(Sweet Tooth #11 (fb)) - Captain Abbot ran the Preserve, supposedly a safe place for hybrid children, but in reality Abbot’s doctors dissected them in hopes of understanding the cause of the sickness. To obtain new subjects Abbot had abducted a number of pregnant women. Becky and Lucy were two of the pregnant women captured by Abbot, and they witnessed Jepperd, husband of abductee Louise, kill a number of Abbot’s men before being brutally beaten into unconsciousness by Abbot. Louise died in childbirth, and Abbot told Jepperd he’d return his wife’s remains if he brought him a new hybrid test subject.

(Sweet Tooth #3, 4) - Becky, her friend Lucy, and other young women hid in the motel where they were forced to work as prostitutes by pimps Jacob and Susie. Jepperd and Sweet Tooth wandered into their motel. Jepperd was a hunter, and Sweet Tooth was a hybrid boy with deer antlers whose parents had died from the sickness, leaving him alone in the world until he met Jepperd. Jacob and Susie ambushed Jepperd and Sweet Tooth at gunpoint. They explained that Becky wore bunny ears because some of their clients had a fetish for hybrids, and wanted to take Sweet Tooth to exploit him. Jepperd was sickened, and guaranteed he’d kill them where they stood if they didn’t let him and Sweet Tooth go on their way. Jepperd made it clear he wasn’t afraid to die, and the pimps let him and Sweet Tooth go. Sweet Tooth badgered him to help the young women being abused by Jacob and Susie, and Jepperd begrudgingly returned to the brothel, beat Jacob to death with the butt of his rifle and started strangling Susie. Lucy, who’d suffered at the pimp’s hands, convinced Jepperd to let her finish the job by shooting Susie in the head. Lucy asked Jepperd to stay on, and he reminded her that she and the rest of the women were now free. Lucy said they had nowhere else to go and no other way to survive. Jepperd said they were headed to the Preserve, where all hybrid children could live safe lives, and Becky warned Sweet Tooth that there was no such thing. Sweet Tooth and Jepperd rode off, and when Sweet Tooth asked why Becky said there was no Preserve, Jepperd replied that she was probably lying because she wished she was going to the Preserve too. Sweet Tooth said that even though he’d seen Jepperd hurt people he knew he was a good man because he only did that to protect others, and Jepperd was almost overwhelmed by feelings of guilt.

(Sweet Tooth #11, 13-15) - Jepperd handed Sweet Tooth over to Captain Abbot in exchange for the remains of his love Louise. Jepperd buried Louise at their old farmhouse, but the guilt of betraying Sweet Tooth ate at him, and he went to Factory Town to die. After provoking a fight and nearly being beaten to death he stumbled back to Rockbridge, collapsing in Lucy’s arms, and bemoaning how Abbot had taken Louise away from him. Lucy comforted him, saying she knew because she was there. Jepperd dreamed of the night Lucy died, and over Lucy and Becky’s objections he said he was leaving to return to the Preserve and kill everyone there. Jepperd, Lucy and Becky took a car to the city, and Becky desperately wished she were back in the motel where she felt relatively safe and secure. She resented the fact that Jepperd was back in her life, and wished it was just her and Lucy again. Once in the city they were surrounded by the Animal Armies, the cultists who wore animal masks, and Jepperd said they wouldn’t hurt them. A cultist scoffed that nothing was stopping him from slicing open Jepperd and taking the women for the Armies. Jepperd said he had something they’d be interested in, hybrids. He told the cultists about how he Becky and Lucy had all escaped the Preserve. The Animal Armies thought no one ever escaped Abbot’s Preserve, and Lucy showed them her scars and said some people did. They brought the trio to their leader, Glebhelm, who was surrounded by chained dog hybrid children, who were finishing a meal of human remains. Jepperd told Glebhelm that he could get him into the Preserve, and promised him all the hybrids there. Glebhelm had to think a bit about going to war against the militia, and Jepperd said he had nothing to lose. Glebhelm responded that his men weren’t waiting around to die like the rest of the world, they followed the hybrids, who would bring them out of sickness and suffering by showing them a new path. Jepperd had little interest in the Animal Armies beliefs, but Glebhelm nonetheless decided he did want the Preserve after all, and called an order for all his tribes to assemble outside the city. Jepperd, Lucy and Becky waited outside the city, and after some criticism from Becky Jepperd admitted that his plan was flawed. He knew they couldn’t trust the Animal Armies, and he had no idea how they’d save Sweet Tooth since he’d promised Glebhelm all the hybrids, but he had no other way of breeching the Preserve and