135

Bullets ricochet off the trash can, their sharp clangour making your ears ring. The firing continues for several seconds until you hear a squeal of tyres, followed by a loud metallic crash. A careful glance over the rim reveals that the last biker and his machine have finally met their doom.

As you climb out of the trash can and walk away from the bridge, you hear Captain Frankland ordering everyone back to the truck. ‘This ain’t the last we’ve seen of Mad Dog’s men,’ he says, looking to the east in the direction of Ciudad Juarez. ‘We’d best keep moving while we’re ahead. We’ve made good progress, but we’ve still got about 100 miles to cover before we reach Deming.’

He climbs into the cab beside Marine Knott, while you and the sergeant settle down in the rear of the truck and try to make yourselves comfortable. You leave the town, heading north, following the remains of a highway that promises to take you back across the border and on to your rendezvous with the colony. A few miles outside the town, the highway crosses a lake by means of a narrow causeway. The first few rays of the dawn sun are lightening the eastern sky, and, as you stare across the lonely landscape, you find yourself thinking of Kate and the colony.

‘If all goes well, we’ll reach Deming a few hours before noon,’ says Haskell, studying a map by the light of a tiny bulb in a wire cage bolted to the rear of the cab. Then he slips the map inside his combat jacket, switches off the light, and curls up on the floor to sleep. You too are feeling very tired, so you decide to follow Haskell’s example and try, despite the bumpy ride, to snatch a few hours’ much needed rest.

Before you sleep you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

To continue, turn to 80.