Past, Present, Futile by Josh Whitener He must have been about sixteen. Just about the age when I started to get into the scene. Mind you I was still wet behind the ears, but at least then it was about who you know and what you thought you knew. I was down at the stand, fueling the addiction, when this worthless twat comes up from behind me. He plays it cool, which I give him credit for. Then he starts up random conversation with the clerk, asking about the weather and such. It wasn’t until he was a minute into the small talk when I knew what he wanted. Mind tricks are an easy thing to operate. It’s not like a surgical procedure or anything. Al it takes the right two kinds of minds. You’ve got your helpless guppy, and the “experienced” professional. Guess where I fit in. But he wasn’t after me. He could see I didn’t have shit, but the clerk did. He had a whole till full of it. I could’ve walked away. It might have given this kid a good rep, but I’ve got morals to, besides this is the best place that closets to me flat. I’ll be buggered if I loose an easy way to me Silk Cuts because some tosser thinks he’s the cat’s fucking meow. So I let him slide, just before I think the inevitable is about to happen, before I start up my own tricks. There was a point where the kid stopped entirely. He knew he couldn’t counterbalance. He knew I could turn his mind inside out if I wanted to. I just have that effect on people, right? Long story short he got spooked, took off as soon as he knew something was wrong. Must have missed counting on someone being there that knew about weird shit like this. That’s the not the half of it. I took a long way across to the Thames that morning. Watching the fog roll over the ends of the water as the sun (wherever it is) was about to rise into it’s permanent setting. It got me thinking. I started out the same way he did. All glamour and glitter for the first time around. The sickness you get in your stomach that makes you feel excited and terrified at the same moment. There wasn’t a moment that went by that I didn’t remember what had happened. Christ, it must have been a good fifteen minutes I just stood there and thought. After I got out of Ravenscar I was down and out. That incident with the Cooper’s about sent me back to the place again, too. But it was time to do things your own way. I had guilt to keep me company. That’s when I remembered what it was like. What it was like not to have things under your control. It was just like Newcastle. Almost… Fiji Islands – Kadavu January 8th 1982 5:00 p.m. “We’re not gonna get there in time are we, Constantine. Great…lost again.” Colin Wilkerson was stalking through a mess of vines and limbs as he hacked his way through another set. John Constantine was just ahead, checking a small compass in his hand. With a small sigh he pocketed it and reached for his cigarettes. His hands fumbled around them nervously and he tried to keep the sight of his shaking fingers from Wilkerson as he moved from behind him, sliding his machete into the sheath around his belt. “So? Where the hell are we? If we don’t get there in time none of this is even worth it. Fucking bugs and heat around here are making me sick…” Wilkerson went on. “Give it a rest, will ya? Should be just around this hill, that’s what the guide said.” Constantine replied irritated. Wilkerson sighed, moving with Constantine in a calm fashion before shaking his head as soon as the bastard looked away. Why the fuck did he get stuck with Constantine on this one? Five hours ago… “Bula” John tried his best to get accustomed to the language but the more he tried the more his mind tried to wander from it, plus the fact that this was not why he was here. The guide was not what was expected. About 30 minutes after they’d gotten off the plan there was a small boy standing near the car, and couldn’t have been more than 12 years old! He gave them a small smile, but John and Colin weren’t buying it. Wilkerson tightened up on is bag which resulted with a disgusted look from Constantine. “Whas’ the trouble, mate?” John asked The boy shouted in his native tongue which was totally missed by John. Wilkerson gave him a shrugs and told his to get in the car, apparently the boy was our driver. There wasn’t much fuss after that. They got in and soon they were down the roads and into the wet, humid sights of the island. The summer was just starting over here, and the change of weather was not doing either of them any good. John felt like he was getting a cold as a matter of fact. John tossed a bit as the car hit several bumps on the way, but kept quiet. He wasn’t in the mood for talking lately, especially with an ignorant shit like Colin Wilkerson, but that didn’t mean Colin didn’t have something to say. “We’re cutting this pretty close, Constantine. How long do you think it’ll take for us to get there.” He asked. Fuck if I know. He thought. “Getting cold feet, son? No worries this time, I’m not the one in charge, remember?” he replied with a small smirk. Inside, though, he was beating himself up. Colin Wilkerson heard about Newcastle. All the current players did. If there was a beat under the ground, they would know about it. Wilkerson was different though, he was a vicious little shit when he wanted to be. World traveling shit stain was how John would put it. Geographic magic, though, and not too