Vacation Under the Volcano - Mary Pope Osborne [7]
“It’s getting dark,” said Annie.
Jack looked out again. A thick black cloud was spreading over the earth like an umbrella. The sun vanished as the sky turned smoky gray.
“That must be the cloud of pumice and ash!” said Jack.
Just then the ground trembled again. Chunks of plaster from the ceiling fell on the scrolls.
“We have to get out of here!” said Annie.
They ran from the scroll library into the garden. Ash and pumice began to fall.
“We have to cover our heads!” said Jack.
They hurried from the garden into the dining room.
“Look! Pillows!” said Annie. “Let’s put them on our heads!”
They hurried to the couches beside the table and each grabbed a pillow.
“Tie it around your head with your belt!” said Jack.
They both pulled off the belts from around their tunics. Then they tied on the pillows, like giant hats.
A chunk of ceiling crashed down near them.
“Let’s get out of here!” said Jack.
They stepped over pieces of fallen roof tiles and ran into the main hall. They pushed open the front door.
A blast of heat and dust nearly knocked them over. And when they stepped outside, pumice rained down onto their pillow hats.
“Run!” cried Annie.
They ran from the vacation villa into the dark, burning streets.
In the distance, fire burst from Mount Vesuvius. Burning rocks and fiery ash fell from the sky.
The hot, dusty air smelled like rotten eggs as Jack and Annie rushed down the street. In the forum, everyone—shoppers, soldiers, gladiators, fruit sellers—was running in every direction.
Stalls had collapsed. Carts were sliding.
Jack froze. He didn’t know where to go.
“That way!” shouted Annie.
Jack followed her as they ran past the Temple of Jupiter. Its mighty columns had fallen, and its walls were crumbling.
They ran past the Public Baths just as its roof caved in.
“Which way now?” shouted Annie.
“The tree house is in the olive grove!” Jack said as they kept running.
“The olive grove and the bridge are near the street with all those open shops!” said Annie. “Remember the bridge?”
Jack looked up at the erupting mountain. A red-hot cloud billowed over it. Fires burned on its slopes.
“Head in the direction of Mount Vesuvius!” he said. “It was behind us as we came into Pompeii.”
“Right!” cried Annie.
So while others ran away from Mount Vesuvius, Jack and Annie ran toward it.
On the street with the open shops, baskets and broken jars rolled over the cracked stones.
Jack and Annie ran past the bakery and the shoe shop. They ran past the butcher shop and barbershop. All the shops were empty. Their owners had fled.
The closer they got to the volcano, the more the ground trembled. The darker and dustier it got.
“This is just like my nightmare!” cried Annie.
Jack choked on the rotten fumes. His eyes watered.
“Look! The olive grove!” shouted Annie. “The tree house is just over there! Come on!”
Jack could hardly see, but he followed Annie. They left the street and ran to the dried-up stream near the olive grove.
“Where’s the bridge?” cried Annie.
They looked around wildly. The bridge had vanished.
“The bridge must have caved in!” cried Annie.
They stared at the dried-up stream. Pumice had piled up in huge drifts, like snow.
“We’ll have to get through that stuff to get across!” said Jack.
He and Annie slid down the bank onto the piles of pumice. As they started to move across it, more and more fell.
Jack tried to move through the millions of warm, grayish white pebbles. But he was trapped.
“I’m stuck!” cried Annie.
“Me too!” said Jack.
“Remember what Morgan said!” said Annie.
At the moment, Jack couldn’t remember anything. He was too tired and dazed.
“ ‘In your darkest hour, only the ancient story can save you!’ ” cried Annie. “Where’s your bag?”
Jack lifted his bag into the air, above the sea of pumice. Annie grabbed it and pulled out the ancient scroll. She held it up to the dark sky.
“Save us, story!” she shouted.
Jack felt himself sink deeper and deeper into the pumice. Suddenly he heard a deep voice say, “Rise, son!”
Then someone lifted Jack up into the