The dead lay strewn in the street, and the bloodied buzzards circled the sky above. They had not gotten their fill, but the gauss blasts scared them off for now.

The living hovered over the dead, sobbing.

Cherry stood hugging a post on the porch of a store. She understood their loss, losing loved ones. It must have felt similar to losing her dignity once she became a brothel worker. She could never get it back.

Moving from body to body looking for Scratch, she recognized many of the men, not just as familiar faces, but as clients who visited her frequently.

Dead fathers, dead husbands, dead brothers, dead friends; the corpses littering the street were all of that and more. They were pillars in Noke'la. Now it seemed the settlement they built was falling down around them, and the crushing weight of it would soon squash them.

Unless they took action. Course corrected before it was too late.

Roy's body was not amongst the carnage.

Cherry ran from the horrific scene to find Roy. He'd know how to handle this, what to say.

It wasn't supposed to end up like this. Scratch had shared briefly with her, just that morning that the U.S. Marshal from her vision had come into town, but that she needn't worry. The King had seen fit to warn Roy, revealing the lawman's plan to him through the most unlikely source. Cherry had felt fear and doubt at first. She trusted Roy, but the lawman from her vision seemed like the embodiment of death itself. But when Roy informed her that the source was the betrayal of Cora, the woman who Roy had taken a fancy to, Cherry couldn't be happier.

But now this.

They'd thrown almost every able-bodied man at the U.S. Marshal, and he'd gunned every last one of them down.

The wind wailed, drawing her attention to the edge of town. On the horizon a fierce dust storm kicked up. She needed to find shelter. But she needed to find Roy before that.

She ran to the saloon, then to the brothel, stopping anyone she recognized. Roy wasn't anywhere to be found. That he was involved in the shooting, she was sure. A man had come for him, the man in her vision, her nightmare. She shuddered at the dark the memory of him. Had he caught her Scratch? Had he hurt him? Or worse?

She found herself climbing up the steps of the church, bursting through its front doors, sprinting past the pews. The church swam in shadow, the lights off, as the dust storm swept over Noke'la, invaded the sky overhead, covering the sun. Flickering candlelight caught her attention. She moved into the hall behind the pulpit, down a hallway that led to the parsonage, Scratch's living quarters. Inside, Himura rushed to and fro, gathering things and stowing them in a travel bag.

"Where's Scratch?"

Himura gasped, so concentrated, he hadn't heard Cherry enter the parsonage. "The Terran lawman—"

"I seen what he did. Is Scratch okay?"

"For now. But that marshal..." Himura hissed the title like a curse, visibly shaken.

"He's the man from my vision."

Himura's gaze locked on her. "Yes. I seen him slay all the men that Roy sent after him. Even Sheriff Frumt. He had no qualms robbing the dead either. Just swiped the creds right off of them."

Himura was obviously shaken, but Cherry needed him to focus. "What did he do with Roy?"

"I watched him snatch Sheriff's keys. I think he's gone and locked Roy up in the jail."

"How can we help Scratch? There's got to be something we can do."

Himura shook his head. "Those bars can't hold Roy for long. He'll escape. But I know my master. He won't stay here. Roy will go to the King." He paused, shuddering. "That Terran though, he and his guns are one. Unstoppable. They all had him dead to rights. Yet he cut them all down, like a threshing bot with a scythe. He'll follow Roy to the ends of Rubrum."

Cherry hugged her stomach, feeling sick. Everything Scratch erected was falling apart so fast. Who would guide them? Those survivors of the fallen, who would console them? Who would run their funeral services? Who would redirect them? Why would the King do this to them? Had they angered him, incurred his wrath?

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Her vision came to mind. Her lips quivered.

No. The King had given her the vision. He'd seen fit to warn her. Why warn her and not Roy? Was it for this very moment?

Yes.

The King had shown her the future. Her vision was not only vindicated, it was reality. The sultan of sulphur knew this would happen. Which meant he'd given Cherry all she needed. She just had to act. The vision of the lawman in black haunted her mind, and the carnage he caused made her want to spew. But this time her back straightened. She stood tall, imbued with righteous anger.

Himura closed the travel bag, content with the articles he'd packed and moved into the hall.

"Himura, sound the bell."

"But Cherry, we—"

"Dare you question the prophetess? Sound it."

***

Quite a crowd had gathered as word spread of the carnage in the street, of those they'd lost to the man in black. The bell drew the broken, a beacon of a last shred of hope. Those entering the church looked for Roy, confusion openly displayed on their faces at seeing the pulpit empty, but took their seats in the pews anyways.

A dust storm outside smothered the sunlight. Candelabras provided the only source of light in an otherwise uncharacteristically darkened day.

The bell continued to ring, drawing in the entire congregation. Curiosity and loss brought them. The church bells had not wrung out on a weekday in some time. It could only mean something important had happened, something everyone needed to be made aware of.

Groups formed around those mourning. Cherry waited a few moments, respecting their time, but also long enough to let Roy's absence bother them. All the while she knelt next to the pulpit, robed in yellow, the garment she'd worn during her first prophecy.

Someone finally worked up the courage. "Where's Roy? What's going on?"

Cherry rose, and as she did she felt foreign strength flood her, rising from her toes up into her beating heart, running along her arms, and filling her mind.

"A man tried to attack our reverend," her words silenced the congregants. "The truth Roy heralds is too dangerous for some to hear, or for some to let it be heard. They tried to silence our shepherd. And because of that, our men defended our beloved reverend. Their lives were stolen from us, because they defended the truth. They are heroes, men of valor. And that is why we cannot let their deaths be in vain."

She paused, letting the statement hang in the air. As she continued, her voice rang strong and true. The King filled her with power to proclaim. "Even as we gather, our reverend departs. The murderer who sought Roy's life seeks to take it still. Will we let our fallen brothers die, forgotten?"

Vehement shouts of "No," and, "Never," rang out.

Cherry's chest heaved as the weight of the situation mingled with her love of Scratch, and her passion for vengeance. "I've been given a vision. Though pursued by a man that would murder him, Roy does not flee. No. He answers the King's call.

"In the night visions, I've seen a city laid waste, forgotten. A city once majestic, regal, prepared for us in eons past, lying dormant. Carcosa is her name. And in the center of the desolate city, all the twisted streets lead to the castle, to his throne."

Cherry's voice grew frantic, every breath used to shout the words.

"The barren city fell to ruin. But we can reclaim it once more.

"Brothers and Sisters. The time has come for all the chosen children to answer the call of the King. Only those loyal will heed his beckoning. And may all who forsake it be accursed. Will you aid your reverend, the man who healed your sick and led your stray? Will you heed the King in Yellow?"

A shout arose from the people.

"Go now. Gather only what you need for the exodus. Then, we make haste and harken unto Roy our reverend, and to meet the King."