24 August, AD 79 by Jodie.

"Hello, is anybody here? I have a message from my mistress, Flavia Theodora," a little girl came running up to me. "What is it," I asked her. "My mistress is complaining of earth rumbles. She asked me to come and tell you."

"You go and tell her that it is probably just nothing. Away you go now."

This was really weird. I had been getting messages from masters and mistress’s, shopkeepers and even slaves all morning. They had all said the same thing. "The earth is moving, or the ground is shaking or the earth gods have gone mad."

It wasn’t until noon until I felt it. The earth WAS moving, the ground WAS shaking and the earth gods really HAD gone mad.

Then I heard the loudest sound I had ever heard in my whole life.

I got out of my chair and ran for the door. The air had a rotten egg smell. "What is happening!" I wondered.

I was running against the crowd. I knew if there was any chance of life, I had to get as far away from as I could. Then ahead of me I saw a young slave girl clutching a baby. It was the same girl I helped yesterday at the theater. She was heading the same way I was.

I kept running. I ran past the young girl. Then I heard, "Wait! Wait for us!" I turned and it was her. I told her to hold onto my cloak and I will hold my tunic above our heads. Hold on. We have to be quick.

We ran down the stairs towards the beach. When we got to the bottom I said , "Sit here and we’ll be alright."

The next thing I heard was the young girl screaming, "Watch Out! Get out of the way! Watch Out!" she jumped away from me.

I felt this pain in my neck. Then I yelled, "Wait here you’ll be alright. I fell to the ground…

By Jodie 

[Next]