The sun was shining bright in the afternoon sky. A light breeze kept the citizens of Megaton from feeling the heat, as did the inside of Moriarty's. The saloon's occupants drank as the metal structure groaned in the wind. Some laughed with their friends and others complained with them. Only one person was left by himself at the bar. A man with a brown leather duster, a pre-war hat, sunglasses, and two visible weapons: a hunting rifle on his back and a .44 Magnum without a scope.

Everyone kept a slight distance from him. Even Moriarty didn't bother to get too close to the man to offer more drinks. If he wanted another beer, the man would ask for one. No one goes close to a heavily armed man when it's clear he'd like to drink alone.

A pair of traders on the other end of the bar started discussing with themselves who he might be. They'd never seen anyone dressed the way he was.

"I'm tellin' ya, Pete, he's gotta be some kind of raider."

"Come on, Manny. You know as well as I do that they don't let raiders in here. He's gotta be some kind of mercenary. Look at the guy. He's got enough guns."

Finally, Gob turned to them and said, "He ain't either. You're not even close, guys."

Manny sneered at Gob. "Alright then, Zombie. What IS he, then?"

Groaning at the cliched nickname, he went on drying washed shot glasses. "He's one of those Regulators. You know, the 'law bringers' of the Wastes? Go out and kill people who do bad things to others out there?"

Pete looked the man over as he drank his beer. "So, that's what they look like, eh?"

Manny gave the man one quick look and said, "Doesn't look like much to me. Not surprised he's a Regulator."

His fellow trader looked at him and replied, "Oh? And why do ya say that?"

Manny simply shrugged. "I've heard a lot of stories from people who've seen them. From what I've heard, they're not good at fighting at all. Just a bunch of people with guns and delusions of righteousness."

Gob looked up from a half-dried glass. "I wouldn't believe those people if I were you. The Regulators are actually pretty good at what they do."

Manny gave the ghoul a smirk. "Oh yeah? Ever seen one in action? Ever seen HIM in action?"

Gob dropped his gaze back to the glass. "No. But I'm guessing you haven't either."

Laughter and ruckus was heard outside the saloon. The sounds of people who were in the mood to start trouble and looking for a good place to get it going. "Sounds like we'll get to see which one of us is right, Zombie," said Manny with a smile.

"Willing to bet five caps on it?"

He gave the ghoul a quizzical look, then nodded. "Yeah, sure. Why not? It's a safe bet on my part." They shook on it and watched as the trouble makers came in.

They were three mercenaries from the look of them. Each had a pistol on their belts. They were laughing and shouting at one another. Their leader addressed the saloon's occupants while one of his buddies snatched a beer from one of the costumers. "Attention ladies and gentlemen! We just happen to be the [censored] best band of mercs you'll ever see in this or ANY lifetime!"

Moriarty approached the new arrivals not bothering to hide his annoyance. "Listen, lads. You can act like ruffians all you want out there. But in my bar, you will need to obey the VERY simple rules in here, which are 'do not drink anyone's booze but your own,' " he said looking at the man who stole the beer, "and 'do not try to start any kind of trouble while you are in my establishment.' Alright?"

The merc leader just burst out laughing. He turned to his companions and, still laughing, said, "Can you believe this guy? He thinks he can [censored] tell us what to do?" He turned back to Moriarty. "Is that what you were doing, old timer? Were you telling us what to [censored] do?"

Moriarty walked right up to him until they were only a few inches apart. "Yeah, you little punk. That's what I'm doing. If you don't like it, then get the [censored] out." They both just stood there for a few seconds, neither one of them backing down. The silence hung heavily in the saloon, making the tension go up tremendously as each second passed.

The merc leader shoved Moriarty away from him with tremendous strength, causing him to stagger back several steps before toppling backwards over a bar stool. All the mercs just started laughing hard than before. "You really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut, old timer!" laughed the leader as he pulled out his 10mm pistol, and aimed it at Moriarty's chest. The saloon owner's eyes grew wide as he saw the weapon point at him.

"Alright, that's enough, son." Lucas Simms had his Chinese assault rifle leveled at the back of the leader's head. "You need to remember that good manners are needed if you're going to stay in this town for any period of time."

The merc with the stolen beer smashed his beverage over the sheriff's head, splashing beer and glass everywhere. Once again, the group of young mercenaries nearly fell over from laughing. "Yeah? Well then, you should've remembered that pointing a gun at a GUEST is bad manners," said the leader as he took the rifle from the dazed sheriff. He handed the weapon to one of his men before saying, "Is there anyone else who thinks that we're behaving badly?" He looked around with a smile at everyone, as though the very idea was a great joke. "Anyone at all?"

