"You seen anything down there?"

Sadie moved her gaze from the ranch across Little Creek River and looked at Karen sitting across their campfire. "There's a bunch of them, and mostly drunk."

Karen eyed the farm through the trees. "It's a big ranch."

"Yeah, but they're spread pretty thin. It won't take much to bring them down."

Sadie had killed countless O'Driscolls by now and it still hadn't sated her rage. They'd ruined her life and she couldn't overcome it. Even with Colm dead, it wasn't enough. This raid on Hanging Dog Ranch was her last chance to recover some of her humanity.

"One of them, he's a fat fella with a beard, he's mine." Sadie looked to the sun, its placement moving ever higher. "We should get moving soon."

Karen said, "I thought you wanted to wait for Arthur."

Sadie thought she could count on Arthur, but he hadn't seemed to want to involve himself in her revenge. When she'd mentioned Hanging Dog Ranch, he'd grimaced and hadn't made making any promises. He'd gone with her and Dutch to Saint Denis to watch Colm swing, but he'd even said at the time he didn't give a damn one way or another if Colm lived or died, even though the man had done him enough wrong too.

Still, she hoped he'd change his mind and meet them here. Sadie at least had Karen to back her up, because no matter Arthur's reservations, she didn't have the luxury to let bygones be bygones.

If the only thing she'd lost in that home robbery were possessions, if Jake had survived, things could have been different. They could have rebuilt the farm. They could have worked together to get past everything. She wouldn't have needed to hunt down all these men and make them pay. If Jake could see her now...

"I've seen you twiddling that thing near every night lately," Karen interrupted her thoughts, pointing at the harmonica in her hand. "Do you play?"

She stopped flipping the harmonica, which had grown into a soothing habit, and squeezed it in a tight grip. "Only for my husband."

"Can I ask you something?"

Sadie tensed, expecting Karen to prompt her for more details about her husband, which she wasn't ready for.

Karen shifted and broke eye contact. "Maybe it's nothing but my imagination."

"What?"

Karen chewed her bottom lip a moment, as if trying to decide on whether or not to continue. She met her gaze again. "On the night our boys came back to Lakay, something happened that I haven't been able to work out. I talked to Abigail and Tilly about it, but they didn't see nothing. Maybe you did."

Intrigued now that the focus was off her, Sadie prompted, "Go on."

"It don't really make sense and I feel more foolish every time I bring it up. But, it's like an itch I can't scratch, you know?"

Sadie wracked her mind, going back to that night, trying to remember if anything had been off. The day had started normal, quiet. Everyone had been working on their chores and all was as usual until Micah dropped in that afternoon. Arthur had followed in the evening, and then Dutch and Bill after dark. It was a day of reunions, but she didn't remember anything specifically involving Karen.

"For some strange reason, I got this image of Micah's face burned in my memory from that night. I don't know what he was doing, but I remember these two bright lamps behind him." Karen's brow furrowed deeply as she concentrated. "I thought I saw him setting them lanterns up and then going back inside."

Sadie frowned, thinking. Really, it could be chalked up to a drunken delirium, considering Karen had frequented the back of the main shack whenever she started on her bottles, which had been most days. "So, you saw Micah come back there, put a couple of lanterns out, but not stay out there for a smoke or nothing?"

"I told you it didn't make sense."

"It doesn't," she agreed. But it'd been bothering Karen enough that she'd been asking around about it. She asked carefully, "You sure Micah didn't try anything?"

Karen shook her head. "I can't remember much, but he wouldn't have had time for nothing because them Pinkertons were shooting up the place a minute later. And I sobered up quick enough when that started."

The way Karen laid it out had Sadie considering the two events as connected. What Karen witnessed sounded like the fever dream of a drunk, but it was so specific. There was no reason for him to be putting lanterns anywhere.

They had all been celebrating Dutch's return inside, though Sadie couldn't recall noticing Micah inside the entire time. They'd all assumed Bill had been the one to slip up and draw in the vultures. Had Micah tipped them off instead?

