A local, Abraham MacCyrus, is out in the swamp working on his still. As Arcane looks on, Graham kills Abraham with a laser shot to the head and then gives him an injection. Abraham doesn't come back to life, and Arcane is furious that he's used the last of the serum. He finally gives up and tells his men to bury Abraham. Later, Abraham comes back to life and digs his way out of his shallow grave.
Hollister is varnishing his boat with Will's help, and Abraham staggers into Hollister's garage. His hands touch Will's arms for a second, and then he runs out. Will staggers and Hollister takes him to the Kipp house to check him out. Tressa makes coffee, and Will complains that he feels weak. His hands go numb, and puts some fish food in Tressa's aquarium. Tressa spills some coffee on his hand but Will doesn't feel anything, and he dips his fingers into the scalding coffee without any effect. When Will looks back at the fish, he discovers that they're dead. Panicking, Will runs out before Tressa and Hollister can stop him.
Arcane and Graham discover that Abraham dug his way out of his own grave, and they figure that Arcane's serum worked. The scientist orders Graham to find Abraham so they can take a blood sample, and is satisfied that Holland's formula works.
Will runs out into the swamp and calls to Swamp Thing. Abraham runs past with Arcane's sentries in pursuit. As Graham runs past, the sentry with him tells Will that it's dangerous in the swamp. Swamp Thing throws the sentry away, and he and Will go after Abraham. When the other sentry approaches, Abraham grabs his arm and the man turns into a skeleton in seconds.
Abraham runs off and Will and Swamp Thing find the skeleton. Swamp Thing remembers that he created a serum years ago and it wasn't compatible with human cell structure. Arcane stole it, and Swamp Thing thought he had used all of it. To stay alive, Abraham surrounds his dying cells with human energy, killing anyone he touches. Swamp Thing figures that Abraham didn't touch Will long enough, and Will figures that his touch is just as lethal before running off.
The next morning, Abraham finds an axe and approaches Abigail on her porch. He drives the axe into the stump next to her and says that he chopped all of the wood. Abigail invites him to have some food, and she hands him a bowl. He just avoids touching her hands, and says that he doesn't remember the last couple of days. Tressa arrives and Abraham explains that Abigail offered him some food in return for work. She offers to shake hands, but Abraham apologizes that his hands are too dirty. He goes back to work while Tressa wonders where Will is.
Abigail takes Abraham to the tools and trips. He offers her a hand up, but a sudden wind springs up and when Abigail looks back, Abraham is gone. Swamp Thing drags Abraham off into the swamp and looks at his hand that he used to grab Abraham... and realizes that it's reverted to human.
That night at the compound, Arcane autopsies the dead sentry. Once he's done, he tells his dead wife that he'll find Abraham's blood, duplicate the serum, and use it to bring her back. Arcane then calls Graham and tells him to begin the hunt.
As Abraham sleeps, Swamp Thing works out that the man's touch isolates and brings out whatever is human in him. Abraham wakes up and Swamp Thing tells him what happened to him... and that Abraham is dead. The creature admits that for Abraham to stay alive, he has to take the life from others. Abraham offers to touch Swamp Thing until he becomes human, but Swamp Thing warns that after each touch Abraham has to take someone's life. He'd have to kill many people to restore Swamp Thing to human, and Abraham insists that he's no killer. Swamp Thing warns that eventually the instinct to stay alive will take over--even Abigail--but Abraham doesn't believe it. Graham arrives and opens fire, and Swamp Thing and Abraham collapse..
Will is packing his things when Abigail arrives and says that she knows Will is frightened of being touched. He warns her that his hands can touch, but Abigail suggests that Will had chemicals on his hands from varnishing the boat and they killed the fish. Will refuses to find out, and Abigail locks the door and takes the key, and says that she's not leaving until she figures out what to do.
When Swamp Thing wakes up, he realizes that the sentries took Abraham. His weak human side made him vulnerable to the lasers, and Swamp Thing vows to rescue Abraham.
At the compound, Arcane has Abraham chained up and promises to build him a home so that he can live there forever. Abraham only wants to be free and with his friends, and Arcane tells him that he'll be the only friend Abraham has. Swamp Thing arrives and tells Arcane that it has to stop. Arcane offers to restore Swamp Thing if he lets him keep Abraham for two weeks, and admits that he'll feed his sentries to Abraham. The scientist draws a gun and figures that Swamp Thing has lost much of his strength now that he's partially human. Swamp Thing grabs him by the throat and prepares to throw them both into the acid pit.
Abraham tells Swamp Thing to stop, insisting that he might as well be dead since he can't touch anything. Swamp Thing asks for some time to find a cure, but admits that he can't guarantee anything. Arcane says promises that he can, but Abraham doesn't believe him and says that survival isn't everything. He jumps into the acid pit and Swamp Thing tells Arcane that it's over. He walks away, leaving Arcane to just avoid falling into the pit.
Will dozes off and Abigail wakes him up. She reminds him of what he said, but tells him that it's her decision and kisses him. Nothing happens and Abigail gently shoves Will away when he asks if she wants to kiss again.
Swamp Thing's hand transforms back, and he walks off into the swamp.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 26, 2017