<data>
<p>A hail of automatic rifle fire tears into the sides and rear of the jeep as you crash your way through the barrier and accelerate across the open ground. You are twenty yards from the safety of the southern ruins when two bullets penetrate the jeep<ch.apos/>s gasolene tank.</p>
<p>The steel-jacketed rounds cause a spark that ignites the fuel, and, in one chilling instant, the vehicle is transformed into a blazing fireball. A kaleidoscope of shapes assails your eyes as the jeep somersaults end-over-end, before you are engulfed by a wave of searing white heat that kills you instantly.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life come to an end here in San Angelo.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life come to an end here in San Angelo.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>An agonizing pain cuts into your chest and the warm taste of blood fills your mouth. Then the pain gives way to a terrifying numbness that robs you of all sensation. In a moment you see the sniper working another round into the chamber of his rifle. Then he points the muzzle at your head and darkness engulfs you.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in Brogado.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in Brogado.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>The gully approaches with frightening speed. Horrified, you watch as the front of your roadster nosedives into the hollow, pitching the car end-over-end. There is darkness, and then there is a searing flash of white light that totally engulfs your vision as the fuel tank ruptures and explodes.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here at the foot of Slaughter Mountain.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here at the foot of Slaughter Mountain.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>The sound of their engines is getting louder with every passing second and yet you are unable to find a safe way down to the river bed<ch.emdash/>it is far too steep. Desperately, you drive back and forth along the edge of the bank until a volley of shots echoes across the plain and the first of the clansmen<ch.apos/>s bullets start to whistle past. You have been seen.</p>
<p>Quickly you abandon your attempt to hide and steer your roadster back onto the freeway in a frantic bid to outrun the pack. The fastest bikes give chase and relentlessly they pursue you until the leader is within twenty yards of your tail. With mounting fear, you glance in your rear-view mirror to see him draw a stubby-barrelled weapon from a tube strapped to the fuel tank. At first you think it is a sawn-off shotgun, but then you recognize the weapon and your heart sinks. It is a D-40<ch.emdash/>a laser sighted grenade launcher. You see the muzzle flash, and then moments later there is a deafening explosion. The last sensation you feel is that of being hurled skyward, surrounded by fire and fragments of your roadster.</p>
- <p>The armour-piercing grenade has penetrated the trunk and exploded the spare fuel tanks you were carrying. Tragically, your mission and your life end here.</p>
+ <deadend>The armour-piercing grenade has penetrated the trunk and exploded the spare fuel tanks you were carrying. Tragically, your mission and your life end here.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You are twenty yards out from the wall when a burst of machine gun fire echoes across the open ground. Bullets graze the rubble just a few feet ahead and ricochet into the air with a piercing whine. Kate looks over her shoulder and begins to slow her pace to allow you to catch up, but you scream at her to keep running and she obeys your command.</p>
<p>When you are halfway across the gap, a wave of exhaustion descends on you like a lead blanket. Painfully your thigh muscles tighten until, in the throes of cramp, you stumble and fall. Desperately you try to rise but more shots ring out and you feel something sharp and searing, like a red-hot dagger, pierce your side. Your vision swims in and out of focus and the last thing you see, before total darkness descends, is Kate as she reaches the fire station.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here in San Angelo.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here in San Angelo.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>The first two clansmen to enter the workshop fall victim to your gunfire. The others duck back and crouch either side of the doorway as their leader, a wiry biker with a badly broken nose, offers you the chance to give yourselves up. Defiantly you both refuse.</p>
<p>Seconds later a clutch of grenades are thrown into the workshop and they explode with a thunderous flash. You are both mortally wounded in the blast, and when the Angelinos finally summon enough courage to storm into the room, they find you dead in each other<ch.apos/>s arms.</p>
- <p>Your journey and your life end here in Eldorado.</p>
+ <deadend>Your journey and your life end here in Eldorado.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You examine the three dials that are set into the top of the security valve. Each is divided into three segments, and each segment displays a number. One of the segments on the third dial has numbers which can be altered by hand. Carefully you consider the numbers and soon realize that they are part of a coded combination lock. By turning the adjustable numbers on the third dial to the correct total, you will release the lock and open the valve.</p>
