Day 1:
Morine;
I've walked these streets every day. Welcome to my home, the beautiful city of Pompeii. There is a wide variety of lifestyles here. Merchants and other peasants make up the majority of the population. We work to produce the objects that many of the upper class covets. Then there are the rich people and their slaves. All the lords and ladies can be seen strolling through the market while their slaves are out, completing the tasks that they are ordered to perform.
It's a lovely day. The sun is shining, and the streets are crowded with people. It's a great day for merchants. Upper class people seem to enjoy a stroll through the market stalls when the weather is nice. Peasants are taking advantage of the fine weather to get their work done.
Passing by the old warehouse, I notice that the usual flow of people is passing through the door. The dark entryway is foreboding, and not a sound can be heard from it other than the soft murmur of hushed voices. I haven't visited the place in the last four months. Across the street from it, the wine vendor is reciting the daily specials for the people gathered around him. They form quite a crowd, blocking half the street. Among the people gathered there, some of them are talking loudly, competing to be heard.
Life in the streets isn't easy. Sure, we aren't as fortunate as the upper class, but at least we are lucky enough to have more rights than the slaves. Most of us are just worried about how nature will affect our lives. We're just separated from the slaves by the boundaries of freedom. The nobles have more power than the two groups combined. Their lives are simple and easy.
Lartimer;
Life as a slave in Pompeii is repetitive. All of us wake up when the sun appears to the east. We're ready to work as soon as our eyes open, because this is what is expected of us. Our duties include meeting the demands of our masters, as well as doing work around the city. How bad the job is depends on the weather.
Today, it's not entirely awful. The sun is shining, but it's not too hot. Our tasks for today are cleaning out the gutters and carting off trash. It seems like everyone is out and about, soaking up the sunshine. Traffic is clogging up the streets, nobles and peasants alike making work harder for us.
Many of our masters are gathered around the wine stand, drunk and noisy. They're lucky enough that most of them have not learned what it means to work. But don't tell them I said that. A slave who speaks ill of them is of no use to them, because who's to say we won't make their secrets well known. To them, it's all about how the public sees them.
Female slaves have jobs working in the villas, while us males are working outside, improving the city. Anything that is old or damaged? We have to fix it. Nothing is impossible when there is an army of slaves to do the work. From fixing crumbling columns to hauling wood for the cook fires, we do it all.
Saraphina;
I sit at my window, day after day, and watch the people outside. Sometimes, what I see is quite intriguing. People of questionable social status, slipping in and out of the old, seemingly abandoned warehouse. This is not the first time I've seen this sort of activity. The only people I don't see going in there are slaves.
Today, my family and I are going to the market. There is always something new and intriguing in some of the stalls. Out on the streets, it's harder to see the creepy building. But you're also more likely to interact with people of other social classes. It seems like everyone is out and about, especially when it's a day like today.
Walking through the streets, I see a lot of people going about their business. Women can be seen, herding their numerous children through the crowds. The young ones make a ruckus when they get bumped into by strangers. Others, mainly young women, can be seen in various stages of pregnancy. Some of them are my age or a few years younger.
Day 2:
Morine;
At first, it's a day like any other. But then, it happens. At first, you see a few leaves trembling, and the animals are edgy. Then, you hear a low rumbling sound like underground thunder. Cracks form in the road as the ground trembles.
People are running for cover as small pieces of buildings and walls fall to the streets. As I stand in the street, shocked, people come running in my direction. Time slows to a crawl as I am faced with the decision of where to run. Then, in a split second, time catches up. Having wasted my chance to flee, I am swept up by the crowd.
Bodies collide as people seek safety. Elbows and hands are knocking me about, but no one notices that I’m here. Screams fill the air as rocks crash to the ground. Some people think of themselves. Others are concerned with their possessions. My thoughts turn to something else.... my unborn child.
Lartimer;
Just like any other work day, we got up before the sun was more than a pink haze along the thin line between the earth and the sky. We were filling spaces between the cobble stones in the street when it happened. Horses in the nearby stables began pulling at their tethers. Leaves on the trees trembled. The air was still.
Pebbles clattered in the street as the ground began to shake. Mortar and rocks fell from the houses that had been repaired a while ago. Confused, my fellow slaves and I exchanged glances. Not sure what to do, we looked about for people who might throw rocks at us. Seeing that the streets around us were empty, we dropped our tools and made our way back to our housing.
The small, crumbling shacks we lived in were still standing. Another tremor shook the ground, knocking us off our feet. From where we lay on the packed dirt, we watched as the small jumbles of sticks folded in on themselves. Whatever our meager possessions we'd had were now buried in heavy jumbles of old stones and branches. Sadly, there was never time to fix them.
