text: You awake to the dull light—if it could even be called light—of morning. Your fire had died long ago, and as you look about you, it appears that everything is just as you had left it previously. You don't see this as a success on your part so much as a stroke of sheer luck that no one crossed your path. Gathering up your provisions, you place them back into the cart and begin on your way south.
  
  
  After having walked almost five miles, you come across what used to be a bridge spanning a wide river. The rapids may have raced along the channel at one point in time, but now the thick sludge only creeps slowly over the rocks. It would be slow going, but the water is shallow enough that you think you'd be able to cross. (After all, the shattered bridge will be of no use to you.) What do you do?
  > You follow the river downstream instead. Maybe there's an easier way across.
  You determine it's best to weigh your options before charging headlong into the river, so your turn east and begin walking parallel to the waters. The land is barren, and as you glance over from time to time, your eyes catch glimpses of bicycles, trees, and frozen corpses lying lazily in the water with no place to go. After walking for a little while, something else draws your attention: an old house by the river, rotting, abandoned. Acting on instinct, you quickly take cover in the woods and peer out at the building. There's no smoke around, and it doesn't seem to be in use.
  
  
  You decide to...
  > You ignore it. If there is someone in there, you can't take the risk.
  You know that, if you had managed to find this place, then others might've, too. You're low on supplies, but that's no reason to act reckless. You carefully turn around and walk back until the house is out of view, and then turn to cross the river.
  
  
  The water is freezing, and you can only trudge across so quickly, with your legs growing numb and your cart in tow. The water only reaches up to your thighs before becoming shallow again, and you scramble onto the opposite shore, gasping from the brutal cold. In one last moment of hesitation, you look back over your shoulder. The house still stands tall on the other side, but this time, you think you see movement in the window. It may well have been an illusion, but it's enough to scare you into action, and soon enough, you're back on the road moving south.