Tuesday:
The eruption hit faster than they could have ever imagined.
Hot ash began to rain down from the sky, thick and choking. The air smelled of sulfur and burning, a stinging, acrid scent that made their eyes water and their throats burn with every breath. The heat was unbearable, like standing too close to a fire. Their clothes smoldered, singed by the intense heat, and their skin began to burn from the ash that clung to it.
"We need to move faster!" Jas shouted, already feeling the weight of the ash in their lungs, their breath coming in shallow gasps.
Roman pushed them forward, his face covered with a cloth to protect himself from the ash, but the heat was relentless. It was everywhere—raging through the air, hot and suffocating. His clothing was already smoking, and his hair sizzled as the ash fell, burning his scalp.
But as they ran, the earth cracked open once more. Roman stumbled and fell, twisting his ankle in the process. A loud cry of pain tore from his lips, his body crumpling to the ground.
"I can't go any further," Roman gasped, his face contorted in agony.