"We gotta get the fuck out of here!"

"What the fuck was that thing!"

"Some crazy ass kid!"

"That fuckin' thing was no kid!"

"What was it then?!?!"

"Whatever it was it fuckin' ate Barry alive!"

"Think that hooded guy was one of them?"

Teenagers, Ray, Julie, and Helen had just a few days ago, struck what they thought was a small child on the road.

As it turns out, that creature, that thing. It was no child. Whatever it was, it had eaten the fourth member of the group, Berry.

The three survivors of the encounter, had gotten in the car, and drove the hell out of there, once an even larger creature, this one resembling a tall hooded man, fell from the sky.

They had been on the road ever since, stopping at rest stop, after rest stop.

They did not know where they were going, they just knew they had to get away from that demonic white haired boy.

It was about noon, the three were driving on a long deserted highway.

Suddenly their car ran out of gas.

"Oh come on." Helen complained.

"FUCK!" Ray screamed in frustration.

"Maybe we can find some help." Julie suggested.

'We're in the middle of fucking nowhere Julie!" Ray barked back. "Who the fuck is going to help us?!?!"

"How about that guy?" Helen suggested, pointing out the front window.

A few yards in front of the car, stood a man. The man had on a black cowboy hat, black suit, and a red tie.

Ray got out of the car, followed by Julie, and Helen.

"Hey Mr.!" Julie shouted, "Can you help us?"

The man started to slowly walk to the car.

Ray and the others walked ahead to meet him. "You gotta help us man!" Said Ray. "We're trying to get away from this, this fucking kid!"

"A kid?" Said the mysterious man.

"Well it...it, it looks like a kid but... it's not really a kid, it's some kind of fucking monster. He ate my friend Barry!" Ray explained.

"How old was the kid?" The man asked.

"Well he looked to be about 11 but." Ray started. "Like I said, it... it wasn't human, maybe some sort of shape shifting alien or something. I don't know how old it could have been. Maybe centuries."

"So let me get this straight." The man started. "This thing, which looked like a kid, probably some sort of shapeshifting alien, or something like that. It ate your friend and is now after you."

"Yeah that's right."

"Did you do anything to provoke such an attack?"

"No."

"Barry hit him in the head with a rock!" Helen interrupted. "Smashed his skull open."

"You smashed his skull open?" The mysterious man asked.

"Yeah." Said Ray. "But then its head grew back, and that's when it ate Barry."

"And you smashed his head apart because he was attacking you?" The man asked.

"No" Ray explained, "we hit it with are car, and Barry freaked out and smashed it's skull in."

"But before you hit him with your car, he was attacking you right? He was chasing you, trying to get into the car and hurt you?"
"Well no."

"Well surely you must have known that this kid wasn't human right? Or else why would you do that to an innocent child."

"We thought he was an innocent child." Julie explained.

"Yeah." Said Helen. "Before we hit him, he was just minding his own business."

Ray looked at his friends and signaled them to shut the fuck up. His message was not received.

"We didn't even know something was off until his head grew back." Helen said.

"So" Said the mysterious man. "You guys ran over a small child. Or at least what you had no reason on god's green earth to think was anything but an innocent 11 year old boy. You hit him with your car. And instead of getting him some medical help, you decide to smash his head in with a rock. Then and ONLY then, do you find out this was no ordinary child. Then this creature regenerates, after being hit with a rock AND a car, it regenerates to give your little worthless friend exactly what he deserves. Am I getting that right?"

"I guess." Said Ray, "I know it sounds farfetched, but you gotta believe us man."

"Oh don't worry." Said the man, placing his hand on Ray's shoulder, and giving him a smile. "I believe you."

Then the man opened his mouth, and his teeth turned long and sharp, like that of a shark, or an angler fish.

The man's mouth continued to open wider and wider, until jaw unhinged. His cheeks tore away and his mouth opened up wider than his head, reveling an endless hole full of razor sharp teeth leading all the way into his dark endless gullet.

