10

If Cutter is disappointed to hear that the freeway ahead is blocked by a landslide, he certainly does not allow it to show. ‘Hell, we’re jus’ gonna have t’ break out the brooms ’n’ shovels,’ he says, with typical Texan bravado, and goes off to break the news to the others.

The colonists listen to Cutter, and you watch their faces grow sterner and longer. You are worried that the bad news, coming so quickly after the shock of Mike Gorgas’ death, will cause the colony to disintegrate, but, to your surprise, it has completely the opposite effect. It re-focuses attention on the immediate problems and inspires them to pull together.

Within minutes the colonists are back aboard their vehicles and the convoy is ready to move out. You and Rickenbacker resume your position at the head of the line, and you lead them out of Smurr. When you reach the pass, you bring the convoy to a halt and go forward with several of the colony’s elders to assess the damage.

The westbound lanes are blocked by a solid wall of rock that is more than twenty feet high in places, but the eastbound highway has escaped the worst of the landslide and Cutter estimates that it could be made passable with a couple of hours’ hard work. He tells the others and immediately they set to clearing a way through.

If you wish to help the colonists clear a way through the landslide, turn to 85.

If you choose to help Macy and Langdon keep a lookout for clan scouts, turn to 183.