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With a squeal of tyres, you accelerate away, retracing your route along Interstate 20 towards the convoy. As you drive, you are haunted by images of the two Rad-vics that you encountered at the trench: the chilling memory of their gaunt, grey faces has awakened your deepest fears. The road crests a rise and you see the convoy parked less than a quarter of a mile away. The welcoming sight distracts you from your morbid thoughts, but the relief is to be short-lived.

As you bring your roadster to a halt alongside the bus, you see Cutter standing on the roof, a pair of battered binoculars pressed to his eyes. ‘Looks like we’re goin’ to have company real soon,’ he says, staring at a large cloud of dust that is advancing towards Eastland from the northeast. ‘I reckon there’s over 100 bikes out there on the prairie, and they’re all headin’ this way. Looks like that Mad Dog Michigan decided not to go to Killeen after all!’

‘I think we should head for Cisco and lay low until they pass,’ says Uncle Jonas, but he soon changes his mind when you tell him about your encounter at the trench.

‘Abilene would be safer,’ says Kate, leaning out of a window of the bus. ‘But we’ll have to pass wide of Cisco to get there.’

Cutter convenes a hasty conference to decide the best way to reach Abilene. The terrain in this area is too rocky to attempt a cross-country detour at speed, so you must use what little remains of the secondary highways in order to reach your goal. After studying the map and staring at the surrounding plain from the roof of the bus, you determine two possible routes: northwest via the town of Albany, or southwest via the town of Cross Plains. The colony is undecided as to which route would be best, and so, as convoy scout, the decision is left to you.

If you decide to take the highway northwest to Albany, turn to 156.

If you choose to take the southwest route through Cross Plains, turn to 270.