Swamp Thing reached out and touched the feet of Jesus Christ. They were bleeding, nailed together.

He looked up at the Nazarene. He was bound to a cross. His arms were outstretched, bleeding from the palms, and a crown of thorns were placed atop his head. Rivulets of blood poured down His beautiful features.

Swamp Thing grew in size. He produced himself high atop the ground to where he could stare into the face of Jesus Christ.

“I’m so sorry that they’ve done this to you, ” he said.  “Is there nothing I can do to help? ”

Jesus stared into the verdant features of Swamp Thing. He smiled.

“Oh no, child, ” said Jesus.  “There’s nothing you can do. My fate is sealed. ”

“I feel so useless, ” said Swamp Thing. Tears coursed down his face.  “I want to help you, but know that I can’t alter history. ”

“It is alright, ” replied Jesus.  “Do not mourn my passing. ”

Swamp Thing reached out and took the crown of thorns from the head of Jesus Christ. He willed the thorns away, shrinking them into the crude tiara. Then he gently placed it back on Jesus. It helped the massive blood flow.

“Thank you, ” said Jesus.

“It’s the least I can do. ”

From the bottom of Golgotha, cheers began to be raised. It was time for the Romans to come and fetch the wrecked body of Jesus Christ.

“You must go now, ” said Jesus.  “They are coming for me. ”

“I could take care of them, ” replied Swamp Thing.  “If only you’d let me. ”

“No. Let them come and do their will. I will be okay. ”

Swamp Thing reached out and gently kissed Jesus on the cheek. 

“Do not cry for me, ” said Jesus.  “Wipe away your tears. ”

Swamp Thing did as he was instructed. But still the flow continued down his cheeks. He couldn’t help himself.

“Leave me, ” said Jesus. He smiled.  “I will never forget my time with you. ”

“As neither will I, ” replied Swamp Thing. He shrank back to his normal size. He reached out and touched Jesus on his wounded feet.  “I’ll always love you. ”

“Love is the key to everything, ” said Jesus.  “Let your hatred go. Forgive your fellow man, for he does not understand what he does. Never forget that. ”

“I won’t, ” replied Swamp Thing.

Then he turned his back on the Nazarene. He watched as the Romans began to march up the hill. They would be there very soon.

Swamp Thing looked back over his shoulder.  “Love is the key to everything, ” he repeated.

“And never forget it. ”

With the voices inside his head drowned, Swamp Thing let himself go. He disappeared from the mount of Golgotha, leaving Jesus Christ to meet his fate.  

And as he traveled through space, seeking his own destiny, the Swamp Thing continued to cry.

“Where are you going, little lady? ”

Grace peered up at the truck driver. She clutched her doll close to her breasts. It made her feel comfortable. She shuffled her feet.

“To the closest hotel, ” she managed.  “Can you give me a ride? ”

“Why sure, ” replied the truck driver.  “Just hop on in. ”

Grace did as he asked. She climbed into the truck and fell back against the seat. She grasped her doll tighter.

“You shouldn’t be out walking in the woods alone, ” said the driver, shifting the gears as the truck roared down the road.  “It could be dangerous for a woman such as you. ”

Grace understood what he was talking about. But the Black Forest was the one place she needed to be. It was safe from any of her superstitions. She grabbed at the ruby necklace strung about her neck. 

“The closest hotel, huh? ” the driver said.  “That’d be the Black Lodge. It’s a pretty nice place from what I’ve heard. I’ve never stayed there myself. ”

“I’m sure it’ll be nice, ” replied Grace.  “It’s just what I’m looking for. ”

“Well, that’s good. It’ll be nice to get a pretty girl like you off these roads. ” He turned and smiled at her. Grace wispily returned it.   

The truck ambled down the road for a few more minutes until it came to the lodge. The driver pulled up in front of its main doors and stopped. He turned to Grace and winked at her.

“Well, ” he said, “here you go. ”

“Thank you, ” she replied.

“You wouldn’t want any company tonight, would you? I’m a pretty good partner. We could go dancing or something. Hit one of those fancy restaurants. ”

“No, thank you, ” said Grace.  “But I appreciate the offer. ”

The driver nodded his head. He waited for Grace to close the door before he threw the truck into gear and disappeared down the road.

Grace stepped inside the hotel. It was crowded with ornate fixtures. The light in the lobby was dim. She stepped up to the main counter.

“I’d like a room, please, ” she asked.

The wiry man behind the counter pushed his glasses up his thin nose. When he stood up, he towered over Grace. He smiled at her.

“Of course, ” he said.  “Is it just you this evening? ”

“Yes. ”

“Indeed, ” he replied. He had her fill out a registration card, and then took her money. He handed her a key to her room.  “It’s at the top of the stairs, ” he told her.  “It’s one of the best in the entire hotel. ”

“Thank you, ” said Grace.

“And if you need anything, please call. My name is Grecian. ”

“I will, ” Grace told him. And then she left to climb the stairs to her room.

At the desk, Grecian was joined by his wife, Alba. 

“It’s her, isn’t it? ” she asked.

“Yes, ” said Grecian.  “She has arrived. Just like the master foretold. ”

“Argon will be pleased, ” said Alba.  “We must contact him and let him know. ”

“All in good time, ” replied Grecian.  “I don’t believe the little girl is going anywhere. ”

And both of them stared up the stairs to where Grace was standing. She turned, feeling their eyes on her back, and gave them a weak wave. Grecian and Alba joyfully returned it. Then she went into her room, closing the door behind her.

Billy hated his father. He was a drunk that liked beating on him and his mom. Billy was afraid that before it was over, his father would end up killing them both.

