Briggs¶
Briggs is a drunk, one-footed fisherman and veteran who lives on a barely floating boat at the old docks of Marblehead, Massachusetts, and the first local to give the task force an outsider's view of the town's church.
| Type | NPC |
| Aliases | None (calls everyone "officer") |
| Affiliation | None; Catholic, wary of the local church |
| Status | Alive (as of Summer Service 01) |
| First appearance | Summer Service 01 |
| Played by | Andre |
Description¶
Briggs has a prosthetic foot, peeling, sunburned feet and a lawn chair beside a tiny, rickety boat in the harbor, where Andrew finds him asleep or passed out. He advertises a "luxury pleasure cruise" and addresses every member of the team as "officer" (Summer Service 01).
History¶
The Summer Service¶
Looking for a poor boatman who would complain about "supernatural ocean shit," Andrew Howard finds Briggs at the old working docks while the team kills time before the Scott girl gets home from school (Summer Service 01).
Briggs blames "the goddamn Russians" for the bombing at 3 a.m. about a week and a half earlier, and thinks the Soviet collapse was a ploy. Glass from the blast cut him in a sensitive spot, and the wound became infected and had to be drained by a doctor in Salem. He says the town has since had dead fish, weird weather, headaches and bad moods, and fears that "the next one will be more successful." He was in bed on his boat during the blast, which blew out the windows of everyone near the shore (Summer Service 01). Kurt Larson shows him his double bullet wound and bonds with him as a fellow veteran (Summer Service 01).
Asked about the church, Briggs says it is against alcohol (and the town loved Prohibition), baptizes around forty white-clad people and babies in the sea, and speaks in tongues; he suspects an "old-time religion" older than the colonists. He vouches that the cemetery keeper, O'Donnell, is not one of them, advises the team to see the fort, and tells them to avoid local seafood ("stick to good old Mickey D's"). He identifies the "island" across the bay as the wealthy part of town, with Castle Rock, lobster boats and a bird sanctuary (Summer Service 01).
He also shares a seagull heresy and tells an eel anecdote about a drunken co-captain singing show tunes (Summer Service 01).
Relationships¶
- Treats Kurt as a fellow veteran.
- Is Catholic and distrusts the Sons of Adam, the church led by Amos Shaw.
Memorable quotes¶
Quote
"Maybe the next one will be more successful." Andre (as Briggs), on the blast (Summer Service 01)
Quote
"No, I think every damned soul becomes a seagull. That's my little heresy on top of Catholicism..." Andre (as Briggs) (Summer Service 01)
Trivia¶
- Briggs blames the Russians for the blast, a theory he shares with other locals; see The Marblehead explosion for the blast itself.
- When Zack (as Huell Kendrick) asks "what is the strangest thing you've ever seen while fishing?", Briggs answers with the eel anecdote.