new."

"No," said Xandor. "He has found his peace. Let him rest."

Swamp Thing nodded. He understood. He bent down and picked up Grundix, gently. Then, using his power, dug a grave deep in the marsh. He placed the little corpse into the hole and then covered it back up.

"This is not a peaceful planet," said Xandor. "If it were, I would not have lost my friend."

"But it is," said Swamp Thing. "The alligator was only following the nature of the beast."

"And I must follow my feelings," Xandor replied. "My journey for peace will continue on."

Swamp Thing watched as the little man returned to his spaceship. As he stood on the loading dock, he turned and looked back.

"May you find your own peace," he said. Then he turned and disappeared into the mouth of the spaceship.

"My own peace," said Swamp Thing.

He turned around and looked at the mirror of himself. And suddenly he felt more alone than he ever had on the planet.

"My own peace," he repeated. And then he glanced back into the sky. The spaceship was gone.

Hunter had made sweet love to her. Tefe couldn't forget it. She felt her nipples harden as she thought of him.

Somewhere deep inside her, she wished that she could have stayed with him. But her journey was more important. She still needed to find out who she was and the purpose for her being.

She found it strange that she would board a barge headed back to the Louisiana swamps. She needed to talk to her father. He needed to know what the Green wanted her to do. Like her, he had turned them down. That had been years ago. She also wanted to talk to her mother. Odd things had been happening to her. For crissakes, recently she had nearly been killed by a psychopath. Tefe needed to know her place in Abby's life. It was her next step to discovering who she was.

"What are you thinking about, Tefe?"

Tefe turned around. She looked into the baby-face of Nicko McBrain.

"Nothing," she said. "I'm just enjoying the view."

Nicko stared out at the trees and land as the barge rolled slowly by. He nodded. "It is beautiful."

As usual, Nicko was carrying a dog-eared copy of a Stephen King novel. Tefe noticed that it was CHRISTINE.

"How's your book been going?" asked Tefe.

"It's going pretty good, thanks." Nicko looked at her and smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but I've put you in the book."

"Oh great," said Tefe, returning his smile. "Do I get killed?"

"Nah," Nicko replied. "You're the final girl. You survive."

"Well, that's good to know," Tefe said, laughing. "What's it about, again?"

"It's a slasher novel," Nicko told her. "It's called HUNTING HUMANS."

"Great title," said Tefe. "I'm honored that you think enough of me to put me in it."

Both of them fell silent. In the distance, they could hear a loon emit its lonely cry.

"If you could do one thing over in your life," asked Nicko, "what would it be?"

"That's an interesting question," said Tefe. "And it's one that I don't have an answer for."

"Oh, come on," said Nicko. "Everyone has something they'd change."

"What about you? What's an aspiring writer doing hanging out on a barge heading to the Louisiana bayou?"

"I'm planning my second book," said Nicko. "There's a legend there about a swamp man that has my curiosity piqued."

Tefe couldn't help but laugh. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"Ah," replied Nicko, "but satisfaction brought him back."

"So, tell me about you. What's a beautiful girl hanging out on a nasty barge for?"

"Let's just say I'm going to hunt the swamp man, too."

"Great," said Nicko. "Two heads are better than one. If it's truly there, I'm sure we'll find him."

Tefe hung her head out over the barge. Below, she watched as the current swelled around its sides.

She looked at Nicko and smiled. "If he's there," she told him, "I'm sure we'll find him, too."

Robbie is a computer.

Jimmy Coffey sat in his apartment. He stared at the blank screen of his computer and sighed. Behind him, her head bowed down, was Mary. She was silent as she sharpened her nails.

"I'm not looking forward to this, you know," said Jimmy. "I really don't want to do it."

Mary was silent.

"But I don't suppose I have a choice." He reached out and turned on the computer. "Every time I do this I feel like I'm Tron."

Jimmy waited for the computer to fire up.

"I don't suppose I have time to check my e-mail or MySpace page, huh?"

Mary giggled.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

He looked at the screen staring back at him. The cursor winked on-and-off.

"Mary," he asked, "are you going with me?"

She stood up and strode across Jimmy's cluttered apartment. She stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Then let's do it."

He reached out and punched the ENTER key. Without warning, his apartment began to melt. The walls froze and then thawed as they slipped away. The floor disappeared, leaving them standing on beams of red and blue light.

Jimmy reached out and rubbed at his temples. "That shit always gives me such a headache," he muttered.

There was a vast silence in the matrix. Mary gripped at Jimmy's hand. Her skin was cold to the touch.

"Robbie?"

For a moment, there was only a vast vacuum of air. Then the voice boomed from above and below them.

"I'm here, Jimmy," said Robbie. "It's good to see you, again."

"Wish I could say the same," replied Jimmy.

"I take it you need my help?"

"Yeah," said Jimmy. "You could say it's something like that." He lit a cigarette and blew a smoke ring out into the dark. "So what do you say? Think you're up to it?"

"It depends on what it is."

"Well, I've got this demon on my ass. It seems he wants my body for a human vessel. He's a real bitch. I don't think he's far behind me."

"And what do I get in return?"

Jimmy shrugged. "What do you want?"

"If I help you beat this demon, I want its body. I want to escape this matrix."

"What's up with everyone wanting someone else's body?" said Jimmy. "It's getting a bit redundant, you know."

"Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Jimmy.

And that's when he felt the burning sensation run through his body. His head pounded, and Jimmy was afraid that it was going to pop off his shoulders. He felt his hair begin to sizzle. The blisters that covered his body swelled and burst, covering him in sloppy blood.

"Looks like we're about to start," he said.

Goregog appeared behind him. He flicked out his forked tongue.

"There's no escaping me, Coffey," he hissed. "There's nowhere left for you to run. Your ass is mine."

Jimmy looked around and stared at Goregog.

The demon was short. At best he probably stood as tall as Jimmy's mid-section. He was a crimson color, with little horns protruding from his head. His forked tongue licked out over his fangs. His eyes were the color of fried egg-yolk. And he was dressed in purple tights.

"You sure have come dressed for the occasion," said Jimmy, barely holding down a laugh.

"There's no time for games," Goregog told him. "Stand and make your pitiful excuse for a fight."

Jimmy took a long drag on his cigarette. Then he flicked it towards Goregog. The butt slapped off his forehead.

"Whatever you've got," said Jimmy, "bring it on."

Goregog let loose with a loud scream.

Jimmy fell down onto his knees. Again, the pain in his temples erupted like fire in a Pittsburgh steel mill. His stomach turned as its acid boiled, and he vomited blood. More boils appeared on his body.

Laughing, he reached down and unbuckled his pants. He stared down at his groin.

"Ha," he said. "You're going to pay for putting boils down there, too."

Jimmy managed to pull himself onto his feet. He buckled his pants back up. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it. The smoke formed a halo above his head.

"If that's the best you've got," said Jimmy. "You're sadly mistaken in believing you can defeat me."

Goregog hissed.

And then, with a might flame that shot forth from his fanged mouth, sent a fireball across the matrix. It landed on top of Mary. Instantly, she caught fire. She fell down onto one of the bright blue beams, burning alive.

Jimmy made a vain attempt to try and save her. He pulled off his suit jacket and placed it across her burning body. But it was too late. Mary had already succumbed to the flames.

Goregog laughed.

"You really shouldn't have done that," said Jimmy.

"What's the matter?" asked Goregog. "Mad because I killed your little piece of ass?"

"Something like that," said Jimmy. He stood up. The cloying stench of Mary's burned corpse filled the chamber. He straightened his tie. "Now your life ain't worth the shit I took this morning."