Ryan Cawdor arrives in the remains of the New Mexico MAT-TRANS chamber with his son Dean, having rescued him from a slave camp to the north.

Once they exit the facility the pair see smoke coming from the direction of Jak Lauren's ranch, where their friends Krysty Wroth, J.B. Dix, Dr. Theophilus Tanner, and Mildred Wyeth were waiting for Ryan's return.

When they arrive they discover the ranch burned to the ground and completely deserted, but curiously find no bodies, not even the remains of the absent livestock.

Further adding to the confusion there are only a small number of bullet casings found on the property, and inside the still-standing smokehouse Ryan discovers several pieces of smoked meat infested with maggots.

A final, cryptic clue comes when Dean tries to pull water from the well and discovers a note from Krysty affixed to the top of the rope.

Sometime after Ryan's departure, an oxen train of religious settlers passed by the Lauren farm, asking for permission to camp nearby for the night.

Jak and his wife Christina cautiously agreed, but along with Ryan's friends made plans to watch their new guests carefully.

The friends then released the Laurens' livestock, intending to round them up later, set fire to the ranch with gasoline, and departed north.

Realizing the damage it has suffered has made some elements of the 'droid no longer waterproof, Ryan pulls the sec hunter fully into the water, escaping with only a heavy blow to the back.

Though shot in the neck with an arrow, Abe was able to remove the shaft and recovered after several months, leaving him with two scars and a ragged voice.

Eventually the group is reunited with J.B., Mildred, Doc Tanner, Dean, and Jak and Christina Lauren, who have come to rescue Ryan and Krysty.

When his condition begins to worsen Ryan elects to stay with Abe in a derelict town, in the hopes of allowing him time to regain some health.

This proves mostly successful, as Charlie investigates the town only briefly before continuing on; however, he leaves behind three scouts who find Ryan and Jak.

He draws Ryan out by holding the injured Jak at gunpoint, but before he can kill him he is wounded by a brick thrown by one of the freed captives.

A partially recovered Abe then attacks Charlie, wielding a piece of glass as a dagger, and stabs him in the stomach.

Christina has given birth to Jak's daughter, Jessica; she is also openly resentful towards Ryan for his perceived role in nearly killing her husband.

Charlie had arrived, begging for food, but made the mistake of threatening Jessica, prompting Christina to kill him with the nearby axe.