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<!DOCTYPE gamebook SYSTEM "gamebook.dtd" [
<!ENTITY % general.links SYSTEM "genlink.mod">
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<p>Only one place meets your needs: a warehouse and factory complex near the middle of the town. The cracked and tarnished facia above its entrance tells you that this was once the Eldorado Woolen Mills. You park the roadster in a covered lot at the rear, then settle yourselves on the first floor in a workshop that has an unobstructed view of the highway. You must now eat a Meal (or lose 3 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points), and take a Drink (or lose 3 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points).</p>
<p>Kate curls up beside you and falls asleep in your arms, while you, heavy with fatigue, force yourself to stay awake and watch the highway. Your vigilance pays off when, two hours later, you see a line of lights in the double doors leading to the kitchen and you head straight for them.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect99">If the number you have picked is 0-2, <link-text>turn to 99</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect218">If the number is 3-9, <link-text>turn to 218</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect99">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>2, <link-text>turn to 99</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect218">If the number is 3<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 218</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
</illustration>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect96">If the number you have picked is 0-3, <link-text>turn to 96</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect145">If the number is 4-6, <link-text>turn to 145</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect287">If the number is 7-9, <link-text>turn to 287</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect96">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>3, <link-text>turn to 96</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect145">If the number is 4<ch.endash/>6, <link-text>turn to 145</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect287">If the number is 7<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 287</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>Running footsteps approach from all sides and angry voices scream abuse in your direction. You grab your weapon and, as you turn to face the moving shadows, you find yourself staring into the steely-blue eyes of a Maverick gunman. A Smith and Wesson model 459 pistol is clasped in his right hand, its nickel-plated barrel pointing straight at your face. As the Maverick begins to squeeze his trigger, you raise your gun and fire.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add to it your Shooting and Stealth skill scores.</p>
<choice idref="sect235">If your total score is now 8 or less, <link-text>turn to 235</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect258">If your total score is 9-12, <link-text>turn to 258</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect258">If your total score is 9<ch.endash/>12, <link-text>turn to 258</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect26">If your total score is 13 or more, <link-text>turn to 26</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>You are fifteen yards from the screen when suddenly they realize that you have no intention of stopping.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add to it your Driving skill score.</p>
<choice idref="sect14">If your total is 4 or less, <link-text>turn to 14</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect275">If your total is 5-7, <link-text>turn to 275</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect275">If your total is 5<ch.endash/>7, <link-text>turn to 275</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect3">If your total is 8 or more, <link-text>turn to 3</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>Your shout is met by silence. You are about to repeat it when a burst of machine gun fire rings out and six ragged holes suddenly appear in the centre of the kitchen door.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect322">If the number you have picked is 0-1, <link-text>turn to 322</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect256">If it is 2-5, <link-text>turn to 256</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect23">If it is 6-9, <link-text>turn to 23</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect322">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>1, <link-text>turn to 322</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect256">If it is 2<ch.endash/>5, <link-text>turn to 256</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect23">If it is 6<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 23</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You hold your breath and try not to move as the clansman rummages through a tool box less than four feet from where you are crouching. Unfortunately, the dust he is stirring up causes you to sneeze, betraying your presence. Suddenly, one of the gasolene drums is rolled aside and you feel two strong hands grab your jacket and drag you to your feet.</p>
<p><quote>What are you up to?</quote> growls the scar-faced Detroit Lion, his stinking breath making you pull away in disgust. <quote>Sabotage, is it?</quote> he spits, accusingly.</p>
- <p><quote>Nah <ch.ellips/> I ain<ch.apos/>t no saboteur,</quote> you reply, stalling for time, as you let your hand drift slowly towards your close combat weapon. <quote>I<ch.apos/>m an Angelino who jus<ch.apos/> wants t<ch.apos/>see the race. I<ch.apos/>m supposed to be patrolling the south zone but ain<ch.apos/>t nothin<ch.apos/> ever happens down there. Gimme a break, will ya?</quote></p>
+ <p><quote>Nah<ch.ellips/> I ain<ch.apos/>t no saboteur,</quote> you reply, stalling for time, as you let your hand drift slowly towards your close combat weapon. <quote>I<ch.apos/>m an Angelino who jus<ch.apos/> wants t<ch.apos/>see the race. I<ch.apos/>m supposed to be patrolling the south zone but ain<ch.apos/>t nothin<ch.apos/> ever happens down there. Gimme a break, will ya?</quote></p>
<p>As your fingers close around your weapon, you see something that makes you hesitate. At the rear of the truck you glimpse a large crowd of clansmen who are queueing to enter the stadium. The sight dissuades you from attacking your accuser, and instead you decide to try offering him a bribe.</p>
