"Imagine this. 1946, right after the war. This one soldier, he comes back home but forgets to stop killing. Like he's doing it for fun now. Just whoever, and hiding them in his daddy's barn. Sick stuff, I mean. Even dragging people in from the graveyard. Pieces of them."
—Walter on Billy Clay, Vol. 6's "The Sons of Billy Clay"
Of all the stories set in the Lone Star State, there are many that deal with the worst the state has to offer.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
- Vol. 1's "Daniel's Dilemma", by Carmen Gray: Tony is a pimp who prostitutes young girls illegally immigrated from Mexico to his disgusting friends. With one of his girls "disappearing" after making plans to escape, Tony threatens to kill and even rape his latest prostitute Maya if she attempts to make a getaway.
- Vol. 3:
- "The Consequence of Thought", by Aaron Milstead: Clifford Brennan is a meth-dealing neo-Nazi who hopes to achieve Hitler's dream of a Fourth Reich. Turning to drug dealing after a stint in prison, Clifford has his rivals gang-raped and hung by their intestines to scare off competition. Using the money he gained to fund a project to clone Hitler, needing him to lead his new world order, Clifford mistreats and abuses his clone children to make them as monstrous as the original, even giving them animals to kill to help them grow numb to violence. Choosing his gangly first clone to lead, knowing full well he's not prepared, Clifford forces the clone to kill a Black Jewish captive to prove his worth, threatening to murder him and skin his second clone alive if he refuses.
- "The Nightmare Man", by James H. Longmore: Jebidiah "Jeb" Goedecke is an overly sensitive man who uses his delicate personality to hide a monstrous sadist. Jeb is secretly a cannibalistic murderer who frequently kidnaps women to torture to death by biting into their throats and drinking their blood afterward. Having done so to numerous women, Jeb murders his wife Abigail upon her discovery, and personally strangles Charles McKeever Edwards to death for uncovering the truth.
- Vol. 4:
- "From These Muddy Waters", by Patrick C. Harrison III: The Caddaja is a mythical man-eating Sea Monster. More than just a mindless beast, the Caddaja telepathically lures people to dive in his lake in order to devour them, such as forcing Pappy's childhood friend Otto Franklin to jump in or else he'll reveal his secret to the world. Having been the true cause behind Joe's father Jacob's demise, the Caddaja had originally intended to sadistically eat the baby Joe before Jacob gave up his life to protect him.
- "Hometown Hero", by Dan Fields: Bobby Roy "Lone Star" Leighton was once the star track runner for Adams Creek High School before going on a road trip following his graduation. Having turned to a life of crime to fuel his drug habits, Bobby Roy teamed up with Jeanetta "Jupiter Genie" van Kempel to slaughter an entire family, including a toddler and pregnant woman, for their car. Settling in Utah, Bobby Roy became a cult leader of hedonistic cave dwellers, encouraging them to commit crimes to score drugs and money, which led to such incidents as an old man getting beaten to near death and buried under rocks.
- Vol 5's "Serial Killers Anonymous", by John Kojack: Bruce Hatchet, a seemingly ordinary truck driver, is revealed to be a twisted Serial Killer who murders for fun. Heavily implied to have attended numerous get-togethers all across Texas in order to kill people, Bruce, feeling annoyed that killers like Ted Bundy get more recognition from the titular group than him, proceeds to brutally murder every member of the group, including the innocent employees at the hosting spot, with his sadistic killings even earning approval from the demonic "Bloody Bethany".
- Vol 6's "The Sons of Billy Clay", by Stephen Graham Jones:
- Billy Clay himself was a psychopath with a thirst for murder that only increased after his return from the Second World War. Killing people and hiding their bodies in his dad's barn, the townsfolk had enough and decided to lock him inside his barn and burn it down. Having predicted this, Billy transferred his soul to a nearby bull, who escaped before the barn's destruction. Joining the rodeo, Billy would go on to kill numerous employees, fellow bulls, and audience members before being put down, his murderous rampage inspiring the likes of Charlie Tinker to continue his legacy.
- Charlie Tinker is a butcher who carries on Billy Clay's legacy for the sake of profit. Having carved up Billy's bull body for beef and finding him delicious, Charlie created a serum from Billy's flesh that he uses to transfer Death Row inmates' souls into rodeo bulls, having them cause enough mayhem until they'd have to be put down, with their meat sold by Charlie. With many dying from his bulls, Charlie's even willing to turn his own traitorous henchmen into rodeo bulls as punishment.
- Vol 7's "We Share Our Rage with the River", by Josh Rountree: The narrator's Father is a racist, controlling farmer who sees everything as his property. Having discovered the river women inhabiting the Brazos river, the Father took to fishing them out to make them his river brides, enslaving them while simultaneously having an affair with one of them in the past. Harboring a strong hatred for the Karankawa tribe, to the point of killing any he sees, the Father uses the Mercy Killing of his river bride Mama Agatha as an excuse to slaughter the tribe and collect their scalps, despite having grown bored of Agatha.
- Vol. 8's "Baby Doll", by Iphigenia Strangeworth: "Daddy" is the abusive, alcoholic patriarch of the family. Once a supposedly good man who returned from fighting in the Great War a whole lot worse, Daddy took to raping his maid Josy until she became pregnant, even carving half a smile on her cheek when he noticed she was unhappy with carrying his baby. Frequently abusing his family every chance he gets, Daddy eventually lusts for his underage daughter "Baby Doll", frequently forcing her to sleep with him to the point where she becomes pregnant with his bastard offspring. Daddy later murders Baby Doll's husband Jebidiah and threatens to kill her and her baby Priscilla when they try to escape his home.
