No one could ever explain exactly what had happened up at Thunder Mesa. When Lou and the others returned they found that they only had vague memories of what had happened. It was as if the disappearance of Baruk had reduced the memories into vague scenes as if from a dream, a nightmare. Soon none of them could swear that it had happened.
The murders in the town were never resolved and soon they were forgotten. The Greenwalds were the only once that were truly missed, but as life went on, the memory of them faded. When Teaspoon got back on his feet he made some efforts to dig deeper into the cases, but he soon gave up. The conclusion was that the murderer or murderers had left town. There was no more trouble and most people seemed happy with that.
The riders went on with their lives, waiting for the day when Kid finally would ask Lou to marry him. Lou had finally faced up to her darkest secret and lived in the comfort that Kid now knew of it and still loved her. Jimmy met Rosemary, a married woman that seemed to occupy his mind more than his friends approved of.
It was nothing that foretold of what was to come although the tension and hatred that threatened to tear apart the country soon showed it's ugly head among the riders. But they remained a family despite the pity differences and arguing. And Kid did ask Lou to marry him, before the eyes of the amused Jimmy and Teaspoon. When they married the riders still held hopes for the future and when tragedy hit them, it hit them hard.
Noah had not intended to ride out, but when he failed in stopping Rosemary from avenging her husband's death, he decided to help her. Cody came to their assistance, but Noah was a second too late to turn away from the fight. A bullet hit him fatally. He was already dead when Cody reached him. Sobbing Cody cradled him in his arms. Had he looked up across the valley he would have seen the killer watching the scene from a safe distance.
He had not intended to linger, but something made him stay. He had never thought he'd hit the black, he was not really used to the rifle and the fact that he had made him proud. He just wished that the headache could disappear. On his chest a soft red light shone with a pulsating light. A cold breeze passed through the valley carrying the sinister words through the air.
"I'm back."
