Volcano

• Olivia Pratico, Grade 5, St Christopher's School
• Short Story
• 2011

Excellence Award in the 'Step Write Up 2011' competition

The magma below me sizzles and bubbles like hot water in a kettle. Suddenly, a thunder-like rumble sounds from the ground far, far, far below me. A gigantic torpedo shoots up to a height I didn’t think possible. The sky darkens as if by command to a shade of ebony. Thin sprays of scorching lava glide out of the volcano at top speed, like a saffron arrow being launched from it’s mountainous auburn bow.

The fountain of apricot lava gains width. My jaw drops. This is like nothing I have ever seen. Giant chunks of rock are blown off the mountain of fire. The volcanic ash ‘screws-up’ my face. I take a memorable photo and run for my life.

Magma melts everything in its path, as the river of molten rock slowly slithers down the volcano. The innocent town below melts. Everything in it’s path sizzles and drips regardless of their size and weight. Houses, schools, halls and other infrastructure holding millions of memories liquefy in a split second. I watch in terror.

Magma bombs are catapulted from the unstable mountain, letting off volcanic gases making standing here quite difficult and unsafe. The magma bombs come down with a ferocious amount of force and power whilst the explosions add to the humidity and heat.

A pillar of volcanic gas rises, slowly, out of the crater of the mountain of fire. This terrifying picture reminds me of Pompeii, only worse because I am a part of it. The gas sweeps itself up and through the already devastatingly ruined land. With the mighty force of a tornado, I am swept off my feet and I land with an almighty thud to the ground. Is this it? Is my life over?

Everything transformed to the darkest shade of black. My lungs can’t handle the toxic gases for much longer. The lava slithers past me missing me by millimeters. The crimson gold aura of the lava substance blinds me for a moment.

I can’t remember much from that moment on, I guess I slipped in and out of consciousness. The pearl white light turned on with a click. Doctors start swarming around me like vultures on dead meat. They pull out their instruments and monitor for normal temperature, heart beat and blood pressure. I’ve never had so many people around me in my life.

I have survived this mega disaster, but narrowly. I now live here, in Australia, where there are no volcanoes and kilometers away from the end of a tectonic plate. Life is great here, the bustle of the traffic and the ports of the Docklands.