"You know, you really should quit while you have a chance, kid." His voice wasn't loud at all, but everyone heard him very clearly. They all turned to look at the man in the leather duster. The customers had a look of horror as their eyes jumped from the mercs to the man at the bar. The mercs looked at him with dumbfounded expressions, as though he had just insulted all of their mothers at the same time. He just sat there calmly finishing his beer before saying, "You never know what you're actions may cause to happen to you and your friends."

The leader of the mercs took a step closer to the man. "What the [censored] did you just say to me?"

"You also might want to lay off on the swearing. If you use those words too much, people might think you have an exceptionally small vocabulary." The leader made a look that suggested that he just got slapped. His two companions exchanged looks with each other that said, Oh, this guy is gonna get it.

Their leader stepped right behind the man, his face as red as a box of Dandy Boy Apples. "Care to repeat tha-"

"What's your name, kid?"

The merc just stood there for a second, his face trying to decide whether to look confused about being asked that question or insulted for being interrupted. Finally, he said, "What?"

The man turned his head enough so he could see the merc out of the corner of his eye. "Your name. What is it?"

Blinking a little in utter confusion, he said, "Um, it's Sam. Why do you-"

"Alright, Sam," interrupted the man again, "here's the deal. I'm Daniel Smith, and I'm a Regulator. That means that if you do anything that I deem as unjust or exceptionally harmful to others, I'll have to kill you. But, I'm willing to give you a chance to walk away and change your behavior so that it will never happen. You understand?"

Sam's eyes grew wide and filled with fury. "Did you say you're a Regulator?"

"Yes I did. I ALSO said, I'd give you a chance to change your ways so I don't need to kill you."

The merc didn't seem to hear the second part of what Daniel said. "Wow, man. We don't like Regulators. I mean we REALLY don't like Regulators." He turned to his men and said, "Do we, guys?" They both shook their heads, but their wide eyes said that they were more scared of them than anything. Sam turned back to Daniel. "Like I said, we don't like them. You know what we do when we see one?"

"Stay away and behave yourselves, if you're smart."

Sam went on as though he didn't hear. "We kill them. We kill them, put their heads on sticks, and warn any others that they aren't as tough as they think. Ain't that right, boys?" He didn't look back to see that instead of nodding, they gave each other worrying looks. They did, however, tense up, like a dog that knows it'll need to fight.

Daniel got up from his seat at the bar and turned to face Sam. The merc couldn't see his eyes through the sunglasses, but he felt their stare all the same. He hated it. He scoffed and said, "Man, I'm gonna enjoy smashing your face in."

"So does that mean you won't take my offer?"

"You're [censored] right I won't!" he shouted as he threw a punch at Daniel's face. The Regulator stepped to the left, caught his forearm, and used the merc's momentum to get him off balance. But he wasn't finished there. When Sam started losing his balance, Daniel pulled his arm behind his back and slammed his head on the bar with enough force to make the drinks on it bounce a little. While the merc was stunned, Daniel pulled out a combat knife from inside his duster and slammed it through his shoulder, pinning him to the bar. His scream of agony made everyone in the saloon flinch.

The Regulator leaned down next to his ear and said, "I warned you. And you really should cut down on the swearing. You don't really sound all that intimidating while you do it."

Through his cries of pain, Sam was finally able to say, "What are you doing just standing around? KILL THIS [censored] ALREADY!!!"

One merc pulled out his 10mm pistol and aimed it at the Regulator, only to see the barrel of a .44 Magnum pointed squarely at his face. Sweat immediately started dripping down his face and off his chin. His partner who was given the Chinese assault rifle brought it up to bear on Daniel and discovered that the Regulator had pulled his hunting rifle from his back and had it aimed at his head. The three of them stood there for what seemed to be an unbelievably long time. The two mercenaries stood there, shaking while their clothes become more and more drenched in their perspiration. Daniel stood their as solid as a stone, while only his eyes moved from one gunman to the other.

Sam, unable to see what was going on, shouted, "Hey! I'm not hearing any gunshots! Just kill him already!" The two other merc's breathing became sharper and faster, sweat now flowing freely down their faces as they stared into Daniel's stern, unflinching face. "SHOOT HIM!!!"

The two let out half-strangled battle yells as they prepared to fire, but they just wasted time. The Regulator pulled both his triggers at once. The two bodies fell backwards and hit the floor at the same time, sounding like one body, their guns falling where they once stood. Blood began to pool underneath their heads.

"Did we get him?" asked Sam. "I can't see."

Daniel holstered his weapons and walked over to the bar. He leaned down next to Sam's face and just glared at him. The young merc's grunts and cries of pain turned into whimpers of fear. Finally, Daniel said, "I said cut down on the swearing, Sam." With that, he went over to the dead bodies. He found a knife on the one with the 10mm and used it to cut of both of their right index fingers. Then, he helped up both Moriarty and Simms. He paid for his beer, told Simms "He's all yours," and left the saloon.