getting his revenge. The Armies streamed out of the city, and Lucy felt they were in way over their heads. That night Jepperd, Lucy, Becky and the Armies made camp, and Jepperd worked through more of his plan. He said that while the Armies and militia fought they could save the hybrids and slip away, but admitted they’d be done for if there was no other way in or out of the Preserve beside the main gate. Lucy said that if the Preserve still had pregnant women prisoner they had to save them too. Becky went into the woods to use the bathroom, and Lucy sent Jepperd after her because she was taking too long, and Lucy always did her best to look out for Becky, who she viewed as childish. Jepperd met up with Becky, who was fine, but they then heard Lucy screaming in the distance. Becky and Jepperd found Lucy pinned down by two cultists, and Glebhelm was roused by the scream as well, sending his pack of wolf children loose, and they ripped the cultists throats out. Glebhelm reminded his men that they were to obey his every word at all times, and even though Jepperd, Lucy and Becky were not followers, they were to be kept safe at all times, and the next cultist who dared try to harm them would be eaten alive by Glebhelm himself. Jepperd and Sweet Tooth both shared the same dream. They were at a military facility in Alaska, and Sweet Tooth was with Dandy, a baby deer from a children’s book Sweet Tooth loved. Jepperd shot Dandy before spotting Sweet Tooth, and the two locked eyes before waking up in a fright.

(Sweet Tooth #16, 17) - Glebhelm told Jepperd it was a glories day to destroy the Preserve, and said he felt as righteous as the day his wolf children were born and showed him the path to salvation. Jepperd said he wasn’t looking to convert to Glebhelm’s religion. Glebhelm said his wife wasn’t a believer either, and he’d let his wolf children eat her. Jepperd and the Animal Armies breached the Preserve’s front gate, and Abbot ordered Singh to bring the hybrids down to the kennels and keep a watch over them. Jepperd’s memory of his wife was starting to fade, and he realized he was completely driven by saving Sweet Tooth, an innocent, from Abbot. Jepperd, Becy and Lucy made their way to the kennels while the Animal Armies mowed down Abbot’s militia. Glebhelm did take notice of Jepperd leaving the battlefield. Abbot confronted Jepperd, who told Lucy and Becky to go find Sweet Tooth while he dealt with his nemesis. Abbot taunted him about not being a man because he couldn’t save his wife’s life, and he allowed Jepperd to beat him bloody before claiming that he’d lied when he’d said Jepperd and Louise’s son died soon after being born. Abbot stabbed Jepperd in the chest, and Abbot defiantly told him that his world was crumbling around him as the Animal Armies continued their onslaught. Abbot promised to gut Jepperd, and kill his son afterward. Abbot’s brother Johnny hit him in the head with a rifle, and begged him to leave the Preserve and all the evil he’d done behind, saying they could go back to being best friends like when they were children. Abbot attacked Johnny with his knife, and in the struggle Johnny’s rifle went off, blowing off Abbot’s hand, and Abbot fled. Lucy and Becky checked the maternity ward, but no women pregnant with hybrids were present, and they continued on until they reached the kennel. Lucy recognized Singh, who was watching Sweet Tooth and the others, as the man who’d delivered her baby and left scars on her she still had to that day. She put a gun to his head, but Becky told her not to kill him in front of the children. Glebhelm caught up to them, and sicced his wolf children on them. They fled and ran into Jepperd and Johnny, but horse hybrid Buddy was caught by the wolf children, who began to maim him, and dragged him away. He called out to Jepperd, calling him da-da, and Singh admitted that Buddy was his child. It broke Jepperd’s heart, but the militia were returning to the kennels, and they knew if they didn’t immediately flee they’d all be lost, so he was forced to leave Buddy to his fate. Abbot surveyed the Preserve, and although they suffered heavy losses the Animal Armies had killed virtually all of his militia. Abbot returned to the kennel, and seeing Buddy being mauled shot a round into the ceiling to scare the wolf children away before firing a round into Glebhelm’s head, saying Glebhelm’s wolf boys now belonged to him. Jepperd and company were a safe distance away and Jepperd was about to have a nervous breakdown after losing his son a second time, but Lucy said he had to stay strong because the hybrids were their children and their responsibility now. Singh persuaded Lucy not to kill him by revealing the notes he’d found from Sweet Tooth’s father that revealed he was a science advisor from Alaska. They agreed to seek out Sweet Tooth’s origins in hopes of finding a cure for the sickness.