"Karen! Mrs. Adler!"

They both turned their heads to find Lenny headed for them. He broke from the path and led his horse Maggie through the trees, until he reached the small camp they'd set up.

"Hey, Lenny," Karen greeted with a smile. "You boys manage the rest of them horses alright without slipping down the mountain?"

Lenny dropped down beside them. "We managed fine, but we got bigger problems to concern ourselves with now."

Sadie recognized in Lenny the same look of apprehension from when he'd returned to Shady Belle after the bank fiasco. "What happened?"

"Pinkertons raided Beaver Hollow," Lenny told them, going on to relay the attack as explained to him by Javier and Tilly. He informed them of Hosea's sudden death and Grimshaw's murder. They'd lost all their possessions to the Pinkertons and many of their friends were yet unaccounted for.

Karen's earlier enthusiasm visibly deflated with Lenny's every word. "This is...just awful."

Lenny nodded. "I suggest you two either come with me to Moonstone Pond and hopefully we can join up with the others, or get yourselves out of the area. With Micah's backstabbing, it's gotten dangerous on all fronts now."

"'Course," Karen said grimly. "Can't believe it's gone to shit so quickly."

Sadie was grateful to Lenny for bringing the warning, but she was not about to abandon her current mission. "We'll go." She nodded her head in the direction of the ranch. "But I need to do this first."

Lenny stared at her, boggled. "What?"

Sadie snarled, "I didn't come all the way out here not to see this through, once and for all. Karen?"

Karen shrugged, addressing Lenny, "I did promise Sadie I'd have her back out here, especially since it seems Arthur ain't gonna be joining us anytime soon."

Lenny informed them, "Last I seen, he and Charlotte were going to make for Moonstone."

"Why don't you join us, Lenny?" Karen suggested. "Sure would get through those O'Driscolls a lot quicker with a third gun."

With or without Karen and Lenny, Sadie had waited long enough. She'd already postponed once before, when a storm blew through and they'd been forced to hunker down. She turned from them and began her preparations while Karen continued to persuade Lenny. She holstered two revolvers and a knife. She pressed her hand briefly on the pocket over her chest, where the wedding photo Charles had recovered for her now occupied. Jake.

Lenny hesitated. "We really should get back to the others."

Karen bumped her shoulder against his. "Oh, come on. You gonna leave us at the mercy of the O'Driscoll Boys?"

"If there's one thing I ain't seen, Miss Karen," Lenny said with a half smile, "it's you at the mercy of nobody."

Karen grinned. "So? What do you say?"

"Alright, sure."

Karen winked at him. "Just make sure you keep up."

Sadie unstrapped her double barrel shotgun from her horse Bob, and said, "Let's finish this."

This wasn't only a revenge mission for herself. Sadie was also doing this for every innocent life the O'Driscolls had taken, for every farmer minding their own business before getting robbed and murdered, for every woman taken advantage of, and for every child orphaned in their wake.

Sadie started the assault, lighting a fire bottle she'd made this morning and tossing it near the corrals to scare off the horses. She took the lead through it all, her mind focused on one thing: kill every last one of them.

These bastards had gotten away with too much for too long. Sadie was their angel of death and the sweep of her kill arm was far-reaching and unforgiving. She moved through the ranch, quick and relentless, vaguely hearing her other two companions following.

With every death, she repeated a simple prayer, so every bastard she killed knew who had come calling. Jake Adler, Sadie Adler.

The three of them eventually got through every man outside and in the barn. All, but the one man Sadie needed to tear down. Big Tom, the man Jake had mistaken for a simple traveler and had invited into their home. The man who had killed her husband.

Sadie knew Tom was here. She'd seen him from a distance. She made for the farmhouse, on the hunt, and her instincts proved right. Tom had hid himself in the the top loft of the farmhouse. He stood near the window, sweating and at a loss for what was happening.

