7:35AM936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYIyo451Aj
Marcus awoke suddenly. The sky was still dark.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L2L8qepbM
“Leave now.” Caius said stiffly. He stood at the foot of Marcus’ bed and was already prepared to leave, right down to the knots already tied in the strings of his sandals.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA88fQeP9GC
“It cannot be morning yet. It is still dark.” Marcus said drearily.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfffGVXlEn
“The sun has risen, brother.” Caius replied darkly. “The ash cloud that had begun to shift has returned. Thicker, this time.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRTNs428IE
“The mountain has stopped its rumbling Caius. The god’s are appeased.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtiPkbRAtG
Caius snorted.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjmJ0F5HxN
“You think they are satisfied with a little blood spilt in the arena? I have lived under these gods my entire life. I see now their true faces. They do not wish to bless us. Their only intention is to bleed us, to hurt us and to curse us.” He paused. “Pompeii has seen enough of their blessings in these years past. Each one has ended with lives lost and buildings crumbling to dust.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblfDZlQqIi
With a swift glance out of the window, Marcus saw thin shafts of sunlight struggling to push through the dense cloud that had descended. The ash that had stopped falling the night before now flowed freely once again, and Marcus noticed cracks along the floor that had not been present before he had fallen asleep.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ160tVCflbh
“We shall leave the city at once.” He announced. Caius nodded in agreement.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7T0gSM5TF
“Behold: the first sensible thing you have suggested all week.”
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7:40AM
Livia was awoken by the slamming of the heavy bronze door at the front of the house. Before she had a chance to gather herself, her bedroom door was unceremoniously thrown open and there, in the doorway, stood Ariadne and her fiancee.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EEWukxztO
“Where is your gladiator?” Maxentius demanded.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3AZslXZN9
“He shall be here presently, I would imagine.” Livia replied curtly, fighting the urge to insist that he was not her gladiator.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGuHhkUTJ0
Ariadne was about to intervene, but was interrupted by screams from outside. The floor rumbled ever so slightly. They moved to the window, and saw to their horror, the cloud that had annihilated Herculaneum moving closer. It would be upon Pompeii within a matter of minutes. Rocks that had been pushed along by the current were thrown back out again at violent speeds, their temperatures enough to cause severe burns.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9dEZycLw0
“Get outside!” Livia demanded. Maxentius paused.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGtMUCwfev
“Surely we should be safer inside?! We should not go out there into it! It would kill us all!”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dSKA6SY2O
“It will destroy the house. We will be safer in the hills, far away from here.” Livia insisted.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPglr7rijY
“Your cellar should provide adequate shelter.” He replied. His tone suggested that he would be the one to make the final decision. “Ariadne is with child. She is in no condition to be running through the streets. We shall take shelter here.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnDsvDfder
Livia considered his point but wondered why, if walls were enough to save them, the remaining citizens of Pompeii were running through the streets seeking their safety.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Q0N92gjwR
“Walls shall not be enough.” She said softly.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKDfElkLPu
“They shall have to be.” Maxentius said bluntly, turning away and leading Ariadne down the stairs. At the bottom, he turned back to Livia. “Leave if you wish; I shall remain and take care of your parents. Find your gladiator, Livia, but know that you enter a world of chaos out there. A world that will almost certainly lead to your death.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJ7Ai1Cpwl
“It is a chance I am willing to take.” She replied. Turning to Ariadne, she shot her a pleading glance. “You are certain that staying here is the right decision?”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrXilOuTyL
“Yes.” Ariadne said with a nod, “I trust Maxentius to keep us all safe. I worry only for you Livia. Is he worth risking your life for?”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMAKr9qr3d
Livia nodded.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLD19lCAgFA
“Then I pray the gods smile upon you.” She said softly. She took Livia’s hands and held them tightly. She hugged her tightly. “Be safe,” she whispered as a stray tear leaked from the corner of her eye.
