Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 It seemed the magistrates had listened to Festus's visitor from Rome. Within minutes, guards were rushing out of the Forum, shouting out warnings. "Leave the city! Go directly to the gates!" they commanded. Tata looked at Marcus with relief. They had done their duty. And now, at last, they could leave Pompeii. But as they soon discovered, there would be no easy escape. Marcus and Tata joined the sea of people streaming down the main street toward the city gates. There were rich men and slaves, parents

长官们似乎听了非斯都从罗马来的客人的话。 几分钟后，保安们冲出了广场，大声发出警告。 “离开这座城市!”直往城门去!”他们吩咐说。 塔塔如释重负地看着马库斯。 他们已经尽了自己的责任。现在，他们终于可以离开庞贝了。 但他们很快就发现，要想逃走并不容易。 马库斯和塔塔加入了沿着主要街道向城门涌去的人群。 有富人，奴隶，父母

with babies in their arms and children clutching their robes. Some dragged carts piled high with clothes and dishes and baskets. Others lugged sacks. As they passed the gladiator barracks, Marcus glanced inside the open gates. There was a man's body lying motionless in the grass, a pillar smashed across his back. With a jolt, Marcus realized it was the lanista. Tata saw him too. But Tata quickly looked away as he tightened his grip on Marcus's hand. Cyclops must be somewhere in this crowd, Marcus realized. But Marcus was no longer afraid of him. Everyone in Pompeii was fighting the same enemy now, the most heartless killer of all: Vesuvius. Marcus and Tata inched along with the crowd. The sounds from the volcano were getting louder. But most frightening was the darkening sky. An enormous dark cloud had swept down from the mountain. It stretched over the city, turning the day to night. The cloud was black and boiling, and it rumbled with thunder. And then the cloud tore open.

怀里抱着婴儿，孩子们抓着他们的袍子。 一些人拖着堆满衣服、盘子和篮子的大车。 其他人则拖着麻袋。当他们经过角斗士营房时，马库斯瞥了一眼敞开的大门。 一个男人的尸体一动不动地躺在草地上，一根柱子砸在他的背上。 马库斯猛然一惊，意识到那是lanista。 塔塔也看到了他。但塔塔紧紧抓住马库斯的手，很快把目光移开。 独眼巨人一定在人群中的某个地方，马库斯意识到。 但马库斯不再怕他了。 庞贝的每个人现在都在和同一个敌人战斗，最无情的杀手:维苏威火山。 马库斯和塔塔在人群中慢慢移动。 火山发出的声音越来越大。 但最可怕的是逐渐变暗的天空。 一片巨大的乌云从山上刮了下来。 它延伸到城市上空，把白天变成黑夜。 乌云黑黑的，沸腾着，雷声隆隆。 然后云裂开了。

Bits of rock fell from the sky. They were very small and light, almost like bits of ice. Tata caught some in his hand. "Hardened ash," Tata said. Ping, ping, ping, they hit rooftops. Plop, plop, plop, they splashed into fountains. They bounced off Marcus's head and shoulders and skittered across the street. But within minutes, the sprinkling of rocks had turned into a downpour. The rocks pounded down, hitting the stone streets and rooftops with an earsplitting clatter. Bam, bam, bam! The crowd erupted in panic, pushing and elbowing, shouting. Someone shoved Marcus and he almost stumbled. An old woman fell. But the crowd stampeded over her. The rocks seemed to be getting bigger, pounding harder and harder. Dust rose up, making it hard to see. Marcus clutched Tata's hand. He felt as though they were caught in a stampede of terrified animals. "Hold on tight!" Tata shouted into Marcus's ear. "I want us out of this crowd!"

岩石碎片从天上掉下来。 它们又小又轻，几乎像冰块一样。 塔塔手里抓了一些。 “硬化的灰烬，”塔塔说。 平，平，平，他们撞到屋顶了。 扑通，扑通，扑通，他们溅到喷泉里。 它们从马库斯的头上和肩膀上弹回来，飞快地穿过街道。 但几分钟后，零星的石块就变成了倾盆大雨。 岩石轰然落下，砸在石头铺成的街道和屋顶上，发出震耳欲聋的响声。 砰，砰，砰!人群惊慌失措，推搡着，用肘推搡着，叫喊着。 有人推了马库斯一下，他差点摔倒。 一位老妇人跌倒了。但是人群从她身上挤了过去。 岩石似乎越来越大，撞击得越来越厉害。 尘土飞扬，看不清。 马库斯抓住塔塔的手。 他觉得他们好像被一群受惊的动物包围了。 “抓紧了!”塔塔对着马库斯的耳朵喊道。 “我要我们离开这群人!”

They pushed and squeezed their way through, dodging sharp elbows and scratching fingers. Finally, they burst their way out of the crush of screaming people. They hurried into a narrow alley. "Too dangerous," Tata said breathlessly. "Many people are going to get trampled." He pulled Marcus into a doorway. They pressed themselves against the wooden door, trying to escape the hail of rocks. But the downpour was even stronger now. Tata pointed to a small temple just ahead. "We can wait there until it stops." They pulled their tunics over their heads and waded through the river of stones. They were just steps from the building when, Whoosh! Marcus's heart stopped as he looked up. It was a huge fireball — bigger than the one that killed Festus. Kaboom! The explosion knocked Marcus back. The last thing he saw before he fell was a huge chunk of rock smacking Tata in the head. Marcus hit the

他们挤来挤去，躲开尖利的胳膊肘和抓痒的手指。 最后，他们从尖叫的人群中挤了出来。 他们匆匆走进一条狭窄的小巷。 “太危险了，”塔塔上气不接下气地说。 “很多人会被践踏。” 他把马库斯拉到门口。 他们紧紧地靠在木门上，试图躲避冰雹般的石块。 但现在雨更大了。 塔塔指了指前面的一座小寺庙。 “我们可以在那里等，直到它停止。” 他们把外衣披在头上，蹚过布满石头的小河。 就在他们离大楼只有几步远的时候，嗖!马库斯抬起头来，心跳停止了。 那是一个巨大的火球——比杀死非斯都的火球还大。 大爆炸!爆炸把马库斯打了回来。 他摔倒前看到的最后一件事是一块巨大的石头砸在塔塔的头上。 马库斯撞到了

ground hard, but within seconds he was back on his feet. He charged over to where Tata lay crumpled on a bed of stones. Marcus dropped to his knees, grabbing Tata's hand. "Tata!" he cried. But Tata just lay there, completely still.

地面很硬，但几秒钟后他就站了起来。 他冲到塔塔瘫倒在石床上的地方。 马库斯跪了下来，抓住塔塔的手。 “塔塔!”但塔塔只是一动不动地躺在那里。