"You're the last one, Big Tom." Sadie trained her shotgun on him and his hands lifted up. "You bastard piece of shit."

There was fear in his eyes. Fear, because he'd seen the damage she'd done to his brothers when she wasn't helpless, tied up, and trapped in a cellar. "Who are you?"

"Jake Adler, Sadie Adler," she told him, wrenching the names from her soul once more. Those people, those good people, didn't exist anymore. "You took our home. You took my husband."

He shook his head, the names meaning nothing to him.

"Let me give you a hint," Sadie said, disgusted at his lack of memory. "I told you, you'd be seeing me again."

Finally, something clicked and his confusion transformed into a partial recognition. "The farmer's wife?"

"That's right. And that promise I made those months ago? It's about to come true. You're gonna die here, you bastard."

But just shooting him in the chest was too quick and painless of a death for Big Tom. Not only had he been the one to murder Jake, he'd also left his friends behind to take over her home and ruin her up until the day the Van der Linde gang arrived and set her free.

Sadie dropped her shotgun and drew the large knife from her belt. "I'm gonna gut you, and I'm gonna enjoy it."

Big Tom was slow, and without his men backing him or a gun in hand, he was useless, no threat to her at all. But that didn't mean she was ready for mercy. She moved forward and swiped at him, a yell erupting from her.

Big Tom clutched his stomach with a look of surprise, as if he hadn't believed she'd be true to her word. As he fully registered the wound, he stumbled a step and fell to his knees, his arms wrapped around middle.

"Sadie?" Karen called from somewhere inside the house.

She didn't answer as she stood over Tom, watching him writhe in agony. He didn't know the meaning of the word.

Sadie shoved him so he landed on his back and then stood over him, grief and fury overwhelming her. She stabbed him again, releasing a scream at the puncture. His blood spurted, covering her, burning her skin.

When he lie completely still, she stood from him, breathing heavily. It was done. He was dead. They were all dead.

Despite all Arthur's warnings of revenge not being worth it, all Charles' words of caution that it wouldn't get her what she wanted, there was a sense of relief and grim satisfaction at what she'd done. She was hollow and weary, but there was not an ounce of remorse in her soul. These men had paid for their sins.

Yet, all in all, it was a bitter justice. And now that her mind started to clear for the first time in months, she understood what Charles and Arthur spoke of. She was surely vindicated, but she didn't have Jake back.

"Sadie?" Karen had reached the top of the stairs. She stared, at her, at the blood that covered her and then Big Tom. Karen's eyes met hers. "You okay?"

This murdering bastard was dead. He couldn't hurt anyone else. It was as much of a victory as she was ever going to get. Sadie attempted to flick off the blood from her hands and answered hoarsely, "Yeah."

Karen held quiet, a rare act as any as Sadie stared at the man who'd done her so wrong. She wondered why her and Jake had been chosen as his victims. What would have happened if her husband had been just a little more cautious? "He was a good man, my Jakey."

Emotions swept over her, and with them, memories of better times that she'd pushed to the back of her mind months ago, so they wouldn't cause her to abandon her cause. Tearfully, Sadie said aloud, "We was always sweet on one another."

Karen stepped fully into the loft and unexpectedly caught Sadie up in a hug, heedless of the blood matting her clothes.

Sadie was grateful for the compassion. Her strength seemed to be sapping out of her, as if it all had gone into the final killing blow. "I miss him every day, every moment."

"I understand."

Karen had lost her own man recently, but she'd dealt with her grief in a different way, throwing herself into drinking rather than action. Unlike Sadie and her hatred for every O'Driscoll, Karen hadn't felt the need to kill every Gray in Rhodes.

Sadie expelled a ragged breath into Karen's shoulder. "They turned me into a monster."

Karen stroked her hair in a soothing manner. "Nah. All the monsters around here are dead."

She didn't have the energy to debate it even though her insides felt ugly to her core. "My memories of Jake, of the life we had, they still pure."

"Ain't every woman who comes across a good man for keeps. You were lucky."

