He was there, later, when they took the last bear from the wild. He followed her until she fell, tranquilizer dart bright against her shaggy coat.

Yet in the middle of this sinking void, there is one thing that continues to hold meaning, to remain hard, and stable, and real: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

Beyond the lattice / a vacuum that devours / all it surveys with / aimless abandon.

Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate , page 18 of 24. A serialized graphic novel.