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From the window of a room on the second floor you watch as the mob floods out of the alley and into the street below. They divide into two groups and begin searching the adjoining streets, seemingly convinced that you are still out in the open. Silently you crouch by the window, awaiting the chance to slip out of Cross Plains unseen. While you are lying low, you must take a drink or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. It is dusk before you are able to escape from the town. With relief you discover that your roadster is still parked at the gas station, and quickly you climb in and accelerate away.
When you reach Rising Star you find that the convoy is awaiting your return with trepidation. Because you are so long overdue, they feared that you had fallen foul of Mad Dog Michigan and his bikers. You tell them what happened to you in Cross Plains and everyone agrees that, with darkness almost upon you, it is too dangerous to continue.
The night at Rising Star passes uneventfully and at first light the convoy sets off cross-country towards Abilene. The arid, stony bed of Pecan Bayou provides excellent cover from the surrounding high ground and leads the convoy northwest, back towards Interstate 20. Shortly after midday you reach the freeway, from which you can see the outskirts of Abilene less than five miles distant.