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7:45AM936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zsG6vHpdV
The ash storm that was approaching finally hit the centre of the city. She watched as the second story of buildings was eviscerated and thrown to the ground. She heard the screams as buildings fell and toppled. Every instinct was telling her to run, to find cover and to stay there, but her legs would not move. Her eyes were transfixed upon the wall of dust, ash, rock and heat that was methodically sweeping across the streets of Pompeii.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkdbFGycdQ
When her feet remembered how to run, she turned and tried to refrain from looking behind her. She could smell burning and her lungs ached. She inhaled ash and debris as she ran, the taste causing her tongue to recoil and her eyes to water. It tasted acrid and sharp and it seemed to stick to her tongue like a stubborn paste that was hesitant to go away.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LtqQ0lYqK
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Arriving at the gladiator’s barracks, Livia spied Marcus and Caius leaving swiftly. She ran to them, and was caught immediately by Marcus’ arms, catching her in an inescapable hug.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IverNE1UY
“I was coming to get you. We need to leave.” He said into her ear.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuSu7NGAX8
“We cannot outrun it.” She said quietly. It was approaching quickly, and no matter how fast they were able to run, Livia knew in her heart it would catch up to them.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq3I3ThFAp
“We can try.” Marcus said simply. His jaw was set and his eyebrows were furrowed; he was determined to make it out of the city alive. Taking her hand, he ran forward, casting only a backward glance at the certain death that lay behind them. Checking Caius was still with them, Marcus took off down unfamiliar back streets.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGz7NrRzW4
All lights had been extinguished, like it would somehow save the inhabitants from the debris and destruction, and visibility had become difficult. The ash cloud that hovered above the city still rained down upon them, and although the sun was now nearing its highest point in the sky, there was not an ounce of daylight to be seen. The cover of darkness coated them thoroughly.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcVexeJUsq
“One would think the sun had forgotten to rise today.” Livia said lightly.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3Jt59G8Jm
“The sun has forsaken us.” Caius replied darkly. Marcus glanced sharply at his fellow gladiator.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQp9OcwWNo
“There is no need for dark omens, Caius.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYDqHvVMxp
“Omens? This is no omen! Can you not see that the world is ending?! Day has become night, the sky is falling in! The sun has not forgotten to rise; the sun is dead.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCNxspX9hX
Marcus stopped.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJw6WxdqSr
“If you insist on projecting your negativity, perhaps we shall leave you here!” He said only inches away from Caius’ face. “I for one intend to leave this city intact, and if you would only stop whining for a moment perhaps you too would have a chance of living past this day Caius!”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0qAbJTxKh
Caius remained silent.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLel2cceB6
“I apologise, brother.” He said softly. “My tongue consults not with brain in times of panic. I do not think before I speak.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4d1jG2whh
Marcus clapped his friend on the shoulder.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5q73JHyJt
“You are forgiven. Now, shall we stop stalling and continue?”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5IPbVYXDZ
Livia, watching the encounter unfold before her eyes, was at once confused by the temperament of men. Shaking her head, she moved past them.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKx2LudgH7
“Yes, now that you two have made up, perhaps it would be a good idea to carry on with the leaving part of our plan.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyhaLr2fKx
Caius nodded. Glancing behind him, his eyes widened and his pace increased.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH8MkuQyp4
“We shall have to run if we are to dodge this.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwh8ixM11P
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7:50AM936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0xbApKli5
Ariadne sat in Livia’s cellar. Her father had been carried down the steps by some slaves - his drunkenness had made him difficult to wake. Her mother sat next to him, holding tightly onto his hand, despite the fact that his was not holding onto hers.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZ8u5IVes4
Maxentius sat next to Ariadne, his arm around her shoulders.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMofUSU2e1a
Above them, they could hear the heavy sounds of footfall as all classes of citizen hurried past on the ground above. The windows at the top of the cellar sat level with the ground, and Maxentius had closed them in order to stop debris finding its way inside. It was becoming hot in the cellar, but outside it had fallen quiet.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcluQO1sdcr
“Why has it stopped?” Ariadne whispered. Maxentius shrugged.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEIRzDP9qc
“Perhaps it is over.” He said quietly. “I told you we would survive this. I told you I would protect you.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevejM1QgYz
“You did.” Ariadne said, burying her head into his shoulder.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHunqSUmlWq
“We shall leave for Rome as soon as we know for sure it is safe.” He said. She nodded in agreement.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfg3aYQcSXK
Outside, it seemed that all footfalls had fallen silent. Not a soul was to be heard. The temperature was rising.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RhNyPcnVH
And then, as though all of Hell was breaking loose, the glass in the windows shattered and into the cellar swept an almighty gust of wind, noise, heat, rock and ash. The noise of it was deafening; the heat unbearable. Ariadne clinged tightly to Maxentius and closed her eyes. One hand rested on her stomach, trying feebly to protect the child she was carrying. Maxentius' arms encircled her and for half a moment she believed it would pass.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8CNvJ5ZQo
And then it was over.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk45b72Pcpn
It was silent again. The dust and ash stopped; the rocks stopped falling. It was over within seconds. The current moved on, leaving only corpses behind in Livia’s cellar.