- <p>Consider the following numbers carefully. When you think you know what the missing number is, <choose test="has-numbered-section-list"><when value="true"><a idref="numbered">turn to the entry</a></when><otherwise>turn to the entry</otherwise></choose> which bears the same number as your answer.<footref id="sect129-1" idref="sect129-1-foot"/></p>
+ <puzzle idref="sect52">Consider the following numbers carefully. When you think you know what the missing number is, <choose test="has-numbered-section-list"><when value="true"><a idref="numbered">turn to the entry</a></when><otherwise>turn to the entry</otherwise></choose> which bears the same number as your answer.<footref id="sect129-1" idref="sect129-1-foot"/></puzzle>
<illustration class="inline">
<meta>
<creator>Brian Williams</creator>
<data>
<p>The coarse staccato sound of a machine pistol and the sight of a clansman<ch.apos/>s grinning face are the last sensations you experience as a dozen bullets rip into your chest. Mercifully, the bullets deliver a quick and painless death.</p>
- <p>Your life and your journey end here.</p>
+ <deadend>Your life and your journey end here.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>The sniper fires as he turns and his bullet drills deep into your chest. You feel yourself lifted into the air, and the warm taste of blood gushes into your mouth. Then you hit the floor and the momentary pain gives way to a terrifying numbness that robs you of all sensation. In a moment, you see the sniper working another round into the chamber of his rifle. Then he points the muzzle at your head and a total darkness engulfs your vision.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in Brogado.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in Brogado.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You try to dodge the speeding arrow but it catches you in the side and pierces your rib cage. For a moment you feel nothing. Then a searing pain rips through your chest and a swirl of colour obliterates your vision. You crash to the ground and fight desperately for your life, but it is a fight you can no longer win.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here at the entrance to the caverns of Sonora.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here at the entrance to the caverns of Sonora.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You pull on the steering wheel and swerve heavily to the left in order to avoid the missile, but you cannot prevent it from hitting your car. The armoured tip penetrates the engine compartment, entering from below the wheel arch and exploding in the middle of the fuel injection system. In a split second, your roadster is transformed into a ball of flame: death is instantaneous.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here at the foot of Slaughter Mountain.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here at the foot of Slaughter Mountain.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>The biker stands up as he approaches the ramp. Then, as his machine takes to the air, he pulls back on the handlebars and throws his weight forward over the front wheel. Man and motorcycle soar through the sky, and then make a perfect rear wheel landing at the edge of the freeway.</p>
<p>Confident that you can match his feat of daring, you accelerate towards the pump house and brace yourself as the front wheels begin to rise. Unfortunately, the roof is not strong enough to support the weight of your car and it collapses before you are airborne. Horrified, you watch as the front of your roadster nosedives into the ditch, pitching the car end-over-end. Then a searing flash of white light engulfs your vision as the fuel tank ruptures and explodes.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your life and your journey end here.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your life and your journey end here.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You hurl the grenade, but it glances off the edge of an auto wreck and is deflected away from the ammunition chest. It explodes with a brilliant white flash that illuminates the barricade and draws the clansmen<ch.apos/>s attention to your position. Frantically you run for the safety of the yucca forest, but before you have taken a dozen steps, you are cut down by a long burst of automatic fire.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here at the Fabens barricade.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here at the Fabens barricade.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You have fallen into the shaft of a private elevator that was once used to service the executive penthouse suites of the Lone Star Oil <ch.ampersand/> Gas Company. The elevator itself is located on the sub-basement level, three floors below where you have fallen in, and it is upon its roof that you finally crash to your doom.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in San Angelo.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in San Angelo.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>Your gunfire hits the Maverick in the midriff, forcing him to his knees. His first shot misses you, and through clenched teeth he spits out a curse as he struggles to raise his pistol for a second attempt. He is on the brink of death, and rather than waste precious ammunition, you choose not to fire again. It proves to be a fatal mistake.</p>
