Greetings, everybody!

This is the fourth part of my story that was originally written for the third planned book of the @steemfiction project. It would be sci-fi oriented but we decided to postpone that book, take a couple more months and publish one about the winter holidays first.

How you can join and what we have done so far you can read at the bottom of this post.

The 3-rd of Rager was written as a diary and with each post, an entry (or a few, if they are short) will be revealed, until you have all of it. You will now notice that a certain date is missing from the diary. Well, stuff like that happens around anomalies.

Other things happen, too, when people get reckless...Why don't you find out?

But I will not torture you by cutting this part where I originally intended. Yup, I am posting everything before the finale itself. This is the part before the last one. See you there!

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The 3-rd Of Rager — Part IV

Continued after...

The 3-rd Of Rager - A Steemfiction Promo Story - Part I

The 3-rd Of Rager - A Steemfiction Promo Story - Part II

The 3-rd Of Rager - A Steemfiction Promo Story - Part III

Log entry #247
Rager 7, Redemption year 9

There was no escaping this one.

The day began in a wonderful way. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Aennu’s smile. The first thing I heard after that was her saying “Good morning” in a quite decent imitation of my own pronunciation. After all, I had said the words to her a couple of times during the previous days. It was me who laughed with delight this time.

After that, we exchanged more phrases and words, she — learning some of my language, and I — hers. We continued that as we mounted the runner and turned it east once more. Shouting to be heard over the humming engine and the onslaught of the wind against our shield made it even more fun. I felt eleven-years-old again.

Then all of a sudden the whole world turned dark indigo and the runner died with a whimper as we were still rushing forward with momentum. We were lucky there was a gradually ascending dune immediately to our left so I managed to steer us into the soft cushion of its broadside.

My companion learned a few new curses.

Time was extra short if one were to judge by the standing hairs on one’s skin. Mine, at least. Aennu’s skin was smooth and hairless but the hair on her scalp was already reacting to the electrical discharges crackling all around us through the lashing whips of sand. I pulled the protective membrane from its pocket on the saddlebag and all I could do was grab the girl by the waist and roll down the dune with her, getting as far from the runner as possible. I hoped somehow it would stay whole. I hoped no bolt of lightning would touch it now that the battery was dead.

Well, when it was hit mere moments after we left it behind, it kind of stayed whole. If you consider a pool of molten alloys mixed with freshly formed glass a single piece, that is.

Still, there was no time to grieve. The only thing that made sense was to scramble for the ridge between dunes before covering ourselves with the membrane. So we did. We would take some more beating by whatever the winds decided to throw at us but at least we stood a chance of not being buried under tons and tons of sand. With the transparent nanolayer over our heads and bodies, we were tightly wrapped together and we wiggled in unison as a single creature trying to stay on top of the shifting ridge. Perhaps we needed a better plan in order to avoid suffocating.

Despite the storm raging all around us, my senses were soon filled only with the heat of Aennu’s body, her tender lips, and breath upon my face, and her natural aroma which reminded me of a tropical beach. Her hands had somehow found a way to undo my pants and shirt.

So, that is our plan…

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Log entry #248
Rager 8, Redemption year 9

Still alive and kicking in the morning, and breathing, too. In a way, more than ever.

Yesterday’s and last night’s storm was over before dawn. We had a peachy sunrise lighting our morning activities. After which it was time to get back to business and take inventory. Pretty easy when you have almost no inventory left. No weapons whatsoever — they had all been attached to the saddle.

I was surprised to find the breathing mask secured in the pocket of my shirt. The one Aennu had undressed yesterday. So it had been lying there within our grasp for all the long hours that we...

Mask or no mask, I expect some good walking in the weeks to come.

Goodbye, my faithful runner. I should have given you a name.

Distance to go — unknown. But I estimate about 800 since we did not make much progress during our last ride. Last...it sounds so...

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Log entry #249
Rager 9, Redemption year 9

...disheartening.

We cover less than a hundred clicks a day by walking. And we’re dead tired at the end of the day. I say we, although Aennu doesn’t show any fatigue and so I am doing my best to not show any fatigue.

Plus, I feel so much more fit with Aennu by my side. This girl is literally feeding me energy by her mere presence.

