He looked at Lake’s group of Rejects, in their misery and uncertainty so much like his own, and asked, “How was it last night?”

“Bad⁠—damned bad,” Lake said. “Prowlers and Hell Fever, and no wood for fires. Two hundred died last night.”

“I came down to see if anyone was in charge here and to tell them that we’ll have to move into the woods at once⁠—today. We’ll have plenty of wood for the fires there, some protection from the wind, and by combining our defenses we can stand off the prowlers better.”

Lake agreed. When the brief discussion of plans was finished he asked, “How much do you know about Ragnarok?”

“Not much,” Prentiss answered. “We didn’t stay to study it very long. There are no heavy metals on Ragnarok, other than bare traces, nor any other natural resources of any value. We gave Ragnarok a quick survey and when the sixth man died we marked it on the chart as uninhabitable and went on our way.