The running man drew a pistol and fired while running. A difficult shot, even for an expert. The rifleman suddenly sat down and then fell sideways, the gun sliding from his hands. Then the running man tossed his gun away—empty, apparently—and reached over his head for the handle of the sword, drawing it with a flash of silver fire. A katana, thought Church. The Rover with the knives tried to intercept him, to keep the swordsman from Big Elroy, but the sword swept him away, cutting the man’s head, shoulder, and right arm off with a savage diagonal cut. Blood geysered up.

Big Elroy charged down the hill, raising his axe for a murderous blow.

The swordsman feinted toward the right, almost into the path of axe and horse, then pivoted left, turning into a full circle so that he came up on the horseman’s left. The blade flashed again and Big Elroy was falling, his foot still in the stirrup but the leg cut through below the knee. The Rover fell hard, and Church watched as the swordsman walked over to him, paused for only a moment, and then made a single, final cut.

There was something about the man’s posture as he stood there looking down at the dead Rover. Something about the set of his shoulders, the way he turned to look back at the town.

Church straightened slowly and wiped his eyes with his black gloves, hoping to clear his vision.

“No,” he said softly.

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

— 1 —

— 1 —

The day wore on. Long and sad and bloody.

A few Rovers, not yet knowing they’d already lost, tried to climb the walls. Others—a scant few—fled into the woods and were never seen again. Or, if they were, they did not wear necklaces of grisly souvenirs or claim to know anything at all about any gang by that name.

The fires burned. Three houses in Happy Valley caught fire from drifting embers.

Dahlia counted her own dead. Of the Pack members who’d followed her to Happy Valley, there was nineteen dead. Jumper was one of them, though no one had seen him fall. The town girl, Bree, was dead, killed by a shot fired from the field. Eleven helpers were dead, too.

And more than two hundred Rovers.

The living dead in the front field were left to burn. Some of the forest burned, too. It was later discovered that the clearing where helpers had been left to starve had burned. Claudia escaped, though, and found her way back to town.

Joe Ledger, Rachael, and Baskerville came up to the back gate and knocked to be let it. It was Mr. Church who opened the door.

The two men stood looking at each other for a long, silent time. The people around them—Rachael, Dahlia, Neeko, Slow Dog, and many others—waited them out. None of them understood.