Page 85 of The Seducer
Laura had blood on her hands and face, and sat next to a woman who was covering her face with bloody hands.
We could see them, but between the women and us were fallen trees. Like a mad man, Magni moved large branches and climbed logs to get to them. He didn’t care that he was getting cuts and scratches himself. When Laura was within his reach he squatted down in front of her. “Are you okay, what happened to you?” Using his hands, he looked her over for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she said and looked up at me. “I saw some women run for the trees and tried to warn them to stay clear. This woman was hit.” Turning her body, Laura pointed behind her. “One of the women over there twisted her ankle and can’t walk.”
“I’m on it.” Using my most calming voice to comfort her, I examined the Motlander woman’s injuries.
Magni, on the other hand, pulled Laura in for a tight hug. “I’ve been so fucking worried about you.”
“I’m okay,” she said in a voice strained from being squeezed by him.
“Good.” With his hands on her shoulders he brought his head down to her height. “Now promise me that you’ll never do something like that again.”
Laura’s jaw hardened.
“Laura.” Magni gave her shoulders a shake. “Promise me.”
Laura didn’t give him any promises and my friend’s face was growing redder by the second.
“Laura, can you help me please?” I said to defuse the situation.
She got into action without hesitation, following my every instruction. The five injured we could find had only minor injuries that were easy to diagnose and treat. Other Motlanders returned to help their friends and Laura asked Magni to carry some of the injured women to their drones.
“It’s a miracle that no one was killed,” I said when we were done.
“It’ll be worse in the cities where there are more buildings,” Laura pointed out.
Athena!My heart cramped with fear that something could have happened to her. Because of the intensity of the earthquake, I had assumed we were at the epicenter, but what if we’d been on the outskirts?
Acute fear made me grab Laura’s hand. “Does your wristband connect to other Motlanders?”
She nodded. “Yes, why?”
“I need to call Athena, and make sure she’s all right.”
Laura nodded and when I didn’t have Athena’s contact information she looked it up for me. We called Athena seven times, but she didn’t answer, and my head was exploding with worst-case scenarios.
“I need to borrow your drone,” I told Magni
“What? No.” He shook his head.
“Athena might be hurt, and I can’t go home until I know she’s safe. I need to see her,” I exclaimed while bouncing from one foot to the other.
“Can’t it wait until I get Laura back home?” Magni argued.
“No, it can’tfuckingwait,” I shouted. “Athena lives alone and chances are that there’s no one with her.”
“But I thought you didn’t like her…”
I cut him off, shouting, “I need your fucking drone, Magni.”
Both Laura and Magni knew me as a jovial, easy-going person, but I had no time for long explanations, when the woman I loved might be in danger.
“All right, then take it,” he shouted, frustrated. “But you’d better not wreck it.”
I was already running full speed to the drone, and thirty seconds later, I was in the air, pushing the machine to the max.
Ten days ago, I had taken this journey in ninety minutes with Hans; today I would be there in less than thirty minutes. Still, every minute I grew more worried that something bad had happened to Athena. Flying over the Motherlands, I saw the massive structural damages that the earthquake had caused. Buildings had collapsed in large numbers, and when I arrived to see the windmill that Athena called home. Bile rose in my mouth.
