Walking the Ruins

A villa, and the large lake

Anna and I continue along the river, following its noisy waters towards the lake. I try to strike up a conversation, but Anna is hardly able to keep going, let alone to talk. So I let her walk in silence.

We are crossing a meadow, with the river still right beside us, and it is its noise that hides the approach of the drone. It's hovering above us, without warning.

We are exposed here, in plain sight.

I grab Anna's arm, the uninjured one, but she still gives a cry of pain as I start dragging her off towards the forest.

"Drone!" I yell, and the world explodes.

I find myself flat on the ground, ears ringing. I have a feeling of déja-vu. But last time the world exploded around me, I didn't know the reason for it, and now I do. The drone has dropped a bomb on us.

I see Anna kneeling in the grass beside me, looking at me wide-eyed, the smoke of the bomb dissipating some distance behind her. I rise and look up. The drone is still above us, its sound barely audible over the ringing in my ears.

Looking back at Anna, I see that she gets to her feet.

"Let's move." I start again running towards the forest, trusting that Anna will follow.

"How many of these bombs does it carry?" I ask as we enter the trees.

"Don't know," Anna says, her voice sounding strangely muted.

The craft still hovering above us like an ugly insect ready to sting.

I first head away from the river, and then make a right turn, hoping to shake off our pursuer, but its noise follows us. I wait for the next explosion, teeth clenched. Anna's hand is holding mine, squeezing tight. I want to run as fast as my feet can carry me, but Anna's stumbling steps hold me back.

I look up, but the drone is hidden behind the green canopy of the trees. "You're right. I think he can see us, through the leaves," I say, "but he seems to have run out of bombs."

About five minutes later the sound of the drone recedes towards the mountains. Maybe it has to refuel or recharge. I don't ask Anna about it, I feel lucky that she is still able to walk at all.

When we reach the remains of a village later in the day, I decide to seek shelter. Anna keeps stumbling and I have to support her. She needs a rest.

I find a place with a fairly good roof that might help us hide from the prying eyes of the drone if it makes another appearance.

Once inside, Anna collapses.

I look at her injury. The wound is not bleeding anymore, but the flesh surrounding it is crimson.

"Wait here, I'll get some water for us."

She nods. The weak smile on her lips does not reach her tired eyes.

Later, she drinks from the bottle eagerly. I have walked quite far to find a brook with water that looked reasonably clean. I can't boil it—I only can hope it won't make us sick. We don't have a choice, we have to drink or we won't make it home.

Then I feed her some cherries that I have found on my way back from the brook. She hardly seems to notice what she is eating. Later, she falls into an uneasy sleep.

Her cheeks are hot to the touch.

I sit beside her in the darkness of our shelter, waiting for the drone's menacing voice or the sound of the steps of Jan's men searching for us. But the evening is quiet.