(Sweet Tooth #18) - Sweet Tooth and company headed north, and even though he as reunited with Jepperd, Sweet tooth recognized that nothing seemed the same. He knew Jepperd was hurting from losing his son, and wondered if he was always in pain because in his heart he knew his son was out there. Sweet Tooth speculated that was the reason he’d done bad things, but his musings confused him, and he and Jepperd still avoided eye contact or talking to each other. They went to a mall to pick up winter clothes and camping supplies, and Wendy said she’d never seen snow in her life. Sweet tooth told her all about the fun he had playing in the snow when he was younger, and she was suddenly excited for winter. Jepperd and Singh were alone on one floor of the mall, and Lucy followed them, again pulling a gun on Singh and saying she was going to kill him. He pleaded that his work at the Preserve was meant to cure the sickness, but she said cutting up pregnant women and hybrid children was pure cruelty, not science. Sweet Tooth overheard the commotion and intervened. He said Singh had done bad things, but that didn’t make him a bad man, and Jepperd of all people should know that. He told Lucy killing Singh wouldn’t make her feel better, and she backed down, but warned Singh to stay far away from her. Jepperd tried to reconnect with Sweet tooth, showing him he’d saved his Dandy children’s book, but Sweet Tooth said he was done with kids’ stuff. They slept in the mall overnight, and the next morning snow had fallen. Everyone had a fun morning making snow angels and having snowball fights. The companions made a snowman, and Johnny added branches for antlers so it was a Sweet Tooth snowman. For the first time in a long time Sweet Tooth felt joy and a hope for a future where things could be alright.

(Sweet Tooth #19-21) - Sweet Tooth and company headed further north and camped overnight in the wintry woods. Becky, Lucy and Wendy were the first ones awake, and Lucy convinced them to scout the area with her. Becky and Wendy both teased her about spending nights sleeping in Jepperd’s tent, and Lucy said that while she liked Jepperd she still couldn’t trust people because of all she’d gone through, recalling the day she was abducted and her life went downhill shortly after the sickness started to spread. Becky told them about how the sickness took her parents and her childhood away from her. Wendy shared her story of being hidden from the world because she was a hybrid by her mother, but eventually being caught and taken away by doctors. The women realized they were lost, and as they tried to backtrack they were caught in a snare net. A man named Walter Fish introduced himself, saying he’d been listening to their stories. Jepperd and the others woke to find the women gone, and Jepperd brought Sweet tooth, against his objections, into the woods to look for them. Singh and Johnny watched the camp, and Singh noted that Bobby had dug himself a burrow under the campsite, and was preparing to hibernate. Singh said they would likely have to leave him behind, and when Johnny vehemently objected Singh said it was the will of God. Singh told Johnny about the bible Sweet Tooth’s father wrote, proclaiming his son a savior of the world, and Singh professed to being a believer and willing to follow Sweet Tooth anywhere. Walter cut the women down, saying the snare trap was probably laid by Haggarty, the ruler of a group of scavengers that plagued the woods. Lucy drew her gun on him, and he protested that she could she he was crippled and no threat to them. He offered to let them stay