many people can do that right. There’s too much feeding from the earth to even have a steady grasp on these. It’s always the high-strung ones though. He runs out of Los Angeles in the U.S. Must be a good place to start the trade. About two days before they arrived in the South Pacific there were three calls that were placed. One was to a group of Pagan’s in South London, and guess who they chose to lead a small crusade into tropical paradise? The other calls were not so conventional. The whole world runs on wires, just not the kind that involve rotary or dialing. Wilkerson was leaked into the whole situation by simple luck. He claimed to have been in the right place at the right time. The road led to a small clearing just before the dense areas of swamp that lie about three miles off the airport. Everything here felt like a sweatshop. The unwanted heat and sweat were enough to make a man go crazy. Paradise my arse! “You just better know what you’re doing, “mate”. This isn’t going to be something you can keep together without a straight mind. Of course you’ve already known that.” Wilkerson said. John just kept his eyes on the surrounding area, one hand resting over his rolled up long sleeved shirt. He brushed his hair back over his ears and then rested his other under his chin. “How long was it, John?” Wilkerson continued “Two? Three years since you’ve been inside something like this? I tell you, the coven must have their faith in you ‘cause…” John interrupted pulling his arm to snatch the label of Wilkerson’s shirt and pulling it slightly. “Listen you fucking, stupid sod. You’d be best not to keep bringing up shit you have no idea about. After all, I’m the one that knows where we’re supposed to be going, eh?” John let out a wide, grin. Wilkerson yanks John’s hand free and moved over on the seat as the car halted to an abrupt stop. Both the men shot forward, catching themselves on the front seat of the jeep with a startle. The boy turned to the both of them, yelling out another order. They had arrived at the base of a large portion of the swamps. This was their stop. Currently… Both of them stomped through the overthrowing layers of wooded swamp before they reached another clearing. This time is wasn’t as open as the last, but John could still manage to see a familiar set of hills. The arrangement was to meet at least a half hour ago. The smell of a small fire burning signaled him to move forward. Wilkerson followed shortly behind and as soon as the two could see two forms just ahead, John sighed, mostly out of relief. He lit up another cigarette and approached the already roaring fire. Harrison Levi stood over the fire. A pudgy man with his hands tucked into his kaki shorts and his balding scalp covered by his hat. He turned his head slightly as the two approached. Another man, Phillip Allen, sat at the fire on an old log idly prodding the fire with a large knife. Harrison was the first to speak as he smiled as John and Colin moved closer. “Gentlemen, I see your arrival was not met with any ill-will. Welcome.” He replied. John moved his bag off his shoulder and tossed it to the ground. He looked around, first at Harrison whom he’d already met before, and then to Phillip a new face to the group. “John, it’s good to see you again. It’s been awhile.” Harrison said giving him a calm pat on the shoulder. “Colin, a pleasure I’m sure.” There was a small hint of disappointment in his tone towards Colin. John knew he wasn’t stupid either. “What’s all this, then?” John said looking to the fire and tents. “We camp here tonight.” Phillip said from his place at the fire, his eyes still looking into it. “This is the last bit of land usable to sleep in. Once we get closer to the waters, well, we won’t be at the advantage. John gave Phillip a small glance, he looked like an islander. His hair was long, black, and pulled into a ponytail. His eyes looked like saucers as he stared into the fire. There was a moment where he looked up at John, somewhat disinterested but it could have also been paranoia. John was sure everyone knew what had happened to him. The incident at Newcastle and Ravenscar was like a plague and he doubted if it took him a lifetime he would never live it down. Harrison showed it in his eyes, Phillip in his silence, and Colin in his words. They all knew. “Cutting it a little close then, eh?” John said calmly to Levi “He’s right though. It’s best to keep our distance from the swamps until we can be ready. Go ahead and prepare your gear. It won’t be long until sundown and we all need some rest for the morning, I’d say.” Levi said John nodded and lit up another cigarette. Colin began working on his tent, but John moved aside, wandering around the clearing a bit while he smoked. It didn’t take long for the night to fall around them. The moon lit itself up fat and full around the clearing. John was outside the tents around the burning embers of the fire. As he lit another cigarette he turned and saw Levi approaching silently from behind him. The fire crackled as Levi sat near John. John continued to stare into the fire. “You know why you’re here, Constantine?” Levi asked quietly. John didn’t respond. In fact he glared at Levi, as if wandering how painful those coals are. Levi always did like to get involved into thing that weren’t his business. “I know you’ve asked that yourself, but if