Chapter Eleven

The trip towards the continent of South America and specifically the Brazilian rainforest near the river Tefé was a quiet one. Ace Morgan piloted the jet the whole way there, Prof Haley had a notebook with him in which he worked on one of his projects, Red Ryan listened to music through a Walkman and headphones, Rocky Davis was reading a copy of G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, John Constantine slept most of the way there, and the Swamp Thing did nothing but remain completely still.

Inevitably his thoughts were on Abby and Matt. He was not sure what he was supposed to feel at this point. It was true that he and Abby had shared a special bond of love (grim thoughts of "the Beauty and the Beast" came to his mind), but she had been with Matt for a long time earlier. Circumstances had been such that anything that was between herself and Matt was long over, but with Matt appearing to be not only healthy but also back to his old, capable self, how could she not return to him? The choice between a strong, healthy man and a monster from the swamps was no choice at all. They had never had a conversation about the possibility that Matt might ever get better, and that made him wonder. Was that because they both believed he would never wake up, or was that because neither of them knew what would happen if he did?

Well, the point was moot, he told himself. He had no right to her any longer. He had no right to expect to have a relationship with a human woman. He was only a swamp monster. And he knew that he had never been human at all. Jason Woodrue's report had confirmed that for him. Alec Holland had died in the swamps in 1979 and went on to meet his reward at the same time he -- a rare form of intelligent plantlife -- was born. Holland's presence in the afterlife when he visited the realms of Heaven and Hell had only confirmed that. In some ways it had given him a measure of freedom, but at first it was so much of a shock to his system to learn that he had never been human and could never be human again. He had gone into a state of paralysis and allowed himself to be rooted into the embracing soil in the ground. And there he would have stayed had not Abby needed him. What was keeping him from returning to that motionless state once more, now that she had returned to her husband? After all, he was only a plant. And plants were supposed to be planted.

And yet... and yet another memory returned to his mind, unbidden. A memory which had been buried ever since he learned the truth about himself. A memory which only now surfaced, most likely due to the presence of his friends in the Challengers of the Unknown. He had once become human again. Yes! Only a year-and-a-half after the Swamp Thing was born, he returned to his hometown of Quinn, Oregon and was reunited with his brother Edward, who discovered a scientific method which was successful in returning him to human form once again! How in the world could he have forgotten that? But that was impossible! If he had never been human originally, how in the world could he possibly ever have become human again? The paradox made absolutely no sense to him. And why had he not remembered this when he read Woodrue's report that said the Swamp Thing had never been human? He should have known it was a false conclusion right from the start. Yet he could not deny that he had apparently met the soul of Alec Holland in Heaven. How could he, then, be Alec Holland? Confusion reigned in his mind until he thought it would burst.

The memory of his time as a human recalled to him another person he had forgotten: Ruth Monroe. She had been the lab assistant of his brother Edward's, and indeed there was a romantic connection between them until he came along. Once again human, Alec and Ruth had fallen in love. Edward was terribly jealous, although he remained courteous to him and attempted to hide his true feelings. Alec Holland was an expert in biochemical anomalies, which was why that man named Clayburne from the Challengers of the Unknown then came and asked for his help. Unfortunately, for some reason unknown to him, the process which had made him human once again began to quickly reverse shortly after he left with the man. The arrogantly wealthy Clayburne was soon afterwards forcibly ejected from the ranks of the Challengers, and the Swamp Thing accompanied them on a couple of cases as a replacement and unofficial member before finally leaving them to return to his life of wandering. He had never seen either Ruth or his brother Edward ever again. Had he subconsciously repressed the memories of his time as a human once again due to its being too painful to think about? Or was there some other explanation? Ruth had been the first woman he had really fallen in love with since Linda's death. But he had completely forgotten about her by the time he and Abby began their star-crossed relationship. Why?

He turned these thoughts around and around in his mind several times, over and over, until finally he was awoken from his reverie by a hand on his shoulder.

They had arrived at a clearing not far from the sacred grove of the Parliament of Trees. Perhaps it was here that he would finally learn some answers.