There’s no word in Latin for volcano. Most of the citizens of Pompeii didn’t even know that Vesuvius was a volcano. It hadn’t erupted in eight hundred years. But it didn’t take a genius to realize this was an “earthshaking” event.
“The sleeping giant has awoken,” an old man said. “Pray for us.”
Meanwhile, Luke and David were still eight blocks to the west, elbowing their way through the hordes of confused, frantic people trying to make a getaway. The streets were clogged and almost impassable. A horse reared, throwing off its rider and trampling a woman who had fallen down. Shrieking. Crying. Chaos. Most of the people had no idea what was going on.
“Is it another earthquake?” an old woman asked. Only the adults of Pompeii remembered the quake in the year 62, which had just about reduced the town to rubble.
“Five minutes,” Miss Z said in Boston, checking her watch. Let’s get ready.”
The column of dark smoke and ash continued to shoot out of Mount Vesuvius and spread across the sky. It was already getting darker as the flying debris began to obscure the sun. If anyone had stopped and held a finger in the air, they would have been able to tell that the wind was blowing south, directly toward Pompeii.
People were hurrying in all directions with boxes, bags, and trunks. It was a mass of confusion as everyone was fighting to grab their jewels and worldly possessions. Some were heading for the Bay of Naples a quarter of a mile away, where they might be able to escape on a boat.
Shopkeepers rushed to carry their wares off the street and bring them inside. Looters grabbed what they could from stores. Children were separated from their parents and called out for them. Frightened dogs and other animals strained to break free of their leashes. Statues were knocked off their pedestals by wayward carts, shattering as they hit the ground. People were limping, crying, bleeding.
For once, the rich and poor people of Pompeii were equal. It didn’t matter anymore how much money or how many possessions anyone owned. They had lived separate lives, but they were going to die together.
“The gods are merciless!” somebody shouted.
“They have decided to kill us all!”
David and Luke ran through the streets like fullbacks, trying to make their way to the Porta Marina gate. But so were hundreds of others. The boys came to an intersection filled with people, horses, and goats.
“Which way should we go?” David asked, looking around frantically.
“Follow me!” Luke shouted.
“Two minutes,” Miss Z said in Boston.
The citizens of Pompeii realized that all the rock, ash, and debris shooting out of Mount Vesuvius was going to hit the ground eventually. Even in the year 79, people knew that what goes up must come down.
In fact, pieces of pumice had already started falling from the sky. Pumice is a gray stone that has little holes in it, like a sponge. It’s so light that it floats in water. But it hurts when it lands on you. Some people took shelter in doorways. Others ran through the street holding pillows over their heads to protect themselves. Still others cowered in their homes, hoping the whole thing was going to blow over in a few minutes. Big mistake.
“The city will be buried!” a bleeding man shouted as he ran through the street.
Julia and Isabel managed to push and claw their way toward the Porta Marina gate.
“This way!” Isabel shouted, pointing to the spot a few feet from the gate where they had arrived two hours earlier.
Coming from the other direction, David and Luke were almost there too.
“One minute,” Miss Z said in Boston.
The Flashback Four dashed through the Porta Marina gate at almost at the same moment.
“Luke!” shouted Julia.
“Isabel!” shouted David.
“Julia!” shouted Luke.
“David!” shouted Isabel.
Group hug.
“Ugh, you two smell terrible!” David said. “Did you pee in your pants or something?”
“Hey, you guys don’t smell so great yourselves,” said Julia.
“You won’t believe what we’ve been through!” Isabel told the boys.
“Oh, you won’t believe what we’ve been through,” Luke told the girls.
David looked at the timer. It was flashing 1 minute.
“We can talk about it later,” he shouted. “Let’s go. Over here.”
The Flashback Four ran to the meeting spot. The only problem was that a teenage boy was standing there. He was looking off in the distance, trying to locate his friends.
“Excuse me,” Isabel said politely. “We need to be at this spot.”
The boy looked at her with disdain.
“Who died and made you emperor?” he replied. “I’m standing here now.”
Luke and David went up to the teenager. Without missing a beat, Luke punched him in the stomach and David smacked him over the head.
“Beat it!” Luke said as the guy doubled over and staggered away.
“Where did you guys learn to fight like that?” Julia asked as they took the boy’s place.
“We’ll tell you later,” Luke said. “Gather around.”
The Flashback Four squeezed together, their arms around each other.
“Let’s hope Miss Z didn’t forget about us,” Isabel said as a piece of pumice landed on the ground in front of her. She closed her eyes in preparation for going back home.
“Okay, let’s do it,” Miss Z said, sitting at her computer in Boston. “Cross your fingers.”
She hit the ENTER key to activate the Board.
The timer flashed 0 minutes.
“Wait!” Luke said suddenly. “I forgot something!”
“What!?” David shouted. “We’re out of time!”
Luke reached into his pocket for the camera, which was still in one piece, miraculously, after all Luke had been through.
“Oh yeah, the picture!” shouted David.
Luke quickly pointed the camera at Mount Vesuvius. It was hard to hold it steady with all the confusion around them and pumice