in his camp overnight so they could find their way back to their friends in the morning. The women cautiously agreed, and he led them to Project Evergreen, a self-sustaining community build within a dam. Evergreen ran on electricity generated by the dam, had a number of greenhouses, large stocks of canned food, and numerous lodgings. Fish said Evergreen was created by a group of environmentalists before the sickness, and when he and his family were starving and on the run, they miraculously found it. He said the environmentalists were long gone by then, and his family were safe for a time before they passed away from the sickness. Fish said he was thrilled to have company after such a long time alone, and offered them tea. Sweet Tooth and Jepperd ventured deep into the woods, and despite every effort to get him to talk Jepperd found Sweet Tooth unwilling. Jepperd said he knew he’d betrayed Sweet Tooth, but it was over one way or the other, and warned him he could have met far worse people than him. Sweet Tooth picked up on the women’s trail, and they eventually located the cut-open snare net. A bear charged from the woods and attacked. Jepperd shot one of its’ eyes out, enraging the bear, which swiped aay his rifle and clawed his face, causing Jepperd to black out. The bear stared dumbfounded at Sweet Tooth and his mixture of deer and human features before the image of an animal totem formed in the bear’s mind. Jepperd had visions of Buddy transforming into Sweet Tooth, and woke up, following the bear back to its’ cave, where it was still staring at puzzlement at Sweet Tooth. He leapt at the bear with his knife, putting out its’ other eye, killing it. Sweet Tooth touched the fresh wound on Jepperd’s face and they left the cave hand in hand. Walter Fish told the women more about his family over tea, and said he sensed they didn’t believe his story. They assured him they did, and they knew he’d taken a huge risk in bringing them in if violent raiders, which Fish suspected may have been behind the disappearance of the Evergreen staff, were on the loose. Fish suggested they talk more in the morning, and when Lucy asked to freshen up he directed her to a bathroom. Lucy washed her face and stared in the mirror in horror, seeing blood begin to pour out her nose, a sign of the sickness.

(Sweet Tooth #22) - Dr. Singh came to the end of Faunin’s bible, his version of the Book of Revelations. Filled with pages of drawings of animal totems and the harbinger of the apocalypse Tekkeitserktock, who Singh recognized as Jepperd. Jepperd and Sweet Tooth found Project Evergreen and barged their way in. Lucy and the others filled Jepperd in, and he said there was no way they could trust Fish, and that Evergreen looked far too good to be true. Fish acted insulted, but said it was imperative they return to their camp and save the others before Haggarty’s raiders got to them. Back at camp Bobby emerged from hibernation, started by tremors in the ground. A group of men from Project Evergreen pulled up on snowmobiles, warning Johnny, Bobby and Singh that they weren’t safe. Fish, Sweet Tooth and the others arrived at the same time and Fish accused the men of being raiders about to execute their friends, begging Jepperd and Lucy to save them. Jepperd and Lucy shot the men down, even though Singh and Johnny objected that they were having a civil conversation. Fish offered them all places to stay at Evergreen, but Jepperd, Singh and Sweet Tooth were resistant and wanted to keep heading north. After a vote they agreed to return to Evergreen to rest and heal up for a few days.

