Jarah Hassett

Miss Schmidt
Fictional Narrative
September 8, 2017
The End of Pompeii

I had just finished feeding the nasty pigs, covered in dirt, slop, and mud.

The smell was as gross as ten tons of fertilizer. My dad called me, Liz! he yelled, I need help

milking Bessie the cow. I grunted. Bessie was the most unpleasant beast on our small farm here

in Pompeii. She only enjoyed the presence of my brother, but ever since his accident, he hasnt

been able to come to the barn and milk her.

When I got to the barn, I reluctantly picked up the old wooden bowl that my destitute

family had to use as a pail. I thought I told you to come 10 minutes ago, Liz. The harsh tone of

his voice made me want to hide behind Bessie for the rest of my life. Im sorry, Dad, I

exclaimed. I shouldnt get yelled at for doing my brothers job. We bickered like this a lot, but

ever since my younger brother, Evan, got his leg run over by a cow, weve been more tense.

I put the bowl under Bessies utters, closed my eyes, stopped breathing out of my nose, and

squeezed. Bessie apparently did not appreciate that action, and kicked me in the temple. I dont

remember anything after that, but Im almost positive that I blacked out. I heard some mumbling

in my time of unconsciousness, but soon I could barely make out my name. Liz Liz!

LIZ! and then I was shocked back into reality. Dad? I asked.

Liz, are you alright? my dad asked urgently. I cant believe you scared me like that. I swear

to Zeus, my heart stopped beating for a few seconds!

Im sorry dad, its not like I meant to get knocked unconscious, I said sarcastically.

You need to start being more careful, you cant just be a foolish child anymore. You need to

start stepping up to the tasks.

I was tired of this crap, so I rolled my eyes and walked away.

I was going to skip dinner, but I was so hungry that I couldve eaten an entire elephant by

myself. It wasnt much of a dinner, just some beans and corn, but I was starving, so I wolfed it

down immediately. The bitter taste of the beans reacted with the sweet taste of the corn, so it just

tasted kind of bland. I lost my temper from the earlier interaction with my dad and lost it.

Mom? I asked.

Yes honey? She replied.

Could you just for once cook something worth eating? I asked, digging myself a deep grave.

Would you like to cook dinner and see how it turns out, you ungrateful child?

As a matter of fact, I would, I replied being as sassy as possible.

Just go to sleep, Im done arguing with you today, my mom said in a harsh tone that informed

me if I argued anymore, I might not wake up again after going to sleep.

I decided to take a bath and cool down, so I went to the Stabian Baths and let myself feel the

warm, soothing water wash out my anger of my mom and dad. I stayed in the bath until my body

felt as clean and pure as a new soul. This helped calm my temper so much that I almost felt like

forgiving my family, but I still didnt.

The next day was Saturday, the day of the gladiator fights. I absolutely detested watching

the gladiators fight. I couldnt watch the blood drain from their lost limbs as a beast mauled them

in half. The thought of it always made me sick to my stomach, but I had to go to the

Amphitheatre and watch anyway. The Amphitheater was a gigantic building with several

hundred seats made out of stone and cement. It was made to fit thousands of people so that we

could watch people and innocent animals get sent to devastating deaths.
 When my family and I arrived at the Amphitheatre, I couldnt help but notice how

scrawny and weak one of the gladiators looked next to the other burly, muscular, and huge men.

He was up first. A lion, one of the toughest animals to face. The fight ended quickly. The man

had a large, sharp knife which he used to cut a small sliver of the lions tiny paw, so a pinch of

blood came out, but he was no match for the lion, which swiftly moved from place to place and

eventually juked the man and chewed off his neck. It was quick, but painful. The man screamed

in agony, but there was nothing anyone could do to help him. He was dragged off of the floor

once he drew his last breath and finally passed.

The fights went on and some lasted for a while, but the whole time I was distracted,

listening to a small rumble in the distance. Mom, do you hear that noise from over there? I

pointed to the east a few miles away.

No, she replied, its probably just someone yelling or an animal crying out. I ignored it for a

while, until there was a boom so loud, that even an almost deaf person couldnt miss it. I looked

to the distance and saw it, the volcano that was just a few miles away from my house had

erupted. All I could see were the ashes flying from the volcano and the lava quickly spreading

across the plains. All of a sudden, there was nothing to see except red, orange, and brown colors

bursting into the atmosphere. I couldnt do anything, but run. Run! I screamed.

y brother was right next to me, so I yanked his arm and helped him up. I scooped him up since he

was as light as a feather, and just took off. I had to leave behind my mom, my dad, Bessie, and

everything else that I cared about. I ran with my little brother in my arms as fast as I possibly

could. My legs gave out, and I collapsed in exhaustion. I couldnt move any more. I had never

felt so many different emotions at once. I was angry at the volcano for taking away everything I

loved most, I was melancholy that I would never see my family again if they didnt make it out,
but most of all, I was scared. Actually, I was terrified. I didnt know where Evan and I would

live, how we would get food, and what I would do with nothing but a crippled brother. There was

nothing for me to do though. All I could do was wait. Wait for the lava to come for me in an

inevitable doom.

About thirty minutes later, I regained feeling in my legs. I didnt realize that we had left

Pompeii and were now in a small village to the north. I decided it was safe, so I told my brother

to not move under any circumstances and decided to go back to see if any of my family was ok

or if my house was at least still standing.m

I finally got back to my house and all I could see was devastation. There were ashes

everywhere and I looked for Bessie, but only found a molten lava statue that looked like a cow in

her place. I soon recognized her moon shaped birthmark on the ridge of her nose and realized

that it was Bessie. She was dead and I couldnt do anything about it. I never really liked her, but I

still didnt want that to happen to her. I couldnt help but cry for her. I was so scared and upset,

that I couldnt move. I wouldnt move.

I finally stood up and once the blood stopped rushing to my head and I was sure that I

wouldnt collapse, I moved on to try to find my parents and as I was walking, there were so

many other people that were covered in dry molten lava. It was terrifying. Everyone was just

how they were before the eruption. One woman was cooking and another was beading a

necklace, but instead of people, they were replaced with statues. I kept walking until I got to the

Amphitheater, where I found what looked like my moms necklace. The fear and the feeling in

my stomach was the worst it had ever been. I kept walking past the statues with horrified looks

on their faces that were there before they were killed and started to weep even more. The tears

refused to stop coming.

 Eventually, I sat down to take it all in, when I heard a yell that sounded vividly familiar.

As I got closer to the noise, I realized that it was my mom and dad hugging and crying at the

same time.

Youre alive! we all screamed in excitement in unison. Mom and dad sprinted over to where I

was crying of joy and wrapped their arms around me in a hug so tight, it practically suffocated

me. Wait, wheres Evan? my dad asked in a worried tone.

Hes back at an abandoned village that I ran to during the explosion.

Take us to him immediately! my dad said.

Alright. Follow me. I stated. We took off running and slowed down to a light jog after a few

minutes.

We finally got to the destination that my brother was at and I spotted him. Evan! I

shouted as loudly as possible. He looked over at me, mom, and dad. Mom, Dad! Youre okay!

We all ran over and hugged each other faster than a cheetah couldve ran 5 feet. We all cried out

of fatigue, joy, sorrow for our lost city, and the realization of how much we all meant to each

other. That was the day that everything changed for the city of Pompeii.