1- The Destruction of PompeiiA Chapter by DanielleA94 He had always loved her and for this his father punished them. The Angel, the Mortal. They would not know his forgiveness. Pompeii 79AD Her feet finally found their rhythm and began to move faster and faster toward the towering Volcano that was thrashing fire and dust violently into the sky above; people from the city were running past her, away from the ash cloud, towards the harbour in the hopes of escape. But despite the impending danger, only one thing dominated her mind "Michael" she screamed inwardly to herself as she quickened her pace. She no longer cared about keeping her dress pristine, it was charred and stained with dust, it clung to her torso and the once white skirts billowed around her ankles as she pushed her way through the stampede of people. The frantic screams of terrified masses rang so loudly in her ears that she couldn't even hear her own heart beating. Nareena clambered desperately over the debris that had begun to collect in the street, over broken tables, chairs and even the shopping people had purchased had all become detritus beneath hurried feet; causing many to trip and fall. In the panic that filled the atmosphere, those who fell beneath the folly of feet seldom found a chance to stand again. Rubble from the buildings in the street bounced down from their perches, falling into other structures and people as they fell, if you managed to escape being trampled from beneath then you became another potential victim of the danger above. As she scrambled over a large piece of stone that had fallen from a house to her left, an unearthly crunch sound exploded beside her, she wish she hadn't look, because when she did she saw a young man mid fall having been struck by falling rocks, his body soon trampled and disappeared below the throng of people. As she ran further towards the danger, the buildings began to thin, becoming few and far between leaving way for trees and plants. Her chest hurt from the ash she was breathing in and from the exertion of running so fast, the heat from the inferno above intensified as she climbed higher, it screamed and convulsed in anger as it spat more poisonous matter into the air. Fire and lava spewed from the deep slice in it's head, the cloud that ensued blackened the sky beyond reprieve. As she got closer to centre of the destruction she had to be light on her feet to avoid burning foliage and the blackened carcasses of animals that had been caught by the flames, the smell overpowered her nose and made her feel dizzy. Up ahead behind a steep incline of rock, a pure golden light flashed fiercely, it was such a sharp contrast against the dark and murky sky; it pulsed and swirled into a perfect glistening cloud that hung serenely in the air before descending back down behind the rock face. Knowing that she had reached her destination she realised that the light had hung above a crater that had been etched into the side of the volcano. She pushed on through the pain and chaos that surrounded her until a blood curdling scream ripped through the air, it was a sound she could not imagine ever coming from a man. "No!" she whispered, "By all that is good, No!" The scream continued, reaching out to anyone that could hear it, it splintered around her making her ears ring. In the time she stood frozen in place she realised something, what she was hearing was something no mortal had ever heard before, a sound that should have been impossible to hear. It was the sound of an Angel dying. As her thoughts stilled she once again moved her feet to bring herself to the edge of the shallow crater, she swung her body over the edge and slid to the crater floor. There was a body slumped on the floor in the centre of the crater, it was one she recognised, releasing a cracked scream she darted towards him, but before she could reach him the same light that had attacked him reappeared and began to undulate with life as is flashed towards her face. A ferocious heat burned all around her, her voice died as the heat raked across her skin and began to burrow beneath, she looked up in time to see a perfect beam of shimmering light reached down and entered her body through her open mouth. It tasted of sweet wine in her throat as she felt it pierce deep in her chest. It ripped and stabbed it's way into her veins crackling like fire. The sound of her agony would not go past her lips, lost in her voice's absence. Another more intense pain crashed into her, this time it centred itself in her skull then pushed it's way into her eyes forcing red hot tears to stain her cheeks. Swirls of light entwined around her body fusing with her bones scorching them. No longer able to hold her ownweight, her knees buckled, once she hit the ground and the dust she had disturbed settled around her, the scream she had thought lost been to her finally found its release, it tore it's way free from her throats leaving a kind of numbness behind. A voice echoed in her head "For your sins and those of the angel, who's bed you so willingly shared, wander. Wander this Earth eternal. Your price for taking love never deemed yours. Never shall you