Normally, I'd dismiss rock music, though U2's new album kinda pleased my ears as I drove through the tranquil landscape. Not much though, but supposedly listening to music after a month or so suddenly seemed so soothing.

The lake faded from my rear-view mirrors, shrunk to a line as pine trees began cropping up on the sides. I could see occasional dashes of the calm lake as I turned on my left, appreciating the view and getting away from Detroit. A bit of mist added some mystery while clouds were splashed onto the sky, looking somewhat unnatural and linear as they rolled in...

The whole atmosphere turned rather cold and dark. Perhaps morning didn't rise that quickly, or that was my perception to urban environments. As I drove further alongside the blue lake, suddenly it stopped reflecting the light as the first few buildings came to sight. Several large houses built onto the sides of the hills I passed seemed more like carved, glass bunkers. [i]New age architecture.[/i] I thought, rather... well, somewhat in between queer and annoyed. Eventually, the thin pine trees, which were integrated into the housing areas at first got phased out, in favour of several shops, pharmacies and even several statues. Haven Marine wasn't exactly a big town, kinda something like trying to find Hawaii on a world map - sometimes, it was just cut off the map. Though, the place kinda seemed big, because you could see a long distance of all sorts of buildings from here to the edge of a steep, rough hill. You could see lights were still on and bright, despite the sun passing over the sky and peeking out of the clouds at times. Glittering stones on the lakeside suddenly seemed rather pale and matted. Almost like a ghost town, there was little commute around the place, with people pacing at times before walking normally. Maybe they were paranoid just by looking at the sky... oh yes, I've heard of their ghost stories. I figured it might've been lead poisoning, or just inbreeding. Either they, that didn't stop me from getting the creeps at times. The statues that seemed to be placed at almost every corner of town were quite intimidating in their own might, glaring down at people and... well, you'd get the feeling they'd keep an eye on you as you drove or walked along. To add to that, there didn't seem to be any graveyards around... while it seems unusual for me to mention graveyards, the church only has about five graves or so. That's definitely something to talk about, especially if you feel like you're in a different world around the church. The forest itself was quite eerily - already I snapped my eyes away from a tree, 'cause I though a Canadian was sneaking across the border by climbing up on a tree. You know how desperate they get, right?

As I slowed down, I scoffed sarcastically at the road, returning to my previous, unfazed facial appearance. There was damn construction on the road, busy annoying pedestrians by drilling and hammering their ears out, with their frickin' vests warning everyone to pretty much shoo off. Apparently, after complaining to a worker about a lack of signs, one of the pipes burst from simply caving in. Yes, there were sinkholes around town, but they happened quite frequently. Perhaps that's why barely anybody drives, 'cause they're afraid of the devil dragging them to Hell through holes in the floor. What a town.

Originally, I was going to get a job at the police station. Unfortunately for me, they blocked off the entire Goddamned road, while the police station was just across from here. So, I got back in my car, parked it by the sidewalk (since I found out the hard way that they didn't have public parking where police station was), and began walking casually along the long way to the police station. It didn't help the whole place still felt cold and a bit eerie. While the place was ideal for a typical sunny, lively lake town, the town looked gloomy since I had moved here. I kept my hands in my pocket, and on my gun. I was perhaps a little paranoid, though these days in this America, anything can happen. From terrorists to daylight robberies to gun expos... nothin' like freedom.

The wind blew in my face, almost deliberate to annoy me. I kicked a few scraps of yellow newspapers, before plucking them from the sidewalk and chucking it into a paint-flaking bin (I'm not a fan of pollution). Typically, the words in bold happened to be 'sightings' and 'myths' and '[s]half life 3[/s] confirmed.' I was conspicuous, sticking out against the walls of the town's amenities and boutique stores. Normally, I'd try my best to hide myself amongst the dark shadows of Detroit, though I had left the police force a long time ago. I hated my colleagues of course, thinking I really did spare my good friend of a cartel... well, I did. If they actually had fucking friends, then they'd know about guilt and hesitation. Was it really the right thing to do? For all I know, he's still in Goddamn Cuba, drinking cocktails all day long while I walked on the path of malice, and probably the end of my career in Detroit. Now, I still haven't heard back from that bastard, not even a single cent or thank you card. I'm still walking, just on hard concrete and an unknown world ahead of me.

I noticed the lake behind me started to shift, almost like sea... something definitely wasn't right. I didn't have a blue sense or some crap like that, but there was something brewing in Haven Marine. As I looked up from kicking the concrete and in fact walking away from the distinct police station (somehow), I witnessed an abandoned concrete brick warehouse, edge of town - and oddly one of few buildings in town actually abandoned - suddenly gathering activity from around. I was probably hallucinating again, though just by feeling the weather on my face, that jumping jack didn't seem like no hallucination. What's more, there was a car parked improperly outside - of course I wouldn't give it a parking ticket. I was talking about why the Hell someone would park like that. Was a secret early Sunday market going on inside, fresh with deals? Or a casual drug market instead, fresh with all sorts of chemicals?

Either way, I gripped my gun. "Brr." I hated the weather at this point. It wasn't going to rain, but it was feeling a little rough around here. Strikingly, when I looked out at the lake, it seemed sunny and the light was clear... perhaps this was some sort of area effect, or really the clouds cleared. But, things got more suspicious as a man in suit somersaulted out of a window and bolted into a thick bush. I'd pursue, but... that was a pretty thick forest ahead. I wouldn't bother. So, denouncing this place as a drug cartel gone wrong in my head, I began jogging towards the warehouse. I nearly got run over by a swearing old lady, and fuck, someone ELSE was driving in town?!

I was at the entrance when I heard a rather high-pitched and nervous voice, trying to make an impression on some assholes in need of a real beating. [i]Rookies.[/i] I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. I hesitated actually entering the building, figuring by the rotting posters stamped on the walls that this was a police operation, and I couldn't just enter... but, in the end, I never really agreed with police rules. I shrugged and brandished my gun, slipping it out of my pocket and examining my pistol. A little dusty on the sides and a bit scratched, though obviously that wouldn't jam it or anything.

Carefully, I poked my head through the door, hearing further commotion... a box getting bashed against, in fact. I nearly retracted my head, though I kept my cool. [i]Relax. You've handled Detroit, home of America's most (exaggerated) crime-infested city. Just go in like you did when dealing with the Clothespin gang - they're just a bunch of pretenders, especially in this town of nothing.[/i]

I was decently surprised. That kid was really just a kid with a nearly-invisible stubble, not even a part of the police. He was gonna get himself killed against the fucking... shit. Not even human, and he represented everyone in capitalism - a demon (with cyanosis or something), right before my damn eyes. I tried to retract my head back into the shadows, but this thing I was dealing with wasn't stupid.

I found myself almost blinded by a dust cloud, caused by the concrete wall I was hiding against exploding. Well, fully blinded. So much so I didn't even realise I was blinded in the first place, because I was knocked out from the sheer force of the explosion. Nothing ever comes easy, especially when dealing with Hell.