troubling is Michael, who regains consciousness only to attack Doc ferociously, claiming he is Satan. Michael is subdued and restrained; the group concludes that Michael has been driven to psychosis by the back-to-back jumps, but have no idea if he will recover. When Mildred examines Ryan she notes that his wound is obviously infected, presumably with some kind of poison, and needs to be sterilized. The companions head into the redoubt, finding it thoroughly cleared out but locating a sterile medical facility. With no other options Mildred sterilizes Ryan's wound with a superheated knife, with the rest of the group holding Ryan down due to a lack of any anesthesia. Partway through the process Michael regains consciousness, no longer psychotic, and helps restrain Ryan. The procedure is successful, and Ryan begins to recover. The next day the companions set out from the redoubt, having found ample water but no food. J.B.'s sextant places them in New England, and Doc recognizes the nearby lake as Lake Champlain. The companions find a man's corpse, as well as one of a stickie (a vicious breed of mutant), and further evidence of stickie activity. Sometime later they encounter three people searching for their friend, who they identify as the corpse. Saddened, but grateful for knowing their friend's fate, the young people invite the companions back to their ville, Quindley. Quindley is immediately recognized as an unusual ville: the residents are all strict vegetarians, and the ville does not have a Baron, but rather an unseen (behind a one-way mirror), "all-knowing" leader calling himself Moses. Furthermore, the ville's residents react strangely to most of the companions, save for Michael and Dean, and Doc notes that none of Quindley's inhabitants appear older than 25. This is confirmed by the ville's second in command, Jehu, who when pressed further reveals that once someone turns 25 they are ritualistically executed. The companions are not subject to this, and Jehu commands that they be treated as guests. This is met with disapproval, to the point where Jehu kills one of Quindley's residents after he in turn attempts to kill Doc. Quindley is shown to have other problems as well. Though warned of stickies being present in the area, the ville's guards do not alter their patrols, as Moses has not authorized it. This results in the deaths of four children when stickies attack a group near the edge of