#1: Black Dog is the first chapter of Badman Strikes Back.

Summary

In a basement, Badman questions an unseen individual on whether he's ever seen the Grim Reaper. He recounts a story about it from seven to eight years ago.

In the past, Badman was driving a truck transporting a drug named White Crystal on a rainy night; with him was Cole and two other men. Cole was telling Badman (Birkin) about strange food such as cow brains, but Birkin wasn't interested. They were driving north on Highway 101 when, right before a turn, Birkin and Cole noticed a black dog on the side of the road. Cole noted that a black dog like that was an "incarnation of the Grim Reaper".

Soon after, they saw a trailer sitting in the middle of the road, blocking the way. Birkin slammed on the brakes and more cars appeared behind them, ambushing them. Cornered, Birkin floored the truck in reverse at Cole's suggestion, but in the corner of his eye, he saw the black dog. Cole went to shoot at one of the attackers with his gun, but accidentally shot Birkin in the left ear instead. He quickly lost understanding of what was going on, but could tell that Cole had been shot by the attacker. He then passed out.