Note: this is a work of fiction, with all the usual stuff about copyright and permission. It’s also a work in progress and a way to develop my knowledge of the english language. So feel free to correct, debate, laugh, ask about it in the comments. Help appreciated.
You may find the index here.
Chapter eigtheen.
I never liked deserts. I’ve been stationed in Saudi Arabia for a full year before the second Gulf War, that was more than enough for me. It took me two full days to reach the northern limit of the Desert Of Steel, the first travelling aboard a wagon with Kellan and her brother, the second jumping at maximum speed by my own. Omniplan surely picked me from its satellite surveys the second day, that was enough for it to stop that awful scream.
Keller told me a lot about that desert and all its dark tales. In a world where all it took to know anything was to have access to one of the Omniplan labs that was the only unexplained zone. That computer simply denied every information about it and even his super detailed maps showed only a grey stain instead of that area. Many explorers tried their luck in the past, almost nobody came back to tell what they found there. The only constant in all those dark tales was the presence of steel. Spikes, cables, shards… something always on the ready to strike with lethal consequences.
Angelo Benuzzi 