"So were you."

Karen leaned back and raised an eyebrow. "Me and Sean?" She shrugged. "I don't know. What us two had wasn't love so much as a mutual understanding."

"Everything okay in here?" Lenny called up cautiously.

"We're fine, Lenny," Karen answered over her shoulder. "Just give us a minute."

Sadie stepped out of Karen's hug, wanting to wipe the tears on her cheek, but unable to because of the blood splattered on her palms.

The two of them joined Lenny outside. Sadie whistled for her horse while Lenny and Karen started chatting.

Karen grinned Lenny's way. "You turned out not to be so green after all."

"I do know my way around a gun, Miss Jones," Lenny responded as he adjusted the hat on his head. "Don't know why you keep forgetting."

"Guess I don't expect someone so young to have much experience."

"Ain't no way you're more than a year or two older than me," he shot back.

The light-hearted banter between them was too much for Sadie. Her insides were hollowed by everything she'd done, her grief resurfacing all over again.

"I think I need to be alone for a bit," she told them abruptly, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping her hands before the blood dried on her palms.

The two looked her direction. Karen asked, "You sure?"

Sadie nodded. "I'll meet up with you at Moonstone."

"Okay, well, get yourself cleaned up."

"Same goes for you," Lenny told Karen. "Ya'll look like you came out of a butcher's shop."

Karen looked down at her outfit. "Shit. I didn't bring nothing with. Maybe there's something inside the house I can use before we head out."

Sadie left their company, returning to their little camp across the creek. She gathered up what was hers and packed it away on Bob. Once on the road, Sadie loosed the reins and let Bob chose their path for awhile as she drifted into memories.

She lost herself in all the moments she could never relive: her and Jake toiling side by side on their farm, laying in the fields during the cool summer nights, holding hands and viewing the stars. Simple days she'd never believed she'd miss so fiercely.

They were supposed to start a family. They were supposed to have grown old together. They were supposed to have lived every day with one another, maybe not always happy, but at least content in the life they'd chosen.

Sadie didn't think she'd ever be able to go back to the farm. Even with the time already passed, the miserable nights of being held against her will by those O'Driscoll's remained fresh. However, with Big Tom dead, Colm dead, and the majority of the rest of them gone, she felt satisfied enough to consider her vicious pursuit done.

Now that she'd accomplished what she'd set out to do, she tried to look forward. What would Jake want for her? It was difficult for her to come to terms with the truth, but she knew.

He had been a more forgiving person than her. He'd want her to find a better purpose than revenge. To march on and make another life for herself. Maybe even to love again.

Sadie would never have heart enough for that, but the others? It was possible. She could see a sliver of a future, now that her singular focus for insatiable violence had waned. But, if she wanted to do it, she couldn't stay around here. Not where there were too many memories.

She'd never trust as wholly and willingly ever again, but she could see herself taking each day as it came. She could see...the remnants of a life she could pick up.

Sadie came upon a stream and figured it was as good a place as any to wash up, now that she'd been traveling for a few hours. She dismounted and made her way down to the river, watchful of the trees and the path for any intrusion. But the woods kept silent.

Sadie got to work cleaning up. She couldn't get the now dried blood out of her clothing. She did have a spare shirt in her saddlebag, which she swapped.

As she finished up and inspected the area with a keener eye, she realized Bob had led her back to the vicinity of Beaver Hollow. Of course, he had. He had grown to know this area as their latest home with the other horses and a food source.

Remembering Lenny's warning of Pinkertons in the area, she had half a mind to clear off completely. Maybe she could head south and find some work. Nothing much held her to the gang now that she'd taken care of the O'Driscolls. She could start a new life tonight, if she so wished.

Either way, there was no point in being caught anywhere near Beaver Hollow since she wasn't sure if Milton could connect her with the Van der Linde gang or not.

Sadie finished her clean-up and returned to Bob, stepping into a stirrup. As she swung her leg over the saddle, she heard gunshots echoing through the trees at a distance, disturbing the tranquility. She paused, listening, to determine if they were done or moving.