Silence hung in the room for a minute. Then, everyone went back to the conversations they were having before. After a couple failed attempts, Simms pulled the combat knife out of Sam's shoulder and took him out of the building.

Pete and Manny slowly turned and looked at each other. Gob leaned over a little and said, "I think I won that bet, Sir." Manny glared at the ghoul as he handed him five caps, and Pete couldn't stop laughing at his friend's misfortune.

Not bad. I like the occasional regulator story.

It also looks like Daniel can serve up some swampland justice.

i cant WAIT for the next part
good job
:celebration:

The dust blew in swirls around the Regulator HQ. The Brahmin stood around lazily in the fenced in yard just outside the building's front door. The place gave a rather calming feeling to Danielle as he approached. It was one of the few places where he felt completely at peace. As he got closer, he waved to another Regulator who was feeding the herd.

The door creaked slightly as he went inside. Music could be heard from the radio in another room as other Regulators went about their usual business. Some cleaned their weapons, others were talking to each other over some whiskey. A few looked up as Danielle entered through the door and nodded their greetings. He answered them with a nod of his own and walked up the stairs.

In a room upstairs, Sonora Cruz was finishing up the final debriefing of another law bringer. As she was finishing, Danielle leaned against the wall, patiently waiting. When the two were done with their business, the Regulator handed over a small bag of fingers which Sonora exchanged for some caps. The law bringer walked out, giving Danielle a friendly nod, which he returned.

"So, had enough relaxation at Moriarty's?" asked Sonora with a smile.

Danielle pulled out the two fingers he had stashed in his pockets. "Not as relaxing as I had hoped."

One of Sonora's eyebrows shot up. "Troublemakers in Megaton? I thought the place was better guarded than that."

Danielle sat in a nearby chair and placed the fingers on the table. "They were just a group of arrogant, cocky merc's. Probably just finished their first successful contract. They weren't exactly a big problem. Just took people by surprise is all."

His leader took the fingers and replaced them with some caps. She placed the fingers in a box to be disposed of later. "Well, I'm sorry that you didn't get the relaxing time you had originally wished for, but I'm going to have to send you back out into the field again."

"That's fine with me," said Danielle as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "I could do with something to do."

"I wouldn't thank me just yet. You're not going to like it, Smith."

"Oh, come on," laughed Danielle. "Why wouldn't I like it? You know I love this job."

Sonora gave him a very serious look. "It's not the job you won't like. It's the location."

He could feel his heart suddenly sink. He slowly sat up and said, "What's the location?"

Sonora looked him right in the eye and said, "You're going to be leaving the D.C. area and traveling by boat. It'll take you along the coast until you reach Point Lookout." Danielle had the look of a man who was just punched in the gut. "That's right. You're next assignment is going to take you back home."

He stood up, took off his sunglasses, and calmly said to her, "You know how much I hate that place, what I had to do to get out of there."

She replied, equally as calm, "Yes, I do. You've told me on more than one occasion."

"Then why are you sending me back there?"

"Because no one knows that place as well as you do. We need someone who knows the lay of the land, its people. We need someone who can get this done, and done right."

He turned around and walked toward the wall, practically fuming. "I can't believe you're doing this to me, Sonora! After everything I've told you, you still-"

"DANIELLE!!!" Hearing her shout his name like that made him turn back sharply. She was livid and he could see her balled fists quite clearly. "Stop acting like a child, and grow up! It's not a permanent assignment, for God's sake! We need you on this one because people could end up dead!"

Danielle took a deep, slow breath before saying, "Alright, fine. What's going on?"

Sonora closed her eyes and stretched out her fingers, calming herself down. She finally opened her eyes again after a few seconds and said, "Okay. There have been some disappearances in that area, lately."

Danielle shrugged. "It could just be the swamp folk again. Shouldn't be too much."

"That's what I thought at first too. However, there have been sightings of something up there as well. I think it could be connected. I want you to check it out."

One of his eyebrows rose up slightly. "Sightings of what, exactly?"

Sonora shook her head, saying, "No one's really sure. All we've really been told is that it looks like a man, at first."

"At first?" said Danielle. "You're starting to make this sound like a ghost story."

"Hopefully, that won't be the case. It might just be someone who found a miraculously intact costume. However, I can't help but feel that it might be more than that."

"Understood," he said. "When do I leave?"

"Right now," replied Sonora. "We need these disappearances to stop as soon as possible. The boat will be waiting for you when you get to the dock."

"Got it." Danielle started heading out of the room.

"Danielle!"

He paused, and turned back to Sonora. She walked up to him and kissed him lightly on his lips. "Please," she said, "be careful on this one."

