monarch

Flames crackled and crawled along the columns of the church.The dry, cracked and blackened wood burned violently with only a slight lick of the flame, emitting thick, pungent smoke.The dusty curtains and the furniture in disrepair were quickly torn apart by the flames.

Hot air came from every opening in the church, and the whole church looked like a dying old woman, struggling desperately.The wall covered with vines was crumbling under the impact of the fire, like a beast breaking free from its cage.

The vines, already withered by the dry weather, now joined the flames, and they burned like the claws of a dragon, trapping the poor church in its midst.

The sparkling ashes drifted in the air like dandelion seeds, and when they fell on the roofs of straw and planks in the surrounding slums, they took root and sprouted immediately.The dilapidated roof could not keep out the continual rains of the monsoon, and it could not keep out the flames now.

Finally someone noticed the horrific scene and yelled "Fire!".So those who were half asleep in their stuffy rooms finally woke up.When they walked out of the room, the church was like a torch, illuminating the surrounding neighborhood.

……

In the dark corridor of the Whitehall Palace, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps.

The door of the king's bedroom was slammed open, and the heavy wooden door hit the wall and bounced back, making a loud, dull sound.

Edward was awakened from his dream by the huge noise.He opened his eyes and saw someone pulling back the curtains hanging beside his bed.

"Your Majesty." An attendant stood by the bed holding a candle.

The king sat up sleepily and rubbed his eyes.He shook his head and looked at the attendant with some confusion. "What's the matter?" asked the king.

"The East End of London is on fire! Your Majesty." Even under the dim candlelight, the attendant's face was still pale.

"What?" Edward's eyes widened suddenly, "What's going on?"

"The fire started at a Catholic church in the East End. The fire started about midnight, that is, an hour and a half ago. It is not clear whether it was a fire or someone set it on fire." The voice of the attendant sounded a little trembling.

Edward sneered, "Does it matter? A catholic church is on fire... Even if it is caused by natural causes, it looks like arson!" He stood up, and his attendants quickly brought a light robe made of silk and put it on the king.

When Edward came to the balcony overlooking the Thames, the distant horizon was already burning red.The moon was obscured by the rising smoke, but the sky was red as hell, and the night receded, and the ugly burning slums were clearly visible to the king.

"My God..." Edward looked at the hellish scene in horror.He lowered his head, his white nightgown had already started to turn black.The fly ash produced by those combustions is suspended in the air like catkins in spring.The air was filled with the smell of smoke and some suspicious burnt smell, which made people feel the urge to throw up.

There was a rush of footsteps behind him, and Edward turned his head to look at Robert who was rushing over. "It's just horrible...Is there anyone going to do something about it?"

"The fire brigade has been dispatched. They are pumping water from the Thames to put out the fire. But I am afraid it will not be enough." Robert replied.The entire East Side is burning, and there is nothing anyone can do about such a fire.

"It's just like the scene of the fire in Rome in Nero's time." Edward looked at the ever-increasing sea of ​​flames again, and the burning heat rolled up a flame storm, just like a blacksmith blowing air into the furnace with a bellows, so that the burning area continued. get bigger.The flames rushed high into the air like an erupting volcano.

……

Ten-year-old Lucy Campbell walked through the frenzied crowd with her brother, who was four years younger than herself.On both sides of the street they were walking on, the humble houses were left with only empty frames that were still burning.The fire was burning all around them, and everything that could burn seemed to be ablaze.The crowd pushed and screamed, and several times the little girl and her brother were nearly trampled down.And under such circumstances, once they fall to the ground, there is absolutely no possibility of surviving, and the crowd behind will trample such unfortunates into meat paste.

Lucy's father was a carpenter and owned a small carpenter's shop in the East End. Although he was not rich, his life was still decent.My father's workmanship is good, and the fees are not high, so the nearby residents always ask him to repair any furniture problems. The family is quite popular among the neighbors.

Lucy and her brother were lying in bed when the fire started.Children are always favored by God, so that they can enjoy a carefree sleep no matter what the environment is.

When Lucy was picked up from the bed, she slowly opened her eyes, and in front of her eyes was her mother's terrified face, her eyes filled with tears.

The little girl who was sober at the moment of being frightened was about to cry.

"Shut up! Child." The mother's trembling voice was full of horror, and the little girl's about to cry stopped in her throat.

The mother ran out of the room with one of her children in one hand, handed Lucy to her husband outside the door, and held her brother in her arms, holding a small bag containing all their valuables : Two gold rings, a silver necklace, a pair of earrings with low-quality emerald pendants, and more than two dozen silver coins of various sizes.

By the time they rushed down the stairs of the house into the already crowded alley, flames were already shooting from the roof of the small carpenter's shop.The workshop of the little shop was so full of wood, shavings, and sawdust that it only took a spark to set it ablaze.Lucy turned her head and watched in horror at this terrible scene. Before her eyes, the whole street she knew was burning.

The crowded flow of people is like a wave, engulfing the family and walking forward. "Take my hand tighter!" cried old Mr. Campbell, clasping his wife's hand tightly.

Ahead of them, exclamations and screams became more and more pronounced, and the flow of the crowd slowed: ahead of them, a wall of fire blocked their way - a building collapsed into the street, burning wreckage Live in the crowd's way.

