222

Despite your anxiety you manage to get a few hours’ sleep before dawn. As the sky brightens, Uncle Jonas voices his fear that the vehicles are far too exposed out on the highway, where they can easily be spotted and will be sure to attract another raid like the one you endured last night at Santo. Cutter agrees, so before you set off for Strawn he fixes a line to the back of the tanker and tows the bus into a nearby gully.

There, Uncle Jonas and the others set to work dismantling the broken steering linkage, while Mountain Goat draws a map of Strawn, showing the location of the truck depot. He hands the sketch to Cutter, and you and he check your equipment and bid farewell to the others before setting off.

Two hours later you catch sight of the fortified town. It is perched on a ridge of high ground and enjoys an unobstructed view over the surrounding land. You note its perimeter wall, constructed of rubble and old cars, and the crudely built watchtowers that command its freeway approaches. It seems to you that it would be impossible for a large group, or even a single vehicle, to approach this town undetected, yet the rocky terrain that surrounds it enables you and Cutter to crawl to within a few hundred yards of the perimeter wall without being seen.

Patiently you observe the inhabitants of Strawn while waiting for night to fall. During your long vigil you must eat a Meal (or lose 3 ENDURANCE points) and take two Drinks (or lose 3 ENDURANCE points per drink missed). You identify two weak links in the defensive wall: one is an alley that services an old shopping mall; the other is a chain-link fence that surrounds a derelict amusement park at the edge of town. Cutter suggests that you enter Strawn separately in order to minimize the risk of being seen then meet at the depot itself. He offers you first choice of approach.

If you wish to enter Strawn via the alley, turn to 103.

If you decide to enter the town via the amusement park, turn to 60.