<p>His pistol is not a standard factory model; it is a weapon that has been customized to fire in fully-automatic mode. With his last ounce of strength he thumbs the selector to auto, and, as he falls forward, he empties the fourteen-round magazine in your direction. Sharp, stinging cores of pain erupt in a line across your chest as the 9mm bullets find their mark. The pain is unbearable, and seems to fill your entire body, but it soon gives way to a numbness that robs you of all sensation. Within a space of a few seconds you slip from consciousness and into a sleep from which you will never awaken.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You try to dodge behind the stalagmites to avoid the clansman<ch.apos/>s fire, but your reflexes are dulled by fatigue and your movements are uncertain. A line of bullets punctures your chest and the taste of blood fills your mouth. As you fall to the ground, strangely you feel no pain, only an irresistible desire to sleep.</p>
<p>Moments later the clansman falls victim to Kate<ch.apos/>s pistol, but it is a shot you do not hear, for you have already slipped into the timeless embrace of death.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here in the caverns of Sonora.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here in the caverns of Sonora.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You grab Kate by the wrist and take cover among the rocks that border the highway, but it is already too late. You have been seen by the approaching Angelinos and, as they get nearer, they fan out and encircle your position. Their newly-elected leader, a wiry biker with a badly broken nose, offers you the chance to give yourselves up. Defiantly you both refuse.</p>
<p>Their first attempt to capture you leaves five of them dead. Rather than risk losing any more of his men, the leader orders grenades to be thrown. They explode with a thunderous flash and you are both mortally wounded in the blast. Then they spray your position with automatic fire. When the Angelinos finally summon enough courage to close in, they find the two of you lying dead in each other<ch.apos/>s arms.</p>
- <p>Sadly, your journey and your life end nine miles south of Eldorado.</p>
+ <deadend>Sadly, your journey and your life end nine miles south of Eldorado.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You feel a jolt against your shoulder as one of the clansmen stubs his toe against the raised edge of the cover and is sent sprawling to the ground. Quickly you try to replace the hatch but it is roughly pulled aside by the angry Angelino. The instant he sees your face, he draws his pistol and empties it into the shaft. Pain erupts in your head and chest as seven heavy .45-calibre slugs knock you off the ladder. The last thing you hear, as you plummet into the darkness, is Kate<ch.apos/>s echoing scream of horror.</p>
- <p>Your journey and your life end here.</p>
+ <deadend>Your journey and your life end here.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>Mortified by the sight of the truck veering wildly across your path, you can barely open your mouth in time to scream before the front of your car collides with the side of the truck. The engine compartment crumples under the force of the impact and both front tyres explode simultaneously, flipping your vehicle end-over-end like a discarded toy. A kaleidoscope of shapes assails your eyes as the roadster cartwheels along the freeway. Then you are engulfed by a wave of searing white heat as the fuel tank ruptures and ignites in an enormous ball of flame.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life come to an abrupt end less than five miles from Big Spring.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life come to an abrupt end less than five miles from Big Spring.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>Both bullets hit you with deadly accuracy: one in the head and the other in the heart. Death is instantaneous.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here at Fort Stockton.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here at Fort Stockton.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>An agonizing pain cuts across your chest and the warm taste of blood fills your mouth. Then the terrible pain gives way to a terrifying numbness. For a moment the corridor swims in and out of focus, and then darkness engulfs you as you relinquish your hold on life.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in San Angelo.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here in San Angelo.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>The roadster hits an outcrop of rock, which forces the right side of the vehicle into the air. Desperately you fight to correct the roll but it is already too late: the car is out of control. You can barely open your mouth in time to scream before the roadster flips over and bursts into flames.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your journey and your life end here.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your journey and your life end here.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>Something sharp punches you in the stomach and nausea washes over you in a wave that leaves you gasping for breath. Fearfully you clasp your hand to your midriff and feel warm blood oozing between your fingers, yet you feel no pain. Aware that you have been shot and that the shock of your wound is numbing your senses, you force yourself to get clear of the door in case the unseen gunman fires again.</p>
<p>You have taken just five steps when your vision begins to dim and your legs refuse to support your weight. You fall forwards and hit the floor face-first, but still you feel nothing, save the creeping numbness that slowly robs you of the will to live.</p>
- <p>Tragically, your mission and your life end here at San Angelo.</p>
+ <deadend>Tragically, your mission and your life end here at San Angelo.</deadend>
</data>
</section>
Project Aon Git Repositories / project-aon.git / blobdiff