what you’re looking for is an honest answer then I afraid I can’t give it to you. It’s just something you’ll have to live with. We’ve all made mistakes, maybe some not so unspeakable, but we have made them.” Levi explained. John inhaled, still keeping quiet and still watching the fire. The embers burned around leaves and small chunks of wood. He could have sworn he saw her face inside those flames. The pattern on the sticks and ash made the pit more like a pair of jaws every minute he kept his eyes on it. He continued to listen as he rubbed his eyes. “You have to dissociate yourself from emotion here John. That’s the only way we’ll get this done. We need you to remain focused here; this isn’t going to happen like you think if we can’t count on you.” Levi said, as helpfully as he could. “The wanker’s already got his nose where it doesn’t belong then, eh? What’s his catch ‘ere, mate? Colin’s a watery bastard, why make him a part of this.” John asked quietly, though at any rate he didn’t care whether the man heard him given the fact that he was still awake. “This isn’t going to be easy, John. The natives don’t know we’re here but I’d guess it wouldn’t take them long to figure it out.” Levi answered back. “Everyone’s on the same side. You’d do best to remember that.” “Who’s this Allen geezer?” John asked. Levi shook his head. “He’s hired. We’ve got him for muscle. A poor state, he is. He’ll put up what we need from him. As long as they don’t complete the ritual and raise the elemental then we’ve done our job.” “I need some sleep, Levi.” John said quietly. “You just make sure your man knows what he’s doing. I’ve been researching the latest one, and I don’t care what kind of balance this little show will tip, you just don’t want to get near one of these things alone at all. Period.” Levi didn’t reply as John rose from the fire and made his way back to his tent. Zipping it up he climbed into the piece of shitty nylon and cotton he called a sleeping bag and within a few minutes he’d caught a chance to sleep. Repression is a science. It doesn’t work for everyone, only the ones that want it to work for them. I’m not the kind of person to fight for something I know is a loosing battle, not really, and I don’t think I ever will be. When things get too hard to deal with you run away and live to fight another day. That’s me one flaw. Bollocks! That’s what some people would want you to believe. Sure you’ll live to fight – fight yourself. I’ve had to deal with Astra’s whispers and screams since Rasvenscar but at least then I had the horrors of that bloody place to keep both her and me company. Sometimes I hate to sleep – haven’t had much of it since then. I remember reading a book about sleep hypnosis and learning about the different stages of sleep. I’m not sure how it works but that doesn’t help me. It can’t be more than an hour of forgetting when the nightmares start to happen. She’s standing below me, every time she is, and just looking at me at first. Her hair’s blowing up, like she’s standing on the wind. Those eyes are so innocent, burning into me like hot iron spears. I can’t take it anymore. I try to look away but I can’t. There’s too much misunderstanding and confusion in those eyes. I know well enough what’s going to happen, but she just keeps looking at me. Like a dog who’s been kicked by his owner. Why doesn’t she understand what she did there? I couldn’t keep it in line. The white around us turns back to that basement. No one else is there – it’s just me. The smell of gasoline and sweat fills my nostrils and I poke and prod for me cigarettes but I can’t find a fucking one. Christ. Even when I need a break in dreams I never get one. Whoever’s got control here it certain is never me. Her eyes continue to stare at me before she melts away, but it’s not that simple. The loud sounds carrying on were painful. I can’t shut my eyes or ears. I can hear the demon’s laugh vaguely over the growls of the terror elemental and Astra’s screams. Even though the rest of the Newcastle Crew wasn’t there Ben, Frank, Judith, Gary, and Sister Anne-Marie I can still hear their voices. I would try and scream meself but my voice is horse. Usually I would have had to seen Astra repeat her fall, but this time it was different. Someone ended it shortly, and I could have kissed him for that at that moment, but then again it’s always worse when I awake. “John?” Levi said shaking John awake. John’s eyes lifted open quickly. He gasped for breath. He could feel the sweat sticking his shirt to his back and chest. He panted, looking around frantically. “Easy there, mate. It’s alright. You’re having a dream.” Levi said trying to steady him. Outside the ten Colin shouted and then chuckled. “Good job, Levi. Great fucking help bringing this one with us....” “Piss off, Colin! Get the gear ready and tuck your bollocks behind your legs for preparation.” Levi said angrily. Colin scoffed and then turned to move past Phillip who was watching. John pushed Levi aside in a hurry and then moved to grab his shirt and button it. “Let’s go.” He said calmly. “You sure Jo…” Levi began. “Let’s go.” John repeated. The four of them had gathered up camp and disposed of everything they left behind. The fire was extinguished and covered with dirt. The clearing was left just as untouched as they found it. The trees started to vine out as they continued