He smiled at her, pulled her close, and gave her a longer kiss. When their kiss finally ended, he said, "Don't worry. I'll be back." With that, he put his sunglasses back on and walked out of the building.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set when Danielle finally got to the dock. The shadows of the destroyed D.C. buildings on the other side of the river basin nearly reached the dock itself. The wind had died down, giving the ruins an eerie stillness to them.

As Danielle approached the boat, he could easily see the name of the vessel, Duchess Gambit, painted on the side of the hull. He looked around for the ships owner, but couldn't find her skipper.

"Anyone here?" he asked loudly.

"I'm down here!" came a familiar voice from below deck. He entered one of the ship's doors and peered in. At the bottom of a ladder was a young woman with bright orange hair, and she was nearly covered from head to toe with oil and grease.

Danielle couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Trying a new look, Nadine?"

"Oh ha ha," she replied, smiling. "I was just tinkering with the engine a bit. Seeing if I could make her more fuel efficient. You know?"

"No, I don't know."

"Well, if you think purified water and medical supplies are expensive, you haven't seen how much it costs to get this girl her fuel." She climbed up the ladder onto the deck. "So, what can I do for you, Danny Boy?"

He stiffened up a little at the nickname. "You know I don't like that name."

"Well, my boat, my rules. So, tough," she replied happily, heading to the helm. "Your other Regulator buddies say you need me to take you somewhere. Another mission up north?"

He shook his head. "Nope, not this time. We're going south... to Point Lookout."

Nadine stopped and turned to face him, surprise showing on her face. "Oh? I thought you didn't like it there."

"I don't, but that's where I need to go."

"Trouble on the home front?"

"Something like that," he said.

Nadine shrugged and continued on her way to the helm of the boat. "Okay, then. If you want, there's a cleaning kit for guns in the cabin. You can use it, if you'd like."

Danielle started heading for the cabin, saying a quick "Thank you" over his shoulder. He went into the room, found the kit, and got to work on his weapons. After both his hunting rifle and revolver were cleaned, he took out a new combat knife and whet stone and started sharpening up the blade. Soon, the sun had set and he went to sleep.

He dreamed of being in the trees at Point Lookout. The air felt cold and he could sense that something was with him. He couldn't see it, but he felt it just the same. A fog had rolled in. He knew that whatever was in the trees with him was the cause of it. Then, he saw a shape. He couldn't make it out, but he knew that it was the unknown entity. Terror gripped his heart and mind. He couldn't move or make a sound. The entity began to move toward him. He wanted to run and get as far from the thing as he could, but his body wasn't listening.

The ship's bell woke him up, a gift from Heaven. He recognized the familiar smell of the docks, the slight moisture in the air. He gathered his weapons and items and stood on the deck, watching as they pulled up to riverboat landing. When the boat was tied off, Nadine found him leaning on the boat's railing, just staring through his sunglasses at the fair grounds that joined the docks.

"Welcome home, Danny Boy," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "Home sweet home. See you around, Nadine." He stepped off onto the dock and began walking toward the fair grounds. "Let's get this over with. This place is already giving me the creeps again."

I must congratulate you, Bobble, for successfully making a story that I am interested in and will continue to monitor per future chapter. Curiosity overwhelms me each time I read the story, and am satisfied that you know how to properly start a story, but also importantly, continue it. I await the next chapter, and urge you to take your time between them and not rush them such as some writers do. Make each chapter unique and well in its own right. Good job.

I'm very happy to see you continue this story. I was starting to think you quit after chapter one!

It was a very good chapter, but I do have just one concern. It takes one in-game month to reach Point Lookout. Danielle should be on the Duchess Gambit for quite some time.

Really? For me, it only took a day. And I would've posted sooner, but I just found the time to get back to work on the story a few days ago.

One of the only fan fics I've read that I actually wantkeep reading, IMO, the dialouge/grammar/ derail and all that.

This is really interesting mate, I'll be keeping an eye on this fan fic now

XD Slenderman. Sooooo good.

Very interesting. I now consider myself a fan of this. Great work.

Sorry about the late posting. Been a bit busy.




The smell of the docks brought back memories, memories that Danielle had hoped would never resurface. Images of constantly hiding from the swamp folk and the memory of feeling half starved each day came back to life in his mind. He quickly put them back in the far recesses from where they had been for so long. He had a job to do and it wouldn't do to have those thoughts going through his mind, possibly distracting him from slight details that could make a huge difference in his investigation.