When the gunshots came again, they were much closer and accompanied by the thunder of hoof beats on the path. So close, in fact, that she looked up just in time to witness three riders flying past on the path up the hill from her.

She recognized Old Boy first, with John crouched over his neck, as two Pinkertons chased his tail, in hot pursuit.

Without a second thought, Sadie clenched her calves against Bob, spurring him to move forward. They took off up the hill after the other riders. She removed a revolver when she closed in on the Pinkertons just ahead, but the trail was tight, winding, and thick with trees. She couldn't get a good shot on the Pinkertons before they were turning on the path again and out of her aim.

"Hell on Earth," she muttered under her breath as she lost sight of them for a third time. Fortunately, they hadn't yet spotted her.

The next section of road was forked, the trees having been cut for a clear view of the path. It left John open for a kill shot while the Pinkertons remained hidden by the woods.

Luckily for John, Sadie had his back. She took aim and fired rapidly, killing one, then the other, riding past their falling corpses as they slipped from their horses.

John looked back and slowed down when he saw who'd found him.

As she reached him, Sadie commented, "You playing cat and mouse with the Pinkertons?"

"You hear what happened to camp?" he asked her immediately and she nodded. He continued, "I had one of them agents. I was questioning him, trying to figure out if they had Abigail and Jack."

She guessed, "And then a couple of his friends showed up?"

"There were more," John said defensively. "I took care of them, but I couldn't shake these two."

"So, do they have Abigail?"

"I don't know," he answered, frustration plain in his tone. "Maybe. Probably. She ain't been seen since Beaver Hollow and I couldn't get those bastards to admit to anything."

"And they won't. These men are paid to keep their traps shut. They ain't gonna give up information easily."

Obviously angry, he snapped, "Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"First of all," Sadie tried not to match his temper, "how you know she ain't makin' her way to Moonstone this minute like everyone else?"

John fell silent a moment and looked away, admitting, "I guess, I don't. Not really." Old Boy under him shifted restlessly as John expelled a breath. "I can't lose her again, you know?"

His desperation and sudden exposed love for Abigail was too much for Sadie's raw emotions today.

It was her turn to look away as she said, "We'll find her, John. But right now, all you're gonna do is get yourself killed if you pick a fight with every damn Pinkerton you come across out here."

"Well, what are you doing out here then?"

Sadie wasn't about to explain how she'd been wading through her emotions so she shrugged and evaded a straight answer. "Like I said, I got it on good authority everyone's heading for Moonstone. I say, we do the same. For all you know, your family's already waiting for you there."

John's eyes strayed east, brimming with uneasiness. "My gut says she's in trouble. That they both are."

"Well, you ain't a bloodhound," Sadie retorted. "Without knowing where to look, you ain't never gonna find them."

"I wasn't there, Sadie," he blurted, his voice more graveled than usual. "It can't keep happening, that I ain't there when they need me most."

Her stomach turned at hearing John confess a moment of weakness. "I understand. But maybe someone else knows something."

"Maybe." John spared one last glance in the general direction of Beaver Hollow before facing her with a new determination. "You know where this new camp is?"

She shrugged. "Lenny says it ain't hard to find."

They began their ride, Sadie only knowing the approximate vicinity of Moonstone, as it was somewhere on the road near Three Sisters. They ended up not needing to worry overmuch about hunting down the camp location.

They found Karen and Lenny in the road, stopped next to a patch of grass where someone had spelt out NEW HANOVER with dozens of rocks. Lenny was in discussion with Arthur and Charlotte.

Arthur turned his head as he spotted her and John first. "Marston. Mrs. Adler." His glance passed between them and he asked, "No sign of them then?"

John shook his head, his knuckles whitening over the reins. "No."

"Abigail ain't stupid." Arthur reassured. "They'll turn up."

Lenny said, "Let's get on. The pond ain't far now."