Two more jaws curled out to the sides of his mouth.

"Oh COME ON!" Said Ray

"BLAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" The creature puked up a fountain of green slimy goo, with the force of a fire hose, into Ray's face.

Pariah then closed his mouth again, and his face returned to normal. He let go of his grip on Ray, who stumbled around, looking like he had gotten drunk at the Kid's Choice Awards on Nickelodeon.

Ray fell flat on his face.

"RAY!" Julie screamed.

Ray got back up, now his face had changed. Flesh hung from his bone, and his eyes were cold and lifeless.

He made a moaning sound as he stumbled toward Julie.

The zombified Ray, grabbed Julie and sunk his teeth into her neck.

Julie screamed as she fell to the ground. The zombie then started to rip her guts out and eat them.

Julie soon died from the blood loss. Then she opened her eyes back up, she too had become a zombie.

Helen backed away as the zombies that used to be her friends slowly closed in on her.

"HELP!" Helen screamed, as the zombies started to chow down on her flesh.

...

Lincoln sat in his room with his lights off. He just stared at his reflection in the mirror, motionless.

A half smile formed on his face, as his eyes glowed red.

I saved that lady he thought. Those ass holes didn't stand a fucking chance. Is this why Alex brought me back? Is this my purpose, to protect the weak, and to punish the wicked? I killed those guys, three human live, ended because of me. Am I really some sort of demon? A monster? NO! no those men deserved to die. And that guy who hit me with the car a few days ago, then tried to kill me with a fucking rock. I was just an innocent kid minding my own business, and that fucker tries to kill me! Oh he deserved to die, very much. Like Alex Mercer said, some apples in the tree that is mankind are VERY rotten, but we don't need to cut the tree down, we just need to remove the bad apples. Yes that is my purpose, why I got these powers, I am meant to cleans this world, to kill all the bad guys. I'm not a monster, after all, I did let one of those fuckers live didn't I? I should have killed him, he should be dead too. Once an apple is rotten, it cannot be unrotten. I am a fucking super hero!

Lincoln blinked for a moment and his eyes went back to normal. JESUS LINCOLN! What the hack are you thinking! Humans are not apples. People can change. After seeing you... do what you did, that guy you let live will never harm anyone ever again! He thought to himself. If I really want to be a super hero, I gotta cut it with this Kira shit! Hmm... I also gotta quit swearing.

...

"Bobby." Said Rick Sanchez, as he walked into Bobby's room in the hospital. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Bobby asked.

"Well I, as you were one of the cops who started the Pariah investigation." Rick started. "I figured I should share the information I have- urp- gathered thus far."

"Uh ok." Said Bobby.

Rick then told Bobby about what he had found so far, regarding the physical evidence.

"At every crime scene." Rick started "we've recovered samples of a virus known as The Mercer Virus."

"The Mercer Virus?" Bobby asked, "What's that?"

"Very little is known about it." Said Rick. "Just that it seems to have the ability to copy DNA. Beyond that, such as its affects on the human body, are completely unknown. But I can't help but feel that it somehow has something to do with this case."

"Interesting..." Said Bobby.

"And uh... one more thing." Rick said. "We got an eye witness says she saw, what might be Pariah."

Rick then took out a sketch book, and handed it to Bobby. "This is a sketch of the person this woman saw."

Bobby looked at the sketch for a moment. "Oh my god!" He said, Looking at the sketch of the smiling white haired boy. "I know this guy!"

"Really?" Said Rick, "Who is he?"

"He's Lincoln Loud." Bobby said. "He's my girlfriend's little brother."

"This Lincoln Loud kid... Does he have any violent tendencies, he ever lash out? Try to hurt you or anyone you know?" Rick questioned.

"Never!" Bobby replied. "Lincoln's one of the sweetest boys you could ever meet. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Or... at least... he USED to be one of the sweetest boys you could meet."

