A wide circle of sandstone pillars thrust up out of the dust. A long time ago, someone named them The Ghosts, because they thought they saw faces in the pock-marked stone. Travelers swore the faces changed each time they passed, and so it became common belief that if someone died in the Breaks, their face joined the rest, here in the stone circle.

More recently, a man had built a town in the middle of the circle. The man was called Alex with Malice, and he called the town Bad End. The Ghosts had become The Ghosts of Bad End.

Landon Reeves crouched behind one of the ghosts. The stones provided enough cover for her to slip into town in the dark without being noticed. From here, she could see her sister. Landon tightened her grip on the knife in her right hand, and waited.

Beth was lashed to a tall pole, maybe two hundred feet away. A large number of people had gathered, but seemed to be keeping their distance. The whole place was lit by only a few torches. It was hard to see much.

The crowd parted, and a man walked through the opening. He approached Beth, and gave a tug on the ropes that held her. Seeming satisfied, he turned back to the crowd. Beth barely moved. Landon figured she was either in shock, or they had drugged her.

The man began to speak.

"We all know that there has been disease here in the End. Many of you have suffered. Some of you have suffered badly. All of you have suffered bravely. You know exactly what is going on, and still, in the face of this terrible thing, my Bad Enders have earned their boss's respect. But enough is enough, my stoic little lovelies, and that is why today I marched across the desolation, discovered the offending witch, and dragged her back here by her hair," he said, his voice rising. When he finished, the crowd cheered.

People said there were witches. They said they could bring the Gods, and make crops fail, and sow disease. Landon thought that life was hard here, was probably hard everywhere, and witches made nice excuses for people who were too weak to deal with that.

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One thing, though, she knew for certain. Beth was no witch. Landon's little sister talked too much, and sometimes said some pretty weird things, but she was no more a witch than Landon was a great, furry elephant.

Men had come to her town and burned down Ed Taggert's house, a man who was known to have caused problems for Alex with Malice. When they finished, they started asking questions about witches. Alex wanted a name. The men had beaten some of Landon's neighbors. It would stop, they said, when Alex got what he wanted. Someone had said her sister's name.

They had dragged Beth from the house. Landon had been unable to stop them. She had, however, managed to track them here.

If she ever left this place, she was leaving with her kid sister.

The man continued to speak.

"We will purify, we will sanctify, we will demulsify the perpetrator and put an end to this nonsense. And it will be a lesson to anyone looking to do us harm, that if you mess with the End…"

"The End messes you up!" the crowed shouted back in unison.

"Now please, please, back up a little more, but don't close your eyes. Today is a landmark day, and you're not going to want to miss it," the man said, waving them back.

Landon knew what they did to witches. She was only going to have one chance. She had her knife, and a small container of gasoline, which she had brought hoping to cause just such a distraction.

As soon as she saw flames, she would run. Landon had always been fast, and they wouldn't be looking for her. She knew she could make it to Beth before they realized anything.

She was pretty sure she could make short work of the ropes with her knife. She would pull Beth free, and toss the gas into the fire. It should make a big enough boom to back people up. If anyone tried to stop her on the way out, she thought she could deal with the first one. Landon was good with the knife, and they would underestimate her. More than one, and she could have a problem.

The man walked away from Beth, joining the crowd. Another man walked forward. This man carried something small and glowing. He placed it near Beth's feet, and hurried away.

Landon tensed, ready to spring as soon as she saw fire.

If someone gets in your way, don't hesitate. Even if it's a old lady. Even if it's a kid.

There was a little spark, which started to grow, and Landon broke for her sister. Then there was light, too much light, and the force of it caused her to stop, even pushed her back a little.

When it dissipated, Landon saw a black shadow of her sister, and the pole she was tied to, for the briefest moment. For that moment, the shape of Beth clung to the world. Then it dissolved into a cloud of ash, already scattering in the wind.

Beth was gone.

Landon felt a great pressure in her chest. She sank to her knees, and her whole body seemed to vibrate. She couldn't move. Couldn't think. The shock held her still like it was pressing her to the ground.

Beth was gone.

She wanted to scream, but couldn't get her mouth to work. Her jaw was too tight, too heavy.

Landon barely even noticed when someone grabbed her by the shoulder and put a bullet in her head.