The magnitude intensified, and another jolt shot through the earth. An earsplitting roar erupted from the earth, and Caterina watched with horror as a crack in the stone floor widened beneath her legs. She scuffled back from it, her arms over her head, evading barrels. Any one of them could kill her. The gash widened, and Santo dove across the gap to her, darting through the rocks falling from the ceiling into the crevice. “Keep your head down!” he shouted.
With Santo holding her, she staggered to a wall, and she and Santo pressed themselves against it. Caterina curled into herself, and Santo wrapped his arms around her, shielding her.
The lights overhead blinked, threatening extinction. The seismic shaking continued, and all around them, wooden barrels and glass bottles rattled and smas