He entered the broken down fair grounds, feeling and uneasy nostalgia as he looked at the too familiar buildings. His eyes constantly scanned the area, keeping a look out for anyone who might be there and who might have any information about what was going on here. As he kept walking along, it soon became clear that he wouldn't find much life in the fair grounds. However, he knew of one person who was always going to be there, probably until her dying days. Danielle just hoped that it had been long enough that she wouldn't recognize him. The idea of rekindling old acquaintances here wasn't a pleasant prospect for him.

He continued walking until he found what he was looking for. Her shop hadn't changed much at all, since he left. It was in the same broken down carnival shooting range, with the same kind of merchandise as the last time he had seen it. Even the same Protectron was still there, patrolling the area in front of the small shop. And she too was still there. It astonished and amazed Danielle that she looked exactly the same as when he last saw her, so many years ago.

He walked up to the counter and was about to speak when she looked up, and said in a happy tone, "Danielle Smith! Oh, it is so good to see you again, child. I knew you would be coming back again. I have seen it."

Of course you did, he thought to himself. He had completely forgotten about her "visions". He gave a small smile and said, "Hello, Madam Panada. It's been a while."

She nodded, a pleasant expression on her face. "Indeed it has, young man. Indeed it has." Her expression grew serious and somber. "I also know why you are here."

"Oh really?" he said, expecting her to say something along the lines of him needing to return home to cure his growing homesickness.

"Yes, I do. You are here to investigate the disappearances that have been occurring here, and to find out who, or what, the strange visitor that has been spotted here is."

Danielle's eyes grew wide and his eyebrows shot up above his sunglasses. Well, this vision went full out. "Yes, that's right. Would you happen to know anything about what's been going on here?"

"I know that it is a very dangerous journey you have chosen to take. The thing you seek is more not something to be taken lightly."

Danielle was starting to feel pretty good about how this conversation was going. From the sound of things, Panada had some good information to get his investigation started on the right foot. "Are you saying that whoever this stranger is, he's responsible for the disappearances?"

Panada nodded again. "That he is. I do not know where he takes them, or why. Only that they will never return."

That's not a good sign. "I see. You have any more info on this guy?"

"Only this; most who see it are never heard of again."

"I noticed you said 'most'," he pointed out.

She nodded and pointed away from the fair grounds. "There's a man currently in the Homestead Motel over there. He has seen the creature, and lived to tell about it. So far, it hasn't come back for him, but I fear for his continued safety."

Danielle remembered the Homestead Motel quite clearly. It seemed to be one of the few safe havens he had when he was young. It was strangely comfortable, too. It seemed to give an air of security. He could clearly understand why the man had decided to take refuge there.

"Thank you, Panada. You've been extremely helpful." And with that, he turned and headed to the motel.

As he walked on, he heard her say, "Be careful, child. Great evil has fallen here, and is waiting for those who are unwary."

The walk to the motel took only a couple minutes. Most of the rooms had been boarded up from the outside, so he skipped those, knowing there was no way that the man could've been able to get into any of them and board them back up. The first room he checked was empty of any occupants, save a skeleton on the bed. The second, though, was locked, and the only way it could be was if someone had locked it from inside.

He knocked on the door and said, "Hello? Is anyone in there?" A minute passed by and there was no reply. "My name is Danielle Smith. I'm a Regulator. I just wanted to ask you some questions, that's all." Still no reply. "I'm investigating the disappearances that have been occurring here lately, and I've been told you may have seen the one responsible."

For several moments, there was no sound. Then a scared and shaky voice said, "That's all?"

"That's all."

There was movement from inside, a few locks clicked on the door, and it opened slightly, showing that there was still a chain lock keeping the door from opening completely. Inside was a man in what used to be a shirt and a pair of slacks, but were now rags that barely held onto each other. He was sweating and shaking. "How do I know you're not it in disguise? How do I know you're not gonna kill me?"

"If I was going to kill you, I would have done it as soon as you opened the door." The man's eyes grew wide and he began to shake even more. Danielle quickly added, "Since I haven't, that mean's that I'm not going to. Right?" The man thought about this for a moment, and relaxed a little as the logic sank in.

"What's your name?" asked Danielle.

After a few seconds, the man finally said, "Charles."

"Well, Charles, may I ask you some questions?" Charles nodded. "Where did you see this man?"

"It wasn't a man. I mean, it looked like one, but it wasn't. It's something else."

Danielle was a little surprised to hear this. "Um, okay. What is it then?"

Charles shook his head. "I don't know. Evil, I guess. Pure evil."

"What does it look like, then?"

"It looks like a man, wearing an old black suit that doesn't even look dirty. It's tall and thin looking. And it had long limbs."

"What were the facial features on him?" asked Danielle.

"Nothing."

Danielle blinked and asked, "What?"

"It had no facial features. No eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears, not even any hair. But you can feel it when it looks at you. Feel it's stare pierce through you." Charles then pointed out to the trees. "I saw it out there, about an hours walk or so. That's all I can say. Goodbye."

