The four killers surrounded the truck driver. They were armed with hatchets, machetes, and swords. He vainly tried to keep them back with a wrench.

"Don't deny it, pig, " said a killer. "You took the girl to the Black Lodge. "

"And what if I did? " the trucker asked. "I don't think that's enough to warrant wanting to cut my throat. "

"Don't mock what you don't understand, " said another.

"You should be proud, " said the third. "You are the first victim in our master's resurrection. It's an honor to have it bestowed upon you. "

The trucker lashed out with the wrench. As he did, the fourth killer brought down his sword. It slashed through flesh and bone, dropping the trucker's severed arm down on the oily tarmac. It was still holding the tool.

The trucker screamed, but he knew that no one would hear him at the rest stop. There were no other cars in the parking lot.

Overhead, the man in the moon looked down unapologetically.

And that's when the four killers attacked.

By the time they were finished, there were only pieces of the trucker lying about. There wasn't even enough to hold an open casket funeral for the poor bastard.

"Every one of my crops is covered in blood, " said the farmer. "It's the strangest damned thing I've ever seen. "

Grace got up and turned off the television. It was the first sign that Aragon was back. The damned would be taking out their vengeance on the living.

She fiddled with the amulet hanging about her neck. It had been given to her by her Uncle Frank before he passed away. And he had told her of its importance; its connection with the resurrection of Aragon.

"One day he will return, " Frank had told her. "Keep the amulet safe. "

And that's just what she'd done.

Now it was time to turn it over to the master.

Grace got ready and then went down to the front desk at the Black Lodge. Grecian was there to greet her. And his eyes immediately went to the amulet she was wearing.

"It is time, " she said.

"Indeed, it is, " agreed Grecian.

"Is she ready? " Alba called out.

"She is, " Grecian replied. "Come out here. "

Alba waddled out from the room behind the front desk. She smiled at Grace as their eyes connected.

"Follow me, child, " she said.

Grace walked behind Alba as they ascended the staircase. She led her down a hallway lit by lanterns. The walls and carpet were the color of blood.

"We've given the master the best room in the hotel, " said Alba. "I'm sure that will come as no surprise to you. "

Grace smiled.

Alba opened the door and stood aside for Grace to enter. Then she closed the door behind Grace. She thought she could hear Alba's heavy breathing outside the door as she eavesdropped.

Aragon had his back to the farthest window. Shadows from a sky pregnant with snow shadowed him. But it was still enough for Grace to make out his features:

He stood about 6' tall with a wiry build. His skin was the color of curdled milk. And he had large eyes, streaked with bloodlines, emerging from his ugly face. He was dressed in a crumpled three-piece suit.

"I've been waiting for you, " said Aragon. "Come to me. "

Grace fingered the amulet. Tentatively, she approached him.

"You don't have to be afraid, " Aragon told her. "I won't bite you. "

As she reached him, Grace fell down onto her knees. She bowed her head, afraid to glance up and stare Aragon in the eyes.

"I believe you have something for me? "

Grace nodded her head. Then she reached behind her, unclasping the amulet. Her hand shook as she passed it over to him. She noticed that he had very large hands, each tipped with razor-sharp fingernails.

Aragon gripped the amulet and held it aloft. Grace could hear a noise, like raspy breathing, escape him.

"Now it's mine, " he said. "And the games can begin. "

As the power coursed through his veins, darkness fell across the neighboring town of Freeburg like a spider descending upon a fly:

George Gilman's dog, a German shepherd, had been missing for two days. On the morning of Aragon's resurgence, the animal returned home.

"There you are, " said Gilman. "I've been missing you, boy. Come here! "

And the dog did just that.

Gilman was dead before he hit the floor, his throat ripped out. The German shepherd enjoyed feasting on its master.

Karl Muster had had enough of his violently abusive father. And that's why he waited for him with a shotgun to get off the night shift at the factory. As his father entered the house, Karl shot him dead. And then he licked his father's brains as they dripped down the wall.

Tish Grossman drowned her baby in the bathtub when it started to cry. She took the toddler's head and pushed it beneath the soapy water until its corpse floated to the top. All the time she had been singing it lullabies.

At the Catholic Church, Father Sayers got drunk on the communion wine. Staggering towards the alter, he pulled down his pants and started to piss. As he stared up into the sad eyes of Jesus Christ looking down at him, Sayers laughed.

"How's that for holy water, you bastard? "

BRAZIL, SOUTH AMERICA

"Aragon has returned, " said Lady Jane.

"I can feel that, " replied Saint Columba.

The Parliament of Trees was not happy with the news. The return of Aragon could only mean disturbance for their kind.

"Where is the Swamp Thing? " asked Saint Columba.

"No one is sure, " replied Lady Jane. "He hasn't been seen for quite some time. There have been rumors of his death. "

"Pure nonsense, " said Saint Columba. "He is still alive. I can feel it. "

"If he's still alive, " Lady Jane said, "then he will certainly come for this battle. It will be a confrontation between earth and plant elementals. "

"I'm not sure it'll be a test he can pass, " said Jack-In-The-Green. "I have my doubts. "

"It is good to have doubts, " said Saint Columba.

"Then let's pray, " replied Lady Jane, "that if he's alive, he will come in time. "

"He will come. "

"And if he doesn't? "

"He will come, " repeated Saint Columba. But there was a tremor in her voice that Lady Jane immediately recognized.

