wall.
“We can’t leave him here to rot, Rea,” Alex explained.
Alex drew Rea into his arms and she let go, sobs shaking her slim frame. He took her face in his hands.
“I’m not letting anyone arrest you.”
“You can’t protect me, Alex.”
“Of course I can. There’s no way I’m letting you go. We’ll run away.”
“What? And leave the shop, your house? You paid so much money!”
“We’ll run to the mainland. Messina. Catania. Ragusa. Anywhere you want to go, sweetheart, and we’ll start a new life together.”
Rea reached up to touch his unshaven cheek. “You really do love me, don’t you?”
A loud explosion shook the cave. Alex caught his footing, steadying Rea whose eyes widened in shock. There was only one explanation.
“The volcano!” Alex exclaimed as he grabbed her hand. That lopsided crater had kept its promise of spilling out the entrails of the entire island after all. No one had ever thought it would erupt in their time. And now the only chance of survival was to go to the other side, or take to sea.
“Let’s go!” he shouted, pushing her through the exit, and they were no longer up to their waist in seawater. The sea had swollen, and Rea spluttered, drinking in water, unprepared. A panic seized her, and she knew she was going to die. She had hardly any air in her lungs, and only God knew how far up the surface was.
But Alex grabbed her wrist and she felt her body rise, surrounded by air bubbles as she fought to hold her breath. Suddenly bubbles enveloped her head, and she knew that after all the air had left her lungs, water would take its place.
And then her lungs seemed to explode as they filled with air. She was barely aware of Alex holding her as air sawed in and out of their lungs once again.
“To the shore! Hurry! We must get out of the water now!”
They swam north and before they gained dry land Alex was already pulling her. “Up here, run!” He yanked her up the side of the island as the water chased them, like a sea titan, up the hill to as far as it could reach.
Once safe from the roaring sea, they were enveloped in the smoke and ash that were already obscuring the sun.
Rea was blinded by the elements and by fear. All she was conscious of was an intense heat threatening to burn her body, and the darkness that was slowly covering the island.
Within moments they reached one of the highest spots, where they stopped to breathe, but there was no air left, just a gray fog that was quickly turning black. Rea buried her face into Alex’ shoulder, but then he tugged and up they went again among bramble, rocks and loose earth, as high as they could go.
And suddenly they stopped, horrified as another loud explosion riveted them to their spot. From where they stood they watched as the main crater, followed by a large portion of the peak, disintegrated and tumbled into the sea, slowly, inexorably, like a giant loaf of bread being torn open.
The air was now mostly ash, thick and heavy, causing them to gag.
“I can’t see you, Alex!”
“Hang onto my hand!”
And suddenly they couldn’t breathe, nor swallow, not even to hurl the ash particles out of their system.
Alex tore at Rea’s hand and he dragged her up the last few yards to her hut and yanked the door behind him, but even there dust swirled in heaps. He took off his shirt and dunked it into the barrels she kept as water reserves and put it against their faces, then guided Rea to lie under her makeshift bed, throwing himself upon her onto the cold dirt floor.
The hut shook. Beneath him, Rea shook, instinctively. Several times he had to block her, push her right into the ground, for her instinct was to flee.
“It’ll be over soon,” Alex promised, fearing that the end of the world, or their world at least, was near. For a brief moment he thought that indeed they might die, and that he would never be able to look into her beautiful face, nor hold her ever again. His grasp on her tightened as he quietly
“We can’t leave him here to rot, Rea,” Alex explained.
Alex drew Rea into his arms and she let go, sobs shaking her slim frame. He took her face in his hands.
“I’m not letting anyone arrest you.”
“You can’t protect me, Alex.”
“Of course I can. There’s no way I’m letting you go. We’ll run away.”
“What? And leave the shop, your house? You paid so much money!”
“We’ll run to the mainland. Messina. Catania. Ragusa. Anywhere you want to go, sweetheart, and we’ll start a new life together.”
Rea reached up to touch his unshaven cheek. “You really do love me, don’t you?”
A loud explosion shook the cave. Alex caught his footing, steadying Rea whose eyes widened in shock. There was only one explanation.
“The volcano!” Alex exclaimed as he grabbed her hand. That lopsided crater had kept its promise of spilling out the entrails of the entire island after all. No one had ever thought it would erupt in their time. And now the only chance of survival was to go to the other side, or take to sea.
“Let’s go!” he shouted, pushing her through the exit, and they were no longer up to their waist in seawater. The sea had swollen, and Rea spluttered, drinking in water, unprepared. A panic seized her, and she knew she was going to die. She had hardly any air in her lungs, and only God knew how far up the surface was.
But Alex grabbed her wrist and she felt her body rise, surrounded by air bubbles as she fought to hold her breath. Suddenly bubbles enveloped her head, and she knew that after all the air had left her lungs, water would take its place.
And then her lungs seemed to explode as they filled with air. She was barely aware of Alex holding her as air sawed in and out of their lungs once again.
“To the shore! Hurry! We must get out of the water now!”
They swam north and before they gained dry land Alex was already pulling her. “Up here, run!” He yanked her up the side of the island as the water chased them, like a sea titan, up the hill to as far as it could reach.
Once safe from the roaring sea, they were enveloped in the smoke and ash that were already obscuring the sun.
Rea was blinded by the elements and by fear. All she was conscious of was an intense heat threatening to burn her body, and the darkness that was slowly covering the island.
Within moments they reached one of the highest spots, where they stopped to breathe, but there was no air left, just a gray fog that was quickly turning black. Rea buried her face into Alex’ shoulder, but then he tugged and up they went again among bramble, rocks and loose earth, as high as they could go.
And suddenly they stopped, horrified as another loud explosion riveted them to their spot. From where they stood they watched as the main crater, followed by a large portion of the peak, disintegrated and tumbled into the sea, slowly, inexorably, like a giant loaf of bread being torn open.
The air was now mostly ash, thick and heavy, causing them to gag.
“I can’t see you, Alex!”
“Hang onto my hand!”
And suddenly they couldn’t breathe, nor swallow, not even to hurl the ash particles out of their system.
Alex tore at Rea’s hand and he dragged her up the last few yards to her hut and yanked the door behind him, but even there dust swirled in heaps. He took off his shirt and dunked it into the barrels she kept as water reserves and put it against their faces, then guided Rea to lie under her makeshift bed, throwing himself upon her onto the cold dirt floor.
The hut shook. Beneath him, Rea shook, instinctively. Several times he had to block her, push her right into the ground, for her instinct was to flee.
“It’ll be over soon,” Alex promised, fearing that the end of the world, or their world at least, was near. For a brief moment he thought that indeed they might die, and that he would never be able to look into her beautiful face, nor hold her ever again. His grasp on her tightened as he quietly
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