along the west towards the new site. John was in the middle, Phillip was leading and Levi and Colin brought up the rear. John lit a cigarette and passed his pack along to Phillip who helped himself to one. “What’s your end of this, squire?” John said quietly as he moved up to join him. He gave a small glance to his right and then sighed. “I’ve seen this happen before…on another island. It took weeks to stop and I won’t let it happen again.” Phillip answered. “Harrison says you know about these monsters.” “Not monsters really, not what I’ve seen. This could be something different though.” He said. “Then what?” Phillip asked. “They’re called Earth Elementals, and they’re often bloody necessities. Thing is they’re not supposed to happen voluntarily. Something else controls us whether we like to admit it or not, and the same thing can bring us some help. Newest one is in Louisiana, and been there for about two years now. Active bugger for a head of lettuce. When the time’s right I guess I’ll have to show myself and give him some pointers. We need it around a bit longer than the last one.” John replied. “So when they do happen in controlled circumstances?” “They won’t. At least that’s what we’re here to find out, eh?” John said with a wink. He inhaled on his cigarette and climbed over a large branch. Phillip nodded slowly and then sighed once more. “What they say happened to you. Is it true?” John didn’t respond. He gave a strong stare to Phillip and then looked away. Phillip didn’t ask again, and the next speaker was Levi as both he and Colin came up close to the others as they neared another clearing. “Stop here, gents. I think we’re close.” Levi said quietly. Colin carried a large rifle over his shoulder which, after Levi informed them of the location, he brought to his chest, ready to fire at the sound of a tree branch cracking. John noticed his choice in weapons and rolled his eyes. That’s just what they needed: another American cowboy. The four of them watched for a moment until Phillip pointed to something off to the left. It was small group, native islanders from the looks of them. It was too far to be sure but they all could make out a small structure near the small crowd. “That’s it.” Levi whispered. “Get yourselves ready, lads. Colin don’t you fucking kill them. We save the ammo for the creature if we’re too late.” “We won’t be if we don’t move now.” Phillip murmured. “Alright then, let’s go.” Levi said with a small sigh of hesitation. Inside the clearing both a mix of men and women were starting the drum beats. They were starting the chants too. One of them, a strong looking muscled male was making his way to the front of the hut, which on closer inspection looked more like an alter or pedestal. A large fire was burning inside it, letting the top flames rise to its cut out top. The flames licked and kissed the air barely catching the wood surrounding it on fire. The man made his way to the top, carrying a large skull. He yelled in his native tongue and presented the skull into the fire. In the back the crowd began to place blood on their faces, painting themselves with it for the ritual. Colin was the first. Levi had believed that if he was the first to be seen the sigh of the weapon would frighten them. John didn’t try to warn him what a terrific fucking idea that was and there was no real time to argue about it. Phillip moved to the right, a very close position to the crowd and John and Levi made their way up the center. The natives continued to prepare the necessities. There was a thin, older woman that was near the flames. Two men had positioned themselves near the end of the hut and moved towards the woman. John had noticed them applying something to her body. Several leaves were used to mix what John believed to be the right amounts of “ingredients”. “Never underestimate the power of the cauldron. They’re using something different. The lands have more tropical nutrients. Anytime your ready, Harrison old son. Once she gets on those flames she’ll be fucked.” John whispered as they moved closer. The distance from the group was considerable, but just as Levi was about to respond the chanting was ceased by several shouts. Levi turned to look. John noticed it first, the crowd hadn’t seen them yet, they were too far away, but they all turned to the left where Colin had run down to. Both men saw what had happened. Colin was holding his weapon out in front of him, parading in like some Nazi soldier slowly with a stern expression. “That stupid bastard!” John said getting to the ground. The moist soil dampened his pants as he and Levi tried to find come cover before the rest went searching. The natives grew quiet and Colin moved towards the closest one. His gun pointed straight in front of him. John and Levi watched from the gathering trees before the clearing. Two of the natives backed away at the sight of him. Colin continued on, collecting a few whispers and gasps that he knew he wanted. He tried to speak to them but they didn’t respond; it was clear these ones didn’t speak any English. John didn’t recognize them from the kinds he’d seen before. They looked older, more hidden than the rest. They all wore the same pattern of paint across their eyes and neck. The blood of an animal, or even one of their own it was just too vague to see. Colin steadied his rifle as he approached