<choice idref="sect161">If you possess a <typ class="item">Bottle of Bourbon</typ>, <link-text>turn to 161</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect207">If you do not possess this item, <link-text>turn to 207</link-text>.</choice>
</footnotes>
<data>
- <p>Bullets rip into the tyre rack and whistle past you on all sides as the clansman rushes your position. Calmly you stay hidden until you hear his gun stop in midburst, then you spring to your feet and fire at point-blank range, hitting him in the chest.<a id="sect176-1" idref="sect176-1-foot" class="footnote" /> He doubles up, falls forward and lands in a lifeless heap at your feet.</p>
+ <p>Bullets rip into the tyre rack and whistle past you on all sides as the clansman rushes your position. Calmly you stay hidden until you hear his gun stop in mid
-burst, then you spring to your feet and fire at point-blank range, hitting him in the chest.<a id="sect176-1" idref="sect176-1-foot" class="footnote" /> He doubles up, falls forward and lands in a lifeless heap at your feet.</p>
<choice idref="sect308"><link-text>Turn to 308</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p><quote>At this rate we<ch.apos/>ll reach Interstate 10 in an hour,</quote> you say, but Kate does not reply: exhaustion has got the better of her and she has drifted off into a deep sleep. Without her conversation to stimulate you, fatigue eats away at your concentration and gradually you lose interest in the road ahead. You fall asleep at the wheel and reawaken only when the roadster veers off the highway and crashes into a rocky spur.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect234">If the number you have picked is 0-7, <link-text>turn to 234</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect298">If it is 8-9, <link-text>turn to 298</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect234">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>7, <link-text>turn to 234</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect298">If it is 8<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 298</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>The scout leader gives a loud, malicious laugh as he steers his bike towards the front of your roadster. As he rides past, he leans over and lashes out at your unprotected back with his chain.</p>
<p>Add together your Perception and Stealth skill scores.</p>
<choice idref="sect25">If your total is 5 or less, <link-text>turn to 25</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect277">If your total is 6-8, <link-text>turn to 277</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect277">If your total is 6<ch.endash/>8, <link-text>turn to 277</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect341">If your total is 9 or more, <link-text>turn to 341</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<meta><title>208</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>With your pulse racing, you raise the binoculars to your eyes and focus on the approaching bikers. They ride machines bedecked with a strange symbol: a priest or some other holy man, dressed in flowing white robes, with a halo above his head. It looks a curiously pious symbol for a clan to adopt, until you remember that before <quote>The Day</quote>, the name of the professional football team based in New Orleans was <quote>the Saints</quote>. Suddenly you realize that this pack of riders, some 400-500 strong, are the New Orleans clan that Mad Dog Michigan sent for. It would be disastrous for the convoy to run head-on into a group of this size, and you hurry back to the colony as quickly as you can to break the bad news.</p>
+ <p>With your pulse racing, you raise the binoculars to your eyes and focus on the approaching bikers. They ride machines bedecked with a strange symbol: a priest or some other holy man, dressed in flowing white robes, with a halo above his head. It looks a curiously pious symbol for a clan to adopt, until you remember that before <quote>The Day</quote>, the name of the professional football team based in New Orleans was <quote>the Saints</quote>. Suddenly you realize that this pack of riders, some 400<ch.endash/>500 strong, are the New Orleans clan that Mad Dog Michigan sent for. It would be disastrous for the convoy to run head-on into a group of this size, and you hurry back to the colony as quickly as you can to break the bad news.</p>
<p>With the New Orleans clan approaching from the north, a large Mexican clan crossing the border to the south, and the threat of a Maverick ambush to the west, the prospects of reaching El Paso unscathed now look decidedly unpromising. With no time to discuss the situation at length, the convoy reverts to the original plan: to stay on Interstate 10 and approach El Paso from the west. It is the shortest, most direct route, even though there is a very real chance of falling prey to a Maverick ambush.</p>
<choice idref="sect250"><link-text>Turn to 250</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<p>Ten yards from the wall of cars you see an opportunity to throw your grenade into an open ammunition chest.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add to it your Stealth skill score.</p>
<choice idref="sect198">If your total score is 5 or less, <link-text>turn to 198</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect272">If your total score is 6-7, <link-text>turn to 272</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect272">If your total score is 6<ch.endash/>7, <link-text>turn to 272</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect244">If your total score is 8 or more, <link-text>turn to 244</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You flick open your pouch and give Kate your last few remaining bullets before you start to change the damaged front wheel. Quickly she reloads her pistol as the clan scout leader, believing that you are both out of ammunition, comes riding across the river, howling curses and whirling a heavy motorcycle chain in his left hand. The moment her gun is ready, she takes aim and fires at the foul-mouthed Angelino.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect265">If the number you have picked is 0-4, <link-text>turn to 265</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect122">If the number is 5-9, <link-text>turn to 122</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect265">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>4, <link-text>turn to 265</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect122">If the number is 5<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 122</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>You take the grenade from your Backpack and tie it to the padlock with strips of cloth torn from an oily rag that you find on the ground nearby. Then you set the timer for ten seconds, pull the pin and take cover inside the gas station.</p>
