Death and Zealotry Reign in Devil’s Perch

Some two weeks ago the citizens of Devil’s Perch woke to a bright and cheerful sun, little dreaming of the damnable disease that would soon wrack their town and their lives.

All know of the plague brutally infesting the Perch and waiting to strike at the innocent like a desperado with hell in his heart. All have felt the effects of the quarantine made by the Governor, which, necessary though it may be, has caused no end of suffering to the innocents crying for mercy from within the military walls. To date, the deaths of the wretched have been tallied and estimates place about one third of all Perch citizens in the gentle hands of the Lord.

Some desperate few have attempted to escape the bounds of the quarantine, and when they refused to bow to the majesty of the law, have been ruthlessly shot down. Citizens should be warned that the Governor is quite serious about maintaining the confinement of all persons.

Fear rules the streets as the healthy fall sick, leaving fewer every day to attend to the needs of the people. Mills are empty, schools are vacant, and even the saloons echo only with the weeping of widows and orphans. Even the soldiers who once patrolled the town and brought fresh supplies have begun to fall ill and have withdrawn their strength to the borders of the area. Panic has begun to take a hold as people search for a cure, or take advantage of the fearful state to loot and raise chaos wherever they go.

Many are turning to religion as the military and Sheriff Doyle prove unable to provide order. Even the Catholic Church on Cole Street is packed, I am told. One Catholic, a Mrs. M, said, “This plague is a punishment from God for our sins!” She then made a Papist gesture and returned to her prayers, as prayers are all that many have left.

Outside, a crowd gathered and began asking passersby to come in and repent of their sins. “It is the end of days!” They shouted. Over the past few days, more groups have taken to the streets to beg for forgiveness. This has led to clashes between various parties, which are barely distinguishable from the brawls spilling into the roads at all times of the day and night.

The supplies promised by the military are looted and stolen, and many fight over food. No building is safe that has no strong guard. Many shuttered homes have broken doors and windows, and any absent occupant may return to find all their valuables stolen. Those places where only the dead watch over their treasures see gunfights and spilled blood as the lowest form of mob squabbles over the abandoned wealth.

Somehow, life is continuing, and the violence has not yet stopped the people of the city from taking on the necessities of living. The thin veneer of civility is cracking, though, and with the military falling back, there seems to be no one to stop complete chaos from breaking loose.

Citizens are advised to take all precautions, and to pray. Avoid traveling at night, and, as all know, do not visit any home or building marked with an “X.” It can only be hoped that the light of civility will find a path out of this darkness before the Perch is destroyed by this horrible plague or by its own people.