134

With Sergeant Haskell beside you, you drive out of Sierra Blanca, heading west on Interstate 10. A few miles later, you see a forest of strange plants growing on either side of the freeway. They are ten to twenty feet high, with stiff, spiky leaves and topped with white, bell-like flowers.

‘Those are yuccas,’ says Haskell, clearly amused by your open-mouthed reaction at seeing these almost science-fictional plants for the first time.

‘I’m amazed they’ve survived where everything else has failed,’ you reply. ‘They must be good at adapting to their new environment.’

‘That’s the key to survival, Cal. We all have to adapt if we are to survive.’

You keep your car at a steady sixty miles per hour until the ruins of Fort Hancock loom into view. Like Sierra Blanca, this town is deserted, having been looted by the Mexicans months ago. Sergeant Haskell radios back to the convoy to tell them that the town is safe to enter. When they arrive, you continue towards Fabens to scout the barricade.

You are less than three miles from Fort Hancock when you see a vehicle approaching on the highway ahead. Rather than run the risk of a head-on confrontation, you pull your car off the freeway and hide it among the yuccas. As the vehicle grows nearer, you see that it is a military truck, loaded with munitions, and manned by a group of Mexican clansmen. Both you and Sergeant Haskell realize that if this truck is allowed to reach Fort Hancock, it could destroy the colony’s hopes of ever seeing El Paso.

Turn to 162.