*Note: Inspired by the eruption of Thera Island (circa 1600 BCE), which subsequently devastated much of the Minoan civilization on Crete. All characters are 18+.
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My village was burning. My island was burning. Everything I ever knew was going up in flames. I had nowhere to hide, so I kept running.
It was early morning when it happened. Few citizens had begun stirring at the first rays of sunlight. We were all caught off guard.
After a volcanic eruption on another nearby island, our military focused more on domestic development and recovery from the floods and ash rather than scouting and curbing unauthorized ships. There was a scare a few weeks ago when some ships sailed in from the North. They ventured close to the canal, inciting fears that they were assessing our redevelopment and targeting us.
Weeks went by and our concerns died down. Until this morning.
I was still running. The village was behind me as I ran inland, to the farms. There weren't many of us that I could see running. I was in the open for a while as I ran through wheat fields. Warriors were still coming up behind us, no question.
There was one in particular I was running from. He and a few others raided my family's villa, taking out my uncles and cousins on the first floor. They rushed upstairs, and my young cousin Yishu burst into my room. I watched as a warrior was hot on his heels and impaled the boy from behind with a bronze short sword.
His eyes landed on me, still in my bed and petrified at the scene. The warrior's hands and arms were littered with blood, most of it likely belonging to my slain family.
A chorus of screams jostled me from my frozen state as my sisters and the other women of my family met their fate. I scurried out of bed toward my balcony doors. I thought I could jump down to the garden and try to escape.
The invader didn't hurry to follow at first, perhaps not expecting me to jump. His footsteps rushed behind me as I climbed over the railing. It was an intimidating jump, but I had done it a handful of times.
I took a breath and jumped down to the flower beds. They softened my landing a little and I sprinted toward the maze of hedges at the back of the garden. I hoped he would give up chasing me, but I heard him jump down as well.
Once I crested the maze entry, I wasted no time taking all sorts of turns toward the back exit. It wasn't a large maze, but I hoped it would slow him down. It's not designed to be lost in either, as there are decorated cutouts and openings that allow you to see through some areas of the walls.
It seemed quiet as I neared the exit. I realized the blood rushing through my head was muffling the screams and carnage around me, however, it seemed the raiders were moving on to other parts of the village.
I sobbed while I ran through the hedges and small woods behind it. The farther I went, the more my bare feet hurt from broken twigs and rocks under the foliage. But I had to keep going.
I worried about my family. Did anyone else make it out of the house? My grandmother was all but bedridden, and of course, my uncles and cousins were the first victims downstairs.
Through the small fields, I came upon a shack, and I hoped to find people, but it appeared abandoned. I pushed open the unlocked door and went in. There was still furniture and a few other things scattered about. I had entered the kitchen, where I looked for something to protect myself with, perhaps a knife.
The cupboards and drawers were all ransacked, though. I could only find some worn, wooden utensils and old, rotten scraps of food in the very reaches of the upper shelves. I was thinking I should leave and keep running when I felt something was off.
A shadow had appeared on the wall beside me... in the big bright square of sunlight from the open door, there was a large silhouette. I spun around and there he was, the warrior that had been chasing me. A grin formed on his face as he watched my reaction.
I was trapped in one corner of the kitchen as he moved toward me. I found myself against the cold tile of the kitchen wall as he tauntingly closed the distance between us. In my panic, I threw whatever I could reach - a wooden spoon, cutting board - anything. He laughed and blocked it all easily.
Then, the warrior lunged forward and grabbed me as I fought back fruitlessly. He held me there against the wall until I wore myself out. His large hands moved my forearms above my head, where he could restrain me with just one.
I turned my head away as he tried to touch my face. He murmured something I didn't understand, amused as he wiped tears away. His body shifted closer to mine, pinning my hips with his strong thighs. It didn't appear he intended to kill me, leaving only one thing on my mind. His long fingers combed through my hair and I felt primal fear building within me.
"No, no," I said, pulling at my arms.
The warrior growled at me, increasing his pressure on my hips and wrists until I stopped, crying out from the pain. He was crushing me, but with my compliance, he loosened his hold immediately.
"No," he repeated back, with a tone of authority and dominance.
I dared look up at his face. A large helmet covered a majority of his features, aside from his mouth and eyes. His lips were pressed into a tight line as he looked at me with down-turned eyes. The blue irises shown bright in the shadow of his helmet.
It shifted around his face and I saw he was taking it off. He set it on the counter beside us, eyes never leaving mine. His hair was light, almost blond, and short. A couple of rugged scars marked the side of his head, and one lower on his neck went over his collarbone. They were long healed, but no doubt hell to endure.
The rest of his face was fairly unscathed, smooth, and rather handsome. I guessed he was about thirty years old.
He spoke again, in his language from the North. I followed his eyes as they went lower, down to my chest. The thin sleeping gown I wore was taut against my chest, and the low-cut design allowed him to see how my breasts squished together.
That look in his eyes returned, a grin spreading wide on his face. His free hand cupped my breast and squeezed. I gasped at his touch, tensing up again. I am not to be ogled and perverted by some random, savage man!
"How dare you," my voice shook with humiliation and he chuckled.
It was when his fingers dipped below the fabric of my dress to touch my bare skin that I panicked again. It must have taken him by surprise, as I got an arm free before he could react. I swiped at him with my nails, and I felt them scratch, all four fingers, and maybe my thumb, too.
The warrior shouted in pain. He grabbed my neck and tightened his hold on my wrist before slamming me into the wall rapidly.
Slam! I gasped. Slam! I cried out. Slam! I felt the brittle tile crack and choked on my spit. Slam! I screamed as the loose shards cut into the back of my head.
I sobbed, giving up entirely. I would have collapsed to the floor had he not been holding me up. My eyes could not even open, I was hysterical. His hold on me was firm, but not painful.
"Please, don't hurt me," I whimpered through cries, "Don't hurt me."
He carefully lifted me onto the counter beside his helmet. My legs were pushed apart and he stood between my knees at the edge of the counter. Our position was once again very compromising to the precious areas of my body. There was a tickle of fight attempting to build within me however it died out faster than it came.
I weakly pushed at his hands as they maneuvered around my dress. The warrior simply ignored it, continuing to assess my clothing. He figured out it was a wrap and reached around me to find the ties.
"No," I softly protest.
My arms rested atop his while they worked behind me, but did little more than that. He made a satisfied sound and I felt him withdrawing. My top loosened and he quickly pushed it open, grabbing my arms right after.