Saraphina;
Watching from my window, I see the confusion of the people below. For a moment, I wonder what's going on. Everything looks normal. The sky is blue and the plants are green. Then, I feel it.
The ground is trembling. It seems like the world is going to collapse in on itself. Some of the structures along the street crumble in places. People are screaming. Chaos takes root.
People are running all over the place. But something is off. There, standing in the middle of the street, is a woman. She's about fifteen years old. Her stomach is extended. She's pregnant.
I watch, horrified, as the crowd reaches her. She is swept up in the madness, disappearing amongst the people around her. Even though I know I won't reach her in time, I rush down into the street. Though I can't find her, I can feel the danger, and understand the instinct to flee. People are scrambling around me, barely managing to dodge me.
It takes a while, but the area clears and the dust settles as the ground stops shaking. Looking around, I see her, laying beside the sidewalk. She's just laying there, not moving. Fortunately, she is just unconscious. Turning towards my home, I see the slaves in the doorway. “Please.” I choke on the words. “Help me. She's hurt.”
Day 3:
Saraphina;
When she finally woke up, I was relieved. I immediately ran off to tell my parents. Searching every room in the house, they're finally found in the library. Father is reviewing his inventory. Fortunately, nothing from his collection of rare scrolls is damaged.
After a few minutes, they finally looked up from what they were doing. “Yes, darling?'' It was mother. “Our guest has woken up.” She immediately set down her list. “Let us go and meet her.”
But, oddly enough, when we got to the room where she was, it was empty.
Morine;
When I come to, I don't know where I am. There are mosaics on the walls, and tiles on the floor. I'm surrounded by strangers, some are obviously slaves. But one of them is a girl about my age. Her dress is made some sort of fine cloth. Upon seeing my eyes open, she seemed to be relieved.
With a smile on her face, she ran out of the room. The slaves filed off to finish their work as if by some secret cue. After checking for people who might see me, I slipped out the door, leaving the villa behind. Blending in with a small group of people, I headed off to check on my home and my family. The neighborhood was silent. Not a person was to be found in the streets or alleyways.
Lartimer;
There is so much work to do. Half the town is in ruins. Buildings have crumbled, and the streets are pitted with cracks. Every now and then, you come across someone's body. First, we'll have to cart of the rubble and bury the dead. Then, it'll be months if not years of repairs.
Already, there is talk amongst the people in the poor side of town about fleeing the city. Some have already packed their few possessions and have began to trickle out through the gates. Chickens are roaming the streets, the cages having been broken by rocks that fell on them. Infirmaries are seeing more business than ever, people with gashes and scrapes are going there to get them cleaned up. Still, for the people who stay, there are plenty of chances to get food and drink from the street vendors.
Already, we've moved some of the rubble, making the streets more passable. We're digging a few graves. The rubble will be used for markers and animal-stops. About twenty people were lost during the quake. Some were peasants, but most were my fellow slaves.
Day 4:
Saraphina;
I wake up to the sound of carts and shovels. There is also the sound of people mumbling. A glance outside reveals a line of people leaving Pompeii. No one is here in my room, packing my stuff. Obviously, we're staying put. The clean up is still in full swing, slaves throwing bits of rock and other such objects into carts and hauling them off towards the old slave compound which has become the trash dump. Bodies still litter the streets, skulls crushed in where something landed on them.
Yesterday's search for the peasant girl proved to be fruitless. She seems to have vanished into the mist. Sometimes, it seems as though she's around a corner, but she's never on the next street. Laughter floats out of the shadows, but all that is revealed upon closer examination is an empty alley that leads to another, less familiar part of town. People stare as I call out. “Who's there? Are you the girl? Come out, I just want to talk.”
Morine;
I'm still wandering the city, looking for my family. Sometimes, while going around corners, the girl from the villa can be seen searching the streets. I've learned to hide in the shadows. Fear drives me. Being alone is almost as bad as the idea of staying in a place I don't know.
Sometimes, it seems as though she's worried, other times disappointed. But, whatever or whomever she searches for, I'll be in the shadows, watching. Seeing as I escaped from her home, she may be hunting me. So far, she has failed. All I know is, I don't want to be found.
She's been known to say things to draw me out. Now I know that I'm the one she seeks. Fortunately, she's not familiar with this part of town. I can easily slip down back ways. She follows, catching glimpses as I lead her on a wild goose chase.