the center, the people moved aside from him like he was a disease, creating a path. With a small grin he looked to the large male who was returning from the fire. He stood straight, eyeing Colin more than the rifle. Again Colin tried to say something, but it seemed to be lost on the native. With a loud yelling Colin made his command, this time Levi and John heard it – “Move away” or something to that matter. John shook his head. “We need to stop this now or he’s going to get us all bloody killed.” Levi said, moving. John grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down. “Just wait. See where he takes this.” He said calmly. “What? He’s insane. There’s near a dozen of them.” Colin continued to stare at the man, his face not as nearly frozen as the one he pointed his rifle at. The native took several more minutes after he shouted and then smiled. It was simple enough; he spread his yellow, rotten teeth to Colin and then laughed. Soon, the others joined in as they saw the male doing so. In a matter of second they all were laughing, and spreading their wide smiles of rotten bone. Colin frowned, looking straight to see Phillip who was hiding himself like John and Levi. He raised the gun up slightly to a horizontal point and fired. The shot surprised everyone but the tall leader, and it was the closest to him. The bullet whizzed past the hut and snapped a tree branch. Phillip saw it fall a few feet from him and ducked behind the tree, mumbling a sting of curse words. As the shot fired the leader saw his chance, and so did the others. With a whistle the tall one looked to the others instantly… …and then the roof caved in. John and Levi rose from their position, Phillip had seen it too and was moving quicker than his two partners. They were like bees. Even though there were only about ten they swarmed around Colin. He moved to aim his rifle again, this time he got something through his cocky, idiotic skull. He aimed for the skinny woman near the fire and fired off a shot before he tried to run. It might have been his plan all along but the look on his face as John moved to the crowd was too chaotic to justify that theory. Another shot rang out, this time hitting something more alive than a tree branch, one of the guarding natives tried to move her out of the way before it was too late but the bullet went through his hand and to her gut. She fell with a scream and the man gripped his injured hand and knelt to the ground. The next scream came from Colin, just as Phillip joined the group. The other had flocked over him, grabbing what they could, rocks, sticks, and other using their own fists to pound away at him. Phillip pulled his knife and went for the outside of the circle. Colin’s gun was stripped from him and tossed aside. John rallied behind Levi and watched horrified. What was happening? The world imploded on them before they could have a chance to stop this. The woman was crawling on the ground, gripping her stomach with excessive wailing and crying. Her blood created chucky pools of red dirt under her. Another islander came from behind her and helped her up. Levi grabbed John’s shoulder and pushed him to the direction of the hut. “No!” he shouted. John looked and watched as the islander grabbed the woman and tossed her into the already awaiting fire. Her screams intensified as she hit the wooded structure and was consumed almost instantly. The fire grew around her body quicker than it would normaly, and she preformed the most intense self discipline exercise John Constantine had seen to keep her place in the fire. Philip was working his way into the crowd, trying to fight off the others to get to Colin. John rushed to the islander as he saw him continuing the ritual with the scarified woman. The islander was joined by the tall leader and the two began to add the remaining ingredients for the summoning. John moved as quickly as he could and without much thinking he rushed into the tall leader, knocking him aside. He didn’t think about fighting him, he knew that wouldn’t help with his size, but what he did see what an opening. The tall man fell to the ground and tried to regain his balance but John’s foot smashed against his mouth before he could think to do it again. It was just a second later before John felt a hard slam against the side of his head as the other islander knocked him into the hut. He hit the wooded structure and started to fall with a grunt. His arm extended to the fire and he yelled as he tossed something to the it. Levi had hurried to the woman who had gone for Colin’s rifle when it was tossed aside. She was trying to grab a hold of it and fire when he bombarded her and pushed her aside. By the time he turned, Phillip was being tossed and soon the pack had turned on him. John staggered from the ground as the islander’s regained there position and tossed a grained substance into the fire. With a shout, and yell the two men stood back. The tall one turned and screamed hysterically to his crowd who suddenly ceased their attack on Phillip who was about to be killed. John caught his first glimpse of Colin, and then turned away. His face was pulp and the rest of his body was bloody and swollen. John knew no man could get up after that beating. Levi, John and Phillip looked to the crowd, then to the fire. The others, oblivious to the three invaders, gathered closer