A Story of Pompeii

Chapter 3

24 August, 79 A.D.

The day started as a normal day for Aeliana and her family. They still mourned over their grandmother though. Aeliana took an early walk through the streets of Pompeii with Livia. She had left before her family was awake for the day. The sun had just risen and was rising high into the sky as she walked, holding her sister in her arms. Suddenly, the streets filled with screams of terrified people and chaos as the ground began to rumble. Aeliana looked around in confusion as things from other merchants began to fall to the ground. Then, the birds began to leave in huge numbers. Without any other warning, the mountain exploded. The sky turned from the bright blue to a dark gray as a cloud of ash rose from the mountain. Darkness filled the brightness of the day, turning it from day to night. Frighten people began to panic, causing more chaos in the city. Aeliana froze in fear as she watched Mount Vesuvius erupt before her eyes. The once sleeping giant wasn't a sleeping giant anymore but a giant that brought destruction to Pompeii. Giant rocks of fire thrown from the volcano plummeted from the sky to the city below, destroying whatever they hit. Fires were everywhere in the city. Frightened people grabbed what they could and ran for their lives. Ash and pumice rained down on the people. Aeliana stood traumatized by what was happening all around her. The panicked crowd pushed passed Aeliana and Livia, who was now crying in her sister's arms. Suddenly, Aeliana was pushed to the ground by the people. She fell to the ground, losing the grip she had on her sister. "Aeliana," Livia cried.

People rushed passed the sisters. Aeliana laid on the ground, trying to regain her thoughts. When she realized what was happening, she pushed her way through the crowd to sister before both could be trampled by the panicked people. Aeliana realized she had to save her family. She raced through the crowd of people, back to her home. Buildings collapsed around her, pumice and ash rained down on her. She held Livia close to her as she ran. When she finally reached her home, a part of it had collapsed. Her home had been hit by one of the rocks thrown by the volcano. She raced into what was left of her home. She was horrified to find that her father had been crushed by part of a fallen wall. Pushing back tears and pulling Livia closer to her so she couldn't see what had happened to their father, she pushed on into the burning building. "Momma?" she cried, "Gaia? Julius? Maximus?"

No one answered. She entered what was left of her parents' bedroom. She found her mother on the floor with a deep hole in the back of her head. She laid still on the ground, blood matted her hair. Aeliana knew her mother was dead. She turned away to find Gaia and her brothers. She found her brothers still in their beds. "Julius? Maximus?" she cried.

She shook them but neither moved. They laid still in their beds. She thought they were dead until Maximus groaned. "Maximus," she cried, shaking her brother.

He opened his eyes and grabbed his head. Aeliana realized he had a cut on the side of his head. Maximus looked at his sisters than to his brother. "Come on. We have to go," he says, grabbing Aeliana and Livia.

Aeliana knew then that her brother was dead as well. The fumes of the sulfur dioxide from the volcano had thickened the air, causing her brother's death in his sleep. "Where's Gaia?" Aeliana asked.

Gaia appeared in the once entryway of their home. She also had a cut on the side of her head. Maximus grabbed Gaia and his sisters, leading them away from their home. They ran through the streets like so many others. Aeliana finally understands what her grandmother had meant by something is coming. Her world as she knew it was ending before her very eyes. Everyone she knew and loved was almost gone. The same went for everything she knew. The disaster of the volcano was destroying her world, changing it forever. Gaia, Maximus, Aeliana, and Livia made their way through the empty streets of Pompeii. It was becoming harder to breathe by the minute. They rushed out of the city and into the surrounding hills. They knew if they didn't get out now, they wouldn't get out ever. The ash and pumice poured down harder on them as they made their way to the bay. They piled into a small boat with another family from Pompeii. They sailed away as fast as they could from the shores. Even miles away they could see what was happening to their beloved city. They watched unable to do anything about it. Aeliana thought about what was going to happen to her and her siblings now that her parents and Julius were gone. Suddenly, Aeliana was in the water. A rock from the volcano had been thrown just in front of them and caused a huge wave in the already unsteady waters. Aeliana held on tightly to Livia as she swam to the top of the water for air. She couldn't find Maximus or Gaia or any of the others on the boat. "Maximus? Gaia?" she screamed.

She held Livia and herself above the water the best she could. She swam to the boat that had been overturned by the wave. She was able to turn it back over and place Livia inside. Aeliana stayed in the water, looking around for her brother, Gaia, and the others who had been in the boat with her. Suddenly, she was startled by someone lifting her into the boat. She turned to face who it was. Aeliana came face to face with her brother and Gaia. Maximus lifted Gaia into the boat, then climbed into the boat himself. Gaia held Aeliana in her arms as Aeliana held Livia in hers. Maximus paddled away as fast as he could. "Where are the others?" Gaia asked.

"I do not know," Maximus replied.

Aeliana looked behind her at the volcano. She could see only the fires and lava running down the mountain in the dark. It was pitch black now. Tired and weak, Maximus stopped rowing as he felt they were a good distance from the volcano. They huddled together. All tired and weak from their fight of survival. They curled up together on the floor of the boat and fell fast asleep.