Doomsday in Pompeii by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker

Author:Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian, JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books
ISBN: 9781624054464
Publisher: Focus on the Family
Published: 2015-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Nonus took Patrick and Valen to the back of the factory.

A group of adults was inside a small room. They were on their knees with their heads bowed. Others held hands. One man led the group in prayer.

“Brothers and sisters,” Nonus said.

Everyone looked up.

“This young man has a word for us about the volcano,” Valen said.

The church members sat back on the ground. Valen nudged Patrick to the front of the room.

“Tell them what will happen,” Valen whispered.

Patrick swallowed hard. He tried to remember what he’d learned about volcanoes at school.

Everyone watched him in silence.

“Well,” Patrick said, “first, ashes will fall from the sky. Then lava will pour out like a river and cover everything.”

Some of his listeners put their hands to their mouths. Others frowned. A couple of them closed their eyes. Then they lifted their hands in silent prayer.

“Oh, and there will be poisonous gas. That will make breathing really hard,” Patrick added. “It could suffocate us.”

Valen put a hand on Patrick’s shoulder. “Thank you, my boy,” he said.

Nonus stepped forward. “We must leave,” he said.

“How?” one of the believers asked.

“I know a captain who has a boat,” Nonus said. “It was still in port this morning. He was waiting for a crate of my soap. Perhaps he will take us across the sea.”

One woman clutched her hands against her chest. “There are thousands of people in Pompeii,” she said. “They aren’t believers! They will die in their sins!”

Valen lifted his hand. “We’ll warn as many people as we can,” he said.

“How will we tell so many?” asked the woman. “You shout in the streets, but no one listens to you.”

“We’ll go door to door and house to house,” Valen said.

“People may care about their eternal souls if the volcano erupts,” Nonus said.

One of the men looked a lot like Nonus. He was tall and thin. He had a large nose too. Patrick knew they must be brothers.

“If we’re going door to door, we won’t be on the boat,” Nonus’s brother said. “We could lose our lives.”

Valen nodded. “You’re right, Octo. Each person much decide what to do. If you want to go to the boat, then do so now. If you want to warn others, then let us be quick about it.”

“Where will the boat take us?” another man asked.

“To Rome,” Valen said. “The church leaders there will help us find new homes.”

Nonus said, “I’ll pay the captain of the boat. But he’ll want to leave when the tide goes out. We have until midday.”

Noon, thought Patrick. How much time does that give them?

Valen raised his arms and gave a brief prayer of dismissal. Then everyone began to hurry out.

Nonus hugged Valen. “You’ve been like a father to me,” he said. “Be careful. Come to the boat as soon as you can.”

Valen kissed Nonus’s cheek. “Godspeed,” he said.

Then Nonus left. Valen and Patrick went to the soap-making room.

The man named Octo was busy putting out the oven fires. “This is the end of our soap-making business,” he said.

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