Before Danielle could say anything else, Charles slammed the door shut and locked it back up. Realizing he wouldn't be able to get another peep out of the man, he turned toward the trees and started walking.

* * *

An hour had passed, and Danielle found himself deep within the trees of the home he didn't want to return to. The trees were just as he remembered, disturbing with a hint of spooky. Avoiding puddles of irradiated water and gas swamps, he thought about the words Charles had said describing the stranger. It had no facial features. No eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears, not even any hair. But you can feel it when it looks at you. Feel it's stare pierce through you. Not quite the description he'd been expecting. He doubted that the man really didn't have any facial features. It was probably just dark and Charles was too spooked out to get a real good look. Yet he couldn't escape the feeling of familiarity when he thought about it.

Why do I feel like I know what he was talking about? he thought to himself. He stopped for a second to lean against a tree for a quick rest and to take in his surroundings. As he looked around he got a sudden shiver that went through his whole body. He recognized where he was; he had seen these surroundings not too long ago. It was a complete replica of the woods from his dream. Every detail was almost exactly the same, from the trees around him to the cold air. There were just two things missing.

"At least there's no fog," Danielle observed.

As though it was just waiting for him to say those words, the fog rolled in, as impenetrable as a Vault's door. Danielle walked a few feet away from the tree he rested on. "Well, this is good," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "And cue the creepy shape."

He turned around, and there was indeed something there, in a small area clear of fog. It was a bald, slim looking man, wearing a black business suit that was completely clean. The man had his back to Danielle, so he didn't see the regulator pull the hunting rifle from his shoulder and aim it at him. Just looking at the man gave him a chill through out his entire body. Aside from that, the man matched very closely to the description Charles gave him. There was no doubt in his mind that this was stranger, and possibly the "evil" that Panada mentioned.

Danielle called out to the figure. "Hold it right there! I have you in the sights of my rifle. My name is Danielle Smith. I'm a Regulator. I have some questions I'd like to ask you. Turn around so we can talk, but slowly." The figure didn't move.

"I said turn around." The man still did not move.

"This is your last warning. Turn. Around. Now." Then, the figure turned and faced Danielle. The front of his suit was as unnaturally spotless as the back, but that's not was surprised Danielle the most and filled him with terror. Charles' description wasn't close; it was exactly right. The man had absolutely no facial features to speak of. Not even any eyes. However, he could still feel the man's stare, piercing him like cold steel.

Okay, this is probably the single most bizarre thing I've seen so far, he thought. Then, the man began to grow, his arms and legs elongating to unnatural lengths. Danielle then saw movement behind the figure, and his blood froze in his veins when he realized what it was. Tentacle-like limbs were growing out of the man's back and raising him several feet off the ground.

The Regulator could only stare on as the creature started to move slowly towards him, seeming to glide more than walk with those tentacles. He could understand why Charles said it was pure evil. The power of it's eyeless stare felt as though it came from the depths of Hell, second only by the devil himself. When the creature was about 30 feet away, it raised one of its slender arms, reaching for the man standing in terror.

Danielle couldn't move or speak. All he could think was, I'm gonna die here. This thing's gonna kill me. What can I do?

A voice in his mind said, You can fight.

The voice, although surprising, gave the Regulator some comfort. He asked it, How?

It replied, You're still the one holding the rifle, aren't you? Danielle somehow managed to pull his eyes away from the monstrosity that was still getting closer, it's out stretched hand 20 feet away, and looked at the hunting rifle that was in his shaking hands. He could feel the weathered wood of the body and the cold metal of the trigger. Use it, the voice said.

15 feet.

His hands remembered the power of the weapon, it's strength. They steadied, and brought the weapon to bear on the approaching figure.

10 feet.

Danielle closed his eyes, and breathed in the cold air. His face grew a look of determination once again. His body ceased its shaking, the fear leaving his body.

5 feet.

His eyes snapped open, and he fired his rifle, hearing it roar in the cold air, feeling the weapon recoil against his shoulder. The bullet struck the creature in it's featureless face, sending ripples across it. Its out stretched hand flying to its face, it let out a strange sound. It wasn't a yell, a growl, or a roar, but a strong vibration in the air. It was a sound that was more felt than heard.

Danielle wasted no time loading another round into the chamber. He fired again at the monster, seeing the projectile's impact push the beast. He worked the bolt again, and fired. One of the creature's many tentacles moved back to keep it from falling over.

Danielle racked another round in, but the creature lashed out with one of its tentacles, throwing the Regulator several feet to the side. He shook the stars out of his vision and rolled onto his back and saw the monster moving towards him once again. He lost his rifle in the fall, so he pulled out his .44 and aimed it at his foe. He fired three rounds before the monster's hand shot out and wrapped it's fingers around his neck.

