A Boy's Best Friend

Suddenly the world went dark. I felt a shadow cross my shaggy back, blocking out the sweltering sun.

I saw that the shadow stretched over the whole forum, the normally bustling crowds of togas and stolas was still as people looked at the sky to see the cause of the sudden darkness.

I looked up too, out of curiosity, to see the mountain breathing out black smoke. All was quiet and still in the forum. It was at that point that the mountain burst. A huge column of black matter exploded from the horizon. It reminded me of the pillars at the front of the temple, where I would sleep with the other stray dogs when it was raining.

The base of the column suddenly began to glow with a bright orange light, obscured by the black pillar. I could smell something. Something like the bad eggs that people would throw at me. It made my snout sting and I pawed at my nose.

Time seemed to slow down, and the rapidly growing black column stilled. Then, all of a sudden, the pillar collapsed on itself, and a river of black smoke, ash and rock came tumbling towards me. People started to scream, running to warn others, get their families, escape the city. There was no one I needed to warn, so I turned and sprinted in the opposite direction. However, I had only gone a few steps when I heard a child cry in terror. It made me stop.

The boy! The one who had given me his bread when I was lying on the ground, dying of hunger. I had to find the boy.

I knew his house. His father was rich and powerful, and his mother had thrown stones at me when I came in their garden. I ran as fast as I could to the huge villa. It only took me a few minutes, but in that time the ash stream had halved the distance to the city.

Just as I rounded the corner of the cobblestone road, a tremor shook the ground beneath my paws. It was a huge earthquake and it knocked me onto my back. All around me I heard amphorae smash and buildings crumble. I barely noticed the pain in my back such was my determination to reach the villa.

I scrambled to my feet, only to be thrown down by another tremor. I landed on my legs, but I heaved myself upright and limped towards the house.

It had fallen, and the family with it. Finally, I picked out the form of the boy amongst the ruins. I ran to him. His leg was trapped and as much as I tugged, I couldn't get it free.

I looked into the boy's scared eyes and made a decision. Instead of fleeing the city, I lay down and curled myself around him, my warm body enclosing his tiny one. Together, we closed our eyes, and waited for death to take us.