The Night that Changed New Landia - Part 6




The Night that Changed New Landia
Written by the
Polliwog Pages Rockland Library Students
(Oliver, Dominic, Gabriel, Gloria, Elizabeth, Sena,
Genevieve, Sadie, Jacinta, Evelyn, Eliot)

(Parts between # are exact quotes of students' writing.) 



Part Six
Safe Haven



On the other side of New Landia, Grampa Don and I were zig-zagging down off the mountain as fast as we could through the smoke, ash, and sizzling embers falling around us. Suddenly the road collapsed and flowed in an avalanche, carrying my mail truck with it. There was no way to steer it – only to hang on and hope we survived.

We finally stopped at the bottom. I looked around and realized that we were only a few miles from Megers’ Island! We’d be safe there – I hoped – at least, safer than we were now. I raced over the dirt roads as fast as I could.  Poor Emily yelped occasionally when her broken foot was jostled. I sighed with relief to see Mike Meger waiting for us. He knew we would need him and had his ferry ready.

“Sam,” Mike said, “I’m sure those in the city must be having more than their share of troubles. I’ll keep running the ferry until no more come. Go send the word to everyone you see.”

I left Grampa Don and the kids in Mike’s care and headed my mail truck toward Colson City. I told the Winchester and the West families and kept going to the city. It wasn’t easy navigating through the dark streets and crumbling buildings, but whenever I saw anyone, I directed them to Meger’s Ferry. I finally found the crowd on the verge of rioting outside of the safety shelter.

The residents of the city grabbed at my message like it was a life-ring. They filled buses and trucks with people and followed my truck, which I also filled to capacity, out of town. I made the trip seven times – each time more treacherous than the one before. I could see the glowing river of lava coming closer and closer.

In my last trip, I carried a young man, a blind boy, and two young women in the cab with me. The older of the women seemed to be a nurse who did all she could to calm the others. The man held his hands over his ears and ducked his face into his lap. The nurse rubbed his back and talked to him, asked him questions, anything to distract his mind.

All of a sudden, she clapped her hands and laughed. She turned to the other young lady. “I don’t believe it! It couldn’t have happened more perfectly!” We all stared at her, as if she had gone crazy. She laughed again. “Maxwell, meet your sister. Shirley, meet your brother.” We were all laughing then.

What a night! No one slept – especially Mike Meger. His island was full to bursting, but it had brought us together. By morning, Mt. Terra finally finished snorting and shaking. People returned to the mainland – a different mainland. A thick coating of gray ash covered everything. The earthquake made new valleys and rivers. The city was buried in lava, extending hundreds of feet into the ocean.

The people would have to relocate and rebuild. Some families weren’t brave enough to stay and decided to immigrate back to the old lands. Others began planning a new city. No one would forget the night Mt. Terra changed New Landia.


 THE END

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Signed,
Wiggles the Polliwog

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