Natural instinct made the Regulator's hand release his weapon and go to the creature's wrist. He was soon raised off the ground, struggling against his oppressor's strength. His vision was blurring over and he knew he couldn't last long like that. His weapon's were on the ground, so that option was out. Then he remembered his combat knife. He reached into his duster, unsheathed the blade, and drove it into the beast's arm with as much force as he could manage.

It let loose another sound that shook the air and dropped its victim. Danielle landed hard, and was dazed for a moment. His hand touched the grip of his revolver. He clutched the weapon tightly, got up, and ran as fast as he could manage into the fog. However, within a few seconds, he could hear the creature in hot pursuit. He dared a look over his shoulder and saw it gaining on him fast. There would be no way for him to outrun the monster, so he turned around and fired the three remaining rounds of his weapon at his pursuer.

The creature charged with an out stretched hand, grabbed Danielle's neck again, and slammed him into a tree. Stars filled his vision, and he could feel the pressure of the monster's grip increase, closing off his airways. His legs kicked out, but to no avail. He was out of options with no where to go, and odds were good that unless a miracle occurred, this creature was going to send him to whatever awaited on the other side.

Miracles, it would seem, still loved to come in at the last minute. He saw a large glass bottle with a flame come flying at the creature that was trying to suffocate him, a molotov from a guardian angel. It struck the beast full in the back, lighting it almost completely on fire. It let out another sound like the others and released Danielle, letting the air rush back into his burning lungs as he crumbled to the ground. It staggered for a little bit, then ran off into the fog.

The Regulator's energy was gone, and he continued to lay on the ground. His eye's soon closed, and he embraced unconsciousness with a grateful heart.

Very excellent! Straight forward and good. Have not finished it all yet but intend to do so soon. Looking forward to reading more of your writing.

This is very good! I am interested to see what's going to happen next, please keep them coming out.

No dreams came from the quiet embrace of unconsciousness. Danielle could've been in that calm abyss for hours or even days; both felt equally right. It didn't really matter to him, though. He felt at peace here. There was no pain, no worry, no urgency, and nothing that looked like it wanted to disembowel someone. Instead, everything was calm and warm. He felt as though he could stay here forever.

The memory of his mission started to come back to him, as did the encounter he had with the creature. The knowledge that he needed to make sure the thing didn't hurt anyone else came back in a rush, bringing with it some light into the dark abyss of unconsciousness. As the light grew, he could hear a voice calling to him, telling him to wake up.

Danielle opened his eyes, slowly. He recognized the room. The faded wooden bookshelves looked the same as the day he left. The same smell of must and mold hung in the air, bringing with it a euphoric sense of dread. The books, many of which were completely unreadable, were still scattered about in every direction. The chair he was sitting in even felt the same. He looked around, hoping that he wouldn't see the last person he would want to be near again.

His hope died as soon as he saw the old man. Apart from a few extra wrinkles, he looked the same as he had the day Danielle had left. His hair was just as white as ever, and his eyes just as cold. The smile he wore on his face gave the Regulator an all too familiar shiver. "Hello, Mr. Blackhall."

The old man chuckled. "My, my. Come now, Jacob. Is that anyway to greet your father after all these years, and after saving your life, too?"

Danielle looked away. "My name isn't Jacob, anymore. Hasn't been for years. And you're NOT my father anymore, either."

"Very amusing," said Mr. Blackhall, dryly. "Yes, I remember the letter you left for me to find when you ran away. I can understand wanting to get out on your own and seeing the world, or what's left of it. But to take your mother's name instead of the one I gave you? Isn't that a bit much?"

"The whole point was so that I WOULDN'T have that name. I'm not a Blackhall, anymore. I'm a Smith, like my mother."

"How sweet," grunted the old man. "So, what's with that fancy coat of yours?"

Danielle looked down at his duster, surprised that it didn't even have a tear in it. "It's my Regulator duster."

"It's a what?"

He knew that his father's hearing wasn't that bad, but he repeated himself, anyway. "My Regulator duster."

Blackhall began laughing hard enough that he needed to lean up against a bookshelf to keep from falling over. When he finally gained control of his breathing again, he said, "You don't mean you're actually one of those overly ambitious fools, are you?"

Trying not to let Blackhall have the satisfaction of seeing him angered, he calmly said, "Yes, I am. We're actually quite good at the service we bring out there."

He laughed again. "Service? What service?"

"We protect the innocent and down-trodden from those who would harm or take advantage of them."

"Well, son-"

"I'm not your son."

"-you need to understand that that's how the world works now." He walked over to a table near where Danielle was sitting, picked up a glass of whiskey, and took drink before continuing. "For nearly 200 years, the world's been divided into those with the strength to get what they want and those who are too weak to get anything but an early grave."