Lartimer;
Work began earlier than normal. The enforcer slammed into the temporary housing that was set up for us. “Due to the condition the city is in, there is to be more work and less wool-gathering. On your feet, get ready to report to your assigned work zones. Come on, hurry up. Not like you're going to need any more sleep.”
Everyone was ready within a minute. On the way out the door, tools and carts were handed out. As soon as we were loaded down, we got moving. No one wanted to get the whip. The city was to be completely clean by the end of the day. Everyone did what was expected of them, and it was clean.
Day 5:
Lartimer;
The wake-up call comes before daybreak. Yet another day of repairs is ahead of us. Soon, others will be getting up. Farmers are trying to fix their farms. Street vendors will be setting up their wares for another day of business. Already, people are slipping through the door of the old warehouse.
Just as the town starts to wake up, people fill the streets. Someone gasps and points. Heads turn in the direction that she is looking. Lines of glowing stuff oozes down the mountain side. It's reddish orange and trees burst into flames as it touches them.
No one moves. There isn't a sound to be heard. Above the mountain, is a cloud of death. Nature's shadowy plague. As it collapses like the buildings had a few days ago, it starts rolling down the cliffs, speeding towards us.
Released from their trance, people start running to find shelter. Sadly, we slaves have nowhere to go, our hovels having been reduced to filthy piles of rubble. As one, we begin racing toward the gates. The idea that survival could mean freedom makes us run faster. Being the fastest amongst us, I soon leave everyone behind.
Fear keeps me moving. I don't look back as I run away. Soon, I come across an old, abandoned mine. Reaching the entryway, I turn around and watch as the city is swallowed up by the cloud. It keeps coming, not quite done with it's destruction.
Seeking a safe place to hide, I slip into the tunnel. Somewhere deep within the passageways, there is the sound of dripping water. Following the sound, I run deeper into the cave. Water is life, so I keep moving, not worrying about getting out to find food. Soon, the sound of dripping water reveals a small lake where the mine has filled with water after countless times of rain.
Hours after the darkness has had a chance to move in to other places, I walk back up the tunnel. There aren't any other paths, so I soon reach where the exit should be. But, instead of an opening in the rock, there is a thick buildup of tar that glows faintly. You can feel the heat rising off of it. Suddenly, it dawns on me. Without food, I’ll soon starve to death. Surviving one danger, only to be killed by another.
Saraphina;
I wake up to a rumbling. Vesuvius is glowing with rivers of a luminous, golden fluid. A dark, ominous cloud hangs over it like the wraith of the gods. People down below are all staring up at the looming peaks of the mountain. Not a single sound can be heard in the city, even the animals are silent.
The awe-inspired silence is shattered when people look to the pitch black cloud that hovers above the summit. It's as though a spell has been lifted, freeing everyone. Citizens and slaves alike trample each other in search of an escape route or source of shelter. Animals are less fortunate. Horses pull at their tethers an pigs run circles in their pens. Even the chickens are nervous, flapping around in their tiny cages.
Somehow, I know that there is no sense in running. We're all going to die, and there isn't enough time, nor is anyone fast enough that it will be useful to try running. Even though I only saw her once, I wonder where the young girl, who had been carried into my home earlier this week, was. Had she left along with the others? Or was she down there somewhere, waiting to meet her doom?
A motion brings me back to the present. As I watch, the cloud collapses and starts rushing toward the city. The black cloud of death consumes everything it touches. Buildings disappear as it swallows them. Just before it reaches my window, there is a blast of blazing hot air that carries the stench of death. Then, as the black cloud sweeps inside to envelope me, I feel pain for a moment. Then, there is nothing.
Morine;
After two days of life being back to normal, people are starting to settle down. There is talk of repairs. Some buildings are completely gone, others are severely damaged. The streets are still scattered with rubble. Everywhere, there is a dead calm.
Suddenly, there is a rumbling sound. As one, we all look to the source. Vesuvius is trembling like it's the end of the world. By some unknown opening, the darkness within begins clouding up the sky over the great mountain. Despite the red veins that trace glowing paths down the side of the massive rock, the black mass draws attention as it collapses in on itself and starts rolling down the slopes.
I'm sitting in a doorway, watching as chaos takes hold of the town. There is a cloud of darkness racing towards the city, taking out everything in its path. Behind it, lays the unknown. As it grows closer, the world is consumed. And I think to myself, “Why?”
Epilogue:
2 weeks later...
After a long time spent in the darkness with nothing but water, Lartimer succumbs to the hunger gnawing at his insides. His suffering is at an end.