to the hut and fire to view their creation. The two "magicians" leaned over the fire to inspect with gleeful smiles. Slowly they watched, John staggered away from the crowd as Phillip and Levi met up with each other. The fire crackled and died, slowly forming from a moderate bon to small brush. Levi looked to Colin while he panted and tried to regain his breath. The three of them were in disbelief, and Levi and Phillip looked to the fire with a frightened expression – everyone but John who was palming his sore head and reaching for a cigarette. The islanders watched as the fire died completely. “We’ve still got time.” Phillip said starting back towards them, knife gripped tightly. “Wait.” John said in a huff. The tall man cleared away the brush and wood trying to find the swampy earth below. The trees overhead were casting strange web-like shadows over the ground as the sun shined down on them. Slowly the ash and caracoled fragments of wood were cleared. The front man, the leader, backed up, form the wreckage grabbing his hand with a small wince of pain. He shook it frantically as if he had dipped into the fire itself. All at once they all backed up slowly. Behind the John smirked and lit his cigarette, still trying to catch his breath. As Levi moved to the side of the hut slowly, the group looked to him confused, they were no longer hostile. If anything it was Colin that set that train wreck in motion. What he saw was strange, indeed. On the ground, sprouted like a dead tree, was the form of the woman before, but her body was twisted, taking on the swamp like trees and tropical marsh around them. Her arms and legs were rooted into the ground, as was her back and bottom portion of her head. The front portion of her body was covered in a white crystallized shell. Only very thin portions of her were still recognizable. The islanders were stunned, they backed away horrified. The leader, looking at his hand had seen it had formed a boil from touching the bottom of her knee. He gasped, looking to the others and forcing his hand outward. They all gasped now and soon they backed away from him, looking even more startled and frightened. They scattered, again like a swarm, but taking different directions. John, Levi, and Phillip looked around to see them vanished, leaving all but two: the tall leader, and the man whose hand was still bleeding from the bullet wound. He staggered away slowly, still cradling his hand. The leader began to weep, looking over the remains of the woman with hysterical wailed. Tears streamed from his eyes as he crawled to her position. Her mouth was hung open and frozen in place from her prison. John looked to Levi and frowned, glancing back to the leader. “Got what you wanted. We’re done here.” He said moving away from them and started back down the way they came in. -- Levi wasn’t the most clever bleeder alive, but he did have heart, it just moved in the wrong directions sometimes. I told him before I caught the first place off that fucking island what exactly happened. Levi didn’t realize how long I’d been tracking the Swamp Thing in the States. The nutrients in the soil on Kadavu reacted well with what the islanders were putting in. I’d studied what was needed, almost all the correct chemicals to react with mine. Similar to nitrogen, it mixes with the earth and chlorophyll to form a shell. Very potent stuff once you get to it. Funny enough I never paid much attention to chemistry when I was a kid - couldn’t give you a formula that’s the truth. When it came down to it the pagan cult knew exactly why they sent me with them: experience. After Newcastle I didn’t think I had a shred of it, and Levi knew I did. Lucky for me and unlucky for him I suppose. I never had the nerve to show up at his funeral. Despite his connections to bastards like me the bloak had a long line of legitimate friends, none of which would want to see me show up a funeral I more than willingly was responsible for. After the incident in the South Pacific a lot things changed. Back home and everywhere the rest of them scattered the incident and blew it completely out of proportion. Some of them say we stopped the end of the world. Truth was we just balanced the scales. It wasn’t a few years later I found out why you couldn’t have two active earth elementals running around at the same time. Harrison was right. I heard Philip caught a bad run back where ever it was he was from and was killed in a drug raid in Mexico City. They burned Colin’s body in Kadavu and sent a letter to his family. Course no one knew we were supposed to be there so we had to fake it. Again it was me that was the last one standing. I got older, wiser, and more stable. The new Swamp Thing got more powerful and we had to put a stop to that, now the bugger lives the rest of his life contempt. That was the only time I had to deal with something like that and I’ll be happy if it’s the last. Newcastle wasn’t a bad dream anymore and I like to think I set things right again myself. Friends are coming and going now. Levi was the last real ally I had before what happened with Clarice. I had to run out on London for a bit. The only person I need is the last person I should see, but that’s the way it goes for me. Sometimes you have to do the unexpected to get a foothold back into your normal life. I just hope I don’t slip. <<< Back to Index