Mount. Vesuvius - A Short Story

“Ouch!” I screamed when a small plank hit me hard on the head. I was confused and dizzy. I looked up… and that ‘s when I saw the majestic Mount. Vesuvius erupting. Thick plumes of smoke and sky-high fog was emitted from it’s core. I gaped in awe.

It fell like a deja vu since just a few minutes ago, Mr. Montgomery and I were staring at the painting down the school library hallway. It was surreal.

Here I was staring at it in real life. Mr. Montgomery was lying face down by a giant boulder. I ran to his side, calling out his name and I could not have been happier when I saw his fingers moving weakly. I helped him to his feet and by that time, we could see Vesuvius leaking tiny streams of lava. There was chaos all around; some were running with their precious belongings, some with their pets and some just looking delirious.

We started to dash in the opposite direction, away from Vesuvius who was now raging with fury. The air was densely laden with toxic fumes and we were choking and gasping for air at the same time. Mr. Montgomery had difficulty catching up with me. He gave an apologetic smile and mocked,” I shouldn’t have had that burrito for breakfast!”

When I looked back, hope was slipping away as the lava gathered speed and engulfed us. I prayed that it was just a bad dream and sealed shut my eyelids helplessly.

There was a blinding bright light and I bumped onto something hard. “Ouch!’ I screamed. When I came to, a pang of relief swept over me. We were back at school! My first instinct was to look for Vesuvius and a gentle smile flashed across my face when I saw it safely secured under the frame and back into the painting.