The only solace that he could ever count on was walks through the bayou. He liked being out in the swamps. He loved hearing the lonely cries of the loons, and watching the snakes swim through the muddy water and the buzz of the assorted insects.

It helped him to forget his father.

Billy smiled. He hated his father so much that he had even ordered a voodoo doll from the back of one of his comic books. Unfortunately, the doll didn’t work as he stuck pins into its eyes, but you couldn’t say that he didn’t try.

On this day, as he marched through the bog, swinging around a knotty stick that he’d found, Billy was unknowingly going to find a new friend.

“What’s that? ” he said.

In the distance, he saw a mound of wild weeds and verdant fauna growing over what looked to be the form of a man. Why he’d never seen this thing before puzzled him.

He ran over to where it lay, unmoving. 

Unknown to him, this was the same site where Ingrid Romero had killed two people. She’d long since fed their bodies to the gators in the swamp, but dried blood still stained the scattered leafs lying around. Billy, however, would take no notice of this.

He pulled away the weeds that were covering the body. And, as he got closer, he noticed that it was more the husk of a human than a regular person.

“This is unbelievable, ” he said to himself.  “I can’t believe it! ”

Billy cleared away the branches and weeds and stared at his discovery. It was the shell of some & swamp thing. It appeared to him to be like when a snake would shed its skin.

He put out his hands and felt the rough exterior. He rubbed over it, marvelously inspecting it. And that’s when he found the tuber sticking out of its chest.

“What’s this? ”

Billy pulled off the tuber and examined it. He rolled it about in his hands.

“It looks like some kind of peapod, ” he said.

And that’s when the idea struck him.

He carried the tuber down to the banks of the bayou. Dropping to his knees, he dug a muddy hole and placed the tuber inside it. 

“Let’s see what I can grow from this. ”

Suddenly, he was reminded of his mother’s threat to move him and her back to Kentucky. Billy wanted to go, sure. He wanted to get away from his abusive father as fast as he could. But there was something else nagging him, now. He wanted to see what would grow from the pod.

“Only time will tell, ” he said.

Then he got up and began to run. He knew it was almost time for his father to get home, and he’d better be there or he wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week. He also wanted to be there for his mother. If nothing else, maybe he could defend her against his father.

“That’s a snowball’s chance in Hell, ” he muttered.

But still he ran; fear pushing him on.

And who knows? Maybe that voodoo doll would work tonight...

“Stop the van! ”

Perv looked over at Tefe, who had her head hanging out the window. She turned back and looked at him.

“I said stop the van, ” she repeated.

Perv pulled over onto the side of the road. Then he turned around in his seat, looking at Tefe.

“What’s the matter? ” he asked.

“I’ll be right back, ” she told him, and climbed out of the van.

Perv watched her go. He adjusted his rearview mirror and watched as she traipsed off back up the road. In the distance, he could see a flower stand.

Suddenly, he felt a pang in his stomach.

He hadn’t had second thoughts about driving Tefe back to Houma. In fact, he was looking forward to the time with her. He couldn’t deny that he was beginning to have sexual feelings towards her.

But there was always an underlying nature to her. He’d seen what she’d done to those campers back in the woods. She contained a force of nature that he truly didn’t understand. And maybe didn’t want to.

Outside, Tefe marched along like a trooper. She’d fallen asleep in the van on their way across country, and had awakened in time to see the flower stand beside the road.

“How are you doing today? ” asked the man running the stand.  “Can I interest you in some beautiful daisies?’

Tefe stopped and looked at him. She could barely hold back the scowl that was threatening to rear its head across her face. She balled her fists and put them on either hip.

“Do you know what you’re doing here? ” she asked.

“Of course, ” said the man, smiling.  “I’m selling flowers. And I do hope you take home a gorgeous bouquet with you today. ” He spat a wad of tobacco on the ground and wiped his mouth with the back of a greasy forearm.  “Are they for your sweetie back in the van? ”

“Cut the bullshit, ” said Tefe.  “I don’t want to hear anymore. ”

“And I don’t want to hear anymore of your filthy mouth, ” the man told her.  “You can just go along and leave me be. ”

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? ”

“What’s your problem? ”

“It’s the genocide of all these flowers, ” said Tefe.  “Look at how many you’ve murdered. ”

“I get it now, ” said the man.  “You’re one of those tree hugging loonies. ”

Tefe laughed.  “Something like that. ”

And then she thrust out her arms. Pollen from each of the flowers flew through the air. It became a sickeningly yellow cloud that hovered above the man.

He started to run. And when he did, Tefe dropped all the pollen onto him. The man fell to the ground, buried by it. He slammed his head on the asphalt, knocking himself unconscious.

“And that’s that, ” said Tefe. She looked down at the man, whose head and left hand were the only thing sticking out from the mountain of pollen.  “Let’s see you try this, again, murderer. ”

Tefe turned around and walked back up the highway. As she opened the door and climbed into the van, she was smiling.

“What the hell did you do back there? ” asked Perv.  “Did you hurt that guy? ”

“No, ” said Tefe.  “But he did bump his head on the road when he fell down. That’s the worst he got. And even that’s too unfortunate. ”

“You shouldn’t have done that, ” said Perv.

“Are you telling me that you’d just let those flower corpses rot there without any intervention? ”

Perv shrugged.

“Fine, ” said Tefe.  “Now, come on. Get this van to moving. ”

“I’ve seen you do some dangerous things with your powers, Tefe, ” said Perv. 

“So? What are you saying; you’re afraid of me now? ”

“No, ” Perv replied, “it’s just that I didn’t know how far you would go to protect The Green. ”

“And you still don’t, ” said Tefe, smiling.  “You still don’t. ”