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7:55AM
Her feet pounded the pavement as she ran. Her legs had never moved so fast and her hand stayed tightly in Marcus’ grip. He pulled her along and she knew that if he were to let her go, she would falter and fall back into a pace that she could manage. But a pace she could manage would not keep her alive; a pace she could manage would get her engulfed by the cloud that seemed to move even faster as the death toll climbed higher.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xQdLSItEL
“I cannot breathe, Marcus!” She protested. Her lungs that were aching before now screamed in protest. Her vision was shifting, and each breath she took delivered a fresh influx of soot and ash into her chest.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWU6Z70QGaY
“We need to keep going!” He shouted. Above the noise it was difficult to discern the words they spoke to one another.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtu4HShJHui
The cloud of debris kept moving forward, and with it came a gust of wind akin to a hurricane. The wind rattled in their ears and combined with the sound of shouts and cries, it was nearing impossible to hear. Children stood in doorways, wailing desperately for their mothers. Livia looked backwards at them, feeling her heart tear into pieces as she saw them. A small girl stood crying by the side of the road, the fear in her eyes enough to make Livia pull her hand free of Marcus and stop beside the girl. Marcus whirled around and placed his hands on Livia’s shoulders. His forehead rested upon hers.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoH5wT4K44y
“We cannot stop Livia.” He said sternly. He looked into her eyes and saw the words of protest rise to her lips. “Livia. We. Cannot. Stop.” Tears fell down Livia’s cheeks, and then Caius, in one fell swoop, picked the child up into his arms.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgX4Aw4T272
“Go! Now!” He said, setting off again at a run. Marcus did not question the actions of his friend, and instead took Livia’s hand again and followed Caius, running down the streets coated with a thick layer of ash.
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8AM936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xqB4DMAGw
The world had now turned completely black. The shafts of sunlight that had fought their way through before were now finding it impossible to push through the dense cloud that had descended. The cloud moved closer. As they reached the gates to the city, they found that it was almost empty; everyone else had decided to try their luck at the harbour. Caius still held the child he had picked up on the road, and Marcus still gripped Livia’s hand as tightly as he would grip a rope when dangling over a precipice.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRnohC3YLB
“Stop.” Livia said, letting go of Marcus’ hand once again. “Stop.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezDPyAL3B3
“We cannot stop now!” Marcus said incredulously.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wFccSY5SU
“We cannot outrun it Marcus! We shall die running!”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK38HsN23w3
“We shall die on our knees if we stay here!”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QBtaFCprz
Livia was breathing hard, trying desperately to catch her breath. Caius had stopped too.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGkUYp7Ml1
“She is right Marcus. We have no chance.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxaOjImFO2
Marcus looked at the darkness that was nearing them. It was only meters away. He could almost feel the heat.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QEHYb5kp3
“Gladiator!” A man called from beside the gates. He was old and withered, but in his eyes he harboured an air of kindness and generosity. In his hand his held the reigns of a pony. “Can she ride?”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxOI0LbG7I
Marcus glanced at Livia. “Yes, she can ride.” He replied. The old man shook his head.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIih4tKOH7
“Not her. The girl.” He said, pointing at the young child in Caius’ arms.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEE1Hx1sW1J
“Can you ride?” Caius asked. She nodded.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjosY0vY8q
The man approached her and handed her the reigns. “Ride, child. Ride for Rome and tell the emperor what has occurred here.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1k2xjJmAie
The child looked up at the old man with wide eyes. She looked at Caius for approval. Caius nodded and placed her on the pony. The animal was small and could probably hold no more than what the child weighed, but it would suffice. Caius smiled at her.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTRkHmNKPb
“My name is Caius, by the way.” He said with a soft smile. “I want you to ride as fast as you can, do you hear me? Ride as fast as you possibly can and get as far away from here as possible and do not stop until you are out from beneath this cloud and you can feel sunlight on your face.” He said kindly. The child nodded numbly; she had lost her mother and had found Caius. Her entire world had been saved by Caius, and though he had held her in his arms only a mere five minutes, Marcus could see the bond he had formed with the child.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNg3Iw1FMru
“Run.” He said. The girl clapped her heels on either side of the pony. It set off at a gallop and carried her out of the city walls and up the hills to safety.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDouNELxMh
“What do we do now?” Livia asked.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4JPLDLawV
Marcus looked at the cloud that was approaching fast and took her into his arms.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkG3ijLi4W
“Close your eyes.” He said softly. She did as he said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her face into his chest.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwILRSOnmf
Caius fell to his knees.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqKJDPuS2y
“I was supposed to die in the arena.” He said bitterly.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BlKMwmRJw
“The whole world is an arena Caius.” Marcus replied. “All of us live inside the Gods' own personal arena.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvssBFAArrM
Caius managed a small laugh.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEcMLIRd2q
“How poetic of you, Roman.” A tear fell from his eyes and he began to cough as the dust entered his lungs. “I thought I would die fighting a Roman, not alongside one.”936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5hfh2oe9r
Marcus laughed.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxBxq6uiBk
“I would die by no one else’s side other than yours, my friend.” He said softly. Caius looked at him earnestly, before turning away and bowing his head.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzF5ghId1m
“Marcus,” Livia said. “I know we are to die, and I know that perhaps it is the circumstances that entice me to say this, but-“936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUHWAUswL2
“I love you.” Marcus interrupted. Livia smiled.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8O5utjdDj
“You stole the words from my mouth.” She said softly.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zFVbmmOvb
Marcus looked at her sadly, and saw in her eyes the life that they could have had. If only he had never come to Pompeii, if only they had met under different circumstances, if only…936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5cSJ6RVO9
The temperature got hotter, and Livia had to fight the urge to run any further. Her legs were tired, her throat was sore and it hurt to breathe.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ktWc8jv0o
Opening her eyes for the briefest second, she saw the darkness consume them. She shut her eyes tightly as the heat engulfed them and the world fell away. She tightened her grip around Marcus’ neck as the debris began to gather around them. Falling to her knees, Marcus followed her down, refusing to relinquish his grip on her. Closing his eyes tightly, and unable to even lift his head, he cradled her body as the current took the last few pieces of strength he had left.
And then it moved on. The cloud had passed, and behind it was only bodies and ash. Not a single soul remained living in the city of Pompeii.
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9AM936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8wBQU0yHm
The ash continued to fall, forming blankets on all those that appeared to be sleeping. The girl watched at the fires began to dwindle and the ash began to settle. She remembered what Caius had told her. To ride until she felt the sun on her cheeks, to ride to Rome and to ride as quickly as possible.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cvdNrnyhB
She turned her pony around. She shed tears for the family she had lost and for all those that had lost their lives in the city. She knew as she beheld it before her, a smoking and crumbling counterfeit of the magnificent city of Pompeii, that no life remained. She looked no longer upon the city of the dead, and instead turned her gaze forward. Sunlight still shone. The sky was still blue. It was not the world that had ended. Only Pompeii.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgB2jUlf3Ww
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT9J1Kmkqs
The bodies that were recovered were found intact and uninjured. More like sleep than death. Most remained buried and crushed beneath the weight of layers and layers of ash. I could boast that not a groan or cry of fear escaped me during these perils, but I admit that even I believed that the whole world was dying with me, and I with it.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzC7HTbArob
And so ends our tale of Pompeii. A tale of destruction and despair that will strike fear and sadness into the hearts of many for years to come.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGHSplhIqK
And thus I take my leave of you.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaK9zKMOpj
- Pliny the Younger936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0dDJyNHTK
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Authors Note: The ending is a slightly modified excerpt from a letter by Pliny the Younger explaining the tragedy of Pompeii. I received a review a while back stating that the first person narrative at the start of the very first chapter was confusing - I'm not sure how well this comes across, but I was aiming for Pliny to be the storyteller. His letter and introduction is supposed to frame either side of the narrative. He both begins and ends the story, and as an eyewitness to the events (he was across the bay in Naples when it occurred) i thought it was fitting to include him in here somewhere.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pZ9d0EGvP
Anyway, this brings an end to the story and I would like to thank those of you that have stuck with it the whole way through. I wouldn't have any motivation to write at all if it wasn't for you, so thank you.936Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjA6L14fXNB
