Greetings, everybody!

This is the third 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.

Let me sketch another Inktober doodle for this part and I'm ready to continue with the tale of the explorer and the attractive character he met last time. I expect you to start finding cracks and asking inconvenient questions. Don't worry, they will all be welcome. I need to learn, after all. And you are my hope.

There we go...

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The 3-rd Of Rager — Part III

Continued after...

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

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

Log entry #245
Rager 5, Redemption year 9

I must have fallen asleep as I dined last night. My alien cavemate must have had enough energy and strength to drag me back inside the cave, and that over the pile still blocking most of the entrance.

When I woke up, lying on the hard floor on my back with all my equipment still on, she was staring at me from a couple of yards away, still sitting naked, not troubled by the chilly air inside the cavern. Nor by my presence. I quickly pulled my knees up and bent my torso towards them to try and hide the results of a morning excitement that needed no explaining at all.

I just said my good mornings and then I moved to other topics such as breakfast, inquiries about her sleep or lack thereof. I was sure she couldn’t understand a word of what I said. Neither could I understand her. Still, I got some replies which sounded reassuring to the ear, despite being incomprehensible to the brain. One thing was certain. The girl had a good appetite. And so did I.

After breakfast I realized something. I slapped myself on the forehead and I did my best to demonstrate that the “Bob” I continued saying out loud was actually my name and I made all the gestures I thought appropriate in order to get a name out of her. She slapped herself on the forehead and followed that with “Aennu”. Aennu...It fit her well.

The storm was over. I went to check on the runner and the girl followed. I noticed her walk. It was strange. It included a lot of swaying of her perfectly shaped waist and hence, limbs, but somehow it still looked graceful, not funny. It was even a little mesmerizing, like the motions of a pendulum.

Good with girls as I am, I decided it was all right to tell her I found her walking strange and to even show her how a normal person walks. To punish me, she switched in a perfect imitation of the way I walked.

Otherwise, she was very friendly and helpful. Together we dug out the runner and we pushed it up a slope and out of the small canyon. I adjusted the saddlebags back onto the back of the machine but I moved them a little forward so that there was enough space for the two of us to sit comfortably. Aennu asked no questions. She just sat behind me and held on to me, pressing tight against my back. I felt as if...I mean...I...I just...nothing.

I had no additional equipment I could offer but the energy shield should be able to keep her adequately safe and comfy.

We rode into the sunset together. Except it was still long before noon. And we were headed east. Where The Anomaly zone should be. I had to rely on my memory and my own sense of direction from now on.

Log entry #246
Rager 6, Redemption year 9

I woke up with Aennu’s arm lying on my bare chest. Wait, why was it bare!? And her thigh was pressing up against...you know. Look, I’m not usually shy around girls, but somehow she felt very special. It wouldn’t do for me to just give in to basic instincts. Not this time.

She did not seem to feel the least bit uncomfortable when she woke up. She just smiled and then looked up to the sky which was glowing a pleasant milky yellow again. She tried getting up to a sitting position. I tried warning her of the invisible protective membrane above our heads but this time I was too late. She was duly pushed back on the ground where she rolled with laughter. Nothing sounded better than that.

When she quieted down we heard another sound — our bellies rumbling in unison. We ate the last of my supplies and after that, I talked and gestured my ass off on the topic of hunting. Then I took a small package out of a pocket and in about fifteen seconds I assembled a short bow, which might have looked incredibly thin but was sturdy and powerful enough. Only the handle needed to be large enough to provide a good grip. Observed from certain angles, the shoulders and the string would be reduced to mere shimmers in the air, as well as the arrows.

Aennu seemed fascinated. I was happy to show her how to use it and she obviously had a lot of fun. Later on, when we went hunting, we shared the weapon, taking turns after each arrow shot. We avoided large animals, which were pretty scarce, anyway. Such a kill would go to waste since we had no way to transport a lot of meat, so we went for the small game only.

Her results were three times better than mine. After our first six arrows. Do the math! That’s right, she never missed. Holding a bow for the first time? No way! But I was more than willing to forgive her that little ruse. It was already the best day of my life.

Except for that hole in the back of my heart that I discovered. Or was it in my spine? In any case, I decided I needed to plant a few probes and beacons, continue the old routine, just in case...In case Alice reappeared and my messages could reach the mamaship once more. I realized I did not care about the others, though. I only wanted to hear from my best friend.

Early afternoon. Another storm appeared on the horizon just in front of us. Aennu grabbed my hand and pulled at it gently, pointing with her face to the south-south-east. With maximum speed, we could get away from the danger radius and wait out the worst of it. Fortunately, the runner’s batteries had fully recharged during the heat of the morning. With maximum shields turned on, we raced the winds to find a new shelter.

Hours later it turned out we didn’t even need one. We had dodged the bad weather and we were rewarded with a beautiful and calm evening. We built a campfire just because I decided we deserved it. I was very optimistic. I thought that maybe with Aennu’s intuition and my experience we could do a good job of dodging each and every storm that lay ahead.

Log entry #247
Rager 7, Redemption year 9

There was no escaping this one...

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