<p>Precisely ten seconds later, the grenade explodes with a deafening bang.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect67">If the number you have picked is 0-5, <link-text>turn to 67</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect331">If it is 6-9, <link-text>turn to 331</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect67">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>5, <link-text>turn to 67</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect331">If it is 6<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 331</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>The bullets whistle past within inches of the scout leader<ch.apos/>s head, but he continues undaunted. He steers his machine towards the front of the roadster and, as he rides past, he lashes out at your unprotected back with his length of heavy chain.</p>
<p>Add together your Perception and Stealth skill scores.</p>
<choice idref="sect25">If your total is 5 or less, <link-text>turn to 25</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect277">If your total is 6-8, <link-text>turn to 277</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect277">If your total is 6<ch.endash/>8, <link-text>turn to 277</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect341">If your total is 9 or more, <link-text>turn to 341</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>On every side, a desolate plain of arid, lifeless earth stretches to the horizon. The highway meanders across this wasteland, following the gentle curve of a dry watercourse that the ranchers and oilmen of this county once knew as Lacy Creek.</p>
<p>You have been driving for half an hour when you see a signpost, its blistered metal plate announcing your approach to the Sterling county line. As you cross this boundary, your engine begins to splutter and backfire.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect133">If the number you have picked is 0-4, <link-text>turn to 133</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect344">If it is 5-9, <link-text>turn to 344</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect133">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>4, <link-text>turn to 133</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect344">If it is 5<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 344</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
</illustration>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add to it your Driving skill score.</p>
<choice idref="sect140">If your total is 8 or less, <link-text>turn to 140</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect28">If it is 9-12, <link-text>turn to 28</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect28">If it is 9<ch.endash/>12, <link-text>turn to 28</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect87">If it is 13 or more, <link-text>turn to 87</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>At once you recognize the brown, thin-legged arachnid by the dark, violin-shaped marking on the back of its head. It is <foreign xml:lang="latin">Loxoceles Reclusa</foreign><ch.emdash/>a poisonous Fiddleback spider.</p>
<p>Nervously you watch the spider while Kate salvages a scrap of stiff board from the rubbish-strewn floor. She tells you to keep absolutely still, for she intends to try to knock it off your arm with one quick flick of the card.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect202">If the number you have picked is 0-2, <link-text>turn to 202</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect280">If it is 3-9, <link-text>turn to 280</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect202">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>2, <link-text>turn to 202</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect280">If it is 3<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 280</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p><quote>Over there, Cal!</quote> she shouts, pointing to a shallow-sided section of the river bank. Immediately you steer towards it and power your car down the gentle slope towards the foul-smelling water. Here, the tainted river is less than a foot deep and the rocky bed provides a firm grip for your tyres.</p>
<p>You are half-way across when you hear a dull thud. Suddenly there is a flash of orange-red flame and a column of splintered rocks and black water erupts from the river a few feet ahead. The clansmen are firing grenades!</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect42">If the number you have picked is 0-3, <link-text>turn to 42</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect154">If the number you have picked is 4-9, <link-text>turn to 154</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect42">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>3, <link-text>turn to 42</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect154">If the number you have picked is 4<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 154</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<data>
<p>You back off a dozen paces to give yourself a good run at the door, then you charge forward and barge it with your shoulder. There is a tremendous crack, the door gives way, and you feel yourself falling head-first into a deep, dark hole.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p>
- <choice idref="sect203">If the number you have picked is 0-6, <link-text>turn to 203</link-text>.</choice>
- <choice idref="sect171">If it is 7-9, <link-text>turn to 171</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect203">If the number you have picked is 0<ch.endash/>6, <link-text>turn to 203</link-text>.</choice>
+ <choice idref="sect171">If it is 7<ch.endash/>9, <link-text>turn to 171</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
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