(Sweet Tooth #23, 25) - Jepperd and Lucy curled up in bed, and started to kiss, but she then started crying. Jepperd asked what was wrong, but she simply asked him to leave. She looked in the mirror, noting that the sickness was now beginning to ravage her body. Bobby, Wendy and Sweet Tooth played hide-and-go-seek and Wendy and bobby tried to convince Sweet Tooth to stay at Evergreen with them. Wendy said they were finally safe and had food to eat, so they should make the best of it. Sweet tooth still felt compelled to learn his origins, and said he was determined to reach Alaska. Singh had been listening nearby, and asked Sweet Tooth if they could talk in private. Fish showed Becky and Johnny around the library, where Lucy found a book her mother read to her as a child. Johnny went to the bathroom, and Fish started creeping Becky out by comparing her to his daughter who he said died of the sickness, and pressing her on what her age was. When Johnny finished his business and said he was going to check on the kids Becky insisted on going with him. Singh showed Sweet Tooth his father’s bible, which overjoyed the boy, saying it smelled just like his dad. Singh said he was a believer in Faunin’s writings, and knew Sweet tooth was the key to saving the future. He warned Sweet Tooth of the apocalyptic White Demon Faunin warned of, believing him to be Jepperd. Sweet tooth insisted that Jepperd was a good man who’d done bad things, and Singh reminded him of how he’d abandoned his son Buddy to the wolf children at the Preserve. Jepperd was listening and told Singh he didn’t care what whacked out prophecies he believed, but if he ever mentioned Buddy’s name again he’d kill him. Jepperd and Sweet Tooth went outside to cut firewood, and Sweet Tooth confessed to being a sinner for killing a crocodile child at the Preserve to save Wendy. Jepperd told him he had no choice, and promised that as long as he was around Sweet tooth would never have to kill anyone again.  Sweet Tooth stopped crying, but then a shot rang out. Sweet Tooth was shot through the stomach and crumpled to the ground. The shooter kept firing, and Jepperd scooped Sweet Tooth up in his arms and ran to Evergreen. He saw Fish at the entrance, and accused him of being the shooter. Fish said he’d been watching his monitors and claimed it was Haggarty’s men that shot Sweet Tooth and he was just coming to help. Singh ran outside, and Jepperd begged him to save Sweet Tooth’s life, but Singh said he’d already lost a lot of blood. Sweet Tooth had a vision of sailing a raft into the jaws of death, which appeared to him as a gigantic deer skull. Singh, with the assistance of Lucy, performed emergency surgery on Sweet Tooth, removing the bullet lodged in his gut, but they ran out of plasma from Evergreen’s infirmary. They needed a universal donor since they didn’t know Sweet Tooth’s blood type, and Walter, who said he was O Negative, volunteered. In Sweet Tooth’s vision he entered the deer skull to find Abbot, Jepperd, and Buddy waiting for him. Abbot said there were only two doors to exit the land of the dead, and Jepperd refused to sacrifice his son or Sweet Tooth again, so Sweet Tooth had to kill Jepperd to live. Sweet Tooth’s hybrid body rejected Fish’s blood, and he started convulsing. Wendy volunteered to give him her blood, and another transfusion began. Sweet Tooth saw Wendy in his vision, and she said she was there to help him, but Jepperd insisted he had to die. He told Sweet Tooth he knew he thought he wasn’t strong enough to survive without him, but he was. Jepperd made Sweet Tooth promise to take care of Buddy, and Sweet Tooth, with tears in his eyes, plunged a knife into his chest. Wendy’s transfusion did the trick, and Sweet Tooth stabilized. As Sweet Tooth was in recovery Lucy told Jepperd and Singh they’d all talked, and come to the conclusion that they’d all stay at Evergreen. Jepperd accused Fish of manipulating them all to get rid of him, and promising them there was something wrong with Fish. Lucy said he was mad, and his quest for Alaska was mad. Lucy said they were all living on borrowed time, and they had a responsibility to keep the hybrid children safe, so they were staying. Jepperd wrapped his hand’s around Fish’s throat, demanding he confess to shooting Sweet Tooth. Lucy pointed a gun at Jepperd, forcing him to back down and leave. Lucy said he was a violent man who corrupted everything around him. Singh met Jepperd outside, telling him to stay at their old camp, and when Sweet Tooth was well enough he’d sneak him out and they could resume their journey north.

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