be wanted in the Kingdom of Heaven" The voice was frightening yet safe, liquid and solid all at the same time it was beautiful, ferocious, serene and full of power. He knew what they had done. He knew it all and had sent his devastation upon them and the city to wipe all evidence away. When the light had finally faded and the voice had left, she was alone with only the body of the man she loved. Silence deafened her, the world around her was bleak and the city bellow was no more, buried beneath the blanket of Heaven's rage. Composing herself she stood and made her way to the body that was now attempting to stand up just feet away from her. It took several attempts for him to stand properly and once he had succeeded he looked to her, stared right at her, his face awash with disbelief and sorrow. They stood apart from each other, but he made no attempt to go to her "Michael, are you alright?" she asked hesitantly, he said nothing. Nareena took another tentative step towards him "Michael." she repeated. Still nothing, she decided to go to him, as she did he found his voice and shouted at her "No! You've done enough Nareena!" he raised his palms to warn her away. She didn't believe him, she couldn't, but as she moved closer and really saw his face, realisation dawned on her "You fell." at her words Michael fell to his knees and gazed up at the sky. No longer caring what he wanted, she ran to him and knelt before him searching his face for a spark of the man she loved, but all she could see was pain."I broke my vow." he croaked as tears streaked down his soot stained face leaving only a trace of his golden skin in their wake. "I broke my vow by being with you. I chose you over my duty." He lowered his head in shame "This is my punishment for breaking my promise." His crystal blue eyes clouded with tears, he looked broken. "What does this mean?" she asked desperately. "It means I am a sinner, my kind are not welcome in Heaven's halls" A line from a poem he once told her sprang to mind; From grace of God and love of all. That's what he had lost, the love of his family, of his brothers, sisters and his Father. He was alone for the first time since his creation, he could no longer sense them, he'd told her once that angels could feel each other, an energy coursed in their veins, he said it was this force that kept them alive and when one of them broke covenant their connection drained from them and left them an empty shell, a fallen angel. Wrapped in her own thoughts for longer than she cared to know; it wasn't until she felt a shadow tower over her that Nareena realised Michael had stood up from his place in front of her "Leave." The harshness in his voice was unrecognisable "I never want to see you again" he spat vehemently, his glare almost pinning her in place. "What? No, I..." she stammered as she stood up, even at her full height she had to strain her neck up to look at his face, his eyes were partly hidden by sooty and matted hair, there was no sign of his auburn tresses anywhere to be seen. "I said leave" he whispered hatefully at her, the venom that dripped from every word stung in a way she never knew words could. "Leave and wander the Earth, that is your punishment. You are immortal, unnatural and everlasting. For as long as he wills it, never shall you die. Damnation upon your soul." "What we share is real and pure!" She insisted "How can we be sinners?" she pleaded for an answer. "I should have known better." he said looking away from her. Could he really hate her so? Had he not known that there would be punishment for his actions? Surely he had known that his father was not so benevolent? And in spite of that, just hours before he had been willing to go against his father and make her his wife. How could he hate her for something that he was aware might happen if they had married. "My God's would not punish us for anything we did." she stated in hope. "Look around you" he swung his arms around to the crater and the ash choked grave of Pompeii that rested below them "Do you see your gods here? Do you feel their power?" he screamed. "They are not here. They are of no use to you." She started to cry "This is not my punishment to bear alone. You came to me with your honeyed words and sweet promises of a life together free of our Masters. Don't you see? Now we can spend eternity together. Just like we wanted. We are free!" It was everything they had talked about and more but even as she said it the dream died and settled bitterly on her tongue; his face remained unchanged. After what seemed like an eternity of silence as ash and debris fell silently around them, Michael dealt the final blow and stabbed her breaking heart with one final sentence. "I do not want this Nareena. I do not want you."
© 2018 DanielleA94Author's Note
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DanielleA94Durham, North East, United KingdomAboutDanielle; a tattooed and pierced 20 something from the North of England. I've been a member for some years now (despite my lack of uploads) I started writing poetry when I first joined because I th.. more..Writing
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