"You have your doubts, too, " she said.

"As I've mentioned, it's good to have doubts, " said Saint Columba.

"If you say so, " said Lady Jane. "But, to be honest, I think it's a crock of shit. "

Saint Columba laughed, and then retired into silence. It was good to have doubts.

Wasn't it?

"I'm a reborn Christian! "

Hank, Billy's father, threw out his arms. He feigned a large smile, revealing yellow-stained teeth, that cracked open his face.

"What? " said Billy's mother, Susan.

"I converted to Christianity, " said Hank. "Today, at work, I just dropped down on my knees and said save me Lord. And now, here I am. Good as new! "

"I don't believe it, " said Susan.

Hank crossed the living room to where she was sitting on the couch. He leaned down and passionately kissed her on the lips. Then he fell back, rubbing his fingers through her peroxide bottled blond hair.

"Believe it, baby, " said Hank. "I'm dropping the bottle for good. "

Susan could only stare at him. Weakly, she returned his bright smile.

"You don't believe me, " said Hank. "But that's okay. These things will take time. You'll see before it's over. "

"I hope so, " said Susan.

Hank turned around and looked to Billy, who was sitting in the floor. He had been playing his X Box when his father had come in. Now, he stared blankly away from the television at his father.

"What do you think about it? " he asked Billy.

Billy shrugged his shoulders. "It sounds good to me. "

Now, if his father was truly going to be sober and live a good life, he hoped that his mother could do the same. He'd seen her drink heavily before, too. But that was usually when Hank was acting like a total ass.

Hank turned to Susan. He had a sappy grin on his face. "I love you, baby, " he said.

Susan blushed. She twirled a curl of her hair. "I love you, too, Hank. "

"Gross, " said Billy.

Hank and Susan laughed.

"Mom, " he said, "can I go out and play? "

"Yeah, " said Susan. "Just be back before dark. We can't forget that there's a killer loose in the town. "

"Alright, " replied Billy. And then he stood up, disregarding his X Box, and took off through the front door.

His family lived across the street from the swamp. They were one amongst a row of similar rundown homes. Basically, it was the Houma ghetto. Billy's was the last house on the left.

It was a long trek to where he was going. He ignored the mosquitoes thirsty for his blood and kept an eye out for any snakes.

Finally, he reached the husk. He walked over to it, putting a hand on its decayed shoulder. It made him feel good; almost as if he were a part of the bayou itself.

He sidestepped around the pod and walked down to the shores of the swamp. That's where he'd buried the tuber.

At first, it had grown into a strange looking flower. It had sprouted a strange red-eye that seemed to stare at him. It had made him feel a bit scared, at first, but he'd quickly gotten over it. The plant was too beautiful to be scared of it.

Now, it was a mass of weeds and branches that seemed to form a kind of maze. It reminded Billy of a swamp house, since it appeared to have walls, a ceiling, and a door.

For a moment, Billy thought of the Swamp Man legend. Was that husk something that had contained him? Had he shed it like a snake does its skin? Would he be in trouble with the monster for taking the tuber?

Billy dismissed it. The husk was no more than wild plants and undergrowth that had grown together to look like a man. It was nothing more than that.

Last Saturday, when he'd gone to town to get a haircut, he'd heard the old men sitting around saying that the Swamp Man was responsible for the murders of a little boy and a truck driver. All of them were nodding in unison. Billy couldn't understand how they could believe in such a fairy tale.

Billy had gone to school with Seth Goodman. He hadn't really known the kid, as he'd been in another class, but he knew him well enough that when he was murdered to be scared that there was a killer on the loose.

He had no problem with his "be home before dark " curfew.

And now the night threatened to throw its blanket over the swamp.

He turned and ran back through the swamp house. Then he burned rubber soles running through the bog and back to his house.

By the time he reached his front door, he was no longer thinking about Swamp Man and things that go bump in the night.

Nope. All he wanted to know was what was for supper!

Abby's legs were spread far apart.

She was on an operating table. Down between her thighs was a doctor. She could see her blood staining his latex gloves. Around him there stood a gaggle of nurses.

"Don't worry, Miss Holland, " said the doctor. "It's coming out fine. "

Abby gasped for breath as she was rocked by a spasm of excruciating pain.

"Here it comes, " said the doctor. "It needs just a little bit more. "

Suddenly, from inside her, the baby leaped out. It jumped onto the doctor and hung there by his throat. Its fangs bit into the tender flesh of the doctor, ripping it open. And then it leaped at the screaming nurses. There faces were masked with the gore spewing from the doctor's ragged carotid artery.

Abby inched up out of the stirrups. And she could see the baby as it turned to look at her.

It was the color of a rotted turnip. Its head was bulbous on its little body. It had fangs and claws, both stained with gore. It turned to look at her and muttered one word:

"Mommy... "

Abby woke up.

What a nightmare. Her naked body was sweaty. She crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom. There she downed a Dixie cup of water.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

"That's the last time you watch a horror movie before going to bed, " she told herself.

Abby reached down and ran a hand across her nude belly. She couldn't yet feel a pooch. And she wondered what she was going to do. Would she get an abortion? Maybe have the child? And what would she tell the Swamp Thing?

"You really shit in your lunchbox this time, " she said into the mirror.

And then she went back to bed, pregnant with Johnny's baby.