Survivors

I remember

Chapter 1

Quintus, one of the few survivors of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, was alone. Being alone was hard. Well being alone when your family was dead was hard. Quintus had watched his family burn. Everything he had worked for was gone. Many of the survivors were also alone, also suffering from the losses. Quintus had found shelter with a few others in the fields of Nuceria after the explosion. Quintus was looking out at the remains of Pompeii. He began to cry at the sight of his former town. He looked at the streets the streets which he had hopped across with Clemens as a child. When the eruption had happened they had been filled with people. The streets were empty now. He saw the arena which people who had died had enjoyed. His mother had loved the gladiatorial shows. His mother. Quintus missed everyone. He went back to the shelter.

At the shelter he greeted the few survivors he did not know their names before. There were also a few survivors from Herculaneum all in a corner away from the Pompeians. He sat next to Pantagathus like always. He had known Pantagathus for a while now. They had walked together away from Pompeii. There was new person at the shelter, a pretty girl with tanned skin and dark hair she looked so much like Lucia. He moved over next to her because she looked about his age. "Salve. My name is Quintus. Who are you?"

"My name is Cassandra. I am from Herculaneum and I was a slave."

"What did you do?"

"I cooked and it was feasts every night compared to this." She said pointing at the bread and water in front of her. Than she started talking about every meal she cooked. She spoke of peacocks and turkeys and fish. To Quintus this all sounded so delectable beyond compare. She spoke. He listened. This was how their friendship ran. Quintus felt like finally had a real friend.