He wasn't wrong. The pond was just off the trail, but nestled in between the boulders and trees, not an obvious location unless one chanced to see who occupied the area from the road. They could only hope it was more hidden than Beaver Hollow.

Without Grimshaw's direction to whip them into shape, the camp they came upon was a sorry sight. Javier sat on the porch, sharpening his knife with concentration. Uncle stood near, a piece of tough jerky between his teeth as he fought to bite off a piece. Micah's friend Joe and Bill sat on a log in front of a dying campfire, Bill awkwardly attempting to make conversation while neglecting the lowering flame in front of them.

None of these men seemed to know what the hell they should be doing. And Dutch, their leader? Nowhere to be seen. The group didn't even have anyone posted as a lookout.

"I've seen livelier graves," Karen commented under her breath, voicing their thoughts.

"Hey," Arthur called and finally had their attention.

Javier looked up first, saw who it was and got to his feet. "Arthur? John?"

"And the rest of us," Karen added wryly.

Javier let slip a smile. "Forgive me, amiga. It's good to see all of you."

Since there wasn't anyone else doing it, Sadie decided to take charge. She told Bill to stand guard at the edge of the pond, near the trail. With some grumbling (and some forceful encouragement from Arthur), he obeyed. Sadie didn't bother with Uncle since he mostly got in the way when he claimed to be 'helping'. She had Lenny get the horses together, to be hitched and fed.

Next, Sadie ordered Joe to collect more firewood so they'd have a stack for the night. When he only looked at her with that scarred face of stone, she said, "You wanna eat with us, you help."

He said nothing, but he stood and lumbered off.

Javier offered some supplies he and Lenny had collected from some cabin. It would be enough to feed them all for a few days, but they'd have to stretch it to make it work. What they needed was fresh meat. They could really use a master of hunting to feed the company.

Knowing who would be best at it, Sadie asked, "Anyone see Charles?"

Charlotte told her, "Last we saw, he was journeying north."

Sadie frowned and couldn't help feeling disappointed of his absence. The two of them had run the gang when the rest had been lost at sea.

Arthur offered, "Marston and I can rustle somethin' up."

It would also be a good distraction because it had become painfully obvious neither Abigail nor Jack had made it here yet.

Sadie enlisted Charlotte's help to whip this place into something that resembled a camp, locating bedding, tents and anymore supplies that could be shared. After an hour, Arthur and John returned with a couple of rabbits.

Arthur put together a grill he kept on his horse and Sadie helped him skin and cook the meat. They didn't have plates, tables, forks or a stew pot anymore, but they made do. Arthur served up the cooked meat, cut thinly from an already thin rabbit. Charlotte handed out a chunk of bread while Uncle passed around some whiskey.

Lenny, Karen and Javier sat on the log near the now lively and brightly burning campfire. Arthur found a lone wooden chair and pulled it close to them. John sat on the ground, declining any food, his expression grim as he stared into the fire. Joe returned with an armful of firewood, dropped it nearby, grabbed his portion of the meal and stalked off into the woods again, disappearing into the darkness as dusk settled in.

Once everyone was comfortable and started on their meal, Sadie walked Bill's share out to him, as an olive branch. He didn't express any gratitude, snatching the bread and meat out of her hand, but she held her tongue. When she came back, she chose to stand close to the ruined cabin. She found a cigarette and lit it up, smoking and watching the company from a distance.

Uncle and Karen got to swapping stories, drawing in the others enough that it almost felt like home. But they all felt the wrongness, the absence of the people who weren't here. The ones who were missing, or had given up on the transient lifestyle or had died before seeing the end of it. Much as they tried to bring life to this camp, there wasn't the same high spirit in the group.

Glancing John's way, Arthur asked, "Anyone not here, but we do know where they are?"

Javier told them, "Dutch is around, but went off to find himself a horse. Pinkertons got The Count."

"Shame," Arthur commented, remorseful about the horse.