"Back! Back!" The people in front screamed in despair. They looked ahead in horror, and the wall of fire was getting closer and closer to them.

However, the flow of people behind was still moving forward, so those in front were pushed into the fire. They screamed and tried to escape, but in vain.Their loved ones watched in horror as they struggled in the flames, moments later their rags were set ablaze, and the stench of burning grease filled the air.

Mr. Campbell stared at the hellish scene with his mouth open. "My God! My God!" he murmured.He raised his head, looked around, and finally he seemed to see something.

"Susan, give me John! And the bag!" he yelled at his wife.

The wife hurriedly handed the son to her husband, threw the bag with the other hand, and it fell into the husband's arms, where the little girl grabbed him.

"Here, boy!" cried Mr. Campbell into his daughter's ear.Holding his two children in his arms, he struggled to make his way through the crowd.

There is a tavern on the side of the alley, and a signboard hangs in front of the door:

Golden Globe Tavern Unlimited Ale/Bordeaux/Mead/Scotch Whiskey Tenpence

He lifted his daughter hard, "Climb up!" he yelled.

Lucy reached out and grabbed the pole with the signboard hanging on it. She tried her best to climb up, but her arms had no strength, so she could only hang her in the air.

Mr. Campbell jumped up and sent his daughter up the pole.

The crowd around him grew and Mr Campbell almost fell to the ground as he fell.He tied the purse to his son and threw him into the sky.

Lucy grabbed her younger brother who had been petrified.

"Take your brother and go from the roof!" Mr. Campbell was pushed to the front of the fire by the crowd, and he vigorously waved his arms.

Lucy Campbell wiped the tears from her cheeks and pulled her brother up to the roof of the tavern, where the whole tavern was burning at their feet.The casks in the house had exploded, and the aroma of whiskey and ale filled the air.

Two children jumped from the roof of one house to the roof of another house.A natural playground on the roof for the children of the area, the houses are so close together that their roofs are almost connected.The siblings have jumped up and down on this dilapidated roof countless times, chasing and playing.Now, the building beneath their feet is collapsing, and steam is bubbling from the cracks in the roof.

The riverside boulevard in the distance had already appeared within the sight of the children, and countless people flocked to the river, jumped into the river, and swam to the other side of the river.Countless corpses are floating on the river, which are poor people who unfortunately drowned in the river.On the wharf by the river, countless people flocked to the several ferries on the bank. The old and weak, women and children were squeezed into the river from the diving boards. By.

When Lucy and her younger brother just jumped onto the roof of a two-story wooden house, there were a few ominous groans from the house, and then the whole house collapsed like a house made of cards. fell into the sea of ​​fire.

Lucy fell to the ground, hugging her brother tightly.She felt the flames burn on her back.The surrounding smoke was choking, surrounded by a sea of ​​​​fire, and the remains of the collapsed house looked as dazzling as bright fireworks released during a celebration.She dragged her younger brother who had been frightened stupid, and rushed out of the flames.In the alley outside, desperate crowds were struggling to make their way to the river.

The whole city of London is as bright as day, and there are little ripples on the black Thames River.Those burned by the fire screamed miserably and jumped into the dirty river, hoping to relieve the pain a little, but this only made their wounds infected and festered.

Lucy just grabbed her younger brother's hand, the little boy's wrist was already bleeding, but he didn't cry, just stared blankly at his sister's terrified face.

A ferry boat by the river was about to set sail, and the boatmen were untying the cables and driving away those who still refused to leave on the gangway.

Lucy pulled her younger brother through the jungle made of human legs. When they squeezed to the front, the boatman was waving a bamboo pole and knocked a tall man into the water who was trying to upload. "Overloaded! Overloaded!" he roared.

Lucy pulled the little boy, crying and shouting: "Please, sir, we only have two children, please, at least take my brother!"

The boatman gritted his teeth. Finally, he leaned over, picked up the little girl and her brother, and pulled them onto the ferry.

The boat left the shore, leaving behind a desperate cry.Those who were abandoned on the shore wept and stretched out their hands, as if to pull the ferry back.Behind them, the wall of fire was getting closer and closer to the river.

The Thames is only a few hundred feet wide, but today it looks like the river Styx in ancient Greek mythology.In the middle of the river, countless people struggled to keep themselves afloat. When the figure of the ferry boat appeared, they all tried their best to swim to the side of the boat.

"Help! Help! I'm going to sink!" Countless people shouted in despair.With tears in their eyes, the boatmen opened the outstretched hands with their oars.

"Overloaded! We are overloaded!" the boatmen shouted at the top of their lungs.

However, there are more and more desperate hands. Even though the bones were broken by the oars, they still clung to the edge of the boat.

Lucy felt the planks of the boat leaning more and more beneath her feet. "The boat is going to capsize!" Someone yelled in despair.

Countless amounts of water rushed into the cabin suddenly, and the poor ferry capsized.

Lucy choked on a few sips of water, and she tried her best to lift her brother up, but her legs became weaker and weaker as if they had been filled with lead.

As Lucy sank slowly into the water, she raised her head and looked at the surface of the water. The little fire lights floating in the increasingly blurred air were like stars in the summer sky.