Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 SUNDAY, MAY 18 8:32 A.M. The blast seemed to shatter the sky. A huge black cloud shot up over the tree line. Jess's legs turned to jelly. "That's just a steam explosion, right?" Sam asked weakly.

But they all knew it wasn't. This angry black cloud looked nothing like the wispy gray plumes they'd seen from Cedar. It boiled wildly and spread out all around until it had painted the entire sky a furious black. There was a loud whoosh that shook the ground. A blast of searing hot wind knocked them off their feet. The air seemed to turn to fire. Jess had never felt such heat. It was hotter than the diner kitchen on a broiling August day. Hotter than Mom's oven when she baked bread. The pyroclastic surge, Jess realized, the fiery hurricane wind packed with poisonous gas and ash. It was the killer wind that had destroyed Saint- Pierre. The heat blasted over them, and Jess felt as though she was being cooked from the inside out. Every breath was like inhaling fire.

She looked around with desperation, knowing that they wouldn't last more than a few seconds if they stood here. Just a few yards away was a huge hole, one of the grave-like pits caused by the earthquake. It was wide, and at least ten feet deep. Almost without thinking, Jess grabbed hold of the twins, gripping their arms with all her might. "There!" she cried, yanking them toward the huge pit. It was their only hope. They all jumped in. Jess came down hard on her shoulder. She bit her tongue and tasted blood.

But she barely noticed. There was only heat. Terrible, blistering heat. "Get into the dirt!" Jess screamed. They all dug frantically into the sides of the hole, trying to tunnel in. Jess tore at the earth until her fingers were bleeding, until she'd created enough space for her head and shoulders. She jammed herself in, and

then pulled her legs to her chest so she was a little ball pushed into the dirt. The air grew hotter, until she was sure the entire world had burst into flames. The volcano thundered and roared. Dirt and mud and bits of rock rained down. There were terrible moaning shrieks of trees falling above. Jess thought of her greatgrandfather Clive. No wonder he'd hated that sound. Jess kept herself pushed into the dirt. But it was very hard to breathe. Finally the air started to cool down. Jess uncurled her body and stood in the hole. But she had barely taken a breath when a tree came crashing down over the hole. Bam! A branch smacked her in the head. And then there was no more heat, no more pain. Just darkness.