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Log entry #250
Rager 10, Redemption year 9

I lost my girl today! Just like that.

We started our hike early in the morning. Our lovemaking was the only breakfast we needed. We were cheery, we were hopeful, and talkative, and happy in general with our impending destiny. We were together and that was the only thing that really mattered.

We were ambushed.

I was bending for a gulp of spring water when I saw three shadows appearing right behind me. I only managed to get up and turn while trying to draw what was not there on my hip, anyway. And something whacked me on the head. What I also saw, before falling unconscious, was Annue being restrained by a couple more brutes in long, raggy, leathery-looking outfits. They had lots of weapons on them.

I came about naked except for my underwear. And my wrist log. That must have been a joke.

I had nothing else to do but live the joke. I always have.

I could feel the blisters on the skin of my back and calves. I was thirsty. At least the spring of water had not gone away.

I was very close to despair. I rather needed a spring of whiskey. But water had to do.

The sun was low and the shadows were growing longer. I had to hurry. I picked up the trail in the sand and I started running and stumbling after the half a dozen armed dudes. And my girl.

I can’t see any vehicle tracks, so they must be on foot, too. There’s a chance. Can’t talk. Must run. There’s a chance...Must...Run...

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Log entry #251
Rager 11, Redemption year 9

I must have fallen asleep without remembering when. I woke up on the bottom of a long sandy slope with just enough rocks here and there to leave a few bruises here and there. My mouth was full of desert. The sun was not yet up. The landscape had a dreamy, silvery color that sparkled softly in the starlight. That was good because I needed to be up and running before the heat was on. I had no water left to drink. It did not matter to me.

All of my body ached at first but it soon got better as muscles and sinews warmed up. And a small miracle — I could still follow the trail that the ambushers had left behind! The funny thing was — their clumsy attempt at masking it by dragging some cloth over their footsteps is what made it possible. For as long as there was no wind at all.

I began learning, all too late, that in the month of Rager, winds came whenever you but thought of them. It was still before sunrise when the path I followed disappeared beneath shifting grains of silver stuff.

I fell into a cursing rage myself, cursing the wind, cursing the desert and the creatures that roamed, cursing the cowardly kidnappers, wishing the cursed desert to swallow them down its cursed belly!

I looked at my wrist log in desperation, hoping to find any sign of technology that it could detect. And it was there! Dead medical nanobots buried where the trail had been. Aennu was bleeding. I found another trace of that a few steps further away, and then again. She was doing it on purpose. She was leaving another trail for me or so I hoped.

I revoked my previous wishes and I did my best to make haste along the new trail.

It ended abruptly in a pool of quicksand. No trace came out.

I shouted a few obscenities at the desert, at the weather, at the whole damned planet and at the Universe in general.
Then I decided it was a good idea to beat the crap out of a cactus which had the awful manners to grow nearby. I hit it with my bare fists until it bled rivers.

Oh, wait! That is actually my blood…

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Log entry #252
Rager 12, Redemption year 9

There are new blisters upon my back, some skin is peeling off and it all hurts like...like...like a terrible sunburn. It doesn’t matter.

I am not finished digging. Since I began manually throwing handfuls of quicksand out of its basin yesterday, I have probably completed more than three percent of my task. I just need one more month. Perhaps a day or two less than that if I stopped talking. I can’t stop talking. It keeps me sane.

Sane enough to know that I will probably not last another day...

to be continued

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Huge thanks to @janenightshade, @jayna, @blueeyes8960 for their help in editing so far!

If you want to become part of the project...

Check out this post of @janenightshade!

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The books already published:

Voices in the Darkness — Paperback:

Voices in the Darkness Paperback

And the e-book version:

Our book Voices in the Darkness: Tales from the Steem Blockchain is out! It's alive! It's electronic! It's supernatural!

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Book Two:

Dead Silence — E-book version:

Stories authored by:

@jeezzle, @manoldonchev, @stinawog, @giantbear, @blueeyes8960, @jayna, @janenightshade, @improv, @felt.buzz

Huge thanks to all the people who made this happen, including our ninja editor!

And thanks for your support! I hope you enjoy reading the stories. They all have murder in them.

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Thank you for being with us!

Yours,

Manol