Javier added hesitantly, "Also...Micah made it here, but I don't know where he's gone. Took off a few minutes before you all came in."

"Micah?" Lenny asked in surprise. "He ain't been kicked out?"

"No," Javier answered. "Dutch didn't have enough proof."

"Proof?" Arthur repeated with disbelief. "That he goddamn killed Susan?"

"Dutch said..." Javier seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "He wanted to hear it straight from Tilly, since she was the only one who saw it."

"Oh, we're having words about that," Arthur vowed. "What the hell is Dutch thinkin'?"

"I don't know," Javier said quietly.

His brow pinching with doubt, Lenny said, "Maybe Javier and I shouldn't have sent Tilly away."

"Nah. You did good, kid," Arthur told him before catching Javier taking a morose swig of whiskey. "You both did."

With Dutch and Micah out, Grimshaw and Hosea dead, Tilly in Saint Denis, they determined the only ones who were missing from their group since Beaver Hollow were Pearson, Abigail and Jack.

Sadie put out her cigarette and when she looked up Arthur was heading her way. He crossed his arms and leaned against the shack next to her, his head bowed.

"I hear you took on the rest of them O'Driscolls," he said. "I'm real sorry I didn't make it."

"We handled it," she replied, keeping her tone neutral. "Lenny and Karen proved themselves just as capable."

"You got what you needed then?"

Sadie tilted her head, watching the sky a moment before she told him, "Yeah, I got what I needed."

Arthur nodded and then glanced back at the others. "I know I shouldn't ask, but there's something I could use your help with."

"What is it?"

"Abigail, Jack, John...Charlotte. When we're all together again, make sure they make it."

Her brow furrowed. "Wait. How do you mean?"

"I mean," He looked around, drew closer, and lowered his voice. "This whole thing is pretty much done. I don't know why Dutch don't see it, but when the time comes...you help them."

"What do you mean?"

He said impatiently, "I mean, help them escape when I..." He sighed heavily, a wheeze blowing out. "You know, you and me, we're more ghosts than people."

Sadly, he was right about that. No matter what she did with her life from now on, it wouldn't ever be the same, just an echo of everything she once was.

"But them..." he jutted a thumb backwards. "They could..."

They could go on with a normal life, if they tried. Sadie said simply, "I know."

Maybe he was right. She didn't know what to feel right now, what she should feel. She had no remorse and no regrets for all the killing she'd done lately. All she had right now was an emptiness that she didn't know how to fill.

Arthur waited for her answer and, as if she hadn't considered leaving them all behind only hours ago, she said with surety, "Of course I'll help."

Had Arthur given her purpose? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but it was something. A flicker of purpose.

He nodded, satisfied at her answer. She eyed him up and said, "But you still got people, Arthur. You still got friends here. It ain't the end."

"Oh, it is," he said with a note of finality. "And I've come to terms with it."

She frowned. Why did she get the feeling he was speaking of more than just the end of the gang? It was more as if he were referring to the end of his life.

Before Sadie could question him, there was a commotion coming from the others, in particular Bill. She stepped from the building and looked around Arthur to see what had them shouting and reacting.

Pearson was riding in on a ragged horse too small for his build. Bill shuffled behind with a belated warning. Pearson appeared exhausted, his hat missing and his sweat-stained shirt clinging to his body. On the saddle in front of him sat little Jack, asleep, his head lulled forward over the saddle.

Pearson's horse stopped and trembled in place as if it could move no further. Pearson himself started slipping sideways off the saddle. The group around the campfire rushed over to them. Arthur and Javier caught Pearson while John grabbed for Jack, pulling him down and holding him tight.

The sudden movement startled Pearson awake enough to get his bearings. He was assisted off the horse and on to his feet.

Pearson swayed, clearly about to pass out, but John grabbed him anyway, with the arm not clutching Jack and demanded, "Where is she? Where is Abigail?"

Pearson's bleary eyes landed on John and he winced, his expression filling with regret. "I'm sorry, Marston. Milton got her."