Danielle stood up, feeling the sore muscles in his back and legs giving very profound protests. "That's why we're there, Obidiah. We are the ones who change that."

The old man's smile vanished. "Don't ever call me Obidiah, again."

"Why? What's wrong with it, Obidiah?"

He set the glass back down on the table. "I'm warning you, boy."

Taking a step towards him, Danielle said, "Warning me about what, Obidiah?"

He didn't even notice the gun until it's barrel was under his chin. Blackhall had moved faster than anyone the Regulator had every seen.

Seeing the astonishment on his face, the old man said, "As you can see, I've learned a few tricks while you were gone. Now, if you dare call me by my first name again, I WILL kill you without hesitation. Only my close friends can call me that anymore, and I no longer have any friends that close. Is that understood.... Danielle?"

There was little he would love more doing than spitting in his father's face. However, reason kept him from committing to the action. He needed to stop whatever that thing was out there in the woods, and he couldn't do that very well if his brains were spewed over the wall behind him.

A sound came from outside the mansion, one that Danielle hadn't heard in a long time. The taunting yells of the swampfolk, and from the sound of things, there were a lot of them. Blackhall heard them too.

"Well," he said, holstering his pistol, "we'll need to continue this conversation another time. We have some inbred monsters to kill." With that, he started jogging out of the room, toward the stairs to the second level. There wasn't much else for the Regulator to do except follow him.

He found the old man standing by some windows with a pair of lever-action rifles, looking outside. When he saw Danielle approaching, he tossed one of the rifles to him. "It's fully loaded, and has a round in the chamber. Let's see if you know how to shoot."

Taking place by a nearby window, he looked out and saw dozens of swampfolk standing outside the mansion, carrying torches, shovels, axes, and a couple double-barreled shotguns. "Please tell me we have more than just the rounds in these rifles."

Blackhall set down four boxes of 10mm ammunition between himself and Danielle. "I may be old, but I'm not senile."

Many of the figures outside the mansion continued to yell at its occupants. Some simply just bared their broken teeth in twisted smiles. The Regulator and the old man kept watch at the windows, rifles trained on the crowd.

"What are they waiting for?" asked Danielle.

Blackhall shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"Think they're waiting for us to make the first move?"

"Let's see." The old man's rifle roared, and one of the swampfolk carrying a shotgun was thrown onto his back, where he remained unmoving. All at once, the creatures yelled out and charged at the building.

"Yeah, that was REAL smart, wasn't it, Blackhall!" Danielle began shooting at the oncoming mob, one body dropping with each shot. A chunk of the window frame exploded into splinters, causing him to turn away. Turning back, he saw on of the creatures holding a shotgun, one of the barrels smoking. Taking aim, he squeezed the trigger, only to hear it click on an empty chamber. He ducked just in time to hear the buckshot zip overhead and crash into the wall behind him.

Snatching up one of the boxes of ammo, he began reloading his rifle. As soon as he put the last round in, he shivered and saw his breath in the now chilly air. For a second, he froze. The yells and shouts from outside had stopped. Even the air seemed to have stopped moving.

Danielle looked over at Blackhall, seeing the old man stiffen, his eyes growing hard and dark. "It's back."

Racking a round in the chamber, the Regulator stood back up and looked outside, rifle at the ready. He wasn't entirely surprised to see that all the swampfolk had stopped moving, looking around at the newly formed fog around them. As they stood around, the fog kept getting thicker until they could no longer be seen from the mansion.

Blackhall flattened his back to the wall beside his window and motioned for Danielle to do the same. With his back against the wall as instructed, he could hear the swampfolk murmuring to themselves. Then, they fell silent again. Something hit the ground hard enough to be heard by the mansion's occupants. Silence gave way to sounds of shock and surprise. The sound of more impacts were heard, and soon the crowd burst into screams and the sound of running.

As they began to sound fainter, a body flew through the window that the Regulator had just occupied, breaking more of the frame.

When it hit the floor, Danielle could see the look of terror on its face, then noticed the hole in its chest, still dripping with blood. He looked outside and at first was unable to see anything. Then he noticed a tall, slender figure, moving slowly through the fog, and then disappear.

"It's getting worse," Blackhall said. "It's going after crowds now."

"My God. I thought you burned that thing!"

The old man laughed. "What? That thing die from fire? No no, my boy. That thing can't be killed by anything we have here." He paused for a moment. "But maybe if we...."

" 'Maybe if we' what?"

The mansion owner's eyes focused on Danielle's for a brief second, then he started heading downstairs, the Regulator following. "Come with me. I'll explain. Do you remember that old book of mine, the Krivbeknih?"