"Used to?"

"He uh..." Bobby continued. "He died a few days ago. Lori and I. the whole family really. We're still broken up about it."

"He's dead?" Rick raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Said Bobby. "He... he got sick... some sort of cancer. My little sister, Ronnie Anne, she took it really hard. Her and Lincoln were close, you know."

...

Ronnie Anne sat with Luan, and Lori in the hospital cafeteria. It was late at night, and the room was mostly empty.

"First Lincoln, then Bobby, now Lynn." Said Ronnie Anne. "This has been quit the terrible week. I can't imagine what you guys must be going through, losing one sibling, and almost losing another."

Luan was about to say something, but Lori shot her a look, and Luan shut up. Right now was not the time to tell Ronnie Anne about Lincoln.

"Yeah" Said Lori. "It's pretty hard."

"Mind if I sit here?" Asked a skinny cop with brown hair, holding a plate of food. "I really don't feel like sitting by myself."

"Uh sure." Said Lori

"My names Charlie" Said the cop.

"I'm sorry sir." Said Ronnie Anne, "But what are you doing here?"

"Ooo! Really glad you asked." Charlie said, bubbling with excitement. "You know that Pariah guy the police are after?"

"Yeah he..." Ronnie Anne started.

"Well I'm investigating him!" Charlie interrupted. "We think he may be here i-in Royal Woods. Oh imagine if I'm the one who catches him. Th-the other cops will surely stop making fun of me then."

"Making fun of you?" Said Lori.

"Yeah" Said Charlie. "I'm kind of the new guy, and you know I can be a bit of a screw up. None of the other cops take me seriously. This is the first real case I've been put on. It's just pure luck that that Rick Sanchez guy thought I was trust worthy"

"Rick Sanchez?" Lori asked.

"Yeah, he's this super ultra mage genius dude, they put in charge of the Pariah case." Charlie explained. "You know this could really be my big break, a real chance to make a name for myself."

"Well you better not, COP out on this chance." Said Luan. "Ha ha! Get it?"

'BAHAHAHAHA!" Charlie burst out laughing, "Oh my gosh yes! That's... how did you come up with that?"

"Hey check that guy out." Said Ronnie Anne, pointing at a man leaning against a wall in the back of the room.

The man was wearing a cowboy hat, a black tuxedo, and a blood red tie.

The man took a look at them, and started to walk toward them.

"Lori?" Said the man in a familiar voice. "Lori Loud, from Gus's Games and grub."

"Gabe?" Said Lori.

"What you know this guy?" Charlie asked.

"I met him at work." Said Lori. Last time she was this man, she was unable to see his face. Now however, the man stared directly at her. Her sister Leni said he looked like a movie star, now she could see what she meant.

"Wow Gabe." Said Lori. "You look just like, Matthew McConaughey."

"Wow" Said Charlie. "You know he kind of does." Then charlie's eyes widened, "The phone guy" He quietly said under his breath.

"So Gabe." Said Charlie. "You ever been outside of Royal Woods."

"Yeah I don't actually live here." Said Gabe. "I'm just passing through. Hey you alright man?"

Charlie's face got pale; he was sweating and shaking nervously. "What? Yeah of course I'm ok. Why wouldn't I be ok? Are you ok?"

"You're sweating pin balls" Said Gabe. "Are you sick, officer?"

"Yeah, I... I don't feel well." Charlie said nervously. "I gotta use the rest room." He then got up and left the room.

"Good thing we're in a hospital." Said Gabe.

"I uh. I have to go too." Said Lori. And she got up and fallowed Charlie.

"Huh." Said Gabe. "Looks like something's going around. Would hate to have a major epidemic on our hands." He smiled.

...

Lori caught up with Charlie.

"Officer Charlie!" Said Lori. "wait up."

Charlie stopped and looked at Lori.

