43
Two miles from the bridge you come to a junction where a mountain track branches off to the north. You are about to ignore it and press on when suddenly you notice the roof of a cabin: it is set back from the track and is almost completely hidden by the pines. Aching with fatigue, and the pain of the minor injuries you have sustained during your flight from the assassin, you decide to investigate the cabin and rest there a while.
The dwelling was once a private hunting lodge, owned by a wealthy family who lived in Las Cruces before ‘The Day’. Its doors and windows are secured, but the corroded locks are easily shattered and you soon gain entry. Most of the rooms are furnished, yet you discover little of practical value until you look in the cellar. There you find enough canned food for twelve Meals and, in an adjacent workshop, you discover something totally unexpected: a brand new off-road motorcycle still packed in its delivery crate.
Outside, the light is beginning to fade. Attempting to reach Tucson, alone and in the dark, does not strike you as a good idea, so you decide to spend the night here in the cellar. You are worried that the assassin may still be on your trail and so you set about barricading the cellar door. Only when you are sure that he could not possibly enter without waking you, do you settle down for some much needed sleep.