"That guy." Said Lori. "I don't think he's who he says he is."

"What you mean?" Charlie asked.

"When I first met him, he." Said Lori. "He seemed to be trying to keep his face hidden. Like he was trying to hide from something. I don't know what it is, but something about him seems off. It's probably nothing, but I think you should be on the lookout for him."

"Yeah well." Said Charlie. "There's something else too. You said he looks like Matthew McConaughey."

"Yeah, he does."

"He sounds like him too." Said Charlie. "Rick said he got a call from someone claiming to be Pariah. He said that that someone, sounded an awful lot like ol' Dazed and Confused over there."

"You don't think!"

"Those other girls" Charlie started. "Your friends?"

"Sister." Lori said. "Luan's my younger sister, and the other girl is my boyfriend's sister."

"And we might have left them alone with the most dangerous serial killer in the past decade!" Charlie screamed.

...

Lori and Officer Charlie Boon, burst into the cafeteria.

Luan and Ronnie Anne were sitting alone at the table, talking to each other.

"Where's Gabe?!?!" Lori asked frantically.

"He left." Luan said.

"What did he tell you while I was away?" Lori asked, her voice sounding more and more panicked.

"Nothing." Said Ronnie Anne. "What's going on?"

"Did he ask you anything? Did you tell him anything?"

"Not really, we just made some small talk with him. Told him about Lynn and Bobby" Luan responded.

"OH SHIT!" Lori exclaimed. "Uh... come on guys, we gotta go check on them. Charlie, you take Ronnie Anne to check on Bobby, I'll take Luan to check on Lynn."

"Yeah, sounds good." Said Charlie. He and Ronnie Anne then rushed to Bobby's room.

"What's going on?" Said Luan. "Who was that Gabe guy anyway? He said he was a friend of yours from work. Though come to think of it, I've never seen him working at Gus's Games and Grubs."

"I don't work with him." Lori responded as the two girls walked quickly down the hallway. "He was a customer. Charlie and I think he might be that killer on the news, the one that was harassing Lincoln and Lucy."

"Pariah?" Luan said.

"That's the one."

They reached Lynn's room.

"Uh... Lori?" Said Luan as they entered the door. "I just had a terrible thought."

"What is it?"

"What if Charlie's Pariah?" Luan suggested. "And he's having us worry about Gabe, to throw us off."

"Oh crap!" Said Lori. "I hadn't thought of that. You stay here, I'll go check on Ronnie Anne." Lori hurried down the hallway as fast as she could.

...

Rick was still in Bobby's room, when his partner Charlie radioed him.

"Rick, come in Rick." Charlie said.

"This is- urp- Rick" Rick responded.

"Pariah is here, I repeat Pariah is in the building."

"What?" Said Rick.

"THE PHONE GUY!" Charlie screamed into his radio. "The guy you said called you, he sounded like that Interstellar guy! He's here dude!"

"Oh shit." Rick whispered. "Hey Bobby." He said. "I need to talk to you about something else now."

...

Charlie and Ronnie Anne made it to Bobby's room.

"Bobby, are you ok?" Ronnie Anne asked

"Yeah why?" Bobby responded.

"W-W we saw Pariah dude!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Did you now?" asked Rick.

"Pariah!" Bobby said. "H-he's here?"

"Alright, nobody panic." Said Rick. "We don't know that this truly is Pariah, none of us have seen his face. Bobby saw him cloaked in shadows, and I've heard his voice. Or at least what is very likely Pariah's voice. Now we just need to stay calm and..."

Suddenly the handle of the door to the hallway started to jiggle.

"Oh no!" Said Ronnie Anne. "It's him!"

Charlie aimed his gun at the door.

Rick looked at the door with a look of intensity, yet did not budge.

"M-maybe it's someone else." Said Charlie nervously. "Maybe it's Lori, coming to check on us."

The Door opened.

Light flooded the room.

And the dark figure walked in.